Abstract:
A heat sealing jaw assembly for effecting a heat seal of at least two juxtaposed heat sealable sheet materials is described. Preferably, but not exclusively, the heat sealing jaw assembly is adapted for use in a form, fill and seal machine forming thermoplastic bags. The heat sealing jaw assembly comprises a first and a second metal jaw member, each having a heating element for heating the jaw members. Each of the jaw members has an end face disposed in facial alignment with one another. A ribbon member is secured to each of the end faces and disposed in planar alignment with one another. The ribbon member is made of soft material having rubber-like properties and capable of conducting heat from the sealing jaw to a fusing temperature to melt the heat sealable sheet materials. The first and second jaw members are reciprocatable towards and away from one another to press the aligned heated ribbon members against opposed sides of at least two juxtaposed heat sealable sheet materials disposed between the jaw members to effect a heat seal.

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD  
         [0001]    The present invention relates to a heat sealing jaw assembly and method of operation having a pair of metal jaw members each having a heat sealing member of soft material and capable of conducting heat to a fusing temperature of juxtaposed heat sealable sheet material disposed between the jaw members. More specifically, but not exclusively, such heat sealing jaw assembly is for use in sealing juxtaposed thermoplastic film material in a form, fill and seal machine.  
         BACKGROUND ART  
         [0002]    Various types of heat sealing jaw assemblies are known in the prior art for sealing juxtaposed film materials, such as thermoplastic film to form sealed packages. These packages or pouches, may be preformed and then later filled with a product and then sealed or else the pouches can be formed simultaneously as they are being filled such as in a form, fill and seal machine. U.S. Pat. No. 5,326,416 is referenced for describing such a heat sealing assembly in a vertical form, fill and seal machine for packaging flowable materials. Such assemblies comprise two jaws, resilient clamping elements and a heat sealing element. At least one of the jaws is capable of transverse motion and adapted to collapse a tubular film made from thermoplastic film material passing between the jaws. The clamping assembly is adapted to grip thermoplastic film which passes therebetween and urge the grip film towards the jaws when the jaw closes and release the film when the jaw opens. One of the jaws is provided with a heat sealing element secured to the clamping face and the other jaw is provided with a heat resistant resilient pad, such as silicone rubber.  
           [0003]    When the film tube is collapsed there are two juxtaposed film sheets. To fuse the juxtaposed film sheet, heat must pass from an outer face of one of the film sheets and through the other sheet and to its back face to achieve a complete seal. As the seal is formed from one side of the first film sheet to the outer side of the second film sheet, the temperature of the sealing element falls drastically. Therefore, it is necessary that the sealing element be hot enough to achieve the complete seal across both film sheets. Therefore, the first film sheet is subjected to a higher sealing or melting temperature than the second sheet and this often causes imperfect seals and leakage of the contents results. It can also result in machine stoppage and this becomes very costly. The speed of the sealing operation of the machine is also limited by the speed or fusing time of the sealing jaws.  
           [0004]    Another disadvantage of prior art sealing jaws is that the sealing element is constructed of metal and a layer of woven glass fiber cloth is usually disposed thereover. This makes for a very rigid sealing face structure and if there is a crease in the juxtaposed film sheets, the film may be damaged by the rigid sealing head which does not absorb the imperfections in the film caused by the creases and the film could be punctured. Furthermore, the prior art sealing heads usually have a pointed end or are provided with a hot wire whereby the seal and the slitting is formed simultaneously. With a sealing head having an integrally formed pointed slitting head, the temperature at the slitting point is substantially the same as the temperature of the sealing side walls of the head forming the seal. Accordingly, the temperature of the slitting element is not controlled independently of the sealing head and again this may result in an imperfect seal and leakage.  
         SUMMARY OF INVENTION  
         [0005]    It is a feature of the present invention to provide a heat sealing jaw assembly and method of operation which overcomes the above-mentioned disadvantages of the prior art and which can achieve better seal performance at much greater sealing speeds.  
