Abstract: A packaging machine of the type, in which products are inserted into the gap between two halves of center-folded film. The machine comprises two sealers. The first sealer cuts and heat-seals the center-folded film along a line extending at right angles to the fold of the film, thereby forming a bag containing a product. The second sealer heat-seals each bag at the open side thereof which extends parallel to the fold of the film. The machine further comprises a clamper and an evacuator. The clamper clamps the open side of the bag before the bag is sealed completely. The removes air from the bag through the clamper before the bag is sealed completely.

Abstract: A supply of a propellant gas is maintained at substantially uniform temperature and pressure. Uniform predetermined increments of the propellant gas are withdrawn in rapid succession and rapidly introduced into aerosol containers in which product to be dispensed has already been introduced. Such containers are subjected to ultrasonic frequency agitation during the introduction of the propellant thereby enhancing the speed of introduction. The propellant may be introduced into a container either by the "through-the-valve" method or by the "under-the-cap" method at conventional speeds using known commercial equipment.

Abstract: A packer is especially useful for loading PET bottles into open top cases. The bottles are fed at a predetermined speed along an infeed path. An overhead pusher bar system contains vertically oriented bars that descend vertically between selected bottles at a penetration station to form the bottles into complements of the desired number. Vertical penetration is accompanied by horizontal motion of the bars as they travel in a curved path at the penetration station. The horizontal speed of the bottles at the penetration station is temporarily slowed as the bars descend between adjacent bottles. Horizontal bottle slowing is accomplished by pivoting a downstream bar to a horizontal orientation at a pivot station such that the bar acquires leading and trailing edges. The pivoting trailing edge forces the bottles upstream therefrom in the upstream direction relative to the continuous steady speed of the bar downstream end. Bar pivoting creates correct spacing between consecutive complements.

Abstract: The invention concerns a method and device for sterilizing a packaging installation for food or pharmaceutical products. The sterilizing device comprises, on the one hand, at least one row of discharge tubes adapted to apply a heat-resistant sheet and obturating the base of a tunnel to be sterilized, against the lower end of the outlet tubulures of a metering/dispensing device, and on the other hand, at least one row of perforating members adapted to perforate the sheet and to create a passage therethrough for a sterilizing fluid while the discharge tubes and the outlet tubulures grip the heat-resistant sheet.

Abstract: The method of making a therapeutic mattress comprised of taking a first sheet of fabric material of rectangular shape, then taking a second sheet of fabric material and folding it over to provide a top cover and an underlying intermediate bottom fabric cover of the same dimensions as the first sheet; and thereafter, applying a plurality of parallel spaced rows of stitching across the width of the top cover and intermediate bottom cover. Further steps include, superimposing the folded over second fabric sheet over the first fabric sheet and peripherally stitching the top fabric cover, the intermediate bottom fabric cover and the bottom fabric cover together defining a series of rectangular tubes within the top cover and intermediate bottom cover, and a unit chamber between the bottom intermediate cover and the bottom cover.

Abstract: A film jacket (1) for flat articles, particularly slide frames (5, 6, 7, 8), that consists of bottom and top plies (2, 3; 103), which are joined at one end and on both sides so that they can accommodate the slide frames. To permit the film jacket to be filled quickly and in a simple manner and to permit the slide frames to be individually taken, one film ply (3; 103) is formed with a transversely extending slit (15, 16, 17; 115, 116, 117) which is spaced from the closed end (4; 104) of the jacket by a distance (l) that corresponds to the length of one slide frame.

Abstract: A thermal pack including an outer pouch having a pair of opposed faces arranged generally parallel to each other and defined by a single sheet of plastic film folded along a predetermined fold line. A second sheet of plastic film is disposed between the pair of opposed faces. A continuous weld line circumscribes the periphery of the faces, with the weld line bonding together the periphery of the faces and the periphery of the second sheet to define first and second volumes within the outer pouch. The second sheet provides a common wall between the first and second volumes. A heat transfer material is disposed in the first volume and an insulating layer is disposed in the second volume, substantially covering the second sheet.

Abstract: A method of assembling a trigger sprayer which includes a container for holding a product, a pump module for pumping the product and a pump actuating module for actuating the pump. The method comprises adding the product to the container, placing the pump module into the container, and relatively advancing the pump actuating module and the container holding the pump module so that locking means locks the three components together and mating means join complementary portions of the pump module and the pump actuation module together.

Abstract: A heat seal carrier assembly is provided for mating a covering material with a deformable sealing portion of a product-filled container to seal the container. The carrier assembly has an upstanding wall including a top surface having a raised ridge thereon. The container is situated on the carrier assembly to properly align the container sealing portion with the top surface of the upstanding wall of the carrier assembly. A heat seal head moves downwardly to press the covering material and the sealing portion of the container against the raised ridge and the top surface of the upstanding wall of the carrier assembly to seal the covering material and the sealing portion of the container together.

Abstract: An apparatus for forming bags from a thin plastic film in a tube form fill operation wherein plastic film is fed over the outer surface of the tube and the edges of the film are joined to provide a bag tube and an antistatic friction reduction surface treatment is provided on the outer surface of the tube for encouraging sliding movement of the film and insuring uniform feed with the friction reducing and electrically insulating material in the form of a plastic coating or ribs to produce the desired result.

Abstract: A method and an apparatus for wrapping a product, particularly a bundle of newspapers or magazines, especially an extra thick bundle or an extra thin bundle comprising a few or a single newspaper or magazine. The product is carried on a conveyor system through a plane towards a curtain of film formed by an upper and a lower sheet of film. The curtain thus accompanies the product and is auto-sealed behind the product, after which the sheets of film are separated in the middle of the sealing region, the curtain of film being re-established and the product being provided with a wrapper.

