SEALING APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR SEALING PACKAGES

Abstract

An apparatus and a method are for sealing packages on a flatbed machine. The package is formed from a base-film web and a water-soluble cover-film web. The sealing apparatus includes a liquid supply, at least one moistening unit, and a pressing device for vertically pressing and sealing the cover-film web together with the base-film web. The moistening unit has a moistening roller and a spraying device, the moistening unit being able to be switched between a first operating state and a second operating state. In the first operating state, the moistening roller acts on the cover-film web at a roller moistening location. During or after a machine standstill period, the sealing apparatus is transferred to a second operating state in which the spraying device acts on a spray portion of the cover-film web. The spray portion lies between the roller moistening location and the sealing location in the feed region.

Claims

1. A sealing apparatus for sealing packages on a flatbed machine, the packages being formed from a base-film web and a cover-film web, at least the cover-film web being formed from a water-soluble film, the sealing apparatus comprising: a liquid supply for a water-containing liquid; at least one moistening unit configured to wet the cover-film web with the water-containing liquid; a pressing device for vertically pressing and sealing the cover-film web together with the base-film web at a sealing location in a state in which the cover-film web is wetted with the water-containing liquid; the sealing apparatus having a feed region in which the cover-film web is fed from top to bottom to said pressing device; said moistening unit being configured to act on the cover-film web in said feed region; said moistening unit having a moistening roller and a spraying device for the water-containing liquid; said moistening unit being configured to be switched between a first operating state and a second operating state; said moistening roller being configured to act on the cover-film web at a roller moistening location in the first operating state; and, said spraying device being configured, in the second operating state, to act on a spray portion of the cover-film web in the feed region, said spray portion lying between the roller moistening location and the sealing location.

2. The sealing apparatus of claim 1, wherein the spray portion extends at least from the roller moistening location as far as the sealing location.

3. The sealing apparatus of claim 1, wherein said spraying device has a spraying nozzle configured to dispense the water-containing liquid in a jet fan and further configured to cover all of said spray portion via said jet fan.

4. The sealing apparatus of claim 3, wherein said spraying device includes a single spraying nozzle mounted on a slide; and, said single spraying nozzle is configured to be moved transversely with respect to the cover-film web via said slide.

5. The sealing apparatus of claim 3, wherein said spraying nozzle is supplied with the water-containing liquid from a pressure source and is configured to continuously dispense the water-containing liquid.

6. The sealing apparatus of claim 1, wherein said feed region is configured to, in the second operating state, guide the cover-film web at an angle (α) of 70° to 110° with respect to a horizontal, at least along a larger part of said spray portion.

7. The sealing apparatus of claim 1, wherein said feed region is configured to, in the second operating state, guide the cover-film web at an angle (α) of 80° to 100° with respect to a horizontal, at least along a larger part of the spray portion.

8. The sealing apparatus of claim 1 further comprising: a stretching apparatus configured to act on the cover-film web in said spray portion in said second operating state; and, said pressing device being positioned at said sealing location in said first operating state and being removed from said sealing location in said second operating state.

9. The sealing apparatus of claim 1, wherein said moistening roller is lifted off from the cover-film web in said second operating state.

10. A method for operating a sealing apparatus for sealing packages on a flatbed machine, the packages being formed from a base-film web and a cover-film web, at least the cover-film web being formed from a water-soluble film, the sealing apparatus including a liquid supply for a water-containing liquid and at least one moistening unit configured to wet the cover-film web with the water-containing liquid; the sealing apparatus further including a pressing device; the sealing apparatus having a feed region in which the cover-film web is fed from top to bottom to the pressing device; the moistening unit being configured to act on the cover-film web in the feed region; the moistening unit having a moistening roller and a spraying device for the water-containing liquid; the moistening unit being configured to be switched between a first operating state and a second operating state; the moistening roller being configured to act on the cover-film web at a roller moistening location in the first operating state; and, the spraying device being configured, in the second operating state, to act on a spray portion of the cover-film web in the feed region, the spray portion lying between the roller moistening location and the sealing location, the method comprising: wetting the cover-film web with water-containing liquid in the feed region at the roller moistening location via the moistening roller in the first operating state; guiding the cover-film web to the base film web running horizontally on the flatbed machine in the first operating state; vertically pressing and sealing together the cover-film web and the base-film web at the sealing location via the pressing device in the first operating state; switching the sealing apparatus to the second state during or after a machine standstill period; wetting a spray portion of the cover-film web with the water-containing liquid via the spraying device during a restart operation, wherein the spray portion of the cover-film web lies in the feed region between the roller moistening location and the sealing location; transferring the sealing apparatus back to the first operating state and the wetting via the moistening roller being performed again; guiding the cover-film web by way of the wetted spray portion to the base-film web running horizontally on the flatbed machine; and, vertically pressing and sealing the cover-film web together with the base-film web along the spray portion at the sealing location via the pressing device.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0025] The invention will now be described with reference to the drawings wherein:

