Optical sealing clamp and a method for sealing and cutting polymeric sheets with a laser

A method of forming, sealing and cutting optically, and filling a pouch with a liquid at high speed, said method comprising the steps of:

• i) providing a vertical tube, made of polymeric film, that is at least partially filled with a liquid;
• ii) flattening a filled section of said tube by actuating a support mechanism interconnecting two jaws of an optical clamp to allow a closing of the clamp whereupon said films are pressed between said jaws about a section of the films to be sealed/cut, with the section being free of contact with at least one of said jaws, and for a determined time interval for subsequent optical sealing and cutting of said section of said tube;
• iii) exposing said section of said tube to an intensity profile of at least one laser beam, for a time exposure interval τ, to heat in a controlled manner said section of said tube, said intensity profile being shaped to provide a corresponding absorbed intensity profile in said section of said tube;
• iv) providing a desired beat amount to said section of said tube by optimizing a combination of said absorbed intensity profile, said time exposure interval τ, and by heating if required said optical sealing clamp;
• v) obtaining as a result two seals across said section of said tube, and simultaneously severed region between the seals to form a top seal for a filled pouch that is separated from said tube and a bottom seal for said vertical tube.

A method of sealing or sealing-and-cutting packages made with polymeric films using at least one laser source and at least one optical sealing clamp, the method comprising the steps of:

• i) providing a partially or completely formed package that is partially or completely filled with its content or being filled with its content;
• ii) superposing and bringing into contact an inner wall of a section of said package for subsequent sealing by actuating two jaws of an optical sealing clamp to allow a closing of the clamp whereupon said films are pressed said jaws about said section of said films to be sealed/cut, the section being free of contact with at least one of said jaws;
• iii) exposing for a time exposure interval τ, said section of said package to an intensity profile of at least one laser beam by directing the laser beam through an aperture of at least one of said jaws of the clamp to heat in a controlled manner said section of said package, said intensity profile being shaped to provide a corresponding absorbed intensity profile is said section of said package;
• iv) providing a desired heat amount to said section of said package in order to perform one of a sealing operation and a sealing-and-cutting operation, by optimizing a combination of said absorbed intensity profile, said time exposure interval, and by heating said optical sealing clamp upon demand;
• v) obtaining as a result in the case of the sealing operation, a seal across said section of said package, and in the case of the sealing-and-cutting operation, two sealed region across said section of said package and simultaneously a cut region between the two sealed regions where the package is cut.

A method of sealing or cutting optically with at least one laser beam polymeric sheets, the method comprising:

• superposing and bringing into contact at least two of said sheets together by actuating a support mechanism interconnecting two jaws of an optical clamp to allow a closing of the clamp whereupon said films are pressed between said jaws about an area of said sheets,
• exposing the area of the sheets, to the at least one laser beam by directing the laser beam on the area, through an aperture of at least one of said jaws of the clamp, the area corresponding to at least a portion of a volume of said sheets to be sealed or cut
• providing an incident laser beam intensity, for the purpose of one of sealing and cutting said sheets,
• increasing an intensity of the laser beam in the volume by re-injecting partly or totally an unabsorbed portion of the incident laser beam intensity that has not been absorbed by the sheets back to the sheets by using at least one reflective device, the at least one reflective device dividing the unabsorbed portion of the incident laser beam intensity in at least two reflected laser beams each for increasing the intensity in a different portion of the volume, thereby improving the efficiency of the sealing or cutting method by having more light intensity of said incident laser intensity absorbed by the sheets.

A method of sealing or sealing-and-cutting packages made with polymeric sheets using at least one laser source and at least one optical sealing clamp, the method comprising the steps of:

• i) providing a partially or completely formed package that is partially or completely filled with its content or being filled with its content,
• ii) superposing and bringing into contact an inner wall of a section of said package for subsequent sealing by actuating two jaws of an optical sealing clamp to allow a closing of the clamp whereupon said films are pressed between said jaws about the section to be sealed/cut, the section being free of contact with at least one of said jaws,
• iii) exposing for a time exposure interval τ, said section of said package to an intensity profile of at least one laser beam by directing the laser beam through an aperture of at least one of said jaws of the clamp, to heat in a controlled manner said section of said package, said intensity profile being shaped to provide a corresponding absorbed intensity profile in said section of said package,
• iv) providing a desired heat amount to said section of said package in order to perform one of a sealing operation and a sealing-and-cutting operation, by optimizing a combination of said absorbed intensity profile, said time exposure interval, and by heating if required said optical sealing clamp,
• v) obtaining as a result in the case of the sealing operation, a seal across said section of said package, and in the case of the sealing-and-cutting operation, two sealed regions across said section of said package and simultaneously a cut region between the two sealed regions where the package is cut.