Patent ID: 8919081
Filing Date: 2014-12-30
Classification: B29C,B29K,B29L,B65B

Abstract:
1. A method of producing a sealed package of a food product pourable into a tube of packaging material, the method comprising: feeding said tube along an axis; moving at least one first pair of jaws, including first and second sealing members, and at least one second pair of jaws, including third and fourth sealing members, cyclically and alternately along respective sealing paths parallel to said axis, and along respective repositioning paths along which said first and second jaws move with respect to said tube; moving said first pair of jaws and second pair of jaws, as they travel along the respective sealing paths, into a closed position in which said first and second sealing members grip said tube and said third and fourth sealing members grip said tube and respectively form, at different times, a first seal and a second seal sealing the tube and defining respective opposite ends of said package; moving said first pair of jaws and second pair of jaws, as they travel along the respective repositioning paths, into an open position, in which said first and second sealing members are detached from said tube and said third and fourth sealing members are detached from said tube; acquiring a desired weight or volume of a said package; using a processor to determine a first distance separating said first seal and said second seal based on said desired weight or volume of said package; forming said second seal at a position spaced apart from said first seal in a direction parallel to said axis by said first distance; and adjusting a second distance, crosswise to said axis, between said third and fourth sealing members of said second pair of jaws, on the basis of at least one of a first parameter relating to a viscosity of said food product, and a second parameter relating to an output rate of said packages, and after said first and second sealing members of said first pair of jaws have formed said first seal, and before said third and fourth sealing members of said pair of second jaws form said second seal.