Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 11
Claim 1
Independent Claim
488 words
A machine for conditioning packings of foodstuffs and/or pharmaceutical products, comprising on the same fixed frame and mounted in series, a roller for supporting a thermoplastics film, a mechanism for guiding and conveying the edges of the thermoplastics film, said mechanism comprising a series of clips mounted on endless chains extending along the whole of the machine, a station for heating the thermoplastics film including at least one heating plate, a station for forming containers from the thermoplastics film, a filling station for loading the containers with the material to be packed, welding tools for sealing a covering sheet over the filled containers and cutting out tools for separating the filled and closed containers from the thermoplastic film, wherein each clip of the mechanism for guiding and conveying the thermoplastics film is constituted by a stop fixed with respect to its conveyor chain, the upper face of which stop is located substantially in the same plane as the lower face of the thermoplastics film and by a stop movable with respect to the fixed stop and urged by a spring against the fixed stop and wherein at least one endless support chain is placed below the path of the thermoplastics film in a zone thereof located upstream of the station for forming the containers, the endless chains of the guide and conveyor mechanism and the support chain being connected to a step by step synchronism drive mechanism, the advance speed of which is sinusoidal; the heating plate of the heating station comprises resistors in the form of metal strips parallel to the thermoplastics film and perpendicular to the direction of displacement of this latter, and is articulated at its downstream end to a horizontal shaft and cooperates with a lifting member, said heating plate having rapid thermal response; the forming station comprises a vertically movable unit supporting a hollow mould and a vertically movable support arranged above the movable unit and provided with a pre-forming piston passing through a central bore open at its ends and made in a vertically movable locking plate of such dimensions that it defines with the wall of this bore, whatever the position of said piston between its end positions, a small space that may be obturated by the movable support and connected to a source of pressurized fluid at the end of the preforming stroke of the piston by means of a contact controlled by the movable support; a support roller for the covering sheet is arranged downstream of the filling station; and the welding tools and the cutting out tools are combined in one station only and may effect simultaneously the welding of the covering sheet on the containers filled with the material to be packed and the cutting out, at least partial, of the closed containers, said tools being arranged so that the welding of the covering sheet is carried out inside the zone where the containers are cut out.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
488 words
A machine for conditioning packings of foodstuffs and/or pharmaceutical products, comprising on the same fixed frame and mounted in series, a roller for supporting a thermoplastics film, a mechanism for guiding and conveying the edges of the thermoplastics film, said mechanism comprising a series of clips mounted on endless chains extending along the whole of the machine, a station for heating the thermoplastics film including at least one heating plate, a station for forming containers from the thermoplastics film, a filling station for loading the containers with the material to be packed, welding tools for sealing a covering sheet over the filled containers and cutting out tools for separating the filled and closed containers from the thermoplastic film, wherein each clip of the mechanism for guiding and conveying the thermoplastics film is constituted by a stop fixed with respect to its conveyor chain, the upper face of which stop is located substantially in the same plane as the lower face of the thermoplastics film and by a stop movable with respect to the fixed stop and urged by a spring against the fixed stop and wherein at least one endless support chain is placed below the path of the thermoplastics film in a zone thereof located upstream of the station for forming the containers, the endless chains of the guide and conveyor mechanism and the support chain being connected to a step by step synchronism drive mechanism, the advance speed of which is sinusoidal; the heating plate of the heating station comprises resistors in the form of metal strips parallel to the thermoplastics film and perpendicular to the direction of displacement of this latter, and is articulated at its downstream end to a horizontal shaft and cooperates with a lifting member, said heating plate having rapid thermal response; the forming station comprises a vertically movable unit supporting a hollow mould and a vertically movable support arranged above the movable unit and provided with a pre-forming piston passing through a central bore open at its ends and made in a vertically movable locking plate of such dimensions that it defines with the wall of this bore, whatever the position of said piston between its end positions, a small space that may be obturated by the movable support and connected to a source of pressurized fluid at the end of the preforming stroke of the piston by means of a contact controlled by the movable support; a support roller for the covering sheet is arranged downstream of the filling station; and the welding tools and the cutting out tools are combined in one station only and may effect simultaneously the welding of the covering sheet on the containers filled with the material to be packed and the cutting out, at least partial, of the closed containers, said tools being arranged so that the welding of the covering sheet is carried out inside the zone where the containers are cut out.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
41 words
A machine as claimed in claim 1, wherein the heating resistors in the form of metal strips or lamellae of the heating plate are bare and arranged alternately at two different levels and in quincunx so that their side edges overlap.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
68 words
A machine as claimed in claim 1, wherein the welding and cutting out tools are arranged in quincunx, so as to form two rows of tools located in two planes perpendicular to the direction of displacement of the containers and to present a welding tool and cutting out tool opposite a container of each of the columns of containers parallel to the direction of displacement of the containers.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
74 words
A machine as claimed in claim 1, wherein the welding tools are arranged so as to seal each of the containers in a single operation, while the cutting out tools are arranged so as to cut a part of the edge of the containers during a first cutting out operation and the rest of the edge of the containers after the advance by one step of the containers during a second cutting out operation.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
18 words
A machine as claimed in claim 1, wherein the welding tool is arranged inside the cutting out tool.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
81 words
A machine as claimed in claim 1, wherein the welding tool comprises on the one hand a welding unit arranged above the path of the containers, mounted to move vertically and downwardly urged by a spring, and on the other hand a hollow counterpunch which is vertically movable and arranged below the path of the containers and in alignment with the welding unit so that the lower marginal rib of this latter is located opposite the upper face of the counterpunch.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
70 words
A machine as claimed in claim 6 including a recess for housing at least a portion of the welding tool with a lateral clearance, said recess having a vertical wall; a counterpunch having an outer wall, the cutting out tool being constituted by the lower edge of said vertical wall and the upper edge of said outer wall, the cOunterpunch being capable of penetrating without lateral clearance into said recess.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
109 words
A machine as claimed in claim 1 wherein the cutting out tools are arranged in rows and have lateral edges parallel to the direction of displacement of the containers, at least one part of the lateral edges of the first row of tools being in alignment with at least one part of the lateral edges of the cutting out tools adjacent the second row of tools and wherein at least one part of the edges of the cutting out tools of the two rows of tools is located in the same plane perpendicular to the direction of displacement of the containers and situated between the two rows of tools.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
35 words
A machine as claimed in claim 1 wherein the welding tool comprises a heating circuit and a recess is provided for housing said heating circuit, said recess having a wall provided with a cooling circuit.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
44 words
A machine as claimed in claim 1, wherein the stop comprises a contact face of conical shape inclined in the direction of the conveyor chain, with which the stop is unitary, the contact face being intended to support the edge of the thermoplastics film.