A packaging apparatus includes a control unit, a loading station that positions a tubular film around a product to be packaged, a sealing station, a control unit that controls the sealing station to create one or more seals on the tubular film, an evacuation assembly that includes a first member and a second member arranged opposite the first member, and a means for moving the product relative to and from the evacuation assembly. The first member includes a deformable portion. The first and second members are relatively movable between: a first configuration, in which the first and second members are spaced apart from one another, a second configuration, in which the deformable portion contacts at least part of the second member and/or part of the tubular film, and a third configuration in which the deformable portion is compressed in a compression direction towards the second member.

A material processing system includes an oven that cooks or bakes, with electrical resistance, dough contained within containers. The oven can include a frame defining, devices mounted, in a preselected pattern, on the frame for a reciprocal movement in a vertical direction during use of the system, each device configured to connect voltage to a respective container so as to cook or bake the dough with the electrical resistance, and one or more powered members configured to move the devices in the vertical direction. Conveyors are also provided to convey a plurality of rows of containers with a plurality of containers in each row along a material conveyance path, the conveyors disposed in a series with each other and with the oven along the material conveyance path, one of the conveyors disposed within the oven so as to position a batch of the containers in an alignment with the devices.

Machine for packaging products with stretch film the flaps of which are stretched, folded and mutually superimposed on the bottom of the product usually arranged in a tray, comprising a final station with a motorized heat-sealing conveyor to mutually secure said flaps with a heat-sealing operation, characterised in that this final heat-sealing station is provided with an upper protective chamber for the operator, and which limits the loss into the work environment of heat produced by said heat-sealing conveyor, now incorporated in this protective chamber, which has a shape and size such as to allow the packaged products to be conveyed therethrough without interference, this protective chamber being provided with an inlet opening usually communicating with the casing of the packaging machine and being provided with an outlet opening for conveying the packaged products, wherein at least this last outlet opening is closed by a swinging barrier that prevents loss of heat towards the outside and that is arranged to swing and open only in the direction of normal flow of the packaged products and due to the thrust of these latter, but which cannot swing in the opposite direction, to act also as safety barrier, said protective chamber being provided on at least one of the walls not involved by said swinging barriers and in view, with at least one window closed by at least one door preferably made of transparent material, which in the open position allows the operator to rapidly remove the packaged product optionally stationary on the heat-sealing conveyor, there being provided safety means to automatically shut down at least the power supply to this heat-sealing conveyor when said door is opened.

A heat-shrinking furnace for forming bundles of products wrapped in a heat-shrinkable film and defining at least one channel for advancement of the bundles along an advancement direction, and including: an inlet fed by the bundle of products in succession one after the other, the products being tunnel-wrapped in a loose manner by the heat-shrinkable film to identify two lateral openings orthogonal to the advancement direction; an outlet for release of the bundles of products wrapped in a compact manner by the heat-shrinked film; a heater operating between the inlet and outlet for making heat-shrinking of the film on the products; and wherein in an intermediate position between the inlet and the outlet the furnace includes a mechanism for temporarily holding the heat-shrinkable film spaced apart from the products at the lateral openings during heat shrinking.

A system and method for using waste heat from computing devices is disclosed. Computing devices may be positioned in a device rack and output exhaust air such that heat is transferred into a heat chamber with controllable temperature and a work item rack that is configured to hold one or more work items. By transferring the heat from the computing devices to heat or preheat the heat chamber, the captured heat can be used for useful work such as dehydrating, baking, drying or curing. Humidity can also be controlled, and conveyors may be used to improve the flow of work items. The energy reused may be calculated, recorded and attributed to the work items processed or the work performed by the computing devices.

The purpose of the present invention is to provide a heat-shrinking apparatus for shrink labels which is capable of uniformly heat shrinking a shrink label covering a portion or the entirety of an article, and which is capable of completing heat shrinking in a state in which water drops are not deposited on the article and the surface of the shrink label. Accordingly, the present invention is provided with: a heat treatment chamber (2) having, provided therein, a steam discharge unit (12) for discharging superheated steam in order to heat shrink a cylindrical label (L) fitted to a container (PC), and a heated air blowing unit (14) for causing deposited water drops to evaporate by blowing heated air on the container (PC) after the cylindrical label (L) has been heat shrlUlk; a superheater (22) which heats steam generated by a steam boiler (20), to generate the superheated steam; a preheating lUlit (27) which uses the surplus steam inside the heat treatment chamber (2) to preheat air used to generate the heated air; a heated-air-generating heat exchanger (15) which uses steam to heat the preheated air to a prescribed temperature; and a condensing heat exchanger (31) for condensing the surplus steam.

The present invention relates to a method for bundle-packaging batches of products, wherein products are moved in a longitudinal running direction, grouped into batches and wrapped with a film of heat-shrinkable film. Each wrapped batch is heated to form a contraction of each sheet around said batch. Heating of a batch is performed by the circulation of at least one heated air stream and by the expulsion of said stream toward the interior of the enclosure of an oven provided, successively, with first and second sections; the sheet is cooled; during heating, along at least a part of the first section, a first air stream is shaped discontinuously and expelled toward the interior of said enclosure. The method consists, during heating, along said second section, in shaping a second stream as an air knife and expelling said air knife toward said sheet to be smoothed.

The invention relates to a hot air shrink tunnel (10) for a heat shrinking apparatus for heat shrinking a shrink label to enclose a product, wherein the hot air shrink tunnel surrounds a conveying path of the product. The hot air shrink tunnel includes a moist air zone (1, 2) and a dry air zone (3, 4) arranged in this order in a conveying direction of the product through the hot air shrink tunnel (10); wherein the moist air zone (1, 2) includes heating means for heating air flowing within the moist air zone (1, 2), and water diffusion means for diffusing an amount of water in the air flowing within the moist air zone (1, 2) to produce an air-steam mixture, and the dry air zone (3, 4) includes heating means for heating air flowing within the dry air zone (3, 4).

A vertical sealer apparatus includes at least one conveyor for receiving objects to be wrapped in a vertical orientation with films from two film sources and for conveying the objects in a downstream direction from before and after they are wrapped along a conveying path, as well as an over for shrinking the films onto the objects. Methods of vertically sealing objects using such apparatus are also provided.

The present apparatus and system relate to a shrink wrap packaging system. The system includes an oven that is a cavity with heating elements positioned inside. A cooling bar traverses the oven. Dies on a conveyor hold packages with shrink wrap sleeves fitted thereon and move the packages through the oven. The cooling bar thermally affects the shrink wrap sleeves such that the sleeves do not immediately begin to shrink as they enter the oven. Rather the cooling bar protects the upper portion of the sleeve such that the entirety of the sleeve shrinks in a more uniform manner as the packages traverse the oven.