Convertible form, fill and seal packaging machine and method

A convertible vertical, form, fill and seal apparatus of the type that operates in conjunction with a product supply apparatus providing product in discrete quantities and that forms a continuous, heat sealable, plastic film into separate product-filled sealed pillow type or edge fin seal bags comprising:

• first means for storing and supplying a continuous, plastic film;
• second means for storing and supplying a continuous, plastic cap strip;
• a generally vertical fill tube assembly including a vertical fill tube downstream of said first means for storing and supplying the continuous plastic film, said vertical fill tube being a tube of oval horizontal cross-section and means for forming said plastic film around said vertical fill tube;
• feeding means including a plastic film drive roll, a pair of pull belts, and a pair of cap strip drive rollers for feeding the cap strip and the plastic film along the length of said vertical fill tube in bag length increments;
• vertical sealing means for sealing the edges of the plastic film to the edges of the cap strip to form a length of flexible, plastic tube;
• each of said pair of pull belts being mounted on a respective side of the vertical fill tube and biased against the plastic film and said vertical fill tube;
• horizontal sealing and severing means downstream of said vertical fill tube for severing the plastic tube and forming first and second horizontal seals across the plastic tube, the first horizontal seal defining a downstream edge of a bag about to be filled with product and the second horizontal seal defining an upstream edge of a bag which has already received product;
• tensioning means for horizontally elongating the plastic tube transverse to its length prior to severing and formation of said first and second horizontal seals;
• and,
• drawer means for supporting said horizontal sealing and severing means and including a central opening for accommodating passage of said bags therethrough and providing for horizontal movement of said horizontal sealing and severing means for at least one of servicing, adjustment, replacement, and indexing of horizontal sealing and severing means through 90.degree..

A convertible vertical, form, fill and seal apparatus of the type that operates in conjunction with a product supply apparatus providing product in discrete quantities and that forms a continuous, heat sealable, plastic film into separate, product-filled, sealed, pillow style or edge fin seal bags comprising:

• a controlled release festooner arrangement for storing and supplying a continuous plastic film;
• a generally vertical fill tube assembly including a vertical fill tube downstream of the festooner arrangement for the continuous film and around which the continuous film is wrapped and formed;
• feeding means for feeding the plastic film along the length of the vertical fill tube in bag length increments with edges of the plastic film adjacent one another;
• vertical sealing means for sealing the edges of the plastic film to one another to form a length of flexible, plastic tube;
• a pinch seal assembly downstream of the vertical fill tube for forming first and second horizontal seals across the flexible, plastic tube and for severing the plastic tube, the first horizontal seal defining a downstream edge of a bag about to be filled with product and the second horizontal seal defining an upstream edge of a bag which has already received product;
• said pinch seal assembly being mounted on a rectangular base plate having a central opening for passage of said bags therethrough,
• said base plate being attached to a rectangular drawer bottom having a central opening for accommodating passage of said bags therethrough and being supported on respective drawer slides allowing said drawer bottom, base plate and pinch seal assembly to be drawn forwardly out of the apparatus for at least one of servicing, maintenance, and indexing of the pinch seal assembly and base plate through 90.degree..

A convertible vertical, form, fill and seal apparatus of the type that operates in conjunction with a product supply apparatus providing product in discrete quantities and that forms a continuous, heat sealable, plastic film into separate, product-filled, sealed pillow type or edge fin seal bags comprising:

