APPARATUS FOR FILLING AND SEALING BAGS INTENDED TO CONTAIN BANKNOTES
Patent Information
- Authority / Receiving Office
- MX · MX
- Patent Type
- Patents
- Current Assignee / Owner
- CIMA SRL
- Filing Date
- 2023-04-11
- Publication Date
- 2026-05-19
AI Technical Summary
Existing banknote sealing machines face issues with large sealing plates and their driving mechanisms, which occupy significant space and may cause accidental spreading of banknotes during the sealing process.
A compact apparatus with vertically movable sealing bars and a thin pressure element, controlled by a motor-driven kinematic mechanism using cables and tension springs, ensures reliable sealing with minimal space occupation and prevents banknote spreading.
The apparatus effectively seals banknotes while minimizing space usage and preventing accidental spreading, ensuring high operational reliability and efficient bag closure.
Smart Images
Figure MX433742B0
Abstract
Description
APPARATUS FOR FILLING AND SEALING BAGS INTENDED TO CONTAIN BANKNOTES FIELD OF INVENTION The present invention relates to an apparatus for inserting banknotes or other paper securities into disposable bags, which are adapted to be sealed after being filled. This device is intended for use in machines for receiving and storing banknotes, such as those commonly found in banks, supermarkets, shopping centers, or similar establishments. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION In the previous technique, banknotes are generally inserted into these machines through an input port, their authenticity and integrity are checked, and then they are inserted into boxes or plastic bags that are detachably housed inside the machine itself. If plastic bags are used, these can conveniently be of the disposable type, that is, bags which, after being filled, are sealed by sealing plates on the edges of their mouth so that, once opened, they cannot be used again. Such devices are disclosed, for example, in applications WO 2014 / 181288, WO 2014 / 181286 and WO 2014 / 181290 by the same applicant. Application WO 2014 / 181288, for example, states that the banknotes are first temporarily housed in an upper container and then removed from below by means of a pressure element, through an opening in the bottom of said container, to come into contact with a plastic film intended to form the containment bag and are introduced (through a corresponding opening) into a lower container, where they form an orderly stack within the bag. Once the bag has reached the required fill level, it is sealed at the top by means of specific sealing bars, arranged near the aforementioned entry opening in the lower container. One of the main problems with these types of machines is related to the size of the sealing plates and their drive mechanism, which, obviously, must also guarantee maximum operational reliability. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The general objective of the present invention is to overcome the aforementioned drawbacks by providing an apparatus for filling and sealing bags for holding banknotes, wherein the sealing plates, arranged on the top of the container where the bag is sealed, occupy the least possible space, as does their kinematic drive mechanism, and also guarantee a high level of operational reliability, with reference to the quality of the bag sealing and to prevent banknotes from being accidentally scattered in the steps immediately prior to sealing. In view of this objective, an apparatus according to the invention has been conceived for filling and sealing bags containing banknotes, which comprises a container generally in the form of a parallelepiped, with side walls, a bottom and a top lid provided with an opening i? LZfrnn / eznz / E / YiAi convenient to allow the entry into the container of a bag, made of flexible plastic film, and of banknotes intended to be inserted into the same bag, the apparatus further comprises a plate, accommodated within the container to support the banknotes inserted into the bag and vertically movable by means of controlled lowering and raising, a first and a second sealing bars accommodated at the upper end of the container, under the opening of the lid, and moving towards / away from each other between an open position,in which the bars are separated from each other to allow the introduction of banknotes into the container through the opening, and a closing position, in which the bars are brought into mutual contact to effect the sealing of an upper portion of the bag interposed in between, and a vertically movable pressure element in command between a raised position, external to the container, and a lowered position for at least partial insertion into the container through the upper opening to accompany new banknotes that are to be introduced into the container and push down the banknotes already present in the bag, resting on the plate, the apparatus also includes a system for controlling and moving the sealing bars between the respective opening and closing positions,differing in that the control and movement system of the sealing bars comprises a motor for driving a shaft adapted to rotate at least one drive pulley accommodated underneath on a vertical edge of the parallelepiped-shaped container, a kinematic connection for closing the bars comprising a combination of cables and tension springs connecting the drive pulley to the sealing bars, and a kinematic connection for opening the bars comprising a combination of cables and tension springs connecting the sealing bars to a respective fixed anchor point on the container. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES To further clarify the innovative principles of the present invention and its advantages compared to the prior art, a possible exemplary embodiment applying these principles will be described below with the aid of the accompanying figures. In the figures: Fig. 1 represents a perspective view of an apparatus according to the invention, with the banknote support plate in a fully raised position, i.e., adapted to receive the first banknote to be inserted into the bag. Fig. 2 represents a view similar to Fig. 1, but with the banknote support plate in a lower position, which it assumes when a certain number of banknotes are contained in the bag. Fig. 3 shows a view similar to Fig. 2, with the sealing bars brought to the closed position, which are assumed to seal the bag. Fig. 4 shows a front elevation view of the apparatus according to Fig. 2, with a stack of banknotes in the bag resting on the plate and the pressure element inserted into the apparatus in a position adapted to press the stack of banknotes. Figures 5, 7, 9, 11, 13 represent, in a perspective view, different steps of the bag filling and closing process. Figs. 6, 8, 10, 12, 14 show the apparatus for filling and sealing bags according to the b LZfrnn / eznz / E / YiAi front elevation views corresponding respectively to the steps illustrated in Figs. 5, 7, 9, 11, 13. Figures 15 and 16 show an enlargement of the upper portion of the apparatus and of the kinematic movement mechanism of the sealing bars in the open bar and closed bar condition, respectively. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION In the accompanying figures, some parts of the machine have occasionally been removed to allow the internal components to be seen. In particular, one or more of the container's side walls have generally been omitted, and in Figures 5 to 14, the top lid has been shown as a dashed line to make those otherwise hidden parts visible. Furthermore, for the same reasons, as well as for greater graphic simplicity, the bag has been fully represented only in the side views of Fig. 4 and Figs. 10, 12, and 14, which show the apparatus when the sealing bars are closed, or immediately before. The device is intended for inclusion in well-known machines (not shown in the accompanying figures) for storing banknotes, typically found in banks, supermarkets, shopping centers, or similar establishments. For the sake of simplicity, banknotes are mentioned here, but the device according to the invention can equally be used to manage and handle other sheet-like paper documents. As can be seen in Figs. 1 to 4, the apparatus for filling and sealing bags intended to contain banknotes substantially comprises a container generally in the form of a parallelepiped 10 having side walls 11, a bottom 12 and a top lid 13 provided with an opening 14 convenient to allow the passage of banknotes coming from a storage area within the machine for handling and storing banknotes (not shown in the figures, because they are machines known in themselves), or directly from an inlet port of the machine, after the authenticity and integrity of the banknotes received have been duly verified. The apparatus according to the invention is arranged to receive, within the container 10, through its upper opening 14, a bag 15 made of a flexible plastic film (shown, as stated, only in the side elevation views for graphic clarity). Bag 15 can be secured to the machine in a known manner, for example, by fitting it around the top lid and side walls of container 10 itself, or by wrapping or hanging it from the possible upper container for temporary storage of banknotes. Therefore, in the accompanying figures, the upper end of bag 15 is represented by an indefinite dashed line. Inside container 10, a plate 16 is accommodated to support the banknotes 17 inserted into the bag 15, which is vertically movable along appropriate vertical guides 18 by means of controlled raising and lowering, conveniently a compression spring 19 as shown in the illustrated embodiment. Yo? LZfrnn / eznz / E / YiAi The apparatus according to the invention further comprises a pressure element 20, vertically movable by means of convenient control of the known type (not shown in the figures) between a raised position, external to the container 10 (illustrated for example in Figs. 5 to 8) and a lowered position (illustrated in Figs. 4 and 9 to 12) of at least partial insertion into the container 10 through the upper opening 14 to accompany