           [0006]    Another feature of the present invention is to provide a heat sealing jaw assembly and method of operation wherein the temperature of the sealing heads and the cutting or slitting element are independently controlled.  
           [0007]    Another feature of the present invention is to provide a heat sealing jaw assembly and method of operation and wherein the sealing jaw members are each provided with a ribbon member of soft material having rubber-like properties and which is capable of conducting heat from the sealing jaw to a fusing temperature of at least two juxtaposed heat sealable sheet materials and wherein a seal is formed from opposed sides of the juxtaposed sheets.  
           [0008]    According to the above features, from a broad aspect, the present invention provides a heat sealing jaw assembly for effecting a heat seal of at least two juxtaposed heat sealable sheet materials. The heat sealing jaw assembly comprises a first and a second metal jaw member each having a heating element for heating the jaw members. Each jaw member has an end face disposed in facial alignment with one another. A heat conductive sealing member is secured to each of the end faces and disposed in planar alignment with one another. The heat sealing member is of a soft material having rubber-like properties and capable of conducting heat from the sealing jaw members to a fusing temperature to melt the heat sealable sheet materials. The first and second jaw members are reciprocable towards and away from one another to press the aligned heated sealing members against opposed sides of at least two juxtaposed heat sealable sheet materials disposed between the jaw members to effect a heat seal from opposed sides of the juxtaposed sheets.  
           [0009]    According to a further broad aspect of the present invention, there is provided a cutting metal slitting wire disposed forwardly and substantially centrally along one of the heat sealing members and heated independently to effect a cut in the heat seal.  
           [0010]    According to a further broad aspect of the present invention the temperature of the heat sealing metal jaw members are controlled independently from one another.  
           [0011]    According to a further broad aspect of the present invention there is provided a method of forming a heat seal between juxtaposed heat sealable sheet material, said method comprising the steps of: (i) providing a pair of metal jaw members having heating means for heating same to a desirable temperature, each said jaw member having an end face with said end faces disposed in facial alignment, means to reciprocate said jaws towards and away from one another, (ii) providing a heat conductive sealing member of soft rubber-like material along at least a common section of each said end faces in contact therewith to conduct heat from said jaw members to a fusing temperature to melt said heat sealable sheet materials, and (iii) displacing said jaw members towards one another to press said heat conductive sealing members against said juxtaposed heat sealable sheet material from opposed sides of said sheet material and with said heat conductive sealing members in planar alignment with one another to fuse said materials and seal them together along a seal line and from opposed sides of the juxtaposed sheets. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS  
       [0012]    A preferred embodiment of the present invention will now be described with reference to the example thereof as illustrated in the accompanying drawings and wherein:  
         [0013]    [0013]FIG. 1 is a simplified side view illustrating the heat sealing jaw assembly of the present invention adapted to a vertical form, fill and seal machine for packaging a flowable material in thermoplastic bags formed by the machine;  
         [0014]    [0014]FIG. 2 is an enlarged fragmented side section view illustrating the construction of the jaw members;  
         [0015]    [0015]FIG. 3A is a top plan view of one of the metal jaw members;  
         [0016]    [0016]FIG. 3B is a rear view of the metal jaw member;  
         [0017]    [0017]FIG. 3C is an end view of the metal jaw member of FIG. 3A;  
         [0018]    [0018]FIG. 4 is an enlarged fragmented end view showing the cross-section of the elongated cavity formed in the end face of the jaw member of FIG. 3A;  
         [0019]    [0019]FIG. 5 is a plan view of an insulating strip;  
         [0020]    [0020]FIG. 6 is an end view of a jaw member of the heat sealing jaw assembly and illustrating a simplified block diagram of the temperature control circuit;  
         [0021]    [0021]FIG. 7A is a simplified schematic view of a prior art heat sealing jaws;  
         [0022]    [0022]FIG. 7B is a graph showing the performance of the prior art heat sealing jaws;  
         [0023]    [0023]FIG. 8A is a schematic diagram showing the heat sealing jaws of the present invention; and  
         [0024]    [0024]FIG. 8B is a graph showing the performance of the heat sealing jaws of the present invention. 
