Method and apparatus for forming and hermetically sealing slices of food items

A process for packaging a food item wherein the food item is wrapped in individual slices by inserting the food item into a continuous plastic web, comprising:

• forming a food item into a soft mass;
• providing a web of thermoplastic material;
• arranging the web of thermoplastic material to have a front sheet and a rear sheet in folded condition, wherein the front and rear sheets each have an outer surface and an inner sealing surface, and wherein the web in folded condition has a folded longitudinal first edge and an open longitudinal second edge;
• moving the web continuously in a forward direction;
• conveying the web in folded condition to a longitudinal sealing station;
• forming a longitudinal hermetic seal along the longitudinal second edge of the web, the longitudinal hermetic seal being formed between the inner sealing surface on the front sheet of the web and the inner sealing surface on the rear sheet of the web so as to form a tubular web of plastic;
• inserting the soft mass food item into the tubular web of plastic;
• moving the web continuously in a forward direction;
• continuously flattening the web with the inserted food item such that a continuous slice of the food item is formed between front and rear sheets of the plastic web;
• after the web has been flattened and during substantially continuous forward movement of the web, urging opposing portions of the front and rear sheets of the web into intimate contact with each other at a plurality of cross-sealing zones extending continuously between the first and second longitudinal edges of the web, the opposing portions of the front and rear sheets of the web being urged together at the cross-sealing zones at a pressure sufficient to maintain intimate contact between them and to remove substantially all of the food item from the cross-sealing zones;
• applying heat to the cross-sealing zones in a conductive manner for an amount of time, and at a sufficient temperature, to form hermetic cross-seals extending continuously between the first and second longitudinal edges of the folded web;
• the folded longitudinal first edge, the hermetically sealed longitudinal second edge, and the hermetic cross-seals thereby providing a food item enclosed within a hermetically sealed package.

An apparatus for packaging a food item wherein the food item is wrapped in individual slices comprising:

• a food former providing a food item with a soft mass;
• a device for folding a continuous web of plastic material into folded condition, the folded web including a front sheet and a rear sheet joined by a fold at a bottom longitudinal edge, and having an open top longitudinal edge, the front sheet and the rear sheet each having an outer layer and an inner sealing layer;
• a longitudinal sealing station including a positioner positioning the front sheet and the rear sheet such that, at the open top longitudinal edge of the web, the inner sealing layer of the front sheet faces the inner sealing layer of the rear sheet, and a longitudinal sealer forming a longitudinal hermetic seal as the web is continuously moved, the longitudinal hermetic seal extending continuously along the top longitudinal edge of the web and joining the inner sealing layers of the front and rear sheets of the web, thereby defining a continuous tubular web of plastic material;
• a food introducer for inserting the food item into the continuous tubular web of plastic material;
• a flattening device continuously flattening the tubular web with the inserted food item inside the web such that a continuous slice of the food item is defined between the front sheet and the rear sheet of the web;
• a cross-sealing station disposed downstream of the longitudinal sealing station, the cross-sealing station including opposing pairs of heated cleats arranged to receive the web between the cleats, the cleats applying sufficient pressure at cross-sealing zones to remove substantially all of the food item between the front and rear sheets of the flattened web at the cross-sealing zones, the cross-sealing zones extending continuously from the bottom longitudinal edge to the top longitudinal edge of the folded web, and the cleats applying heat conductively to the web at the cross-sealing zones as the web is continuously moved, wherein the heat is applied to the cross-sealing zones for an amount of time sufficient to hermetically seal the inner sealing layers of the front and rear sheets together at the cross-sealing zones to thereby provide a hermetically sealed package.

A process for packaging a food item formed into a soft mass wherein the food item is wrapped in individual slices comprising:

• providing a heat sealable continuous web consisting essentially of a nonmetallic material;
• folding the heat sealable continuous web into a folded condition including a fold, a folded longitudinal first side and an open longitudinal second side, the folded web on one side of the fold defining a front sheet and on the other side of the fold defining a rear sheet;
• continuously moving the web in a forward direction;
• forming a longitudinal hermetic seal along the open longitudinal side of the web in folded condition to define a continuous tubular web, the longitudinal hermetic seal being formed in a continuous manner as the web is moved forward;
• inserting the soft mass food item into the tubular web;
• continuously flattening the web with the inserted food item such that a continuous slice of the food item is formed between front and rear sheets of the folded web;
• forming cross-sealing zones extending continuously between the longitudinal first and second sides of the folded web at predetermined intervals in the web transverse to the longitudinal sides., the cross-sealing zones being formed by the application of pressure at the cross-sealing zones sufficient to remove substantially all of the food item from between the front and rear sheets of the web at the cross-sealing zones;
• and
• forming a plurality of hermetically sealed cross-seals at the cross-sealing zones by applying heat to the cross-sealing zones for a predetermined amount of time while the web is continuously moved forward, the predetermined amount of time being sufficient to form hermetic seals at the cross-sealing zones and to thereby provide slices of the food item enclosed within hermetically sealed non-metallic packages.

An apparatus for packaging a food item wherein the food item is wrapped in individual slices comprising:

• a food former providing a food item with a soft mass;
• a device for folding a continuous web of plastic material into folded condition, the folded web including front and rear sheets joined by a fold at a bottom longitudinal edge, and an open top longitudinal edge, the front sheet and the rear sheet each having an outer surface and an inner sealing surface;
• a longitudinal sealing station including a positioner positioning the front sheet and the rear sheet such that, at the open top longitudinal edge of the web, the inner sealing surface of the front sheet faces the inner sealing surface of the rear sheet, and a longitudinal sealer continuously forming a longitudinal hermetic seal near the top longitudinal edge of the web between the inner sealing surfaces of the front and rear sheets of the web as the web is continuously moved, thereby defining a continuous tubular web of plastic material;
• an inserter inserting the food item into the continuous tubular web of plastic material;
• a flattener for flattening the web containing the inserted food item to form a continuous slice of the food item between the front and rear sheets of the folded web;
• a cross-sealing station disposed downstream of the longitudinal sealing station, the cross-sealing station including a cross-sealer for applying sufficient pressure at cross-sealing zones extending between the bottom longitudinal edge and the longitudinal hermetic seal to remove substantially all of the food item from between the front and rear sheets of the web at the cross-sealing zones, the cross-sealer also applying heat to the web at the cross-sealing zones as the web is continuously moved, wherein the heat is applied to the cross-sealing zones for an amount of time sufficient to hermetically seal the inner sealing surfaces of the front and rear sheets together at the cross-sealing zones, thereby providing slices of the food item enclosed by a hermetically sealed plastic package;
• and
• a drive continuously conveying the web to the longitudinal sealing and cross-sealing stations.