A bag-making and packaging machine has a film supply unit that supplies film to a bag-making and packaging unit. The film supply unit has holding mechanisms each having a shaft that holds a film roll, a holding mechanism support frame supporting the holding mechanisms, a moving mechanism that rotates the holding mechanism support frame to move each holding mechanism between a film roll setting position and a film supply position, a splicing mechanism splicing a trailing end portion of the film of the roll of one of the holding mechanisms and a leading end portion of the film of the roll of another one of the holding mechanisms, and a film drawing mechanism that rotates the shafts of the holding mechanisms to draw the film independently from the film rolls attached to the shafts of the holding mechanisms and changes the drawing speed of the film during bag-making and packaging.

The invention relates to a roll take-up device (110) designed for a) taking up a sheetlike composite (101), and b) rolling up or unrolling or both rolling up and unrolling a roll (102) of the sheetlike composite (101); i) a carrier layer (304), ii) a barrier layer (306) and iii) an inner polymer layer (308); wherein, in the roll (102), at least 10 laminas of the sheetlike composite (101) are overlaid on one another from the inside outwards or vice versa; wherein the laminas respectively have the series of layers (304, 306, 308); wherein one layer (306) of the series of layers of the sheetlike composite (101) is an electrically conductive layer;

Methods and apparatus, including computer program products, are described for forming individual packages in a food packaging machine (100) comprising a plurality of sub-systems. One or more local variable values (142) are received, which indicate measurements by the food packaging machine (100) of one or more physical parameters for a local sub-system (120). One or more remote variable values (204) are received, which indicate measurements by the food packaging machine (100) of one or more physical parameters for one or remote sub-systems. One or more control parameter values are determined for the local sub-system (120) of the food packaging machine (100), by processing the remote variable values (204) and the local variable values (142) using a reinforcement learning model (206) and a local control model (210). One or more control parameters of the local sub-system (120) are adjusted in accordance with the determined control parameter values. The formation of individual packages (122) by the food packaging machine (100) is controlled in accordance with the adjusted one or more control parameters.

Methods and apparatus, including computer program products, are described for controlling web tensioning in a food packaging machine comprising a plurality of sub-systems. One or more local variable value are received, which indicate measurements by the food packaging machine of one or more physical parameters for a web tensioning sub-system. One or more remote variable values are received, which indicate measurements by the food packaging machine of one or more physical parameters for one or remote sub-systems. One or more control parameter values are determined for the web tensioning sub-system, by processing the remote and the local variable values using a reinforcement learning model and a local control model. One or more control parameters of the web tensioning sub-system are adjusted in accordance with the determined control parameter values.

A device for splicing and continuously providing an outgoing film web includes a splicing unit for splicing a first or a second incoming film web to the outgoing film web, and a clamping unit and an intermediate film storage for the outgoing film web. The splicing unit includes a first sealing jaw with a first holding device for the outgoing film web, and a first cutting device for severing the outgoing film web in the region of the first sealing jaw. The splicing unit includes a second sealing jaw with a second holding device alternately for the first or the second incoming film web, and a second cutting device for severing this incoming film web. The sealing jaws with their respective holding devices can be displaced relative to one another out of the region of action of their first and second cutting devices into their mutual region of action.

A splice mechanism (100) for a packaging assembly (10), the packaging assembly (10) including: a former shoulder (12); a controller (14); a film drive (16) controlled by the controller (14) for feeding a film (112) at a film speed to the former shoulder (12) to form a tubular film (22) moving in a film direction (20); a sealing device (24) to seal the tubular film (22) in a first sealing direction (26), the first sealing direction (26) being parallel to the film direction (20); a set of jaws (28) controlled by the controller (14) and movable at a jaw speed to engage and seal the tubular film (22) in a second sealing direction (30) to form a first seal (32) and a second seal (34) in each bag, thereby forming a closed bag (36), the splice mechanism (100) including: an active film roll (110) from which film (112) is drawn to be fed to the former shoulder (12) by the film drive (16); a second film roll (120) having film (122) for feeding to the former shoulder (12); a film roll holder (130) holding the active film roll (110) and the second film roll (120) such that film (112) from the active film roll (110) extends along a film path (140) to the former shoulder (12) and the second film roll (120) is accessible; a splice roller (150) against which film (122) from the second film roll (120) is placed, the film (122) having a film end (124), the film end (124) having an adhesive (126), the splice roller (150) being movable between a free position, wherein the film path (140) is unimpeded by the splice roller (150), and a splice position, wherein the film path (140) is tangential to the splice roller (150) at a splice point (142) on the film path (140).

A method for producing packages holding liquid food products from a web of packaging material, wherein the web comprises a number of blanks placed after one another, wherein each blank corresponds to one package, the method comprising receiving a reel holding the web of packaging material, capturing reel data from a tag attached to the reel, transferring the reel data to a printing information database, receiving printing information data (PID) related to the reel data from the printing information database, printing decors on each of the blanks of the web of packaging material based on information provided via the PID, transferring the reel data to a packaging machine information database receiving packaging machine information data (PMID) related to the reel data from the packaging machine information database, and forming the packages from the d?cor provided web in a packaging machine based on information provided via the PMID.

A system for active alignment of an inflatable web with respect to an inflation nozzle as the web is dispensed from a roll for serial inflation by the inflation nozzle, the inflatable web including top and bottom sheets sealed together by transverse seals to define a series of inflatable chambers having an opening between the terminal ends of the transverse seals and proximate a longitudinal edge of the web for receiving inflation fluid from the nozzle, the system comprising: a spool adapted to support the roll so that the roll rotates about the spool as the inflatable web is withdrawn from the roll; an actuator arranged to adjust the position of the roll along the length of the spool; an inflation nozzle adapted to provide inflation fluid into the openings of the inflatable chambers as the web travels along a path of travel past the inflation nozzle; a tracking sensor comprising: a sensor arm pivotally mounted at a pivot point at a given location relative the inflation nozzle, the sensor arm having a contact portion, the sensor arm adapted to pivot on the pivot point as the terminal ends of the transverse seals of the web contact the contact portion of the sensor arm; and an analogue sensor adapted to detect the movement of the sensor arm and to generate an analogue signal varying in relation to the movement of the sensor arm; and a controller operative to receive the analogue signal and based on the analogue signal to send output to the actuator to adjust the position of the roll on the spool to maintain the transverse position of the web within a predetermined range.

To provide a medicine inspection system capable of appropriately outputting an inspection result while minimizing damage and the like to a packaging bag and a medicine.

A medicine inspection system 10 includes an inspection device 20 which inspects a numerical quantity and/or a type of a medicine contained in a packaging bag p based on an image photographed of the packaging bag p to be inspected, and a marking device 50 which records an inspection result from the inspection device on the packaging bag p. After the packaging bag p, which has a seal section S formed by pressure bonding an overlapping portion of a packaging paper, is inspected at the inspection device 20, a stamp which indicates the inspection result thereof is output by a marking device 50 onto the seal section S.

In a film supplying device in a package machine, a film 12 drawn out from a film roll is fed downstream between a drive roll 32 and a driven roll 34. The drive roll 32 is rotatably supported by a first support 38 fixed to a main frame 26. A second support 56 for rotatably supporting the driven roll 34 is supported on the main frame 26 so as to be rotatable. The second support 56 is movable between a sandwiched position where the driven roll 34 approaches the drive roll 32 to be aligned therewith to hold the film 12 therebetween, and a retract position in which the driven roll 34 is spaced apart from the drive roll 32.