EP1899225A1 - Method and machine for producing a sealed wrapping about a product, and wrapping obtained using such a method - Google Patents

Method and machine for producing a sealed wrapping about a product, and wrapping obtained using such a method

Info

Publication number
EP1899225A1
EP1899225A1 EP06763550A EP06763550A EP1899225A1 EP 1899225 A1 EP1899225 A1 EP 1899225A1 EP 06763550 A EP06763550 A EP 06763550A EP 06763550 A EP06763550 A EP 06763550A EP 1899225 A1 EP1899225 A1 EP 1899225A1
Authority
EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
portions
wrapping
wall
product
lateral
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Granted
Application number
EP06763550A
Other languages
German (de)
French (fr)
Other versions
EP1899225B1 (en
Inventor
Fulvio Boldrini
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Azionaria Costruzioni Macchine Automatiche ACMA SpA
Original Assignee
Azionaria Costruzioni Macchine Automatiche ACMA SpA
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Azionaria Costruzioni Macchine Automatiche ACMA SpA filed Critical Azionaria Costruzioni Macchine Automatiche ACMA SpA
Publication of EP1899225A1 publication Critical patent/EP1899225A1/en
Application granted granted Critical
Publication of EP1899225B1 publication Critical patent/EP1899225B1/en
Not-in-force legal-status Critical Current
Anticipated expiration legal-status Critical

Links

Classifications

    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
    • B65B—MACHINES, APPARATUS OR DEVICES FOR, OR METHODS OF, PACKAGING ARTICLES OR MATERIALS; UNPACKING
    • B65B11/00—Wrapping, e.g. partially or wholly enclosing, articles or quantities of material, in strips, sheets or blanks, of flexible material
    • B65B11/06—Wrapping articles, or quantities of material, by conveying wrapper and contents in common defined paths
    • B65B11/38—Wrapping articles, or quantities of material, by conveying wrapper and contents in common defined paths in a combination of straight and curved paths
    • B65B11/40—Wrapping articles, or quantities of material, by conveying wrapper and contents in common defined paths in a combination of straight and curved paths to fold the wrappers in tubular form about contents
    • B65B11/42—Wrapping articles, or quantities of material, by conveying wrapper and contents in common defined paths in a combination of straight and curved paths to fold the wrappers in tubular form about contents and then to form closing folds of similar form at opposite ends of the tube
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
    • B65D—CONTAINERS FOR STORAGE OR TRANSPORT OF ARTICLES OR MATERIALS, e.g. BAGS, BARRELS, BOTTLES, BOXES, CANS, CARTONS, CRATES, DRUMS, JARS, TANKS, HOPPERS, FORWARDING CONTAINERS; ACCESSORIES, CLOSURES, OR FITTINGS THEREFOR; PACKAGING ELEMENTS; PACKAGES
    • B65D75/00—Packages comprising articles or materials partially or wholly enclosed in strips, sheets, blanks, tubes, or webs of flexible sheet material, e.g. in folded wrappers
    • B65D75/04—Articles or materials wholly enclosed in single sheets or wrapper blanks
    • B65D75/06—Articles or materials wholly enclosed in single sheets or wrapper blanks in sheets or blanks initially folded to form tubes
    • B65D75/08—Articles or materials wholly enclosed in single sheets or wrapper blanks in sheets or blanks initially folded to form tubes with the ends of the tube closed by folding