the banknotes to be inserted into the container and push down the stack of banknotes already present in the bag 15, resting on the plate 16, against the counteracting action of the spring 19. Pressure element 20 is conveniently made with a small thickness so that it can still fit between the two sealing bars when they are in the “almost closed” position (visible in Figs. 11 and 12), as will be described in more detail below. From a structural standpoint, pressure element 20 can be viewed as a substantially flat element, meaning that one dimension in the direction of movement toward / away from the sealing bars is much smaller than the other two dimensions (length and height). For example, the thickness of pressure element 20 can conveniently be between 5 mm and 20 mm. As mentioned, the apparatus according to the invention further comprises a pair of sealing bars 21a, 21b accommodated at the upper end of the container 10, just below the opening 14 of the lid 13. The sealing bars 21a, 21b conveniently extend across the entire length of the opening 14 and the banknote support plate 16, so that, when brought into contact with each other, the sealing can be carried out over the entire width of the bag 15 in correspondence with an upper portion thereof, interposed between the bars themselves. For descriptive convenience, the two sealing bars will henceforth also be referred to as “first bar” 21a with reference to the bar on the right side of the machine, as shown in the attached figures, and as “second bar” 21b with reference to the opposite bar on the left side of the machine. The mobility of the sealing bars 21a, 21b, which move towards / away from each other, is permitted by means of respective horizontal slotted guides 22a, 22b present in the upper portion of the container 10, corresponding to the ends of the bars themselves and oriented in the direction of their movement. The bars are provided with first pins 23a, 23b protruding from each end to slide within the aforementioned slotted guides 22a, 22b, as clearly shown in Figs. 5 to 14. Conveniently, an additional pin 24a, 24b is provided at each end of the sealing bars, slidably inserted into the respective slotted guide 22a, 22b, to cooperate with the associated pin 23a, 23b to prevent unwanted rotations of the bars and maintain their intended mutual alignment. In the enlargements shown in Figs. 15 and 16, the elements described above are shown in greater detail. The slotted guides 22a, 22b are preferably made as open slots in the thickness of a sheet 25 accommodated at each of the upper ends of the container 10 extending parallel to the direction of movement of the sealing bars, in order to allow at least the pins 23a, 23b to come out of the respective guide towards the ends of the container 10. Conveniently, the ends of the slots 22a, 22b closest to the side walls of container 10 are curved downwards, to allow the bars in a resting condition (bars fully open) to tilt vertically while remaining substantially housed along the side walls of the container itself without unnecessarily occupying space in the upper horizontal plane of the container and thus allowing the overall width of the machine to be reduced. According to the invention, the apparatus for filling and sealing bags is provided with a system 21a, 21b for controlling and moving the sealing bars comprising a drive motor 26, conveniently accommodated at the bottom of one side of the machine as is visible in Figs. 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, adapted to rotate a shaft 27 at whose ends, corresponding to the two ends of the container, respective drive pulleys 28 are attached, as is clearly visible in the aforementioned figures. The kinematic mechanism for moving the sealing bars 21a and 21b between their respective open and closed positions will now be described in greater detail, with reference to the mechanisms present on the vertical edge of the container 10 visible in the foreground of Figs. 5, 7, 9, 11, and 13. It is understood that similar or preferably equivalent mechanisms are present on the other three vertical edges of the container 10 to distribute the stresses as evenly as possible and thus allow smooth and uniform movement of the sealing bars without the risk of jamming or misalignment. However, the mechanisms present on the other edges are partially visible in Figs. 5, 7, 9, 11, and 13, as well as in Figs. 6, 8, 10, 12, and 14. On the drive pulley 28, a maneuvering cable 29 is wound, extending upwards along the rim of the container 10 until it connects with the lower end of a tension spring 30, which in turn is connected at the upper end with an additional cable 31 reaching a first upper return pulley 32 to continue in a nearly horizontal direction until it is anchored to the end pin 23b of the second sealing bar 21b (i.e., the sealing bar accommodated on the opposite side of the machine with respect to the side where the motor 26, drive shaft 27 and drive pulleys 28 are located). The kinematic connection formed by spring 30 and cable 31 is