Bag discharger arrangement

Abstract

The present invention relates to a bag discharger arrangement (1) for discharging bags (2) with powder or granulate material is provided. The bag discharger arrangement comprise a bag receiving platform (30), a yoke (20) configured to grasp a bag at the bag receiving platform, and a material receiving funnel (40). The yoke (20) is configured to transport the bag from the bag receiving platform in a substantially horizontal direction to the material receiving funnel (40) such that the bag can be discharged into the material receiving funnel. The bag receiving platform (30) and a top side edge (46) of the material receiving funnel on a side facing towards the bag receiving platform are located at heights a short distance from each other.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a bag discharger arrangement.Background

[0002] Powder and granulate materials are normally deliver in big bags, with a volume of up to 2 cubic meters. For discharging such big bags, discharger arrangements are needed, in which the bags are moved from a storage or delivery location to a location where they are picked up for discharging, and discharged, typically into a funnel, by being opened at a bottom side of the bag.

[0003] In presently known discharger arrangements, a bag is picked up by a yoke, lifted and moved to the top of the funnel, and discharged therein. In an automated process, the frequency of the bag discharging may be crucial to have an efficient process. Sometimes a double setup of discharger arrangements may be needed in order to provide the desired flow of material to the subsequent process. Known automatic discharger arrangements have low capacity.

[0004] Consequently, there is a need for a more efficient process that enable a single bag discharger arrangement to discharge more material per hour.Summary

[0005] It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved solution that alleviates the mentioned drawbacks with present devices. Furthermore, it is an object to provide bag discharger arrangement which may provide an efficient bag discharging process.

[0006] The invention is defined by the appended independent claims, with embodiments being set forth in the appended dependent claims, in the following description and in the drawings.

[0007] According to a first aspect of the invention a bag discharger arrangement for discharging bags with powder or granulate material is provided. The bag discharger arrangement comprise a bag receiving platform, a yoke configured to grasp a bag at the bag receiving platform, and a material receiving funnel. The yoke is configured to transport the bag from the bag receiving platform in a substantially horizontal direction to the material receiving funnel such that the bag can be discharged into the material receiving funnel. The bag receiving platform and a top side edge of the material receiving funnel on a side facing towards the bag receiving platform are located at heights a short distance from each other.

[0008] The yoke may be configured to grasp a bag and move it to the material receiving funnel. By having the bag receiving platform and a top open edge of the material receiving funnel at heights only differing a short distance, the movement of the bag from the bag receiving platform to the material receiving funnel may be easy and efficient. The top edge of the material receiving funnel may be located a short distance higher or lower than the bag receiving platform. If the top edge of the material receiving funnel is located a short distance higher than the bag receiving platform, the yoke may be configured to move the grasped bag a corresponding distance vertically upwards before the bag reaches the material receiving funnel. With mainly a horizontal movement of the bag by the yoke, less movement of the yoke not involving movement of a bag may be necessary, thereby saving time in the bag discharging process. The bag may for instance not need to be moved vertically a distance corresponding to the complete height of the material receiving funnel.

[0009] The bag receiving platform may be a location where a bag is positioned for the yoke to grasp it and transport to the material receiving funnel. The bag receiving platform may in some embodiments include a pallet on which the bag is placed. Each bag may be placed and received on a respective pallet. The height location of the bag receiving platform may thereby be the height location of the pallet.

[0010] The top side edge of the material receiving funnel may be at a side of the material receiving funnel facing towards the bag receiving platform, and over which top side edge the bag may pass when being transported to the material receiving funnel by the yoke.

[0011] By short distance, it may be meant a distance that is short in comparison to e.g. the height of a bag or the height of the material receiving funnel, or the height of the yoke. In some embodiments, the bag receiving platform and the top side edge of the material receiving funnel may be at substantially equal height, making the difference in height location substantially zero.

[0012] The bag receiving platform and the top side edge of the material receiving funnel may be located at heights within 30 cm from each other, or in some embodiments within 20 cm from each other. The distance in heights may thereby be 30 cm or less. The yoke may be configured to move up to 30 cm in the vertical direction in connection to transporting the bag from the bag receiving platform to the material receiving funnel. Such short vertical movement compared to arrangements requiring vertical movement of the yoke corresponding to e.g. the height of the bag may provide a more time efficient discharging process since less time may be needed for vertical movement of the yoke and the bag.

[0013] The bag receiving platform may be located on a height-adjustable arrangement which may be configured to provide the bag receiving platform to be moveable between a lower position and an upper position. At the lower position the bag receiving platform may be configured to receive a bag. When the bag receiving platform is at the upper position the yoke may be configured to grasp the bag.

[0014] The bag receiving platform may, at the upper position, be configured to provide a small or no difference in height relative to the top side edge of the material receiving funnel. From the bag receiving platform in the upper position, the yoke may thereby transport the bag mainly in a horizontal direction, and with only a vertical movement of up to a short distance. By having the height-adjustable arrangement, the bags arriving to the bag discharger arrangement may not all need to be at a vertical level corresponding to the upper position. During transport of a bag by the yoke from the bag receiving platform in the upper position towards the material receiving funnel, and movement back of the yoke, the height-adjustable arrangement may move the bag receiving platform to the lower position, receive a subsequent bag when in the lower position, and thereafter raise the bag receiving platform and the subsequent bag to the upper position, at which it may be grasped by the yoke. The time may thereby more efficiently be used since the vertical movement of a bag during movement of the bag receiving platform to the upper position may be performed at the same time as the yoke transports a previous bag to the material receiving funnel. When the yoke has grasped a bag at the bag receiving platform, the height-adjustable arrangement may move at least slightly downward, which may enable the yoke to transport the bag only in the horizontal direction from the bag receiving platform without interference with the bag receiving platform. Before moving downward, the bag receiving platform may be at substantially the same height, or higher, than the top side edge of the material receiving funnel.

[0015] The bag discharger arrangement may further comprise a conveyor configured to receive a plurality of bags. The bags may, one at a time, be transported by the conveyor to the bag receiving platform at the lower position. As soon as the empty bag receiving platform reaches the lower position, a bag from the conveyor may be moved thereon. The conveyor may be a belt conveyor, a roller conveyor or the like.

[0016] The yoke may comprise two grasping arms configured to grasp the bag on opposing sides of the bag. The grasping arms may be arranged such that the yoke can be moved to a position where it is configured to grasp the bag at the bag receiving platform by a substantially horizontal movement.