Definitions

  • the present invention relates to a method and machine for producing a sealed wrapping about a product, and to the sealed wrapping obtained using such a method.
  • Packing machines for producing sealed wrappings about respective products are known to employ a packing unit, which is fed with a succession of products for wrapping, and with a continuous web of normally impermeable heat-seal packing material.
  • the sealed wrappings are normally formed about the respective products by sealing the free longitudinal edges of the web to form a tubular wrapping about the products; sealing the tubular wrapping transversely at respective ends of each product to form a respective sealed "pillow” type wrapping; and then detaching the sealed wrappings from one another.
  • a sealed wrapping as claimed in Claim 30 and, preferably, in any one of the following Claims depending directly or indirectly on Claim 30.
  • Figure 1 shows a partial, schematic view of a preferred embodiment of the machine according to the present invention, and a sequence of steps for producing the sealed wrapping on the machine and using the method according to the present invention
  • Figures 2 to 6 show larger-scale views of some of the operating steps in Figure 1 for producing the sealed wrapping according to the present invention.
  • wrapping 2 is formed from a substantially rectangular sheet 4 of preferably impermeable heat-seal packing material.
  • wrapping 2 formed about product 3 substantially adheres to product 3, comprises two major lateral walls 5, two minor lateral walls 6 crosswise to major lateral walls 5, and two end walls 7 crosswise to major lateral walls 5 and minor lateral walls 6, and is sealed hermetically about product 3 along three sides by means of respective seals: one on a minor lateral wall 6, and two on respective end walls 7.
  • machine 1 comprises a packing unit 8, in turn comprising a packing wheel 9 rotating in steps about an axis 10 perpendicular to the Figure 1 plane, and a belt conveyor 11 comprising a belt 12 looped about two pulleys 13 which rotate about respective axes
  • Wheel 9 comprises a number of pockets 15 equally spaced about axis 10, and each for receiving a respective product 3 together with a respective sheet 4 of packing material at a loading station 16, and for feeding product 3 along an initial semicircular portion of a packing path P extending from loading station 16 to a transfer station 17 interposed between wheel 9 and belt conveyor 11.
  • each product 3, housed inside relative pocket 15, is fed through a number of work stations where respective sheet 4 is folded and sealed about product 3 to define a tubular wrapping 18 about product 3.
  • Belt 12 of conveyor 11 in turn comprises a succession of pockets 19 (only a few of which are shown in Figure 1) equally spaced along belt 12 and defined by partitions extending transversely with respect to the longitudinal extension of belt 12.
  • Conveyor 11 is operated in steps and in time with wheel 9, so that a pocket 15 on wheel 9 and a pocket 19 on conveyor 11 are arrested simultaneously at transfer station 17. Consequently, and as explained in more detail below, pocket 19, at the next step of conveyor 11, extracts product 3, wrapped in respective tubular wrapping 18, radially from pocket 15, and feeds product 3 along an end portion of packing path P, which coincides with the work branch of belt 12 and extends from transfer station 17 to an unloading station 20, via a number of work stations where tubular wrapping 18 is sealed completely about product 3 to form respective sealed wrapping 2.
  • Machine 1 also comprises a feed line for feeding products 3 to wheel 9, and which comprises a known chain conveyor 21 (shown only partly in Figure 1) having a number of seats 22 (only one shown in Figure 1) equally spaced along chain conveyor 21, and each for housing a respective product 3 and feeding product 3 continuously to loading station 16.
  • a known chain conveyor 21 shown only partly in Figure 1 having a number of seats 22 (only one shown in Figure 1) equally spaced along chain conveyor 21, and each for housing a respective product 3 and feeding product 3 continuously to loading station 16.
  • Sheets 4 of packing material are fed to loading station 16 by a feed line 23 operated in time with wheel 9 and chain conveyor 21 to feed sheets 4 successively in a substantially vertical direction tangent to wheel 9, so that, when a pocket 15 is arrested at loading station 16, a sheet 4 is positioned between wheel 9 and chain conveyor 21, exactly opposite pocket 15.
  • Loading station 16 also has a feed device defined by a known pusher 24 (only shown partly in Figure 1) , which moves between chain conveyor 21 and wheel 9, cooperates with seats 22 on chain conveyor 21 to expel respective product 3 from each seat 22 reaching loading station 16, and moves radially with respect to wheel 9 to insert product 3 inside a stationary pocket 15 at loading station 16.
  • a known pusher 24 (only shown partly in Figure 1) , which moves between chain conveyor 21 and wheel 9, cooperates with seats 22 on chain conveyor 21 to expel respective product 3 from each seat 22 reaching loading station 16, and moves radially with respect to wheel 9 to insert product 3 inside a stationary pocket 15 at loading station 16.
  • machine 1 comprises a number of work stations which, as described in detail below, provide for folding and sealing each sheet 4 about respective product 3, as product 3 travels along path P.
  • each product 3 housed inside a relative seat 22 with a major lateral wall of the product facing upwards, is fed to loading station 16 in a travelling direction substantially crosswise to its longitudinal axis.
  • each product 3 is engaged and inserted by pusher 24 into a pocket 15 arrested at loading station 16.
  • product 3 intercepts a sheet 4 positioned beforehand in front of pocket 15 by feed line 23, so that, as the product is inserted inside pocket 15, sheet 4 is forced to fold into a U about product 3.
