Field of invention
The invention relates to manufacture of storage sacks made from tubular fabric
and in particular to a device or an apparatus of and method for making multicomponent sacks where packing sacks have an inner web inserted into them and
5 joined together at the open end of the multi-component bag.
Background of invention
Multi-component woven sacks comprising packing sacks provided with moistureresistant web liner (or a liner insert) are necessary for storing moisture-perishable
10 materials such as sugar granules, chemicals or other similar material. Presently,
multi-component bag consisting of an outer bag or covering and an inner web,
preferable made from plastic film, are made mainly in a manual process, causing
lower production rate. Also, the quality of sacks is sub-standard and variable as it
depends on the operator skill. Further, on the edges at the open ends of the sacks
15 that form during the cutting-to-length procedure, there is the risk of the tapes
becoming detached, in particular with sacks made of uncoated woven fabric. The
tapes close to the edge, running parallel to the cutting line, can shift in the
direction of the cutting line or lose their parallelism and can consequently slip
completely free from the fabric. These occurrences are greatly disadvantageous
20 for filling and further handling of the sacks.
For this reason, the open ends of the sacks are usually manually folded and the
folded edge is connected to the fabric ply underneath including the inserted web
3
liner, for example sewn up, or glued, or joined together using hot stapling, or
seaming or their combination, wherein a type of hem and thus a cleanly sealed
edge are obtained at the open ends of the sacks.
5 The disadvantage of this, however, is that this process of folding and connecting
requires a high expenditure of work and materials (sewing thread), as well as
causing a distinct loss of material from the sack material during the folding
process.
10 The present invention thus aims to avoid the disadvantages mentioned above. In
particular, the invention aims to automatize the production of a multi-component
sack, as well as minimise production costs and the material loss during
production.
15 In particular, there is a need to provide a method and device that produces a multicomponent bag or a composite bag comprising an outer covering (1) and a web
liner insert (2) such that it maintains the moisture-integrity of the liner, thereby
making it suitable for specific storage applications including storage of moistureperishable goods. There is also a need to provide a process that allows the
20 flexibility of joining the web liner insert along with the top edge of the outer
covering.
4
Objects of Invention
Accordingly, one object of the invention is to provide a process that allows the
flexibility of joining the web liner insert along with the top edge of the outer
covering.
5
Another object of the invention is to provide an apparatus for making a composite
bag (C), said bag having an outer covering (1) made from a first tubular hose (1A)
and an insert (2) made from a second tubular hose (2A), to carry out the
aforementioned process.
10
A further object of the invention is to provide a composite bag (C) said composite
bag (C) having a sealed outer covering cut piece (1C) into which a sealed insert
cut piece (2C) is inserted using the aforementioned process and the apparatus and
wherein the outer covering and the liner insert are joined together at their edges.
15
List of parts
C – Composite bag; C1 – first
intermediate composite bag, C2 –
second intermediate composite bag,
20 C3 – mouth
1 – Outer covering; first tubular
hose (1A), Outer covering cut piece
(1B), Sealed outer covering cut
piece (1C), 1’ and 1” – layers of the
25 outer covering
2 – Web liner insert (or just liner or
liner insert); second tubular horse
(2A), liner cut piece (2B), Sealed
liner cut piece (2C), 2’, 2” – layers
30 of the liner insert
5
3 – Bottom end of the outer
covering; 3A – bottom end of the
liner
4 – Top end of the outer covering;
5 4A – top end of the liner;
5 – Inner tool
6 – Holes
FC – first cutting station
FS – first sealing station
10 SC – second cutting station
SS – second sealing station
FIS – first inserting station (FIS)
AS – aligning station (AS)
LS - layer separation station (LS)
15 SIS - second inserting station (SIS)
TS - third sealing station (TS)
UC – upper edge of outer covering
cut piece
LC – lower edge of outer covering
20 cut piece
UI – upper edge of liner cut piece
LI – lower edge of liner cut piece
U – upper sealed edge or end
L – lower sealed edge or end
25 S/H – Suction means/hose
J – Joint area
Summary Of Invention
30 Composite bags (C) made of an outer covering (1) and a liner insert (2) inserted
into it are also termed as multi-component bags (See Figure 1). As shown in
Figure 2, the outer covering (1) has two layers (1’, 1”) and the liner insert (2) has
two layers (2’, 2”). Both outer covering and the liner insert may be made from
tubular hoses. The walls of the composite bag (C) comprise a layer (1’, 1”) of the
35 outer covering (1) and a layer (2’, 2”) of the liner insert (2). The composite bags
(C) have two ends – a top end (T) and a bottom end (B). The woven fabric from
6
which the outer covering is made, comprises tapes that are woven in warp and
weft directions. The tubular hoses are cut into pieces. The tapes close to the edge,
running parallel to the cutting line, can shift in the direction of the cutting line or
lose their parallelism and can consequently slip completely free from the fabric.
