EP1513730B1 - Method for filling a package - Google Patents

Abstract

Packaging consisting of thermally and/or mechanically deformable plastic film comprises two half shells (2, 3) which are joined in a sealing plane (4) in a preferably reclosable manner to form a hollow body. The sealing plane is angled relative to the horizontal and extends in the region of the hollow body along its diagonal. Independent claims are also included for the following: (1) Production of the packaging in which the machine plane (10) during deep-drawing, sealing and/or cutting corresponds to the sealing plane of the body; and (2) Process for filling the packaging in which the machine plane during filling corresponds to the sealing plane of the half shells. Preferred Features: The packaging is provided with at least one hinge between the first and the second half shells. The two half shells each have a sealing edge and reinforcing ribs. The packaging has a closing device.

Description

The present invention relates to a method for filling a package of a thermally and / or mechanically deformable plastic film with two half-shells, which are preferably reclosable connectable in a sealing plane with each other and thereby form a hollow body and in which the sealing plane is inclined relative to the horizontal, wherein the sealing plane extends in the region of the hollow body substantially along the diagonal.

Packaged goods, especially food, are increasingly being offered to consumers in plastic packaging for consumption. Such packages are known for example from US 3,937,389 and US 4,642,972. However, the filling of these packages is relatively expensive.

The object of the present invention is therefore to provide a method for filling a package which does not have the disadvantages of the prior art.

The object is achieved by providing a method for filling a package of a thermally and / or mechanically deformable plastic film with two half-shells, which are preferably reclosable in a sealing plane with each other, wherein the sealing plane is inclined relative to the horizontal, with a product and corresponds to the machine level when filling the sealing plane of the half-shells.

The packaging may have any cross-section, but is preferably round, rectangular or square.

In a preferred embodiment, the packaging between the first and the second half-shell has at least one joint with which the packaging can be opened and closed. Preferably, the two half-shells and the joint are formed from the same foil. The skilled artisan will recognize that the two half shells and the joint can also consist of different films or that the two half-shells and the joint of different films can be constructed. The hinge is preferably located near the highest point of the package.

In a preferred embodiment, both half-shells each have on their longitudinal side opposite the joint a tab arranged centrally on the sealing surface. Through these two tabs, the user is the first time the opening of the package and after opening the first time facilitates the unfolding or folding of the two half-shells,

The package may further be resealable. For this purpose, flexible, complementary to each other formed sealing lips are preferably attached to the two half-shells sealing surface sealing, which penetrate each other under mechanical pressure. Also preferred are for this purpose attached to the sealing surfaces Velcro fasteners of any shape or nubs and complementary recesses.

In a particularly preferred embodiment, the recesses are designed as a slot and particularly preferably have cuts in the edge region.

The knobs are preferably designed so that in the lower area indentations that additionally stiffen this area.

Further preferably, the packaging has lateral guide ribs, which are designed, for example, according to the tongue and groove principle. With these guide ribs a better fit of the lid on the shell is achieved after resealing. Furthermore, the guide ribs also assume a certain sealing function.

Further preferably, the half shells on stiffening ribs, so that the filling of the package is simplified and the packaged goods is better protected.

Product within the meaning of the invention may be any product known to those skilled in the art that is packaged. Preferably, however, the product is food, especially sausage or cheese, which is cut or loafed, i. can be present in one piece.

The inventive method is particularly suitable for the packaging of sliced, stacked sausage and / or cheese slices or sausage or cheese wheels. The products to be packaged may have any cross-section, but are preferably round, triangular or rectangular.

Preferably, the product is guided during the filling process at least at partial areas of the wall of the lower half-shell and / or aligned thereto.

Particularly preferably, the product slides during filling at least at partial areas of the wall of the lower half-shell along and is thereby guided and optionally aligned so that the positive engagement of the wall of the lower half-shell is improved with the filled product.

In a further preferred embodiment of the method according to the invention, the product is pressed during filling at least to partial areas of the wall of a half-shell and thereby guided and aligned so that the positive engagement of the wall of the lower half-shell is improved with the filled product.

Also preferably, the product is pressed after filling at least against portions of the wall of the half-shell and thereby aligned, so that an uneven stacking of the product in the half-shell is at least partially reversed. This preferred embodiment of the method according to the invention is particularly suitable for at least partially frozen foods.

In another preferred embodiment of the present invention, the product is calibrated prior to filling the half-shell with a means for calibration so that it has an at least nearly uniform cross-section.

During the filling process, the product is guided at least at partial areas of the wall of a half-shell and / or possibly aligned therewith so that the positive engagement of the wall of the lower half-shell is improved with the filled product.

The filling method according to the invention has the advantage that it is particularly simple and inexpensive to carry out and that it makes it possible to package stacks of cut foods in such a way that the stack in the packaging has a uniform cross section and thus it is easily possible to use the complementary lid to apply to the filled half shell.

