Apparatus for making, handling, and filling pouches

In a machine having a production path provided with an upstream intake where individual pouches are made from a weldable film or individual premade pouches are loaded in and oriented with mouths of the pouches directed upward, a filling station downstream therefrom where contents are inserted into the open pouches through the upwardly open mouths of the pouches, and a sealing station downstream therefrom where the open mouths of the pouches are closed, a transport system comprising:

• an endless track having a working stretch extending along the path and a return stretch extending from a downstream end of the working stretch to an upstream end of the working stretch;
• a plurality of carriages each carrying at least one permanent magnet and a clamp, the carriages riding on the track for movement through the stations on the working stretch and for movement from the downstream end of the working stretch along the return stretch back to the upstream end of the working stretch;
• an array of electromagnets on the track only along the working stretch;
• an electronic controller connected to the electromagnets to advance the carriages downstream through the working stretch while varying the travel speeds of at least half of the carriages in the working stretch so as to pucker and depucker pouches held in the clamps of the carriages;
• and
• a mechanical or frequency-driven conveyor for displacing the carriages along the return stretch from the downstream end of the path to the upstream end of the path at a generally constant speed.