Sealing device for a packaging machine, packaging machine having a sealing device and method of operating a sealing device
AssigneeTetra Laval Holdings & Finance S.A.
InventorFabio Soci
Life of this patent
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Abstract
There is described a sealing device for sealing packages filled with a pourable product within a packaging machine. The sealing device has at least one sonotrode comprising at least a sonotrode head and a vibration control unit connected to the sonotrode head and configured to actuate ultrasonic vibrations of the sonotrode head. The vibration control unit comprises one or more piezoelectric transducer devices configured to generate ultrasonic vibrations to be coupled into the sonotrode head and one or more temperature sensors configured to measure the temperature of the one or more piezoelectric transducer devices for determining and/or monitoring respective operating states of the one or more piezoelectric transducer devices.
Claims20
Sealing device for sealing packages filled with a pourable product within a packaging machine;
- the sealing device having at least one sonotrode comprising at least:
- a sonotrode head;
- and
- a vibration control unit connected to the sonotrode head and configured to actuate ultrasonic vibrations of the sonotrode head;
- wherein the vibration control unit comprises:
- one or more piezoelectric transducer devices configured to generate ultrasonic vibrations to be coupled into the sonotrode head;
- and
- one or more temperature sensors configured to measure the temperature of the one or more piezoelectric transducer devices for determining and/or monitoring respective operating states of the one or more piezoelectric transducer devices;
- at least a housing shell having an inner space;
- and
- wherein each piezoelectric transducer device and each temperature sensor are arranged within the inner space.
Sealing device for sealing packages filled with a pourable product within a packaging machine;
- the sealing device having at least one sonotrode comprising at least:
- a sonotrode head having a sealing surface extending in a longitudinal axis direction;
- and
- a vibration control unit connected to the sonotrode head and configured to actuate ultrasonic vibrations of the sonotrode head;
- the vibration control unit comprising:
- first and second piezoelectric transducer devices each configured to generate ultrasonic vibrations to be coupled into the sonotrode head, the first and second piezoelectric transducer devices each comprising a stack of piezoelectric elements, the stack of piezoelectric elements of the first piezoelectric transducer device being spaced, in the longitudinal axis direction, from the stack of piezoelectric elements of the second piezoelectric transducer device;
- and
- a first temperature sensor operatively connected to the first piezoelectric transducer device to measure the temperature of the first piezoelectric transducer device, a second temperature sensor operatively connected to the second piezoelectric transducer device to measure the temperature of the second piezoelectric transducer device.
Method of operating a sealing device in a packaging machine to seal packaging material, the sealing device including at least one sonotrode comprising a sonotrode head and a vibration control unit connected to the sonotrode head and configured to actuate ultrasonic vibrations of the sonotrode head, the vibration control unit comprising at least one piezoelectric transducer device configured to generate ultrasonic vibrations to be coupled into the sonotrode head and a temperature sensor configured to measure the temperature of the piezoelectric transducer device, the method comprising:
- a) exciting ultrasonic vibrations of the sonotrode head by operation of the piezoelectric transducer device to seal the packaging material;
- b) measuring the temperature of the piezoelectric transducer device;
- and
- c) using the temperature obtained in b) to determine aging of the piezoelectric transducer device and/or remaining lifetime of the piezoelectric transducer device.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.