     
    
     DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0025]    Referring to the drawings, and more particularly to FIG. 1, there is shown the heat sealing jaw assembly  10  of the present invention secured in a vertical form, fill and seal machine  11  of a type well known in the art. A thermoplastic bag  12  is formed about a forming tube  13  of the machine simultaneously as a flowable material  14  is continuously injected within the bag being formed through a filling tube  15 . A vertical seal  16  is formed above the overlapped ends  17  of the film sheet  9  as the liquid is injected into the bag being formed. The sealing jaws  10  are reciprocated and as hereinshown are closed to form a horizontal seal  18  first at a lower end of the bag being formed  12 ′ and then at the top end  18 ′ of the filled bag  12 . The jaw members  19  and  19 ′ are reciprocated by a controlled mechanism (not shown) and dependent on the sealing time of the jaw members. The jaw assembly as hereinshown is simplified and other clamping elements may be associated therewith to maintain the juxtaposed film sheets of the plastic bag or pouch being formed whereby the juxtaposed film sheets are held substantially flat one against the other, as is well known to a person skilled in the art.  
         [0026]    With reference now to FIGS.  2  to  4 , there will be described the construction of the heat sealing jaws of the present invention. As shown in FIGS. 3A to  3 C, the jaw members  19  are elongated rectangular steel bars and are each provided with an end face  20  and a flat rear face  21 . A pair of threaded bores  22  are formed in the rear face whereby to secure the jaw member  19  to a reciprocable frame  23  schematically shown in FIG. 1. The front end face  20  has a straight elongated cavity  24  formed therealong. As shown in FIG. 4, this cavity  24  is of V-shaped crosssection and dimensioned to receive an elongated sealing member, therein a ribbon member  25 , as will be described later. As hereinshown the cavity  24  is a right angle Vshaped cavity defining an apex  25  and opposed flat side walls  26  through which heat is transferred to the ribbons  25 . The apex is disposed on a central longitudinal axis  27  of the jaw member.  
         [0027]    As shown in FIG. 2, each of the jaw members  19  and  19 ′ have an elongated ribbon member  25  and  25 ′ secured partly in their cavities by a thin Teflon fabric  28  adhered to the front end face  20  and  20 ′ of the jaw member  19  and  19 ′. The ribbon member  25  is of circular crosssection and is held firmly seated into its cavity  24 . The ribbon member  25  is of a soft material having rubber-like properties and capable of conducting heat from the steel jaw and through the side faces  26  of the cavity  24 . Accordingly, the ribbon members will be heated by the jaw and form the sealing heads. These ribbons also protrude outside the front end face  20  of the sealing jaws sufficiently to be compressed within the cavity and form a band seal.  
         [0028]    [0028]FIG. 6 illustrates, at  30 , the compression distance of these ribbons. Also, as the ribbons compress, they form a greater contact with the side faces  26  of the cavity  24  and provide better heat transfer. The Teflon fabric  28  will also flex in the area of the ribbon and it is utilized for maintaining the ribbon in place and as well for its non-stick property whereby the fused plastic film material will not stick to the sealing heads when the juxtaposed film sheets are pressed together under pressure from both sides by the sealing jaws  19  and  19 ′.  
         [0029]    The ribbon members  25  and  25 ′ are hereinshown as being of circular cross-section but it is conceivable that the cross-sectional shape of these ribbons may be different such as hexagonal, square, or various other shapes as is obvious to a person skilled in the art. The ribbons may also be flat strips secured to the end face  20  which may be entirely flat with no cavity.  
         [0030]    These rubber-like ribbon members have properties capable of conducting heat up to at least a temperature of 300° C. Such materials may include one of Kalrez 4079, Kalrez 1050 LF, Kalrez 1058, Kalrez 3018, Kalrez 2035, Kalrez 2037, all registered trademarks of DuPont Dow Elastomers, or Chemraz, a registered trademark of Green, Tweed &amp; Co.  