[0026] FIG. 1 shows a lateral view of a sealing apparatus according to the disclosure during normal operation in a flatbed packaging machine with a moistening roller for moistening the cover-film web to be sealed on;

[0027] FIG. 2 shows the arrangement as per FIG. 1 after a machine standstill period and during the preparation of the restart of the machine with a spraying device for re-moistening the cover-film web; and,

[0028] FIG. 3 shows a frontal view of the spraying device as per FIG. 2 with an individual spraying nozzle mounted on a transversely movable slide.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0029] FIG. 1 shows a lateral view of a detail of a flatbed packaging machine for producing package units from a thermoformed base-film web 1 and a cover-film web 2 which is sealed onto the base-film web 1. At least the cover-film web 2, and also the base-film web 1 in this case, is made of a water-soluble film, for which PVOH (polyvinyl alcohol) can preferably be selected. The package units are filled with dishwashing agent, washing agent or the like.

[0030] The packaging machine has a plurality of processing stations, but for the sake of simplicity, FIG. 1 shows only a detail in the region of the sealing station thereof with the sealing apparatus according to the disclosure. This is preceded by a thermoforming station (not illustrated) and a filling station. The sealing apparatus shown is also followed by a separation station and a removal station.

[0031] A plurality of format plates 18 with in each case multiple dies (not illustrated here) formed therein are conveyed, in accordance with an arrow 17, in the manner of a conveyor belt in a rectilinear, horizontal and in this case also continuous manner through the individual processing stations and then returned in a circulating manner. However, intermittent operation may also be expedient. In the thermoforming station, the base-film web 1 which rests flatly and horizontally on the format plates 18 is heated to a temperature of plastic deformability and is thermoformed via vacuum into the dies of the format plates 18 and held there. This produces depressions or cavities which are thermoformed in the base-film web 1 and which are filled with the filling material, that is, with the dishwashing or washing agent, in the subsequent filling station. Subsequently, in the sealing station shown here, the sealing device according to the disclosure is used to apply a cover-film web 2 to the base-film web prepared in this way and to seal the cover-film web onto the base-film web, as a consequence of which a multi-layer web with individual filled, tightly closed film cavities is produced. These are cut out in the form of package units in the separation station already mentioned in the introduction, and finally removed from the format plates 18 in the removal station for further use.

[0032] As per FIG. 1, the sealing apparatus according to the disclosure has a moistening unit 4 for wetting the cover-film web 2 with the water-containing liquid 3. In this case, the water-containing liquid provided is water with added surfactants. However, mains water may also be expedient. The moistening unit 4 includes a moistening roller 8 and a spraying device 10, which are both configured, and provided, for applying the water-containing liquid 3 to the cover-film web 2. The sealing apparatus according to the disclosure furthermore has a pressing device 5, which is configured, and provided, for vertically pressing and sealing the cover-film web 2, which is moistened via the moistening unit 4, together with the base-film web 1 at a sealing location 6. In the embodiment shown, the pressing device 5 is embodied as a laminating roller, which linearly rests, with the interposition of the packet made of base-film and cover-film web 1, 2, with vertical pressure on the format plates at the sealing location 6. However, it is also possible to use pressure rams or the like. Under the action of the pressure mentioned, the previously moistened cover-film web 2, which has thus started to dissolve at its surface, is sealed in a materially bonded manner onto the base-film web 1. Finally, it is also apparent that the sealing apparatus has a feed region 7 in which the cover-film web 2 is fed from top to bottom to the pressing device 5, that is, substantially transversely with respect to the conveying direction 17 of the format plates 18 with the base-film web 1. The moistening unit 4 acts on the cover-film web 2 in this feed region 7. In other words, the moistening of the cover-film web 2 is effected in the feed region 7, that is, where the cover-film web 2 is moved from top to bottom. A stretching apparatus 16 holds the cover-film web 2 in position within the feed region 7, and in the stretched state under longitudinal tension.

