Abstract: A method is provided for feeding small items, for example pills, that does not require tooling changes or position adjustment regardless of the size or shape of the pills. A first hopper supplies small items to a second hopper that separates the small items. The method incorporates sensors to detect the presence, size and travel time of the pills in the separating bowl hopper. The method uses the sensed values for setting vibration amplitude and the duration of an air flow to discharge pills from the apparatus.

Abstract: A packaging machine for forming pouches from a continuous web having confronting sections adapted to provide opposed walls of the formed pouches. The machine includes sealing means for sealing the opposed bag walls together in longitudinally spaced-apart regions to provide the side seals of the formed pouches, and a cutting section for cutting the discrete pouches from the sealed continuous web. The machine has positively driven feed means for directing the continuous web material through the cutting means, and the feed means is adjustable in the machine-direction of movement of the web material for controlling the width of the pouches to be formed. Drive means are associated with the driven feed means and include elements movable with the feed means when the feed means is adjusted to thereby automatically change the speed of the feed means to direct the desired amount, or length of sealed web material past the cutting means between operating strokes of the cutting means.

Abstract: A sealed package system includes multiple sealed units separably interconnected to each other by tear lines, said units including opposed, substantially planar, tear-resistant flexible plastic sheets sealed to each other, preferably by heat sealing, about peripheral seal zones of the units to provide each unit with a central compartment adapted to retain and protect a material therein, seal zones between adjacent compartments including the tear lines for permitting separation of discrete sealed units from each other without disrupting the sealed integrity of the compartments thereof, each tear line including a substantially linear, continuous slit uninterrupted by bridge areas and being linearly aligned with the compartments in adjacent units interconnected by said tear line, the linear dimension of each of said continuous slits being greater than the greatest linear dimension of the linearly aligned compartments, as measured substantially parallel to said continuous slit.

Abstract: Method and apparatus for continuously forming covers; particularly covers that are attached to flexible commodity-containing packages. The preferred method of this invention includes the steps of continuously directing at least two webs into overlying relationship with each other; feeding the flexible commodity-containing packages between the overlying webs; pressing overlying webs into engagement with the flexible packages for attaching the webs to the packages to form a composite and severing the composite at spaced-apart intervals to form a plurality of discrete articles which have a cover including sections of the overlying webs. An apparatus for continuously forming the covers also forms a part of this invention.

Abstract: A thin, substantially flat packaged unit includes a thin, substantially flat utensil in a protective sheath. The protective sheath includes a flat rigidifying member of substantially the same thickness as the utensil and surrounding marginal edges of the utensil, and flexible sheet material overlying the utensil and adhered to the rigidifying member. In a preferred construction the utensil includes a substance that is interactable with a fluid, and the protective sheath encloses at least the section of the utensil including the substance.A method of forming a thin, substantially flat packaged unit including a thin, substantially flat utensil in a protective sheath from a thin, substantially flat substrate and flexible sheet material.