PACKAGING MACHINE FOR THE PRODUCTION OF A PACKAGING HAVING A RECESS IN THE PACKAGING CAVITY EDGE
The present invention relates to a packaging machine having a deep-drawing, filling and sealing station, by way of which a packaging cavity having a recess in the packaging cavity edge is shaped into a plastic film, the packaging cavity is filled with a material for packaging, and subsequently an upper foil is sealed onto the packaging cavity edge in the sealing plane, wherein a cutting tool is integrated into the sealing tool.
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The present invention relates to a packaging machine having a swedging, filling and sealing station, by way of which a packaging cavity with a recess in the packaging cavity edge is formed into a plastic film, the packaging cavity is filled with a packaging material and, subsequently in a sealing plane, an upper film is sealed to the packaging cavity edge, a cutting tool being integrated into the sealing tool.
Packaging materials, in particular foodstuffs, are nowadays provided as a rule in plastic packagings which comprise a packaging cavity and an upper film which is sealed on the latter in order to increase their shelf life. Here, it is the aim of the packaging industry to produce packagings of this type with as little material as possible, that is to say with films which are as thin as possible. Machines for producing packagings or packaging cavities are known, for example, from U.S. Pat. No. 3,706,174, U.S. Pat. No. 3,561,057, U.S. Pat. No. 3,815,322, U.S. Pat. No. 3,054,679, U.S. Pat. No. 2,331,472 and EP 0 899 209. In order, nevertheless, to achieve a sufficient stability of the packagings, recesses, such as beads or the like, are integrated into the walls or the edge of the packaging cavity. In particular, in packaging machines which have a swedging, a filling and a sealing station, the problem occurs here, however, that the cover film is not connected to the packaging cavity in the region of the recesses in the packaging cavity edge, which is firstly unseemly and, moreover, leads to the cover film being released more readily from the packaging cavity and being unhygienic because, for example, left over foodstuffs can accumulate between the packaging cavity edge and the upper film.
It was therefore the object of the present invention to provide a packaging machine with a swedging, filling and sealing station, by way of which packaging machine a packaging cavity can be produced which has a recess in the packaging cavity edge and does not have the disadvantages of the prior art.
The object is achieved by way of a packaging machine as claimed in patent claim 1.
It was certainly surprising to a person skilled in the art and not to be expected that it is possible by way of the packaging machine according to the invention to form a packaging cavity into a plastic film, to fill this packaging cavity with a packaging material and subsequently to seal it with a cover film in such a way that the latter does not have any regions which are not sealed in an undesired manner. As a result, the packaging is very much more seemly than similar packagings which have been produced according to the prior art and, moreover, it is precluded that the cover film is released unintentionally from the packaging cavity and that foodstuff accumulates between the cover film and the packaging cavity edge.
According to the invention, the packaging machine has a swedging, filling and sealing station. In the swedging station, a packaging cavity is swedged into a flat film by swedging into a predefined shape, for example by way of a punch, excess pressure and/or vacuum. According to the invention, this packaging cavity has a recess in its vertical edge, in order for it to be possible to design the packaging over all, but in particular the edge region, to be more stable. During swedging, this recess is formed into the plastic film. The packaging cavity which is produced in this way is then filled with a packaging material, in particular a foodstuff.
Afterward, the filed packaging cavity is covered with the upper film and sealed in the edge region.
According to the invention, a cutting tool is integrated into the sealing tool which is required for this purpose, by way of which cutting tool the upper film of the respective packaging is merely severed from the plastic film upper web.
The cutting tool is preferably arranged in the transition region between the sealing plane and the recess. It is further preferred for the cutting tool to be arranged on the circumference of the sealing tool. Both embodiments have the advantage that the cover film is cut off immediately at the circumference of the sealed region, with the result that there is no unsealed region between the edge of the seal and the recess, which unsealed region can lead to the upper film being detached more easily or left over foodstuffs accumulating in it which represent a hygiene problem. Each cutting tool is preferably driven separately.
Sealing preferably takes place before, after or at the same time as cutting of the upper film.
It is preferred, furthermore, for the packaging cavity to be produced in such a way that the sealing plane lies above the transport plane of the plastic film web, from which the packaging cavity is produced. This embodiment of the present invention has the advantage that, the subsequent sealing process, the sealing plane is more readily accessible for the sealing tool and the surface can be severed by the cutting tool, without the packaging cavity being damaged in the process.
In the following text, the invention will be explained using
After the evacuation or the gas exchange has been concluded, the sealing frame is moved downward, as shown in
The upper film can also optionally be severed immediately before sealing.
As soon as the upper film 14 has been sealed to the packaging cavity 6 or at the same time, the knife is moved downward, as shown by the arrow in
As a result of the fact that the knife 15 severs the upper film in the region of the recess and the sealing frame 10 welds the upper film to the packaging cavity completely in the sealing plane 13 in the region of the sealing plane, no unsealed regions at all occur in the region of the sealing plane, in which unsealed regions pockets, for example, can form, in which left over foodstuffs accumulate.
List of Designations
- 1 Packaging machine
- 2 Swedging station
- 3 Upper mold of the swedging station
- 4 Lower mold of the swedging station
- 5 Elevating platform of the swedging station
- 6 Packaging cavity
- 7 Filling station
- 8 Lower film plastic web
- 9 Recess in the packaging cavity edge
- 10 Sealing frame
- 11 Lower mold of the sealing station
- 12 Upper mold of the sealing station
- 13 Sealing plane
- 14 Upper film
- 15 Cutting tool in the sealing station
- 16 Packaging material
- 17 Forming punch
- 18 Packaging cavity edge
- 19 Sealing station
- 20 Clamping frame
Claims
1. A packaging machine having a swedging, filling and sealing station, by way of which a packaging cavity with a recess in the packaging cavity edge is formed into a plastic film, the packaging cavity is filled with a packaging material and, subsequently in the sealing plane, an upper film is sealed to the packaging cavity edge, sealing being effected under the influence of pressure and temperature and a cutting tool being integrated into the sealing tool, characterized in that the sealing plane lies above the transport plane of the plastic film web from which the packaging cavity is produced, and in that the cutting tool severs the upper film of the respective packaging from the plastic film upper web.
2. The packaging machine as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the cutting tool is arranged in the transition region between the sealing plane and the recess.
3. The packaging machine as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the cutting tool is arranged on the circumference of the sealing tool.
4. The packaging machine as claimed in claim 2, characterized in that the cutting tool is arranged on the circumference of the sealing tool.
Type: Application
Filed: Feb 8, 2007
Publication Date: Feb 4, 2010
Applicant: CFS Germany GmbH (Biedenkopf-Wallan)
Inventor: Jörg Feisel (Biedenkopf)
Application Number: 12/278,681
International Classification: B65B 1/00 (20060101);