intended to control the closing of the sealing bars (and, in particular, the second bar 21b), therefore spring 30 and cable 31 will be referred to here as the “closing spring” and “closing cable” respectively. Always on the same edge of container 10 is accommodated an additional tension spring 33 as anchored with its lower end to a fixed pin 34 in the frame of container 10 and connected at its upper end to a cable 35 that reaches a second upper return pulley 36 and is then anchored to the end pin 23a of the first sealing bar 21a (i.e., the sealing bar accommodated on the side of the machine where the motor 26, drive shaft 27 and drive pulleys 28 are located). The kinematic connection formed by spring 33 and cable 35 is intended to control the opening of the sealing bars (and, in particular, the first bar 21a), therefore spring 33 and cable 35 will be referred to here as the “opening spring” and “opening cable”, respectively. To allow the sealing bars to function properly while opening and closing, the closing spring 30 will have a higher spring constant than the opening spring 33. In other words, in the described kinematic mechanism, the closing spring 30 must exert a greater force than the opening spring 33. Conveniently, docks 30, 33 (with their respective cables 31, 35) are separated from each other by a vertically extending partition 37 along the edge of container 10, to avoid mutual interference between the parts. As can be seen, the opening spring 33 and the opening cable 35 act directly on the first sealing bar 21a (i.e., the bar accommodated on the same side of the container 10 where said actuating elements are located), while the closing springs 30 and the closing cable 31 act on the second sealing bar 21b (i.e., the bar accommodated on the opposite side of the container 10). To achieve good synchronization of movement of the two sealing bars, similar opening springs 33' and opening cables 35' are conveniently provided on opposite edges of container 10 (i.e., on the side of the second sealing bar 21b), anchored to the respective end pins 23b of the second sealing bar 21b, while additional closing springs 30' and closing cables 31' are provided on the same opposite edges of container 10, anchored to the respective end pins 23a of the first sealing bar 21a. To allow the closing springs 30' to move along said opposite edges of the container 10 as done by the drive cable 29 previously described, the drive pulleys 28 are connected to the lower end of the closing springs 30' by means of a respective auxiliary maneuvering cable 29' which extends horizontally from the corresponding drive pulley 28, below the bottom 12 of the container 10, to a third lower return pulley 38 positioned at the base of said opposite edges, from where it bends upwards until it reaches the closing spring 30'. The corresponding upper return pulleys 32', 36', the pin 34' for anchoring the opening spring 33' and the division 37' between the opening and closing springs are of course present on the aforementioned opposite edges of container 10. The kinematic elements described above are clearly visible in Figs. 6, 8, 10, 12, 14. This makes it possible to achieve complete drive symmetry of the sealing bars. The apparatus for filling and sealing bags according to the invention is further provided with sensors to detect certain positions that the sealing bars may assume during machine operation and, in particular, an “open bars” sensor 39 (visible in Figs. 11 and 13) and a “almost closed bars” sensor 40 (visible in Figs. 5, 7, 9, and 11), convenient to cooperate with a slider 41 movable integrally with the sealing bars. According to the preferred embodiment shown in the accompanying figures, the position sensors 39, 40 are arranged, vertically separated, on one side of the container 10 (for example, one where the motor 26, drive shaft 27 and drive pulleys 28 are present) and the slider 41 consists of a horizontal leaf restricted to the opening cable 35 to move vertically in accordance with the movement of the bar 21a, between a position in which said leaf covers the lower sensor 39, so that the latter can send to a control unit a signal of “open bars” (corresponding to the situation shown in Figs. 5, 7, 9), and a position in which said leaf covers the upper sensor 40, so that the latter can send to the control unit a signal of “bars almost closed” (corresponding to the situation illustrated in Fig. 11). A portion of the machine operating cycle will now be briefly described to illustrate the operation of the apparatus for filling and sealing bags according to the invention. In the situation illustrated in Figs. 5 and 6, a number of banknotes 17 have already been inserted into the container 10 through the top opening 14 and are stacked on the plate 16 in a plastic bag (as mentioned earlier, for ease of graphic clarity, the bag 15 has generally been omitted from the perspective views and is only shown in full in Figs. 10, 12, and 14 relating to the final stages of bag closure). The sealing bars 21a, 21b are open (and, therefore, the “open bar” sensor 39 remains covered by the slider 41, which is in its lowest position), and the plate 16 is pushed upward by the spring 19 while the banknotes 17 are held pressed against the underside of the lid 13. It should be noted that, as can be clearly seen in Figs.1 to 3, the opening 14 in the lid 13 is shaped to be narrower than the narrowest banknote expected to be stored in the machine and, therefore, once inserted into the bag supported by the plate 16, the banknotes cannot be scattered from the container 10 despite the pressure exerted by the spring 19. One or more new banknotes 17 are positioned above the lid 13, ready to be subsequently inserted into the bag by means of the pressure element 20. In the situation illustrated in Figs. 7 and 8, the pressure element 20 is lowered until it makes contact with the additional banknotes 17 present above the lid 13 and, as it is lowered further, it begins to deform them while pushing them into the bag in the container 10 up to the opening 14. The sealing bars 21a, 21b remain open, in the same position as in Figs. 5 and 6. This operation of introducing new banknotes through the opening 14 can be repeated until the bag is considered to have reached the desired maximum filling level. In the situation illustrated in Figs. 9 and 10, the last banknotes have been inserted into the bag 15, and the further lowering of the pressure element 20 causes the plate 16 to lower further, with the bag resting on it. The banknotes 17 are then held at a distance from the lower surface of the lid 13 (and, in particular, sufficiently far from the operating area of the sealing bars 21a, 21b) by the partially inserted pressure element 20, through the opening 14, into the container 10. At this point, the motor 26 can control the rotation of the shaft 27 and the drive pulleys 28, so that the operating cable 29 and the auxiliary cable 29' pull down the closing springs 30, 30', which, thanks to their higher spring constant than the opening springs 33, 33', can, through the corresponding closing cables 31, 31', respectively move the sealing bar 21b and the sealing bar 21a to the closed position. At the same time, the movement of the two bars 21a, 21b causes, through the opening cables 35, 35', an upward extension of the respective opening springs 33, 33'. Figures 11 and 12 illustrate the situation just before the sealing bars reach the “almost closed” position, which occurs when the slider 41 covers the “almost closed bars” sensor 40 and the bars are almost in contact with the sides of the pressure element 20. With the bars in the “almost closed” position, the pressure element 20 can be removed from the container by moving it upwards, but the small gap between the two bars 21a, 21b (substantially corresponding to the extremely thin thickness of the pressure element 20) prevents banknotes from being accidentally scattered out of the bag and mistakenly placed between the sealing bars. Figures 13 and 14 illustrate the final step, when the pressure element has been completely removed from the container and the banknotes inside the bag 15 are pressed against the sealing bars by the spring plate 16. At this point, the sealing bars 21a, 21b can be completely closed and heated, thus sealing the bag 15. At the end of the process, the bars are reopened and the sealed bag is ready to be removed from the container 10. It is now clear that the apparatus for filling and sealing bags for banknotes according to the invention achieves its intended purpose by minimizing the space required for the sealing bars and their kinematic control mechanisms. Furthermore, the thin pressure element allows it to be removed from the container 10 with the sealing bars in a nearly fully closed position, thus preventing any banknotes from being scattered as the pressure element moves away, and from accidentally becoming interposed between the bars during the bag sealing process. Clearly, the above description of a modality that applies the innovative principles of the present invention is provided by way of an illustrative example of said innovative principles and, therefore, should not be taken as limiting the scope of the patent claimed herein. For example, the kinematic chains consisting of springs and cables described here could be implemented in different configurations, although kinematically equivalent to those illustrated. In particular, as can be observed, because the springs 30, 30' of the kinematic connection for closing the sealing bars must be provided with a greater elastic force than the springs 33, 33' of the opening kinematic connection to ensure the correct operation of the system and sufficient closing force of the bars, the aforementioned springs 30, 30' of the kinematic connection for closing the bars could also be conceived with an infinite elastic constant, and therefore, for example, could be replaced by cables or equivalent elements. The entire kinematic connection of the sealing bars could then comprise a single operating cable, still within the scope of the claimed invention.
