Bag transfer apparatus

DETAILED DESCRIPTION The present invention provides apparatus which can simultaneously pinch a plurality of elongated bags disposed side-by-side, parallel to one another and in close proximity to one another at a pickup location and transfer these bags to a discharge location.
Apparatus according to the present invention may be used, for example, to mechanically remove bags encasing can lids from boxes or from pallets.
The present invention also provides a bag transfer apparatus which can sense imperfect pinched engagement of the bags.
Such apparatus can stop automatically to protect the bags and the apparatus from accidental damage which might otherwise be caused by an imperfectly pinched bag.
Moreover, the present invention provides a bag pinching mechanism or gripper means suitable for use in the aforementioned bag transfer apparatus.
The bag transfer apparatus of the present invention may include gripper means for pinching each elongated bag to be transferred at two longitudinally spaced locations thereon and means for moving the gripper means from a pickup location to a discharge location while the bags are pinched therewith.
Sensing means may be provided for detecting the state of pinched engagement of the bags with the gripper means and producing a positive signal only if every one of the bags to be transferred is pinched by the gripper means at both of the aforesaid two locations thereon.
The sensing means may be arranged to stop operation of the moving means if the aforesaid positive signal is absent during movement of the gripper means towards the discharge location.
The gripper means may include a gripper frame and a plurality of pairs of pincer assemblies mounted to the gripper frame.
The pincer assemblies may be disposed substantially in a common horizontal plane beneath the gripper frame and the pincer assemblies of each pair may be disposed in a single row.
Such rows may be side-by-side and parallel to one another.
If the distances between such rows are substantially equal to the distances between the center lines of adjacent bags, the two pincer assemblies of each row may be pinched with one bag