Package having a flexible inner sheet having a first surface and a second surface. The package has an article reservoir for accepting an article to be shipped. The expansion chambers can be inflated or otherwise expanded to provide structure to the package and to protect the article in the article reservoir. The inner sheet of the package includes a shrinkable material that can be activated to immobilize articles disposed in the article reservoir.

A package having a flexible inner sheet having a first surface and a second surface. The package has an article reservoir for accepting an article to be shipped. The expansion chambers can be inflated or otherwise expanded to provide structure to the package and to protect the article in the article reservoir. The inner sheet of the package includes a shrinkable material that can be activated to immobilize articles disposed in the article reservoir.

A shipping package having a flexible inner sheet having a first surface and a second surface. The package has an article reservoir for accepting an article to be shipped and one or more expansion chambers. The expansion chambers can be inflated or otherwise expanded to provide structure to the package and to protect the article in the article reservoir.

A shipping package having a flexible inner sheet having a first surface and a second surface. The package has an article reservoir for accepting an article to be shipped and one or more expansion chambers. The expansion chambers can be inflated or otherwise expanded to provide structure to the package and to protect the article in the article reservoir.

A shipping package having a flexible inner sheet having a first surface and a second surface. The package has an article reservoir for accepting an article to be shipped and one or more expansion chambers. The expansion chambers can be inflated or otherwise expanded to provide structure to the package and to protect the article in the article reservoir.

A package having a flexible inner sheet having a first surface and a second surface. The package has an article reservoir for accepting an article to be shipped. The expansion chambers can be inflated or otherwise expanded to provide structure to the package and to protect the article in the article reservoir. The package also includes an external wrap surrounding at least a portion of the package to provide a relatively planar outwardly-facing surface.

A packing method and unit to pack articles, includes: moving first seats by a first conveyor and second seats by a second conveyor along first and second paths at first and second moving speeds, respectively; and cyclically transferring an article from a first seat to a second seat in a transfer station. The first seats and second seats each designed to house an article. During normal operation with no rejected articles, the first moving speed is functionally equal to the second moving speed, and the same number of first and second seats pass through the transfer station in a given time interval. Where at least one article is rejected in a first seat, the second moving speed is functionally decreased relative to the first moving speed so that two first seats (one containing the rejected article) passes through the transfer station in the time interval as one second seat.

In an example embodiment, a doser assembly includes a hopper assembly configured to receive plant material, a bracket assembly connected to the hopper assembly, and a roller in a hopper opening defined by the hopper assembly extending through the hopper assembly. An interior surface of the hopper assembly may define the hopper opening. The bracket assembly may include a shaft extending across a portion of the hopper opening. The roller may be in the portion of the hopper opening of the hopper assembly and may extend between a first part and a second part of the interior surface of the hopper assembly. The roller may be connected to the shaft and may be configured to rotate with rotation of the shaft.

An apparatus for making a beverage pad having an amount of extractable or soluble beverage preparation product as a compacted puck enclosed between two sheets of filtering material comprises dosing means arranged for supply of a dose of extractable or soluble beverage preparation product to a puck forming device of the apparatus and further comprises a packaging device arranged to package a compacted puck received from the puck forming device between two sheets of filtering material to form the beverage pad. The puck forming device comprises a cylindrical rotating drum with an outer side surface having recesses for receiving in each recess a dose of extractable or soluble beverage preparation product. A bottom wall of each recess is formed by a movable piston arranged to move with respect to the outer side surface of the drum to vary a height of the recess in relation to an angular position of the recess on the circular circumference of the drum. The puck forming device further comprises a compression body adjacent to the rotating drum arranged to provide a counter surface to compress a dose of extractable or soluble beverage preparation product against. The compression body comprises drive means arranged to drive the counter surface moving along a circumferential part of the outer side surface of the rotating drum with a velocity corresponding to a velocity of the outer side surface of the rotating drum.

A cleaner assembly for an apparatus for making pouch products includes a cleaner roller and a poker roller. The cleaner roller may counter rotate with a rotatable drum of the apparatus, in contact with an upper surface of a first elastic layer on the rotatable drum, and at a greater tangential speed than at least one surface of an outer circumferential surface of the rotatable drum or an upper surface of the first elastic layer. The poker roller includes projections that are each configured to extend into one or more divots of the rotatable drum. The poker roller may counter rotate with the rotatable drum and at a same tangential speed as the at least one surface such that the projections extend into and out of separate, respective divots of the rotatable drum based on the counter rotation of the poker roller and the rotatable drum.