• Figur 1 zeigt eine Verpackung.
• Figur 2 zeigt die aufgeklappte Verpackung, gefüllt mit Wurstscheiben.
• Figuren 2a und b zeigen die Verpackung mit seitlichen Führungsrippen.
• Figuren 2c bis e Ausnehmungen und Noppen zum Verschließen der Verpackung
• Figur 3 zeigt die Verpackung relativ zur Maschinenebene.
• Figur 4 zeigt das Einlegen von geschnittenen Lebensmitteln in die Verpackung mit einer Einlegezunge.
• Figur 5 zeigt das Einlegen von gestapelten, geschnittenen Lebensmitteln in die Verpackung mit einer rückziehbaren Einlegezunge.
• Figur 6 zeigt das Einlegen von geschnittenen, gestapelten Lebensmitteln mit einer Einlegezunge und anschließendem Andrücken des eingelegten Stapels zu dessen Ausrichtung.
• Figur 7 zeigt eine weitere Ausführungsform der Befüllung gemäß Figur 5.
• Figur 8 zeigt die Befüllung der Verpackung, bei der das geschnittene und gestapelte Produkt vor dem Befüllen auf einen gleichmäßigen Querschnitt kalibriert wird.
• Figur 9 zeigt das Verschließen der gefüllten Verpackung.

The invention is explained below with reference to FIGS. 1 to 9. These explanations are merely exemplary and do not restrict the general concept of the invention.

• FIG. 1 shows a packaging.
• Figure 2 shows the unfolded packaging, filled with sausage slices.
• Figures 2a and b show the packaging with lateral guide ribs.
• Figures 2c to e recesses and nubs for closing the package
• FIG. 3 shows the packaging relative to the machine level.
• FIG. 4 shows the insertion of cut foods into the package with an insertion tongue.
• Figure 5 shows the insertion of stacked sliced food into the package with a retractable insertion tongue.
• Figure 6 shows the insertion of cut, stacked food with an insertion tongue and then pressing the inserted stack to its orientation.
• FIG. 7 shows a further embodiment of the filling according to FIG. 5.
• FIG. 8 shows the filling of the packaging, in which the cut and stacked product is calibrated to a uniform cross-section before being filled.
• FIG. 9 shows the closing of the filled packaging.

FIG. 1 shows a packaging 1 which has two half-shells 2, 3. The two half-shells are reclosable in the sealing plane 4 connected to each other and thus form a hollow body. It can be clearly seen that the sealing plane 4 extends substantially along the diagonal of the hollow body and is thus inclined relative to the horizontal. Furthermore, it can be seen that both half-shells 2, 3 have a wall 19 or 16, which each have a different height along the circumference of the half-shell. The walls 19,16 are respectively stiffened by the ribs 11, so that the product is better protected and can be better filled with product Halschalen.

In Figure 2 , the package 1 is also shown, which is filled in this case with sliced sausage 9. The packaging has two half-shells 2, 3, which are reclosable connectable to each other in the sealing plane 4. The two half-shells are connected to each other via the hinge 5. Through the tab 7 and 8, the first-time opening of the package and the subsequent opening and closing can be facilitated. The reclosability is achieved by the nub 6, which is pressed into a complementary recess (not shown) in the tab 8. Due to the shape of the packaging, it is easily possible to remove one sausage slice after the other from the stack, without the packaging interfering with the removal.

FIG. 2a shows a packaging according to FIGS. 1 and 2, the packaging in the present case having two guide ribs 25, 26 on the right and left packaging edges, respectively. The guide ribs 25, 26 are each located outside the region of the seal 27. As can be seen from FIG. 2b , the guide ribs 25, 26 of a groove 29 and a spring 28. The spring 28 penetrates the groove 29 and thus causes a tongue / groove guide. FIG. 2b shows two alternative embodiments of the guide ribs 25, 26. The person skilled in the art recognizes that the guide ribs 25, 26 can have undercuts in order to improve their bonding and make them less difficult to loosen.

Figure 2c shows a reversible closure between the two half-shells, wherein the nub 31 is inserted into the recess 30. The recess 30 is designed as a slot in the present case. FIG. 2d shows an embodiment in which the recess has slots 33 in the edge area. Figure 2e shows the lower portion of a knob, in which a cross is embossed for stiffening.

FIG. 3 shows the sealing plane 4 and the machine plane 10 in which the lower film for producing the half-shell 3 runs. It is easy to see that the sealing plane 4 coincides with the machine plane 10, so that the packaging can be easily manufactured, filled, sealed and / or cut out of the packaging film.

The skilled artisan will recognize that the two half-shells can be manufactured, filled, possibly joined together and / or sealed on a machine. Characterized in that the sealing plane 4 coincides with the machine level, these steps are particularly easy to perform. However, it is also possible that the lower half-shell 3 is inserted as a tray in the packaging machine and only filled in the packaging machine and sealed with a semi-shell 2 preformed top film and sealed.

