Items may be packaged for shipping or storage using additive manufacturing techniques, also known as three dimensional (3-D) printing. Packages made by such processes may be referred to as 3-D printed packages. The 3-D printed packages may be customized based on one or more items contained in the package, a recipient of the package, a sender of the package, and/or a destination location of the package. The customizations may include two-dimensional and/or three-dimensional customizations on an interior and/or exterior of the 3-D printed packages.

The present invention relates to a method for portion-packing of an oral pouched snuff product (1′, 1″). The method comprises a) supplying and advancing a tubular web (19, 19′, 19″) of packaging material enveloping a continuous feed (23, 23′, 23a″, 23b″) of filling material in a direction of travel (L), b) forming transverse seals (39) in the tubular web across the continuous feed of filling material by means of ultrasonic welding, the transverse seals extending in a transverse direction (T) being perpendicular to the direction of travel. The present invention further relates to an arrangement (17, 17′, 17″) for portion-packing of an oral pouched snuff product.

An apparatus for sealing or tying products, comprising a housing with at least a first tape dispenser and a star wheel, a slot defined by or through the housing, wherein the star wheel extends at least partly in said slot, wherein the star wheel comprises a series of first cells and a series of second cells, the first and second cells being intermittently disposed in the star wheel, each cell being open to a periphery of the star wheel and two opposite sides thereof, wherein an urging device is provided having at least one edge portion for urging at least one product to be tied into one of the cells, especially a first cell.

A cable tie cut off tool including two elements. A first element has a through hole and internal and external threads, the internal threads being configured in a direction opposite the external threads. A second element includes a through hole with a blade at one end of the through hole and the through hole being threaded with internal threads which mate the external threads of the first element. A keyway is in the internal threads of the first element. The internal threads of the first element are designed to cut into but not all the way through a cable tie end to allow the first element to tension the cable tie and then the first and second elements to be rotated together to engage the blade and cut off the tail of the cable tie.

A flexible container formed of flexible web material is provided. The container includes four panels forming: a body portion; a neck portion; a flare portion extending from the neck portion; and a tapered transition portion between the body and neck portions; wherein the neck portion has a reduced width and the flare portion has an expanded end. Also disclosed is a method of forming the aforementioned container comprising steps of: biasing the expanded end to define a circumference; moving, via a mandrel comprising a groove, the fitment within the circumference and through the expanded end to a first position in the neck; transversely cutting away the expanded end by advancing preferably v-shaped blades through the neck and into the groove preferably without rotation of the mandrel, container, or blades; moving the fitment to a second position in the neck; and sealing the neck to the fitment.

A device (1) for evacuating gas from a package (50) in a packaging apparatus, the package (50) having an open end (55), the open end (55) having a terminal portion (54), a non-terminal portion (52), and an intermediate portion (53) located between the terminal portion (54) and the non-terminal portion (52) of the open end (55), the device (1) comprising a vacuum chamber (10) having an elongated opening (14) extending along a longitudinal axis of the vacuum chamber (10), an evacuation means configured for providing the vacuum chamber (10) with an internal vacuum pressure that is lower than an ambient pressure outside the vacuum chamber (10), means for moving (30) a package (50) relative to the vacuum chamber (10), and a control unit (60) programmed for controlling the means for moving (30) to relatively move a package (50) to be evacuated with respect to the vacuum chamber (10), the package (50) and the means for moving (30) each being arranged with respect to the vacuum chamber (10) so that a main movement direction (40) of packages (50) placed on the means for moving (30) and the longitudinal axis of the vacuum chamber (10) are substantially parallel to one another, the package (50) to be evacuated being positioned so that, during the relative movement of the package (50) with respect to the vacuum chamber (10), a terminal portion (54) of the open end (55) of the package (50) relatively moves within the vacuum chamber (10) and a non-terminal portion (52) of the open end (55) relatively moves outside the vacuum chamber (10), an intermediate portion (53) of the open end (55) passing through and relatively moving along the opening (14), and activating the evacuation means to provide the vacuum chamber (10) with the internal vacuum pressure. A packaging process using the gas evacuation device and a packaging apparatus including the device are also disclosed.

A head for a horizontal flow wrapper packaging machine for forming a bandolier of product packages. The head includes a rotatable first shaft having a plurality of knife elements each including a blade and first and second upper crimping elements. The head also includes a rotatable second shaft having a plurality of anvil elements. A rotation speed of the second shaft is independent of the rotation speed of the first shaft. Each anvil element includes perforation and cutting surfaces and first and second lower crimping elements. A rotation speed of either the first shaft or second shaft is changed to move either a knife element or an anvil element, respectively, between a perforation position and a cutting position. The first upper and first lower crimping elements and the second upper and second lower crimping elements also mate to crimp the packaging material in either the perforating or cutting positions.

Items may be packaged for shipping or storage using additive manufacturing techniques, also known as three dimensional (3-D) printing. Packages made by such processes may be referred to as 3-D printed packages. The 3-D printed packages may be customized based on one or more items contained in the package, a recipient of the package, a sender of the package, and/or a destination location of the package. The customizations may include two-dimensional and/or three-dimensional customizations on an interior and/or exterior of the 3-D printed packages.

A fill-packaging method for plural rows, a fill-packaging machine for plural rows and a fill-packaged body include a wide-width cylindrical body forming process for continuously longitudinal-sealing a plastic film longitudinally unreeled in the longitudinal direction to continuously form a single wide-width cylindrical body, a sealing and cutting process for continuously heat-sealing one or more widthwise positions of the wide-width cylindrical body to form longitudinally border sealed portions and continuously cutting the longitudinally border sealed portions in the longitudinal direction to cut out the wide-width cylindrical body into a plurality of narrow-width cylindrical body rows independently arranged in parallel, and a bag-making process for continuously manufacturing packaged bodies by applying horizontal sealing to each of the narrow-width cylindrical body rows separated and run independently in the longitudinal direction at predetermined intervals while filling a packing material therein.

A container includes a first blank and a second blank. The first blank includes a plurality of panels foldably connected to one another and erected about an interior space, and a plurality of top flaps foldably connected to the plurality of panels to enclose a top end of the interior space. The second blank includes a bottom panel affixed to the first blank opposite the top flaps to enclose a bottom end of the interior space. The first blank includes a line of weakness pattern configured to allow a user to break the top flaps from a closed configuration enclosing the interior space to an open configuration allowing access to the interior space.