METHOD AND DEVICE FOR HEAT SEALING MULTIPLE PLIES OF A LAMINATE

Abstract

A method and a device for heat sealing multiple plies of a laminate from which gable top packaging can be produced, wherein the laminate has a carrier layer made of electrically non-conductive material and a sealing layer made of thermoplastic material on at least one surface of the laminate. To heat seal multiple plies of a laminate in a high-frequency alternating electric field, the alternating electric field is generated by a first lead of an HF voltage supply in a first sub-region of the sealing region and is generated by a second lead of the HF voltage supply, differing from the first lead, in at least a second sub-region of the sealing region, so that a different heat distribution is obtained over the sub-regions of the sealing region.

Claims

1.-15. (canceled)

16. A method for heat-sealing multiple plies of a laminate in a sealing region, wherein the laminate comprises a carrier layer of electrically nonconductive material and a sealing layer of thermoplastic material on at least one surface of the laminate, and wherein the sealing layers of several plies of the laminate face each other in the sealing region, comprising the following steps: pressing the plies of the laminate together in the sealing region; and generating a high-frequency alternating electric field in the sealing region of the pressed-together plies of the laminate, so that the sealing layers are heated to the molten, fluid state, wherein the alternating electric field is generated at a first power level in a first subregion of the sealing region and at a second power level different from the first power level in at least one second subregion of the sealing region, so that a differentiated heat distribution over the first subregion and second subregion is obtained.

17. The method according to claim 16, wherein a number of plies of the laminate heat-sealed in the first region is different from a number of plies of the laminate in the second subregion.

18. The method according to claim 17, wherein the power for generating the alternating electric field in the first subregion and the second subregion is determined as a function of the number and/or thickness of the plies to be heat-sealed in the first subregion and the second subregion.

19. The method according to claim 17, wherein the power for generating the alternating electric field in the first subregion and the second subregion is determined as a function of a temperature detected in each of the first subregion and the second subregion during the heat-sealing.

20. The method according to claim 16, wherein a force for pressing the plies of the laminate together is kept constant during the heat-sealing.

21. The method according to claim 16, wherein the plies of the laminate are pressed together with the same applied pressure in each of the first subregion and the second subregion of the sealing region.

22. The method according to claim 16, wherein the high-frequency alternating electric field is generated in a frequency band between 3 MHz and 300 MHz.

23. A device for heat-sealing multiple plies of a laminate comprising a carrier layer of electrically nonconductive material and a sealing layer of thermoplastic material on at least one surface of the laminate, comprising: a first sealing element comprising a first electrode and a second electrode; a second sealing element comprising at least one counterelectrode; a sealing region for heat-sealing the plies of the laminate arranged between the first electrode and the second electrode on the one hand and the at least one counter electrode on the other hand; a drive for producing relative movement of the first sealing element with respect to the second sealing element and for building up a pressing force on the plies of the laminate in the sealing region; and a high-frequency voltage supply configured such that a level of voltage present at the first electrode and the at least one counterelectrode differs from the level of the voltage present at the second electrode and the at least one counterelectrode.

24. The device according to claim 23, wherein the high-frequency voltage supply comprises an HF generator for generating a high-frequency voltage, which is electrically connected to the at least one counterelectrode and to the first electrode or the second electrode.

25. The device according to claim 24, wherein the high-frequency voltage supply comprises a capacitive coupling between the first electrode and the second electrode.

26. The device according to claim 24, wherein the high-frequency voltage supply comprises an inductive coupling between the first electrode and the second electrode.

27. The device according to claim 23, wherein the high-frequency voltage supply comprises an HF generator for generating at least two high-frequency voltages (U1, U2) different from each other, which generator is electrically connected to the at least one counterelectrode and to each of the first electrode and the second electrode.

28. The device according to claim 23, wherein the at least one counter electrode includes separate counterelectrodes opposite each of the first electrode and the second electrode, respectively.

29. The device according to claim 23, wherein a subregion of a surface of at least one of the first electrode, the second electrode and the at least one counterelectrode that can be brought into contact with the laminate, comprises a surface structure which is not smooth.

30. The device according to claim 23, wherein at least one of the first sealing element and the second sealing element comprises a pressing bar, on which at least one holder of insulating material is arranged for the attachment of the first electrode and the second electrode.

