Packing machine

Claim 2

In a packing machine have a framelike welding mechanism which is provided with a separate drive for welding of two containerlike deformed foil sheets and having an evacuating chamber composed of two boxlike halves, a first half of which is mounted liftably and lowerably below, and the second half above, said foils and wherein one said half houses the framelike welding mechanism, the improvement comprising at least one rack system at each of two opposite sides of said chamber, each rack system having a pinion and two racks connected pairlike to each other by said pinion and in turn connected to respective chamber halves.

Claim 3

In a packing machine having a framelike welding mechanism which has a separate drive for welding together two container-like deformed foil sheets and having an evacuating chamber composed of two boxlike halves, of which a first half is mounted liftably and lowerably below, and the second half above, said foils and wherein one said half houses the framelike welding mechanism, the improvement comprising a lever system connecting the two halves of the evacuating chamber, said lever system comprising two lever elements rotatable about a common axis of rotation and circumferentially displaced by 180* from each other with respect to said axis, and further levers each connecting a corresponding one of said lever members at equal distances from said axis of rotation, the other ends of said further levers being coupled to corresponding ones of said chamber halves.

Claim 4

In a packing machine having a framelike welding mechanism which has a separate drive for welding together two container-like deformed foil sheets and having an evacuating chamber composed of two boxlike halves, of which a first half is mounted liftably and lowerably below, and the second half above, said foils and wherein one said half houses the framelike welding mechanism, the improvement comprising a lever system connecting the two halves of the evacuating chamber, said lever system comprising two lever elements rotatable about a common axis of rotation and circumferentially displaced by 180* from each other with respect to said axis, and further levers each connecting a corresponding one of said lever members at equal distances from said axis of rotation, the other ends of said further levers being coupled to corresponding ones of said chamber halves.

Claim 5

In a packing machine having a framelike welding mechanism provided with a separate drive for welding of two container-like deformed foil sheets and having an evacuating chamber composed of two boxlike halves, a first half of which is mounted liftably and lowerably below, and the second half above, said foils and wherein one said half houses the framelike welding mechanism, the improvement comprising in combination: means fixedly located on said machine for defining a pivot axis; coupling means fixed longitudinally of said pivot axis adjacent said evacuation chamber, said coupling means being pivotable about said pivot axis; first and second elongate movable members each in positive driving engagement with said coupling means at points spaced on opposite sides of said pivot axis; means positively connecting a remote end portion of each said elongate member to said first and second chamber halves, respectively, and responsive to movement of one said chamber half in a given direction for correspondingly moving the other said chamber half in the opposite direction; whereby movement of one said chamber half results in simultaneous oppositely directed movements of both said chamber halves and the force required to lift one chamber half is at least partially compensated by the downward force of gravity on the other chamber half to reduce the net force required for opening and closing of said chamber.

Claim 6

In a packing machine having a framelike welding mechanism provided with a separate drive for welding of two container-like deformed foil sheets and having an evacuating chamber composed of two boxlike halves, a first half of which is mounted liftably and lowerably below, and the second half above, said foils and wherein one said half houses the framelike welding mechanism, the improvement comprising in combination: means fixedly located on said machine for defining a pivot axis; coupling means fixed longitudinally of said pivot axis adjacent said evacuation chamber, said coupling means being pivotable about said pivot axis; first and second elongate movable members each in positive driving engagement with said coupling means at points spaced on opposite sides of said pivot axis; means positively connecting a remote end portion of each said elongate member to said first and second chamber halves, respectively, and responsive to movement of one said chamber half in a given direction for correspondingly moving the other said chamber half in the opposite direction; whereby movement of one said chamber half results in simultaneous oppositely directed movements of both said chamber halves and the force required to lift one chamber half is at least partially compensated by the downward force of gravity on the other chamber half to reduce the net force required for opening and closing of said chamber.

Claim 7

The machine of claim 1 in which said pinion is mounted for rotation on an axis fixed with respect to said machine, the pinions of said rack systems being laterally displaced from each other on opposite sides of said evacuation chamber, said racks of each rack system being aligned vertically and being fixedly connected to respective ones of the first and second chamber halves through laterally extending members, said racks of each rack system engaging diametrically opposed sides of the corresponding pinion for moving equally but in opposite directions upon pinion rotation, whereby to cause an equal or opposite movement of one said chamber half in response to movement of the other said chamber half.

Claim 8

The machine of claim 1 including rails fixed with respect to respective ones of said first and second chamber halves and laterally displaced therefrom downstream along the path of travel of the container-like deformed sheets, the rails fixed with respect to said upper chamber half defining an upper parallel pair of spaced and upstanding rails disposed above the foil sheets, the rails fixed with respect to said lower container half comprising a lower parallel pair of spaced upstanding rails, which are substantially vertically aligned with said upper pair of rails on the opposite side of said foil, and including a knife guided between one said pair of rails for cutting through the foil and thereafter being guided between said upper pair of rails, and further including acuating means for said knife fixed with respect to one of said container halves.

Claim 9

The machine of claim 2 in which said two lever elements define opposite end portions of an elongate member centrally pivotly carried on said pivot axis, said pivot axis being disposed vertically between the points of connection of said other ends of said further levers to members fixed with respect to corresponding ones of said chamber halves, said elongate lever member having at least a vertical component of pivotal motion, whereby vertical movement of one of said chamber halves results in corresponding and opposite movement of the other chamber half, the weight of the upper chamber half acting as a counterweight to the weight of the lower chamber half so as to substantially reduce the force required to open and close said evacuation chamber.

Claim 10

The machine of claim 2 in which said two lever elements comprise two separate levers laterally displaced from each other and fixed to a common shaFt extending transversely to the direction of movement of said chamber halves, said laterally displaced pair of levers being of equal length, said further levers being pivotly connected to the free ends thereof and being of bent configuration to curve around said shaft upon pivoting of said shaft to corresponding ones of a pair of rotational limits of said shaft, and including members fixed to and extending from said chamber halves for establishing said coupling of the other ends of said further levers to the corresponding ones of said chamber halves, whereby said lever system causes the weight of one said chamber half to act as counterweight to the weight of the other said chamber half and enables a substantially reduced force supplied to one said chamber half to effect opening and closing movement of both chamber halves.