Counterbalanced servo end seal carriages
AssigneeSealed Air Corporation (US)
InventorsThomas Orsini, Robert Simonelli, Michael A. Kalinowski
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A sealing machine having a movable carriage assembly which utilizes a counterbalance and two servo motors is disclosed. The counterbalance allows high throughput operation without excessive mechanical vibration. The use of two servo motors allows independent control of the horizontal movement of the movable carriage assembly and the vertical movement of the jaws. The use of two servo motors also allows adaptation to articles or packages of various dimensions. In some embodiments, an optical sensor is used to detect the position of the package to be sealed, and the movement of the movable carriage assembly and the jaw is altered based on the detected position.
Claims16
A sealing machine comprising:
- a movable carriage assembly, comprising:
- an upper cutting/sealing element;
- and
- a lower cutting/sealing element;
- a first servo motor to control horizontal movement of said movable carriage assembly;
- a counterbalance positioned so as to move in an opposite horizontal direction as said movable carriage assembly;
- a second servo motor to control the vertical movement of said upper and lower cutting/sealing elements;
- and
- a first rod having a proximate end and a distal end, wherein said proximate end of the first rod is pivotally coupled to said first servo motor and said distal end is attached to said movable carriage assembly,
- wherein rotation of said first servo motor translates to horizontal movement of said movable carriage assembly.
A sealing machine comprising:
- a movable carriage assembly, comprising:
- an upper cutting/sealing element;
- and
- a lower cutting/sealing element;
- a counterbalance;
- a first servo motor to control horizontal movement of said movable carriage assembly and said counterbalance, such that said movable carriage assembly and said counterbalance are adapted to move in opposite horizontal directions;
- a second servo motor to control the vertical movement of said upper and lower cutting/sealing elements;
- a first sealing rod having a proximate end and a distal end, wherein said proximate end of said first sealing rod is pivotally coupled to said second servo motor and said distal end of said first sealing rod is attached to said upper cutting/sealing element;
- and
- a second sealing rod having a proximate end and a distal end, wherein said proximate end of said second sealing rod is pivotally coupled to said second servo motor and said distal end of said second sealing bar is attached to said lower cutting/sealing element;
- wherein rotation of said second servo motor translates to vertical movement of said upper and lower cutting/sealing elements.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.