Description

[0032] The invention is explained in greater detail below on the basis of the figures:

[0033] FIG. 1a shows a perspective view of a first and a second sealing element of a device for heat-sealing multiple plies of a laminate of a gable top package;

[0034] FIG. 1b shows a side view of the sealing elements of FIG. 1a;

[0035] FIG. 1c shows a perspective view of the first sealing element in illustration of the arrangement of the electrodes;

[0036] FIG. 1d shows a perspective view of the first and second sealing elements from a different angle;

[0037] FIG. 2a shows a perspective view of a first and a second sealing element of a second embodiment of a device for heat-sealing multiple plies of a laminate of a gable top package;

[0038] FIG. 2b shows a side view of the sealing elements of FIG. 2a;

[0039] FIG. 3 shows a detailed view of a lower electrode for a sealing element with a vertical structuring;

[0040] FIG. 4 shows a partial diagram of a top view of two opposing electrodes with a vertical structuring;

[0041] FIGS. 5a-c show different exemplary embodiments of an HF voltage supply of a device according to the invention; and

[0042] FIG. 6 shows a package blank for the production of a gable top package.

[0043] A device 10 for heat-sealing multiple plies of a laminate, only part of which is visible in FIG. 1, comprises a first, movable sealing element 20 and a second, static sealing element 30 opposite the first sealing element 20.

[0044] The first sealing element 20, as can be seen in FIG. 1c, comprises a cylindrical pressing bar with a rectangular cross section made of stainless steel, for example, in the right half of which, as seen in FIG. 1c, a holder 22 of electrically insulating material is inset. On the holder 22, two electrode pairs 23 are arranged next to each other in the longitudinal direction of the pressing bar 21. Each electrode pair 23 is formed by a lower, first electrode 24 and an upper, second electrode 25 above the first. It is also possible for an insulating plate (not shown in the figures) to be arranged between the electrodes 24, 25 and the holder 22. This insulating plate protects the holder 22 from short-circuits and facilitates the maintenance of the first sealing element 10. The holder 22 consists of, for example, polyether ether ketone (PEEK) material.

[0045] A linear drive is especially well adapted to the production of the movement 26 of the first sealing element 20 relative to the static, second sealing element 30 and to build up an applied force; the drive is set up in such a way that the first sealing element 20 can be moved toward the second sealing element 30 and away from the second sealing element 30. A drive operated by a pressure medium is especially suitable, in particular a pneumatic cylinder. The second sealing element 30 is formed by a cylindrical body 31 of material of high electrical conductivity such as stainless steel. The body 31 forms, as a whole, the counterelectrode 32 opposing the first and second electrodes 24, 25 of the first sealing element 20. The cylindrical body 31 comprises, on its bottom surface, a recess 33, which, during the heat-sealing of the gable of a gable top package 40, gives room for a closure element 42 arranged on the gable 41.

[0046] FIGS. 2a and 2b show a second static sealing element 30, which, in contrast to the second sealing element 30 according to the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 1, comprises not just one counterelectrode 32 but two counterelectrode pairs 34, which are arranged on an insulating holder 39 of a pressing bar. Each counterelectrode pair 34 comprises a lower, first counterelectrode 35 and an upper, second counterelectrode 36. As is especially clear in FIG. 2b, the first and second counterelectrodes 35, 36 and the first and second electrodes 24, 25 are arranged symmetrically, so that each vertical surface of a first and second electrode 24, 25 is faced by an equal-sized vertical surface of the first and second counterelectrodes 35, 36.

[0047] To ensure that the pressure applied in the sealing region 70 is uniform on all plies of the laminate, the upper, second electrodes 25 project father toward the second sealing element 30. In the embodiment according to FIG. 2, the second counterelectrodes 36 of the counterelectrode pairs 35 also project farther toward the first sealing element 20.

[0048] Between the electrodes 24, 25 and the at least one counterelectrode 32, 35, 36, the sealing region 70 for the heat-sealing of multiple plies of the laminate is located. So that heat will be conducted into the sealing ply of the laminate after the multiple plies of the laminate have been pressed together in the sealing region 70, a high-frequency voltage supply 60 (compare FIG. 5) is required, which supplies the electrodes 24, 25 and each counterelectrode (32, 34, 35) with a high-frequency voltage.

[0049] FIG. 5a shows a high-frequency voltage supply 60 with an HF generator 61 for generating a high-frequency voltage, which is connected to the single counterelectrode 32 by a first electrical line 62a and to the first electrode 24 by a second electrical line 62b. In addition, the high-frequency voltage supply 60 comprises a capacitive coupling 63 in the form of a capacitor between the first electrode 24 and the second electrode 25. By this means, the alternating electric field is generated at a higher voltage U1 and thus at a higher HF power level in a first subregion 71 of the sealing region 70 and at a lower voltage U2 and thus at a lower power level in a second subregion 72 of the sealing region 70, so that a differentiated heat distribution is obtained in the subregions 71, 72 of the sealing region 70. In the second subregion 72, as can be seen especially clearly in FIG. 1b, a smaller number of plies of the laminate is heat-sealed in the second subregion 72 than in the first subregion 71 of the sealing region.

