20070289260 | Wrapping Device | December, 2007 | Chrisostomidis |
20050211583 | Flexible packaging for compressed duct | September, 2005 | Gray |
20090113847 | Apparatus For Packing Articles, In Particular Stickpacks, In Relative Cartons | May, 2009 | Monti |
20090260334 | Produce Wrapping | October, 2009 | Bubar |
20090249750 | AUTOMATED COLLECTOR DEVICE AND METHODS | October, 2009 | Black et al. |
20020083682 | Aseptic bottle filling system | July, 2002 | Edwards et al. |
20050241278 | Table extension for agricultural bagging machine | November, 2005 | Hulshof |
20060266009 | Method for detecting a hopper insertion state for a bag-filling packaging machine | November, 2006 | Kawamura |
20090288370 | FLEXIBLE FULL PACKAGE DEFLATORS AND FORMER | November, 2009 | Ours et al. |
20070220829 | Packaged product and method of manufacture | September, 2007 | Li |
20080141620 | Air Packing Machine Using Ultrasonic Sealing And Methods And Products Relating To Same | June, 2008 | Szabo |
[0002] A problem with this form of sealing arises when a consumer wishes to open the bag. The tape is stuck tightly to the bag and tightly to itself along its entire length.
[0003] This makes it difficult for the consumer to undo the seal and get to the product. This often leads to consumers ripping the bag open. With bags containing multiple products such as slices of bread it is desirable to be able to reseal the bag after some of the product has been removed. In this case it is particularly important to be able to open the bag without ripping it and to be able to remove the adhesive tape intact so that it is reusable.
[0004] One way to achieve a resealable tie is to provide paper tabs covering the adhesive at the end portions of each tie. Typically the adhesive tape is provided from a roll of tape and is cut into predetermined lengths for each tie just prior the to application of the tie to the neck of a bag. The tape is unwound from the roll and paper tabs are applied to the tape at predetermined intervals. Typically the paper is also unwound from a roll and cut into tabs on contacting the adhesive tape. The tape with paper tabs attached is then cut through the supplied paper tabs so that each end of each length of tape to form each tie includes a paper tab. A bag tying machine of this type is disclosed in GB-A-1381871. This type of bag tie has proved extremely successful but requires complex and reliable machinery capable of handling sticky pressure sensitive adhesive tape to prepare and apply the bag ties.
[0005] Another method that has been proposed for creating adhesive tape with non-adhesive ends is to fold the ends of the tape back on itself. This has to be done after the lengths of tape have been cut. Again this would require complex and precise machinery capable of handling sticky pressure sensitive tape. So far such a system has not been successfully implemented in practice.
[0006] It is also known in the field of carton sealing to provide lengths of pressure sensitive adhesive tape which hold the flaps of a carton closed and which are treated to make portions of the adhesive tape non-adhesive to provide tabs to enable the tape easily to be gripped and removed. These non-adhesive areas may be formed by covering the adhesive by paper or plastics tabs or by inactivating the pressure sensitive adhesive by coating it with ink. Such techniques are described in CA-A-2055402. Again in the field of carton sealing it is known to use gummed paper tape bearing a printed message and to provide a machine which provides pre-cut lengths of gummed paper tape, cut in positions between adjacent printed messages. To achieve this the tape includes registrations marks which are detected using an optical detector which then triggers a cutting mechanism. This arrangement is shown in US-A3559519.
[0007] According to this invention a bag tying machine includes:
[0008] a roll of adhesive tape having spaced portions which are non-adhesive, wherein the tape is wholly coated with adhesive and the non-adhesive portions are portions which have been treated to neutralise the adhesive;
[0009] a detector for detecting the boundary between the adhesive and non-adhesive portions of the adhesive tape; and,
[0010] cutting means for cutting the adhesive tape into individual ties wherein the cutting means cut the tape at positions according to boundary position data received from the detector.
[0011] The present invention provides a bag tying machine which produces adhesive tape ties with non-adhesive end portions which does not require complex machinery to form the tie close to the sealing means. It is also less costly than other currently available methods.
[0012] Preferably the cutting means cuts the tape in the centre of the non-adhesive portions of the tape. Preferably the detector is an optical detector capable of detecting differences in reflection from the adhesive and nonadhesive portions. The detector may detect differences in colour.
[0013] An example of a bag tying machine in accordance with the present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
[0014]
[0015]
[0016] FIGS.
[0017]
[0018]
[0019] As shown in
[0020] In a typical bag tying machine the adhesive tape is applied to the neck of a filled bag with movement of the gathered together neck of the bag through a bag tying machine. A typical bag tying machine is shown in GB-A1381871 and only the differences from such a conventional machine are shown in
[0021] The apparatus for cutting the tape into the desired lengths is shown in
[0022]
[0023] The detector
[0024] As the gripper arms
[0025]
[0026]