Food container cleaner apparatus and method

A food packaging machine, including:

• a receptacle filling station operable for placing food into receptacles, the receptacles having sealing surfaces;
• a sealing station operable for securing a cover material onto the sealing surfaces of the receptacles thereby forming sealed containers;
• a conveyor operable for transporting filled receptacles from the filling station to the sealing station;
• a receptacle cleaner positioned between the filling station and the sealing station, the cleaner, including a first carrier, a roll of towel material rotatably mounted on the first carrier, a presser including a resiliently deformable member overlying and extending substantially across the conveyor and mounted for rotation and having a portion of the towel material passing thereunder and partially therearound and operable to effect engagement of towel material with the sealing surfaces passing under the presser, a towel material take-up mechanism operable to store towel material after towel material has contacted sealing surfaces of receptacles, a power drive associated with the take-up mechanism and operable to selectively transfer towel material from the roll to the take-up mechanism and a brake operable to resist movement of towel material from the roll to the take-up mechanism,
• a sensor operable to sense receptacle advancement and further operable to provide a signal indicative of a number of receptacles that have advanced, and
• a controller operable to receive and interpret said signal and said controller operably associated with the drive to effect advancement of the towel material from the supply mechanism to the take-up mechanism responsive to said signal after a predetermined receptacle advancement number is indicated.

A food packaging machine including:

• a receptacle filling station operable for placing food into receptacles;
• a sealing station operable for securing cover material onto each of the receptacles each having a sealing surface;
• a conveyor operable for transporting receptacles from the filling station to the sealing station;
• and
• a cleaner positioned adjacent the conveyor downstream of the filling station and upstream of the sealing station, the cleaner, including a first carrier, a roll of towel material rotatably mounted on the first carrier, a presser, including a resiliently deformable member overlying and extending generally across the conveyor and mounted for rotation and having a portion of the towel material passing thereunder and partially there around and operable to effect engagement of towel material with the sealing surfaces passing under the presser, a towel material take-up mechanism operable to store towel material after towel material has contacted sealing surfaces of receptacles, a power drive associated with the take-up mechanism and operable to selectively transfer towel material from the roll to the take-up mechanism, a brake operable to resist movement of towel material from the roll to the take-up mechanism, and
• a sensor operable to sense receptacle advancement and further operable to provide a signal indicative of a number of receptacles that have advanced, and a controller operable to receive and interpret said signal and said controller operably associated with the drive to effect advancement of the towel material from the supply mechanism to the take-up mechanism responsive to said signal after a predetermined receptacle advancement number is indicated.