Deflector to reduce residual air inside a food bag

Abstract

A deflector (15) for placement on a bagging and sealing apparatus (2) for a bag of feed (2) to reduce the residual air content in the feed, the deflector being shaped for mounting on the apparatus and having a curved leading face (16) shaped to laterally deflect the lower part (13) of the bag relative to the upper part (12) of said bag during the bag's journey between a feed bagging station (4) and a bag sealing station (6). Figure for the abbreviation: Fig. 5

Description

Title of the invention: Deflector for reducing residual air contained in a food bag technical field

[0001] The present invention relates to the field of packaging pet food in bags, and in particular to the reduction of residual air contained in said food before sealing the bag. Previous technique

[0002] Packaging food in bags requires control of various parameters to ensure that the quality of the food is maintained throughout the intended shelf life.

[0003] One of the critical parameters is the residual air content in the pouch after sealing. The presence of residual air in the pouch can gradually alter the appearance of the food, so that the consumer may perceive the product as spoiled. Residual air in the pouch can cause the brown color of pet food to turn gray or green.

[0004] This degradation of the appearance of the food is the result of oxidation reactions initiated by the presence of oxygen inside the bag, which was not eliminated prior to sealing the bag, for example during bagging the food.

[0005] For this reason, it is essential to reduce and control the residual content contained in each sachet after bagging before sealing.

[0006] EP 3 177 534 B1 is known an apparatus for bagging and sealing a pouch of pet food. This apparatus 27, schematically illustrated in [Fig. 1], comprises gripping members 1, for example, grippers, each holding a pouch 2 and holding the upper opening 3 of the pouch open. The grippers are mounted regularly around a vertical axis Z and are driven in rotation about the axis Z by a moving member, for example, an electric motor. The rotational drive R about the axis Z brings each gripper, and thus each pouch, successively to: - a bagging station 4 where the food is injected through the top opening 3 of the bag, then - a steam injection station 5 where steam is injected into the bag through the top opening 3, in order to expel the air contained between the food and the opening, then - a sealing station 6 where the opposite faces of the bag defining the top opening 3 are welded or glued to each other.

[0007] In order to evacuate as much air as possible from the bag after bagging, a deflector 7 is mounted on a circular rail 8 of the apparatus and is positioned on the The trajectory 9 of the bag (illustrated by dashed arrows in [Fig. 1]) between the bagging station 4 and the injection station 6. The deflector 7, illustrated in [Fig. 2], has a generally rectangular horizontal cross-section with adjacent edges 10 beveled to define a leading edge 11. During the rotation of the bag about the Z-axis, the upper portion 12 of the bag follows a circular path about the Z-axis, while the lower portion 13 of the bag comes into contact with the leading edge of the deflector and is driven radially inwards in the direction of the Z-axis. Once the bag, in its movement, has passed the edge 14 of the deflector 7 opposite the leading edge 11, the lower portion 13 of the bag is pulled radially outwards to align itself approximately vertically with the opening 3 of the bag, under the effect of the mass of the food it contains.This radial rebounding movement displaces the food pieces relative to each other at the bottom of the bag. Residual air contained at the bottom of the bag between the food pieces, and where applicable in the form of bubbles in the sauce containing said food pieces, is thus evacuated from the food matrix, and then the passage of the bag through the steam injection station 5 largely expels it from the bag.

[0008] However, in practice, it has been observed that the deflector 7 can cause damage to the bag. It has also been observed that during radial retraction, the lower portion 13 of the bag can continue to oscillate around the vertical position during steam injection.

[0009] There is therefore a need to overcome these disadvantages. Summary of the invention

[0010] The invention relates to a deflector shaped to be mounted on a bagging and sealing apparatus for a bag of food to reduce the residual air content in the food, the deflector having a curved leading face shaped to laterally deflect the lower part of the bag relative to the upper part of said bag during the passage of the bag between a food bagging station and a sealing station of said bag.