  • the size of sheet 4, with respect to the size of product 3, is such that, once the sheet is inserted completely inside respective pocket 15, respective pairs of portions of sheet 4 project from the free sides of product 3. More specifically (Figure 2), two pairs of portions 25 project, crosswise to wheel 9, from respective end portions of product 3, and a pair of portions 26 project, radially with respect to wheel 9, from a relative narrow lateral wall of product 3. Also, sheet 4 is folded into a U about respective product 3, so that portions 26 differ in size, and so that the larger portion 26 is located upstream from the other portion 26 in the travelling direction of pocket 15 along path P.
  • the first step in sealing sheet 4 about product 3 is performed by a known heat-seal sealing device 27, which is moved in a direction substantially tangent to wheel 9 to engage the larger portion 26, move it towards the other portion 26, and press portions 26 one onto the other and onto an end portion 28 of a fixed folding surface 29 positioned substantially contacting the outer periphery of wheel 9 along a portion of path P immediately downstream from loading station 16.
  • the seal formed by sealing device 27 and/or the seals referred to hereinafter, however, may also be formed using cold glue applied beforehand to sheet 4.
  • Sealing device 27 presses portions 26 against end portion 28 with sufficient pressure and long enough to melt portions 26 completely, and then withdraws back to the start position.
  • portions 26 forms a minor lateral wall 6 of wrapping 2; and a flap 30, which projects transversely from minor lateral wall 6, is connected to minor lateral wall 6 along a longitudinal edge 31 of tubular wrapping 18, and defines a lateral seal of tubular wrapping 18.
  • flap 30 is folded by folding surface 29 along edge 31 and onto relative minor lateral wall 6, and is fed, so folded, to the next work station where it is sealed to respective minor lateral wall 6 ( Figure 4) by a sealing device 32 moving back ad forth radially with respect to wheel 9.
  • sheet 4 defines about product 3 respective tubular wrapping 18, which has two open end portions, each comprising a pair of parallel, facing portions 25, and a pair of parallel, facing portions 33 interposed between portions 25.
  • flap 30 is sealed, product 3 is fed to transfer station 17 where a pocket 19 extracts product 3 from relative pocket 15 and feeds product 3 to the next work station, which comprises two gripper-type sealing devices 34 located on opposite sides of path P to close tubular wrapping 18 about product 3 and so form respective sealed wrapping 2.
  • This work station performs two operations, a first of which comprises folding portions 33 of each end portion towards each other and onto product 3 by means of known folding devices not shown, and a second of which comprises gripping together portions 25 of each end portion of tubular wrapping 18 by means of sealing devices 34 to form, for each end portion, a respective end wall 7, and a respective flap 35 projecting transversely from end wall 7 and connected to end wall 7 along a fold line 36 parallel to a transverse edge of tubular wrapping 18 and extending substantially along the centreline of respective end wall 7 ( Figure 5) .
  • flaps 35 are folded onto respective end walls 7 by respective fixed surfaces 37 (indicated by the dash line in Figure 1) extending, on opposite sides of path P, downstream from sealing devices 34, and terminating upstream from unloading station 20, which defines the last work station and comprises two sealing devices 38 located on opposite sides of path P and moved back and forth towards each other and towards sealed wrapping 2 to seal flaps 35 to respective end walls 7 and so complete sealed wrapping 2.
  • compressed-air nozzles are provided on opposite sides of path P at transfer station 17 to blow air into tubular wrapping 18 to ensure the end portions of tubular wrapping 18 are fully open, and that portions 25 and 33 extend perfectly flat on reaching the next work station, thus ensuring perfect sealing of portions 25 ad 33.
  • products 3 may be conveyed by chain conveyor 21 with their respective longitudinal axes parallel to the travelling direction, so that, when each product 3 is inserted, together with respective sheet 4, inside relative pocket 15, an end portion, as opposed to a narrow lateral wall, of product 3 faces radially outwards of wheel 9.
  • sealed wrapping 2 is formed about respective product 3 in the same way as described above, the only difference being that the resulting sealed wrapping 2 is sealed on only one end wall 7 and on both minor lateral walls 6.
  • the size of sheet 4 this obviously depends on the size of product 3, and, in the example shown, is such that the size of portions 25 and one of portions 26 equals the thickness of product 3, and the size of the other portion 26 equals twice the thickness of product 3.
  • flap 30 formed by sealing portions 26 equals the thickness of product 3 and, once folded, mates perfectly with the relative minor lateral wall 6; and each flap 35 formed by sealing portions 25 equals half the thickness of product 3 and, when folded onto respective end wall 7, does not project transversely from end wall 7.
  • the size of sheet 4 may be proportioned differently from the examples shown, i.e. flap 30 may be less than the thickness of product 3, and flaps 35 less than half the thickness of product 3, while still ensuring effective sealing of the respective walls.
  • the method according to the present invention provides, at each step, for extremely accurate handling of products 3, and for preventing harmful pressure on products 3, particularly when sealing portions 25 and 26, while at the same time achieving firm adhesion of sheets 4 about respective products 3.