[0050] FIG. 5b shows an alternative embodiment of a high-frequency voltage supply 60 with an HF generator 61 for generating a high-frequency voltage, which is connected to the single counterelectrode 32 by a first electrical line 62a and to the second electrode 25 by a second electrical line 62b. In addition, the high-frequency voltage supply 60 comprises an inductive coupling 64 in the form of a coil between the second electrode 25 and the first electrode 24 By this means, the alternating electric field is generated at a lower voltage U2 of the HF generator 61 and thus at a lower HF power level in a second subregion 72 of the sealing region 70 and at a higher voltage U1 and thus at a higher power level in a second subregion 72 of the sealing region 70, so that a differentiated heat distribution is obtained in the subregions (71, 22) of the sealing region 70.

[0051] FIG. 5c shows another embodiment of a high-frequency voltage supply 60, which comprises an HF generator 65 for generating two HF voltages U1, U2 of different levels. The output terminal 66, which carries the lower voltage U2, is electrically connected directly to the second electrode 25 by a line 68a, and the output terminal 67, which carries the higher voltage U1, is electrically connected directly to the first electrode 24 of the first sealing element 20 by a line 68b.

[0052] In one embodiment of the invention, each first electrode 24 and, in the exemplary embodiment according to FIG. 2a, also each first counterelectrode 35, comprise a subregion 27, 37 of the surface of the first electrode 24 and of the first counterelectrode 35 which can be brought into contact with the laminates, these subregions being provided with a vertical groove structure 28, 38, which can be seen especially clearly in FIG. 3. The subregions 27, 37 of the first electrode 24 and of the first counterelectrode 35 are arranged face-to-face. The groove structures 28, 38 bring about a local increase in the field concentration of the alternating electric field in the first subregion 71. The groove structures 28, 38 are preferably adapted to the course of the fibers of the laminate.

[0053] The groove structures 28, 38 are arranged on the first electrode 24 and the first counterelectrode 35 in such a way that, when the plies of the laminate are pressed together in the sealing region 70, a residual gap 29 is always present between the opposing structured subregions 27, 37, as can be seen in FIG. 4. The minimum gap 29 ensures that the plies of the laminate are not damaged when they are pressed together. Especially in the case of a laminate with cardboard as carrier material, there is the danger that the fibers of the cardboard can be sheared and torn apart.

[0054] The method according to the invention is used in particular for the heat-sealing of the gable of a gable top package 40 intended to hold liquid food products. Therefore, the layout of a blank 43 for a package jacket for the production of a gable top package 40 of this type will first be explained on the basis of FIG. 6:

[0055] The four walls (44a-d) of the package jacket are welded together over a narrow overlapping area 44e extending along one of the four vertical creases and comprise an upper horizontal main crease 45 and, arranged above the main crease 45, a horizontal gable crease 46. The areas of the opposing walls 44a, 44c of the upright package jacket between the main crease 45 and the gable crease 46 from the roof surface 47a, b of the gable 41. The two areas of the opposing walls 44a, 44b above the gable crease 46 form two sealing fins 48a, 48b.

[0056] The areas of the other opposing walls 44b, 44d between the main crease 45 and the gable crease 46 form the two end surfaces 49a, 49b of the gable 41. Each end surface 49a, b comprises two diagonal creases 50a, b, which proceed from the main crease 45 and come together at a point 51 lying on the gable crease 46, thus forming the outline of a gusset 52. The two areas of the opposing walls 44b, 44d above the gable crease 46 form two end-surface sealing sections 53a, b. Each of the two sealing sections 53a, b is divided by a vertical gable crease 54a, b into two equal-sized parts. The upper horizontal edge 55 of the two sealing fins 48a, b projects beyond the upper horizontal edge 56 of the two end-surface sealing sections 53a, b.

[0057] The blank already welded at the wall 44a in the overlapping area 44e is supplied as a flat, folded package jacket to the magazine of a filling machine for liquid food products. After the flat, folded package jacket has been taken out of the magazine, the package jacket is opened up to form a sleeve with a rectangular cross section. After the bottom surfaces 57a, b have been used to form the bottom of the container, the gable top package, which is open at the top, is sterilized, and then the container is filled with its intended content. The filled gable top package now arrives in the work area of the device 10 for sealing the gable 41 by heat-sealing.

