ADJUSTABLE POUCH FORMING, FILLING AND SEALING APPARATUS AND METHODS

• US 20140130460A1
• Filed: 01/17/2014
• Published: 05/15/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 01/31/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: RA Jones & Company Incorporated
• Original Assignee: RA Jones & Company Incorporated
• Inventors: Paunesku, Sima, Rack, Daniel J., Wintring, Jeffrey D., Roth, Richard Allan II
• Granted Patent: US 9,873,533 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 53/456
• CPC Class Codes: B31B 2100/00 Rigid or semi-rigid containers made by folding single-piece sheets, blanks or webs
• CPC Class Codes: B31B 50/12 by air pressure or suction
• CPC Class Codes: B31B 50/32 in circular paths
• CPC Class Codes: B31B 50/80 Pneumatically
• CPC Class Codes: B65B 1/363 with measuring pockets moving in an endless path
• CPC Class Codes: B65B 39/145 in an endless path
• CPC Class Codes: B65B 43/04 Forming flat bags from webs
• CPC Class Codes: B65B 43/465 for bags
• CPC Class Codes: B65B 43/60 rotatable
• CPC Class Codes: B65B 59/003 Arrangements to enable adjustments related to the packaging material
• CPC Class Codes: B65B 61/28 for discharging completed packages from machines
• CPC Class Codes: B65B 9/087 the web advancing continuously
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 83/04 Processes
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 83/0515 During movement of work past flying cutter
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 83/4705 Plural separately mounted flying cutters
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 83/9396 Shear type

Abstract

An adjustable pouch machine comprises a vertical sealer module forms transverse seals between two plies of a pouch web to partially define a plurality of pouches. Rollers selectively tension and relax the web on the vertically oriented wheel, allowing them to drop away from heated lands on emergency and cycle stops. A filler wheel has a plurality of adjustable gripper units mounted directly thereon for transporting independent separate pouches cut from the pouch web. An adjustable knife is selectively provided with changeable knife hub sets to handle a variety of pouch sizes where a filler wheel alternately first fills and seals pouches in a train. Gear linkage accommodates variation in distance between hubs of different sets. Various embodiments, apparatus and methods are described.

Claims

1-13. -13. (canceled)

14. An adjustable pouch sealing and filling machine comprising:

a vertical sealer for forming transverse seals between two plies of a pouch web and including a vertical sealer wheel;

a filler wheel comprising one of a plurality of filler wheels for selectively operably coupling to said sealing and filling machine, said plurality of filler wheels having vacuum lands mountable thereon at effectively different radial positions than vacuum lands on others of said plurality of filler wheels to accommodate pouches in a wide range of widths dependent on the filler wheel operably coupled to said sealing and filling machine.

15. A machine as in claim 14 wherein each of said plurality of filler wheels include vacuum lands providing different effective land diameters on one filler wheel varying from the effective land diameters of other filler wheels in said plurality.

16. An adjustable pouch filler wheel for a pouch machine including an annulus, a set of vacuum lands on said filler wheel for engaging seals between pouches in a pouch web entrained on said annulus, and the radial position of said vacuum lands on said filler wheel being adjustable to accommodate a wide range of pouch widths.

17. A filler wheel as in claim 16 including a vacuum turret having a plurality of vacuum ports operably connected to provide vacuum to said lands throughout the radial extension of said lands.

18. An adjustable pouch filler including a filler wheel and a plurality of vacuum lands movable on said filler wheel to varied radial positions on said wheel.

19. A filler wheel as in claim 18 including a vacuum turret having a plurality of vacuum ports operably connected to provide vacuum to said lands throughout the radial position of said vacuum lands on said wheel.

20-32. -32. (canceled)

33. Apparatus for filling and sealing pouches and including a spout wheel and a filler wheel for supporting pouches to be filled through spouts carried on said spout wheel, the improvement comprising the combination of:

a first servo drive for driving said filler wheel;

a second servo drive for driving said spout wheel;

said first and second servo drives respectively driving said respective filler and spout wheels independently of each other; and

at least one of said first and second servo drives being controllable to adjust a phase of rotation between said filler wheel and said spout wheel.

34. Apparatus as in claim 33 wherein said filler wheel is mounted on a hub driven by said first servo drive.

35. Apparatus as in claim 34 wherein said spout wheel is mounted on a drive shaft driven by said second servo drive, said drive shaft extending through said hub to said spout wheel.

36. Apparatus as in claim 34 including a ring gear operably connected to said hub and a drive pinion engageable with said ring gear and driven by said first servo drive.

37-53. -53. (canceled)

54. A method of filling pouches comprising the steps of:

feeding separate pouches toward a generally horizontal filler wheel,

engaging leading and trailing edges of said pouches with respective leading and trailing jaws carried on said horizontal filler wheel; and

selectively pivoting said trailing jaw on an axis generally perpendicular to said horizontal filler wheel to accommodate pouches of varied widths.

55. A method as in claim 54 including transporting filled pouches through a top sealer and selectively moving said top sealer away from said pouches when said filler wheel stops.

56. A method as in claim 55 including engaging upper edges of sealed pouches above a position where said pouches are engaged by said jaws for releasing pouches from said jaws and moving pouches away from said filler wheel.

57. A method as in claim 56 including sequentially releasing a leading jaw then a trailing jaw from a pouch as its upper edge is engaged.

58. A method as in claim 54 including discharging pouches from said horizontal filler wheel and orienting discharging pouches horizontally.

59. A method of filling transversely sealed pouches in a train of pouches including the steps of:

engaging and supporting transverse seals in said train on vacuum lands carried on a first wheel; and

selectively substituting for said first wheel a second wheel having vacuum lands at a different radial position on said second wheel than the radial position of vacuum lands on said first wheel.

60. A method of filling transversely sealed pouches in a train of pouches including the steps of:

engaging and supporting transversely spaced seals between pouches on radially adjustable vacuum lands; and

selectively radially adjusting said radially adjustable vacuum lands for other pouch trains where said transversely spaced seals are spaced at another distance apart than the distance between transversely spaced seals of one pouch train.

61. (canceled)

62. (canceled)

63. A method of handling filled, sealed and separate pouches carried between leading and trailing jaws, including the steps of:

introducing a top portion of the leading edge of a pouch between two opposed belts;

releasing a leading jaw from a leading edge of the pouch;

transporting said pouch between said belts; and

thereafter releasing a trailing jaw from a trailing edge of said pouch.

64. A method of filling pouches including:

supporting pouches for filling on a filler wheel;

filling pouches carried by said filler wheel through spouts disposed on a spout wheel above the filler wheel;

driving said filler wheel by a first servo drive;

driving said spout wheel by a second servo drive; and

independently adjusting a rotational position of one of said filler wheel or said spout wheel with respect to a rotational position of the other of said filler wheel or said spout wheel by operating at least one of said first or second servo drives independently of the other to thereby adjust the rotational phase of said filler wheel and spout wheel with respect to each other and thereby accommodate filling pouches of varied width carried by said filler wheel.