         [0031]    Referring again to FIGS. 3A to  3 C, it can be seen that the steel jaw members  19  and  19 ′ are provided with a forward elongated throughbore  31  disposed longitudinally in spaced parallel relationship behind the cavity  24  and aligned on the central longitudinal axis  27  of the jaw member and the cavity  24 . A heat cartridge  32  is disposed in close contact within the throughbore  31  as illustrated in FIG. 6. A second bore  33  is formed in one of the side end walls  34  and extends partly within the jaw member whereby to receive a thermocouple heat sensing element  35  in close fit therein whereby to monitor the temperature of the steel jaw member and hence the temperature of the ribbon member  25  associated therewith.  
         [0032]    Referring again to FIG. 2, it can be seen that an electrically conductive metal slitting wire  40  is held forwardly and substantially centrally along one of the ribbon members, herein ribbon member  25  by a second sheet of Teflon fabric  41  bonded on top of the first sheet  28  and it also has good heat conducting and non-stick properties. This metal slitting wire  40  constitutes a cutting means for the jaws but it is conceivable that these jaws may be used without a slitting wire, merely to form a seal and the seal can then be slit in another stage or at a later time by a knife or other slitting means. Accordingly, the metal slitting wire  40  and its disposition as herein illustrated in FIG. 2 illustrates a means of forming a seal and simultaneously slitting it in a vertical fill, form and seal machine but the sealing jaw assembly of the present invention is not to be limited thereto. These slitting wires are usually nicrome metal wires and they are connected to a voltage signal generator whereby the wire becomes very hot as an electrical pulse is applied thereto and slits the thermoplastic film material when receiving the pulse. Such slitting wires are well known in the art.  
         [0033]    Referring still to FIG. 2, it can be seen that the front end faces  20  and  20 ′ of the sealing bars have a flat central area  42  in which the cavities  24  are disposed. To each side of the cavity the end face has opposed convex smooth side sections  43  which taper rearwardly of the end face to form a clearance gap  44  to each side of the sealing head as illustrated in FIG. 6 and rearwardly of the compression axis  30 ′ when both sealing heads are brought in compression contact against opposed sides of juxtaposed film sheets  9  and  9 ′ of a bag  12  being formed and as illustrated in FIG. 1.  
         [0034]    With reference now to FIG. 6, there will be described how the temperature of the ribbon members  25  and  25 ′ and the metal slitting wire  40  are controlled to achieve high sealing speeds. As hereinshown, the heat cartridge  32  of the first jaw member  19  has its terminals  45  secured to a temperature control supply  46  which is regulated by a controller  47  which may be a programmable PC or other controller configuration. A second independent temperature control device  48  is connected to the other sealing jaw  19 ′, not shown, and to the controller  47 . Accordingly, the temperature of the jaws is controlled independently whereby to form a perfect seal for the juxtaposed sealable sheet material. The jaws may operate at different temperatures as the sealable material may comprise of different layers of thermoplastic film sheets or the composite film sheet material having differing material sheets. To control the temperature of the sealing jaw, the thermocouple element  35  is connected to a temperature feedback signal analyzing circuit  49  and  49 ′ which feeds the controller  47 . The metal slitting wire  40  is fed a voltage signal by a voltage generator  50  which is also controlled by the controller  47 . The controller  47  thus controls the magnitude of the voltage signal as well as the time duration thereof and this again is dependent on the type of materials being fused and slit. Accordingly, it can be seen that with the present invention the temperature of each of the sealing ribbons as well as the slitting wire can be independently controlled and these are all adjusted whereby to achieve a seal having a desired quality  
         [0035]    As shown in FIG. 6, a heat barrier strip  8 , as shown in FIG. 5, having holes  8 ′ therein is secured to the flat rear face  21  of each of the sealing bars to insulate the hot sealing bars  19  and  19 ′ from their support frame  23 .  
         [0036]    As previously described, the sealing jaw of the present invention seals the overlapped film sheets  9  and  9 ′ from opposed sides thereof. Accordingly, it is only necessary that the temperature of each of the ribbons be selected to melt the film sheet or sheets on its side. If the other side has two film sheets or a different type of film sheet, then the temperature of that ribbon will be different from the other, as mentioned above.  
