Abstract: An inductor for induction welding of a packaging material having at least one layer of metal foil is disclosed. The inductor comprises a welding surface configured to be arranged opposite the packaging material for heating thereof, and at least one spacing element arranged to protrude from the welding surface in a first direction towards the packaging material, when the packaging material is arranged opposite the welding surface, whereupon the least one spacing element separates the packaging material from the welding surface by an off-set distance. A sealing machine for sealing packaging material and a method of welding a packaging material is also disclosed.

Abstract: Screw cap, loading piston, and method for aligning the screw cap and the loading piston in relation to each other and a method for screwing a screw cap onto a threaded neck portion of a packaging container. The screw cap can include a base portion having a top and a bottom surface, an annular portion raised from the base portion, the annular portion having an inner and an outer surface, and at least one first threaded portion arranged on the inner surface of the annular portion, wherein the base portion can include engagement means, such that the screw cap can engage a tool with at least one complementary engagement means in a process of screwing the cap onto the container with the complementary threaded neck portion.

Abstract: A welding head comprises a welding element for welding a lid to an opening device of a container, a supporting body for supporting the welding element and a compensating device for compensating a possible mutual mispositioning of the welding element and the lid during welding of the lid to the opening device, the compensating device being interposed between the supporting body and the welding element, the compensating device comprising a planar spring arrangement provided with at least one planar spring element having a first member and a second member mutually connected by deformable elements.

Abstract: There is described a packaging apparatus for forming a plurality of sealed packages comprising a conveyor for advancing a web of packaging material along an advancement path, an isolation chamber, a tube forming device adapted to form a tube from the, in use, advancing web of packaging material, a sealing device adapted to longitudinally seal the tube, a filling device for continuously filling the tube formed by the tube forming device, a package forming unit adapted to form and seal the packages from the, in use, advancing tube formed by the tube forming device and filled by the filling device and a support platform supporting the isolation chamber from a first side of the support platform and carrying the package forming unit from a second side of the support platform opposite to the first side.

Abstract: There is described a package-spout assembly having a package having a pour opening surface area and a reusable spout. The package comprises a first fastening device being arranged adjacent to the pour opening surface area and the spout comprises a second fastening device. The first fastening device and the second fastening device are configured such to removably and/or releasably couple the spout onto the package.

Abstract: A method for forming sealed packages filled with a pourable product comprises at least the steps of forming a tube from a web of packaging material, filling the pourable product into the tube for forming a product column within the tube and directing, during the step of forming and the step of filling, a sterile gas into the product column for forming and/or maintaining a gas cushion within the product column.

Abstract: A sheet packaging material for producing a sealed package of a pourable food product is disclosed. The packaging material may include at least one base layer for imparting stiffness to the sheet packaging material, at least one lamination layer applied to and covering said base layer, and a partially laminated opening zone. The opening zone may include a laminated cutting area having at least three longitudinal portions extending between the center and the periphery of the opening zone, and at least three removable portions adjacent to the laminated cutting area, each removable portion being located between two longitudinal portions and having a folding zone adjacent to the periphery of the opening zone. In use, the removable portions are partly detached from the packaging material by penetration of the laminated cutting area prior to being folded at the folding zone to form an opening in the packaging material for pouring a food product from the package.

Abstract: A sheet packaging material for producing a sealed package comprises two first boundary edges parallel to a longitudinal direction and two second boundary edges parallel to a transversal direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction. The sheet packaging material includes at least a bottom transversal crease line including a bottom central portion, a bottom end portion and a bottom side portion. The sheet packaging material includes a pair of slanted crease lines inclined relative to both the longitudinal and transverse directions. The slanted crease lines have first ends pointing to one of the second boundary edges and second ends pointing to a continuous line parallel to the transversal direction and including the bottom central portion and the bottom end portion. The slanted crease lines delimit, with the bottom side portion, a flap area of the sheet packaging material designed to form at least part of a lateral flap of the package.

Abstract: A feeding system for carton blanks is disclosed, comprising a pivotable linkage, a gripper head connected to the pivotable linkage at a first rotational axis. The feeding system comprises a magazine configured to store a plurality of stacked carton blanks in a stacking direction. The carton blanks are confined in a cassette being dimensioned so that the carton blanks are confined to extend between proximal and distal internal surfaces of the cassette along a cassette direction which is perpendicular to the stacking direction and the first rotational axis. The proximal internal surface is arranged to align proximal edges of the carton blanks in a proximal alignment plane being perpendicular to the cassette direction, the proximal alignment plane extending between the gripper head and said first rotational axis. The first rotational joint is positioned in relation to the magazine such that there is a separation distance between the proximal alignment plane and the first rotational axis.