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  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
  • Basic Packing Technique (AREA)

Abstract

A method of producing a sealed wrapping (2) about a product (3), whereby a sheet (4) of impermeable packing material is folded into a U about the product (3), so that respective pairs of portions (25, 26) project from the free sides of the product (3); the sheet (4) is sealed about the product (3) by pressing the portions (25, 26) in each pair against each other to form a relative wall (6, 7) of the sealed wrapping (2), and a relative flap (30, 35) which projects transversely from the wall (6, 7) and defines a seal of the wall (6, 7); and the sealed wrapping (2) is completed by folding and sealing each flap (30, 35) onto the relative wall (6, 7).

Description

METHOD AND MACHINE FOR PRODUCING A SEALED WRAPPING ABOUT A PRODUCT, AND WRAPPING OBTAINED USING SUCH A METHOD
TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a method and machine for producing a sealed wrapping about a product, and to the sealed wrapping obtained using such a method.
BACKGROUND ART
Packing machines for producing sealed wrappings about respective products are known to employ a packing unit, which is fed with a succession of products for wrapping, and with a continuous web of normally impermeable heat-seal packing material.
The sealed wrappings are normally formed about the respective products by sealing the free longitudinal edges of the web to form a tubular wrapping about the products; sealing the tubular wrapping transversely at respective ends of each product to form a respective sealed "pillow" type wrapping; and then detaching the sealed wrappings from one another.
Though widely used, by being easy to implement, the above method has serious drawbacks by normally being fairly inaccurate in terms of both product handling during packing, and the appearance of the sealed wrappings themselves. That is, it is difficult to achieve firm adhesion of the sealed wrapping about the product, which problem is further compounded when dealing with delicate, fragile products. DISCLOSURE OF INVENTION
It is an object of the present invention to provide a method of producing a sealed wrapping about a product, designed to at least partly eliminate the aforementioned drawbacks .
According to the present invention, there is provided a method of producing a sealed wrapping about a product, as claimed in Claim 1 and, preferably, in any¬ one of the following Claims depending directly or indirectly on Claim 1.
According to the present invention, there is also provided a machine for producing a sealed wrapping about a product, as claimed in Claim 15 and, preferably, in any¬ one of the following Claims depending directly or indirectly on Claim 15.
According to the present invention, there is also provided a sealed wrapping, as claimed in Claim 30 and, preferably, in any one of the following Claims depending directly or indirectly on Claim 30. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
A number of non-limiting embodiments of the present invention will be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
Figure 1 shows a partial, schematic view of a preferred embodiment of the machine according to the present invention, and a sequence of steps for producing the sealed wrapping on the machine and using the method according to the present invention; Figures 2 to 6 show larger-scale views of some of the operating steps in Figure 1 for producing the sealed wrapping according to the present invention.
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Number 1 in Figure 1 indicates as a whole a machine for producing a sealed wrapping 2 about a substantially parallelepiped-shaped product 3.
As shown in Figures 2-6, wrapping 2 is formed from a substantially rectangular sheet 4 of preferably impermeable heat-seal packing material.
With reference to Figure 6, wrapping 2 formed about product 3 substantially adheres to product 3, comprises two major lateral walls 5, two minor lateral walls 6 crosswise to major lateral walls 5, and two end walls 7 crosswise to major lateral walls 5 and minor lateral walls 6, and is sealed hermetically about product 3 along three sides by means of respective seals: one on a minor lateral wall 6, and two on respective end walls 7.
As shown in Figure 1, machine 1 comprises a packing unit 8, in turn comprising a packing wheel 9 rotating in steps about an axis 10 perpendicular to the Figure 1 plane, and a belt conveyor 11 comprising a belt 12 looped about two pulleys 13 which rotate about respective axes
14 parallel to axis 10, and define, on belt 12, a substantially horizontal work branch extending radially with respect to wheel 9.
Wheel 9 comprises a number of pockets 15 equally spaced about axis 10, and each for receiving a respective product 3 together with a respective sheet 4 of packing material at a loading station 16, and for feeding product 3 along an initial semicircular portion of a packing path P extending from loading station 16 to a transfer station 17 interposed between wheel 9 and belt conveyor 11.
Along said initial portion of path P, each product 3, housed inside relative pocket 15, is fed through a number of work stations where respective sheet 4 is folded and sealed about product 3 to define a tubular wrapping 18 about product 3.
Belt 12 of conveyor 11 in turn comprises a succession of pockets 19 (only a few of which are shown in Figure 1) equally spaced along belt 12 and defined by partitions extending transversely with respect to the longitudinal extension of belt 12.
Conveyor 11 is operated in steps and in time with wheel 9, so that a pocket 15 on wheel 9 and a pocket 19 on conveyor 11 are arrested simultaneously at transfer station 17. Consequently, and as explained in more detail below, pocket 19, at the next step of conveyor 11, extracts product 3, wrapped in respective tubular wrapping 18, radially from pocket 15, and feeds product 3 along an end portion of packing path P, which coincides with the work branch of belt 12 and extends from transfer station 17 to an unloading station 20, via a number of work stations where tubular wrapping 18 is sealed completely about product 3 to form respective sealed wrapping 2. Machine 1 also comprises a feed line for feeding products 3 to wheel 9, and which comprises a known chain conveyor 21 (shown only partly in Figure 1) having a number of seats 22 (only one shown in Figure 1) equally spaced along chain conveyor 21, and each for housing a respective product 3 and feeding product 3 continuously to loading station 16.
Sheets 4 of packing material, on the other hand, are fed to loading station 16 by a feed line 23 operated in time with wheel 9 and chain conveyor 21 to feed sheets 4 successively in a substantially vertical direction tangent to wheel 9, so that, when a pocket 15 is arrested at loading station 16, a sheet 4 is positioned between wheel 9 and chain conveyor 21, exactly opposite pocket 15.
Loading station 16 also has a feed device defined by a known pusher 24 (only shown partly in Figure 1) , which moves between chain conveyor 21 and wheel 9, cooperates with seats 22 on chain conveyor 21 to expel respective product 3 from each seat 22 reaching loading station 16, and moves radially with respect to wheel 9 to insert product 3 inside a stationary pocket 15 at loading station 16.
