The invention is a device for welding two overlapping film sections situated on one side of a goods stack. The device includes a welding bar with a welding surface oriented in the direction of the film sections to be welded. The spacing between the welding bar and the film sections is reducible. The welding surface is elastically deformable into a concave course and/or to a convex course between its two ends. At least one displacing device adjusts the course of the welding surface to a concave and/or to a convex course. The displacing device displaces welding bar. A control unit of the welding bar individually controllable, such that the curvature of the welding bar is adjustable to the contour of the side of the goods stack in the region of the film sections to be welded with one another for the subsequent welding of the overlapping film sections.

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 process for packaging a product (P) arranged in a support (4) comprising unrolling a film (10a), transversely cutting the unrolled portion of film (10a) and preparing cut film sheets (18), moving the cut film sheets (18) to a packaging assembly (8) defining at its inside a packaging chamber (24), progressively moving a number of supports (4) inside the packaging chamber (24) of a packaging assembly (8), keeping the packaging chamber (24) open for a time sufficient for a number of supports (4) and for a corresponding number of film sheets (18) to properly position inside said packaging chamber (24), hermetically closing the packaging chamber (24) with the film sheets held above the respective support (4) and at a distance sufficient to allow gas circulation inside the support (4), optionally causing one or both of: a gas withdrawal from the hermetically closed packaging chamber (24) and gas injection of a gas mixture of controlled composition, heat sealing the film sheet (18) to said support (4), wherein the cutting of the film (10a) into film sheets (18) takes place outside the packaging chamber (24) at a station remote from the location where the film sheets are coupled to the supports. An apparatus (1) for performing the above process is also disclosed.

A process for packaging a product (P) arranged in a support (4) comprising unrolling a film (10a), transversely cutting the unrolled portion of film (10a) and preparing cut film sheets (18), moving the cut film sheets (18) to a packaging assembly (8) defining at its inside a packaging chamber (24), progressively moving a number of supports (4) inside the packaging chamber (24) of a packaging assembly (8), keeping the packaging chamber (24) open for a time sufficient for a number of supports (4) and for a corresponding number of film sheets (18) to properly position inside said packaging chamber (24), hermetically closing the packaging chamber (24) with the film sheets held above the respective support (4) and at a distance sufficient to allow gas circulation inside the support (4), optionally causing one or both of: a gas withdrawal from the hermetically closed packaging chamber (24) and gas injection of a gas mixture of controlled composition, heat sealing the film sheet (18) to said support (4), wherein the cutting of the film (10a) into film sheets (18) takes place outside the packaging chamber (24) at a station remote from the location where the film sheets are coupled to the supports. An apparatus (1) for performing the above process is also disclosed.

A joining method is provided during which a first thermoplastic component joint section and a second thermoplastic component joint section are arranged between first tooling and second tooling. The second thermoplastic component joint section is abutted against the first thermoplastic component joint section at a joint area. The first thermoplastic component joint section is joined to the second thermoplastic component joint section to provide a unitized thermoplastic structure. The joining includes: pressing the first thermoplastic component joint section against the second thermoplastic component joint section at the joint area between the first tooling and the second tooling using a pressure device; and heating the first thermoplastic component joint section and the second thermoplastic component joint section at the joint area using a first heater configured with the first tooling. The unitized thermoplastic structure is cooled at the joint area using a first cooler configured with the first tooling.

This heat-caulking device is inserted into one or more holes penetrating a main plate having a substantially conical hollow portion, whereby one or more bosses of a blade protruding from an inner peripheral surface of the main plate toward the hollow portion are melted so as to join the main plate and the blade. A heat chip of the heat-caulking device has a substantially conical hollow main body portion, an outer peripheral surface of which conforms to the inner peripheral surface of the main plate. On the outer peripheral surface of the main body portion, a convex portion protruding toward the vicinity of the holes of the inner peripheral surface of the main plate is provided.

This heat-caulking device is inserted into one or more holes penetrating a main plate having a substantially conical hollow portion, whereby one or more bosses of a blade protruding from an inner peripheral surface of the main plate toward the hollow portion are melted so as to join the main plate and the blade. A heat chip of the heat-caulking device has a substantially conical hollow main body portion, an outer peripheral surface of which conforms to the inner peripheral surface of the main plate. On the outer peripheral surface of the main body portion, a convex portion protruding toward the vicinity of the holes of the inner peripheral surface of the main plate is provided.

Embodiments of the invention relate to a sealing element for thermally joining thermoplastic materials along a bent or cambered contour, including a plurality of heating elements which each has a flat carrier substrate with a front and a rear side, at least one heating circuit being disposed on the front side, and at least one contour element which has a bent or cambered contour, the heating elements being disposed on the contour element.

Embodiments of the invention relate to a sealing element for thermally joining thermoplastic materials along a bent or cambered contour, including a plurality of heating elements which each has a flat carrier substrate with a front and a rear side, at least one heating circuit being disposed on the front side, and at least one contour element which has a bent or cambered contour, the heating elements being disposed on the contour element.

Embodiments of the invention relate to a sealing element for thermally connecting thermoplastic materials along a bent or curved contour, including a plurality of flat support substrates with a front face and a rear face, the substrates having at least one heating element on the front face, and including a contoured element which has a front face in the shape of the contour to be sealed, wherein the rear face of the support substrates is secured to the front face of the contoured element and/or the front face of the support substrates is secured to the rear face of the contoured element.