5 These occurrences are greatly disadvantageous for filling and further handling of
the sacks. The invention provides a process that allows the flexibility of joining
the web liner insert along with the top edge of the outer covering to overcome the
aforementioned drawback.
10 Brief Description of Figures
Figure 1 shows the liner inserted bag of the invention without the top edge
secured
Figure 2 shows front view of the mouth of the composite bag in a state of collapse
of the web liner insert when the suction means are non-operational
15 Figure 2A shows the perspective view of the composite bag when suction means
are operational
Figure 2B shows the perspective view of the composite bag when the edges of the
bag layers are aligned
Figure 3 shows the cross-section of bag of Figure 2A with the two faces of the bag
20 opened up by using the separation means
Figure 3A shows a liner tool inserted into the bag with its mouth opened
7
Figures 4 and 4A show schematics of the alternatives of the apparatus of the
invention
Figures 5 and 5A show schematics of the alternatives of the method of the
invention
5 Figure 6 shows the liner inserted into outer covering with the liner crumpled up
near its edges
Figure 7 shows the bag of invention with the top edge secured
Figure 8 shows the features of the cut pieces for outer covering and the liner insert
10 Detail Description of Invention
Composite bags (C) made of an outer covering (1) and a liner insert (2) inserted
into it are also termed as multi-component bags (See Figure 1). As shown in
Figure 2, the outer covering (1) has two layers (1’, 1”) and the liner insert has two
layers (2’, 2”). Both outer covering and the liner insert may be made from tubular
15 hoses. The walls of the composite bag (C) comprise a layer (1’, 1”) of the outer
covering (1) and a layer (2’, 2”) of the liner insert (2). The composite bags (C)
have two ends – a top end (T) and a bottom end (B). The individual components
of the composite bags (C), i.e. the outer covering (1) and the liner insert (2) also
respectively have two ends: a top end (4 – top end of the outer covering (1), and
20 4A – top edge of the liner insert (2)), and a bottom end (3 – bottom end of the
outer covering (1), and 3A – bottom end of the liner insert (2)). In the context of
the present invention the ends denote the areas near the ends of the bag.
8
The outer covering (1) is made from woven or non-woven thermo-plastic fabric.
The woven fabric is made from weaving tapes in warp and weft directions. The
web liner insert (2) may be also made from plastic film, woven or non-woven
thermo-plastic fabric in a tubular form (e.g. a hose). The liner (2) may be in the
5 form of a bag, open at one end (say, the top end) but sealed at the other end (the
bottom end) to form a seal that is moisture-integral. In other words, the seal is
such that it is substantially moisture proof.
In one aspect of the invention (see Figures 1, 2A, and 8), the width and the length
10 of the liner insert (2) are slightly greater than the respective width and length of
the outer covering (1). In this context, the length of the outer covering (1) is taken
as the length between its open end and the seal of the outer covering that is
provided at its other end. In the end product, i.e. the composite bag (C), the extra
length of the liner insert, i.e. the length by which the liner insert is longer than the
15 outer covering, accumulates (see Figure 6) at the bottom end (B), or possibly
spread out over the length of the outer covering (1). Similarly (also see Figure 6),
the extra width, i.e. the amount by which the width of the liner insert is wider than
that of the outer covering, accumulates anywhere or spreads over the width of the
outer covering (1).