As stated, along packing path P, machine 1 comprises a number of work stations which, as described in detail below, provide for folding and sealing each sheet 4 about respective product 3, as product 3 travels along path P.
As shown in Figure 1, in actual use, each product 3, housed inside a relative seat 22 with a major lateral wall of the product facing upwards, is fed to loading station 16 in a travelling direction substantially crosswise to its longitudinal axis. On reaching loading station 16, each product 3 is engaged and inserted by pusher 24 into a pocket 15 arrested at loading station 16. As it is being transferred from seat 22 to pocket 15, product 3 intercepts a sheet 4 positioned beforehand in front of pocket 15 by feed line 23, so that, as the product is inserted inside pocket 15, sheet 4 is forced to fold into a U about product 3.
In this connection, it should be pointed out that the size of sheet 4, with respect to the size of product 3, is such that, once the sheet is inserted completely inside respective pocket 15, respective pairs of portions of sheet 4 project from the free sides of product 3. More specifically (Figure 2), two pairs of portions 25 project, crosswise to wheel 9, from respective end portions of product 3, and a pair of portions 26 project, radially with respect to wheel 9, from a relative narrow lateral wall of product 3. Also, sheet 4 is folded into a U about respective product 3, so that portions 26 differ in size, and so that the larger portion 26 is located upstream from the other portion 26 in the travelling direction of pocket 15 along path P.
While the newly loaded pocket 15 is still stationary at loading station 16, which is also a sealing station, the first step in sealing sheet 4 about product 3 (Figure 3) is performed by a known heat-seal sealing device 27, which is moved in a direction substantially tangent to wheel 9 to engage the larger portion 26, move it towards the other portion 26, and press portions 26 one onto the other and onto an end portion 28 of a fixed folding surface 29 positioned substantially contacting the outer periphery of wheel 9 along a portion of path P immediately downstream from loading station 16. The seal formed by sealing device 27 and/or the seals referred to hereinafter, however, may also be formed using cold glue applied beforehand to sheet 4.
Sealing device 27 presses portions 26 against end portion 28 with sufficient pressure and long enough to melt portions 26 completely, and then withdraws back to the start position.
The sealing of portions 26 forms a minor lateral wall 6 of wrapping 2; and a flap 30, which projects transversely from minor lateral wall 6, is connected to minor lateral wall 6 along a longitudinal edge 31 of tubular wrapping 18, and defines a lateral seal of tubular wrapping 18.
At the next step of wheel 9, flap 30 is folded by folding surface 29 along edge 31 and onto relative minor lateral wall 6, and is fed, so folded, to the next work station where it is sealed to respective minor lateral wall 6 (Figure 4) by a sealing device 32 moving back ad forth radially with respect to wheel 9. So folded, sheet 4 defines about product 3 respective tubular wrapping 18, which has two open end portions, each comprising a pair of parallel, facing portions 25, and a pair of parallel, facing portions 33 interposed between portions 25. Once flap 30 is sealed, product 3 is fed to transfer station 17 where a pocket 19 extracts product 3 from relative pocket 15 and feeds product 3 to the next work station, which comprises two gripper-type sealing devices 34 located on opposite sides of path P to close tubular wrapping 18 about product 3 and so form respective sealed wrapping 2.
This work station performs two operations, a first of which comprises folding portions 33 of each end portion towards each other and onto product 3 by means of known folding devices not shown, and a second of which comprises gripping together portions 25 of each end portion of tubular wrapping 18 by means of sealing devices 34 to form, for each end portion, a respective end wall 7, and a respective flap 35 projecting transversely from end wall 7 and connected to end wall 7 along a fold line 36 parallel to a transverse edge of tubular wrapping 18 and extending substantially along the centreline of respective end wall 7 (Figure 5) .
Like flap 30, flaps 35 are folded onto respective end walls 7 by respective fixed surfaces 37 (indicated by the dash line in Figure 1) extending, on opposite sides of path P, downstream from sealing devices 34, and terminating upstream from unloading station 20, which defines the last work station and comprises two sealing devices 38 located on opposite sides of path P and moved back and forth towards each other and towards sealed wrapping 2 to seal flaps 35 to respective end walls 7 and so complete sealed wrapping 2.
In a preferred embodiment, compressed-air nozzles are provided on opposite sides of path P at transfer station 17 to blow air into tubular wrapping 18 to ensure the end portions of tubular wrapping 18 are fully open, and that portions 25 and 33 extend perfectly flat on reaching the next work station, thus ensuring perfect sealing of portions 25 ad 33.
In connection with the above, it should be pointed out that, in an alternative embodiment, products 3 may be conveyed by chain conveyor 21 with their respective longitudinal axes parallel to the travelling direction, so that, when each product 3 is inserted, together with respective sheet 4, inside relative pocket 15, an end portion, as opposed to a narrow lateral wall, of product 3 faces radially outwards of wheel 9.
In this case, too, however, sealed wrapping 2 is formed about respective product 3 in the same way as described above, the only difference being that the resulting sealed wrapping 2 is sealed on only one end wall 7 and on both minor lateral walls 6.
As regards the size of sheet 4, this obviously depends on the size of product 3, and, in the example shown, is such that the size of portions 25 and one of portions 26 equals the thickness of product 3, and the size of the other portion 26 equals twice the thickness of product 3.
As such, flap 30 formed by sealing portions 26 equals the thickness of product 3 and, once folded, mates perfectly with the relative minor lateral wall 6; and each flap 35 formed by sealing portions 25 equals half the thickness of product 3 and, when folded onto respective end wall 7, does not project transversely from end wall 7.
The above proportions ensure reliable sealing and an attractive appearance of sealed wrapping 2.
In variations not shown, however, the size of sheet 4 may be proportioned differently from the examples shown, i.e. flap 30 may be less than the thickness of product 3, and flaps 35 less than half the thickness of product 3, while still ensuring effective sealing of the respective walls.
To conclude, it should be pointed out that the method according to the present invention provides, at each step, for extremely accurate handling of products 3, and for preventing harmful pressure on products 3, particularly when sealing portions 25 and 26, while at the same time achieving firm adhesion of sheets 4 about respective products 3.
Another important point to note is that, given the neat, compact form of sealed wrappings 2 produced using the method according to the present invention, and the absence of any flaps projecting or easily detachable from the body of the wrapped product, the wrapped products are of maximum compactness, which is particularly- advantageous at the next product packing stage.

