Patent Abstract:
A method for manufacturing in which a fluent material is dispensed to an article such as a container from a flexible bag The fluent material is dispensed directly to the container without any intervening structure which contacts the fluent material. Accordingly, the apparatus can be constructed of less expensive materials and does not require frequent cleaning. The apparatus acts on the bag to dispense and does not act on the fluent material. Thus, the apparatus has particular application where aseptic conditions need to be maintained such as in the packaging of the food and medicine The flexible bag is preferably formed with multiple outlets permitting simultaneous dispensing to multiple containers.

Full Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention relates generally to manufacturing processes and equipment, and more particularly to manufacturing of products employing a flexible bag for dispensing a fluent material to articles. 
     Many manufacturing processes and apparatus have as a component element the dispensing of a fluent material to an article. As one example, packaging machinery which fills a container and seals or closes the container is widely employed to package a variety of products. For certain applications, the same machines also make the container. So called form, fill and seal machines typically form a bag from a web of flexible material and pass the bag directly to a filling station where the product is fed by gravity otherwise moved into the bag through an opening in the bag. The same machine then seals the bag opening to enclose the product. The bag may also be itself placed inside another container such as a cardboard box. 
     Food and medicinal products are commonly packaged in the way and by the type of machine described above. These products are of the type which can flow under the force of gravity, or when pushed by a pump, auger or other suitable device. Of course, liquid materials can be packaged in this manner, but often the product is a solid (e.g., potato chips, cereal or pills) which is sufficiently granular to flow. Naturally, food and medicinal products must be handled by the machine in such a way as to maintain aseptic conditions. Accordingly, the parts of the machine which handle the food are made of materials (e.g., stainless steel) which are highly resistant to corrosion and can be cleaned. However, such materials are expensive and significantly increase the cost of the machine. The machines must be periodically shut down to clean surfaces which handle the food product and the bags. Many food products are prone to leave crumbs, residue or other debris as they are handled, which cause the machinery to become unsanitary. Although necessary, it is inefficient to stop the machine frequently for cleaning and this increases the cost of packaging the product. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     Among the several objects and features of the present invention may be noted the provision of apparatus and method for dispensing a fluent material to an article; the provision of such an apparatus and method which handle fluent materials while keeping the apparatus clean; the provision of such an apparatus and method which are capable of maintaining aseptic conditions; the provision of such an apparatus and method which do not require frequent stoppage for cleaning; the provision of such an apparatus and method which are effective in mass production; the provision of such an apparatus and method which can operate rapidly; and the provision of such an apparatus and method which are economical and easy to use. 
     Further among the several objects and features of the present invention may be noted the provision of a flexible bag used to dispense a fluent material which is capable of dispensing at multiple outlets; the provision of such a bag which can be manipulated to dispense directly onto an article from the bag within any intervening structure; the provision of such a bag which can store and deliver a product in an aseptic condition; and the provision of such a bag which is economical to use in manufacture. 
     Generally, a method of automatically filling containers with a fluent material for mass production of filled receiving members comprises providing an array of receiving members adapted to receive fluent material. A charge of fluent material is metered from a flexible bag to plural ones of the receiving members at the same time. 
     In another aspect of the invention, a method of dispensing a fluent material to articles which receive the fluent material in a manufacturing operation generally comprises selectively dispensing fluent material to plural ones of the articles at the same time by deforming a flexible reservoir to eject fluent material therefrom. The flexible reservoir is replaced with another flexible reservoir upon substantial depletion of fluent material from the reservoir as a result of the dispensing step, for continued dispensing of the fluent material. 
     In still another aspect of the present invention, apparatus for manufacturing fluent material receiving members having a fluent material applied thereto generally comprises a flexible bag containing the fluent material and having outlets therein from which fluent material may be dispensed. Means adapted to receive portions of the bag is capable of metering a charge of fluent material from the bag to plural ones of the receiving members at the same time. 
     In a further aspect of the present invention, apparatus for manufacturing articles having a fluent material applied thereto from a flexible bag containing the fluent material generally comprises a support adapted to releasably hold the flexible bag containing fluent material in position for dispensing to the articles. A conveyor moves the articles past the support for receiving fluent material from the flexible bag. A flow control adapted to receive at least a portion of the flexible bag is capable of deforming the bag to produce flow of fluent material out of the bag to the articles. 
     In a still further aspect of the present invention, apparatus for manufacturing articles having a fluent material applied thereto generally comprises a flexible bag containing the fluent material and adapted to dispense fluent material to multiple ones of the articles at the same time. A support is adapted to releasably hold the flexible bag containing fluent material in position for dispensing to the articles. A flow control adapted to receive multiple portions of the flexible bag is capable of deforming the bag to produce flow of fluent material out of the bag to plural ones of the articles at the same time. 