20
When the outer covering (1) is made of woven fabric made from tapes and is
uncoated, the tapes close to the edge, running parallel to the cutting line, can shift
9
away from each other laterally (or in the direction of the cutting line) or lose their
parallelism and can consequently slip completely free from the fabric. To
overcome this, the invention discloses a device and a method to manufacture a
multi-component or composite bag comprising an outer covering (1) and a web
5 liner insert (or simply the liner insert or liner) and joining together the web liner
insert and the outer covering at their respective top ends (4, 4A) or mouths,
whereby the lateral shift of the tapes is arrested.
In order to enjoin the liner insert (2) and the outer covering (1) of the composite
10 bag (C) at their top ends (4/4A), it is necessary to separate the two layers (1’, 1”)
of outer covering and those (2’, 2”) of the liner insert (2) from each other to form
an open mouth (Figure 2). In its another aspect, the present invention provides a
mechanism and method of opening the mouth of the composite bags (C). It is
important that layers 1’ and 2’, and layers 1” and 2”, in their loose state, are
15 opened or separated from each other as pairs (i.e. layers 1’/2’ together and layers
1”/2” together) so that the mouth or ends of the composite bag (C) opens fully as
shown in Figure 3. It should not be the case that layers 1’ and 1” are pulled apart
from each other, however, layers 2’ and 2” remain in a collapsed state so that the
mouth does not open (see Figure 2).
20
The layers (2’, 2”) of the web liner inserts (2) can be lifted or separated from each
other at the open end of the web liner insert (2) using a separation means or
device (S/H – see Figure 2A) which can be operated through pneumatic,
10
hydraulic, motorized or any possible electro-mechanical arrangement capable of
lifting (or moving) both layer pairs (1’/2’ and 1”/2”) individually. As an example,
the separation means may comprise grasping units provided at the end of hoses
(S/H – see Figure 2A) that are capable of grasping layers of the outer covering (1)
5 and/or the liner insert (2) using suction. Details of such suction means are known
to a person skilled in the art.
The inventor also realised that when a liner (2) is inserted into an outer covering
(1), simply separating the layers (2’, 2”) of the liner insert (2) from each other
10 would necessarily lead to separation of the layers (1’, 1”) of the outer covering
from each other. Therefore in yet another aspect of the invention a method is
disclosed for the separation means to access the layers (2’, 2”) of the liner insert
(2). In order to facilitate this, a hole (6) made in the layers (1’, 1”) of the outer
covering (1) of any geometry and size which exposes sufficient area of the layers
15 (2’, 2”) of the liner insert (2) is provided along width of the layers (1, 1’) of the
covering to facilitate suction of a layer (2’ and 2”) of the web liner insert through
above mention means. The sufficiency of the exposed area is determined on the
basis of what is required for the grasping means of the separation means to be
able to grasp the layers (2’, 2”) of the liners (2). The hole (6) is preferably
20 provided near the end of the composite bag (C) that is to be left open. This allows
the corresponding layers (1’, 1”) of the outer covering (1) and the layers (2’, 2”)
of the web liner insert (2) to remain together – i.e. forming layer pairs 1’/2’ and
11
1”/2” – through the process of separation of layers (1’/1” and 2’/2”) near the open
mouth.
Invention is not limited to provision of hole (6) on woven fabric – a suction
5 arrangement can be sufficient to pull the layers (1’ and 1”) of the outer bag (1)
along with the corresponding layers (2’ and 2”) of the web liner insert (2) without
having hole (6) on woven fabric. This arrangement ensures pulling together of
woven bag layers (1’ & 1’’) along with the corresponding layers (2’ and 2”) of the
inserted liner web (2).
10
The other side of woven bag can be left opened or can be closed through stitching,
ultrasonic welding, gluing, hot stapling, seaming or their combination, or through
any possible means which can be used for binding two separated surfaces of bag.
15 When the mouth of the composite bag gets opened (Figure 2), an electromechanical arrangement pushes the inner tool (5) in between separated layers (2’
& 2’’) of the sealed liner cut piece (2C) such that inner tool (5) completely
isolates from each other the layers (2’& 2’’) of the sealed liner cut piece (2C) so
that the layers (2’, 2”) do not touch each other when lifting/moving arrangement
20 gets deactivated. The inner tool (5), which is typically in the form of a flat, sturdy
plate, for example made from metal, also provides a physical support to any tool
that is used to form a joint near the top ends (4/4A) at the mouth edges or edges
(UC, LC, UI, LI) of layers of the outer bag and the web liner insert. As shown in
12
Figure 2A, edges of the layers (1’, 1”) of the outer covering cut piece (1) are
defined as the upper edge (UC) of the sealed outer covering cut piece (1C), and
the lower edge (LC) of the sealed outer covering cut piece (1C). Similarly, the
edges of the liner insert (2) are defined as the upper edge (UI) of the sealed liner
5 cut piece (2C), and the lower edge (LI) of the sealed liner cut piece (2C). For
example, if an ultrasonic method is used to make the joint at aforementioned
edges (UC, LC, UI, LI) of the layers of the sealed outer covering cut piece (1C)
and the sealed liner insert cut piece (2C), the inner tool (5) may function as an
anvil.
10
On the bag open end where inner tool is inserted (see Figure 3A), the both sides
of open end of woven fabric layer (1’ & 1”) and layer of liner web (2’ & 2”) get
joined together – i.e. the edges of the layers 1’, 2’ get joined together, and edges
of the layers (1”, 2”) get joined together – using an electro-mechanical
15 arrangement like ultrasonic device, heat sealing, hot stapling or adhesive
spraying. To achieve this, the top edges of layers 1’ and 2’ are aligned or lined or
matched with each other and then sealed together. Similarly, the top edges of
layers 1” and 2” are lined or matched together and sealed. The sealing of the two
pairs may be carried out simultaneously or separately.
20
Figure 7 shows the composite bag (C) of the invention. The area (J) near the top
end (T) shown as grey area indicates the jointed area or joint over which the
layers (1’/2’ and 1”/2”) are sealed or joined together. It should be noted that in the
13
context of enjoining, although an edge may be considered as theoretically having
zero width, joining of the edges is meant to convey that the joint may have
definite width. The sealing may therefore have a measurable width or it may
simply be a line seal or dotted straight or zig-zag sealing.
5
The method of the invention is now disclosed in a step-by-step manner. The
method would be better understood in reference to Figure 5 which show steps in
lower case letters (as used to indicate steps in the accompanying claims) next to
arrows. Products obtained by any particular step are indicated in block letters
10 inside boxes.
The method of making a composite bag (C) according to the invention comprises
the following steps.
15 Two rolls of tubular hoses are provided: a roll of first tubular hose (1A) to make
outer covering pieces and a roll of second tubular hose (2A) to make liner cut
pieces. On a first cutting station (FC), outer covering cut pieces (1B) of required
length from said first tubular hose (1A) are cut. On a first sealing station (FS), top
end of said outer covering cut piece (1B) is sealed to make a sealed outer covering
20 cut piece (1C). At least one hole (6) is formed in each of the layers (1’, 1”) of said
outer covering cut piece (1B). On a second cutting station (SC), liner cut pieces
(2B), are cut from said second tubular hose (2A). On a second sealing station (SS)
14
top end of said liner cut piece (2B) are sealed to make a sealed liner cut piece
(2C). A first intermediate composite bag (C1) having a mouth (C2) is made on a
first insertion station (FIS) by inserting said sealed liner cut piece (2C) into said
sealed outer covering cut piece (1C). At this stage, the top edges of the sealed
5 liner cut piece (2C) sticks out of the sealed outer covering cut piece (1C), since
the length of the former is greater than the length of the latter. Also at this stage,
the sealed liner cut piece (2C) may still be in a collapsed state inside the sealed
outer covering cut piece (1C) (see Figure 2).