[0033] FIG. 1 shows the sealing apparatus according to the disclosure in a first operating state, in which a normal, continuous sealing operation is carried out. In this case, the spraying device 10 is passive. Rather, the moistening is performed solely via the moistening roller 8, which is embodied in this case as a felt roller and bears on the surface of the cover-film web 2 at a roller moistening location 9 in the feed region 7. The roller moistening location 9 may be linear. In the embodiment shown, the cover-film web 2 bears against the moistening roller 8 over a slight wrap angle, such that the roller moistening location 9 has the shape of a narrow, but areal strip. The moistening roller 8 projects from above partially into a water tray 19 filled with the liquid 3. There, it takes up the liquid 3 and dispenses it at the roller moistening location 9 onto the cover-film web 2 so as to be distributed over its entire width. To this end, it may suffice for the moistening roller 8 to simply roll on the surface of the cover-film web 2 without a dedicated drive. However, the moistening roller 8 can preferably have a dedicated drive, via which it rotates in the opposite direction to the drawing-off direction of the cover-film web 2.

[0034] During normal operation, the cover-film web 2 moistened in this way is then furthermore drawn off continuously, fed to the pressing device 5 and sealed on as described above. However, temporary interruptions in operation or machine standstill periods may occur, at the end of which, after the packaging machine has been restarted, the materials present therein are intended to be further processed in an unobstructed manner to form package units. Such interruptions, in which the continuous movement and further processing are absent, lead to undesired incipient drying of the already moistened but not yet sealed-on cover-film webs 2, which are at a standstill, in the region between the roller moistening location 9 and the sealing location 6.

[0035] For the resumption of operation and for a required re-moistening of the incipiently dried film portion, according to the operating method according to the disclosure, the sealing apparatus is switched to a second operating state, which is illustrated in FIG. 2. The switching may be effected during the machine standstill period or immediately thereafter during the restart operation of the packaging machine. In any case, the sealing apparatus is thus transferred to a state in which the moistening roller is initially passive during the restart operation of the machine, and in which the already mentioned spraying device is used instead. In this case, the spraying device 10 acts on a spray portion 11 of the cover-film web 2, the spray portion lying between the roller moistening location 9 and the sealing location 6, in the feed region 7. In other words, in the second operating state, the spray portion 11 of the cover-film web 2, the spray portion lying in the feed region 7 between the roller moistening location 9 and the sealing location 6 and having previously already been wetted once and having then incipiently dried, is re-wetted with the water-containing liquid 3 via the spraying device 10.

[0036] Viewing FIGS. 1 and 2 together, further details to this end are apparent: the pressing device 5 is positioned at the sealing location 6 in the first operating state and removed therefrom in the second operating state. For this purpose, in the second operating state (FIG. 2), the laminating roller has been moved or pivoted, proceeding from the operating position of the first operating state (FIG. 1), upward to the right, as a result of which the sealing location 6 is no longer covered in the second operating state, but rather is freed in the upward direction. The cover-film web 2 is then held in position, and under longitudinal tension, in the entire feed region 7, and in particular in a spray portion 11 which is described in more detail below, via the stretching apparatus 16. In this case, “held in position” means that, in the second operating state, the cover-film web 2 is guided at an angle α of 70° to 110°, and preferably of 80° to 100°, with respect to the horizontal, at least along the larger part of the spray portion 11. In the embodiment shown, the stretching apparatus 16 has been moved to the right in relation to the operating position according to FIG. 1 to such an extent that it is positioned exactly above the sealing location 6 and, as a result, guides and holds the cover-film web 2 at an angle (α) of approximately 90° with respect to the horizontal in the feed region 7, in particular in the spray portion 11. The repositioning of the pressing device 5 and of the stretching apparatus 16 also repositions the cover-film web 2 to the right in the feed region 7, that is, away from the moistening roller 8, as a consequence of which the cover-film web 2 and the moistening roller 8 are lifted off from one another. In addition, in the second operating state according to FIG. 2, the moistening roller, including its water tray 19, has also been raised in relation to the first, normal operating state according to FIG. 1 to such an extent that that portion of the cover-film web 2 between the previous roller moistening location 9 and the sealing location 6 is freed in a horizontal direction toward the spraying device 10.

