RU2368551C2 - Improved package - Google Patents

Abstract

FIELD: transportation; package. ^ SUBSTANCE: method consists in sealing of two films in longitudinal direction to form large number of tubes, which are parallel to each other, sealing of tubes along single end, filling of tubes with material, sealing of tubes at the second end to form large number of sachet-packets and cutting out of parts of sealed edges of sachet-packets to create nonlinear edges. One or several edges of sachet-packets contain nonlinear profiles at distance of 10% of edge length. ^ EFFECT: easy separation of any number of sachet-packets from large number of rows without damage of sealing seam and minimisation of web material wastes. ^ 12 cl, 3 dwg

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to an improved method for manufacturing sachets in the form of a large number of rows in a machine for forming, filling and sealing.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION AND KNOWN BACKGROUND

Sachets are used for packaging various types of products, such as creams, powders, liquids, tablets, ribbon-shaped pasta, granules and pastes in various technological fields. Sachets provide the ability to pack and seal these products in small quantities compared to conventional packages like bottles and cans. Sachets also provide convenient use during the trip, when they can hold reduced amounts in the form of so-called “single doses” without loss due to leaks. The products are served by breaking the sachets, while the product is used at a time, after which such packaging is discarded. Sachets are also very convenient for selling products to new customers who do not want to spend a lot of money trying new products, because the cost of the product in the sachet is much lower than its cost in ordinary packages like a bottle or a jar. Thus, there is no need for a consumer who wants to try a new product to spend a lot of money on buying a large amount of the product in an ordinary bottle or jar. Packaging in the form of a sachet also allows customers in developing countries who do not have extra money to purchase these products in small quantities in such packaging.

Sachets are made in machines in which several such bags are formed and filled, with each sachet being connected to a subsequent bag in the form of a long chain. Such a chain of sachets can then be suspended at the point of sale so that it is clearly visible. Each bag in the row is separated by perforations, which provide the ability to easily tear the desired number of sachets from the chain at the request of customers. Recently, it has become possible to purchase a large number of rows of sachets that are displayed at the point of sale in the so-called curtain format. Sachets in a curtain format are separated by perforations along their two longitudinal edges, as well as along the upper and lower packages.

Sachets are made from a variety of materials based on the product to be packaged. Products like tea and coffee are packaged in porous paper, which allows tea / coffee to brew when the sachet is immersed in hot water. For most of the other products in the detergent and cosmetics industry, sachets are made from synthetic polymers. The development of automatic machines, similar to a machine for forming, filling and sealing, made it possible to use very high speeds of manufacturing sachets. These machines form sachets of two films that form the front surface and the back surface, usually by sealing the three edges by heating them to form a three-edged bag, after which the bag is filled with product, and then the fourth edge of the bag is sealed. Sachets can be cut into single rows or sold in curtain format. Where required, perforations are created along the sealing seams to allow easy separation by tearing one or more sachets from the rest of the chain or “curtains”.

Although conventional sachets are generally rectangular or square, there are reports of methods / processes for making sachets / bags with non-linear edges. Such sachets / pouches are created to obtain attractive shapes and differentiate the packaging, as well as the products packaged in it.

EP 0378027 (Modern Packaging, 1990) describes a method for manufacturing individual sachets, each of which includes a product, the method comprising the steps of (a) pre-printing on two films that form opposite sides of the sachets and can be sealed on the inner sides under the influence of heat, and also have the desired inscriptions on the outer side, (b) bringing the two films very close together to precipitate the product, (c) partially sealing the sachet under the action of heat around the collection to form a sachet at the first sealing post, (d) moving the thus shaped sachet to the second sealing post, (e) completing the sealing at the second sealing post; (f) stamping the sachet from the canvas at the cutting post using a stamp and shape corresponding to the desired profile of such a bag, (g) collecting the sachets cut in this way with the removal of the canvas in which the cuts are made, (h) the bag the sachets are cut along the side of the web, which is sealed under the action of heat, the method being characterized in that (i) the edge zones that create the image of the container will be redundant with respect to the future cut line, providing a certain tolerance for consistency between the cut line and the edge em said image, (j) performing the deposition of the surface layer in the form of a film for image transfer at any stage of the process, the transfer film has the decoration image corresponding to said image on the visible side of the film or web that is to form a sachet.