[0017] The two grasping arms may be movable towards and away from each other. When being moved towards each other, a bag may be grasped between them. The grasping arms may be formed as a partial surrounding of a bag. The grasping arms may extend along respective portions of the circumference of a bag to be grasped, said portions not covering the whole circumference of the bag. There may an open distance between the two grasping arms along the circumference of the bag to be grasped. When a bag is placed at the bag receiving platform, the yoke may be moved along a horizontal direction into position to grasp the bag. The bag may pass through said open distance between the grasping arms.

[0018] The grasping arms may be configured to be moved between a grasping position in which they are configured to grasp a bag, and an open position in which they are configured to release a bag. The grasping arms may further be configured to be in the open position when the yoke moves to the bag receiving platform for grasping a bag. When moving to the grasping position, the grasping arms may be configured to be moved towards each other. A bag may then be grasped or clamped between the two grasping arms. When in the open position, the open distance between the two grasping arms may be longer than the width of a bag intended to be grasped and discharged. The yoke may thereby move sideways or horizontally into a position wherein the grasping arms may grasp the bag. When in the grasping position, the grasping arms may be in contact with the bag on opposing sides of the bag, covering less than 80% of the circumference of the bag, or less than 70%, or less than 60%. The grasping arms may, in the grasping position, cover at least 50% of the circumference of the bag.

[0019] The movement of the grasping arms towards each other or away from each other may be along a direction substantially perpendicular to the horizontal direction along which the yoke is configured to transport the bag to the material receiving funnel. The moving direction of the grasping arms may also be perpendicular to the vertical direction along which the yoke may move the bag up to 20 cm.

[0020] The yoke may comprise a body frame to which the grasping arms may be rotatably attached. When moving between the open position and the grasping position, the grasping arms may rotate around a respective rotation axis on the body frame. The movement of the grasping arms may be provided by driving means arranged on the body frame and coupled to both the body frame and the grasping arms. The driving means for the grasping arms may be hydraulically, pneumatically or electrical motor driven. The body frame may be adapted to be located above a bag when the yoke is configured to grasp a bag at the bag receiving platform. The grasping arms may extend downward from the body frame. The driving means may be arranged at an upper side of the body frame. The grasping portion of the grasping arms may extend downward from the body frame, and end portions of the two grasping arms may extend to the upper side of the body frame. Said end portions may be attached to the driving means. The grasping arms may be rotatably attached to the body frame at a location between the end portion and the grasping portion.

[0021] The yoke may be configured to move the bag up to a short distance vertically after grasping the bag and before the bag reaches the material receiving funnel. The yoke may be configured to move the grasped bag vertically by moving a portion of the grasping arms relative to the rest of the grasping arms, by moving the grasping arms relative to the body frame of the yoke, or by moving the body frame with the grasping arms relative to a support frame of the yoke and / or relative to a support structure of the bag discharger arrangement.

[0022] The vertical movement of the bag may be provided by lifting means on the yoke, which lifting means may be hydraulic, pneumatic or driven by an electric motor. The lifting means may comprise one or more actuators configured to move the body frame and / or the grasping arms vertically relative to the support frame. The actuators, such as hydraulic actuators, may provide a rigid movement of the grasping arms, and thereby the grasped bag, in the vertical direction. The control of the movement of the bag in both vertical and horizontal directions may thereby be improved compared to if the yoke comprises an e.g. wire or chain suspended frame.

[0023] The yoke may comprise one or more, such as two, stabilizing structures between the support frame and the body frame. The stabilizing structure may be configured to enable the vertical movement of the body frame relative to the support frame, and at the same time limit the movement of the same in the horizontal direction. This may provide a stable connection between the body frame and the support frame. When the bag is transported in the horizontal direction to the material receiving funnel, there may be horizontal forces acting on the bag. During transport, and / or at stop at the material receiving funnel, the grasping arms and the bag may without a stabilizing structure oscillate. Before the bag can be discharged by means of knives or other bag opening means in the material receiving funnel, the yoke may need to wait for the oscillation to stop. By preventing such movement to be induced, there may be time saved in the discharging process. The stabilizing structure may for instance comprise a telescopic tube arrangement, a scissor lift arrangement or the like.

[0024] The bag discharger arrangement may comprise a support structure which may, in part, be configured to support the yoke and enable the horizontal movement of the yoke. The bag discharger arrangement may further comprise a driving arrangement comprising an electric motor and configured to provide the horizontal movement of the yoke. The driving arrangement may control the movement of the yoke along the support structure between a position at the bag receiving platform and a position at the material receiving funnel.

[0025] The bag discharger arrangement may further comprise a bag retrieving unit configured to receive empty bags after they have been discharged at the material receiving funnel. The bag retrieving unit may be located between the bag receiving platform and the material receiving funnel. This may further improve the time efficiency in the bag discharging process, and further avoid dust to escape from the arrangement. When the bag is discharged at the material receiving funnel, the material may dust. It is preferable to keep the dust from reaching too much outside of the bag discharger arrangement. There may be shields arranged around the material receiving funnel and the bag retrieving unit, preventing dust to spread besides in the direction along which the yoke is moving. However, at the bag receiving platform, there may be a need to keep it unshielded in several directions e.g. to enable bags to be moved to the bag receiving platform. To keep the dust generated at the material receiving funnel as far away as possible from the additional openings at the bag receiving platform, and to keep the time efficient movements of the yoke and bags, the bag retrieving unit may be arranged in between the bag receiving platform and the material receiving funnel. The shields may be arranged on a support structure of the bag discharger arrangement. The shields may be plastic or metal sheets.

[0026] The material receiving funnel may comprise a bag opening means for opening a bag transported to the material receiving funnel to be discharged into the funnel. The bag opening means may be configured to open a bag by means of knives, heat members, a rotating member (e.g. blade) or the like. When the yoke has transported the bag to the material receiving funnel, the yoke may move the bag downward in the vertical direction such that the bag opening means may operate on a bottom of the bag. The vertical movement of the bag towards the bag opening means may be between 10-50 cm, between 10-40 cm or between 20-30 cm. The vertical movement of the yoke and the bag towards the bag opening means may be provided by the lifting means providing vertical movement between the body frame and the support frame. The stabilizing structure may provide a stable vertical movement.

