Abstract: A vented pouch arrangement is described which comprises: first and second opposed panel sections; a base gusset member; and, a gas filter arrangement oriented in one of the panel sections. The gusset member is preferably oriented between the panel sections; along ends thereof, to form a base by which the arrangement can be stood up during use. Preferably, the arrangement is provided with a rib and trough closure arrangement extending thereacross. In this manner, opening and reclosing the bag construction, for access to material therein, is facilitated. A method for formation of such a pouch arrangement, and methods of use, are also described.

Abstract: A method for the packaging of coffee in a pouch arrangement having first and second opposed panel sections, a base gusset member, a rib and trough closure arrangement constructed and arranged for selective closure of the pouch arrangement, and a gas filter arrangement oriented in one of the panel sections. The method includes filling the pouch arrangement with coffee to a first level no greater than the rib and trough closure arrangement and sealing the pouch.

Abstract: A poker is provided to a packaging machine which has a former for bending a film into a tubular form and a chute for guiding articles to be packaged into a bag being made below. The poker includes a driver link which is driven to undergo a reciprocating rotary motion around a fixed axis and a generally L-shaped arm member disposed above and behind the former. A base part of the arm member is rotatably connected with a moving end part of the driver link such that the arm member can undergo a reciprocating rotary motion around a mobile axis of rotation which rotates around the stationary axis of rotation. A connecting mechanism is further provided to coordinate these two rotational motions such that the tip of the arm member distal from its mobile axis of rotation will move along a desired trajectory to reach a desired bottom center part of the chute which is likely to become clogged with the articles dropped thereinto.

Abstract: A straight line capping machine is provided that wherein the cap tightening discs and the container grasping mechanism are synchronized to a predetermined relationship so as to prevent cocked caps, loose caps and/or scuffed caps. In particular, the mechanisms are synchronized to ensure that the tangential velocity of the rear cap tightening disc minus the tangential velocity of the front cap tightening disc is about twice the predetermined velocity of the container passing through the capping machine.

Abstract: An air jet carton reopening apparatus for use with an article cartoning machine. The apparatus produces a stream of pressurized gas or a gas mixture that opens carton sleeves to receive articles for packaging. The air jet apparatus comprises a gas emitting mechanism, a gas supply connected to the gas emitting mechanism, and a positioning mechanism constructed and arranged to dispose the gas emitting mechanism operationally adjacent to the carton sleeves. The stream of pressurized gas is directed at the carton sleeve such that it opens and maintains the relatively rectangular dimensions of the carton sleeves to permit the article cartoning machine to successfully load articles into an optimally sized carton.

Abstract: A box handling apparatus having particular application in the packaging of semiconductor wafers, includes a box opening assembly which can unlatch a lid from a bottom of the box and separate the lid from the bottom. Arms can grip an article, such as a wafer cassette, in the bottom of the box and lift it out. The cassette can be loaded, or wafers already in the cassette unloaded. The apparatus can replace the loaded cassette in the bottom of the box and latchingly re-engage the lid.

Abstract: A process and device move at least one filled sack from a suspended position at an individual filling nozzle into an upright position on a moving conveyor belt for introduction into a sack closure device, where the travel speed of the conveyor belt corresponds to the closure speed of the sack closure device, in which the at least one sack is initially transported horizontally out of an area beneath the filling nozzle before it is then deposited on the conveyor belt, and the horizontal conveying speed of the sack is greater than the travel speed of the conveyor belt.

Abstract: A form-fill-seal packaging machine in which a packaging material (F) is sealed crosswise by bringing a pair of sealing jaws (41, 42) into contact with each other. The sealing jaws (41, 42) are caused to follow the packaging material along the packaging material transfer direction while they are kept in the same condition, to cause the sealing jaws to take contacting and following motions by means of a single drive source. The rotation of a motor (25) is converted into a linear reciprocating motion along the transfer route of the packaging material through a cam mechanism comprised of a circular cam plate (24) and an arm (33) and the converted reciprocating motion is transmitted to a block (30). Similarly, the rotation of the motor (25) is converted into a linear reciprocating motion in a direction intersecting the packaging material transfer route at right angles through vertically elongated cam plates (50, 50) and the converted reciprocating motion is transmitted to blocks (37, 38).

Abstract: A multiple compartment package having a connecting bridge with a frangible internal barrier is made from two composite or thermoplastic sheets or webs welded together to form the front and back walls of the package, and the central bridge portion is defined by one or more partitions spanning the short distance between the webs. In the preferred embodiment, multiple partitions form a plurality of parallel compartment strips to create an obstruction to penetration of substances from one packet to the other. One process for making the invention uses a comb-shaped mask and a thermoplastic insert strip interwoven between the tines of the comb. The tines are extended down between the welding heads of the packaging machine, preventing welding from taking place between the thermoplastic sheets wherever the comb mash is, with the result that the welding occurs between the strip and an alternating one of the side webs creating a zig-zag pattern that forms the vacant barrier compartments.

Abstract: A film sleever machine includes a first stepper motor for activating a sleeve delivery device which has a driving shaft and a roller shaft mounted parallelly for feeding a film wearing bag material. A film feeding device which has a film driving wheel and a pressure wheel is activated by a second stepper motor for feeding a roll of film to insert into a plurality of film wearing sleeve of the film wearing bag material. The first stepper motor also activates a film cutter device to cut off the film. The second stepper motor also activates a sleeve cutter device to cut off the film wearing bag material. Accordingly, the film sleever machine can be operated to feed the film, cut the film, feed the sleeves, and cut off the sleeves automatically.