• means for storing and supplying a continuous plastic film;
• a generally vertical fill tube assembly including a vertical fill tube downstream of said means for storing and supplying a continuous plastic film and means for forming said plastic film around said vertical fill tube;
• feeding means including a plastic film drive roll and a pair of pull belts for feeding the plastic film along the length of said vertical fill tube in bag length increments;
• vertical sealing means for sealing the edges of the plastic film to one another to form a length of flexible, plastic tube;
• each of said pair of pull belts being mounted on a respective side of the vertical fill tube and biased against the plastic film and said vertical fill tube;
• horizontal sealing and severing means downstream of said vertical fill tube for severing the plastic tube and forming first and second horizontal seals across the plastic tube, the first horizontal seal defining a downstream edge of a bag about to be filled with product and the second horizontal seal defining an upstream edge of a bag which has already received product;
• tensioning means for horizontally elongating the plastic tube transverse to its length prior to severing and formation of said first and second horizontal seals;
• and,
• drawer means for supporting said horizontal sealing and severing means and including a central opening for accommodating passage of said bags therethrough and providing for horizontal movement of said horizontal sealing and severing means for at least one of servicing, adjustment, replacement, and indexing of said horizontal sealing and severing means through 90.degree..

A convertible vertical, form, fill and seal apparatus of the type that operates in conjunction with a product supply apparatus providing product in discrete quantities and that forms a continuous, heat sealable, plastic film into separate, product-filled, sealed, pillow type or edge fin seal bags comprising:

• means for storing and supplying the continuous plastic film;
• a generally vertical fill tube assembly including a vertical fill tube downstream of the means for storing and supplying the continuous film and around which the continuous film is wrapped and formed;
• feeding means for feeding the plastic film along the length of the vertical fill tube in bag length increments with edges of the continuous film in overlapping relationship with one another;
• vertical sealing means for sealing the edges of the continuous film together to form a flexible, plastic tube;
• horizontal sealing and severing means downstream of the vertical fill tube for forming upper and lower horizontal seals across the flexible, plastic tube and for severing the plastic tube;
• and,
• drawer means for supporting said horizontal sealing and severing means and including a central opening for accommodating passage of said bags therethrough and providing for horizontal movement of said horizontal sealing and severing means for at least one of servicing, adjustment, replacement, and indexing of said horizontal sealing and severing means through 90.degree..

A convertible vertical, form, fill and seal apparatus of the type that operates in conjunction with a product supply apparatus providing product in discrete quantities and that forms a continuous, heat sealable, plastic film into separate, product-filled, sealed, pillow type or edge fin seal bags comprising:

• means for storing and supplying a continuous, plastic film;
• a generally vertical fill tube assembly including a vertical fill tube downstream of said means for storing and supplying the plastic film, said vertical fill tube being a tube of oval horizontal cross-section and means for forming said plastic film around said vertical fill tube with edges of the plastic film meeting at one end of the minor diameter of said tube;
• feeding means including a plastic film drive roll and a pair of pull belts for feeding the plastic film along the length of said vertical fill tube in bag length increments;
• vertical sealing means for sealing the edges of the plastic film to one another to form a length of flexible, plastic tube;
• each of said pair of pull belts being mounted on a respective side of the vertical fill tube and biased against the plastic film and said vertical fill tube;
• horizontal sealing and severing means downstream of said vertical fill tube for severing the plastic tube and forming first and second horizontal seals across the plastic tube, the first horizontal seal defining a downstream edge of a bag about to be filled with product and the second horizontal seal defining an upstream edge of a bag which has already received product;
• and,
• drawer means for supporting said horizontal sealing and severing means and including a central opening for accommodating passage of said bags therethrough and providing for horizontal movement of said horizontal sealing and severing means for at least one of servicing, adjustment, replacement, and indexing of said horizontal sealing and severing means through 90.degree..

A convertible vertical, form, fill and seal apparatus of the type that operates in conjunction with a product supply apparatus providing product in discrete quantities and that forms one or both of a continuous, heat sealable, plastic film and zipper strip into separate, product-filled, reclosable or non-reclosable, sealed, pillow style or edge fin seal bags comprising:

