SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR PRODUCING PACKAGES PROVIDED WITH A REVERSIBLE CLOSING SYSTEM

Abstract

A system and a method for producing packages (100) provided with a reversible closing system (110) comprising a support (111) fixed to the package and a cap (112) reversibly applicable to the support are presented. The packages are formed by means of a forming tube (210), by forming a tubular structure of flexible material (300) wound around the forming tube. The reversible closing system is applied to the film of flexible material so that the support is fixed inside the packages. The application of the reversible closing system is performed when the film is wound around the forming tube.

Claims

1. Method for producing packages provided with a reversible closing system comprising a support fixed to the package and a cap applicable in a reversible manner to said support, said method comprising the following steps: formation of the packages by a forming tube, wherein said packages are formed from a film of flexible material that is wrapped around said forming tube; formation of a hole in said film of flexible material in correspondence to the position where said reversible closing system is applied to the package; application of said support to said film of flexible material so that said support is fixed to the inner side of said packages, said application being carried out when said film is wrapped around said forming tube; wherein, said hole is formed in said film of flexible material before wrapping said film around said forming tube.

2. Method according to claim 1, wherein said application is carried out by welding and wherein said welding is carried out by a welder that operates on the surface of said film of flexible material forming an outer side of said packages.

3. Method according to claim 1, wherein said support is applied to said film by fixing it along a surface around said hole facing toward an inner side of said package.

4. Method according to claim 1, wherein said forming tube comprises a hole configured for the transfer of said support and wherein said method comprises the following steps: providing said support inside said forming tube; aligning said hole of said film of flexible material with said hole of said forming tube; extracting said support from the inside of said forming tube through said hole of said forming tube so that at least a portion of said support overpasses also said hole of said film of flexible material and at least a portion of said support remains inside said hole of said film of flexible material.

5. Method according to claim 4, wherein said hole of said forming tube has a larger diameter than the diameter of said hole of said film of flexible material.

6. Method according to claim 1, further comprising the following step: providing a product to be filled in said packages within said forming tube, in such a way that said product, by falling through said forming tube, is in contact with a track along which said support is conveyed.

7. System for producing packages provided with a reversible closing system comprising a support fixed to the package and a cap applicable in a reversible manner to said support, said system comprising: a forming tube for forming packages from a film of flexible material that is wrapped around said forming tube; holes forming means configured to form a hole in said film of flexible material in correspondence to the position where said support is applied; application means for applying said support to said film of flexible material so that said support is fixed to the inner side of said packages, said application means being configured so as to apply said support to said film of flexible material when said film is wrapped around said forming tube; wherein, said holes forming means are placed upstream of said forming tube so that said holes are formed in said film of flexible material while it is unwound, before wrapping it around said forming tube.

8. System according to claim 7, wherein said application means comprise at least a welder configured to operate on the surface of said film of flexible material forming he an outer side of said packages.

9. System according to claim 7, wherein said forming tube comprises a hole configured for the transfer of said support from an inside of said forming tube to an outside of said forming tube.

10. System according to claim 9, wherein said forming tube comprises a track for guiding said support from a feeding reservoir to said hole of said forming tube.

11. System according to claim 9, wherein said application means comprise extraction means for extracting said support from the inside of said forming tube to the outside of said forming tube through said hole of said forming tube.

12. System according to claim 9, further comprising means for aligning said hole formed in said film of flexible material with said hole of said forming tube.

13. System according to claim 7, wherein said forming tube comprises a track along which said support can be conveyed and wherein said system is configured in such a way that a product, by falling through said forming tube, is in contact with said track.

14. A system for producing packages from a flexible material and having a reversable closing system, comprising: a package forming tube having a side hole, whereby the flexible material is capable of being wrapped around said package forming tube; a track placed within said package forming tube, said track placed adjacent a side of said package forming tube and having a terminal portion adjacent the side hole formed in said package forming tube, said track configured to receive and transport the reversable closing system; and a grabber positioned adjacent the side hole, wherein said grabber is configured to grab and position a portion of the reversable closing system within a preformed hole in the flexible material aligned to the side hole of said package forming tube, whereby the reversable closing system is capable of being attached to a package and the package filed with a product.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

[0043] The present invention will be described with reference to the attached figures in which the same reference numbers and/or signs indicate the same parts and/or similar and/or corresponding parts of the system.

[0044] FIG. 1 schematically shows a package that can be realized with the present invention;

[0045] FIG. 2 schematically shows a further package that can be realized with the present invention;

[0046] FIG. 3 schematically shows a sectional view of a detail of the packages of FIGS. 1 and 2;

[0047] FIG. 4 schematically shows a step of the method according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0048] FIG. 5 schematically shows a step of the method according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0049] FIG. 6 schematically shows a step of the method according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0050] FIG. 7 schematically shows a step of the method according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0051] FIG. 8 schematically shows a step of the method according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0052] FIG. 9 schematically shows a step of the method according to an embodiment of the present invention;

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0053] In the following, the present invention is described with reference to particular embodiments, as illustrated in the enclosed figures. However, the present invention is not limited to the particular embodiments described in the following detailed description and shown in the figures. Instead, the described embodiments simply exemplify the different features of the present invention, the scope of which is defined by the claims. Further modifications and variations of the present invention will be clear to the skilled person.

[0054] FIG. 1 schematically shows a package 100 that can be realized with the present invention. The package 100 is made of flexible material and comprises a front surface 113 and a back surface 115. The front surface 113 and the back surface 115 are joined, for instance they are welded, in correspondence to the upper part 116 of the package in order to close the package. The package further comprises two lateral surfaces to join the front surface 113 and the back surface 115. In the figure, the right lateral surface can be seen. The package further comprises a flat bottom 117 on which it can stand.

[0055] The package 100 shown in FIG. 1 comprises a reversible closing system 110. The reversible closing system 110 enables to open and close the package in a reversible manner, thereby assuring that, once it is closed through the reversible closing system 110, the package is closed in a proper manner.

[0056] The reversible closing system 110 comprises a support 111 that is fixed to the package 100. In particular, the support 111 is fixed to the film 300 of flexible material with which the package 100 is made. Even more particularly, as shown schematically in FIG. 3 and as described in the following, the support 111 is fixed to the surface 303 inside the package 100 of the film 300 of flexible material with which the package 100 is made.

[0057] The reversible closing system 110 further comprises a cap 112 that can be applied in a reversible manner to the support 111. For instance, as schematically shown in FIG. 3, the support 111 may comprise a threaded portion 118 corresponding to a threaded portion 119 of the cap 112, in such a way that the cap 112 can be screwed and unscrewed onto the support through the threaded part. Other embodiments of the reversible application of the cap 112 to the support 111 may be envisioned. For instance, the cap and the support can be configured so that the cap can be inserted by pressure onto the support or inside the support.

[0058] FIG. 1 shows that the reversible closing system 110 is fixed to the front surface 113 of the package 100. The reversible closing system 110 may be even fixed to the back surface 115.

[0059] FIG. 2 schematically shows a further package 100′ that can be realized with the present invention. Unlike the package 100 of FIG. 1, in the package 100′ of FIG. 2, the reversible closing system 110 is fixed to the lateral surface 114 of the package 100′. The reversible closing system 110 may be even fixed to the opposite lateral surface.

[0060] Packages like the packages 100, 100′ shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 may be used for packaging different kinds of products, for instance, food products, such as coffee, flour, sugar or the like.

[0061] FIG. 3 schematically shows a sectional view of a detail of the packages of FIGS. 1 and 2. FIG. 3 shows, in particular, a portion of the film 300 of flexible material by which the package 100 is made. The film 300 comprises a surface 301 external to the package and a surface 303 internal to the package. Basically, in the configuration of the figure, the inside of the package faces downwards and the external of the package faces upwards. The film 300 comprises a hole 302 in correspondence to which the reversible closing system is fixed. The figure shows that the support 111 is fixed to the surface 303 of the film 300 inside the package. In other words, the support 111 is fixed to the inside of the package. The support 111 comprises a flange 119 that can be used to fix it to the internal surface of the package. The fixing of the support 111 to the internal surface 303 through the flange 119 may occur in the areas A and B inside the package through welding.

[0062] The figure further shows that the support 111 protrudes through the hole 302 in such a way that a portion of the support 111 results on the outside of the package. The portion on the support 111 protruding towards the external part of the package is used to be coupled with the cap 112. For instance, in the example shown in the figure, the portion 111 of the support protruding towards the external part of the package comprises the threaded portion 118 that can be coupled with the threaded portion 119 of the cap 112.

[0063] In the following, with reference to FIGS. 4 to 9, a method and a system for producing packages like the ones shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 are described.

[0064] The system comprises a forming tube 210. The formation of packages of flexible material by means of a forming tube is known to the skilled person and is, hence, not described in detail. Examples of documents that describe the formation of packages of flexible material by means of a forming tube are WO 2018/100563 A1, WO 2019/192898 A1 and US 2018/0237173 A1. A film of flexible material is wound around the forming tube and, hence, the needed welding and cutting operations are carried out in such a way as to form the packages. The forming tube is advantageously employed to fill the packages during this formation.

[0065] FIG. 4 shows that the film of flexible material 300 is wound around the forming tube 210. The formation of the packages occurs by making the film 300 sliding along the forming tube towards the bottom. The figure shows that the forming tube accommodates a track 212 that ends in correspondence to the hole 211 of the forming tube. The forming tube 210 is configured so as to contain the track 212 and in such a way that the product to be filled in the packages falls through the forming tube in the region 215 adjacent to the track 211, where the area 215 comprises, for instance, the element 214 that acts as a holder for the application of the support 211. Preferably, the product to be filled in the packages, during its falling through the forming tube 210, is in contact with the track 212.