Claims

1) A method of producing a sealed wrapping (2) about a product (3), the method comprising the steps of: folding a sheet (4) of impermeable packing material about the product (3), so that the folded sheet (4) has, at each free side of the product (3) , a pair of facing, substantially parallel projecting portions (25; 26) ; gripping the portions (25; 26) in each pair to each other; connecting the portions (25; 26) to each other to form a respective wall (6; 7) of the sealed wrapping (2), and a flap (30; 35) projecting transversely from the wall (6; 7) and defining a seal of the wall (6; 7) . 2) A method as claimed in Claim 1, and comprising the further step of folding each flap (30; 35) onto the relative wall (6; 7), and connecting the flap (30; 35) firmly to the wall (6; 7) in said folded position.
3) A method as claimed in Claim 1 or 2, wherein the portions (25; 26) in said pairs are connected to each other commencing with a pair of lateral portions (26) projecting from a lateral wall of the product (3) and defining, when connected to each other, a respective lateral wall (6) of the sealed wrapping (2), and a relative flap (30); the sheet (4) so folded defining about the product (3) a tubular wrapping (18) having respective open end portions projecting from the product (3) , and each of which comprises a pair of facing, substantially parallel first portions (25) , and a pair of facing second portions (33) substantially crosswise to said first portions (25) .
4) A method as claimed in Claim 3, wherein the step of gripping and connecting said lateral portions (26) is performed by only moving one of the two lateral portions
(26) from its original position wherein the two lateral positions (26) are positioned facing and substantially parallel to each other, and by maintaining the other lateral portion (26) stationary in said original position.
5) A method as claimed in Claim 4, wherein, during the gripping and connecting step, one of the two lateral portions (26) is maintained substantially contacting a fixed member (28) , and the other lateral portion (26) is moved towards the fixed member (28) and pressed onto the first lateral portion (26) by a folding member (27) movable to and from the fixed member (28) .
6) A method as claimed in Claim 5, wherein the movable said folding member (27) is also a member for connecting the lateral portions (26) to each other, and in particular a heat-seal sealing device.
7) A method as claimed in one of Claims 3 to 6, wherein the two open end portions of the tubular wrapping (18) are closed simultaneously.
8) A method as claimed in Claim 7, wherein each open end portion of the tubular wrapping (18) is closed by gripping together said first portions (25) by means of gripping means (34), and connecting them to each other to form a respective end wall (7) of the sealed wrapping (2), and a respective flap (35) which projects transversely from the end wall (7) and defines a seal of the end wall (7) .
9) A method as claimed in Claim 8, wherein the gripping means (34) comprise two sealing jaws (34); and the step of gripping said first portions (25) together is performed by engaging each first portion (25) by means of a respective jaw (34), and closing the jaws (34) to move each first portion (25) parallel to itself and towards the other first portion (25) .
10) A method as claimed in Claim 8 or 9, and comprising the step of folding the second portions (33) of each open end portion of the tubular wrapping (18) inwards of the tubular wrapping (18) and onto the product (3) before the respective first portions (25) are gripped together.
11) A method as claimed in one of Claims 8 to 10, wherein the sealed wrapping (2) is substantially parallelepiped-shaped, and comprises two major lateral walls (5) , two minor lateral walls (6) crosswise to the major lateral walls (5), and two end walls (7) crosswise to the major lateral walls (5) and minor lateral walls (6) ; and the wall produced by connecting said lateral portions (26) defines a minor lateral wall (6) of the sealed wrapping (2) .
12) A method as claimed in Claim 11, wherein, for each end portion of the tubular wrapping (18) , the wall produced by connecting said first portions (25) of the end portion defines an end wall (7) of the sealed wrapping (2) . 13) A method as claimed in one of Claims 3 to 12, wherein the open end portions of the tubular wrapping
(18) are closed after the flap (30) produced by gripping said lateral portions (26) is folded and connected to the relative lateral wall (6) . 14) A method as claimed in any one of the foregoing Claims, wherein the flaps (30; 35) are folded onto the respective walls (6; 7) by contrast with a fixed member (29; 37) .
15) A machine for producing a sealed wrapping (2) about a product (3) , the machine (1) comprising first folding means (24) for folding a sheet (4) of impermeable packing material about a respective product (3) so that the folded sheet (4) has, at each free side of the product (3) , a pair of facing, substantially parallel projecting portions (25; 26); and sealing means (27, 28, 34) for gripping the portions (25; 26) in each pair to each other and for connecting the portions (25; 26) to each other to form a respective wall (6; 7) of the sealed wrapping (2), and a flap (30; 35) projecting transversely from the wall (6; 7) and defining a seal of the wall (6; 7) .
16) A machine as claimed in Claim 15, and comprising second folding means (29; 37) for folding each flap (30; 35) onto the relative wall (6; 7); and connecting means (32; 38) for connecting the flap (30; 35) to the wall (6; 7) in said folded position.
17) A machine as claimed in Claim 16, and comprising a packing unit (8) having seats (15, 19) , each for housing a respective product (3) and a respective sheet (4) of packing material, and movable along a path (P) extending from a loading station (16) for loading the products (3) and respective sheets (4), to an unloading station (20) for unloading the products (3) complete with the respective sealed wrappings (2); and feed means (21) for feeding the products (3) successively to said loading station (16) .
18) A machine as claimed in Claim 17, wherein said first folding means (24) are located at the loading station (16) , and are movable to and from the packing unit (8) to transfer each product (3) , together with a respective sheet (4) of packing material, into a respective seat (15), so that the sheet (4) folds about the product (3) .
