A vertical fill, form and seal (VFFS) apparatus for particulates that facilitates the close-packing (settling) of the particulates such that a smaller package is needed to contain a mass of particulates in a charge to the VFFS apparatus. The former of the VFFS apparatus, and an associated film driver, move up and down synchronously and in a controlled manner. A partially formed bag, below the former, containing particulates is shaken up and down as the former moves up and down, while the packaging film travels downward continuously in the apparatus. The shaking causes the particulates to settle, and to increase in bulk density. This allows use of less packaging, and lowers use of transportation fuel. In an embodiment, an actuator is in mechanical communication with the former (and its associated film driver) to apply a vertical reciprocating force to the former.

A bag-making and packaging apparatus creates one product per cycle by packaging articles in a bag made from a film. The bag-making and packaging apparatus includes a longitudinal sealing mechanism, a guide, an article sensor, a transverse sealing mechanism, a cutting mechanism, and a prediction unit. The guide guides the articles which fall from above into a film tube. The transverse sealing mechanism forms a transversely sealed part in the film tube with each cycle. The cutting mechanism cuts the film tube in the transversely sealed part with each cycle. The prediction unit predicts whether or not jamming of the articles could occur in the transverse sealing mechanism on the basis of an output of the article sensor with each cycle. When the prediction unit has predicted that the jamming could occur in a certain cycle, the cutting mechanism does not cut the film tube in the certain cycle.

Described is a compensating device applicable on intermittent advancement packaging machines with wrapping material constituted by a film made of a flexible plastic material, for continuous compensating of a stretching of the film during drawing thereof, the machine comprising a first drawing group of the film, a mobile element able to exert a determined force on the film during advancement, the mobile element being conventionally known as a dancer and a second drawing group of the film arranged downstream of the first drawing group, where each drawing group is provided with a sensor for detecting markers located at regular intervals along the film, the compensating device being constituted by a third drawing group, located between the first and second drawing groups, the third drawing group being provided with a marker sensor, the third drawing group being provided with independent motorisation and an automatic roller opening system.

Disclosed in an assembly for forming bags, having a belt drive for feeding a film at a film speed to a former shoulder to form a tubular film, a set of jaws movable at a jaw speed to engage and seal a tubular film to form a closed bag, and a sensor assembly to provide a volume signal indicative of a volume of the closed bag, wherein the controller is configured to adjust at least one of the film speed and the jaw speed in response to the volume signal.

There is described a unit (1) for forming/advancing at least one pack (3) or at least one portion of a pack 5 (3), comprising: a frame (12a, 12b), at least one carriage (14, 14b), which is movable along a path (13a, 13b) with respect to frame (12a, 12b) and is adapted to form/advance said pack (3) or said at least one portion of a pack (3), an electromagnetic stationary device 10 (50), at least one tag (52a, 52b) carried by carriage (14a, 14b), and wireless communication means (51) configured to establish a bidirectional communication between stationary device (50) and tag (52a, 52b).

A bag making and packaging machine includes a cutter fixed to a sealing member that cuts a laterally sealed portion of a film using pressure force with which a pair of sealing members sandwiches the film during lateral sealing. The bag making and packaging machine further includes a pair of sealing jaws, a knife, a pressurization mechanism, and a pressurization mechanism control part. The knife fixed to one sealing jaw, fusion-cuts the laterally sealed portion of the film. The pressurization mechanism exerts pressure force on one sealing jaw towards the other sealing jaw so that the pair of sealing jaws sandwiches and laterally seals the film therebetween, and the knife comes into contact with a laterally sealed portion and fusion-cuts the laterally sealed portion. The pressurization mechanism control part causes the pressurization mechanism to cease exerting pressure force based on error information pertaining to the film or the goods.

A machine and a method for forming a two-compartment pouch having a lower compartment and an upper compartment The method includes the steps of drawing a film over a pair of fill tubes; sealing side edges of the film to form a sleeve; forming a bottom seal on the sleeve; pulling the sleeve downwardly; filling a bottom portion of the pouch using one of the fill tubes; forming a second seal over the filled bottom portion; filling an upper portion of the pouch using the other fill tube; and sealing the upper portion.

There is described a unit (1, 1, 1) for forming/advancing at least one pack (3) or at least one portion of a pack (3), comprising a frame (11, 12a, 12b), a selectively activatable/deactivatable source of power (42) and at least one carriage (14a, 14b) operationally coupled with source of power (42), movable along a path (13a, 13b) comprising at least one vertical portion (18a, 18b, 19a, 19b), and adapted to convey said at least one pack (3) or said at least one portion of a pack (3); unit (1, 1, 1) comprises stopping means (45) fitted to frame (12a, 12b) and which can be operated: to leave carriage (14a, 14b) free to advance along vertical portion (18a, 18b; 19a, 19b), when source of power (42) is activated, and to stop carriage (14a, 14b) along vertical portion (18a, 18b; 19a, 19b), when source of power is, in use, deactivated.

A method and apparatus for pleating or otherwise shaping a web are described herein. The method and apparatus may have numerous applications. In some embodiments, the method and apparatus are used in the formation, filling, and sealing of unit dose packages for consumer products. A method and apparatus for forming sealing two moving webs together, which webs have portions that are non-planar are also described herein.

A method and apparatus for producing product packages comprises operating first and second feedback control loops where product package weight is averaged and used to determine one of two possible adjustments to change the product fill rate and the volume of the product. The feedback loops operate in one of a plurality of index levels. The first feedback loop seeks to improve performance by making adjustments to the fill rate and volume of the product, while incrementally moving to more stable index levels requiring tighter tolerances and package weight averages based on more product packages. The second feedback loop seeks to preserve stability by making its own adjustments to the fill rate and volume of the product if large product package weight fluctuations are sensed. The second feedback loop can move operation to less stable index levels having wider tolerances and package weight averages based on fewer product packages.