[0027] In some embodiments, vertical movement of the bag by means of the yoke may only be made at the material receiving funnel to move the bag towards the bag opening means. This may be the case if for instance the bag receiving platform and the top side edge of the material receiving funnel are at the substantially same height, making no vertical movement necessary for the bag to be transported to the material receiving funnel, and / or the bag receiving platform comprising a height-adjustable arrangement enabling the bag receiving platform to be lowered after the yoke has grasped the bag.Brief Description of the Drawings

[0028] The invention will in the following be described in more detail with reference to the enclosed drawings, wherein: Fig. 1 shows a perspective view of a bag discharger arrangement according to an embodiment of the invention. Fig. 2 shows a perspective view of a bag discharger arrangement according to an embodiment of the invention. Fig. 3 shows a perspective view of a bag discharger arrangement according to an embodiment of the invention. Fig. 4 shows a perspective view of a bag discharger arrangement according to an embodiment of the invention. Fig. 5 shows a side view of a bag discharger arrangement according to an embodiment of the invention. Fig. 6 shows a top view of a bag discharger arrangement according to an embodiment of the invention. Fig. 7 shows a perspective view of a bag discharger arrangement according to an embodiment of the invention. Fig. 8 shows a perspective view of a yoke according to an embodiment of the invention. Fig. 9 shows a perspective view of a yoke according to an embodiment of the invention. Fig. 10 shows a side view of a yoke according to an embodiment of the invention. Description of Embodiments

[0029] The present invention will be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which preferred embodiments of the invention are shown. This invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art. In the drawings, like numbers refer to like elements.

[0030] Figs. 1-7 illustrate a bag discharger arrangement 1 according to an embodiment. The bag discharger arrangement 1 comprises a support structure 10 configured to support a yoke 20. The yoke 20 is moveable along a horizontal direction H1 on the support structure 10. The movement of the yoke 20 in the horizontal direction H1 may be provided by an electric motor 12. The yoke 20 may comprise a support frame 29 slidably arranged on the support structure 10.

[0031] The bag discharger arrangement 1 further comprises a material receiving funnel 40. The material receiving funnel 40 comprises a bag opening means 42 for opening a bag 2 transported to the material receiving funnel 40 to be discharged into the funnel. The bag opening means 42 may be configured to open a bag 2 by means of knives, heat members, rotating blade or the like.

[0032] The bag discharger arrangement 1 further comprises a bag receiving platform 30 configured to receive a bag 2 to be discharged at the material receiving funnel 40. The yoke 20 is configured to grasp the bag 2 at the bag receiving platform 30, and transport the bag 2 to the material receiving funnel 40 in a horizontal movement along the horizontal direction H1. The bag receiving platform 30 may be arranged on a height-adjustable arrangement 32 configured to move the bag receiving platform 30 between a lower position and an upper position. At the lower position, the bag receiving platform 30 may be configured to receive a bag 2. The bag 2 may be received from a conveyor 60. Each bag 2 may be placed on a pallet. At the upper position of the bag receiving platform 30, the bag 2 may be grasped by the yoke 20 for transportation to the material receiving funnel 40.

[0033] The conveyor 60 is illustrated as a roller conveyor. The conveyor may alternatively be a transport band or similar. The conveyor 60 may be arranged to feed bags 2 to the bag receiving platform 30 at a height corresponding to the lower position of the bag receiving platform 30. After a bag 2 is received by the bag receiving platform 30 at the lower position from the conveyor 60, the height-adjustable arrangement 32 may raise the bag receiving platform 30 to the upper position.

[0034] As further seen in fig. 3, the material receiving funnel 40 comprises a top side edge 44 facing in the horizontal direction towards the bag receiving platform 30. The top side edge 44 may be located at a distance D1 in a vertical direction V1 from the bag receiving platform 30 when the bag receiving platform 30 is in the upper position. The distance D1 is 20 cm or less. Put differently, the bag receiving platform 30 may extend in a first horizontal plane, and the top side edge 44 of the material receiving funnel 40 may be located in a second horizontal plane. The two horizontal planes may be at the distance D1 from each other.

[0035] Following the distance D1, the yoke 20 is configured to move the bag 2 up to 20 cm along the vertical direction V1 after having grasped the bag 2. The vertical movement may be provided before the horizontal transportation along the horizontal direction H1, or during the horizontal transportation.

[0036] The material receiving funnel 40 may be rectangular or square shaped having four sides. The side facing towards the bag receiving platform 30 may constitute the top side edge 44. The remaining three sides may have additional side walls 46 extending higher in the vertical direction than the top side edge 44. Put differently, the material receiving funnel 40 may have vertical side walls 46 on all sides besides the side facing towards the bag receiving platform 30. The side walls 46 may be configured to prevent material to be discharged from a bag 2 from ending up outside the material receiving funnel 40.

[0037] As further seen in the illustrated embodiments in figs. 1-7, the bag discharger arrangement 1 may comprise a bag retrieving unit 50. The bag retrieving unit 50 is configured to take care of bags 2 that have been discharged at the material receiving funnel 40. The bag retrieving unit 50 may comprises a compacting function for compacting the emptied bags, such as a screw compactor or a press compactor.

[0038] The bag receiving platform 30, the material receiving funnel 40 and the bag retrieving unit 50 may be arranged along a line. This line may coincide with the horizontal direction H1. The bag retrieving unit 50 may be arranged between the material receiving funnel 40 and the bag receiving platform 30. The three units may be arranged directly next to each other.

[0039] When material from the bags 2 is discharged at the material receiving funnel 40, there may be a large amount of dust from the material. To prevent dust to reach too far in the facility where the bag discharger arrangement 1 is located, there may be shields (not shown) arranged to the support structure 10. The shields may be provided as e.g. plastic or metal sheets arranged between the vertical poles of the support structure 10. At the material receiving funnel 40, shields may be arranged on three sides of the material receiving funnel 40, leaving the side facing the bag receiving platform 30 open. At the bag retrieving unit 50 there may be shields provided at two sides of the unit, leaving the sides towards the material receiving funnel 40 and the bag receiving platform 30 open.

