Former assembly with improved center of gravity

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10604283-B2
Application number	US-201715606295-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	May 26, 2017
Priority date	May 26, 2017
Publication date	Mar 31, 2020
Grant date	Mar 31, 2020

Abstract

A novel system and apparatus for bagmaking is disclosed herein. In particular, a former assembly is described which includes a collar flange having an aperture passing through from a first side to a second side. A wing assembly, which is mounted to the collar flange, has a former wing and a crown tube. The crown tube extends at least partially through the aperture of the collar flange. The former assembly also includes a transition tube having an elongate cylindrical body that passes through the crown tube and the aperture of the collar flange. A set of handles extends from the collar flange towards an upstream end of the elongate cylindrical body. Additionally, the former assembly has a center of gravity, determined from a reference coordinate system, with a y-component that is not further than 43 mm from the y-axis.

First claim

We claim:

1. A former assembly comprising:
a collar flange, wherein the collar flange has an aperture passing through from a first side of the collar flange to a second side of the collar flange;
a wing assembly mounted to the collar flange, wherein the wing assembly comprises a former wing and a crown tube, wherein the crown tube extends at least partially through the aperture of the collar flange;
a transition tube having an elongate cylindrical body, wherein the elongate cylindrical body passes through the crown tube and the aperture of the collar flange;
a set of handles extending from the collar flange towards an upstream end of the elongate cylindrical body; and
wherein the former assembly comprises a center of gravity determined from a reference coordinate system with an origin located at a midpoint between the set of handles, and wherein the center of gravity has a y-component that is not further than 43 mm from the origin along the y-axis.

2. The former assembly of claim 1 , further comprising:
a stabilizer bracket, wherein a first end of the stabilizer bracket is coupled to the set of handles, and wherein a second end of the stabilizer bracket is coupled to the transition tube.

3. The former assembly of claim 1 , further comprising:
a stabilizer flange, wherein the stabilizer flange is coupled to the set of handles.

4. The former assembly of claim 1 , wherein the diameter of the transition tube is 5 inches and wherein the y-component of the center of gravity is between 5 and 11 mm from the origin along the y-axis.

5. The former assembly of claim 4 , wherein the former assembly has a mass in the range of 4.8-6.8 kilograms, and wherein the collar flange has a mass that is between 19 and 33% of the mass of the former assembly.

6. The former assembly of claim 4 , wherein the center of gravity has a z-component that is no further than 85 mm from the origin along the z-axis.

7. The former assembly of claim 6 , wherein the z-component of the center of gravity is between 65 and 85 mm from the origin along the z-axis in the negative z-direction.

8. The former assembly of claim 1 , wherein a diameter of the transition tube is 11 inches, and wherein the y-component of the center of gravity is between 23 and 43 mm from the origin along the y-axis.

9. The former assembly of claim 8 , wherein the center of gravity has a z-component that is no further than 135 mm from the origin along the z-axis.

10. The former assembly of claim 8 , wherein the z-component of the center of gravity is between 95 and 135 mm from the origin along the z-axis in the negative z-direction.

11. The former assembly of claim 8 , wherein the former assembly has a mass in the range of 8.3-12.3 kilograms, and wherein the collar flange has a mass that is 8-24% of the mass of the former assembly.

12. The bagmaker of claim 1 , further comprising:
a stabilizer flange, wherein the stabilizer flange is coupled to the set of handles.

13. A bagmaker comprising:
a base plate; and
a former assembly slidably engaged to the base plate, wherein the former assembly comprises:
a collar flange, wherein the collar flange has an aperture passing through from a first side of the collar flange to a second side of the collar flange;
a wing assembly mounted to the collar flange, wherein the wing assembly comprises a former wing and a crown tube, wherein the crown tube extends at least partially through the aperture of the collar flange;
a transition tube having an elongate cylindrical body, wherein the elongate cylindrical body passes through the crown tube and the aperture of the collar flange;
a set of handles extending from the collar flange towards an upstream end of the elongate cylindrical body; and
wherein the former assembly comprises a center of gravity determined from a reference coordinate system with an origin located at a midpoint of the set of handles, and wherein the center of gravity has a y-component that is not further than 43 mm from the origin along the y-axis.

14. The bagmaker of claim 13 , further comprising:
a stabilizer bracket, wherein a first end of the stabilizer bracket is coupled to the set of handles, and wherein a second end of the stabilizer bracket is coupled to the transition tube.

15. The bagmaker of claim 13 , wherein the base plate comprises a void space extending from an edge of the base plate towards an interior of the base plate, and wherein the opening is sized to receive the cylindrical body of the transition tube.

16. The bagmaker of claim 15 , wherein the base plate further comprises a collar flange mount for positioning the collar flange on the base plate.

17. The bagmaker of claim 16 , wherein the collar flange mount is a sunken surface with a shape corresponding to a footprint of the collar flange.

18. The bagmaker of claim 13 , wherein the diameter of the transition tube is 5 inches and wherein the y-component of the center of gravity is between 5 and 11 mm from the origin along the y-axis.

19. The bagmaker of claim 18 , wherein the center of gravity has a z-component that is no further than 85 mm from the origin along the z-axis.

20. The bagmaker of claim 13 , wherein a diameter of the transition tube is 11 inches, and wherein the y-component of the center of gravity is between 23 and 43 mm from the origin along the y-axis.

21. The bagmaker of claim 20 , wherein the center of gravity has a z-component that is no further than 135 mm from the origin along the z-axis.

Assignees

• Frito Lay North America Inc

Inventors

• Anand Ashish
• Jindal Vibhav

Classifications

• B65B59/04

  Machines constructed with readily-detachable units or assemblies, e.g. to facilitate maintenance · CPC title

• B65B9/22 Primary

  Forming shoulders; Tube formers · CPC title