IPC분류정보
국가/구분 |
United States(US) Patent
등록
|
국제특허분류(IPC7판) |
|
출원번호 |
UP-0074571
(2008-03-05)
|
등록번호 |
US-7779612
(2010-09-13)
|
발명자
/ 주소 |
- Fergusson, Stuart
- Godfroy, Larin
- Reid, Tony
- Sadler, Jim
- Schiele, David L.
|
출원인 / 주소 |
|
인용정보 |
피인용 횟수 :
4 인용 특허 :
23 |
초록
▼
A process for forming a pouch having an evacuated headspace containing a flowable material is disclosed. The process includes the steps of: providing a continuous tube of flexible and sealable film; supplying the continuous tube with a predetermined amount of flowable material; pinching the continuo
A process for forming a pouch having an evacuated headspace containing a flowable material is disclosed. The process includes the steps of: providing a continuous tube of flexible and sealable film; supplying the continuous tube with a predetermined amount of flowable material; pinching the continuous tube above a sealing region so as to form a pinched portion of the continuous tube; evacuating the headspace between the pinched portion and the predetermined amount of flowable material; and sealing the continuous tube at the sealing region to form a top seal of a previously formed pouch containing flowable material and a bottom seal of a next-to-be filled pouch. Also disclosed is a vertical form-fill-seal apparatus for forming a pouch containing a flowable material and having an evacuated headspace.
대표청구항
▼
What is claimed is: 1. A process for forming a pouch having an evacuated headspace containing a flowable material comprising the steps of: providing a continuous tube of flexible and sealable film; supplying the continuous tube with a predetermined amount of flowable material; pinching the continuo
What is claimed is: 1. A process for forming a pouch having an evacuated headspace containing a flowable material comprising the steps of: providing a continuous tube of flexible and sealable film; supplying the continuous tube with a predetermined amount of flowable material; pinching the continuous tube above a sealing region so as to form a pinched portion of the continuous tube including providing an evacuating passage that passes through the pinched portion, said evacuating passage being formed by controlling the force applied to the pinched portion; transversely compressing the continuous tube beneath the pinched portion with deflating jaws thereby evacuating the headspace between the pinched portion and the predetermined amount of flowable material wherein air from the headspace passes through the pinched portion and flow of flowable material there through is limited; releasing the deflating jaws after evacuating the headspace before sealing the continuous tube and sealing the continuous tube at the sealing region to form a top seal of a previously formed pouch containing flowable material and a bottom seal of a next-to-be filled pouch. 2. The process of claim 1, wherein the process includes the step of separating the pouch from the next pouch. 3. The process of claim 2, wherein the force of the deflating jaws in compressing the continuous tube beneath the pinched portion is controlled to control the level of flowable material that flows into the evacuating passage. 4. The process of claim 2, wherein the pinched portion extends across only a part of the width of the continuous tube. 5. The process of claim 4, wherein the evacuating passage comprises a channel formed by forming a vertical seal inside the pouch, the channel aligning with the non-pinched part of the width of the continuous tube. 6. The process of claim 5, wherein the step of evacuating the headspace comprises transversely compressing the continuous tube beneath the pinched portion with deflating jaws. 7. The process of claim 6 wherein the deflating jaws are released after evacuating the headspace and before sealing the continuous tube. 8. The process of claim 7, wherein the force of the deflating jaws in compressing the continuous tube beneath the pinched portion is controlled to control the level of flowable material that flows into the evacuating passage. 9. The process of claim 4, wherein the evacuating passage comprises a channel formed by a vertical pincher, the channel aligning with the non-pinched part of the width of the continuous tube. 10. The process of claim 9, wherein the step of evacuating the headspace comprises transversely compressing the continuous tube beneath the pinched portion with deflating jaws. 11. The process of claim 10, wherein the deflating jaws are released after evacuating the headspace and before sealing the continuous tube. 12. The process of claim 11, wherein the force of the deflating jaws in compressing the continuous tube beneath the pinched portion is controlled to control the level of flowable material that flows into the evacuating passage. 13. The process of claim 9, wherein the vertical pincher is part of a U-shaped pincher. 14. The process of claim 13, wherein the step of evacuating the headspace comprises transversely compressing the continuous tube beneath the pinched portion with deflating jaws. 15. The process of claim 14, wherein the deflating jaws are released after evacuating the headspace and before sealing the continuous tube. 16. The process of claim 15 wherein the force of the deflating jaws in compressing the continuous tube beneath the pinched portion is controlled to control the level of flowable material that flows into the evacuating passage. 