[0037] In this state, during the restart operation of the packaging machine, the previously incipiently dried portion of the cover-film web 2 is re-wetted with the water-containing liquid 3, this re-wetting being carried out via the spraying device 10. That region of the cover-film web 2 which is reached by the spraying device 10 between the roller moistening location 9 and the sealing location 6 is in this case referred to as spray portion 11. It may possibly suffice for a spray portion 11 which does not completely cover the section between the roller moistening location 9 and the sealing location 6 to be wetted. However, as a result of the above-described measures and a corresponding configuration of the spraying device 10, the spray portion 11 according to the illustration as per FIG. 2 extends at least approximately, in this case even completely, from the roller moistening location 9 as far as the sealing location 6.

[0038] To this end, the spraying device 10 has a spraying nozzle 13 for dispensing the water-containing liquid 3 in a jet fan 12. The opening angle of the jet fan 12 and the spacing of the spraying nozzle 13 from the cover-film web 2 are matched to one another in such a way that the spray portion 11 is completely covered, in relation to the longitudinal direction of the second film web 2, via the jet fan 12.

[0039] It is also possible for a plurality of such spraying nozzles to be arranged next to one another. This would open up the possibility of the spray portion 11 being moistened, along the entire width of the cover-film web 2, with a single spray burst via overlapping, conical jet fans 12. However, in the embodiment shown, only one individual spraying nozzle 13 is provided, additional details of which are illustrated in the frontal view according to FIG. 3. Accordingly, the spraying nozzle 13 is mounted, together with an associated control unit 22, on a slide/carriage 14 and can be moved, in accordance with a double-headed arrow 21, transversely with respect to the longitudinal direction of the cover-film web 2 on a guide rail 20 via this slide 14. The control unit 22 includes a needle valve (not illustrated) and is responsible for setting and maintaining a certain flow rate of the water-containing liquid 3 through the spraying nozzle 13. In addition, a pressure source 15 (indicated only schematically in this case) for the water-containing liquid 3 is also provided, from which the water-containing liquid 3 is supplied and fed, through the control unit 22, to the spraying nozzle 13. The pressure source 15 may be a pump, and is a pressure tank in the present case. However, other suitable pressure sources 15 may also be selected. The structural unit made of liquid pump 15 and spraying nozzle 13 is in particular configured, with the aid of the control unit 22, to continuously dispense liquid and thus to continuously generate the jet fan 12 in the form of an upright flat jet. The jet fan 12 is thus continuously running and moved in a continuous movement along the full width of the cover-film web 2, whereby the spray portion 11 is wetted over the entire width with the water-containing liquid 3.

[0040] After the incipiently dried spray portion 11 has been re-moistened, the sealing apparatus is transferred back to its first operating state as per FIG. 1, the spraying device 10 is taken out of operation, and the wetting of the cover-film web 2 via the moistening roller 8 is incorporated again. The restart operation of the packaging machine also involves the cover-film web 2 being guided by way of its wetted spray portion 11 to the base film 1 running horizontally on the flatbed machine and being vertically pressed and sealed in the above-described manner together with the base film, along the spray portion 11, at the sealing location 6 via the pressing device 5. However, as soon as the spray portion 11 has been completely sealed on and the cover-film web 2 which is moistened in the normal manner via the moistening roller 8 reaches the sealing location 6, the normal sealing operation sets in again, and the restart operation of the packaging machine can be considered completed.

[0041] Just like the package units which are moistened and sealed in the regular manner, the package units which are sealed during the restart operation via the spray portion 11 are tight. Depending on the profile of requirements, they may be used as a decent product or alternatively rejected. In any case, the tightness obtained is sufficient for proper operation of the packaging machine.

[0042] It is understood that the foregoing description is that of the preferred embodiments of the invention and that various changes and modifications may be made thereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.