A sealing station for sealing packaging units comprises a lower tool with at least one receptacle for a packaging unit and an upper tool. The lower tool and the upper tool are arranged to be movable relative to one another. The sealing station further comprises an edge extractor with at least one extraction opening for subjecting an interior of the packaging unit to a vacuum and/or a gas, and the lower tool comprises a lifting element for lifting a film cover of the packaging unit.

A deep-drawing packaging machine that includes a sealing station and a method for changing the sealing frame together with the sealing plate at the sealing station. The sealing station includes a sealing plate and a sealing frame. The sealing plate may be releasably coupled to an upper sealing tool part, and the sealing frame may be slidably removable at a lower sealing tool part. The sealing frame may be slidable on rails. The sealing frame may include one or more centering aids for aligning the sealing plate with respect to said sealing frame during removal thereof. The centering aids may be displaceable underneath a film web by the upper sealing tool part during the clamping of the film web between the sealing frame and the upper sealing tool part.

A horn and an anvil are moved toward and away from each other by axially reciprocating a driving rod and thereby reciprocatingly rotating a forked lever in a predetermined angle range. The horn and the anvil are moved toward and pressed against each other with a predetermined force with a bag mouth b held therebetween. A sensor detects the position of a second mounting block secured to the rear end of a sliding shaft of the anvil, thereby detecting the distance between respective pressing surfaces of the horn and the anvil, i.e. the thickness m of a portion of the bag mouth held between the pressing surfaces. When the thickness m is not less than a predetermined threshold value M, a vibrator is activated to perform sealing. When the thickness m is less than the threshold value M, no sealing is performed.

A vertical bag-making/filling/packaging machine (1) comprises: a film supplying portion (5) which lets out a film (F) from a roll (Fr); a bag-making guide (31) which folds the film (F) into a tubular shape and changes a conveying direction downward; a vertical sealing portion (60) which thermally seals side edges of the film (F) to each other in an up-down direction so as to make the film into a tubular shape; a film conveying portion (50) which conveys the film (F) downward; a filling portion (70) which loads a content (X) into an interior of the film (F); a lateral sealing portion (80) which thermally seals the film (F) in a left-right direction so as to make a bag body; a square-bottom sealing portion (90) which expands a bottom of the bag body to a rectangular shape from an inside and then thermally seals the bottom to form a rectangular bottom surface; and a cutter (89) which cuts off the bag body from the film (F).

The invention relates to a device for welding a connection region of a film to a connection part having an axial direction. In the case of conventional devices, there is the risk of steep workpiece edges causing uncontrolled weak spots in the film and in the weld seam. According to the invention, the film is extended in a controlled manner such that the film has a length reserve. The film is extended in such a way that the film has a deformation cross-section that runs out such that the deformation is not visible on the final product. In this connection, the invention further relates to a use of a film, to a method for welding, to a method for producing bags, to a system for producing bags, and to a bag.

Bag-sealing apparatus is provided for heat-sealing a bag. The apparatus has a heater arrangement operable to apply heat to heat-seal an open end of the bag. A bag detector detects the location of the bag relative to the heater arrangement. The heater arrangement is formed of plural heater portions. The heater arrangement is operable such that only the or each heater portion that overlies the bag as detected by the bag detector is caused to operate to apply heat to the bag.

A web packaging machine for forming a food product package from a lower web of packaging material and an upper web of packaging material includes a frame, a die member supported by the frame and configured to form or close the food product package, and a clamping device comprising a first end that is pivotally coupled to the frame and an opposite, second end that is configured to secure the die member to the frame. The clamping device is pivotable into and between a locked position in which the clamping device clamps the die member to the frame and an unlocked position in which the clamping device is pivoted away from the die member such that the die member can be moved relative to the frame.

An apparatus comprising a packaging machine, which comprises a control unit having a process parameter generator designed to determine specific process parameters for a production process of the packaging machine. The control unit of the packaging machine also comprises a recipe generator for an adjustment process of the packaging machine preceding the production process or can be connected to a recipe generator of the apparatus, which generator is designed as a separate unit. The respective recipe generator comprises a set of rules for determining recipe variables for the adjustment process of the packaging machine and is designed to generate the recipe variables with reference to a plurality of data and to form therefrom a recipe data set for the adjustment process of the packaging machine. A method for using the apparatus is also included.

A process for packaging a product arranged on a support comprising unrolling a film, moving the film to a packaging assembly defining at its inside a packaging chamber, progressively moving a number of supports inside the packaging chamber of the packaging assembly, closing the packaging chamber with the film sheets held above the respective support, optionally causing one or both of: a gas withdrawal from the hermetically closed packaging chamber and gas injection of a gas mixture of controlled composition, heat sealing the film to said support, wherein the heat sealing uses one or more heaters having heating surfaces which are heated for discrete and short time periods only. An apparatus for performing the above process is also disclosed.

A method of positioning and sealing a bag in a vacuum chamber, includes detecting a trailing edge of a product in the bag, detecting a trailing edge of a patch adhered to the bag, controlling advancement of the bag, and closing the bag. A bag positioning apparatus includes an infrared sensing apparatus, a fluorescence sensing apparatus, and a controller. A method of manufacturing a patch bag includes adhering a first patch to film stock, detecting a position of the first patch, aligning a second patch with the first patch, and adhering the second patch to the film stock. A method of manufacturing a patch bag includes detecting an edge of a patch adhered to film stock, forming a seal across the film stock adjacent to the edge of the patch, and severing the film stock adjacent to the edge of the patch.