PL211452B1 - Air-tight wrapping, particularly for food products as well as method and facility designed to wrap products air-tightly - Google Patents

Abstract

A sealed wrapping for foodstuffs (1) such as chocolates, sweets, pralines and the like. The wrapping comprises a single sheet of wrapping material (2) forming a bent part for receiving the product (1). The wrapping is sealed by means of a single welding line (3) which extends according to a path having the ends located on the bent part (20) and which surrounds the product (1). <IMAGE>

Description

(12) PATENT DESCRIPTION (19) PL (11) 211452 (13) B1 (21) Application number: 367933 ^{(51) Int.Cl.}

B65B 11/00 (2006.01) (22) Date of filing: 12/05/2004

Food Grade Sealed Wrapping (54) and food grade sealant wrapping method and installation for sealed food wrapping

(30) Priority: 2003-05-13, EP, 03425304.7 (73) The right holder of the patent: SOREMARTEC S.A., Arlon-Schoppach, BE (43) Application was announced: November 15, 2004 BUP 23/04 (72) Inventor (s): SERGIO MANSUINO, Mondovi, IT (45) The grant of the patent was announced: May 31, 2012 WUP 05/12 (74) Representative: item. stalemate. Ewa Balińska

PL 211 452 B1

Description of the invention

The present invention relates to a sealed food wrapping and a method for sealing food wrapping and an installation for the sealed wrapping of food products.

The invention relates in particular to sealing wraps (so-called "hermetic" wraps) for food products such as, for example, confectionery.

In the art of packaging foodstuffs, it is necessary to take into account various requirements and, above all, it is necessary to ensure that the product remains unchanged for as long as possible after packaging.

In order to achieve the above aim, it has been known for some time also with regard to small food products (such as chocolate, candy, pralines, etc.) to wrap the products in sealed wrappers of the type commonly referred to as "continuously formed" packages. Such a packing technique starts with a web of sheet material that is wrapped around the article in the longitudinal direction by a forming device so that a continuous, tubular intermediate piece of wrap is formed to be closed by a first longitudinal seam. The packaged products pass through the sleeve intermediate piece and the resulting assembly is processed in one or more closing stations. There, the sleeve intermediate piece is flattened, welded and cut at the points where successive products are separated from each other, so that single wraps are formed. An example of this technique is disclosed in EP-A-0 957 043.

Even leaving aside the considerations of a functional nature (related, for example, to the fact that the areas where the transverse end seams of a continuously formed wrapper overlap the longitudinal seal or seal lines are critical locations for the sealing task), continuous turn out to be undoubtedly the result of an industrial process. Such wrapping proves to be far from being applicable to the products (such as certain confectionery) for which it is intended, compared to more traditional type wrappings such as traditional candy wrappers, which are twisted at the ends when the product is placed therein. resulting in twisted ends (wraps with twisted ends).

For this reason, solutions have already been proposed in the known art to recreate said more traditional forms of wraps.

A solution of this type is disclosed, for example, in the description of international patent application No. WO-A-02722445. The individual lengths of the continuously formed type wrapper wrapper were wrapped around the article so as to form a tubular structure. They are then compressed in a radial direction so that areas of some wrinkling are formed which resemble the twisted ends of traditional confectionery wrappers.

The main disadvantage of this type of wrap is that the action of the sealing against the environment should be carried out exactly in the areas where radial compression is acting. In contrast, tests show that even resorting to wrapping material that can be at least partially fused at points of radial compression has a rather moderate effect in terms of the degree of effective sealing against the environment. This phenomenon is difficult to control due to the fact that, at the points mentioned, the wrapping material, when compressed in a radial direction, tends to wrinkle in a way which is always difficult to control. As a result, wrinkles or folds are formed with a pattern that is always random and which between the folds can be easily opened, or can open up after a short time, resulting in communication with the outside environment.

Solutions enabling an excellent degree of environmental tightness are described in EP-A-0 591 742 and EP-A-0 790 184. In both cases, however, these are solutions where a wrapping consisting of two pieces of sheet material is used.

Furthermore, the solution for an installation for wrapping and wrapping food products therein is disclosed in International Application No. WO 0305479. According to this disclosure, a plastic film material sheet is formed into a loop consisting of two adjacent material sections, in which loop is inserted into the food product, and then the edges of the sheet material section of the loop formed in this way are sealed by thermal bonding, sealing the packed food product tightly on all sides,

A sealing line extends from an overlap between opposing mutually aligned material sections along their longitudinal edges to an opposite transverse edge. Additionally, a preservative gas or the like can be introduced into the formed wrapper by means of a nozzle inserted into special cuts in the means for thermal bonding.

