An apparatus for making a self-opening bag pack includes a supply of film material. An extruder forms a continuous tube of film. A flattener flattens the tube. A corona treater treats at least one surface of the flattened tube. A first sealer forms a bottom seam across a width of the flattened tube. A cutter cuts the flattened tube into bag blanks at a predetermined distance from the bottom seam. A stacker forms the bag blanks into a bag pack. A non-linear adhesion knife penetrates the bag pack and adheres adjacent bag blanks together in the bag pack. An aperture maker forms means for suspending the pack from a dispensing rack. The pack is attached to the dispensing rack and the front wall of the subsequent bag will be adhered to the rear wall of a first bag, thereby causing the first bag to open when pulled from the rack.

An apparatus for making a self-opening wide mouth bag pack includes a supply of flexible film material. An extruder forms a continuous tube. A flattener flattens the tube. A first sealer forms a bottom seal across a width of the flattened tube. A cutter cuts the flattened tube into bag blanks has a bag mouth at a predetermined distance from the bottom seal. Second and third sealers form angled seals at lower corners of the bag blank forming a flat bottomed bag. An adhesion knife penetrates the bag pack adhering adjacent bag blanks together in the bag pack. An aperture maker forms apertures for suspending the bag pack from a dispensing rack. The pack is attached to the dispensing rack and the front wall of the subsequent bag is adhered to the rear wall of a first bag, thereby causing the first bag to open when pulled from the rack.

A method of sealing reinforced packages. The method can comprise moving an open-ended package in a downstream direction on a package conveyor by engaging the open-ended package with a chain flight of the package conveyor moving in the downstream direction. The method further can comprise forming a bag with a closed end by engaging at least a seal portion of a tail section of an open-ended tube portion of the open-ended package between the chain flight of the package conveyor and a hot plate positioned adjacent the package conveyor. The chain flight can move with the tail section in the downstream direction relative to the hot plate, which can transfer thermal energy to the tail section to at least partially form a seal along the seal portion in the tail section to at least partially form the closed end of the bag.

A pinch bottom sack fillable with bulk good includes a sleeve with at least one area element, wherein the sleeve includes a mesh and the area element a handle means including a load element at which a load force is applicable for lifting the sack, and the load element is configured such that it extends at least in some areas at least in a load condition in which the load force acts at the load element opposite to an outer side of the area element.

A gusset preheating assembly and a method of using the same. The assembly includes a heating gun assembly mounted on a frame. Spreader rods open up a gap in a bag's gusset and nozzles blow warmed air into the gap. Orthogonally arranged first and second hydraulic members are operatively engaged with heating gun assembly and are activated to move the heating gun assembly vertically or horizontally. Hot air blowing into the gap from the nozzle relaxes the gusset. Pressure is applied to the relaxed gusset, thereby reducing the thickness of the gusset region of the bag. The reduction in thickness makes it possible to increase the number of gusseted bags that are packaged in a container or on a roll.

A defect detecting device includes a detection unit and a movement mechanism. The detection unit includes a support, an arm supported by the support swingably around a swing shaft, and a sensor for detecting a displacement of the arm relative to the support. The arm includes contactors. The movement mechanism keeps the contactors away from a feed plane during a feed phase of a sheet panel, and moves the contactors to the feed plane and then moves the contactors from the feed plane during a pause phase of the sheet panel. The defect detecting device further includes a determination part configured to determine whether a defect in bag making is present based on data from the sensor.

A method for manufacturing a pouch-type packaging material includes: a first folding process; a first cutting process of cutting the top-side sheet material, a second sub-region, a first main region, and a first sub-region along a first cutting line that extends from a portion where the top-side sheet material and the second sub-region overlap to a portion closer toward a bottom side in a z direction beyond a first boundary line; a second folding process; a second cutting process of cutting the top-side sheet material, the first sub-region, the first main region, and a second main region along a second cutting line to form a top-side sheet from the top-side sheet material, where the second cutting line extends from a portion where the top-side sheet material and the first sub-region overlap to a portion closer toward the bottom side in the z direction beyond the second boundary line.

A longitudinal method for producing a side-gusseted bag includes providing an incision extending in a transverse direction in a bag film for each side-gusseted bag in such a way that, in the case of a subsequently formed side-gusseted tube, the incision extends over both side gussets and a first front wall that is situated between the side gussets. Proceeding from the incision, the first front wall, together with the corresponding parts of the side gussets, is folded back, on which a separate film section is placed and fastened in the folded-open region. The folded-over section is folded back in such a way that all connecting seams of the separate film section extend in parallel to each other in the transverse direction.

A trifold side seamed film produce bag includes a front wall and a back wall, first and second side edges sealed together and a seamless bag bottom. The bag is joined at the side edges to additional bags by a perforation. The bag is corona treated on at least one wall and promotional material is printed on the treated surface. The bags are folded to one third of their height to fit compact bag roll dispensers. The bags are folded in a Z-fold or C-fold configuration. The method includes manufacturing the bags and winding them onto cores or forming the bags into coreless rolls. An apparatus for forming the side seamed bags includes an extruder, a tubing flattener, a perforator, a sealer, a corona treater, a printer and a slitter. The treated, printed bags may be stored on rolls for later slitting into two bag streams and folding into thirds.

A flexible side-gusseted package and methods of making the same are disclosed. The package has a central longitudinal axis, a front panel, a back panel, and a pair of gusseted side panels. The front panel is secured to the gusseted side panels along a pair of side seal lines. The back panel is secured to the gusseted side panels along a pair of side seal lines. Each of the seal lines includes a pair of end portions and an intermediate portion. The intermediate portion, e.g., a concave recessed portion, of each side seal line is located closer to the central longitudinal axis than the end portions of the side seal lines to provide a package which is somewhat necked-down at its middle, to facilitate grasping of the package by users.