Abstract: A method for detection of deviations in packaging containers is disclosed, comprising creating a virtual model of a packaging container in a virtual coordinate system (x, y, z), defining a deformation zone on a surface of the virtual model, creating a defined deviation in the deformation zone having a defined geometry and coordinates in the virtual coordinate system (x, y, z) to create a controlled deformation of the virtual model, producing an image rendering of the virtual model with said controlled deformation to generate image features representing a deviation in the packaging container, associating the image features with different categories of deviations, and inputting the image features to a machine learning-based model for subsequent detection of categories of deviations in packaging containers in a packaging machine based on the image features. A system for detection of deviations is also disclosed.

Abstract: A method for forming sealed partially-filled packages filled with a pourable product comprises at least forming a tube from a web of packaging material, filling the pourable product into the tube for forming a product column within the tube, directing a sterile gas into the product column for forming and/or maintaining a gas cushion within the product column, and forming and transversally sealing the tube, for obtaining the packages containing the pourable product and a gas space formed from a defined volume of the sterile gas originating from the gas cushion.

Abstract: A packaging material, including a laminate with a core material layer and having a plurality of delimited areas intended to form faces of a package is provided. At least one delimited area is provided with at least one pre-laminated hole and at least one compressed feature arranged adjacent to the pre-laminated hole. The at least one feature may include at least one line extending along at least a part of the perimeter of the pre-laminated hole.

Abstract: There is described an outfeed device for a packaging assembly configured to form and seal a plurality of packages containing a pourable product; the outfeed device comprises an input station, at which it receives, in use, the packages, and an output station, at which the packages exit, in use, from the outfeed device; the outfeed device comprises at least one selectively operable cart element cyclically movable along an endless path, comprising a receiving portion defining a receiving seat for picking one single package at a time at input station, housing at least part of the package, and being configured to bring the package from the input station to the output station.

Abstract: A distribution unit for feeding lids (1) to necks (9) of containers (10) comprises a chute element (102) arranged for receiving a row of lids (1), an outlet opening (103) arranged for releasing said lids (1) one at a time, said outlet opening (103) being intended to be positioned above a conveying device (100) suitable for conveying said containers (10) along an advancement direction (F) so that each of said containers (10) interacts with said chute element (102) to remove a corresponding lid (1) from said outlet opening (103), said distribution unit (101) further comprising a guide element (105) having an active surface (106) extending on an opposite side of said chute element (102) with respect to said outlet opening (103) and arranged for interacting with said lids (1), said active surface (106) having a stepped profile.

Abstract: An infeed alignment device (10) for aligning a carton blank (14) such that a picking device can pick the carton blank. The infeed alignment device comprises an upper alignment member (11) for pushing on an upper part of the carton blank, a lower alignment member (12) for pushing on a lower part of the carton blank, and wherein the upper and/or lower alignment member is configured to push in a push direction on the top and/or the bottom of the carton blank such that the carton blank is in a picking position for the picking device.

Abstract: A method is disclosed for generating a virtual overlay for a packaging machine having a plurality of movable objects manipulating packaging containers, comprising associating the movable objects with respective object identifier data communicated in the packaging machine, determining a relative position of a target object amongst the movable objects in a physical coordinate system of the packaging machine based on the object identifier data, registering imaging data comprising at least part of the movable objects or a defined physical reference, mapping the relative position of the target object to a virtual coordinate system in an at least partly virtual environment viewed by a user, comprising correlating the relative position of the target object to the imaging data, whereby the target object is assigned to a virtual target coordinate in the virtual coordinate system, and displaying the virtual overlay in the virtual coordinate system in relation to the virtual target coordinate.

Abstract: A reel holder is disclosed. In some embodiments, the reel holder comprises an opening configured to receive and hold a reel having packaging material and a transceiver configured to communicate with a tag in the reel to receive information stored in the tag. A filling machine system is also disclosed. In some embodiments, the filling machine system comprises a reel holder and a reel provided with a tag.