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US 12,162,238 B2Granted
Process and equipment for manufacturing a reinforced sachet
AssigneeSociete des Produits Nestle S.A.
InventorsStephane Pellegrini, Charles Galantine, Jose Morral Roca
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
The present invention is directed to a process for manufacturing a flexible package suitable for containing a food or beverage ingredient and suitable for use with a food or beverage preparation machine, wherein said process comprises punching a flexible flat blank sheet between a plunger and a cavity that are movable relative to one another. According to the invention, the plunger has a concave end side and convex lateral sides, and the profile curvature of its end side is identical to the profile curvature of each of its lateral sides.
Claims15
A process for manufacturing a flexible package suitable for containing a food or beverage ingredient and suitable for use with a food or beverage preparation machine, wherein said process comprises:
- (i) providing a primary flat blank sheet made of flexible material, said primary flat blank sheet having an elongated shape with two flaps extending symmetrically around a transversal axis,
- (ii) placing the primary flat blank sheet in a forming station such that its center is located between a plunger and a cavity that are movable relative to one another and have complementary shapes, said plunger having a concave lower end side and convex lateral sides, a profile curvature of the lower end side being identical to a profile curvature of each of its the lateral sides,
- (iii) deforming the primary flat blank sheet by moving the plunger and the cavity towards one another, so that said primary flat blank sheet is folded around the transversal axis to lift the flaps and form an unsealed U-shaped package having side walls that form a flatten package body and a bottom portion, said bottom portion being a cup-shaped hollow volume having a shape of said plunger, and
- (iv) sealing lateral edges of said U-shaped package,
- wherein the process further comprises:
- placing a pair of plates underneath said primary flat blank sheet in step (ii), both plates being initially coplanar and each plate supporting one of the two flaps of the primary flat blank sheet, said plates being symmetrically pivotable around respective axes that are located on opposite sides of said plunger, and
- pivoting both plates during step (iii), so that an edge of each plate which is most distant from said plunger and said cavity is lifted during the pivoting in order to facilitate folding of the primary flat blank sheet into said unsealed U-shaped package.
4 more elements
A process for manufacturing a flexible package suitable for containing a food or beverage ingredient and suitable for use with a food or beverage preparation machine, wherein said process comprises:
- providing a primary flat blank sheet made of flexible material, said primary flat blank sheet having an elongated shape with two flaps extending symmetrically around a transversal axis;
- providing a secondary flat blank sheet;
- punching a primary hole through the primary flat blank sheet, said primary hole being centered across said primary flat blank sheet;
- punching a secondary hole at least through a fiber-based material of the secondary flat blank sheet, a diameter of said primary hole being equal to or greater than a diameter of the secondary hole in the secondary flat blank sheet;
- sealing or otherwise attaching said secondary flat blank sheet to an interior surface of the primary flat blank sheet, so that centers of the primary and secondary holes are aligned, a sealing or attachment area of the primary and secondary flat blank sheets having a ring shape that surrounds said holes and having a width which is between 0.5 mm and 10 mm;
- placing the primary flat blank sheet in a forming station such that its center is located between a plunger and a cavity that are movable relative to one another and have complementary shapes, said plunger having a concave lower end side and convex lateral sides, a profile curvature of the lower end side being identical to a profile curvature of each of the lateral sides;
- deforming the primary flat blank sheet by moving the plunger and the cavity towards one another, so that said primary flat blank sheet is folded around the transversal axis to lift the flaps and form an unsealed U-shaped package having side walls that form a flatten package body and a bottom portion, said bottom portion being a cup-shaped hollow volume having a shape of said plunger;
- and
- sealing lateral edges of said U-shaped package.
6 more elements
A machine for manufacturing a package, said machine comprising:
- a flexible flat blank sheet feeder;
- a forming set comprising a plunger and a cavity that are movable relative to one another and have complementary shapes, said plunger having a concave lower end side and convex lateral sides, a profile curvature of the lower end side being identical to a profile curvature of each of the lateral sides;
- an actuator for moving the plunger and the cavity towards one another to deform a primary flexible blank sheet by folding around its transversal axis to form an unsealed U-shaped package having side walls that form a flatten package body and a bottom portion having a rigid flat surface, said bottom portion being a hollow volume having a shape of said plunger;
- a set of sealing jaws adapted to seal lateral edges of said U-shaped package and the bottom portion of said U-shaped package;
- and
- a pair of plates adapted to support said primary flexible blank sheet, each plate supporting a flap of the primary flexible blank sheet, said plates being symmetrically pivotable around respective axes that are located on opposite sides of said plunger.
3 more elements
A machine for manufacturing a package, said machine comprising:
- a flexible flat blank sheet feeder;
- a forming set comprising a plunger and a cavity that are movable relative to one another and have complementary shapes, said plunger having a concave lower end side and convex lateral sides, a profile curvature of the lower end side being identical to a profile curvature of each of the lateral sides;
- an actuator for moving the plunger and the cavity towards one another to deform a primary flexible blank sheet by folding around its transversal axis to form an unsealed U-shaped package having side walls that form a flatten package body and a bottom portion having a rigid flat surface, said bottom portion being a hollow volume having a shape of said plunger;
- and
- a set of sealing jaws adapted to seal lateral edges of said U-shaped package and the bottom portion of said U-shaped package,
- wherein the concave lower end side of the plunger comprises a retractable protrusion that is aligned with a center of said plunger, said protrusion being spring-mounted to retract within the plunger when pressed against said primary flexible blank sheet and the cavity underneath.
3 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.