[0058] Between the sealing elements 20, 30, the opposing sealing fins 48a, b and the two parts of the sealing sections 53a, b are pressed together in the sealing region 70. The two gussets 52 of the end surfaces 49a, bof the gable 41 are folded inward around the main crease 45. The laminate for producing the gable top package 40 thus has two plies in the area of the sealing fins 48a, projecting above the upper edge 56 of the sealing sections 53a, b; four plies in the area of the sealing sections 53a, b between the gable crease 46 and the upper edge 56; and five plies in the overlapping area 44e between the gable crease 46 and the upper edge 46.

[0059] The area of the laminate with two plies is located in the second subregion 72 of the sealing region 70. The areas with four plies and five plies are located in the first subregion 71 of the sealing region 70.

[0060] Because of the arrangement of two electrode pairs 23 on the first sealing element 20, two gable top packages 40 arranged next to each other in the longitudinal direction of the sealing elements 20, 30 can be heat-sealed simultaneously in a single step.

[0061] The alternating electric field in the first subregion 71 of the sealing region 70 is generated at a higher power than the alternating electric field in the second subregion 72 of the sealing region 70, where only two plies lie opposite each other. The five plies of the laminate are pressed together in the first subregion 71 by the structured subregions 37, 38 of the electrodes 24, 35 and are heat-sealed there by the locally elevated field concentration. Alternatively, the alternating field could be generated at an even higher power in the region with 5 plies than that in the first subregion 71 in which 4 plies are present in order to introduce more heat effectively there.

[0062] After the heat-sealing process, the sealed gable top packages 40 are transported further along in a stepwise manner by a conveyor (not shown) from the sealing region 70 in the conveying direction 73 (compare FIG. 1), until the next two gable top packages 40 arrive between the first and second sealing elements 20, 30 with their gables 41 in the sealing region 70. The previously sealed gable top packages 40 are at this point located in a cooling area 74a, b between the sealing elements 20, 30, in which the previously heat-sealed plies of the laminate are pressed together again. So that the heat can be carried away rapidly, channels for a circulating heat-transfer medium, which are arranged in the first and/or the second sealing element 20, 30, can be provided in the cooling area.

[0063] In addition, channels for a circulating heat-transfer medium, which are arranged in the first and/or the second sealing element 20, 30, can be provided in the sealing region 70 for tempering. As a result, during the production of the heat for the heat-sealing process, there is no longer any need to transfer heat unnecessarily from the electrodes to the pressing bars of the sealing elements 20, 30. For this purpose, the sealing region 70 can, for example, be held at a constant temperature of 30 C. Alternatively, an electric resistance heater can be arranged in the pressing bars to preheat them. The cooling area is tempered to, for example, 5 C., so that a rapid cooling effect can be obtained there.

LIST OF REFERENCE NUMBERS

[0064] No. Item [0065] 10 device [0066] 20 first sealing element [0067] 21 pressing bar [0068] 22 holder [0069] 23 electrode pairs [0070] 24 first electrode [0071] 25 second electrode [0072] 26 relative movement [0073] 27 subregion [0074] 28 groove structure [0075] 29 minimum gap [0076] 30 second sealing element [0077] 31 body [0078] 32 counterelectrode [0079] 33 recess [0080] 34 counterelectrode pairs [0081] 35 first counterelectrode [0082] 36 second counterelectrode [0083] 37 subregion [0084] 38 groove structure [0085] 39 holder [0086] 40 gable top package [0087] 41 gable [0088] 42 sealing element [0089] 43 blank [0090] 44a-d walls [0091] 44e overlapping area [0092] 45a-d vertical crease [0093] 46 gable crease [0094] 47a-b roof surfaces [0095] 48a-b sealing fins [0096] 49a-b end surfaces [0097] 50a-b diagonal creases [0098] 51 point [0099] 52 gusset [0100] 53a-b sealing sections [0101] 54a-b gable crease [0102] 55 upper edge [0103] 56 upper edge [0104] 57a-d bottom surfaces [0105] 60 HF voltage supply [0106] 61 HF generator [0107] 62a-b electrical lines [0108] 63 capacitive coupling [0109] 64 inductive coupling [0110] 65 HF generator [0111] 66 output terminal [0112] 67 output terminal [0113] 68a line [0114] 70 sealing region [0115] 71 first subregion [0116] 72 second subregion [0117] 73 conveying direction [0118] 74a-b cooling area