Apparatus and method for forming opening devices on a sheet packaging material for packaging pourable food products

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10493671-B2
Application number	US-201415109201-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Nov 25, 2014
Priority date	Dec 31, 2013
Publication date	Dec 3, 2019
Grant date	Dec 3, 2019

Abstract

An apparatus for forming an opening device on a receiving portion of a sheet packaging material for packaging pourable food products comprises a molding unit having a first and a second mold selectively set in an open configuration, in which they are spaced from one another to allow feed of the packaging material therebetween, and in a closed configuration, in which they cooperate with faces of the packaging material and delimit a closed mold cavity housing the receiving portion of the packaging material and adapted to be filled with molten plastic material to define, when the plastic material sets, the opening device. The apparatus further comprises feeding device to feed molten plastic material to the molding zone in the open configuration of the first and second mold, and pressing device exerting pressure on the dose to force it to fill the mold cavity and to form the opening device.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A method for forming a plurality of opening devices on each one of a plurality of receiving portions provided on sheet packaging material for packaging pourable food products, each of the receiving portions receiving a respective opening device of the opening devices, the receiving portions being equally spaced apart from one another in a longitudinal direction of the sheet packaging material itself; said method being carried out by an apparatus comprising a molding unit operating at a molding zone of the apparatus; said method comprising:
arranging a first mold and a second mold of said molding unit in an open configuration, in which the first and second molds are spaced apart from one another to allow feed of said sheet packaging material linearly between the first and second molds in the longitudinal direction;
setting said first and second molds in a closed configuration, in which the first and second molds cooperate with opposite faces of said sheet packaging material and delimit a closed mold cavity housing one of said receiving portions of said sheet packaging material;
feeding a dose of molten plastic material onto one of said receiving portions of said sheet packaging material, said first and second molds being in said open configuration during said feeding of said dose of molten plastic material;
linearly conveying said sheet packaging material with said dose of molten plastic on said receiving portion of said sheet packaging material in said longitudinal direction until said dose of molten plastic becomes positioned between said first and second molds, said first and second molds remaining in said open configuration during the linear conveying of said sheet packaging material;

pressing said dose to force the dose to fill said mold cavity by moving said first and second molds relative to one another to the closed configuration; and
compression-molding the respective opening device of the opening devices on said receiving portion of said sheet packaging material while conveying said first and second molds linearly in said longitudinal direction.

2. The method as claimed in claim 1 , wherein said pressing is performed by respective surfaces of said first and second molds delimiting said mold cavity.

3. A method comprising:
conveying sheet packaging material linearly in a conveying direction, the sheet packaging material comprising multiple layers, at least one of the multiple layers comprising a through-hole, and at least one of the multiple layers being a lamination layer that extends over the through-hole;
positioning a first mold and a second mold in spaced apart relation to one another to allow the sheet packaging material to be linearly conveyed between the first and second molds in the conveying direction, the first and second molds being at the same position in the conveying direction and being spaced apart from one another in a direction transverse to the conveying direction;
feeding a dose of molten plastic material onto the lamination layer of the sheet packaging material extending over the through-hole of the sheet packaging material;
conveying the sheet packaging material with the dose of molten plastic material on the sheet packaging material in the conveying direction, the sheet packaging material being linearly conveyed between the first and second molds while the first and second molds are in spaced apart relation to one another;
closing the first and second molds by moving the first and second molds relative to one another in the transverse direction when the dose of molten plastic material on the sheet packaging material is at the same position as the first and second molds in the conveying direction so that the first and second molds cooperate with opposite surfaces of the sheet packaging material to delimit a closed mold cavity around the through-hole of the at least one multiple layer of the sheet packaging material with the molten dose of plastic material being on the lamination layer within the closed mold cavity; and
forming an opening device on the through-hole of the at least one multiple layer of the sheet packaging material while the sheet packaging material and the first and second molds all continue to be linearly conveyed.

4. The method according to claim 3 , wherein the through-hole is in a base layer of the sheet packaging material.

Assignees

• Tetra Laval Holdings & Finance

Inventors

• Martini Pietro
• Benedetti Paolo
• Fontanazzi Paolo

Classifications

• B29L2031/565

  for containers · CPC title

• B29C43/34 Primary

  Feeding the material to the mould or the compression means {(B29C43/085 takes precedence)} · CPC title

• B29C2043/3444

  using pressurising feeding means located in the mould, e.g. plungers or pistons · CPC title

• B29C31/048

  the material being severed at the dispensing head exit, e.g. as ring, drop or gob, and transported immediately into the mould, e.g. by gravity · CPC title

• B29C2043/3483

  using band or film carriers · CPC title