Bag forming, filling and sealing machine

Claim 2

Apparatus for making spaced transverse seals along a length of a multiple-ply web of heat-sealable material to form bags, and for advancing said web, comprising, a pair of spaced shafts, means mounting said shafts for displacement toward and away from each other, a rotary member mounted on each of said shafts, means for rotating said rotary members in opposite directions, at least one sealing element mounted on each of said rotary members and so arranged that rotation of said rotary members in opposite directions will cause the faces of an opposed pair of sealing elements to come together in mating relation on one side of a plane passing through said shafts and clamp the web therebetween, sealing the web and advancing it during said rotation while said sealing elements move to a predetermined point at the other side of said plane, yieldable means for urging said shafts and rotary members toward each other, thereby creating pressure between said mated sealing elements, said shafts and rotary members being displaced away from each other during movement of said mated sealing elements from initial contact with the web to said plane and then toward each other until said mated sealing elements reach a predetermined position at the other side of said plane.

Claim 3

The combination of elements defined in claim 1, wherein each sealing element has a substantially flat face thereon and is pivotally mounted on its associated rotary member.

Claim 4

The combination of elements defined in claim 1, wherein the face of each of said sealing elements is arcuate.

Claim 5

The combination of elements defined in claim 1 and means to vary the spacing between said transverse seals, thereby to change the length of the bags being formed.

Claim 6

The combination of elements defined in claim 1 and manually operable means adjustable to vary the spacing between said transverse seals, thereby changing the length of the bags being formed.

Claim 7

The combination of elements defined in claim 1, including stop means to limit movement of said shafts and rotary members toward each other, and means to adjust the position of said stop means, thereby to control the minimum distance between said shafts during a given cycle, and regulating the length of the bags being formed.

Claim 8

The combination of elements defined in claim 1, and means to control automatically the spacing between said transverse seals and the length of bags being formed, including means responsive to a marking on the web to interfere with or interrupt the movement of said shafts toward each other, whereby said mated sealing elements will separate during continued rotation thereof and stop advancement of the web.

Claim 9

The combination of elements defined in claim 1, wherein said yieldable means incLudes a compressible fluid under pressure.

Claim 10

The combination of elements defined in claim 1, wherein said means for mounting said shafts for displacement includes a pivot means for each said shaft, an arm connecting each said shaft with its associated pivot means, whereby displacement of said shafts will be in an arcuate path about each of said pivot means, and connecting means between each of said pivot means and said yieldable means whereby displacement of said shafts will rotate said pivot means and said connecting means, and rotation of said pivot means by movement of said connecting means will cause displacement of said shafts.

Claim 11

The combination of elements defined in claim 9, including stop means to limit movement of said shafts and rotary members toward each other, and means to adjust the position of said stop means, thereby to control the minimum distance between said shafts during a given cycle and regulating the length of the bags being formed.

Claim 12

Apparatus for making spaced transverse seals along the length of a multiple-ply web of heat-sealable material to form bags, and for advancing said web, comprising, a pair of rotary members, means mounting said members for rotation on centers which are displaceable toward and away from each other, means for rotating said members in opposite directions, at least one sealing element mounted on each of said rotary members and so arranged that rotation of said rotary members in opposite directions will cause the faces of an opposed pair of sealing elements to come together in mating relation on one side of a plane passing through said centers and clamp the web therebetween, sealing the web and advancing it in a substantially straight line during said rotation while said sealing elements move to a predetermined position at the other side of said plane and separate, said members moving away from each other during movement of said mated sealing elements from initial clamping position to said plane, and toward each other after said elements pass said plane, yieldable means normally urging said rotary members toward each other, and means to vary the position at said other side of said plane where said sealing elements separate, thereby controlling the distance between the transverse seals and the length of the bags being formed.

Claim 13

Apparatus for making spaced transverse seals along the length of a multiple-ply web of heat-sealable material to form bags, and for advancing said web, comprising, a pair of rotary members, means mounting said members for rotation on centers which are displaceable toward and away from each other, means for rotating said members in opposite directions, at least one sealing element mounted on each of said rotary members and so arranged that rotation of said rotary members in opposite directions will cause the faces of an opposed pair of sealing elements to come together in mating relation on one side of a plane passing through said centers and clamp the web therebetween, sealing the web and advancing it in a substantially straight line during said rotation while said sealing elements move to a predetermined position at the other side of said plane and separate, said members moving away from each other during movement of said mated sealing elements from initial clamping position to said plane, and toward each other after said elements pass said plane, yieldable means normally urging said rotary members toward each other, and means to vary the position at said other side of said plane where said sealing elements separate, thereby controlling the distance between the transverse seals and the length of the bags being formed.

Claim 14

The combination of elements defined in claim 11, and means operable to position the faces of said opposed pair of sealing elements in substantially parallel relation prior to clamping the web therebetween.

Claim 15

The combination of elements defined in claim 11, wherein said last-named means includes a control device operable to interfere with or interrupt movement of said rotary members toward each other.

Claim 16

The combination of elements defined in claim 11, wherein said last-named means includes a manually adjustable control device operable to stop movement of said rotary members toward each other.

Claim 17

The combination of elements defined in claim 11, wherein said last-named means includes a pair of chambers in closed communication with each other and containing a substantially fixed volume of a suitable fluid, means for varying the capacity of each said chamber in response to movement of said rotary members toward and away from each other, whereby fluid will be displaced from one chamber to another in one direction when said rotary members move toward each other, and fluid will be displaced from said other chamber to said one chamber in the opposite direction when said members move away from each other, and means responsive to a marking on the web to control the displacement of the fluid in said one direction, thereby interfering with or interrupting movement of said rotary members and causing said sealing elements to separate.