Method and apparatus for shaping webs in a vertical form, fill, and sealing system

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9783330-B2
Application number	US-201414199002-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 6, 2014
Priority date	Mar 6, 2014
Publication date	Oct 10, 2017
Grant date	Oct 10, 2017

Abstract

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.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An apparatus for forming a package, said apparatus comprising:
an infeed zone configured to feed a first web of material and a second web of material into said apparatus in a machine direction, wherein said first and second webs of material have a length oriented in the machine direction and a width oriented in a cross-machine direction;
a first forming guide adjacent said infeed zone configured to at least temporarily shape said first web of material across the width of said first web, a second forming guide adjacent said infeed zone configured to at least temporarily shape said second web of material across the width of said second web, wherein each forming guide has a web-facing surface and an opposing surface and each forming guide comprises at least two projections on said web-facing surface that are spaced further outward from said web-facing surface than other portions of said forming guide, wherein said projections are separated in the cross-machine direction by a depression therebetween, said projections of the first forming guide being configured to at least temporarily form peak portions in the first web of material and said projections of the second forming guide being configured to at least temporarily form peak portions in the second web of material;
at least one nozzle configured to dispense a product between said first and second webs of material, wherein said at least one nozzle is located downstream of said first and second forming guides, and the projections and depressions on the forming guides are aligned and configured to space peak portions of said first and second webs of material away from said at least one nozzle; and
at least one sealing device downstream of said at least one nozzle configured to seal said first and second webs of material together with said product therebetween.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said first forming guide comprises at least one ridge.

3. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said first forming guide comprises at least one ridge, and said second forming guide comprises at least one element comprising at least one ridge, and at least one ridge on the second forming guide is aligned with at least one ridge on said first forming guide.

4. The apparatus of claim 1 further comprising a mating component for said first forming guide, wherein said mating component cooperates with said first forming guide and at least temporarily shapes said first web of material across the width of said first web when said first web of material is fed between said first forming guide and said mating component.

5. The apparatus according to claim 1 comprising multiple lanes and multiple nozzles configured to make at least two packages in a side-by-side orientation during a process of forming said packages, wherein said first forming guide and said second forming guide each comprises at least two projections thereon that are disposed further outward from the remaining portions of said forming guide, and said projections are spaced apart from each other in the cross-machine direction, and have a depression therebetween.

6. The apparatus of claim 5 wherein the first and second webs of material each have a pair of side edges, and the projections on at least one of said first forming guide or said second forming guide are configured to provide at least one of said first and second webs of material with an equal path length across the width of said at least one web of material when said path length is measured through a series of points, each point being equidistant from one said edge of the web of said material, as the web passes across said forming guide.

7. The apparatus of claim 6 wherein the projections on said forming guide configured to provide at least one of said first and second webs of material with an equal path length across the width of said at least one web of material comprise a plurality of spaced ridges oriented in the machine direction, wherein said ridges are each separated by a valley running between said ridges, which valley is also oriented in the machine direction.

8. The apparatus of claim 7 wherein the plurality of spaced apart ridges and valley that are oriented in the machine direction on at least one of said first forming guide and said second forming guide comprise a first portion of a surface of said forming guide, wherein a second portion of a surface of said forming guide comprises a plurality of spaced apart ridges and valley that are oriented at an angle relative to the ridges and valley on the first portion of the surface of the forming guide.

9. The apparatus of claim 8 wherein the ridges and valley on the second portion of the forming guide are oriented at an angle of less than 90° relative to the ridges and valley on the first portion of the surface of the forming guide.

10. The apparatus of claim 8 wherein the ridges and valley on the second portion of the forming guide are oriented at an angle of between about 45° and about 89° relative to the ridges and valley on the first portion of the surface of the forming guide.

11. The apparatus of claim 7 wherein the plurality of spaced apart ridges and valley that are oriented in the machine direction on said forming guide configured to provide at least one of said first and second webs of material with an equal path length across the width of said at least one web of material comprise a first portion of a surface of said forming guide, wherein a second portion of a surface of said forming guide comprises a plurality of spaced apart rollers that are oriented at an angle relative to the ridges and valley on the first portion of the surface of the forming guide.

12. The apparatus of claim 5 comprising a vertical form fill and seal apparatus wherein said first and second webs of material are moved downward past the nozzles in a vertical orientation.

13. The apparatus of claim 12 wherein said packages comprise sachets.

14. The apparatus of claim 1 comprising multiple lanes and further comprising a turning guide configured to turn at least one of said first and second webs of material after the at least one web of material has been at least partially shaped, said turning guide having a web-contacting surface having a machine direction, a width oriented in the cross-machine direction, and sections disposed in the machine direction, wherein a first section of said web-contacting surface comprises alternating machine direction ridges and valleys across the width of said turning guide, and a second section of said web-contacting surface comprises alternating machine direction ridges and valleys across the width of said turning guide, wherein the ridges of said first section are aligned with the valleys of said second section, and the valleys of said first section are aligned with the ridges of said second section.

Assignees

• Procter & Gamble

Inventors

• Orndorff Jason Matthew

Classifications

• B65B2039/009

  Multiple outlets · CPC title

• B65B47/06 Primary

  using folding dies · CPC title

• B65B9/042

  for fluent material · CPC title

• B65B9/023

  Packaging fluent material (B65B9/04 takes precedence) · CPC title

• B29C66/849

  Packaging machines · CPC title