Patent ID: 6219993
Filing Date: 2001-04-24
Classification: B31B,B65B,Y10S

Abstract:
A zipper sealer machine for use on a form, fill and seal machine for forming reclosable packages having a reclosable fastener material adjacent to a cutoff of the package, including a central processing unit for controlling its operations, a roll of package forming film that feeds a continuous sheet of film, a forming shoulder and a film control mechanism that causes the continuous sheet of film to follow a film feed course from said roll to said forming shoulder, said reclosable fastener material extending transverse to the film feed course wherein the improvement comprises:a reclosable fastener material feeding, severing, fusing and bonding mechanism adapted to be mounted on the form, fill and seal machine;a reclosable fastener material feeding mechanism, mounted on said reclosable fastener material feeding, severing, fusing and bonding mechanism for feeding a predetermined length of said reclosable fastener material;a reclosable fastener material severing and fusing mechanism, mounted on said reclosable fastener material feeding, severing, fusing and bonding mechanism for severing a strip of said reclosable fastener material, at a predetermined length, and fusing the severed ends;a reclosable fastener material rotor supported on said reclosable fastener material feeding, severing, fusing and bonding mechanism along a pivot axis that is transverse to the film feed course;said reclosable fastener material rotor being substantially symmetrical about its pivot axis and each substantially symmetrical half having an outer edge that is substantially parallel to its pivot axis;said pivot axis being located such that one of said outer edges is adjacent to said film feed course and said other outer edge is remote from said film, course;said reclosable fastener material feeding mechanism being mounted on said reclosable fastener material feeding, severing, fusing and bonding mechanism relative to said rotor such that said predetermined length of said reclosable fastener material is fed to said outer edge of the rotor that is located remote from said film feed course;a holding mechanism for holding the predetermined length of said reclosable fastener material on the outer edge of the rotor;a rotor drive mechanism for rotating said rotor about its pivot axis such that said outer edge along which the predetermined length of said reclosable fastener material is being held moves from the location remote from said film course to the location adjacent to said film feed course;a bonding mechanism for bonding the predetermined length of said reclosable fastener material, that is being held on the outer edge of the rotor that is adjacent to the film feed course, to the film.