US 4,881,360 A · High capacity package seal, sever, and brick apparatus and method

Abstract

Improved clamp, seal, sever, and brick apparatus for use in form, fill, and seal machines that form a polyfoil tube filled with a product into a plurality of sealed packages, preferably aseptic packages. The improved apparatus incorporates a plurality of sealing heads mounted on a continuously advancing structure that transversely clamps, seals, and severs the endlessly advancing tube into packages, and compresses the packages to preform them into about their final rectangular configuration. Induction heating is used to seal the web. The sealing heads include a sealing jaw and an anvil jaw hinged together and adapted to clamp the tube therebetween at predetermined locations as the sealing heads and product filled tubing advance, the locations being adjustable and the sealing and anvil jaws being adjustable to control the volume of product clamped and sealed in each package.

Claims13

Dependent claims

Apparatus for controlling the volume of product in an advancing polyfoil tube including a plurality of clamping means for sequentially transversely clamping the tube at spaced intervals as the tube advances, each clamping means having a first member and a second member pivotally connected together having an open and unclamped position and a closed and clamped about the tube position, comprising;

means for controlling the orientation of each clamping means as it closes about the tube at a predetermined location to adjust the length of the advancing tube to be transversely clamped;
a pair of fingers oriented to contact the polyfoil tube before each clamping means closes to adjust the configuration of the tube and the volume of product in the tube;
and
a first boundary surface extending from one of the first or second members of each clamping means, and a second boundary surface extending from the other of the first or second members of each clamping means, said first and second boundary surfaces cooperating to contact the tube and confine the tube to a predetermined configuration as each clamping means closes about the tube to control the amount of product in the tube as the tube is clamped.

1 more element

A method of controlling the volume of product clamped in a polyfoil tube for use in an apparatus for forming packages from such a tube, the apparatus having a plurality of clamping means for transversely clamping the tube, each clamping means having a first member and a second member and having an open position and closed and clamped about the tube position, comprising:

transversely clamping the tube with a preceding clamping means;
controlling the orientation of each clamping means as it is closed about the tube at a predetermined location to adjust the length of the advancing tube to be transversely clamped;
contacting the tube with a pair of opposing reciprocating members before each clamping means closes to adjust the configuration of the tube and the volume of product in the tube;
and
confining the tube to a predetermined configuration by contacting the tube with a first boundary surface and a second boundary surface before and while the clamping means closes, the first boundary surface extending from one of the first or second members of a clamping means and the second boundary surface extending from the other member of a clamping means.

2 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

High capacity package seal, sever, and brick apparatus and method

Life of this patent

High capacity package seal, sever, and brick apparatus and method

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims13