Film sealing and packaging method and apparatus with adjustable seal quality
AssigneeWeldotron of Delaware, Inc.
InventorMartin Siegel
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A form fill packaging and sealing apparatus comprises a film dispenser and a film forming plow which, together with a roller guide, forms the film to be sealed into a tube with the free edges at the side. The object to be packaged is inserted into the film tube. The free edges of the film are longitudinally sealed together at the side of the package by a rotary heat sealer and immediately cooled to approximate impulse sealing. The quality and width of the longitudinal seal can be adjusted by changing the amount that the film is preheated before sealing. A cross seal is made at the front and back of the object to be packaged. The excess gas in the package is pressed out by a presser before the back cross seal is made.
Claims49
A mechanism for heat sealing film traveling from upstream to downstream along a film path comprising:
- a housing;
- a plate pivotally mounted on the housing;
- a worm gear operably engaged to the plate for pivoting the plate;
- a heated sealing roller rotatably mounted on the plate;
- a sealing bed roller rotatably mounted on the plate adjacent to the heating roller such that film passing between the heating roller and the bed roller is pressed together;
- wherein, when the plate is pivoted, the heated sealing roller is displaced into the film path.
An apparatus for sealing film traveling along a film path comprising:
- a housing;
- a first arm attached to the housing;
- a heated roller having a center rotatably mounted on the first arm;
- a second arm attached to the housing;
- a bed roller having a center rotatably mounted on the second arm;
- means for pivoting the first arm and the second arm such that the heated roller and the bed roller are disposed adjacently and the film is disposed between the rollers;
- and
- a screw operably engaged to the first arm capable of displacing at least the first arm, thereby moving the heated roller a selected distance into the film path.
A film sealing packaging apparatus for wrapping items in heat sealable film comprising:
- a film dispenser;
- a film forming means for forming the film into a tube by drawing edges of the film together;
- a conveyor for inserting items into the tube;
- a sealing mechanism for sealing the edges of the film comprising:
- a housing;
- a heated sealing roller rotatably mounted to the housing;
- a sealing bed roller rotatably mounted on the housing adjacent to the heated sealing roller;
- means for applying a variable amount of heat to the edges of said film prior to sealing the edges of said film;
- and
- a cross sealer.
A method of sealing films with seals of adjustable width comprising the steps of:
- disposing at least two films to be sealed adjacent to one another;
- inserting the films between at least one heated sealing roller and at least one sealing bed roller wherein centers of the heated sealing roller and the sealing bed roller define a roller axis line;
- sealing the films by applying pressure and heat between the heated sealing roller and the sealing bed roller;
- and
- rotating the roller axis line such that the films are preheated before sealing.
A mechanism for sealing heat-sealable film moving along a film path comprising:
- at least one heated sealing roller;
- at least one sealing bed roller disposed adjacent to the heated roller such that film passing between the rollers is pressed together and heated;
- and
- means for displacing the heat sealing roller into the film path such that the film lies on the heated sealing roller for a selected portion before the film is sealed.
A method of packaging items in heat-sealable film comprising the steps of:
- dispensing film;
- drawing edges of the film together to form a tube;
- transporting the edges of the film along a film path;
- inserting items in the tube;
- sealing the edges of the film by pressing them together at a sealing point between at least one heated sealing roller and at least one sealing bed roller;
- displacing the heated sealing roller into the film path thereby causing the film to contact the heated sealing roller for a distance before the sealing point.
A hermetic sealing and packaging apparatus comprising:
- a film dispenser
- a film-forming means for forming film into a tube by drawing the edges of the film together;
- a longitudinal seal section for hermetically sealing the edges by pressing them between a heated sealing roller and a sealing bed roller;
- a roller axis line defined by the center of the heated sealing roller and the center of the sealing bed roller;
- a means for displacing the roller axis line;
- a hermetic cross-sealer;
- and
- a gas nozzle for blowing a selected gas into the tube.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.