10 However, the top edges of the sealed liner insert cut piece (2C) and the sealed
outer covering cut piece (1C) need to be sealed together for each of their
corresponding layers – i.e. layers 1’ and 2’ are enjoined at their top edges and
layers 1” and 2” are enjoined at their top edges. For facilitating the enjoining
operation, the top edges of said sealed outer covering cut piece (1C) and sealed
15 liner cut piece (2C) need to be aligned (see Figure 2B) at an aligning station (AS)
which leads to a second intermediate composite bag (C2) where top edges of
layers 1’/2’ are aligned with each other. Similarly top edges of layers 1”/2” are
also aligned with each other. However, to facilitate the edge alignment step, and
also in order to facilitate enjoining operation, it is further found necessary to open
20 up the mouth (C3) so that the layer pairs (1’/2’ and 1”/2”) are well separated. The
layer separation operation is carried out on a layer separating station (LS) using
separation means or devices of the type that are known to a person skilled in the
15
art. Typically, such devices employ vacuum for the purpose of layer separation.
using a separation device (S – see Figure 6), separating layers (1’, 1” and 2’, 2”)
of said cut pieces (1B and 2B) to form pairs of layers (1’/2’ and 1”/2”) and to
open the mouth (C3). Next, the inner tool (5) is inserted into the mouth (C3) that
5 is now open. The inner tool insertion ensures that the layers of the sealed liner cut
piece (2C) and the sealed outer covering cut piece (1C) are secured together as
much as possible before the enjoining of the edges is carried out. It is after the
inner tool (5) has been inserted, that the edge alignment can be facilitated. The
device for edge alignment may be a device known to a person skilled in the art
10 which essentially causes a relative movement between the two layers (1’/2’ and
1”/2”) so that respective edges are brought together or aligned.
Next, the edges of paired layers (1’/2’ and 1”/2”) are enjoined together using
sealing methods that are known to a person skilled in the art to form upper (U)
15 and lower (L) sealed edges, thereby forming said composite bag (C) with sealed
edges at its top end (T).
In a preferred embodiment (see Figure 5A) of the method of making a composite
bag (C), the steps of separating the layers and inserting the liner tool are
20 sequences differently. In this embodiment, the step of layer separation is carried
out immediately after the liner insert (2) has been inserted into the outer covering
(1). Next inner tool (5) is inserted into the open mouth (C3) that is formed as a
16
result of the previous step. The steps of edge alignment and enjoining of the layerpairs to form upper and lower sealed edges (U and L) follow.
The invention also discloses an apparatus to make a multi-component or
5 composite bag (C). The apparatus has the following stations to execute the various
stages of the method disclosed herein and illustrated in Figure 4. The apparatus
has a first cutting station (FC) for making outer covering cut pieces (1B) of
required length from said first tubular hose (1A). The apparatus also has a first
sealing station (FS) for sealing a top end of said outer covering cut piece (1B) to
10 make a sealed outer covering (1C). A second cutting station (SC) is also provided
for making liner cut pieces (2B) of required length from said second tubular hose
(1B). In order to seal a top end of said liner cut piece (2B) thereby making a
sealed liner cut piece (2C), a second sealing station (SS) is provided. Next, in
order to insert said sealed liner cut piece (2C) into said sealed outer covering cut
15 piece (1C) to produce a first intermediate composite bag (C1), a first inserting
station (FIS) is provided. At this stage, the top edges of the sealed liner cut piece
(2C) sticks out of the sealed outer covering cut piece (1C), since the length of the
former is greater than the length of the latter. An aligning station (AS) is therefore
provided to align with each other the bottom edges of said sealed outer covering
20 cut piece (1C) and sealed liner cut piece (2C) of said first intermediate composite
bag (C1) to produce second intermediate composite bag (C2). A layer separation
station (LS) provided with a separation device (S) for separating layers (1’, 1”
17
and 2’, 2”) of said cut pieces (1B and 2B) to form pairs of layers (1’/2’ and 1”/2”)
and to form an open mouth (C3) at the bottom end of said second intermediate
composite bag (C2). Next, in order to facilitate the enjoining operation, a second
inserting station (SIS) is provided for inserting an inner tool (5) into said open
5 mouth (C3). Finally, a third sealing station (TS) is provided for sealing the edges
of paired layers (1’/2’ and 1”/2”) together to form upper (U) and lower (L) sealed
edges.