[0040] At the bag receiving platform 30 some sides cannot be closed by a shield. This relates to the side in the horizontal direction H1 along which the bags 2 are intended to be transported by the yoke 20, and the side from which bags 2 are received to the bag receiving platform, e.g. by the conveyor 60. In the illustrated embodiment, the bags 2 are arranged on pallets when being received at the bag receiving platform 30. When the yoke 20 has grasped the bag 2 and transported it, the pallet may be taken care of at a pallet unit 70. In such case, the side towards the pallet unit 70 at least partly needs to be open as well. For these reasons, there may be less shielding at the bag receiving platform 30. In order to avoid dust generated at the material receiving funnel 40 to escape at the bag receiving platform 30 having open sides, the material receiving funnel 40 may located the furthest away from the bag receiving platform 30 by arranging the bag retrieving unit 50 between the material receiving funnel 40 and the bag receiving platform 30. A further advantage with this arrangement may be that there may be less movement needed for the yoke 20 after discharging a bag 2 at the material receiving funnel 40.

[0041] Fig. 7 illustrates the yoke 20 having transported a bag 2 to the material receiving funnel 40 discharging of the bag 2. During the time the yoke 20 has transported the bag 2 along horizontal direction H1 to the material receiving funnel 40, a new bag 2 is received at the bag receiving platform 30.

[0042] Figs. 8-10 illustrate and embodiment of the yoke 20. The yoke 20 comprises a body frame 24 to which two grasping arms 22 are arranged. The yoke 20 further comprises a support frame 29 configured to be arranged to the support structure 10. The support frame 29 is configured to move along the support structure 10 in the horizontal direction H1 to move the yoke 20. The body frame 24 may be suspended to the support frame 29 by means of hydraulic actuators 28. The hydraulic actuators 28 may be configured to provide a vertical movement of the grasping arms 22.

[0043] Between the support frame 29 and the body frame 24 there may further be arranged one or more stabilizing structures 28a. In the illustrated embodiment there are two stabilizing structures 28a provided in the form of telescopic tubes. The stabilizing structures 28a may provide a stabilization sideways, i.e. in the horizontal direction H1, while enabling vertical movement of the body frame 24 relative to the support frame, provided by the lifting means 28.

[0044] As seen in fig. 10, the grasping arms 22 are rotatably arranged to the body frame 24. By means of hydraulic actuators 26, the grasping arms may be rotatable around a rotational axis 27 on the body frame 24. The movement of the grasping arms 22 may move the two grasping arms 22 towards or away from each other along a direction H2, which may be a substantially horizontal direction.

[0045] The grasping arms 22 may each comprise one or two arm rods 21 and one or more grasping blades 23. The grasping blades 23 may be formed to conform to the shape of a bag 2 to be grasped, to improve the grasping function.

[0046] The two grasping arms 22 are arranged such that they are configured to be on opposite sides of the circumference a bag 2 to be grasped. In at least one direction of the circumference of a bag 2 to be grasped, there may be no grasping arm 22 provided, enabling the yoke to move sideways, i.e. along the horizontal direction H1, to a position where a bag 2 may be grasped. When the two grasping arms 22 are moved away from each other along direction H2, the distance between them may be larger than the width of a bag 2 to be grasped. The grasping arms may be moved to such open position during movement of the yoke 20 from the material receiving funnel 40 towards the bag receiving platform 30. When reaching the bag receiving platform 30, a new bag 2 may be grasped by moving the grasping arms 22 towards a grasping position, towards each other. A small movement of the grasping arms 22 relative to each other along horizontal direction H2 may be performed during discharging of the bag at the material receiving funnel 40, in order to provide all material in the bag 2 to be discharged.

[0047] As illustrated in fig. 9, the grasping arms 22 may be provided with grasping hooks 25, e.g. on the grasping blades 23. The grasping hooks 25 may improve the grasping function of a bag 2. The grasping hooks 25 may further provide that the bag 2, after being discharged at the material receiving funnel 40, maintains hanging on the grasping arms 22. At the bag retrieving unit 50, the grasping arms 22 may be moved away from each other along horizontal direction H2 thereby causing the bag 2 to be released from the grasping hooks 25 and fall into the bag retrieving unit 50.

[0048] In the drawings and specification, there have been disclosed preferred embodiments and examples of the invention and, although specific terms are employed, they are used in a generic and descriptive sense only and not for the purpose of limitation, the scope of the invention being set forth in the following claims.

Examples

Embodiment Construction

[0029]The present invention will be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which preferred embodiments of the invention are shown. This invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art. In the drawings, like numbers refer to like elements.

[0030]Figs. 1-7 illustrate a bag discharger arrangement 1 according to an embodiment. The bag discharger arrangement 1 comprises a support structure 10 configured to support a yoke 20. The yoke 20 is moveable along a horizontal direction H1 on the support structure 10. The movement of the yoke 20 in the horizontal direction H1 may be provided by an electric motor 12. The yoke 20 may comprise a support frame 29 slidably arranged on the support structure 1...

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a bag discharger arrangement.Background

[0002] Powder and granulate materials are normally deliver in big bags, with a volume of up to 2 cubic meters. For discharging such big bags, discharger arrangements are needed, in which the bags are moved from a storage or delivery location to a location where they are picked up for discharging, and discharged, typically into a funnel, by being opened at a bottom side of the bag.

[0003] In presently known discharger arrangements, a bag is picked up by a yoke, lifted and moved to the top of the funnel, and discharged therein. In an automated process, the frequency of the bag discharging may be crucial to have an efficient process. Sometimes a double setup of discharger arrangements may be needed in order to provide the desired flow of material to the subsequent process. Known automatic discharger arrangements have low capacity.

[0004] Consequently, there is a need for a more efficient process that enable a single bag discharger arrangement to discharge more material per hour.Summary

[0005] It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved solution that alleviates the mentioned drawbacks with present devices. Furthermore, it is an object to provide bag discharger arrangement which may provide an efficient bag discharging process.

[0006] The invention is defined by the appended independent claims, with embodiments being set forth in the appended dependent claims, in the following description and in the drawings.

[0007] According to a first aspect of the invention a bag discharger arrangement for discharging bags with powder or granulate material is provided. The bag discharger arrangement comprise a bag receiving platform, a yoke configured to grasp a bag at the bag receiving platform, and a material receiving funnel. The yoke is configured to transport the bag from the bag receiving platform in a substantially horizontal direction to the material receiving funnel such that the bag can be discharged into the material receiving funnel. The bag receiving platform and a top side edge of the material receiving funnel on a side facing towards the bag receiving platform are located at heights a short distance from each other.