[0011] The invention further relates to a machine comprising a bagging and sealing apparatus for a feed bag to reduce the residual air content in the feed. The apparatus comprises a feed bagging station, a bag sealing station, a movable member for moving the bag from the bagging station to the sealing station, and a gripping member for holding the bag substantially vertically between the bagging station and the sealing station. The machine further comprises a deflector according to the invention mounted on the bagging apparatus between the bagging station and the sealing station and arranged such that the curved leading edge of the deflector laterally deflects the lower part of the bag in relation to the upper part of said bag during the journey of the bag between the food bagging station and the sealing station of said bag.

[0012] The invention also relates to a method for bagging and sealing a food pouch, particularly using the machine according to the invention, to reduce the residual air content in the food, the method comprising the following successive steps: - bagging a food pouch, - moving the pouch from a food bagging station to a sealing station, the lower part of the pouch coming into contact with the leading face of the deflector according to the invention and being deflected laterally by the deflector during the movement of the pouch, and - sealing of the bag at the sealing station, the bag being held in a substantially vertical position from the bagging station to the sealing station.

[0013] The curved shape of the deflector's leading face promotes better expulsion of residual air contained in the food and better preservation of the food's appearance during storage before consumption.

[0014] Preferably, the deflector has a curved trailing face positioned opposite the leading face along the bag's path and shaped to guide the lower portion of the bag from a laterally deflected position to a vertical position. During bag movement, the lower portion of the bag is in contact with the trailing face of the deflector. The curved shape of the trailing face allows the bag to be gradually guided back to its vertical position before sealing, preventing harmful oscillations of the bag along its path.

[0015] Preferably, measured in a horizontal plane, the radius of curvature of the leading face is less than the radius of curvature of the trailing face.

[0016] Preferably, the length of the leading face contour is less than the length of the trailing face contour. This further increases the efficiency of the residual air flushing.

[0017] In a horizontal plane, the leading face contour may include at least one portion of a circular arc. A horizontal plane is perpendicular to a vertical axis.

[0018] In a horizontal plane, the leading face contour may comprise, or even be formed from, a plurality of circular arc segments, each successive pair of arc segments being tangent to each other. In particular, it may be formed from a first circular arc segment with a radius between 50 mm and 60 mm, for example 54 mm, extending angularly between 50° and 70°, for example 60°, and a second circular arc segment with a radius between 10 mm and 20 mm, for example 15 mm, extending angularly between 40° and 60°, for example 50°.

[0019] In a horizontal plane, the vanishing face contour may include at least one portion of a circular arc. In the horizontal plane, the vanishing face contour may include, or even be formed of, a plurality of circular arc portions, each successive pair of circular arc portions being tangent to each other. In particular, it may be formed of a first circular arc portion with a radius between 65 mm and 75 mm, for example equal to 72 mm, which extends angularly between 20° and 40°, for example by 30°, and a second circular arc portion with a radius between 5 mm and 15 mm, for example equal to 12 mm, which extends angularly between 20° and 40°, for example by 30°.

[0020] The trailing face may extend from the leading face. Alternatively, the deflector may have a flat face between the leading and trailing faces. Preferably, the flat face directly connects the leading face to the trailing face.

[0021] Preferably, the flat face is tangent to the curved leading face. This avoids the formation of a corner that could damage the bag. The flat face may be tangent to the trailing face.

[0022] Preferably, when observed in a horizontal plane, the contour of the flat face is inclined inwards with respect to the tangent of the trajectory of the bag at the intersection between the flat face and the attack face, preferably with an angle of inclination between 15° and 20°, for example equal to 17°.

[0023] Such an angle makes it possible to ensure optimal lateral deflection of the bag in order to expel residual air.

[0024] By “bag trajectory”, we mean the path followed by the upper portion of the bag from the bagging station to the sealing station.

[0025] By "inclined inwards", it is meant that the inclination tends to increase the lateral deviation of the lower part of the bag relative to the upper part.

[0026] The inclination and length of the flat part can be chosen to induce a lateral deviation of the lower portion of the bag relative to the upper portion of the bag, of between 12 mm and 15 mm, for example equal to 13.5 mm.

[0027] The lateral deviation is measured horizontally between the intersection of the plane face with the leading face and the intersection of the plane face with the trailing face.