     Other objects and features of the present invention will be in part apparent and in part pointed out hereinafter. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of apparatus for automatically filling containers of the present invention; 
     FIG. 2A is a diagrammatic flow of the apparatus illustrating its operation in a forward feed mode; 
     FIG. 2B is a diagrammatic flow of the apparatus illustrating its operation in a fill, seal and separate mode; 
     FIG. 3 is an elevation of a flexible bag with parts broken away to show the integral connection of nipples to the bag; 
     FIG. 4 is an enlarged perspective of the apparatus showing a pump thereof without the bag and open in preparation for receiving the bag nipples; 
     FIG. 5 is a enlarged, fragmentary elevation taken from the vantage indicated by line  5 — 5  of FIG. 1 with parts broken away to illustrate the reception of nipples in the pump; 
     FIG. 6 is a fragmentary, schematic elevation similar to FIG. 5 but showing another pump capable of delivering fluent material at different rates or in different amounts from the different nipples; 
     FIG. 7 is an enlarged, fragmentary view of apparatus similar to that shown in FIG. 1 but including a bag squeezing mechanism to force fluent material toward the nipples and pump; and 
     FIG. 8 is a fragmentary view of the flexible bag showing on of the nipples receiving a needle in its outlet. 
    
    
     Corresponding reference characters indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views of the drawings. 
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     Referring now to the drawings and in particular to FIG. 1, apparatus of the present invention for forming containers  10 , filling the containers with a fluent material F and sealing the containers is indicated generally at  12 . The apparatus includes a support  14  which suspends a flexible bag (or “reservoir”)  16  holding the fluent material F, and mounts a pump  18  (the reference numerals designating their subjects generally). The fluent material F may be a food or medicinal product, but is not limited to materials consumed or otherwise used on or in the body. Moreover, the material may be of such a nature that it is fluent only at the time it is delivered from the bag  16 . The present invention is particularly adapted for use to maintain an aseptic environment for the fluent material F, but has application where it is not necessary that such an environment be maintained. Although the substance is preferably a liquid or semi-liquid, solids which are sufficiently granular to flow may also be held in the flexible bag  16 . As one example of the type of product packaged, the fluent material F could be honey to be packaged in small, disposable containers  10  such as for single serving use by customers of a restaurant. 
     A conveyor of the apparatus  12  is generally indicated at  19  and includes in the illustrated embodiment a first feed roller  20  holding a roll of material to form containers  10  extending forward from the first feed roller in a web  22 , and a take-up roller  24  which receives a remnant of the web. A first guide roller  26  is provided to locate the web  22  in a horizontal position while permitting the web to change direction to reach the take-up roller  24 . A belt conveyor  28  located under the web  22  at the downstream end of the web receives sealed containers  10  which are separated from the web, and conveys them for tumble packaging in a box B. It is to be understood that the illustration of the conveyor  19  is schematic as the details of construction are well known to those of ordinary skill in the art in the field of such apparatus. Moreover, although the conveyor  19  is illustrated to include rollers  20 ,  24  which let out and take up the web  22  of material from which the containers  10  are formed, other conveyors are envisioned. For instance, a belt or other moving surface or support (not shown) which receives pre-formed containers could be used without departing from the scope of the present invention. In that instance, the first feed roller  20  and belt conveyor  28  would not be present. 
     Further, it is envisioned that a conveyor for establishing relative motion between the containers  10  and the flexible bag  16  could include not only the conveyor  19 , but also structure for moving the bag while the containers are stationary, or structure which produces some combination of movement of the bag and movement of the containers. In any event if the bag  16  is the frame of reference, the containers  10  will move past the bag. Still further, it is not necessary that the fluent material F be used to fill containers of any type. Indeed the fluent material can be applied to the exterior of an article (or “receiving member”), such as the application of icing to a manufactured food product, which does not “contain” the fluent material. The fluent material could also be injected into the article. 
     In the illustrated embodiment, containers  10  are formed from the web  22  by a die  32  and a form (not shown) which come together just upstream from the first feed roller  20  to deform the web into rectangular, flat-bottomed depressions constituting the containers. The die  32  contains recesses  34  having shapes substantially the same as that of the containers  10  to be formed. The form, which would be located above the web  22 , has not been shown so as not to obstruct the view of the flexible bag  16 . The shape of the end of the form is the reverse of the recess so that the form may fit into the recess, forming the web  22  between them. The form and die  32  create one laterally extending row of containers  10  from the web  22  on a single stroke. In the illustrated embodiment, the rows constitute an array of containers  10 . However as used herein, an array can refer to a single file line of containers or only a single container placed under the bag  16  for filling. As shown, the containers  10  are formed by stretching the web  22  without substantially affecting the lateral dimension or shape of the web. However, some dimensional variation can be tolerated if the containers  10  retain their relative arrangement. Once formed, the containers  10  retain their shape, but remain part of the web  22  and move with the web. 