[0008] The yoke may be configured to grasp a bag and move it to the material receiving funnel. By having the bag receiving platform and a top open edge of the material receiving funnel at heights only differing a short distance, the movement of the bag from the bag receiving platform to the material receiving funnel may be easy and efficient. The top edge of the material receiving funnel may be located a short distance higher or lower than the bag receiving platform. If the top edge of the material receiving funnel is located a short distance higher than the bag receiving platform, the yoke may be configured to move the grasped bag a corresponding distance vertically upwards before the bag reaches the material receiving funnel. With mainly a horizontal movement of the bag by the yoke, less movement of the yoke not involving movement of a bag may be necessary, thereby saving time in the bag discharging process. The bag may for instance not need to be moved vertically a distance corresponding to the complete height of the material receiving funnel.

[0009] The bag receiving platform may be a location where a bag is positioned for the yoke to grasp it and transport to the material receiving funnel. The bag receiving platform may in some embodiments include a pallet on which the bag is placed. Each bag may be placed and received on a respective pallet. The height location of the bag receiving platform may thereby be the height location of the pallet.

[0010] The top side edge of the material receiving funnel may be at a side of the material receiving funnel facing towards the bag receiving platform, and over which top side edge the bag may pass when being transported to the material receiving funnel by the yoke.

[0011] By short distance, it may be meant a distance that is short in comparison to e.g. the height of a bag or the height of the material receiving funnel, or the height of the yoke. In some embodiments, the bag receiving platform and the top side edge of the material receiving funnel may be at substantially equal height, making the difference in height location substantially zero.

[0012] The bag receiving platform and the top side edge of the material receiving funnel may be located at heights within 30 cm from each other, or in some embodiments within 20 cm from each other. The distance in heights may thereby be 30 cm or less. The yoke may be configured to move up to 30 cm in the vertical direction in connection to transporting the bag from the bag receiving platform to the material receiving funnel. Such short vertical movement compared to arrangements requiring vertical movement of the yoke corresponding to e.g. the height of the bag may provide a more time efficient discharging process since less time may be needed for vertical movement of the yoke and the bag.

[0013] The bag receiving platform may be located on a height-adjustable arrangement which may be configured to provide the bag receiving platform to be moveable between a lower position and an upper position. At the lower position the bag receiving platform may be configured to receive a bag. When the bag receiving platform is at the upper position the yoke may be configured to grasp the bag.

[0014] The bag receiving platform may, at the upper position, be configured to provide a small or no difference in height relative to the top side edge of the material receiving funnel. From the bag receiving platform in the upper position, the yoke may thereby transport the bag mainly in a horizontal direction, and with only a vertical movement of up to a short distance. By having the height-adjustable arrangement, the bags arriving to the bag discharger arrangement may not all need to be at a vertical level corresponding to the upper position. During transport of a bag by the yoke from the bag receiving platform in the upper position towards the material receiving funnel, and movement back of the yoke, the height-adjustable arrangement may move the bag receiving platform to the lower position, receive a subsequent bag when in the lower position, and thereafter raise the bag receiving platform and the subsequent bag to the upper position, at which it may be grasped by the yoke. The time may thereby more efficiently be used since the vertical movement of a bag during movement of the bag receiving platform to the upper position may be performed at the same time as the yoke transports a previous bag to the material receiving funnel. When the yoke has grasped a bag at the bag receiving platform, the height-adjustable arrangement may move at least slightly downward, which may enable the yoke to transport the bag only in the horizontal direction from the bag receiving platform without interference with the bag receiving platform. Before moving downward, the bag receiving platform may be at substantially the same height, or higher, than the top side edge of the material receiving funnel.

[0015] The bag discharger arrangement may further comprise a conveyor configured to receive a plurality of bags. The bags may, one at a time, be transported by the conveyor to the bag receiving platform at the lower position. As soon as the empty bag receiving platform reaches the lower position, a bag from the conveyor may be moved thereon. The conveyor may be a belt conveyor, a roller conveyor or the like.

[0016] The yoke may comprise two grasping arms configured to grasp the bag on opposing sides of the bag. The grasping arms may be arranged such that the yoke can be moved to a position where it is configured to grasp the bag at the bag receiving platform by a substantially horizontal movement.

[0017] The two grasping arms may be movable towards and away from each other. When being moved towards each other, a bag may be grasped between them. The grasping arms may be formed as a partial surrounding of a bag. The grasping arms may extend along respective portions of the circumference of a bag to be grasped, said portions not covering the whole circumference of the bag. There may an open distance between the two grasping arms along the circumference of the bag to be grasped. When a bag is placed at the bag receiving platform, the yoke may be moved along a horizontal direction into position to grasp the bag. The bag may pass through said open distance between the grasping arms.

[0018] The grasping arms may be configured to be moved between a grasping position in which they are configured to grasp a bag, and an open position in which they are configured to release a bag. The grasping arms may further be configured to be in the open position when the yoke moves to the bag receiving platform for grasping a bag. When moving to the grasping position, the grasping arms may be configured to be moved towards each other. A bag may then be grasped or clamped between the two grasping arms. When in the open position, the open distance between the two grasping arms may be longer than the width of a bag intended to be grasped and discharged. The yoke may thereby move sideways or horizontally into a position wherein the grasping arms may grasp the bag. When in the grasping position, the grasping arms may be in contact with the bag on opposing sides of the bag, covering less than 80% of the circumference of the bag, or less than 70%, or less than 60%. The grasping arms may, in the grasping position, cover at least 50% of the circumference of the bag.

[0019] The movement of the grasping arms towards each other or away from each other may be along a direction substantially perpendicular to the horizontal direction along which the yoke is configured to transport the bag to the material receiving funnel. The moving direction of the grasping arms may also be perpendicular to the vertical direction along which the yoke may move the bag up to 20 cm.

[0020] The yoke may comprise a body frame to which the grasping arms may be rotatably attached. When moving between the open position and the grasping position, the grasping arms may rotate around a respective rotation axis on the body frame. The movement of the grasping arms may be provided by driving means arranged on the body frame and coupled to both the body frame and the grasping arms. The driving means for the grasping arms may be hydraulically, pneumatically or electrical motor driven. The body frame may be adapted to be located above a bag when the yoke is configured to grasp a bag at the bag receiving platform. The grasping arms may extend downward from the body frame. The driving means may be arranged at an upper side of the body frame. The grasping portion of the grasping arms may extend downward from the body frame, and end portions of the two grasping arms may extend to the upper side of the body frame. Said end portions may be attached to the driving means. The grasping arms may be rotatably attached to the body frame at a location between the end portion and the grasping portion.