Abstract: Filter bags containing a substance from which to prepare an infusion are fashioned from tubular blanks of filter paper having an elongated appearance, each one filled with measured and separate quantities of the substance distributed along its length, which are doubled up and made secure, then provided with a label attached by a length of thread. A machine for automating the manufacture of such bags includes a wheel carrying grippers with radial arms, around which the thread is drawn peripherally as the grippers are indexed in turn through a station where the blank is folded double initially, a forming station at which the two joined ends are folded together to effect a closure, a cutting station at which the thread is divided into single lengths, a feed station supplying the labels, and a fastening station at which the length of thread is knotted both to the label and to the closure.

Abstract: To avoid the folding of a flat tubular bag 1, which has been set up supported on its bottom-side cross seam 4, a welding seam 7, 8 reinforcing the tubular bag 1 is provided along at least one edge 5, 6. A further tubular bag 101 is introduced, where on the side folds 110, 111 of which the edges 105, 106 have welding seams 107, 108. Because of the welding seams 107, 108, the stability of the tubular bag 101 is improved. The longitudinal seam 2, 102 in the two tubular bags 1, 101 extends in a reinforcing welding seam 7, 107. The tubular bagging machine 14 for the manufacture of the tubular bag 1, 101 has at least one expanding element on the fill pipe 20 for expanding the film tube 21. A longitudinal welding device 22 is provided following the expanding element 27 in film feeding direction (FIGS. 7, 8).

Abstract: A bale of cut silage 2 is fed into a sheath 8 of flexible packaging. Apparatus 1 comprises thermal sealing/cutting heads 14,15 and intermediate blades 20. Heads 14,15 seal a rear end 21 of package 22; blades 20 separate package 22 from the remainder of sheath 8; heads 14,15 provide a further sealed end 9 for sheath 8 ready to receive the next bale 2 to be packaged.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for making a length of cable including placing a length of pipe forming a closed chamber into a bore hole, placing a length of metal tubing into the pipe, attaching a piston pig to an electrically conductive wire and inserting the pig into the metal tubing and applying a differential pressure to the piston pig for controlling the movement of the pig and conductor through the tubing, and removing the combination of the tubing and wire from the pipe for later use.

Abstract: A packaging machine comprising an incomplete container forming device for forming a web into a tube, filling contents into the tube, thereafter transporting the tube by a length corresponding to one container at a time, sealing and cutting the tube transversely of the tube every time the tube is transported to obtain flat tubular incomplete containers, and discharging the containers as arranged in a row; a pair of container conveyors arranged at a lower level than the discharging position of the device, horizontally spaced from the discharging position by a specified distance and having respective transport paths spaced from each other by a predetermined distance; a complete container forming device for making the incomplete containers into complete rectangular parallelepipedal containers during transport on the conveyors; and a transfer device for receiving the row of incomplete containers as discharged from the incomplete container forming device, dividing the row into two rows and delivering the two rows a

Abstract: A component pocket tape which resists inadvertent unsealing includes a tape cover having discrete edge portions with gaps therebetween such that when one edge portion is unsealed or bent, subsequent edge portions will not unseal or bend unless such unsealing or bending is desired. An apparatus for unsealing and sealing pocket component tape includes a component tape deforming portion and a plow portion which urges the tape and the component tape cover together whereupon the tape deforming portion releases the tape so as to allow the tape to expand into the tape engaging portion of the cover. For unsealing, the apparatus may be run in reverse such that the tape is deformed and then the plow portion drives the tape and cover apart such that when the deforming portion releases the tape, the tape returns to its original configuration but is separated from the tape cover.

Abstract: An envelope throat opening mechanism for an envelope inserting machine includes a pair of envelope throat opening claw assemblies mounted adjacent an envelope inserting position for opening the outer ends of an envelope disposed in the envelope inserting position to permit insert material to be inserted into the envelope. An envelope throat opening tongue assembly is also disposed adjacent the envelope inserting position and in substantial alignment with the center of an envelope, the tongue assembly having a tongue mounted therein for movement into the throat of the envelope adjacent the center thereof to ensure that the center portion of the throat is opened sufficiently to permit the insert material to be inserted into the envelope.

Abstract: For use in forming a web W into a tubular shape, and heat-sealing an inner surface of outer edge of the web and an outer surface of inner edge of the web to provide a lap, a web heating device for heating the outer edge inner surface of the web with hot air before heat-sealing comprises transport means for transporting the web W along a predetermined path, a nozzle 27 having hot air outlet openings 67 directed outward as opposed to the outer edge inner surface of the web W to be transported by the transport means, and a baffle plate 32 so disposed as to be opposed to the hot air outlet openings 67 with the outer edge of the web W positioned therebetween.

Abstract: A form-fill-seal packaging machine capable of easily performing positioning between the two side edge portions of a strip-like film to be sealed and a vertical sealing device when the position of the portions to be sealed is shifted or offset, without complicating a support mechanism of the vertical sealing device bonding the portions of the strip-like film which is made to wrap on a cylindrical chute. A forming unit (7) and a cylindrical chute (8) are attached to a support unit (18). The support unit (18) is disposed opposite to a vertical sealing device (10) by engaging it with pins (16) and an adjusting screw (17) which are protrudingly provided on frames (3) of the apparatus.

Abstract: A system and apparatus for filling a plurality of vials, and for securing respective caps on each vial securely mounting a plurality of caps on, and filing with a substance, a plurality of vials. A guidance apparatus is provided that has a guide member with a T-shaped track mounted thereon and an traverse carriage having a T-shaped channel formed therein. The traverse carriage further includes two opposingly spaced and offset apertures for receiving the substance therethrough. The two opposingly spaced and offset apertures are each in axial alignment with one of the plurality of vials at the set points as the traverse carriage is slid along the guide member for filing two of the plurality of vials at each of the set points with the substance. A capping apparatus is also included that has two opposingly spaced side walls, and a track mounted between the base and side walls for slidably receiving the plurality of vials.