In a preferred embodiment (see Figure 4A) of the apparatus, the layer separation
10 station (LS) may be positioned immediately downstream of the first insertion
station (FIS). Here, after the liner insert (2) has been inserted into the outer
covering (1), the layer separation device (S) separates layers 1’/2’ and layers 1”/2”
at the layer separation station (LS) to form an open mouth (C3) into which the
insertion tool (5) is inserted at the second insertion station (SIS).
15
Present invention is not limited to given sequence of operation which can be
interchanged as per requirement.
It is evident that the invention has a number of embodiments.
20
In a preferred embodiment, a method of making a composite bag (C) is disclosed,
said composite bag (C) having an outer covering (1) made from a first tubular
18
hose (1A) and an insert (2) made from a second tubular hose (2A), characterised
in that said method comprises the steps of:
a. making outer covering cut pieces (1B) of required length from said first
tubular hose (1A) and sealing a top end of said outer covering cut piece
5 (1B) to make a sealed outer covering cut piece (1C)
b. making at least one hole (6) in each of the layers (1’, 1”) of said cut piece
(1B)
c. making liner cut pieces (2B), from said second tubular hose (2A) and
sealing a top end of said liner cut piece (2B) to make a sealed liner cut
10 piece (2C),
d. making a first intermediate composite bag (C1) by inserting said sealed
liner cut piece (2C) into said sealed outer covering cut piece (1C)
e. aligning with each other the top edges of said sealed outer covering cut
piece (1C) and sealed liner cut piece (2C) of said first intermediate
15 composite bag (C1) to produce a second intermediate composite bag
(C2),
f. using a separation device (S), separating layers (1’, 1” and 2’, 2”) of said
cut pieces (1B and 2B) to form pairs of layers (1’/2’ and 1”/2”) and to
form an open mouth (C3) at the bottom end of said second intermediate
20 composite bag (C2)
g. inserting an inner tool (5) into said open mouth (C3)
19
h. sealing the edges of paired layers (1’/2’ and 1”/2”) together to form
upper (U) and lower (L) sealed edges, thereby forming said composite
bag (C) with sealed edges at its top end (T).
5 In a second embodiment, the length of said sealed liner cut piece (2C) is greater
than the length of said sealed outer covering cut piece (1C).
In a further embodiment, the width of said sealed liner cut piece (2C) is greater
than the length of said sealed outer covering cut piece (1C).
10
In a further embodiment, the sequence of the steps in the aforementioned
preferred embodiment is changed to: a, b, c, d, f, g, e, h.
In a still further embodiment, the sealing operations of aforementioned step a is
15 carried out using ultrasonic method.
In another embodiment, the sealing operations of aforementioned step c is are
carried out using ultrasonic method.
20 In yet another embodiment, the sealing operations of aforementioned step h is are
carried out using ultrasonic method.
20
In a further embodiment, the sealing operations of steps a and/or step c and/or step
h are carried out using gluing, welding, hot stapling, seaming or their
combination.
5 In on embodiment, the said separation device (S) of step f uses suction for
separating layers (1’, 1” and 2’, 2”) of said cut pieces (1B and 2B).
In another preferred embodiment of the invention, an apparatus is disclosed for
making a composite bag (C), said bag having an outer covering (1) made from a
10 first tubular hose (1A) and an insert (2) made from a second tubular hose (2A),
characterised in that said apparatus comprises:
a. a first cutting station (FC) for making outer covering cut pieces (1B) of
required length from said first tubular hose (1A),
b. a first sealing station (FS) for sealing a top end of said outer covering
15 cut piece (1B) to make a sealed outer covering (1C),
c. a second cutting station (SC) for making liner cut pieces (2B) of
required length from said second tubular hose (1B),
d. a second sealing station (SS) for sealing a top end of said liner cut
piece (2B) to make a sealed liner cut piece (2C),
20 e. a first inserting station (FIS) to insert said sealed liner cut piece (2C)
into said sealed outer covering cut piece (1C) to produce a first
intermediate composite bag (C1),
21
f. an aligning station (AS) to align with each other the bottom edges of
said sealed outer covering cut piece (1C) and sealed liner cut piece
(2C) of said first intermediate composite bag (C1) to produce second
intermediate composite bag (C2),
5 g. a layer separation station (LS) provided with a separation device (S)
for separating layers (1’, 1” and 2’, 2”) of said cut pieces (1B and 2B)
to form pairs of layers (1’/2’ and 1”/2”) and to form an open mouth
(C3) at the bottom end of said second intermediate composite bag
(C2),
10 h. a second inserting station (SIS) for inserting an inner tool (5) into said
open mouth (C3),
i. a third sealing station (TS) for sealing the edges of paired layers (1’/2’
and 1”/2”) together to form upper (U) and lower (L) sealed edges.
