Tetra Laval Holdings & Finance S.a.

Giorgio Galavotti

Fabio Bassissi

Paolo Scarabelli

Antonio Melandri

Claudio Ferrari

Lorenzo Tacconi

Rickard Norenstam

Saquib Javed

An induction sealing device which may be used for producing packages of pourable food products by transversely sealing a tube of sheet packaging material having at least one layer of induction heatable material covered with plastic material. The sealing device has: a generator for generating an alternating power signal; an inductor receiving the alternating power signal to induce a parasitic electric current in the layer and locally melt the plastic material to form a transverse seal; and a matching circuit for achieving optimum power transfer between the generator and the inductor. The matching circuit includes an inductive-capacitive circuit, in which the capacitance of a variable capacitance capacitive element is adjustable so that the current-voltage phase angle is close to zero.

Induction sealing device and method which may be used for producing packages of pourable food products

A sheet material for producing packages of food products and having a succession of optically detectable register mark; each mark, has a first and a second segment parallel to each other and perpendicular to a feed direction of the material, and a sloping segment interposed between the parallel segments, so as to define a broken, to substantially Z-shaped line, which may be used to determine the position of the material both in the feed direction and in a perpendicular direction.

Sheet material for producing packages of food products, and packages made of such material

A packaging machine ( ) for continuously producing sealed packages ( ) of a pourable food product from a tube ( ) of heat-seal sheet packaging material fed along a vertical path (A) and filled continuously with the food product by means of a fill conduit ( ) extending inside the tube ( ). The packaging machine ( ) has a capacitive level sensor ( ) located outside the tube ( ) and in turn having a plate element ( ) made of conducting material, positioned facing the fill conduit ( ), and defining, together with the fill conduit ( ), a capacitive element ( ) whose capacitance depends, among other things, on the amount of food product between its plates. The level sensor ( ) also has a detecting circuit ( ) connected to and for detecting the capacitance of the capacitive element ( ), and generating a level signal (SL) indicating the level of the food product inside the tube ( ).

Packaging machine for continuously producing sealed packages of a pourable food product, and having a capacitive level sensor

A packaging machine includes a fixed structure. A number of forming assemblies are arranged successively along a vertical portion of a path of a strip of packaging material, for gradually superimposing opposite lateral portions of the strip to form a tube having a longitudinal axis. A sealing device seals the lateral portions to each other and forms a longitudinal seam of the tube. An actuating device is operatively connected to an angularly adjustable folding member of one of the forming assemblies, and activated selectively to rotate the folding member about the longitudinal axis. A sensor is disposed along the vertical portion of the path, downstream from the sealing device, and generates a position signal correlated to the angular position of the seam. A control unit receives the position signal and generates a control signal, which is supplied to the actuating device to restore the seam to the desired angular position.

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Concordia Sulla Secchia, Italy

Giorgio Galavotti