The present invention relates to an induction sealing device for heat sealing of packaging material. The sealing device comprises a conductor partly encapsulated in a supporting body for cooperation with the packaging material during sealing. The coil conductor has a reduced cross sectional area at at least one position along the coil conductor so as to concentrate the magnetic flux induced by the coil conductor at the at least one position. The invention also relates to a method of heat sealing a packaging material using the induction sealing device.

A sensor arrangement for temperature measurement of a material comprises a roller device with a sheathing configured such that the material can be rolled upon the sheathing. The sheathing comprises a first circumferential portion and a second portion, wherein a thickness of the sheathing in the first circumferential portion is greater than a thickness of the sheathing in the second portion. A temperature sensor arranged in a cavity inside the sheathing in proximity of the second portion.

A sterilizing unit comprising at least one heater is provided, wherein said heater comprises a housing and at least one heating element extending in said housing for heating a flow of air being directed through the housing, and wherein said heating element is formed as a band of an electrically conductive material.

A valve for providing pulses of aseptic air to a web of packaging material is provided. The valve comprises a rotatable valve shaft having an inlet portion with a circular cross-section, wherein the inlet portion is provided with a radial slot being connected to an axial cavity of the valve shaft. The valve further comprises a valve member comprising a curved end being adapted to fit with an exterior surface of the inlet portion of the valve shaft during rotation of the valve shaft, and a fluid channel extending through the valve member such that when the valve shaft is rotated to a position where the radial slot of the inlet portion is aligned with the fluid channel of the valve member, air can flow through the valve via the valve member and the valve shaft.

A machine for packaging a product into flexible packages and which comprises one or more forming and filling units for forming and filling the packages; each forming and filling unit extends along a longitudinal axis and comprises at least one nozzle, feed means configured to make advance along the longitudinal axis a tubular casing of the material with which to make the packages and having an internal surface facing the nozzle, first longitudinal welding means for joining together at least two sides of the tubular casing and second longitudinal welding means, disposed downstream of said first longitudinal welding means, and configured to join together at least two portions of the internal surface of the tubular casing in a marginal end volume.

A method for controlling a flow regulating valve (6) of a filling machine (1), controlling the flow of pourable food product, envisages: receiving an inlet pressure measurement (P.sub.IN) from a pressure sensor (14); receiving an inlet flow measurement (F.sub.IN) from a flow meter (16); determining a control signal (S.sub.c) for controlling an operating position of the flow regulating valve (6) by combined contributions (C.sub.1, C.sub.2) of a flow feedback control module (22), receiving at its input a flow set point (F.sub.SP) and the inlet flow measurement (F.sub.IN) and generating a first control contribution (C.sub.1) indicative of a difference between the inlet flow measurement and the flow set point; and a flow feed-forward control module (20), receiving at its input the inlet pressure measurement (P.sub.IN) and the flow set point (F.sub.SP) and generating a second control contribution (C.sub.2) as a function of the flow set point and inlet pressure measurement, using pre-stored fluid-dynamic maps, which may be a result of a characterization of the flow regulating valve in a test condition. The flow feed-forward control module uses the fluid dynamics maps in a dynamically adaptive manner, depending on different operating conditions of the filling machine and/or the related pourable food product, thereby adapting to the same different operating conditions and/or the pourable food product.

A delivery unit for an aseptic machine for packaging sachets starting from sterilized films includes at least one nozzle surrounded by a tubular wrapping of film. The nozzle includes a product delivery duct to deliver a product, and a sterilant delivery duct to deliver a sterilant. The delivery unit includes a deflector disposed upstream of the delivery duct directly above an upper aperture of the wrapping, and protects the aperture from external agents. The deflector interferes with the flow of the sterilant which exits from the wrapping to allow the sterilant to flow outside of the wrapping without being diluted by the external agents.

An automatic heat-sealing quality control system to automatically control a quality of a heat-sealing of a sealing strip to a longitudinal edge of a packaging web at a heat- sealing station in a packaging machine, where sealed packages containing pourable food products are continuously produced from a continuous vertical tube filled with the pourable food product and formed by longitudinally folding the packaging web to overlap longitudinal edges thereof and then heat-sealing the overlapping longitudinal edges. The system comprises a visible-light imaging camera designed to operate in the electromagnetic spectrum visible to human eye to capture and output visible-light digital images.

There is described a digital printing apparatus for a packaging machine producing packages comprising a control unit for controlling the digital printing apparatus, a conveying device and a digital printing unit. The conveying device comprises a planar motor having a plurality of carriers configured to receive respective packages at an inlet station and to deliver the respective packages to an outlet station. The digital printing unit is arranged adjacent to the planar motor at a printing station. The control unit is configured to selectively control movement of the carriers so as to selectively direct one or more carriers to the printing station and afterwards to the outlet station. The digital printing unit is configured to print information and/or messages and/or decorations onto the packages directed to the printing station.