Packaging Method and Machinery

Introduction

This invention relates to an automated method of packaging stacked articles, especially sliced loaves of bread, and machinery for carrying out this method.

The commonly employed method of packaging sliced loaves of bread involves orientating each loaf end on with the opening of a bag and either inserting the loaf longitudinally into the bag or pulling the bag longitudinally over the loaf and sealing the open end of the bag with a twist and tie closure. This arrangement suffers certain shortcomings including limiting access to the slices at the open end of the bag. An object of the invention is to provide an improved method of packaging sliced loaves.

Disclosure of the Invention

According to one aspect, the invention comprises an automated method of packaging articles stacked face-to-face on a stack axis comprising feeding successive stacks to a bagging mechanism which moves each stack and a bag relative to one another in a filling direction laterally of the stack axis to insert the stack into the bag through an open end thereof, and sealing the open end closed, the bag having a reclosable opening extending longitudinally of the stack opposite the sealed closed end to allow access to the packaged articles.

According to another aspect of the invention, sliced loaves of bread are packaged in a bag by a method comprising feeding loaves through a sheer in a feed direction parallel to the slices, feeding successive sliced loaves to a bagging mechanism which moves each loaf and a bag relative to one another in a filling direction parallel to the slices so as to insert the loaf into the bag through an open end thereof, and sealing said open end closed to seal the loaf in the bag, the bag having a separate reclosable opening which extends longitudinally of the loaf to allow access to slices along the length of the loaf.

It will be appreciated that a sliced loaf packaged according to the invention has a reclosable opening that is orientated along the length of the loaf so as to allow equal access to all

slices of the loaf through the opening. A consumer can therefore be offered a choice of different slices which may be of different thickness of slices or different types of bread in the same bag.

Furthermore, the reclosable opening instead of comprising a conventional twist and tie can comprise a zip-type closure which extends across the opening and along the length of the loaf, and which is easily opened and reclosed multiple times, even when the loaf is kept in the freezer. A loaf packaged in this manner looks tidier and allows improved presentation of graphics on the sides of the bag.

Furthermore, a tamper indicator can be incorporated in the opening.

Description of the Drawings

The invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 illustrates a sliced loaf packaged according to the invention;

Figure 2 illustrates part of machinery according to the invention showing a slicing station feeding sliced loaves to a transfer mechanism;

Figure 3 shows the transfer mechanism of Figure 2 feeding sliced loaves to a bagging station and a bag sealing station;

Figure 4 shows the transfer mechanism of Figure 2 at a different stage of operation;

Figure 5 shows an overall view of machinery incorporating the slicing station and bagging station of Figures 2 and3; and

Figure 6 shows an alternative bagging mechanism to that illustrated in Figure 3.

The bag 1 illustrated in Figure 1 is composed of plastics film formed into a bag with side walls 4 and end seams 2 and a bottom seam 3 that extends between the end seams 2, and a top closure formed by folding the plastics film along a foldline 8 at an outer edge and incorporating a zip closure 5 between opposite side walls 4 inwards of the foldline 8

extending between the two end seams 2. A sliced loaf 6 within the bag extends longitudinally between the end seams 2 and the bottom of the bag is folded into a gusset 7 at each end beneath the loaf. The zip closure 5 extends along the length of the top of the loaf 6. A tear-line 9 is formed between the zip closure 5 and the foldline 8 so as to allow the top folded edge portion of the bag to be torn away from the body of the bag to allow access to the bag through the zip closure 5, once opened. The top folded edge portion therefore provides a tamper indicator for the consumer, who knows that the loaf has not been tampered with if this portion is still intact. The line of weakness 9 may be provided by perforations.

Loaves are sliced and packed into bags as shown in Figure 1 in a process illustrated in Figures 2 to 5. Loaves of bread 6 are fed to a sheer 11 which cuts each into slices before feeding it onwards. Each loaf 6 prior to entering the slicer 11 is turned from an upright position through 90° so that it is lying on its side as it progresses through the slicer and onward to a transfer conveyer 12. The transfer conveyer 12 comprises a pair of upright side rails 13 which support the sliced loaves between them. An overhead drive chain 14 carries a series of downwardly projecting paddles 15, each of which engages the bottom of a respective loaf 6 as it exits from the slicer 11, and serves to feed it along the transfer conveyer 12 to a bagging station 16.

