Liqui-box Corporation

Warren J Schieser

Craig L Duffey

Stanley E Vickers

A machine for automatically filling the capped spouts of flexible bags of a continuous strip which comprises a strip-feed section, a separated bag-feed section, a separator section and a filling and uncapping/capping section. The strip-feed section feeds the strip to the separator section where the leading bag is separated from the strip and is immediately advanced by the bag-feed section to the filling section. At the filling section, the bag is uncapped, filled and recapped.

Uncapper for containers having friction caps carrying flexible tubes

Filler for bags connected in a continuous strip

A container filling apparatus for simultaneously filling all containers in a group of containers with a desired volumetric quantity of liquid. A lead group of containers is separated from a line of unfilled containers received by the apparatus. The group of containers is sequentially subjected to a filling operation and to the application of sealing caps, followed by the discharge of the resulting group of filled and capped containers from the apparatus. Each group of containers is supported during the filling and capping operation for proper orientation of the fill openings.

Filler and capper for containers

Bottle

A large light-weight bottle made of plastic of the type used on water dispensers instead of the heavy glass bottle. Each bottle is made of rectangular or square transverse cross-section with spaced reinforcing ribs or bands extending therearound. On opposed flat faces or sides, each bottle is provided, respectively, with a square locking projection and a complemental receiving socket so that a plurality of the bottles can be stacked on their sides with the locking projections and sockets of adjacent sides interfitting to keep the bottles in alignment in the stack and with the reinforcing ribs superimposed for strength.

Interfitting, stackable bottles

Apparatus for receiving a strip of flexible bags with capped spouts at longitudinally spaced intervals which are to be separated at transverse joints and then fed individually to a point of use. It includes draw rolls for drawing the strip horizontally into cooperation with a separator, means for vertically reciprocating the separator to pass through the strip and separate the leading bag therefrom, a guide channel for receiving the spout of each separated bag, and a feeding element for engaging the spout on each successive bag and arranging the spouts in predetermined spaced relationship relative to previously inserted spouts and with the leading bag in a selected position for its spout to be engaged by bag-withdrawing means.

Separator and feeder for a strip of flexible bags

A continuous motion high-speed rotary machine of the turret type which has a plurality of angularly spaced filler heads thereon, each equipped with movable uncapping and capping means and a movable filler nozzle. As the turret rotates continuously, an individual bag spout is partially inserted into the approaching filler head. These bags are of the flexible type, each having a spout with a removable cap pressed thereon. The individual bags may be presented to the successive continuously-moving filler heads automatically or manually. A control system is provided on the machine which includes means for sensing the presence of the partially-inserted capped spout as the spout is clamped in the head. The movable uncapping and capping means on the head is then actuated to remove the cap and move the filler nozzle into cooperation with the clamped spout. A vacuum system on the machine then functions, through the nozzle, to pull vacuum through the spout on the bag to facilitate filling. Then the bag is filled through the nozzle. A safety arrangement is provided so that if there is no bag in position and, therefore, no bag vacuum detected, the fill will not start. A flow meter, which is part of the control system, determines the amount of fill and stops it when a predetermined volume has been supplied. The control system further functions so that immediately upon completion of the fill, if nitrogen is desired to aid in preservation, it is injected through the bag spout simultaneously with interruption of the flow of filling liquid. Then, the capping and uncapping means is moved so as to move the fill nozzle away from the spout and reapply the cap. Finally, the capped bag spout is ejected from the filler head, as the filled bag is discharged from the machine. Safety means is provided to prevent any bag from being subjected to the filling cycle more than once. Additional safety means is provided for stopping the rotation of the turret if the bag is not ejected from the filler head. All of the above operations are accomplished as the heads swing continuously with the rotating turret through a predetermined arc of movement.

Growing community of inventors

Dublin, OH, United States of America

Warren J Schieser