[0028] Furthermore, in a horizontal plane: - the length of the contour of the attack face can be between 50 mm and 95 mm, and / or - the length of the contour of the leaky face can be between 12 and 32 mm, and / or - the length of the flat face can be between 45 and 50 mm.

[0029] The deflector is shaped to be mounted on the bagging and sealing apparatus. In particular, it may include a groove extending longitudinally through the entire deflector and opening, opposite the bottom of the groove, onto a face of The base is opposite the attack and departure faces and, where applicable, the flat face. The device may include a rail that is engaged in the groove. The rail may extend parallel to the bag's path between the bagging station and the sealing station. Advantageously, this allows the deflector's position to be easily adjusted along the rail according to the properties, such as the shape and / or rigidity, of the bag to be bagged.

[0030] The deflector may include a means for attaching it to the machine. The attachment means is, for example, a vertically extending bore through which a bolt is inserted to tighten the deflector onto the portion of the rail housed in the groove. Alternatively, the attachment means consists of recessed or projecting reliefs formed on opposite vertical faces of the deflector to receive the opposing tabs of a clamping flange.

[0031] The deflector can be metallic or polymeric. Preferably, it is polymeric, in order to reduce the friction of the bag on the deflector.

[0032] The trajectory of the bag between the bagging station and the sealing station can be curved, in particular circular, or straight.

[0033] Preferably, after the bag has completely passed the deflector on its path and prior to sealing, the process includes injecting steam into the bag through the bagging opening in order to evacuate the air contained between the opening and the bag.

[0034] Sealing can be carried out in order to hermetically close the bag.

[0035] The contact between the lower part of the bag and the deflector can be made up to a height plus 50% of the height of the bag. Brief description of the drawings

[0036] The invention will be better understood upon reading the detailed description and the accompanying drawing, presented by way of illustration and not limitation, in which:

[0037] [Fig.1] is a perspective view schematically illustrating the food bagging, bag deflection, steam injection and bag sealing with the machine described in EP 3 177 534 Bl,

[0038] [Fig.2] is a perspective and schematic view of the deflector of EP 3 177 534 Bl,

[0039] [Fig.3] and [Fig.4] are perspective views of an example of a deflector according to the invention,

[0040] [Fig.5] and [Fig.6] are top and front views respectively of said deflector And,

[0041] [Fig.7] is a vertical, top view of an example of a machine according to the invention. Detailed description

[0042] Figures 1 and 2 have been described above.

[0043] Figures 3 to 6 illustrate an example of a deflector 15 according to the invention and [Fig.7] an example of a machine 26 according to the invention comprising the deflector 15 and an apparatus 27, as also illustrated in [Fig.1], for bagging and sealing a bag of pet food.

[0044] The deflector 15 has a substantially prismatic shape with vertical axis Z'.

[0045] It has a curved leading face 16 and a curved trailing face 17 opposite the leading face. It also has a flat face 18 and a base face 19 opposite each other, each connecting the leading face 16 to the trailing face 17.

[0046] When the bag travels from the bagging station 4 to the sealing station 6, as illustrated in [Fig. 7], its lower portion first comes into contact with the leading face 16, which deflects it laterally. The lateral deflection is amplified by the flat face, which is inclined in a horizontal plane at an angle of inclination θ with respect to the tangent of the bag's trajectory at the intersection between the flat face and the leading face. The tangent of the bag's trajectory at said intersection is perpendicular to the line passing through said intersection. The angle of inclination and the length of the contour of the flat face are chosen to increase the lateral deflection by a distance Dp, in addition to the deflection Da induced by the leading face, to achieve a total lateral deflection Dt.

[0047] The lower portion of the bag is then guided by the curvature of the trailing face towards the trajectory 9 of the upper portion of the bag, shown in dotted lines, so as to be aligned with the latter.

[0048] The leading face 16 has a radius of curvature Ra greater than the radius of curvature Rf of the trailing face, which laterally accelerates the food contained in the bottom of the bag upon contact between the bag and the leading face. This facilitates the evacuation of residual air while the return of the lower portion of the bag to the trajectory of the upper portion of the bag occurs gradually without unwanted oscillation or damage to the bag.