19) A machine as claimed in Claim 17 or 18, wherein the packing unit (8) comprises a wheel (9) having pocket seats (15) and rotating about an axis (10) crosswise to said path (P) ; and a linear conveyor (11) tangent to the wheel (9) at a transfer station (17) and having respective seats (19) movable along the path (P) ; and wherein said sealing means (27, 28, 34) comprise a first sealing device (27, 28) associated with the wheel (9) to grip and connect to each other a pair of lateral portions (26) projecting from a lateral wall of the relative product (3) housed, in use, inside a respective pocket seat (15), so as to partly seal each sheet (4) about the respective product (3) and define a tubular wrapping (18) about the product (3); and a second sealing device (34) associated with the linear conveyor (11) to seal each tubular wrapping (18) and form a respective sealed wrapping (2) . 20) A machine as claimed in Claim 19, wherein each tubular wrapping (18) has open end portions projecting from the product (3) , and each of which comprises a pair of facing, substantially parallel first portions (25) , and a pair of facing second portions (33) substantially crosswise to said first portions (25) ; and wherein the second sealing device (34) comprises two grippers (34) located on opposite sides of said path (P) and each for gripping together the first portions (25) of a respective open end portion of the tubular wrapping (18) , and for connecting them to each other to form a respective wall (7) of the sealed wrapping (2), and a respective flap (35) .
21) A machine as claimed in Claim 20, wherein each gripper (34) comprises two heat-seal jaws. 22) A machine as claimed in Claim 20 or 21, and comprising third folding means for folding the second portions (33) of each open end portion of the tubular wrapping (18) inwards of the tubular wrapping (18) and onto the product (3) before the respective first portions
(25) are gripped together.
23) A machine as claimed in one of Claims 19 to 22, wherein the first sealing device (27, 28) comprises a fixed member (28), and a movable member (27) movable across the path (P) to move one of said lateral portions
(26) towards the other lateral portion (26) , to press both the lateral portions (26) onto the fixed member
(28) , and to connect the two lateral portions (26) firmly to each other to define a respective wall (6) of the sealed wrapping (2), and a respective lateral flap (30) .
24) A machine as claimed in Claim 23, wherein the movable member (27) is a heat-seal device.
25) A machine as claimed in Claim 23 or 24, wherein said fixed member (28) forms part of said second folding means (29) , which fold said lateral flap (30) , by contrast, onto the respective wall (6) ; and wherein said second folding means (29; 37) also comprise a further fixed member (37) associated with the linear conveyor (11) and located downstream from the second sealing device (32) in the travelling direction of the products (3) along the path (P) to fold the relative flaps (35) onto the respective walls (7) .
26) A machine as claimed in one of Claims 19 to 25, wherein said connecting means (32; 38) for connecting the flaps (30, 35) firmly to the respective walls (6, 7) comprise a first connecting device (32) associated with the wheel (9) , and a second connecting device (38) associated with the linear conveyor (11) .
27) A machine as claimed in Claim 26, wherein said first and said second connecting device (32, 38) are heat-seal devices. 28) A machine as claimed in one of Claims 16 to 27, wherein the wheel (9) and the linear conveyor (11) are step-operated.
29) A machine as claimed in one of Claims 20 to 28, wherein the sealed wrapping (2) is substantially parallelepiped-shaped, and comprises two major lateral walls (5) , two minor lateral walls (6) crosswise to the major lateral walls (5), and two end walls (7) crosswise to the major lateral walls (5) and minor lateral walls
(6) ; sealing of said lateral portions (26) defining a minor lateral wall (6) of the sealed wrapping (2), and sealing of the end portions of the tubular wrapping (18) defining respective end walls (7) of the sealed wrapping (2) .
30) A sealed wrapping for a product (3) , which sealed wrapping (2) is substantially parallelepiped- shaped, and comprises two major lateral walls (5) , two minor lateral walls (6) crosswise to the major lateral walls (5), and two end walls (7) crosswise to the major lateral walls (5) and minor lateral walls (6) ; the sealed wrapping (2) having a first seal on a minor lateral wall (6) , and two second seals substantially crosswise to the first seal and located on respective end walls (7) .
31) A wrapping as claimed in Claim 30, wherein each seal is defined by a respective flap (30; 35) connected to the respective wall along a fold line (31; 36) and folded onto the wall (6; 7) .
32) A wrapping as claimed in Claim 31, wherein each flap (30; 35) is fixed firmly onto the respective wall
(6; 7) .
33) A wrapping as claimed in Claim 31 or 32, wherein the first seal is defined by a first flap (30) connected to the respective minor lateral wall (6) along a longitudinal edge (31) connecting the minor lateral wall (6) to a major lateral wall (5) .
34) A wrapping as claimed in Claim 33, wherein the first flap (30) is the same width as the relative minor lateral wall (6) . 35) A wrapping as claimed in one of Claims 31 to 34, wherein each of said second seals is defined by a respective second flap (35) connected to the relative end wall (7) along a respective fold line (36), which is substantially parallel to a transverse edge connecting the end wall (7) to a major lateral wall (5), and extends substantially along the centreline of the end wall (7) .
36) A wrapping as claimed in Claim 34, wherein each second flap (35) is of a width equal to approximately half the width of the relative end wall (7) . 37) A wrapping as claimed in Claim 30, wherein the wrapping is formed from a sheet (4) of impermeable packing material, which is substantially rectangular and of such a size that, when folded into a U about the product (3) , respective facing, substantially parallel pairs of portions (25, 26) project outwards of each free side of the product (3) .
EP06763550A 2005-06-08 2006-06-07 Method and machine for producing a sealed wrapping about a product, and wrapping obtained using such a method Not-in-force EP1899225B1 (en)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
ITBO20050392 ITBO20050392A1 (en) 2005-06-08 2005-06-08 METHOD AND MACHINE FOR THE REALIZATION OF A SEALED BOX AROUND A PRODUCT AND CASE WITH THE ABOVE METHOD
PCT/EP2006/062955 WO2006131527A1 (en) 2005-06-08 2006-06-07 Method and machine for producing a sealed wrapping about a product, and wrapping obtained using such a method