At the bagging station 16, multiple bags 1 are stacked flat on a wicket 30 with open bottoms of the bags directed towards the loaves and the tops incorporating the zip closures 5 being located furthest from the transfer conveyor 12 along the line of advance of the transfer conveyor 12. The top bag 1 is opened and held open by a pair of scoops 17 which are advanced in front of each loaf as the loaf is pushed into the bag through the open bottom by a respective paddle 15, as shown in Figure 3. The bag 1 containing the loaf 6 is then advanced by the paddle 15 to a sealing station 18. The paddle 15 is withdrawn to disengage the loaf, as shown in Figure 4, and the bottom of the bag is closed and heat sealed to form the bottom seam 3. The sealing mechanism 18 comprises opposed heads 19, 20 which extend laterally of the transfer conveyor 12 and which are brought together to seal and cut the open end of each bag. A pair of gusset pins 21 either side of the heads 19, 20 serves to fold the bag inwards over the bottom of the loaf to form corner gussets 7 prior to the sealing and cutting operation. The cutting operation serves to remove the waste

portion of the bag incorporating the wicket holes by which the bag is located on the wicket and which are torn as the bag is removed from the wicket 30 by the scoops 17.

The bagged loaf is then fed to an output conveyor 22 and is turned upright in the process so that the zip closure 5 is uppermost. As shown in Figure 5, the conveyor 22 then transports the bagged loaves past a date coder 23 which date stamps each bag, past a metal detector 24 to check for any metallic bodies in the loaf, and onto a weigher 25 that weighs each loaf. Any loaves found to contain metal or not to be of the correct weight are ejected from the conveyor by a rejection unit 26. The remaining bagged loaves are then fed to a tray packing station 27 where the bagged loaves are packed into trays 28 for transport.

It will be appreciated that most of the mechanisms, such as the slicer 11, the transfer conveyor 12, the bagging machinery 16 and the tray packer 27 can be provided by machinery which is already known for automatic packaging of sliced loaves. For example, Ibonhart (Norwich Limited) provide bagging machinery of this general type, but this would need to be adapted in a number of critical respects in order to pack the loaves in accordance with the invention, hi particular, instead of the slicer 11 feeding sliced loaves to the transfer conveyor 12 so that they are aligned longitudinally along the conveyor, the slicer mechanism needs to feed the loaves to the transfer conveyor so that they are aligned laterally of the conveyor with their slices parallel to the feed direction. The side rails 13 serve to hold the slices upright and the paddles 15 are made wide enough to engage across the full width of the base of a loaf. Also, each loaf is turned onto its side so that the top of the loaf is presented to the open bag at the bagging station.

The bags employed have to be of the appropriate width and depth to receive a sliced loaf in the lateral orientation. The scoops 17 are also appropriately sized for this purpose. Furthermore, the bags instead of having permanently sealed ends are preformed with the zip closure 5 and tamper indicator 8, 9 as described in relation to Figure 1.

The date coder 23, metal detector 24, weigher 25, rejection unit 26 and tray packer 27 can all take the form of known mechanisms.

In an alternative embodiment of the invention illustrated in Figure 6, a different form of bagging mechanism is used, of a type in which each bag is open and drawn over a sliced loaf. This type of mechanism is sold by Dowson Engineering Limited. However, it has to be adapted to suit the method of the invention using wider bags to accommodate a sliced loaf inserted into the bag in a lateral orientation. A pair of scoops 17' of increased width compared with standard equipment serves to extend around and past the loaf to engage an open bag T on a wicket 30' and to grip the bag and draw it back over the sliced loaf. The loaf is held in position by a stop 29 which extends the full width of the base of the loaf. The transfer conveyor 12' conveys the sliced loaves from the sheer to the bagging station 16' with the loaves aligned longitudinally on the conveyor and each lying on its side so that each loaf when aligned with the scoops 17' can be inserted into a bag by the action of the scoops 17' moving laterally of the transfer conveyor 12'. The bagged loaf is then fed on to an output conveyor 22' to a sealing station 18' at which the open end of the bag is sealed to form the closed bottom of the bag. The sealing mechanism 19', 20', 21 ' can be the same as that illustrated in relation to the previous embodiment. The output conveyor 22' then feeds the bagged loaves through a date coder, a metal detector, a weigher and rejection unit to a tray loader, as already described in relation to the previous embodiment.

It will be appreciated that the invention is also applicable to packaging pre-formed articles of food or other products which are formed into a stack face-to-face.