15 In a further embodiment of the apparatus, the layer separation station (LS) is
placed immediately downstream of the first insertion station (FIS), and wherein
the second insertion station (SIS) is placed immediately downstream of the layer
separation station (LS), after which said alignment station (AS) and said third
sealing station (TS) follow in that order.
20
In another embodiment a composite bag (C) is disclosed having a sealed outer
covering cut piece (1C) into which a sealed insert cut piece (2C) is inserted
22
characterised in that the layers (1’/2’ and 1”/2”) at the bottom ends (4/4A) of said
sealed outer covering cut piece (1C) and sealed liner cut piece (2C) of said
intermediate composite bag (C1) are joined together to form joints (J) resulting in
upper (U) and lower (L) sealed ends.
5
In a further embodiment of the composite bag (C), the length of said sealed liner cut
piece (2C) is greater than the length of said sealed outer covering cut piece (1C).
In a still further embodiment of the composite bag (C), the width of said sealed
10 liner cut piece (2C) is greater than the width of said sealed outer covering cut
piece (1C).
In another embodiment of the composite bag (C), the extra length of said sealed
liner cut piece gathers together near the top end of said composite bag (C).
15 However, it is possible that the extra length spreads over the entire length of or
only a part length of the composite bag (C).
In a still further embodiment of the composite bag (C), the extra width of said
sealed liner cut piece (2C) gathers together near the side edges of said sealed outer
20 covering cut piece (1C).
Finally, it is possible that the joints (J) at the upper and lower sealed ends (U and
L) have a measurable width.

We claim:
1. A method of making a composite bag (C), said composite bag (C) having an
outer covering (1) made from a first tubular hose (1A) and an insert (2) made
from a second tubular hose (2A), characterised in that said method comprises
5 the steps of:
a. making outer covering cut pieces (1B) of required length from said
first tubular hose (1A) and sealing a top end of said outer covering cut
piece (1B) to make a sealed outer covering cut piece (1C);
b. making at least one hole (6) in each of the layers (1’, 1”) of said cut
10 piece (1B);
c. making liner cut pieces (2B), from said second tubular hose (2A) and
sealing a top end of said liner cut piece (2B) to make a sealed liner cut
piece (2C);
d. making a first intermediate composite bag (C1) by inserting said
15 sealed liner cut piece (2C) into said sealed outer covering cut piece
(1C);
e. aligning with each other the top edges of said sealed outer covering
cut piece (1C) and sealed liner cut piece (2C) of said first intermediate
composite bag (C1) to produce a second intermediate composite bag
20 (C2);
f. using a separation device (S), separating layers (1’, 1” and 2’, 2”) of
said cut pieces (1B and 2B) to form pairs of layers (1’/2’ and 1”/2”)
24
and to form an open mouth (C3) at the bottom end of said second
intermediate composite bag (C2);
g. inserting an inner tool (5) into said open mouth (C3);
h. sealing the edges of paired layers (1’/2’ and 1”/2”) together to form
5 upper (U) and lower (L) sealed edges, thereby forming said composite
bag (C) with sealed edges at its top end (T).
2. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein length of said sealed liner cut
piece (2C) is greater than the length of said sealed outer covering cut piece
(1C).