A sealed food wrapper comprising a wrapping sheet with a bent portion preferably receiving at least one product and a seal line extending to enclose the wrapping sheet along a path surrounding the at least one product and having ends positioned corresponding to the bent portion , wherein the wrapping sheet has two side panels that extend from the curved portion on opposite sides of the at least one product, and the seal line extends to join the side panels, according to the invention further comprising at least one portion end with a fan-shaped element.

Preferably, the wrapping sheet is of a sealable material by a technique selected from the group consisting of: heat welding, cold bonding, joint material sealing, jointless sealing, ultrasonic welding, laser welding, embossing.

Preferably, at the point corresponding to the sealing line, the wrapping is made of a treated sheet material selected from the group consisting of: thermo-welding, cold welding, sealing with a joint material, sealing without joint material, ultrasonic welding, laser welding, embossing .

Preferably, the seal line is along a path free of sharp peaks.

Preferably, the seal line is along a path free of overlapping areas of ridges or wrinkles of the wrapping material.

Preferably, at least at the point corresponding to the sealing line, the side panels are preferably free of wrinkles or ridges.

Preferably, the seal line preferably runs along the arcuate path.

A method for sealing wrapping food products in which a wrapping sheet is formed with a curved portion, positioning at least one product in the curved portion, and forming a seal line extending to enclose the wrapping sheet along a path surrounding the at least one product and having ends extending at a location corresponding to the bent portion, further, according to the method, two side panels extending from the curved portion on opposite sides of at least one food product are formed in the wrapping sheet, and a seal line is formed that joins the side panels, according to the invention being characterized in that further, at least one end portion provided with a fan-shaped member is formed in the wrapper.

Preferably, for the production of the wrapping sheet, a material suitable for bonding is used by a technique selected from the group consisting of: heat sealing, cold bonding, sealing with joint material, sealing without joint material, ultrasonic welding, laser welding, embossing.

Preferably, the sealing line is produced by a technique selected from the group consisting of: thermo-welding, cold bonding, sealing with a joint material, sealing without joint material, ultrasonic welding, laser welding, embossing.

Preferably, a seal line is formed along a path free from ridges and peaks.

Preferably, a seal line is formed along a path clear of areas of overlapping ridges or wrinkles in the wrapping sheet material.

Preferably, the side panels are kept, preferably, free from wrinkles or ridges, at least in a position corresponding to the seal line.

Preferably, a seal line is formed along a preferably curved path.

A sealed food wrapping plant comprising a forming unit for forming a wrapping sheet with a bent portion, a loading station for inserting at least one food product into the bent portion, and a sealing station for forming a seal line.

extending to enclose the wrapping sheet along a path encircling at least one comestible and having two ends located at a location corresponding to the bent portion, the forming unit being arranged to form in the wrapping sheet two side panels extending from the bent portion on opposite sides of at least one food product and the sealing station is arranged to form a seal line joining the two side panels, according to the invention being characterized in that it comprises

In addition, a forming station for wrapping at least one end portion with a fan member.

Preferably, the sealing station is a station operating using a technique selected from the group consisting of thermo-welding, cold bonding, sealing with a joint material, sealing without joint material, ultrasonic welding, laser welding, embossing.

Preferably, the sealing station is arranged to form a seal line along a ridge free path.

Preferably, the sealing station is arranged to form a seal line along a path free from areas of overlapping ridges or wrinkles of the wrapping sheet material.

Preferably, the sealing station is arranged to keep the side panels preferably free of wrinkles and folds, at least at the point corresponding to the seal line.

Preferably, the sealing station is arranged to form a seal line, preferably along an arcuate path.

The advantage of the solution according to the invention is to provide a bonding wrapper with a very simple structure and thus with extreme simplicity and economy of manufacture, an excellent quality of the closure (airtight closure).

The solution according to the invention is mainly characterized by the fact that it allows the use of a wrapping consisting of a single sheet element closed by a single line of a weld or weld.

Advantages of the solution according to the invention are that a sealed wrapping for food products is provided which comprises a wrapping sheet with a bent or hollow portion inside which receives at least one food product and a seam extending to close said wrapping sheet along a surrounding path. said at least one food product having ends located at a position corresponding to said bent portion.

As can be seen, the term "wrapping sheet" is to be understood herein as indicating any sheet material capable of effectively isolating the product from the outside environment.