WO 01/23271 (Cryovac 2001) describes a pouch, as well as a method and apparatus for manufacturing a pouch, the pouch comprising a first side edge and a second side edge, each of the first and second side edges containing a concave surface and a convex surface, and concave the surface of the first side edge is actually opposite to the convex surface of the second side edge, and the convex surface of the first side edge is actually opposite to the concave surface of the second side edge.

Each of these well-known documents discloses methods for manufacturing shaped sachets / pouches, when sachets / pouches are essentially necessary to cut out of the canvases in the form of single objects, or sachets are cut out of the canvas at most in the form of a chain. EP 0378027 describes a method in which case individual sachets are cut from the web, the rest of the material being thrown away. This known method involves wasting a large amount of unused web material. In addition, this well-known solution does not allow the manufacture of sachets in the form of a large number of rows, which could then be exhibited at the point of sale for good visibility of such bags and decorations made on them.

WO 01/23271 also describes pouches and a method for their manufacture, which in fact requires that the pouches be cut in single strips, therefore, without creating a curtain format. In addition, these known bags have the disadvantage that the curved shape of one side edge must be supplemented by the shape of the other side edge, thereby limiting the flexibility of creating various configurations that would be desirable to give the package.

Thus, it is obvious that in this area there is a need to create a method of manufacturing sachets that contain a variety of non-linear edges and which can be made in the form of a large number of rows so that they are maximally visible at the point of sale.

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION

So, the aim of the present invention is to provide a method for the manufacture of sachets with a non-linear edge profile, which can be displayed in the form of a large number of rows so that they are as visible as possible at the point of sale.

Another objective of the invention is to provide a method for the manufacture of sachets with a non-linear profile along the edge, which, in addition to the possibility of their manufacture in the form of a large number of rows, allows easy separation of any number of such sachets from a large number of rows without damaging the sealing seam and subsequent product leakage.

Another objective of the invention is to provide a method for manufacturing sachets that have a non-linear profile along the edge and can be made in the form of a large number of rows, making it easy to separate any number of sachets from a large number of rows without damaging the sealing seam and, in addition, ensuring minimization of waste material web, thereby contributing to the efficiency of production costs.

Another objective of the invention is to create a method of manufacturing sachets that have a non-linear profile along the edge and can be made in the form of a large number of rows, allowing easy separation of any number of sachets from a large number of rows without damaging the sealing seam, allowing to bring up minimum waste of web material, thereby contributing to cost-effectiveness, and, in addition, allowing you to create a variety of non-linear configurations on one or more e edges, thus providing a characteristic difference between the packaging and the packaged product in it.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to the invention, a method for manufacturing a sachet bag in the form of a large number of rows in a machine for filling and sealing forms is provided, wherein one or more edges of the sachet bag contains non-linear profiles of at least 10% of the edge length, the method of manufacturing a sachet bag contains

(i) sealing two films in the longitudinal direction to form a large number of tubes parallel to each other;

(ii) sealing the tubes along one end;

(iii) filling the tubes with the desired material;

(iv) sealing the tubes at the second end to form a large number of sachets;

(v) cutting parts of the sealed edges of the sachets to form non-linear edges.

It is particularly preferred that the non-linear profile along the edge of the sachet is a curved profile.

It is also particularly preferred that the non-linear profiles are formed on the longitudinal edges of the sachets.

The present invention will now be described with reference to non-limiting embodiments of the invention using the accompanying figures.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

The figures show the following:

figure 1 schematically shows one embodiment of a method of manufacturing sachets in the form of a large number of rows in a machine for forming, filling and sealing;

FIG. 2 is a schematic front view of a portion of a sachet bag in a curtain format when each longitudinal edge has one cut-out portion covering about 95% of the length of the longitudinal edge;

FIG. 3 is a schematic front view of a portion of other sachet bags assembled in a curtain format, where each longitudinal edge has two cut-out portions covering approximately 85% of the length of the longitudinal edge.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The invention provides a method of manufacturing sachets in the form of a large number of rows in a machine for forming, filling and sealing. Although sachets according to the invention can be manufactured in both a horizontal and a vertical machine for forming, filling and sealing, it is preferable to make them in a vertical machine.