17. The process of claim 2, wherein the evacuating passage comprises an evacuating tube positioned within the continuous tube and wherein the continuous tube is pinched about the evacuating tube, the evacuating tube having a first end opening onto the headspace. 18. The process of claim 17, wherein the step of evacuating the headspace comprises transversely compressing the continuous tube beneath the pinched portion with deflating jaws. 19. The process of claim 18 wherein the deflating jaws are released after evacuating the headspace and before sealing the continuous tube. 20. The process of claim 19, wherein the force of the deflating jaws in compressing the continuous tube beneath the pinched portion is controlled to control the level of flowable material that flows into the evacuating passage. 21. The process of claim 17 further comprising the step of sensing when flowable material is being evacuated from the continuous tube and ceasing evacuation upon sensing that flowable material is being evacuated. 22. The process of claim 17 wherein the step of evacuating the headspace comprises aspirating the headspace. 23. The process of claim 17 wherein the evacuating tube is valved. 24. The process of claim 17, wherein the evacuating tube has a second end distal the first end, the second end opening into the next pouch to be formed from the continuous tube. 25. The process of claim 2, further comprising the step of forming the continuous tube from a flexible and sealable film by forming the film into a tube by sealing the longitudinal edges of the film using an overlap seal or a fin seal. 26. The process of claim 2, wherein the sealing step and the separating step comprise simultaneous sealing and cutting. 27. The process of claim 26, wherein the simultaneous sealing and cutting is performed by application of heat. 28. The process of claim 2, further comprising the step of injecting an inert gas into the continuous tube or evacuated headspace. 29. The process of claim 28, wherein the inert gas comprises nitrogen. 30. The process of claim 2, wherein the flowable material is supplied continuously. 31. The process of claim 2, wherein the step of supplying the continuous tube with the predetermined amount of flowable material is controlled by a timer. 32. A vertical form-fill-seal apparatus for forming a pouch containing a flowable material and having an evacuated headspace, the apparatus comprising: a tube forming section for forming a vertical continuous tube from a roll of film; a horizontal sealing section for forming a transverse seal across the vertical continuous tube; a filling station for supplying a predetermined amount of flowable material to the vertical continuous tube; pinchers for transversely pinching the vertical continuous tube to form a pinched portion of the continuous tube; an evacuating passage between the pinchers that opens onto the headspace between the predetermined amount of flowable material and the pinched portion; and wherein the evacuating passage is formed by controlling the force applied to the pinchers, wherein air from the headspace can pass through the pinched portion and flow of flowable material there through is limited and wherein the evacuating passage comprises an evacuating tube positioned within the vertical continuous tube and wherein the continuous tube is pinched about the evacuating tube, the evacuating tube having a first end opening onto the headspace; and a deflating apparatus for evacuating the headspace via the evacuating passage, wherein the deflating apparatus comprises deflating jaws that apply trans-verse pressure to the vertical continuous tube beneath the pinchers and wherein the deflating jaws are adapted to release prior to activation of the horizontal sealing section. 33. The apparatus of claim 32, further comprising a severing apparatus associated with the horizontal sealing section. 34. The apparatus of claim 32, wherein the transverse pressure is controlled to control the level of flowable material that flows into the evacuating passage. 35. The apparatus of claim 32, further comprising a sensor for sensing the uptake of flowable material into the evacuating tube and a control device for ceasing evacuation of the headspace upon receiving a signal from the sensor. 36. The apparatus of claim 32, wherein the deflating apparatus comprises an aspirator connected to the evacuating tube for aspirating the headspace. 37. The apparatus of claim 32, wherein the pinchers do not extend across the entire width of the continuous tube. 38. The apparatus of claim 37, wherein the apparatus comprises a vertical sealer and the evacuating passage comprises a channel formed by a vertical seal inside the pouch. 39. The apparatus of claim 37, wherein the apparatus comprises a vertical pincher and the evacuating passage comprises a channel formed by the vertical pincher. 40. The apparatus of claim 39, wherein the vertical pincher is part of a U-shaped pincher. 41. The apparatus of claim 32, further comprising spreader fingers.
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