• a first controlled release festooner arrangement for storing and supplying a continuous, plastic film;
• a second controlled release festooner arrangement for storing and supplying a continuous, plastic, zippered cap strip;
• a generally vertical fill tube assembly including a vertical fill tube downstream of the first and second storing and supplying festooner arrangements for the continuous film and zippered cap strip and around which the continuous film is wrapped and formed;
• feeding means for feeding at least one of the zippered cap strip and plastic film along the length of the vertical fill tube in bag length increments;
• vertical sealing means for sealing at least one of the edges of the plastic film to the edges of the zippered cap strip and the edges of the plastic film to one another to form a length of flexible, plastic tube;
• a pinch seal assembly downstream of the vertical fill tube for forming first and second horizontal seals across the flexible, plastic tube and for severing the plastic tube, the first horizontal seal defining a downstream edge of a bag about to be filled with product and the second horizontal seal defining an upstream edge of a bag which has already received product;
• and,
• said pinch seal assembly being mounted on a rectangular base plate having a central opening for passage of said bags therethrough,
• said base plate being attached to a rectangular drawer bottom having a central opening for accommodating passage of said bags therethrough and being supported on respective drawer slides allowing said drawer bottom, base plate and pinch seal assembly to be drawn forwardly out of the apparatus for at least one of servicing, maintenance, and indexing of the pinch seal assembly and base plate through 90.degree..

A convertible vertical, form, fill and seal apparatus of the type that operates in conjunction with a product supply apparatus providing product in discrete quantities and that forms a continuous, heat sealable, plastic film into separate, product-filled, sealed, pillow style or edge fin seal bags comprising:

• means for storing and supplying the continuous plastic film;
• a generally vertical fill tube assembly including a vertical fill tube downstream of the means for storing and supplying the continuous film and around which the continuous film is wrapped and formed;
• feeding means for feeding the continuous plastic film along the length of the vertical fill tube in bag length increments with edges of the continuous film in at least one of overlapping relationship and abutting relationship;
• vertical sealing means for sealing the edges of the continuous film to one another to form a flexible, plastic tube;
• horizontal sealing and severing means downstream of the vertical fill tube for forming upper and lower horizontal seals across the flexible, plastic tube and for severing the plastic tube;
• and,
• drawer means for supporting said horizontal sealing and severing means and including a central opening for accommodating passage of said bags therethrough and providing for horizontal movement of said horizontal sealing and severing means for at least one of servicing, adjustment, replacement, and indexing of said horizontal sealing and severing means through 90.degree..

A method of moving a pinch seal assembly and base plate unit mounted on a drawer bottom of a slidable drawer means including a drawer front attached to the drawer bottom in a vertical, form, fill and seal machine from a bag production position in the machine to a forward servicing or indexing position, the machine having a supply of plastic film and zipper strip, means for feeding the plastic film and zipper strip through the machine, a machine control system, a machine frame supporting machine components, an electrical quick disconnect in an electrical cable to the pinch seal assembly, a hinged whisker having a movable locking collar, the pinch seal assembly including rear components of a disc, belt and actuator, comprising the steps of:

• clearing the plastic film and zipper strip from the area of the pinch seal assembly, shutting off power to the machine control system, loosening threaded fasteners holding the drawer front to the machine frame, uncoupling the electrical quick disconnect and stowing the electrical cable up and out of the way, raising the locking collar up off of a hinge in the whisker to allow a lower end of the whisker to swing out of the way of the rear pinch seal assembly components including the disc, belt and actuator, and then pulling the drawer front forwardly which pulls the base plate drawer bottom, and pinch seal assembly forwardly a desired distance.

A pinch seal assembly, base plate and drawer unit for a vertical, form, fill and seal machine comprising:

• a pinch seal assembly for forming first and second horizontal seals across a flexible plastic tube and for severing the plastic tube between the said horizontal seals;
• a rectangular base plate supporting said pinch seal assembly and including a central opening for passage of said plastic tube therethrough;
• a rectangular drawer bottom supporting said base plate and including a central opening for passage of said plastic tube therethrough;
• and,
• drawer slides supporting said drawer bottom and allowing said drawer bottom, base plate, and pinch seal assembly to be simultaneously moved;
• whereby said drawer unit indexes said pinch seal assembly 90.degree. in order to form pillow and fin seal type bags.