Abstract: A preheated carrier strip of thermoplastic material passes successively through a molding station in which blisters are formed therein, a filling station in which goods to be packaged are introduced into these blisters, a sealing station in which a metallic cover strip is fused onto the carrier strip for hermetically closing the filled blisters, and a cutting station in which the resulting composite tape is divided into individual packages each having one or more rows of blisters. The tape is positively entrained by the two transport rollers, which have peripheral indentations engaged by its blisters, and forms a loop of variable length between these rollers to allow for their instantaneous speed differences. A first photodetector scans the carrier strip between the filling and sealing stations and, on sensing an empty blister, causes the actuation of a perforator punching a hole into a part of the cover strip subsequently coming to overlie the incompletely filled row of blisters.

Abstract: Volume batcher for fluent materials, particularly suitable for high speed packaging machines of filter-bags for infusion products such as tea, camomile and similar which comprises a cylindrical drum provided with radial pockets rotating about an horizontal axis below a feed hopper of the product to make up. A filter paper strip is made adherent advance with the cylindrical surface of the drum closing said pockets from the top dead center to the bottom dead center from where it horizontally continues with the quantities of product on it to a packaging station. Said pockets have a volume variable structure by means of a cylinder shaped inside hollow piston member in communication with atmosphere and with at least the radially most outer head perforated.

Abstract: An apparatus for volumetrically dosing particulate matter, such as tea to be loaded into bags, comprises a housing whose lower part is kept filled through a hopper with the mass of particles above the top of a dosing drum which is intermittently rotatable just above the housing bottom about a generally vertical axis and has several outwardly open, angularly equispaced through-going peripheral notches of constant horizontal cross-section. A discharge compartment of the housing accommodates a segment of the drum, including two of its notches, and has an entrance gate closely hugging the drum surfaces so that only the particles occupying a notch can reach that compartment.

Abstract: A filter-bag for infusion products, such as tea, camomile, or the like, formed of a blank of filter paper tape coated with a heat-sealable layer of thermoplastic material, longitudinally folded into two halves so that said layer remains in the inside and heat-sealed so as to define an infusion product containing space. A tag is attached by a thread of natural fibers retained at one end thereof between two heat-sealed edges of the bag and wound around the latter.The thread is fixed on the outside of the bag by means of heat-sealing at several points.

Abstract: Apparatus for the application of a suspension thread of natural fibers having a label attached to it to a strip of filter paper in a machine for the automatic production of filter bags of an infusion product operating in conjunction with a label feeding device. The filter paper strip is coated with a thin layer of thermoplastic material on one of its faces and moves in front of the apparatus connected to the machine which is provided with means for feeding a continuous thread to the said apparatus. This apparatus, in turns, is provided with a head or wheel with radial arms which turns intermittently. Also provided are means for the application of equidistant labels to the thread before the turning head or wheel, so that the thread, set in motion by the same head or wheel carrying a label on each of its arms, crosses all operation stations.

Abstract: A device designed to stamp generally rectangular blister packages from an intermittently advancing laminated strip comprises a die with rounded corners whose radii of curvature are substantially larger at a transverse leading edge than at a transverse trailing edge as seen in the direction of strip motion. The width of the die slightly exceeds the advance of the strip between cutting operations whereby packages stamped from the strip exhibit obtuse angles but no pointed projections at their forward edges.

Abstract: Apparatus for securing a suspension thread to filter bags made of filter papers intended for infusion products, comprises means for attaching tags at regular intervals to a thread including, an intermittently rotatable member having a plurality of radial arms. Each arm carries means for gripping that thread portion with which a tag happens to be associated. The rotation of the rotatable member causes the thread to be unwound. A thread-cutting and tag-tilting station located downstream of the tag causes the tag to overlap the thread portion located upstream thereof, to form a kind of loop in the thread. Means are further provided for sealing at several points the cut thread portion, and related tag, to a web of filter paper arranged to run over the rotatable member.

Abstract: An apparatus for joining, while in continuous movement, (trailing) end of a web from a depleted coil to the leading end of a fresh coil comprises on a supporting frame a bonding station including a bonding cylindrical segment, a cylindrical surface mating therewith and a lever and arm assembly actuated to cause the cylindrical segment to be moved toward the mating surface in order to bond the tail end and leading end edges to each other.

Abstract: A tablet feeder for filling cells arranged in longitudinal rows in a belt moving forward continuously, comprising a tablet container having a vertical axis cylindrical wall and a slightly convex base, at least one bracket member extending along a cylindrical helix around the inner surface of the wall and resting at the bottom on said base; a vibrating means associated with the container and being effective to cause at least one such row of tablets to climb up along the bracket member, at least one tablet guiding tubular duct extending obliquely from the top end of the bracket member downwardly, and having an upper tablet inlet mouth in alignment with the bracket member to receive the tablets and a lower tablet outlet mouth substantially orthogonal with respect to the belt direction of advance. The lower mouth is aligned with the cells of a longitudinal row to be filled, each tablet being urged into a respective empty cell by the tablets following it.

Abstract: Apparatus for manufacturing thermoformed plastics trays comprising means for entraining along a plane a thermodeformable strip proceeding through a heating station, a station for forming container cells in the strip, a station for filling with a product the cells and a station for closing the cells with a metal strip comprising wording relative to the nature of the contained product. The heating system consists of mutually overlying heating plates driven intermittently parallel to the feed direction of the thermodeformable strip. The closing station comprises guide means for the metal strip which accompany this latter tangentially above the thermodeformable strip so as to close the container cells. The guide means cooperate with a metal strip stretching device controlled by members for off center detection so as to elongate the strip and center the print on the formed trays.

Abstract: Device for forming orderly arranged groups of packages from a continuous web of packages, comprising a first stem slidably guided vertically and driven between a lowered position underlying the web and a raised position overlying the web, a support secured to the top of the stem, a punching member attached to the support and having a sidewall. The sidewall surrounds a cavity and includes a border defining externally a cutting edge. A die support is provided such as to have a lower side substantially adhering to the upper side of the web and having an opening aligned with and complementary to the punching member, such as to permit the insertion thereof through the opening and the punching out of one package from the web during the raising movement of the punching member from the lowered position to the raised position. A second stem is slidably guided parallel to the first stem and is provided at the top with a plate receivable in the cavity.