Again, the term road "surrounding" the food product is to be understood here as indicating a path around the product (preferably a roughly arcuate, i.e. C-shaped path), usually characterized by a fairly close association with the wrapping and thus guaranteeing the wrapping. the product as precisely as possible, due to the possibility of smoothing, brushing or other activities.

Figures 1 to 5 show the sequence of operations of the sealing wrapping method according to the invention, schematically, and Fig. 6, in a side view of a production plant for sealed wrapping of products.

The embodiment described below relates to the production of wrappings for food products 1 consisting, for example, of confectionery products such as chocolate, sweets, pralines etc. of various shapes.

In particular, it may be a coated article, for example a hazelnut coating of coconut shavings, cream shavings, etc.

In no way are the dimensions, shape, nature and / or specific properties of the product (single or complex) to be limiting to the invention.

The food product 1 is intended to be wrapped in a wrapper composed of a single sheet element in the form of a wrapping sheet 2 of laminar wrapping material of the type widely used for wrapping confectionery products.

It is therefore a sheet material capable of effectively isolating the product from the external environment. It can be, for example, a sheet of aluminum foil and / or plastic material. The material of interest may be a "composite" material, i.e. a material that includes at least a first layer for the outer part in the finished wrapping and a second layer for the inner part in the finished wrapping and which has, for example, the ability to for bonding with the thermal welding technique.

A typical example of a composite material of this type is a material consisting of an outer foil made of aluminum coated with an inner coating of a plastic material such as polyethylene.

PL 211 452 B1

It goes without saying that the solution described herein is by no means limited to a particular selection of the wrapping sheet material, nor to the adoption of specific technical procedures for enclosing / sealing the wrapping material itself.

In the embodiment shown here (which, by emphasizing again, is exemplary only), it is assumed that the process begins with a sheet material element having, for example, a square or near-square shape with a side length of several centimeters.

As will be seen in detail, said single wrapping element may be defined as a part or length of a continuous sheet material which is unwound from the web and divided into segments so as to result in individual wrapping elements.

The wrapping sheet 2 shown in Fig. 1 is then applied approximately at a central location with the food item or product 1 to be wrapped.

In the drawing, said product has the form of a parallelepiped-shaped body, but it will be understood that the food product 1 may have any shape.

In a further step of the wrapping process, a piece of wrapping sheet material 2 is wrapped around the food product 1 so that a bent portion 20 is formed into which the food product 1 in fact enters, and two transverse panels 21 extending from the curved portion 20 'and placed on the surface. opposite surfaces of the food product 1 (top and bottom surfaces in the arrangement shown here).

By analyzing Fig. 3, it is easy to see that the wrapping sheet is wrapped around the product 1 in such a way as to create some kind of pocket or envelope in which the lateral side panels 21 maintain an approximately planar orientation, regardless of the shape of the food product 1.

In practice, the two lateral side panels 21 are approximately parallel to each other, separated by a distance approximately corresponding to the thickness or height of the product 1.

In a subsequent process step, as shown in Fig. 4, the two transverse side panels 21 are connected to each other by a seal line 3. The seal line 3 connects the two panels of wrapping sheet depending on the path surrounding the food product 1. The path is therefore generally shaped. arcuate, i.e. C-shaped, at the ends located at a position corresponding to the bent portion 20 ', said bent portion already clearly realizing the function of sealing the product 1, without any need to form connecting lines.

In order to form the seal line 3, it is possible to resort to various techniques widely used in the packaging industry, especially in the field of packaging food products.

Accordingly, the sealing line 3 can be made, for example, by heat sealing, cold sealing, sealing with or without a joint material, ultrasonic welding, laser welding or, optionally, by embossing.

In a preferred embodiment, the seal line 3 runs with an approximate orientation of the envelope with respect to the food product 1, so different solutions are possible.

Research currently underway suggests that a route with an approximately continuous arc shape is recommended, thus without any spikes and / or overlapping ridges or wrinkles in the wrapping material (i.e. no overlapping of more than two layers of material). wrapping paper). Areas of this type could lead to, for example, joining two continuous rectilinear cracks and could underlie a phenomenon of concentration of coercive states which could weaken the seal at the seal line.

As a final operation, the wrapper shown in Fig. 4 can be completed by forming one or two end portions 4 with twisted ends so as to give the wrapper as a whole a typical candy wrapper appearance. This effect can be obtained (in a known manner) by twisting the longitudinal end or ends of the wrap, or by resorting to other methods the aim of which is to achieve a fan twist.

