The present invention is directed to a bag of polymeric film and a method to make the bag. The bag can be comprised of a front panel and a rear panel. The front and rear panels can each be comprised of multiple layers of film. The bag can be formed from a collapsed bubble of polymeric film that has been folded in half so that opposing edges of the collapsed bubble form an opening of the bag. One of the layers of the folded bubble can be split adjacent to an edge of the collapsed bubble and a draw tape film can be inserted between the layers of the folded and collapsed bubble. The collapsed bubble can further be embossed by a pattern that can provide enhanced properties to bags formed from the folded bubble.

A machine and method for making bags is described and includes a web traveling from an input section to a rotary drum, to an output section. The rotary drum includes at least one seal bar, having a first sealing zone, and an adjacent weakening zone. The weakening zone may be a heated perforator, includes a heating wire, or be disposed to create an auxiliary sealed area. The heating wire can have connected thereto, a source of power that is an adjustable voltage or magnitude, and/or pulsed, and/or a feedback loop. The heating wire ay be an NiCr wire and make intermittent contact with the web and be disposed in an insert. The weakening zone may create a line of weakness that is uniform or varies in intensity, is a separating zone, or includes a heat film, a toothed blade, a row of pins, a source of air, or a source of vacuum. The sealing zones ma include temperature zones, cartridge heaters, cooling air, or hated air, or a source of ultrasonic, microwave or radiative energy.

A method and apparatus for making bags or pouches is disclosed. An ultrasonic sealer may be used to form the seals. Sealing patterns may be used to provide a desired strength profile.

A process for making a shrink pouch having strong shrink tension in the pouch transverse direction and minimal or no shrink tension in the pouch longitudinal direction is provided. The process includes the steps of reinflating and cold-stretch orienting a previously collapsed blown film and feeding the cold-stretch oriented blown film in a flattened configuration into a side-fed pouch making machine, whereupon the longitudinal direction of the blown film becomes the transverse direction of the pouches thus formed, and vice versa. A shrink pouch having strong transverse shrink tension and little or no longitudinal shrink tension is also provided.

T-Shirt bag with a front foil layer, a rear foil layer and side folds, where the front foil layer and the rear foil layer and the two side folds at the bottom edge and at the top edge are joined together; and where at the top edge of the T-shirt bag two handles are formed by a recess, both handles being provided with a continuous suspension opening; where the perforation openings with incisions and a spot connection are provided in the front foil layer and in the front side fold portions of each handle.

A plurality of pouch containers are continuously manufactured from materials including: a plurality of separate-type tubular film members each including a portion to be formed as a barrel portion; and a single first belt-shaped film member and a single second belt-shaped film member each including a plurality of portions each to be formed as a gusset portion. The step of closing an opening end of each of the separate-type tubular film members includes: supplying the belt-shaped film member to the opening end by conveying the belt-shaped film member in parallel with the separate-type tubular film members at the same speed as a conveyance speed of the separate-type tubular film members, to cause the belt-shaped film member to overlap with an opened joining margin of each of the separate-type tubular film members; and joining the joining margin to a portion of the belt-shaped film member that overlaps with the joining margin.

A film roll on which a tube film is wound is supported by a lower shelf of a frame. The tube film is fed from a reel mechanism. A table for guiding the fed tube film is provided in the upper part of the apparatus. The tube film held by a clip mechanism on the table is drawn to the front end of the table, and the drawn tube film is cut into a predetermined length while being pressed by a press cutter. The clip mechanism is provided with a clip including a pair of fingers for holding the tube film. The clip mechanism is provided on a slide mechanism for reciprocating the clip.

A plurality of pouch containers are continuously manufactured from materials including: a plurality of separate-type tubular film members each including a portion to be formed as a barrel portion; and a single first belt-shaped film member and a single second belt-shaped film member each including a plurality of portions each to be formed as a gusset portion. The step of closing an opening end of each of the separate-type tubular film members supplying the belt-shaped film member to the opening end by conveying the belt-shaped film member in parallel with the separate-type tubular film members at the same speed as a conveyance speed of the separate-type tubular film members, to cause the belt-shaped film member to overlap with an opened joining margin of each of the separate-type tubular film members; and joining the joining margin to a portion of the belt-shaped film member that overlaps with the joining margin.

A bagmaker interoperable with an item processor is disclosed, the bagmaker being configured to produce bags for packaging items for sterilization, such as medical instruments. The bagmaker may include a controller interoperable with a bag production device, the bag production device including a bag cutter and a heat sealer, such that tubing may be sealed and cut, such that a bag of a specified length is formed. Operation of the bagmaker may include identifying tubing corresponding to a bag width of the bag, advancing tubing to correspond with the length of the bag, sealing at least a first end of the tubing, and then advancing and cutting the tubing; ejecting the bag from the bagmaker and retracting remaining uncut tubing, wherein the retraction and ejection may occur contemporaneously or interchangeably in order.

A machine and method for making bags is described and includes a web traveling from an input section to a rotary drum, to an output section. The rotary drum includes at least one seal bar, having a first sealing zone, and an adjacent weakening zone. The weakening zone may be a heated perforator, includes a heating wire, or be disposed to create an auxiliary sealed area. The heating wire can have connected thereto, a source of power that is an adjustable voltage or magnitude, and/or pulsed, and/or a feedback loop. The heating wire ay be an NiCr wire and make intermittent contact with the web and be disposed in an insert. The weakening zone may create a line of weakness that is uniform or varies in intensity, is a separating zone, or includes a heat film, a toothed blade, a row of pins, a source of air, or a source of vacuum. The sealing zones ma include temperature zones, cartridge heaters, cooling air, or hated air, or a source of ultrasonic, microwave or radiative energy.