There is described a packaging apparatus for forming a plurality of sealed packages comprising a conveyor for advancing a web of packaging material along an advancement path, an isolation chamber, a tube forming device adapted to form a tube from the, in use, advancing web of packaging material, a sealing device adapted to longitudinally seal the tube, a filling device for continuously filling the tube formed by the tube forming device, a package forming unit adapted to form and seal the packages from the, in use, advancing tube formed by the tube forming device and filled by the filling device and a support platform supporting the isolation chamber from a first side of the support platform and carrying the package forming unit from a second side of the support platform opposite to the first side.

According to one embodiment a packaging method is provided in which a tube is supplied in a forward movement direction. The method includes a folding step in which the tube is acted on in a manner that is transverse to the forward movement direction, folding part of the tube in a folding direction, and a sealing and cutting step after which a tube closed at one end and a package closed and separated from the tube are obtained. During the folding step the tube is held transversely, and a tear is generated in the folding direction between the acted on and held parts of the tube. The tube is sealed on both sides of the tear and cut at the height of the tear. Packaging machines for carrying out the method are also disclosed. Suitable.

A method and apparatus of packing product in a tubular casing is provided. The method includes providing a continuous length of tubular casing, providing an expansion plug within the tubular casing, grasping the casing upstream end with a casing grabber, moving the casing grabber away from the expansion plug towards an outlet end of a product feed conduit, feeding product from the product feed conduit through the casing upstream end into the tubular casing, and cutting the tubular casing downstream of the product to sever an upstream casing segment from the remaining continuous length of tubular casing.

A form-fill-seal machine forms a bag by filling and sealing a packing object in a wrapping material. The form-fill-seal machine includes a thickness adjustment unit which adjusts a thickness of the bag and a control unit which controls an operation of the thickness adjustment unit. The control unit acquires thickness information obtained in a rear stage of the form-fill-seal machine and relating to a thickness of the bag and controls the operation of the thickness adjustment unit on the basis of a result obtained by performing statistical processing on the thickness information.

An induction heat sealing device (300) for providing a transversal sealing of a tube (104) of packaging material, said induction heat sealing device (300) comprising a main body (302) comprising a first and a second sealing surface (314a, 314b) arranged to face the packaging material during a sealing state (S), a recess (308) provided in the main body (308) for receiving a knife during a cutting state (C), wherein the first and second sealing surface (314a, 314b) are placed on opposite sides of the recess (308), and an electric conductor arrangement (306a, 306b, 306c, 306d), provided in the main body (302), for inducing eddy currents in the packaging material during the sealing state (S), wherein at least part of the first and second sealing surface (314a, 314b) are inclined and provided with a first and a second top section (316a, 316b), respectively, such that particles in a product held inside the tube (104) are pushed away from a sealing band of the tube as the sealing band is pressed towards the first and second top section (316a, 316b).

A package forming unit comprises plural jaw units, each having at least one respective operative assembly for engaging the tube and for at least partially forming the advancing tube, one respective sealing element for at least partially transversally sealing the tube along a transversal sealing band and a pair of interaction tabs for interacting with the tube. Each jaw unit is controllable as a function of the tube filling level in an operative configuration in which the respective operative assembly, the respective sealing element and the respective pair of interaction tabs are controlled in respective active states while advancing along respective operative portions and a partial operative configuration in which the respective sealing element is controlled in the respective active state and the respective operative assembly and/or the respective pair of interaction tabs is/are controlled in a respective inactive state while, in use, advancing along the respective operative portion.

A method (400) for producing packages (112) holding liquid food products from a web (102) of packaging material, wherein the web (102) comprises a number of blanks (300) placed after one another, wherein each blank corresponds to one package, the method comprising receiving (402) a reel (204) holding the web (102) of packaging material, capturing (402) reel data (210) from a tag (206) attached to the reel (204), transferring (404) the reel data (210) to a printing information database (218), receiving (406) printing information data (PID) (220) related to the reel data (210) from the printing information database (218), printing (408) décors on each of the blanks (300) of the web (102) of packaging material based on information provided via the PID (220) such that a décor provided web (246) is formed, transferring (410) the reel data (210) to a packaging machine information database (224), receiving (412) packaging machine information data (PMID) (226) related to the reel data (210) from the packaging machine information database (224), and forming (414) the packages (112) from the decor provided web (246) in a packaging machine (100) based on information provided via the PMID (226).

There is described a packaging apparatus (1) for forming a plurality of sealed packages (2) from a tube (3) of a web of packaging material (4) which is continuously filled with a pourable product. The packaging apparatus comprises an isolation chamber (10) separating an inner environment (11) containing a sterile gas from an outer environment (12). The packaging apparatus further comprises a delimiting element (48) arranged, in use, within the tube (3) and being designed to divide the tube (3), in use, into a first space (49) and a second space (50). The packaging apparatus (1) also comprises a pressurizing device (47) for pressurizing the second space (50) by means of a pressurized sterile gas. The delimiting element (48) is arranged within the isolation chamber (10).

A packaging machine for producing sealed packages of a pourable product from a packaging material web advancing along a web advancement path comprises an isolation chamber separating inner and outer environments, and a sterilization apparatus for sterilizing the packaging material web and in fluid connection with the isolation chamber. The sterilization apparatus comprises a main shielding chamber housing an irradiation device and comprising an advancement channel having inlet and outlet openings, and through which, in use, the packaging material web advances, and first and second auxiliary shielding chambers having respectively first and second inner spaces fluidically connected to the advancement channel. A pressure control controls a first pressure in the first auxiliary shielding chamber, a second pressure in the second auxiliary shielding chamber and a third pressure in the isolation chamber, the third pressure being higher than the second pressure and the second pressure being higher than the first pressure.

A method and apparatus of packing product in a tubular casing is provided. The method includes providing a continuous length of tubular casing, providing an expansion plug within the tubular casing, grasping the casing upstream end with a casing grabber, moving the casing grabber away from the expansion plug towards an outlet end of a product feed conduit, feeding product from the product feed conduit through the casing upstream end into the tubular casing, and cutting the tubular casing downstream of the product to sever an upstream casing segment from the remaining continuous length of tubular casing.