It will be appreciated that the possible formation of said twisted fan-shaped portions (which, to be emphasized once again, is not a limiting feature of the solution according to the invention described herein) does not adversely affect the properties of the seal line 3. In fact, this is achieved by joining the two lateral side panels 21 of the sheet. of the wrapping material 2 while holding them close to flat. Therefore, the connection between the two transverse side panels 21 is very close and continuous, and consequently strong, without being weakened to any possible subsequent deformation of the wrapper.

PL 211 452 B1

A plant for wrapping food products in the preferred embodiment is shown schematically in Fig. 6. The unwinding unit 10 is part of the plant from which the sheet material to be wrapped is unwound.

Starting from a unwinding device 10 (which is of a known type), wrapping sheet material 2 is fed to a forming unit 12 designed to give the sheet material a U-shape including a bent portion 20 and transverse panels 21 (see Fig. 3). ).

Also, the molding unit 12 itself can be considered to be of a known type. In fact, it is obtained according to criteria which are widely used for the production of forming units which, in packaging machines for continuously forming packages, enclose the sheet material in a sleeve-like configuration.

While the tubular wrapper formed by continuous forming machines (or in the embodiment described in WO-A-02722445) is generally closed by a longitudinal sealing line and has an approximately circular cross-sectional profile while the corresponding intermediate element obtained with the installation according to the invention shown in fig. 6 is open (see fig. 3 again), in the sense that the two transverse lobes are not connected to each other at a point corresponding to their distal edges.

The intermediate piece shown in Fig. 3 is an approximately U-shaped piece in which the two lateral lateral side panels 21 are kept in an approximately flattened state. As mentioned before, this fact is of great importance for obtaining a continuous and secure connection by means of the seal line 3, which underlies the sealing properties of the finished wrapper.

The feeding of the food products 1 to be wrapped towards the area where the forming unit 12 operates is provided by a conveyor 14 consisting, for example, of a motor-driven belt conveyor of the type that is widely used in food packaging installations. .

Said conveyor 14 cooperates with the forming unit 12 so as to cause the food products 1 to be inserted into the wrapping material folded to form the letter U at regular intervals from each other, thus producing the loading station 16.

The products brought in said condition by means of a further conveyor (in which the intermediate element of the wrapping material is usually the active element, as it transports the food products 1 thereon), are transferred to the position corresponding to the closing station, i.e. sealing station 18, wherein the seal line 3 and web segments of wrapping material are produced in areas left without articles so as to be accessible by other wrappers.

According to the known construction, the closing station, i.e. the sealing station 18, can be of the type with a reciprocating vertical movement, and thus comprising an anvil base or portion 18a, as well as an active moving member 18b that moves vertically and it is periodically lowered onto the anvil portion 18a whereby it forms a seal line and cuts the individual wraps. To this end, the base anvil portion 18a and / or the active moving member 18b typically have surface incisions that define the path of the seal line 3. Heating elements and / or ultrasound generators may also be attached to the base anvil portion 18a and / or the active moving member 18b. (not shown separately but of a known type) when the adopted sealing technology includes the application of heat and / or ultrasound.

Advantageously (and here too according to criteria known in the art), the sealing station 18 can be constructed so as to implement, in addition to the vertical movement leading the anvil portion 18a and the active moving member 18b to close together with the wraps therebetween. also the "follow" ("follow") motion in advance of closed items. Said tracking movement causes the action of forming the seal line 3 to be brought into a state where there is practically no relative movement.

The stationary anvil portion 18a may have an upper surface that is at least partially recessed slightly so as to ensure that the sealing line 3 (made with a wrapping extending between the anvil and movable portions 18a and 18b closed on itself) is obtainable under conditions of perfect symmetry.

PL 211 452 B1

Typically, cutting elements (not clearly shown, but of a known type) are seated on the sealing station 18 with the purpose of causing a continuous web of wrapping sheet material 2 to divide after or simultaneously with the formation of the seal line 3, so as to obtain individual packages such as C wraps. in Fig. 6.

In the profiling station, i.e., forming station 20, one or both longitudinal ends of the wrapper C are further processed (e.g. twisted) so as to form fan-shaped end portions 4 of Fig. 5.

The wrappings made in this way are collected in the gathering station 22 with an optional subsequent packing.

As already mentioned, the formation of one or more fan-shaped end portions 4 is an optional and non-mandatory step in the solution described herein.

It goes without saying that, without prejudice to the principles of the invention, the details of the implementation and the embodiments may be altered even to a significant extent with respect to, for example, what has been described and shown as a non-limiting embodiment, without departing from the scope of the invention. as set forth in the appended claims.

