Douglas Machine Inc.

Frito-lay North America, Inc.

Ronald Matthew Gust

Frank Mathew Brenkus

Patrick Joseph Bierschenk

Richard Jerome Schoeneck

Leon J Krause

Paul Howard Wagner

Jerry Mike Reaves

Daniel Leonard Floding

Amelinda Melanson

Anthony Moske

Irvan Leo Pazdernik

Steven Kenneth Tucker

David Leon Anderson

Bruce Peterson

Sunitha Nair

Irvan Leo Pazdernick

Glenn Lambert Stroeing

Parick Joseph Bierschenk

Bruce Malcolm Peterson

A vertical form fill and seal apparatus, for packaging particulates, includes a package sealing assembly that has opposed sealing jaws operatively coupled to each other by mechanical connection at a common pivot point. A first jaw actuator is mechanically coupled to the opposed sealing jaws to pivot the jaws in a controlled manner about the common pivot point. A second actuator is mechanically coupled to the package sealing assembly and is configured to impart controlled reciprocating motion to the package sealing assembly. A controller is configured to control the first actuator and to control the second actuator thereby causing the jaws to describe a preset locus of travel, allowing flexibility of type of bag being made without change-out of jaws. The packaging film may move continuously, or may optionally be controlled to move intermittently through the VFFS.

Flexible jaws for vertical fill form and seal apparatus and methods of use

A method for compacting a slug of product and apparatus for accomplishing the same. The invention describes collecting weighed product in an intermediate settling device to form a compact slug of product. The device can comprise a single settling chamber or can comprise multiple settling chambers which are axially rotatable. The slug can be compacted by jostling and/or vibrating the settling device. Thereafter, the product is discharged to a packaging apparatus. Because the product in the final package is denser, a smaller package can be utilized reducing manufacturing and shipping costs.

Method and apparatus for compacting product

A method and apparatus for making a structurally resilient package having a substantially box-shaped configuration is disclosed. A pillow pouch package is received onto a flighted conveyor. The pillow pouch package has a first squared end and an angular end located opposite to the first squared end. The pillow pouch package is received so that the first squared end rests on the flighted conveyor. Thereafter the pillow pouch package is conditioned at least in part by tamping the angular end with a tamping plate. The angular end of the package is subsequently heat treated to form a second squared end. A set of cooling plates is then applied to the second squared end to set the final shape and form the structurally resilient package having a substantially box-shaped configuration.

Apparatus and method for a structurally resilient package

A method and apparatus for making a structurally resilient package with a desired shape on a vertical form, fill, and seal machine. The method comprises sealing a film to form a back seal; forming a first end seal to form a partially formed first package; flattening a first side of the partially formed first package to form a flat first side; filling the partially formed first package with product; forming a second end seal on the partially formed first package to form a first package from the partially formed first package; flattening the second side of the first package to form a flat second side, wherein the flattening the first side and the flattening the second side occur on a first machine.

Method and apparatus for making a structurally resilient package

Product can be conveyed on a divider conveyor () in the same orientation or perpendicular to the orientation as when transferred from an input conveyor () as well as at different locations in the pack pattern to be cased by moving the divider conveyor () perpendicular to the conveying direction and/or by varying the conveying speed of the divider conveyor (). The divider conveyor () transfers product onto an upper containment plate () moveable to an inoperative position to transfer product to a lower containment plate () moveable to an inoperative position to transfer product to a table (). Product can be compressed between the table () and the upper containment plate () and can be pushed by a loader plate () into a case when the table () is in its lower position.

Apparatus and methods for loading product into cases

Apparatus () loads product in the form of bags into a carton held at a tilt angle. The leading ends of the bags on an adjustment conveyor () are abutted by a bumper () to reorient the bags 90&#xb0; on the adjustment conveyor (). The downstream roller () of a twist conveyor () is tilted to collate bags on a decline conveyor (). The collated bags are moved on an orientation conveyor () to engage a product scoop () extending at an inclined position and moved to a vertical position to vertically orient the bags. The orientation conveyor () is moved to an offset position to allow the bags to drop onto a lowerator () of an accumulator () where they can be sandwiched between retainer plates (). A pusher plate () pushes the bags off the lowerator () into the carton and is tilted to correspond to the tilt angle of the carton.

Methods and apparatus for handling products

A cutting apparatus cuts shrink wrap film residing in a roll. The apparatus includes a first roller pair receiving the film from the roll and carrying the film away from the roll; and without the need for a second roller pair to receive the cut sheet of film. Film snap-back is prevented by cutting the film between a shear deck with teeth and a rotating blade with teeth intermeshing with the teeth of the shear deck. A method for cutting a sheet of shrink wrap film, includes: feeding the film into a first roller pair; and cutting the film between the first roller pair and the second roller pair using a rotating knife with a number of teeth intermeshing with a shear bar with teeth.

Film cutter

A method for enclosing articles in heat-shrink film and for perforating or slitting the heat shrink film.

Method for packaging articles using pre-perforated heat shrink film

Holes are removed from nested product patterns by conveying products on a conveyance mechanism () through an infeed section () in nested pattern streams (a, a, b, b), into a narrowing section () of a width less than one and one half the product diameter. After the narrowing section (), the product streams (a, a, b, b) enter into an expansion section () where products move into a side-by-side product stream (a, a, b, b). Thereafter, nested product streams (a, a, b, b) are formed, which can be combined to form nested product streams (A, B) which can be further processed as desired.

Method and apparatus for removing holes from nested product patterns

Product is conveyed as a continuous stream by a meter conveyor ( ) unto a transfer plate ( ) and a transfer device ( ). The transfer device ( ) is movable between a retracted position and an extended position extending over a sweep conveyor ( ). In a preferred form, the transfer device ( ) is in the form of a thin piece of flexible material and is moved in the conveying direction from the retracted position to the extended position by engaging with the sweep conveyor ( ) and is moved to the retracted position by being wrapped around a rotated roller ( ). Product is transferred from the transfer device ( ) to the sweep conveyor ( ) as the transfer device ( ) moves from the extended position to the retracted position and is engaged by a metering bar ( ) which controls the product acceleration on the sweep conveyor ( ) to match the meter conveyor ( ) until the product group leaves the transfer device ( ). With nested product, the leading edge of the transfer device ( ) can be scalloped to represent the product bottom leading edge. Alternatively, nestable product is conveyed by the meter conveyor ( ) through a guide rail unit ( ) including an infeed portion ( ) for conveying product in a conveying direction, a nesting portion ( ) at an arranging angle (N) to the conveying direction, and an aligning portion ( ) at a grid angle (Z) to the nesting portion ( ) to align the product in a square grid pattern when transferred unto the transfer device ( ). Similarly, product in a grid pattern can be conveyed by the meter conveyor ( ) through the guide rail unit ( ) onto a loader conveyor ( ). A pack pattern is pushed by a pusher ( ) from the loader conveyor ( ) between a loader guide ( ) abutting with the leading row of the pack pattern and a retractable loader guide ( ) abutting with the last row of the pack pattern.

Growing community of inventors

Miltona, MN, United States of America

Ronald Matthew Gust