Claims
1. An apparatus for filling and sealing bags for containing banknotes comprises a container generally in the form of a parallelepiped (10), with side walls (11), a bottom (12), and a top lid (13) provided with an opening (14) suitable for allowing the insertion into the container of a bag (15), made of flexible plastic film, and banknotes (17) intended to be inserted into the same bag. The apparatus further comprises a plate (16), accommodated within the container (10) to support the banknotes (17) inserted into the bag (15) and vertically movable by means of controlled lowering and raising (19). First and second sealing bars (21a, 21b) are accommodated at the upper end of the container (10), under the opening (14) of the lid (13), and moving toward / away from each other between an open position, in which the bars (21a,21b) are spaced apart to allow the introduction of banknotes into the container (10) through the opening (14), and a closing position, in which the bars (21a, 21b) are brought into mutual contact to effect the sealing of an upper portion of the bag (15) interposed in between, and a vertically movable pressure element (20) commanded between a raised position, external to the container (10), and a lowered position for at least partial insertion into the container (10) through the upper opening (14) to accommodate new banknotes to be introduced into the container and to push down the banknotes already present in the bag (15), resting on the plate (16), the apparatus also includes a system for controlling and moving the sealing bars (21a, 21b) between the respective opening and closing positions, characterized in that the system for controlling and moving the sealing bars (21a,21b) comprise a motor (26) for driving a shaft (27) adapted to rotate at least one drive pulley (28) accommodated underneath on a vertical edge of the parallelepiped-shaped container (10), a kinematic connection for closing the bars comprising a combination of cables and tension springs (29, 29', 30, 30', 31, 31j) connecting the drive pulley (28) to the sealing bars (21a, 21b), and a kinematic connection for opening the bars comprising a combination of cables and tension springs (33, 33', 35, 35j) connecting the sealing bars (21a, 21b) to a respective fixed anchor point (34, 34j) in the container (10).
2. The apparatus according to claim 1, further characterized in that the upper portion of the container (10) is provided at its two ends with slotted guides (22a, 22b) oriented in the direction of movement of the bars, and the first and second sealing bars (21a, 21b) are provided with respective first pins (23a, 23b) projecting from each end thereof to slide in a corresponding slotted guide (22a, 22b), in that the kinematic connection for closing the bars comprises a first sequence of tension cables and springs (29, 30, 31) connecting the drive pulley (28) to one of the projecting pins (23b) of the second sealing bar (21b), accommodated on the opposite side of the container (10) with respect to the vertical edge where the drive pulley (28) is located, and a second sequence of tension cables and springs (29', 30',31') connecting the drive pulley (28) with one of the protruding pins (23a) of the first sealing bar (21a), accommodated on the side of the container (10) where the vertical edge is located where the drive pulley (28) is located, yi? LZfrnn / eznz / E / YiAi because the kinematic connection for opening the bars comprises a first sequence of tension cables and springs (33, 35) connecting said protruding pin (23a) of the first sealing bar (21a) with the respective fixed anchor point (34) and a second sequence of tension cables and springs (33', 35j) connecting said protruding pin (23b) of the second sealing bar (21b) with the respective fixed anchor point (34')., 3. The apparatus according to claim 2, further characterized in that said first sequence of cables and tension springs of the kinematic connection for closing the bars comprises a first operating cable (29) extending upwards from the drive pulley (28) along the aforementioned vertical edge of the container (10) where the drive pulley is located, until it connects with the lower end of a tension spring (30), which in turn is connected at its upper end with an additional cable (31) reaching a first upper return pulley (32) to continue in a nearly horizontal direction until it is anchored to said protruding pin (23b) of the second sealing bar (21b), and in that said second sequence of cables and tension springs of the kinematic connection for closing the bars comprises an auxiliary operating cable (29j) extending from the drive pulley (28),under the bottom (12) of the container (10) to a lower return pulley (38) positioned at the base of a vertical edge of the container (10) opposite the side where the drive pulley (28) is located, from where it bends upwards until it connects with the lower end of a tension spring (30j), which in turn is connected at the upper end with an additional cable (31j) reaching its own respective upper return pulley (32j) to continue in a nearly horizontal direction until it is anchored to said protruding pin (23a) of the first sealing bar (21a).
