Hayssen Manufacturing Company

F.r. Drake Company

Keith W Hopkins

Dale M Cherney

Lloyd Kovacs

George E Reed

Nicholas J Milo

A method and apparatus of maintaining tension in the film over the forming shoulder in the forward and reverse directions of a package formed in a vertical form, fill and seal machine and stripping and/or settling products out of the sealing and severing area of a partially formed package. The machine includes a source of film, a measuring axis, a forming shoulder, a pull axis, and a finishing system for stripping, sealing and severing successive packages from a formed tube. The measuring axis and the pull axis are operated in the forward direction to form a film tube while tension is maintained on the tube. After a predetermined length of tubing has been pulled, the measuring axis is operated in the reverse direction while the tube is retained in tension downstream of the forming shoulder. Stripping of product entrained in the film seal area can occur in the reverse direction. Product can also be settled in the tube by alternately operating in the forward and reverse directions, or by operating in a stepwise fashion in the forward direction as product as injected into the tube.

Method of handling film on a vertical form, fill and seal machine

A vertical form-fill-seal packaging machine controlled by a controller for receiving input data defining the package length, cycle time and sealing time and for controlling the feed of the packaging material as a function of the input data, the machine having a measuring roll for feeding the material forward in package length increments which is also operable to maintain the material tracking properly, further having a control maintaining the material under substantially constant tension, rapid controllable sealing jaw operation, a readily retractable longitudinal seam sealer, and a stripper operable independently of the sealing jaws.

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Sheboygan, WI, United States of America

Keith W Hopkins