The invention relates to a method for manufacturing sachets having at least one edge that comprises a non-linear part. For the purposes set forth in this invention, the term “non-linear” means profiles that cannot be formed by a single straight line. The term "non-linear" includes bends at an angle formed when two or more lines connect to each other, curves of any shape, as well as combinations thereof. Preferably, the non-linear profiles are curved profiles. The non-linear edges may be the longitudinal or transverse edges of the sachets, although it is preferred that the non-linear edges are longitudinal edges. The term "longitudinal edges" should be understood as the edges formed by sealing films in their longitudinal direction, that is, in the direction along the length of the films. The longitudinal edges are sometimes called the side edges of the sachets, for example, the left side edge and the right side edge. The transverse edges of the sachets are edges extending in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal edges, that is, they are sealed across the width of the film. The transverse edges usually form the top and bottom of the sachet.

The edges of the sachets contain non-linear profiles extending at least 10% of the edge length, more preferably at least 30%, even more preferably at least 60%, and most preferably at least 90% edge lengths. The profiled edges look like a cut-out part when sachets are made in the form of a large number of rows in a machine for forming, filling and sealing. Edge profiles can be formed from one or more cut parts. Although the number of rows of sachets that can be created in a forming, filling and sealing machine is dictated by the width of the sachets, it is preferred that the number of rows be between two and sixteen, more preferably between 4 and 12, and most preferably between six and by twelve. It is also possible that there is one profile on one edge of the sachet bag and another profile on its other edge.

When performing the method according to the invention, several types of polymeric materials can be used. Preferred materials include high density polyethylene, low density polyethylene, linear low density polyethylene or layered materials containing polyethylene terephthalate, biaxially oriented polypropylene, metallized polyethylene terephthalate, thin film or polyethylene. Quite often, to increase the physical, thermal, mechanical properties and properties relating to suitability for obtaining an imprint, laminated materials consisting of more than one material are used. It is particularly preferred that two surfaces that come into contact with each other to form the inner surface of the sachet can be sealed by exposure to heat.

In the view of FIG. 1, an embodiment of a forming, filling and sealing machine for forming a sachet bag according to the invention is shown. Sachets in such a machine are made of two films or webs that form the front (9) and back (10) surfaces of the sachet. Preferably, the two films were taken from the same web, which is unwound at the unwinding station containing a feed roller (not shown in the figure). The feed web is preferably cut into two halves in the longitudinal direction to form the front and back surfaces of the sachet. Alternatively, two films may be fed from two separate feed rolls.

The tension of the film is maintained by any means that keeps the film in tension. A conventional roller-based pulling system may be used, but it is more preferred that a pulling unit (11) with a mechanical drive be used.

In the view according to FIG. 2, an embodiment of sachets according to the invention, manufactured in curtain format, is shown. The films forming the front and back surfaces of the sachet are fed to the machine for forming, filling and sealing using the appropriate feed unit (12).

The films are sealed in the longitudinal direction (41, 51, 61) to form a large number of tubes (A1, A2, A3) using a system with vertical sealing jaws (15). The vertical sealing jaws are preferably designed so that they have the desired dimensions, especially corresponding to the width of the part (8), which it is desirable to cut to form the profile of the sachet. Preferably, after that, the parts sealed in the longitudinal direction are perforated (6) using perforating means (not shown in the figure).

In this embodiment of the method, the lower edge (2) of one row of sachets (for example, A1, A2, A3), which is the upper end of the sachets below (not shown in the figure), is sealed using the same sealing system (15, 13), which seals the longitudinal edges of the next row of sachets (B1, B2, B3). However, this sealing system does not limit the invention and alternative sealing systems may be envisaged in which case sealing of the longitudinal edges and the transverse edges, for example, is performed separately.

Thus, the lower edge (2) of the tubes (A1, A2, A3) is formed by sealing two films using a sealing means (13, 15), which simultaneously forms tubes (B1, B2, B3) by sealing along the lines (42, 52 , 62). Preferably, the sealing was performed by using a machine designed for sealing using heat. The sealing jaws are actuated periodically preferably by using a mechanical drive. Preferably, proportional-integral-differential control of the heating elements is provided.

After that, the formed sachets (A1, A2, A3) are filled with the product through the hole of the not yet sealed edge (22).

Next, the unsealed edge (22), which is the upper edge of the sachets (A1, A2, A3) and the lower edge of the sachets (B1, B2, B3), is sealed using a sealing means (13, 15), which simultaneously forms tubes (C1, C2, C3) by sealing along the lines (43, 53, 63).

