Apparatus for the production of gas-filled filling bodies

Abstract

An apparatus for the production of gas-filled filling bodies comprises a supply unit for carrying a supply roll of a flat plastic film tube having prefabricated pockets which can be filled with gas, and a filling unit to which the tube can be fed by the supply unit and which is operable to fill the pockets with a filling gas, the gas being introduced into the pockets by way of filling openings which are then closed. The apparatus further includes a discharge unit for discharge of a line of filling bodies to a user, with the filled plastic tube being fed to the discharge unit from the filling unit. The supply, filling and discharge units are supported on a carrier frame structure, with the supply unit being arranged thereon beneath the filling unit.

1 . Apparatus for the production of gas-filled filling bodies in the form of a line of mutually separable gas-filled cushions from a flat plastic film tube which is provided on a supply roll, comprising: 
 a supply unit for receiving the supply roll of the plastic film tube which has prefabricated pockets which can be filled with gas,    a filling unit,    means for feeding the plastic film tube to the filling unit from the supply unit,    wherein the filling unit is adapted for filling the prefabricated pockets in the plastic film tube with a filling gas, with the filling gas being fed to the pockets by way of suitable filling openings thereof, and for subsequently sealingly closing the filling openings,    a discharge unit for discharge of the continuous line of filling bodies, and    a carrier frame means for holding the supply unit, the filling unit and the discharge unit,    wherein the supply unit is arranged on the carrier frame means beneath the filling unit.    
     
     
         2 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the discharge unit is integrated into the filling unit.  
     
     
         3 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the discharge unit is spatially separate from the filling unit.  
     
     
         4 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the filling unit has a base plate, wherein the supply unit is arranged beneath the base plate of the filling unit, and wherein the center of gravity of the filling unit and the center of gravity of the supply unit at least approximately coincide on a perpendicular axis.  
     
     
         5 . The apparatus of  claim 4 , wherein the supply unit is arranged at a height of between 60 and 120 cm above the level of the ground.  
     
     
         6 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , including beneath the filling unit a free space for the insertion of a storage container for the line of filling bodies, the container preferably being adapted to be easily removable from the apparatus.  
     
     
         7 . The apparatus of  claim 6  which is so designed that the line of filling bodies is firstly put into intermediate storage from the filling unit in the storage container and is then fed to the discharge unit, from which a line of filling bodies of the respectively desired length can be removed by a user and can be separated from the remaining line of filling bodies.  
     
     
         8 . The apparatus of  claim 6 , further comprising a control unit for controlling production of the gas-filled filling bodies, and at least one sensor connected to the control unit and associated with the storage container and operable to control the production of filling bodies in dependence on the degree of filling of the storage container.  
     
     
         9 . The apparatus of  claim 8 , wherein the at least one sensor is in the form of a light barrier means having a beam path which is cleared as soon as the filling level of filling bodies in the storage container falls below a predetermined minimum level, and wherein the control unit is adapted to initiate the production of a predetermined length of a line of filling bodies when the filling level in the storage container falls below the minimum level.  
     
     
         10 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the discharge unit includes a cantilever arm which projects beyond the filling unit in respect of height and which has an upper end, and further comprising a direction-changing roller at said upper end of the cantilever arm for deflection of the line of filling bodies, the arrangement being such that the end of the line of filling bodies hangs down freely from the cantilever arm.  
     
     
         11 . The apparatus of  claim 6  which is so designed that the line of filling bodies is deposited in the storage container in a meander configuration by the filling unit, and wherein the line of filling bodies, starting from the lowermost position thereof in the storage container, is fed to the discharge unit along a front side of the storage container.  
     
     
         12 . The apparatus of  claim 10 , including a braking member on the cantilever arm of the discharge unit in the region of said direction-changing roller and operable to brake the movement of the downwardly hanging line of filling bodies.  
     
     
         13 . The apparatus of  claim 10 , wherein the cantilever arm of the discharge unit projects forwardly beyond the base area of the apparatus.  
     
     
         14 . A storage container for an apparatus as set forth in  claim 1 , wherein the storage container is in the general form of a box having a bottom, side walls and an open top and the width of which is slightly greater than the width of the line of filling bodies and which in its side walls has at least one pair of mutually oppositely disposed openings through which a light barrier means of the apparatus is operable to detect the filling level in the storage container.