Claims (20)

Patent claims A sealed food wrapper comprising a wrapping sheet with a curved portion preferably receiving at least one product and a seal line extending to enclose the wrapping sheet along a path surrounding the at least one product and having ends positioned corresponding to of the folded portion, the wrapping sheet having two side panels that extend from the curved portion on opposite sides of the at least one product, a seal line that joins the side panels, further comprising at least one end portion (4) having a fan-shaped element. 2. A wrapping as claimed in claim 1 A method as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the wrapping sheet (2) is made of a material suitable for sealing by a technique selected from the group consisting of: heat sealing, cold bonding, sealing with a joint material, sealing without joint material, ultrasonic welding, laser welding, embossing . 3. A wrapping as claimed in claim 1 The wrapping is made of a treated sheet material (2) selected from the group consisting of: thermo-welding, cold welding, sealing with a joint material, according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that in the place corresponding to the sealing line (3), sealing without joint material, ultrasonic welding, laser welding, embossing. 4. A wrapping as claimed in one of claims 1 to 4 The method as claimed in 1-3, characterized in that the seal line (3) runs along a path free from sharp peaks. 5. A wrapping as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 5. The method of any of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the seal line (3) runs along a path free from overlapping areas of ridges or wrinkles of the wrapping material. 6. A wrapping as claimed in claim 1 The side panels (21) are preferably free of wrinkles or ridges at least at the point corresponding to the seal line (3). 7. A wrapping as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 5. 1 to 6 of the preceding ones, characterized in that the seal line (3) preferably runs along the curved path. 8. A method for sealing wrapping food products that forms a wrapping sheet with a curved portion, places at least one product in the curved portion, and forms a seal line extending to close the wrapping sheet along a path surrounding the at least one product, and has ends located at a location corresponding to the bent portion, further, according to the method, two side panels extending from the curved portion on opposite sides of at least one food product are formed in the wrapping sheet, and a sealing line is formed to join the side panels, characterized in that further, at least one fan-shaped end portion (4) is formed in the wrapper. 9. The method according to p. The method of claim 8, characterized in that a material suitable for bonding is used for the production of the wrapping sheet (2) by a technique selected from the group consisting of: thermo-welding, cold welding, sealing with joint material, sealing without joint material, welding ultrasonic, laser welding, embossing. PL 211 452 B1 10. The method according to p. 8 or 9, characterized in that the sealing line (3) is produced by a technique selected from the group consisting of: thermo-welding, cold welding, sealing with a joint material, sealing without joint material, ultrasonic welding, laser welding, waffle. 11. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 11 The method of claim 8-10, characterized in that a seal line (3) is formed along a path free from ridges and peaks. 12. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 12 The method of any of claims 11 to 14, characterized in that a seal line (3) is formed along a path free of overlapping areas of ridges or wrinkles in the material of the wrapping sheet (2). 13. The method according to p. The method of claim 8, characterized in that the side panels (21) are kept preferably free of wrinkles or ridges at least in a position corresponding to the seal line (3). 14. The method as claimed in one of claims 1 to 14 The method of claim 8-13, characterized in that a sealing line (3) is formed according to an preferably curved path. 15. A sealed food wrapping plant comprising a forming unit for forming a wrapping sheet with a bent portion, a loading station for inserting at least one food product into the bent portion, and a sealing station for forming a seal line extending to close the wrapping sheet along the length of the folded portion. a path surrounding at least one food product and having two ends located at a position corresponding to the bent portion, the forming unit being arranged to form in the wrapping sheet two side panels extending from the opposite-sided bent portion of the at least one food product, and the station The sealing is arranged to form a seal line joining the two side panels further comprising a forming station (20) for wrapping at least one end portion with a fan member. 16. Installation according to p. 15. The method of claim 15, characterized in that the sealing station (18) is a station operating using a technique selected from the group consisting of heat sealing, cold bonding, sealing with a joint material, sealing without joint material, ultrasonic welding, laser welding, embossing. 17. Installation according to p. The sealing bar as claimed in claim 15 or 16, characterized in that the sealing station (18) is arranged to form a sealing line (3) along a path free of ridges. Installation according to one of the claims The method of claim 15-17, characterized in that the sealing station (18) is arranged to form a sealing line (3) along a path free from areas of overlapping ridges or wrinkles of the wrapping sheet material (2). 19. Installation according to one of the claims 15-18, characterized in that the sealing station (18) is arranged to keep the side panels (21) preferably free of wrinkles and folds, at least at the point corresponding to the sealing line (3). 20. Installation according to one of the claims Device according to claim 15-19, characterized in that the sealing station (18) is arranged to form the seal line (3) preferably along an arcuate path.