[0021] The yoke may be configured to move the bag up to a short distance vertically after grasping the bag and before the bag reaches the material receiving funnel. The yoke may be configured to move the grasped bag vertically by moving a portion of the grasping arms relative to the rest of the grasping arms, by moving the grasping arms relative to the body frame of the yoke, or by moving the body frame with the grasping arms relative to a support frame of the yoke and / or relative to a support structure of the bag discharger arrangement.

[0022] The vertical movement of the bag may be provided by lifting means on the yoke, which lifting means may be hydraulic, pneumatic or driven by an electric motor. The lifting means may comprise one or more actuators configured to move the body frame and / or the grasping arms vertically relative to the support frame. The actuators, such as hydraulic actuators, may provide a rigid movement of the grasping arms, and thereby the grasped bag, in the vertical direction. The control of the movement of the bag in both vertical and horizontal directions may thereby be improved compared to if the yoke comprises an e.g. wire or chain suspended frame.

[0023] The yoke may comprise one or more, such as two, stabilizing structures between the support frame and the body frame. The stabilizing structure may be configured to enable the vertical movement of the body frame relative to the support frame, and at the same time limit the movement of the same in the horizontal direction. This may provide a stable connection between the body frame and the support frame. When the bag is transported in the horizontal direction to the material receiving funnel, there may be horizontal forces acting on the bag. During transport, and / or at stop at the material receiving funnel, the grasping arms and the bag may without a stabilizing structure oscillate. Before the bag can be discharged by means of knives or other bag opening means in the material receiving funnel, the yoke may need to wait for the oscillation to stop. By preventing such movement to be induced, there may be time saved in the discharging process. The stabilizing structure may for instance comprise a telescopic tube arrangement, a scissor lift arrangement or the like.

[0024] The bag discharger arrangement may comprise a support structure which may, in part, be configured to support the yoke and enable the horizontal movement of the yoke. The bag discharger arrangement may further comprise a driving arrangement comprising an electric motor and configured to provide the horizontal movement of the yoke. The driving arrangement may control the movement of the yoke along the support structure between a position at the bag receiving platform and a position at the material receiving funnel.

[0025] The bag discharger arrangement may further comprise a bag retrieving unit configured to receive empty bags after they have been discharged at the material receiving funnel. The bag retrieving unit may be located between the bag receiving platform and the material receiving funnel. This may further improve the time efficiency in the bag discharging process, and further avoid dust to escape from the arrangement. When the bag is discharged at the material receiving funnel, the material may dust. It is preferable to keep the dust from reaching too much outside of the bag discharger arrangement. There may be shields arranged around the material receiving funnel and the bag retrieving unit, preventing dust to spread besides in the direction along which the yoke is moving. However, at the bag receiving platform, there may be a need to keep it unshielded in several directions e.g. to enable bags to be moved to the bag receiving platform. To keep the dust generated at the material receiving funnel as far away as possible from the additional openings at the bag receiving platform, and to keep the time efficient movements of the yoke and bags, the bag retrieving unit may be arranged in between the bag receiving platform and the material receiving funnel. The shields may be arranged on a support structure of the bag discharger arrangement. The shields may be plastic or metal sheets.

[0026] The material receiving funnel may comprise a bag opening means for opening a bag transported to the material receiving funnel to be discharged into the funnel. The bag opening means may be configured to open a bag by means of knives, heat members, a rotating member (e.g. blade) or the like. When the yoke has transported the bag to the material receiving funnel, the yoke may move the bag downward in the vertical direction such that the bag opening means may operate on a bottom of the bag. The vertical movement of the bag towards the bag opening means may be between 10-50 cm, between 10-40 cm or between 20-30 cm. The vertical movement of the yoke and the bag towards the bag opening means may be provided by the lifting means providing vertical movement between the body frame and the support frame. The stabilizing structure may provide a stable vertical movement.

[0027] In some embodiments, vertical movement of the bag by means of the yoke may only be made at the material receiving funnel to move the bag towards the bag opening means. This may be the case if for instance the bag receiving platform and the top side edge of the material receiving funnel are at the substantially same height, making no vertical movement necessary for the bag to be transported to the material receiving funnel, and / or the bag receiving platform comprising a height-adjustable arrangement enabling the bag receiving platform to be lowered after the yoke has grasped the bag.Brief Description of the Drawings

[0028] The invention will in the following be described in more detail with reference to the enclosed drawings, wherein: Fig. 1 shows a perspective view of a bag discharger arrangement according to an embodiment of the invention. Fig. 2 shows a perspective view of a bag discharger arrangement according to an embodiment of the invention. Fig. 3 shows a perspective view of a bag discharger arrangement according to an embodiment of the invention. Fig. 4 shows a perspective view of a bag discharger arrangement according to an embodiment of the invention. Fig. 5 shows a side view of a bag discharger arrangement according to an embodiment of the invention. Fig. 6 shows a top view of a bag discharger arrangement according to an embodiment of the invention. Fig. 7 shows a perspective view of a bag discharger arrangement according to an embodiment of the invention. Fig. 8 shows a perspective view of a yoke according to an embodiment of the invention. Fig. 9 shows a perspective view of a yoke according to an embodiment of the invention. Fig. 10 shows a side view of a yoke according to an embodiment of the invention. Description of Embodiments

[0029] The present invention will be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which preferred embodiments of the invention are shown. This invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art. In the drawings, like numbers refer to like elements.

[0030] Figs. 1-7 illustrate a bag discharger arrangement 1 according to an embodiment. The bag discharger arrangement 1 comprises a support structure 10 configured to support a yoke 20. The yoke 20 is moveable along a horizontal direction H1 on the support structure 10. The movement of the yoke 20 in the horizontal direction H1 may be provided by an electric motor 12. The yoke 20 may comprise a support frame 29 slidably arranged on the support structure 10.

[0031] The bag discharger arrangement 1 further comprises a material receiving funnel 40. The material receiving funnel 40 comprises a bag opening means 42 for opening a bag 2 transported to the material receiving funnel 40 to be discharged into the funnel. The bag opening means 42 may be configured to open a bag 2 by means of knives, heat members, rotating blade or the like.

