Apparatus and process for packaging a product
AssigneeCryovac, Inc.
InventorsJvanohe Rizzi, Stepfano Capitani
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A process for packaging a product arranged on a support comprising unrolling a film, moving the film to a packaging assembly defining at its inside a packaging chamber, progressively moving a number of supports inside the packaging chamber of the packaging assembly, closing the packaging chamber with the film sheets held above the respective support, optionally causing one or both of: a gas withdrawal from the hermetically closed packaging chamber and gas injection of a gas mixture of controlled composition, heat sealing the film to said support, wherein the heat sealing uses one or more heaters having heating surfaces which are heated for discrete and short time periods only. An apparatus for performing the above process is also disclosed.
Claims26
A packaging apparatus comprising:
- a packaging assembly configured to receive at least one support and to tightly fix a film to the support, the packaging assembly including:
- a lower tool defining a prefixed number of seats configured to receive said at least one support with a product to be packaged,
- an upper tool facing and cooperating with the lower tool, said upper tool and lower tool being relatively movable at least between a first operating condition, where the upper tool and lower tool are spaced apart from one another and allow positioning of at least one film portion of said film above one or more of said at least one support, and a second operating condition, where the upper tool and lower tool are approached to one another and allow heat sealing of said film portion to the at least one support located at said one or more seats,
- an inner heater carried by the upper tool and having a heating surface configured to heat at least a part of said film portion,
- a peripheral heater carried by the upper tool and positioned radially outside with respect to the inner heater, the peripheral heater having a heating surface configured to heat seal to the at least one support at least a peripheral region of said film portion;
- a supply unit configured to control energy supplied to said peripheral heater and to said inner heater;
- and
- a control device acting on the supply unit and configured to command the supply unit and control a supply of energy to the peripheral heater independently from a supply of energy to the inner heater, said control device being further configured to command the supply unit to execute a heating cycle including the following steps:
- increasing a temperature of the heating surface of the peripheral heater to a first temperature,
- keeping the heating surface of the peripheral heater at least at the first temperature for a first discrete time interval,
- reducing the temperature of the heating surface of the peripheral heater below said first temperature,
- increasing a temperature of the heating surface of the inner heater to a second temperature,
- keeping the heating surface of the inner heater at least at the second temperature for a second discrete time interval, wherein a start of the second discrete time interval is after a start of the first time interval, and
- reducing the temperature of the heating surface of the inner heater below said second temperature.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.