Ice bagging device

摘要

An ice bagging assembly and related method with a horizontal ice bag cassette, a pair of opposing ice bag ply graspers configured to move an empty ice bag from the horizontal ice bag cassette to a vertical position to receive cubed ice before it is sealed shut and dropped to an ice bag merchandiser. The opposing graspers may be configured as rotating wheels and may have a grasping sensor. The ice bag cassette may be slidably and tiltably supported for easy replacement of horizontal bags. A load sensor, optical or mechanical, may be associated with the ice hopper to sense how much ice has been put in each bag. A pair of angled guides may guide a hopper into a support frame for the system.

主权项

1. An ice bagging assembly comprising:
a frame; a cassette supported by the frame and configured to store a plurality of empty ice bags in a stack of horizontal empty ice bags; and a pair of opposed grasping elements coupled to the frame and configured to pinch a first ice bag of the plurality of empty ice bags and to move without the aid of vacuum the first ice bag from a horizontal position to an open position below an ice chute, the ice chute configured to drop a plurality of ice cubes into the first ice bag, wherein the pair of opposed grasping elements is configured to contact only a top surface of a single layer of the first ice bag.