[0032] The bag discharger arrangement 1 further comprises a bag receiving platform 30 configured to receive a bag 2 to be discharged at the material receiving funnel 40. The yoke 20 is configured to grasp the bag 2 at the bag receiving platform 30, and transport the bag 2 to the material receiving funnel 40 in a horizontal movement along the horizontal direction H1. The bag receiving platform 30 may be arranged on a height-adjustable arrangement 32 configured to move the bag receiving platform 30 between a lower position and an upper position. At the lower position, the bag receiving platform 30 may be configured to receive a bag 2. The bag 2 may be received from a conveyor 60. Each bag 2 may be placed on a pallet. At the upper position of the bag receiving platform 30, the bag 2 may be grasped by the yoke 20 for transportation to the material receiving funnel 40.

[0033] The conveyor 60 is illustrated as a roller conveyor. The conveyor may alternatively be a transport band or similar. The conveyor 60 may be arranged to feed bags 2 to the bag receiving platform 30 at a height corresponding to the lower position of the bag receiving platform 30. After a bag 2 is received by the bag receiving platform 30 at the lower position from the conveyor 60, the height-adjustable arrangement 32 may raise the bag receiving platform 30 to the upper position.

[0034] As further seen in fig. 3, the material receiving funnel 40 comprises a top side edge 44 facing in the horizontal direction towards the bag receiving platform 30. The top side edge 44 may be located at a distance D1 in a vertical direction V1 from the bag receiving platform 30 when the bag receiving platform 30 is in the upper position. The distance D1 is 20 cm or less. Put differently, the bag receiving platform 30 may extend in a first horizontal plane, and the top side edge 44 of the material receiving funnel 40 may be located in a second horizontal plane. The two horizontal planes may be at the distance D1 from each other.

[0035] Following the distance D1, the yoke 20 is configured to move the bag 2 up to 20 cm along the vertical direction V1 after having grasped the bag 2. The vertical movement may be provided before the horizontal transportation along the horizontal direction H1, or during the horizontal transportation.

[0036] The material receiving funnel 40 may be rectangular or square shaped having four sides. The side facing towards the bag receiving platform 30 may constitute the top side edge 44. The remaining three sides may have additional side walls 46 extending higher in the vertical direction than the top side edge 44. Put differently, the material receiving funnel 40 may have vertical side walls 46 on all sides besides the side facing towards the bag receiving platform 30. The side walls 46 may be configured to prevent material to be discharged from a bag 2 from ending up outside the material receiving funnel 40.

[0037] As further seen in the illustrated embodiments in figs. 1-7, the bag discharger arrangement 1 may comprise a bag retrieving unit 50. The bag retrieving unit 50 is configured to take care of bags 2 that have been discharged at the material receiving funnel 40. The bag retrieving unit 50 may comprises a compacting function for compacting the emptied bags, such as a screw compactor or a press compactor.

[0038] The bag receiving platform 30, the material receiving funnel 40 and the bag retrieving unit 50 may be arranged along a line. This line may coincide with the horizontal direction H1. The bag retrieving unit 50 may be arranged between the material receiving funnel 40 and the bag receiving platform 30. The three units may be arranged directly next to each other.

[0039] When material from the bags 2 is discharged at the material receiving funnel 40, there may be a large amount of dust from the material. To prevent dust to reach too far in the facility where the bag discharger arrangement 1 is located, there may be shields (not shown) arranged to the support structure 10. The shields may be provided as e.g. plastic or metal sheets arranged between the vertical poles of the support structure 10. At the material receiving funnel 40, shields may be arranged on three sides of the material receiving funnel 40, leaving the side facing the bag receiving platform 30 open. At the bag retrieving unit 50 there may be shields provided at two sides of the unit, leaving the sides towards the material receiving funnel 40 and the bag receiving platform 30 open.

[0040] At the bag receiving platform 30 some sides cannot be closed by a shield. This relates to the side in the horizontal direction H1 along which the bags 2 are intended to be transported by the yoke 20, and the side from which bags 2 are received to the bag receiving platform, e.g. by the conveyor 60. In the illustrated embodiment, the bags 2 are arranged on pallets when being received at the bag receiving platform 30. When the yoke 20 has grasped the bag 2 and transported it, the pallet may be taken care of at a pallet unit 70. In such case, the side towards the pallet unit 70 at least partly needs to be open as well. For these reasons, there may be less shielding at the bag receiving platform 30. In order to avoid dust generated at the material receiving funnel 40 to escape at the bag receiving platform 30 having open sides, the material receiving funnel 40 may located the furthest away from the bag receiving platform 30 by arranging the bag retrieving unit 50 between the material receiving funnel 40 and the bag receiving platform 30. A further advantage with this arrangement may be that there may be less movement needed for the yoke 20 after discharging a bag 2 at the material receiving funnel 40.

[0041] Fig. 7 illustrates the yoke 20 having transported a bag 2 to the material receiving funnel 40 discharging of the bag 2. During the time the yoke 20 has transported the bag 2 along horizontal direction H1 to the material receiving funnel 40, a new bag 2 is received at the bag receiving platform 30.

[0042] Figs. 8-10 illustrate and embodiment of the yoke 20. The yoke 20 comprises a body frame 24 to which two grasping arms 22 are arranged. The yoke 20 further comprises a support frame 29 configured to be arranged to the support structure 10. The support frame 29 is configured to move along the support structure 10 in the horizontal direction H1 to move the yoke 20. The body frame 24 may be suspended to the support frame 29 by means of hydraulic actuators 28. The hydraulic actuators 28 may be configured to provide a vertical movement of the grasping arms 22.

[0043] Between the support frame 29 and the body frame 24 there may further be arranged one or more stabilizing structures 28a. In the illustrated embodiment there are two stabilizing structures 28a provided in the form of telescopic tubes. The stabilizing structures 28a may provide a stabilization sideways, i.e. in the horizontal direction H1, while enabling vertical movement of the body frame 24 relative to the support frame, provided by the lifting means 28.

[0044] As seen in fig. 10, the grasping arms 22 are rotatably arranged to the body frame 24. By means of hydraulic actuators 26, the grasping arms may be rotatable around a rotational axis 27 on the body frame 24. The movement of the grasping arms 22 may move the two grasping arms 22 towards or away from each other along a direction H2, which may be a substantially horizontal direction.