Abstract: The machine includes, arranged in a line, a roller advancement device for intermittently advancing a band of supporting material having an adhesive face, a perforation station bearing a punch for providing a series of evenly spaced perforations on the band of supporting material, an auxiliary band being attached to the band of supporting material to increase the band of supporting material's resistance to deformation, a station with rollers and a linearly actuated blade for feeding and cutting a band of bandage material into segments, a roller advancement device for spacing and coupling the bandage segments onto the adhesive face of the supporting material, a roller advancement device for superimposing band-like protective films onto the adhesive face of the supporting material having the bandage segments attached thereon, thereby forming a composite band, a die-cutting station bearing a cutting element for transversely cutting the composite band in an intermediate position between the bandage segments so as

Abstract: Form and fill packaging apparatus including a vacuum thermoformer where a first plastic web is formed to provide receptacles for receiving articles, a filling station where articles are placed in the formed receptacles, a sealing station where a second web is placed over the filled receptacles and sealed to portions of the web around the receptacles, first web drive means for driving the first web through the thermoformer, filling station and sealing station, and a feed mechanism for positively feeding the second web to the first web at the sealing station synchronously with driving of the first web.

Abstract: Automatically adjustable lane guide and grid packing systems which provide for automated accommodation of articles of different size in controlling the transport of rows of moving articles.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for forming bags, such as from a continuous sheet of thermoplastic film fed forwardly and wrapped over a forming tube with the contents being filled into the bag through the tube and the end of the film formed into a bag tube being cross-sealed. The lower end of the filling tube is constructed so as to elastically deform and spread as sealing members move in laterally and thereby spread and flatten the tube to insure the making of a seal which is devoid to wrinkles and leakage possibilities.

Abstract: An apparatus for winding and packaging shoelaces into pairs with a circumscribing label therearound to hold the shoelace pair together in an oblong configured package. The apparatus includes a winding station for winding a pair of shoelaces into a circular coil configuration, a flattening station for flattening the circular shoelace coil into an oblong configuration, a device to transfer the circular configured shoelace pair from the winding station to the flattening station, a label delivery station proximate the flattening station for delivering labels to be wound around the oblong configured shoelace pair across the flattening station, a label wrapping station adjacent the flattening station in alignment with the label for wrapping the label about the oblong configured shoelace pair, and a device for moving the oblong configured shoelace pair and label from the flattening station to the wrapping station. The operation of the various stations of the apparatus are controlled by a central control device.

Abstract: A rack, with a plurality of test tubes arranged on it, in m columns and n rows, is transported into a main housing by a rack-inlet mechanism. In the main housing, tube-extracting mechanism extracts the tubes from rack, row by row, while the rack is being transported by a rack-transporting mechanism. The tubes are then conveyed, one by one, by a tube-conveying mechanism. A plug-extracting mechanism pulls each test tube conveyed by the mechanism and the plug closing this tube, away from each other, while holding the tube and the plug, thereby extracting the plug from the test tube. The test tubes are further conveyed by the tube-conveying mechanism after the plugs have been extracted from them. The tubes are then inserted by a tube-inserting mechanism row by row, into a vacant rack transported by the rack-transporting mechanism. After a predetermined number of rows of test tubes have been inserted into this rack, a rack-outlet mechanism transports the rack from said main housing.

Abstract: A device for smoothing out and pressing together the free projecting end extending over the filling material of filled sacks, said sacks comprising side walls which are inwardly folded and there being two movable pairs of fingers engaging in the sack in the plane of the opened sack or a plane being parallel to said plane as well as a plane being lateral to said plane, whereby said fingers of each of said pair of fingers are arranged at a distance in the transverse direction of the sack opening and two rods or knives are arranged, said rods or knives being movable against each other and are extendable from the outer side of the sack between the fingers of each pair of fingers engaging in the sack, and, if necessary, on both sides of a closable loading funnel of a sack filling station.

Abstract: Apparatus for applying closures to containers, comprising a first rotating conveyor adapted to move containers to be closed to a second rotating conveyor, and a third rotating conveyor adapted to remove the closed containers from the second conveyor. The second conveyor comprises a rotating supporting element adapted to receive and transfer containers in succession, and grip elements which overlie the supporting element and are adapted to receive in succession closures which are downwardly provided with a tube for extracting the liquid contained in the containers and to screw the closures on the containers after the tubes have entered the containers. The apparatus furthermore comprises grip elements which are adapted to grip the upper portion of the tubes before they are inserted in the containers and to slide toward the lower end of the tubes so as to straighten the tubes and allow them to correctly enter the containers.

Abstract: The invention relates to a device for sealing the folded over and overlapped end flaps (L1, L2) of the plastics material wrapper for packages (P), particularly for packages of cigaerettes. In this device, the packages (P) to be sealed are passed after each other between the heated sealer bodies (7) of at least a stationary pair of opposite sealer bodies (7--7) the active faces of which engage, in their operative position, the respective ends of the packages (P) with the intermediary of the parallel facing stretches (102) of two endless belts running in the same direction and at the same speed as the packages. According to the invention, the active surface of each sealer body (7) of at least one pair of opposite sealer bodies (7--7) comprises at least two slightly protruding i.e. in-relief zones (8,9; 18,19,20; 108,208,308,109,209,309; 118,119,120,218,219,220) staggered from each other both in the direction (F) of movement of the packages (P) and transversely to said direction.