Publications (2)

Publication Number Publication Date
EP1899225A1 true EP1899225A1 (en) 2008-03-19
EP1899225B1 EP1899225B1 (en) 2013-02-13

Family

ID=36764530

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
EP06763550A Not-in-force EP1899225B1 (en) 2005-06-08 2006-06-07 Method and machine for producing a sealed wrapping about a product, and wrapping obtained using such a method

Country Status (4)

Country Link
EP (1) EP1899225B1 (en)
ES (1) ES2406736T3 (en)
IT (1) ITBO20050392A1 (en)
WO (1) WO2006131527A1 (en)

Families Citing this family (6)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
ITBO20080254A1 (en) * 2008-04-23 2009-10-24 Azionaria Costruzione Macchine Spa METHOD AND MACHINE FOR THE REALIZATION OF A SEALED BOX AROUND A ARTICLE AND A PACKAGE THEREFORE OBTAINED.
DE102009041900A1 (en) 2009-09-18 2011-04-07 Focke & Co.(Gmbh & Co. Kg) Packings, in particular for cigarettes, and method and apparatus for producing the same
ITBO20110719A1 (en) * 2011-12-15 2013-06-16 So Te Ma Pack S R L DEVICE FOR REALIZING AN EXTREME TRANSVERSE FIN IN A PRODUCT WINDING CASE.
KR101806939B1 (en) 2017-02-22 2017-12-08 이상민 The processor Play for recycling of expanded polystyrene foam
IT201900004159A1 (en) * 2019-03-22 2020-09-22 Gd Spa Apparatus and procedure for the packaging of products in packaging film
DE102022201157B3 (en) 2022-02-03 2023-04-20 Kallfass Verpackungsmaschinen Gmbh Method of packaging an item and packaged item

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ITBO20000361A1 (en) 2000-06-19 2001-12-19 Gd Spa METHOD AND MACHINE FOR CIGAR WRAPPING.
US6860089B2 (en) 2002-04-10 2005-03-01 Detail Machine Company Pillow pack wrapping technique and related apparatus

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Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
ES2406736T3 (en) 2013-06-07
EP1899225B1 (en) 2013-02-13
WO2006131527A1 (en) 2006-12-14
ITBO20050392A1 (en) 2005-09-07

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