4. The apparatus according to claim 2, further characterized in that said first sequence of cables and tension springs of the kinematic connection for opening the bars comprises, in correspondence with the aforementioned vertical edge of the container (10) where the drive pulley (28) is located, a tension spring (33) anchored with its lower end to said fixed anchor point (34) and connected at its upper end to a cable (35) reaching a second upper return pulley (36) and then anchored to said protruding pin (23a) of the first sealing bar (21a), and in that said second sequence of cables and tension springs of the kinematic connection for opening the bars comprises, on said opposite edge of the container (10),a tension spring (33') anchored with its lower end to the respective fixed anchor point (34') and connected at the upper end with a cable (35') that reaches its own respective upper return pulley (36j) and then continues to said protruding pin (23b) of the second sealing bar (21b)., 5. The apparatus according to claim 1, further characterized in that the shaft (27) driven by the motor (26) is provided at both ends with drive pulleys (28) and a respective kinematic connection (29, 29', 30, 30', 31, 31j) for closing the sealing bars and a respective kinematic connection (33, 33', 35, 35j) for opening the sealing bars are associated with each pulley (28).
6. The apparatus according to claim 2, further characterized in that each sequence (29, 30, 31, or 29', 30', 31') of cables and tension springs of the kinematic connection for closing the bars is separated by a dividing wall (37, 37j) from the sequence (33, 35 or 33', 35j) of cables and tension springs of the kinematic connection for opening the bars, which are located on the same vertical edge of the container (10).
7. The apparatus according to claim 2, further characterized in that an additional pin (24a, 24b) is present at each end of the sealing bars (21a, 21b), which are slidably inserted into the respective slotted guide (22a, 22b).
8. The apparatus according to claim 7, further characterized in that the slotted guides (22a, 22b) are formed as open slots in the thickness of a sheet (25) accommodated at each of the upper ends of the container (10) extending parallel to the direction of movement of the sealing bars (21a, 21b), at least the first pins (23a, 23b) extending from the respective guide (22a, 22b) towards the ends of the container (10).
9. The apparatus according to claim 2, further characterized in that the ends of the slotted guides (22a, 22b) closest to the lateral sides of the container (10) are curved downwards, to allow an inclined arrangement of the sealing bars (21a, 21b) when in the fully open position.
10. The apparatus according to claim 1, further characterized in that the pressure element (20) has a thickness, in the approach / removal direction of the sealing bars (21a, 21b), which is much smaller than its other dimensions, preferably between 5 mm and 20 mm, said thickness being able to identify a position of “almost closed bars” for the sealing bars (21a, 21b), when the pressure element (20) is partially inserted into the container (10) through the opening (14).
11. The apparatus according to claim 1, further characterized in that the means (19) for controlled lowering and raising of the plate (16) consist of a compression spring.
12. The apparatus according to claim 1, further characterized in that it comprises sensors (39, 40) for detecting the position of the sealing bars (21a, 21b), in particular the positions of “open bars” and “bars almost closed”.
13. The apparatus according to claim 12, further characterized in that said position sensors (39, 40) are arranged in vertical separation, on one side of the container (10) and can cooperate with a slider (41) movable integrally with the sealing bars.
14. The apparatus according to claim 1, further characterized in that the springs (30, 30j) of the kinematic connection for closing the sealing bars (21a, 21b) have a greater elastic force than the springs (33, 33') of the kinematic connection for opening the bars.