Flexible Jaws for Vertical Fill Form and Seal Apparatus and Methods of Use

A vertical form fill and seal apparatus for packaging a particulate product, the vertical fill apparatus mounted to a structural frame, the vertical form fill and seal apparatus comprising:

• a package sealing assembly having opposed sealing jaws coupled to each other around a common pivot point;
• a first actuator fixedly attached to the structural frame, the first actuator mechanically coupled to the opposed sealing jaws to controlledly pivot the opposed sealing jaws about the common pivot point to open and close the opposed sealing jaws;
• a second actuator fixedly attached to the structural frame, the second actuator mechanically coupled to the package sealing assembly and configured to controlledly reciprocate the package sealing assembly up and down;
• and
• a configurable controller controlling opening and closing of the sealing jaws by the first actuator and controlling the reciprocating by the second actuator thereby causing the jaws to describe a preset locus of travel;
• whereby when in use, the first actuator operates the opposed sealing jaws to the seal package film transversely with the particulate product therein, while the sealing jaws follow the preset locus of travel.