[0066] The figure further shows that in this step, the film 300 comprises a hole 302 placed in the upper part of the forming tube.

[0067] FIG. 5 further shows a following step. A reversible closing system 110 is made to slide along the track 212 inside the forming tube 210. For instance, the reversible closing system 110 may fall by freefall along the track 212. The reversible closing system 110 may be provided in the track 212 from a feeding reservoir of reversible closing system 110. The reversible closing systems 110 may be oriented in a suitable way before being fed to the track 212. The track 212 may be configured in such a way that during falling of the reversible closing systems 110 along the track itself, their orientation does not change. In particular, in the configuration shown in FIG. 5, the support 111 faces leftwards, while the cap 112 faces rightwards. The size of the track 212 is such that orientation cannot change during falling of the reversible closing system 110.

[0068] In the steps shown in FIG. 5, it can be also seen that the film 300 has been slid towards the bottom. The hole 302 is, in fact, in a lower position with respect to the step shown in FIG. 4.

[0069] FIG. 6 shows a following step. The track 212 inside the forming tube 210 comprises a terminal portion 213 in correspondence to the hole 211 of the forming tube 210. The terminal portion 213 is configured to stop the sliding of the reversible closing system 111 along the track 212. In particular, the sliding of the reversible closing system 110 is stopped through the terminal portion 213, when the reversible closing system 110 is in correspondence to the hole 211 of the forming tube 210.

[0070] In the step of FIG. 6, the film 300 has been further slid towards the bottom and stopped in the moment in which the hole 302 of the film 300 is aligned with the hole 211 of the forming tube 210. Blocking in this position can be regulated in different ways, for instance, by means of detection systems that detect when the holes 302 and 211 are aligned and with a control system that blocks the sliding towards the bottom of the film 300 when this situation has been detected.

[0071] FIG. 7 shows a following step. The reversible closing system 110 is extracted from the inside of the forming tube 210 and is driven towards the outside of the forming tube 210 through the hole 211 of the forming tube 210. This operation can be carried out by means of grabbing means. For instance, this operation can be carried out by pushing the reversible closing system 110 from the inside of the forming tube 210 towards the outside. In an alternative way, this operation can be carried out by pulling the reversible closing system 110 from the inside of the forming tube 210 towards the outside.

[0072] FIG. 7 shows that the diameter of the hole 302 of the film 300 is smaller than the diameter of the hole 211 of the forming tube 210. The reversible closing system 110 then comes out only partially from the hole 302 of the film 300. In particular, a portion of the reversible closing system remains inside the hole 302 and a portion comes outside. The portion that remains inside the hole 302 comprises the flange 119 that adheres, hence, to the internal surface 303 of the film 300. The portion that comes out comprises the threaded portion 118.

[0073] FIG. 7 further shows a welder 410 that approaches the reversible closing system 110.

[0074] FIG. 8 shows a following step. In this step, the welder 410 contacts the external surface 301 of the film 300 in such a way as to weld the flange 119 of the reversible closing system 110 to the internal surface 303 of the film 300.

[0075] FIG. 9 shows a following step. In this step, it can be seen that the film 300 is driven further downwards in such a way that the reversible closing system 110 fixed to the film in the steps shown in FIGS. 4 to 8 is moved away from the hole 211 of the forming tube 210. This portion of the film 300 fixed to the reversible closing system 110 is then further processed in such a way as to form the package 100 in the following steps along the forming tube.

[0076] FIG. 9 further shows that a new reversible closing system is made to slide along the track 112 as shown in FIG. 5, in such a way as to proceed with the application of this new reversible closing system to the film 300.

[0077] The process then is carried out in a cycling manner to apply different reversible closing systems to the film 300 and, hence, to produce different packages 100 provided with reversible closing systems 110.

[0078] Even if the present invention has been described with reference to the embodiments described above, it is clear to the skilled person that it is possible to apply different modifications, variations and improvements of the present invention in light of the teachings described above and within the scope of the enclosed claims, without departing from the content and the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0079] For instance, the present invention can be exploited to realize packages of different dimensions. Moreover, even if it has been shown that the different operations are carried out with the completed closing system, that is, with a cap fixed to the support, the different operations could be alternatively carried out only with the support and the cap could be later fixed, for instance screwed, to the support previously fixed to the packages.

[0080] Finally, those fields which are considered known to the skilled person have not been described, in order to avoid obscuring in a useless way the described invention.

[0081] For instance, the steps, known to the skilled person, for forming packages with a film of flexible material by means of a forming tube have not been described in detail, for instance, the unwinding of the film from a reel, the winding of the film around a forming tube, the welding of the film to form the bottom of the packages, the filling of the packages, the welding of the film to close the packages and the cutting of the packages thus formed from the film and filled.

[0082] As a consequence, the invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, but it is only limited to the scope of protection of the enclosed claims.