10 3. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein width of said sealed liner cut
piece (2C) is greater than the width of said sealed outer covering cut piece
(1C).
4. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the sequence of the steps is a, b, c,
d, f, g, e, h.
15 5. The method as claimed in claims 1 to 4, wherein the sealing operations of
step a is carried out using ultrasonic method.
6. The method as claimed in claims 1 to 4, wherein the sealing operations of
step c is are carried out using ultrasonic method.
7. The method as claimed in claims 1 to 4, wherein the sealing operations of
20 step h is are carried out using ultrasonic method.
25
8. The method as claimed in claims 1 to 4, wherein the sealing operations of
steps a and/or step c and/or step h are carried out using gluing, welding, hot
stapling, seaming or their combination.
9. The method as claimed in claims 1 to 4, wherein said separation device (S) of
5 step f uses suction for separating layers (1’, 1” and 2’, 2”) of said cut pieces
(1B and 2B).
10. An apparatus for making a composite bag (C), said bag having an outer
covering (1) made from a first tubular hose (1A) and an insert (2) made from
a second tubular hose (2A), characterised in that said apparatus comprises:
10 a. a first cutting station (FC) for making outer covering cut pieces (1B) of
required length from said first tubular hose (1A),
b. a first sealing station (FS) for sealing a top end of said outer covering
cut piece (1B) to make a sealed outer covering (1C),
c. a second cutting station (SC) for making liner cut pieces (2B) of
15 required length from said second tubular hose (1B),
d. a second sealing station (SS) for sealing a top end of said liner cut
piece (2B) to make a sealed liner cut piece (2C),
e. a first inserting station (FIS) to insert said sealed liner cut piece (2C)
into said sealed outer covering cut piece (1C) to produce a first
20 intermediate composite bag (C1),
f. an aligning station (AS) to align with each other the bottom edges of
said sealed outer covering cut piece (1C) and sealed liner cut piece
26
(2C) of said first intermediate composite bag (C1) to produce second
intermediate composite bag (C2),
g. a layer separation station (LS) provided with a separation device (S)
for separating layers (1’, 1” and 2’, 2”) of said cut pieces (1B and 2B)
5 to form pairs of layers (1’/2’ and 1”/2”) and to form an open mouth
(C3) at the bottom end of said second intermediate composite bag
(C2),
h. a second inserting station (SIS) for inserting an inner tool (5) into said
open mouth (C3),
10 i. a third sealing station (TS) for sealing the edges of paired layers (1’/2’
and 1”/2”) together to form upper (U) and lower (L) sealed edges.
11. The apparatus as claimed in claim 10, wherein said layer separation station
(LS) is placed immediately downstream of the said first insertion station
(FIS), and wherein said second insertion station (SIS) is placed
15 immediately downstream of said layer separation station (LS), after which
said alignment station (AS) and said thirst sealing station (TS) follow in
that order.
12. A composite bag (C) said composite bag (C) having a sealed outer
covering cut piece (1C) into which a sealed insert cut piece (2C) is
20 inserted characterised in that the layers (1’/2’ and 1”/2”) at the bottom
ends (4/4A) of said sealed outer covering cut piece (1C) and sealed liner
27
cut piece (2C) of said intermediate composite bag (C1) are joined together
to form joints (J) resulting in upper (U) and lower (L) sealed ends.
13. The composite bag (C) as claimed in claim 12, wherein length of said
sealed liner cut piece (2C) is greater than the length of said sealed outer
5 covering cut piece (1C).
14. The composite bag (C) as claimed in claim 12, wherein the width of said
sealed liner cut piece (2C) is greater than the width of said sealed outer
covering cut piece (1C).
15. The composite bag (C) as claimed in claim 13, wherein the extra length of
10 said sealed liner cut piece gathers together near the top end of said
composite bag (C).
16. The composite bag (C) as claimed in claim 14, wherein the extra width of
said sealed liner cut piece (2C) gathers together near the side edges of said
sealed outer covering cut piece (1C).
15 17. The composite bag as claimed in claims 12 to 16, wherein the joints (J) at
the upper and lower sealed ends (U and L) have a measurable width