Horizontal packaging apparatus

A horizontal packaging apparatus comprising:

• a conveying line of products to be packaged, configured to move the products along a products conveying direction;
• infeeding means of a continuous sheet of packaging material, configured and arranged to unwind the continuous sheet from a relative reel and to direct and arrange the continuous sheet in a position above the conveying line and therefore above the products;
• a forming device, fixedly mounted on a support surface and arranged along the conveying line of the products and having an infeed section and an outfeed section and comprising folding means arranged between the infeed section and the outfeed section;
• advancement means of the continuous sheet, configured to advance the continuous sheet along an advancement direction concordant with the conveying direction of the products to cross the forming device from the infeed section to the outfeed section;
• wherein the folding means of the forming device are configured to intercept and abut the continuous sheet and fold the continuous sheet so as to form a tubular wrapping around the products comprising an upper portion, above the products, two lateral portions, flanked to the products, and two lower portions folded back beneath the products and comprising respective end flaps folded and facing one another;
• wherein the advancement means comprise pulling means arranged consecutively to the outfeed section of the forming device which are configured to abut the end flaps, folded and facing one another, of the lower portions folded back beneath the products, to pull and thus advance the tubular wrapping, wrapped around the products, beyond the outfeed section of the forming device;
• welding means, arranged consecutively to the pulling means, and configured to bilaterally abut and weld the facing end flaps of the lower portions of the tubular wrapping folded back beneath the products;
• cutting/welding means, arranged downstream of the welding means, configured to abut the tubular wrapping so as to transversally cut and weld the tubular wrapping in order to create final wrappings;
• a first vertical support wall;
• a first frame which bears the pulling means and which is mounted slidably on the first vertical support wall;
• first movement means for moving the first frame with respect to the first vertical support wall and thus for moving the pulling means towards and away with respect to the support surface of the forming device in a moving away or nearing direction parallel to the products conveying direction so that the pulling means are movable between a first position, wherein the pulling means are at a minimum distance from the outfeed section of the forming device, and a second position, wherein the pulling means are at a maximum distance from the outfeed section of the forming device and consequently to vary the relative distance between the welding means with respect to the pulling means when the pulling means are moved,
• further comprising a fixed second vertical support wall;
• a third frame, which bears the infeeding means of the continuous sheet and which is slidably mounted on the fixed second vertical support wall above the conveying line of products and above the forming device;
• and third movement means for the movement of the third frame, and therefore of the infeeding means of the continuous sheet, with respect to the pulling means, between an advanced position and a retracted position along a parallel direction to the products conveying direction, wherein the third movement means comprise at least a third linear sliding guide, arranged parallel to the advancement direction of the continuous sheet, with the third frame being slidably mounted on the third sliding guide, with the third movement means further comprising a third linear driving means for moving the third frame alternatingly along the third sliding guide.