[0045] The grasping arms 22 may each comprise one or two arm rods 21 and one or more grasping blades 23. The grasping blades 23 may be formed to conform to the shape of a bag 2 to be grasped, to improve the grasping function.

[0046] The two grasping arms 22 are arranged such that they are configured to be on opposite sides of the circumference a bag 2 to be grasped. In at least one direction of the circumference of a bag 2 to be grasped, there may be no grasping arm 22 provided, enabling the yoke to move sideways, i.e. along the horizontal direction H1, to a position where a bag 2 may be grasped. When the two grasping arms 22 are moved away from each other along direction H2, the distance between them may be larger than the width of a bag 2 to be grasped. The grasping arms may be moved to such open position during movement of the yoke 20 from the material receiving funnel 40 towards the bag receiving platform 30. When reaching the bag receiving platform 30, a new bag 2 may be grasped by moving the grasping arms 22 towards a grasping position, towards each other. A small movement of the grasping arms 22 relative to each other along horizontal direction H2 may be performed during discharging of the bag at the material receiving funnel 40, in order to provide all material in the bag 2 to be discharged.

[0047] As illustrated in fig. 9, the grasping arms 22 may be provided with grasping hooks 25, e.g. on the grasping blades 23. The grasping hooks 25 may improve the grasping function of a bag 2. The grasping hooks 25 may further provide that the bag 2, after being discharged at the material receiving funnel 40, maintains hanging on the grasping arms 22. At the bag retrieving unit 50, the grasping arms 22 may be moved away from each other along horizontal direction H2 thereby causing the bag 2 to be released from the grasping hooks 25 and fall into the bag retrieving unit 50.

[0048] In the drawings and specification, there have been disclosed preferred embodiments and examples of the invention and, although specific terms are employed, they are used in a generic and descriptive sense only and not for the purpose of limitation, the scope of the invention being set forth in the following claims.

Examples

Embodiment Construction

[0029]The present invention will be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which preferred embodiments of the invention are shown. This invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art. In the drawings, like numbers refer to like elements.

[0030]Figs. 1-7 illustrate a bag discharger arrangement 1 according to an embodiment. The bag discharger arrangement 1 comprises a support structure 10 configured to support a yoke 20. The yoke 20 is moveable along a horizontal direction H1 on the support structure 10. The movement of the yoke 20 in the horizontal direction H1 may be provided by an electric motor 12. The yoke 20 may comprise a support frame 29 slidably arranged on the support structure 1...

Claims

1. A bag discharger arrangement (1) for discharging bags (2) with powder or granulate material, comprising a bag receiving platform (30); a yoke (20) configured to grasp a bag (2) at the bag receiving platform (30); a material receiving funnel (40); wherein the yoke (20) is configured to transport the bag (2) from the bag receiving platform (30) in a substantially horizontal direction (H1) to the material receiving funnel (40) such that the bag can be discharged into the material receiving funnel (40); wherein the bag receiving platform (30) and a top side edge (46) of the material receiving funnel (40) on a side facing towards the bag receiving platform (30) are located at heights a short distance from each other.

2. The bag discharger arrangement (1) according to claim 1, wherein the bag receiving platform (30) is located on a height-adjustable arrangement (32) which is configured to provide the bag receiving platform (30) to be movable between a lower position at which it is configured to receive a bag (2), and an upper position at which the yoke (20) is configured to grasp the bag (2).

3. The bag discharger arrangement (1) according to claim 2, further comprising a conveyor (60) configured to receive a plurality of bags (2), and to transport one bag at a time to the bag receiving platform (30) when the bag receiving platform (30) is at the lower position.

4. The bag discharger arrangement (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the yoke (20) comprises two grasping arms (22) configured to grasp the bag (2) on opposing sides of the bag, wherein the grasping arms (22) are arranged such that the yoke (20) can be moved to a position where it is configured to grasp the bag at the bag receiving platform (30) by a substantially horizonal movement.

5. The bag discharger arrangement (1) according to claim 4, wherein the grasping arms (22) are configured to be moved between a grasping position in which they are configured to grasp a bag, and an open position in which they are configured to release a bag.

6. The bag discharger arrangement (1) according to claim 5, wherein the grasping arms (22), when being moved between the open position and the grasping position, are moved away or towards each other.

7. The bag discharger arrangement (1) according to claim 6, wherein the yoke (20) comprises a body frame (24), and wherein the grasping arms (22) are rotatably arranged to the body frame and configured to be moved between the grasping position and the open position by be rotated relative to the body frame (24).

8. The bag discharger arrangement (1) according to claim 7, wherein the yoke (20) comprises driving means configured to cause the rotational movement of the grasping arms (22), wherein the driving means comprises one or more hydraulic, pneumatic or electric actuators.

9. The bag discharger arrangement (1) according to any one of claims 4-8, wherein the grasping arms (22) are formed to cover less than 70% of the circumference of a bag (2).

10. The bag discharger arrangement (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the yoke (20) is configured to move the bag (2) up to 20 cm vertically after grasping the bag and before the bag reaches the material receiving funnel (40).

11. The bag discharger arrangement (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the yoke (20) comprises a support frame (29) configured to move along a support structure (10) of the bag discharger arrangement (1) for moving the yoke (20) in the horizontal direction (H1), and wherein the yoke (20) comprises lifting means (28) configured to move the grasping arms (22) vertically relative to the support frame (29).

12. The bag discharger arrangement (1) according to claim 11, wherein the lifting means (28) is arranged between the support frame (29) and a body frame (24) of the yoke (20), wherein the yoke (20) further comprises a stabilizing structure (28a) configured to enable movement of the body frame (24) relative to the support frame (29) along a vertical direction (V1) by means of the lifting means (28), and stabilizing the body frame (24) relative to the support frame (29) in the horizontal direction (H1).

13. The bag discharger arrangement (1) according to any of claims 11-12, wherein the lifting means (28) comprises one or more hydraulic, pneumatic or electric actuators.

14. The bag discharger arrangement (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, further comprising a bag retrieving unit (50) configured to receive empty bags after they have been discharged at the material receiving funnel (40), wherein the bag retrieving unit is located between the bag receiving platform (30) and the material receiving funnel (40).

15. The bag discharger arrangement (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the bag receiving platform (30) and the top side edge (46) of the material receiving funnel (40) are located at heights within 30 cm from each other, preferably within 20 cm from each other.

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