         [0037]    [0037]FIGS. 7A and 7B illustrate a common prior art sealing head as referred to in the preamble of the present specification. As shown in FIG. 7A, the sealing head  55  is a metal head having a V-shaped front wall defining a slitting apex  56  and opposed rearwardly sloped sealing side walls  57 . A heat resistant resilient pad  58  is secured to the other jaw member. When the jaw members are brought together, the sealing head  58  must melt both film sheets  9  and  9 ′. Accordingly, when the sealing head  55  contacts sheet  9 , it is at its highest temperature as illustrated at  59  in the FIG. 7B graph and this temperature wilJ decrease as illustrated by line  60  until both film sheets  9  and  9 ′ are fused together and the films are slit at time T=X designated by reference number  61 .  
         [0038]    Comparing now the formation of a seal with the sealing jaws of the present invention, reference is made to FIGS. 8A and 8B. As shown in FIG. 8A, both sealing ribbons  25  and  25 ′ are brought in contact with the film sheets  9  and  9 ′ from opposed sides thereof. Accordingly, one of the ribbons need only melt one of the film sheets to form the seal as each film is melting independently from one another and the melted plastic meets at their face of contact. If there are more sheets on one side than on the other, then one of the seals will operate at a higher temperature. The instant the seal is formed, the slitting wire is sent a voltage pulse to slit the seal substantially at the midpoint of the seal.  
         [0039]    As shown in FIG. 8A with the sealing jaw of the present invention, only half the time, as compared with the prior art device illustrated in FIG. 7B, is required to form the seal as each sealing head only fuses half of the overlapped film sheets. Also, unlike the prior art, with the sealing jaws of the present invention the heat travels from the outside of each film and propagates inwardly form both sides. Further, the temperature of the slitting wire is controlled independently. Therefore, with the present invention we can control the sealing temperature to seal and the cutting temperature and pulse time to cut. With the prior art as illustrated in FIGS. 7A and 7B, which is a single stage sealing and slitting head, it is not possible to achieve this control. With the prior art the film on the back side gets heated last and the melting temperature of the head is different from the melting temperature of the head when impacting the first film sheet and this often results in imperfect seals. With the present invention there is achieved better seal performance and at much higher speeds. Because with the prior art you need to find the right temperature of the sealing head to both seal and cut, and the temperature has to be hot enough to go through all of the juxtaposed film sheets, you compromise sealing temperature for the cutting or slitting temperature or viceversa. This is a major disadvantage which is overcome by the present invention. Also as illustrated in FIG. 8 the fusing time curve  60 ′ is much shorter than the prior art and it takes approximately half the time to form the seal and slit the juxtaposed thermoplastic sheet materials.  
         [0040]    The method of operation can be summarized as follows. First, the temperature of both sealing metal jaw members is determined dependent on the juxtaposed film sheet material requiring to be sealed. A desired temperature is set in the controller. The controller then adjusts the supply voltage to a heat cartridge in each of the sealing heads independently to bring the ribbon to its desired temperature. A thermocouple element monitors the temperature of the jaw member and feeds a temperature signal to the controller whereby the controller adjusts the voltage supply to the heat cartridge if the temperature has to be increased whereby the jaw member may be maintained at a substantially desirable temperature. The controller also controls a voltage signal generator which feeds voltage impulses to the slitting wire to slit the seal formed by the ribbons and at the appropriate moment in the sealing sequence. Accordingly, with the present invention seals can be made and slit much faster than the prior art and are automatically controllable whereby to achieve the desired result of forming a seal at a much faster rate. Also, because the ribbons have of a soft spongy property, they do not damage the juxtaposed heat sealable sheet materials when in sealing pressure contact therewith, particularly if there are creases in the sheet materials as such creases will be absorbed by the soft properties of the sealing ribbons.  
         [0041]    It is within the ambit of the present invention to cover any obvious modifications of the preferred embodiment described herein, provided such modifications fall within the scope of the appended claims.