FIG. 4 shows an embodiment of the method according to the invention for filling the packaging. The half-shells 3, which have the packaging wall 16 and the packaging bottom 18, move in the machine plane. The skilled artisan will recognize that in the figure, only a section through the half-shell 3 is shown and that the wall extends at least almost to the entire packaging tray 18 around, the half-shells 3 are cyclically transported at the speed v ₁ along the machine plane 10. The product 9, in In the present case cut, stacked sausage products are transported with an insertion tongue 12 in the direction of the half-shells 3. The inclination of the insertion tongue 12 with respect to the machine plane ideally corresponds to the inclination of the trays 18 with respect to the machine plane 10. In the present case, the filling of the half-shells 3 takes place during its advancement, in which the speed v _{2 of} the product is selected so that it at least the Feed rate of the half-shell v ₁ corresponds. As a result, the product 9 slides during filling at least to a certain extent along the wall 16 and is thereby aligned at least in one direction and the sausage stack, as seen in the left part of the figure, brought to a nearly same cross-section. If the speed v ₂ chosen to be greater than the feed rate v ₁ , the sausage stack is pressed against the wall 16 during filling, and there is a stronger leadership or alignment of the sausage stack on the wall 16th

FIG. 5 shows a further embodiment of the filling method according to the invention, wherein in the present case the filling takes place during the stoppage of the half-shell 3. The filling of the half-shells 3 with the product 9 takes place in the present case again with an insertion tongue, which is retractable in this example (see dashed line), so that the product falls from above into the half-shell 3 and thereby along the wall 16th guided and / or aligned. In one embodiment of this example according to the invention, the insertion tongue 12 is withdrawn and the insert belt 20 is tightened so that the speed v _{2 of} the product 9 is zero, so that the sausage stack falls from above into the half shell 3 and thereby slides along the wall 16 and thereby guided and / or aligned. In a further preferred embodiment, the insertion tongue 12 is withdrawn so that the belt 20 is tightened so that the speed v ₂ > 0, so that the sausage stack when moving down a slight forward movement and thereby pressed against the wall 16 when filling the packaging tray 3 and thereby guided and / or aligned.

FIG. 6 shows a further embodiment of the filling method according to the invention. The product 9 is as described in Figure 4 in the Half shells 3 filled and then with a pressing means 21, which, as shown by the double arrow moves, at least partially pressed against the wall 16 and preferably additionally aligned so that the sausage stack has a uniform caliber, the skilled artisan that this Art the orientation is independent of the nature of the actual filling process and that the means 21 can extend over larger areas of the circumference of the product 9.

FIG. 7 essentially shows the packaging method according to FIG. 5, except that in the present case the insertion tongue 12 protrudes into the half-shell 3, so that the product 9 falls into the packaging half-shell 3 when the insertion tongue 12 is withdrawn from a smaller height than in FIG Figure 5 is the case. For this Ausrührungsform the method according to the invention, the half-shell 3 must be shaped so that the insertion tongue 12 can drive almost to the wall 16 in the half-shell. Preferably, the Halschale is rectangular or square.

FIG. 8 shows a further embodiment of the filling method according to the invention, in which the sausage stack 9 is brought to an at least almost uniform cross-section before filling the half-shell 3 with a calibrating means 17. Thereafter, the product either slides into the packaging half-shell and is thereby at least partially guided on the wall 16 and / or aligned thereto or the product is pressed with a plunger 22 into the package and thereby guided along the wall 16 and optionally aligned. The skilled person will recognize that the calibration device is arranged perpendicular to the bottom of the packaging half-shell 3.

FIG. 9 shows a method for closing the filled packaging half-shells 3, which have been formed from the lower film 13. The half-shells 2, which have been formed from the upper film 14, are brought together in the machine plane with the half-shells 3 and held together by the hold-down 15 before sealing in the sealing station 23. The person skilled in the art recognizes that the fulcrum 24 of the upper film 14 should preferably not be below the product in the region of the fulcrum.

Claims (7)

1. A process for filling with a foodstuff (9) packaging made from a thermally and/or mechanically deformable plastics film with two half-shells (2, 3), which may be joined together, preferably reclosably, in a heat-sealing plane (4), the heat-sealing plane (4) being inclined relative to the package bottom (18), characterised in that, during filling of the packaging, the package bottom is arranged in inclined manner relative to the machine plane (10).
2. A process according to claim 1, characterised in that, during the filling operation, the product (9) is guided at least against parts of the wall (16) of a half-shell (3) and/or optionally aligned therewith.
3. A process according to claim 2, characterised in that, during filling, the product slides at least along parts of the wall (16) of a half-shell (3) and is so guided and optionally aligned.
4. A process according to claim 2, characterised in that, during filling, the product is pressed at least against parts of the wall (16) of a half-shell (3) and is so guided and optionally aligned.
5. A process according to any one of claims 1-4, characterised in that, after filling, the product is pressed with a means (21) at least against parts of the wall (16) of a half-shell (3) and is so aligned.
6. A process according to any one of claims 1-5, characterised in that, before filling, the product (9) is gauged using a means (17).
7. A process according to claim 6, characterised in that, after gauging, the product (9) is pressed into the half-shell (3) with a plunger (18).

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