System to form, fill and seal flexible bags
AssigneeBaxter International Inc.
InventorAlberto Siccardi
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A system to form, fill and seal (FFS) flexible bags including the steps of: a total printing of the film as it winds off the supply reel; a dry cleaning; a gimballed aligning for the folding of the printed and washed film; a hot-bar welding of the folded film; a valve welding controlled by an algorithm; a humidification treatment of the valve cavity; a shaping of the bags by hot tools also controlled by an algorithm; and a high precision dosage of the filling liquid.
Claims23
A method of forming flexible plastic containers and filling with infusion-type solutions, the method comprising the steps of:
- printing of a film wound off a supply reel;
- directing a gas from a gas applicator toward and across a dry surface of the film to remove impurities therefrom;
- carrying the impurities away from the dry film surface with a nozzle juxtaposed the gas applicator to dry clean the film without contact with a liquid or system supports;
- aligning the film for folding thereof;
- hot-bar longitudinal welding of the folded film to create a bag;
- sterilizing a cavity of a valve by humidifying the cavity without exposing the cavity to ultraviolet radiation;
- welding the valve to the film using a control algorithm to control the speed and position of a welding head during the welding head's approach to an anvil;
- shaping the bag using hot tools controlled by an algorithm;
- and
- supplying a high precision dosage of a filling liquid into the bag.
A method of forming flexible plastic containers and filling with infusion-type solutions, the method comprising the steps of:
- printing of a film wound off a supplying reel;
- directing a gas from a gas applicator toward and across a dry surface of the film to remove impurities therefrom;
- carrying the impurities away from the dry film surface and the gas out through a nozzle juxtaposed the gas applicator to dry clean the film without contact with a liquid or system supports;
- accumulating the film;
- aligning the film for folding thereof;
- washing the film with the filling liquid;
- hot-bar longitudinal welding and transverse welding of the folded film to create a bag;
- sterilizing a cavity of a valve by humidifying the cavity without exposing the cavity to ultraviolet radiation;
- welding the valve to the film using a control algorithm to control the speed and position of a welding head during the welding head's approach to an anvil;
- shaping the bag using hot tools controlled by an algorithm;
- forming a suspension hole in the bag;
- and
- supplying a high precision dosage of a filling liquid into the bag.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.