[0049] The leading face 16 and trailing face 17 are furthermore each tangent with the plane face at their respective intersections 20, 21 with the plane face.

[0050] Furthermore, the deflector 15 has a groove 22, formed in the base face 19 and extending from the leading edge 23 defined by the intersection between the base face 19 and the leading face 16 to the trailing edge 24 defined by the intersection between the base face 19 and the trailing face 17. As illustrated in [Fig. 7], the machine has a rail 8 extending, preferably horizontally, parallel to the trajectory 9 of the bag, which is engaged in the groove 22. The deflector also has a hole 25 passing vertically through it along the Z-axis, into which a screwed bolt 26 can be inserted. Tightening the nuts 27 of the bolt compresses the rail 8 between the horizontal faces 28a-b of the groove, allowing thus easily fix the deflector 15 in a predetermined position between the bagging station 4 and the sealing station 6.

[0051] The invention is not limited to the embodiment described above. For example, the deflector may include one or more latching means into which the rail can be engaged in order to mount the deflector on the machine. Furthermore, the machine may include at least two deflectors according to the invention arranged consecutively along the path of the bag between the bagging station and the sealing station, in order to further increase the effectiveness of the residual air removal.

Claims

Demands

1. Deflector (15) shaped to be mounted on a bagging and sealing apparatus (27) for a bag (2) of feed to reduce the residual air content in the feed, the deflector having a curved leading face (16) shaped to laterally deflect the lower part (13) of the bag from the upper part (12) of said bag during the passage of the bag between a bagging station (4) of feed and a sealing station (6) of said bag.

2. Deflector according to claim 1, having a curved leak face (17) disposed opposite the attack face (16) on the path (9) of the bag and which is shaped to guide the lower portion (13) of the bag from a laterally deflected position to a vertical position.

3. Deflector according to claim 2, the radius of curvature (Ra) of the leading face being less than the radius of curvature (Rf) of the trailing face.

4. Deflector according to any one of claims 2 and 3, having a flat face (18) between the leading face (16) and the trailing face (17).

5. Deflector according to claim 4, the flat face being tangent to the curved leading face, and optionally the flat face being tangent to the trailing face.

6. Deflector according to any one of claims 4 and 5, wherein when viewed in a horizontal plane, the contour of the flat face is inclined inwards with respect to the tangent of the trajectory of the bag at the intersection between the flat face and the attack face, preferably with an angle of inclination of between 15° and 20°, for example equal to 17°.

7. Machine (26) comprising an apparatus (27) for bagging and sealing a bag (2) of food to reduce the residual air content in the food, the apparatus comprising a bagging station (4) for the food, a sealing station (6) for the bag, a movable member for moving the bag from the bagging station to the sealing station, and a gripping member (1) for holding the bag substantially vertically between the bagging station and the sealing station, the machine further comprising a deflector (15) according to any one of the preceding claims mounted on the apparatus (27) between the bagging station (4) and the sealing station (6) and being arranged in such a way that the curved leading face (16) of the deflector laterally deflects the lower part (13) of the bag relative to the upper part (12) of said bag during the journey (9) of the bag between the bagging station (4) and the sealing station (6) of said bag.

8. Machine according to the preceding claim, comprising a rail (8) extending, preferably horizontally, parallel to the trajectory (9) of the bag, which is engaged in a groove (22) formed in the deflector.

9. A method for bagging and sealing a bag (2) of feed to reduce the residual air content in the feed, the method comprising the following successive steps: - bagging a bag (2) of feed, - moving the bag from a bagging station (4) of feed to a sealing station (6), the lower part (13) of the bag (2) coming into contact with the leading face (16) of the deflector (15) according to any one of the preceding claims and being deflected laterally by the deflector during the movement of the bag, and - sealing the bag at the sealing station, the bag being held in a substantially vertical position from the bagging station to the sealing station.

10. A method according to the preceding claim, comprising injecting steam into the bag through the bagging opening of the bag in order to evacuate the air contained between the opening and the bag.

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