     The web  22  passes forwardly from the form and die  32  under the flexible bag  16  held by the support  14 . The bag  16  is made of a flexible material (which as used herein would include a limp material), which can be formed in a sterile environment or formed and filled in a non-sterile environment and then subject to a sterilizing process. However as mentioned above, the bag  16  could also be used for products not requiring a aseptic conditions. Any suitable material could be used to form the bag  16 , such as an appropriate polymer, including without limitation polyvinyl chloride, polyolefin, polymer laminates and polymer alloys. As shown, the bag  16  is transparent so that the flowable product carried by the bag can be readily seen to determine if the bag is empty. However, other ways (not illustrated) of establishing whether the bag  16  is nearing empty can be employed, such as electronic eyes which view the level of fluent material F, and devices to weigh the bag. 
     Referring to FIG. 3, the bag  16  comprises a thin-walled body  38  which encloses a volume containing the large majority of the fluent material F. At the upper end of the body  38 , two laterally elongate loops  40 , together constituting in the illustrated embodiment “a hanger”, are formed as one piece with the remainder of the bag  16 . The loops  40  can be also formed separately from the bag  16  and attached to the body  38  in a suitable manner such as by welding, adhesive or with a mechanical fastener(s). The loops  40  receive a mounting rod  42  of the support  14  which extends laterally of the bag and holds the bag on the support. The ends of the rod  42  are received in upwardly opening, U-shaped receptacles  44  at the upper ends of uprights  45  of the support  14 . The receptacles  44  hold the rod  42  and the bag  16 , but permit the bag to be removed from the support  14  and replaced, by lifting the rod out of the receptacles, sliding the loops  40  off of the rod and sliding a new bag (not shown) onto the rod. The rod  42  supporting the new bag can then be replaced with its ends in the U-shaped receptacles  44  for continued operation. Of course other ways of supporting the bag  16  may be employed without departing from the scope of the present invention. Preferably, the bag  16  is supported so that it can be readily removed and replaced. It is envisioned that structure, such as a second support and pump (not shown), could be used so that bags could be changed out without any interruption in operation of the apparatus  12 . 
     At the lower end of the body  38 , four nipples  46  extending down from the body are in fluid communication with the interior of the bag  16  for delivery of the fluent material F out of the bag and into the containers  10 , as will be described more fully hereinafter. The number of nipples  46  is preferably the same as the number of containers  10  formed in each row. Naturally, the number of nipples and their precise arrangement can be varied as necessary for the particular manufacturing operation. The nipples  46  are generally elongate tubes which are integral with the body  38 . The nipples  46  may be formed separately from the body  38  and attached in a suitable manner, such as by welding, adhesive or mechanical fastener(s) to achieve integration with the bag material which forms the body. However in the preferred embodiment, the nipples  46  are formed of the same piece of material as the body  38  of the bag  16 . As initially formed, the lower ends of the nipples  46  are closed (as shown in FIG. 3) to seal the interior of the bag  16  to hold the fluent material F in the bag. In manufacturing operation, the ends are cut or otherwise made to have outlets to allow the fluent material F to flow out of the bag  16 . Preferably, the nipples  46  are tubular with no internal structure. However, it is envisioned that the nipples could be equipped with internal valves or re-expansion devices (not shown) without departing from the scope of the present invention. 
     The bag  16  can be formed in any suitable fashion. A typical way of forming the bag  16  is to provide two webs of material which are brought together and cut to shape by a die (not shown) to form an enclosure. At the same time the webs are cut to shape, adjacent the peripheral edges of the bag are welded together in the die, such as by a solvent or RF welding. The adjacent edges could also be heat sealed, for example. As one alternative, a single web of polymeric material could be folded over against itself to form the enclosure. The folded web could be cut and sealed in a similar way as for the bag formed from two webs. Adjacent peripheral edges may be left unattached along a portion of the bag  16  to provide an opening for filling the bag with fluent material. 
