Apparatus and method of making containers
AssigneeCryovac, Inc.
InventorsStefano Capitani, Ivo Pascolo
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An apparatus is configured to make containers from sheet material. The apparatus includes a supply station for supplying a film having at least one folded portion having three or more film flaps folded and superimposed with respect to each other; a welding station configured to receive the film. The welding station comprises a welding head configured for welding the folded portion of the film and forming a container defining a housing compartment; the welding head comprises a heater made of electrically conductive material whose electrical resistivity, at least in a predetermined temperature range, decreases upon the increase of the temperature of the same electrically conductive material.
Claims8
An apparatus for making containers made of sheet material, said apparatus comprising:
- a supply station configured to supply a film, the film having at least one folded portion having three or more film flaps folded and superimposed with respect to each other,
- a welding station configured to receive the film from the supply station, wherein the welding station comprises at least one welding head configured to contact the film and weld at least the folded portion of said film to form a container having a housing compartment, wherein the welding head comprises at least one heater made of electrically conductive material having an electrical resistivity which, at least in a predetermined temperature range, decreases upon the increase of temperature of the electrically conductive material;
- and
- at least one power supplier connected to the welding head and configured to provide electric power to the heater so as to enable the passage of an electric current flow within the heater, the apparatus further comprises a control unit active on the power supplier and configured to command the power supplier and control the supply of electric power to the heater, said control unit being further configured to command to the power supplier a heating cycle comprising:
- applying an electric voltage to the conductive strip of the heater to generate a temperature increase of an exposed surface of the welding head so to take it to a first temperature;
- controlling said electric voltage to maintain the exposed surface of the welding head at the first temperature for a first discrete time interval;
- and
- reducing or eliminating the voltage applied to the conductive strip of the heater to reduce the temperature of the welding head below said first temperature.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.