Profiles (7) are formed by cutting the cut out parts (8). Preferably, this operation is performed at the cutting site. Preferably, the cutting post comprises a die plate (16) having punches on one side of the film and a matrix plate (17) on the other side of the film, which are suitably centered. The die plate (16) can be actuated mechanically or pneumatically. Preferably, the punch guide provides direction to the die plate (16) and the matrix plate (17).

Preferably, the cut-out parts (8) are removed from the cutting station by using means (18) for blowing air / suction. Preferably, a means for blowing air with a suction means following it is used to remove the cut-out parts.

Sachets (A1, A2, A3) have profiles of the desired shape and, therefore, are made by the invention.

After that, sachets (B1, B2, B3) are filled with the desired material. Next, seal the upper edge 32 of the sachets (B1, B2, B3), which also represents the lower edge of the sachets (C1, C2, C3). Then, sachets (B1, B2, B3) are shaped as described for sachets (A1, A2, A3).

Preferably, the sealing seams in the transverse direction can be perforated (3) using perforating means (14). Preferably, the perforating means is pneumatically actuated.

Then, the production operation is continued as described for sachets (A1, A2, A3) and (B1, B2, B3) until the entire film is used, after which the next roll of film is loaded into the system.

Figure 3 presents an embodiment of sachets made by the method according to the invention, when there are two cut out parts. These cut-out parts jointly separate adjacent sachets for approximately 85% of the length of the longitudinal edge.

Thus, according to a preferred aspect of the invention, a method for manufacturing sachets in the form of a large number of rows in a forming, filling and sealing machine is provided, in which case the longitudinal edges of the sachets contain curved profiles for at least 10% of the length of the longitudinal edge , while the method contains

(i) sealing two films in the longitudinal direction to form a large number of tubes parallel to each other;

(ii) perforating the first and second longitudinal edges of the formed tubes;

(iii) sealing the tubes along the bottom end;

(iv) filling the tubes with the desired material;

(v) sealing the tubes at the upper end;

(vi) cutting parts of the sealed longitudinal edges to form curved profiles;

(vii) removing parts using an air blower / suction means;

(viii) perforating the bottom sealing seam with a second perforating means.

Thus, by means of the invention, sachets having non-linear edge profiles can be produced in curtain format. Such sachets provide the distinctive nature of the packaging and, therefore, the products sold in them, thereby maximally attracting the eye when they are exhibited at the point of sale. In addition, sachets are durable and guarantee no leakage when a certain number of packets are separated from the "curtain" by tearing. It is important that the invention provides all of the above distinctive features while maintaining low production costs by minimizing waste web in the form of scraps.

Claims (12)

1. A method of manufacturing sachets in the form of a large number of rows in a machine for forming, filling and sealing, so that one or more edges of the sachets contain non-linear profiles for at least 10% of the length of the edge, while the method of manufacturing bags -sache contains
(i) sealing two films in the longitudinal direction to form a large number of tubes parallel to each other;
(ii) sealing the tubes along one end;
(iii) filling the tubes with the desired material;
(iv) sealing the tubes at the second end to form a large number of sachets;
(v) cutting parts of the sealed edges of the sachets to form non-linear edges. 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the non-linear profiles are curved profiles. 3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the non-linear profile extends along the longitudinal edge of the sachet. 4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the non-linear profile is at least 30% of the length of the edge. 5. The method according to claim 4, in which the non-linear profile is at least 60% of the length of the edge. 6. The method according to claim 5, in which the non-linear profile is at least 90% of the length of the edge. 7. The method according to claim 1, in which the tension of the films is maintained by using a pulling unit with a mechanical drive. 8. The method according to claim 1, wherein the sachets in the form of a large number of rows are perforated along the longitudinal edges. 9. The method according to claim 1, wherein the sachets in the form of a large number of rows are perforated along the transverse edges. 10. The method according to claim 1, wherein the films are sealed by heat. 11. The method according to claim 1, in which the cutting is performed at the cutting site, which contains a cutting plate containing punches on one side of the film, and a matrix plate on the other side of the film, which are respectively centered. 12. The method according to claim 1, wherein said parts are removed using air blowing means and / or suction means.

Images