     The nipples  46  are received through the pump  18  which acts on the nipples as by deforming the nipples to produce a metered flow of the fluent material F out of the bag  16 . The pump  18  is mounted on the support  14  which also holds the bag  16  and extends transversely over the web  22 . The pump  18  illustrated in FIGS. 1,  4  and  5  is a shuttle pump, which includes a shuffle  50  and an anvil  52 . The shuttle is mounted on a stationary crosspiece  54  for sliding movement relative to the crosspiece and anvil  52  in a direction transverse to the web  22 . A housing  56  at the left end of the crosspiece  54  encloses a shuttle actuation mechanism (not shown). A door  58  hingedly attached to the crosspiece  54  carries the anvil  52 . The door can be opened as shown in FIG. 4 to facilitate reception of the nipples  46  in the pump  18 , and locked with a latch  60  in a closed position for operation, as will be more fully described. Referring to FIG. 4, both the shuttle  50  and the anvil  52  are shaped to have five flat plateaus ( 50 A,  52 A) separated by four valleys ( 50 B,  52 B). Except when the pump  18  is actuated to deliver fluent material F, the plateaus  50 A,  52 A and valleys  50 B,  52 B of the shuttle  50  and the anvil  52  are in substantial registration when the door  58  is closed. The nipples  46  are received in the aligned valleys  50 B,  52 B such that each nipple is surrounded by the shuttle  50  and anvil  52 . In the illustrated embodiments, the nipples  46  are the portions or regions of the bag  16  which are received in or acted upon by the pump  18 . Two of the nipples  46  are illustrated in FIG. 5 as received in the valleys  50 B,  52 B, but only the valleys  50 B may be seen because the door  58  and anvil  52  have been broken away. The crosspiece  54  is further formed with upper and lower aligned slots  62  which are vertically aligned with the valleys of the anvil  52 . The nipples  46  pass through these slots  62  upon entering and exiting the pump  18 . An upper pincher  64  and a lower pincher  66  located on one side of each slot  62  are mounted for extension and retraction from the crosspiece  54  across the slot (i.e., transverse to the web  22 ). The pinchers  64 ,  66  extend to pinch the nipples off, closing the nipples from fluid flow past the points where the nipples are pinched. The pinchers  64 ,  66  are separately actuated from the shuttle  50  and the upper pinchers are separately actuated from the lower pinchers, as will be described more fully hereinafter, to facilitate accurate dispensing of the fluent material F. A pump of the same general type is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,151,019, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. 
     Although the shuttle pump  18  is believed to be adequate for use in the apparatus  12 , other forms of pumps may be used without departing from the scope of the present invention. The present pump  18  may be so configured that the upper pinchers  64  in each slot are separately actuated from each other, as are the lower pinchers  66  so that fluid flow from each nipple  46  is independent of that of the other nipples. However, the pump or fluid flow control device may take on other, entirely different forms. For instance and without limitation, a peristaltic pump (generally indicated at  70 ) of the type shown in FIG.  6  could be used. The peristaltic pump  70  has a pump wheel  72  for each nipple  46  including pegs  74  which extend perpendicularly outward from the wheel near its periphery. Each wheel  72  is mounted for rotation, such as by an individual electric motor (not shown) so that the pegs  74  are brought into sequential engagement with the nipple  46  to force fluent material F out of the nipple. By stopping the wheel  72  as shown in FIG. 6, the nipple would be pinched off so that no fluent material would exit the bag  16 . The wheels  72  could be run at different times and at different speeds to vary the sequence of fluid delivery and/or the flow rate between nipples  46 . The angular spacing between adjacent pegs  74  on the wheels  72  could be different so that the amount of fluent material dispensed for the same angular rotation of the wheels is different. It is to be understood that FIG. 6 is but one example of an alternate pump which could be used. 
     It will be necessary for viscous fluent material F to provide a mover in addition to the pump  18  to cause the fluent material to flow for refilling the nipples  46  after a discharge by the pump. A second mover of this type is indicated generally by the reference numeral  90  in FIG.  7 . The second mover is shown to comprise a pair of rollers  92  mounted on arms  94  and located on opposite sides of the bag  16 . The rollers  92  are mounted for free rotation about their longitudinal axes, and can be separated to facilitate removal and replacement of the bag  16 . The arms  94  are connected to a controlled actuator (not shown) which is capable of indexing the arms down to gradually squeeze the bag  16  from top to bottom to empty the bag. The downward movement of the arms  94  to squeeze the body  38  of the bag  16  is used to force the fluent material F downwardly into the nipples  46 . It is envisioned that the arms  94  could be indexed down after the pump  18  has discharged to assist in refilling the nipples  46  for the next discharge. 
     As stated previously, the apparatus  12  has application where fluent material F is applied onto an article, or injected into an article. Referring to FIG. 8, the bag  16  may have a fitment, in this case in the form of an injection needle  96 , attached to each nipple  46  (only one is shown). The needle  96  is formed of a suitably rigid material and sealingly attached in the outlet of the nipple  46 . The needle  96  could be captured by an injection device (not shown) to move the needle down into the article before operation of the pump  18  to eject fluent material. Alternatively, the needle  96  could be held stationary and the articles moved upward into the needles. It is to be understood that other types of fitments (not shown) could be used without departing from the scope of the present invention. For instance a fitments which allow the nipple  46  to be attached to another nipple or tube (not shown), or which shape the fluent material F as it flows out of the nipple could be used. Moreover, the end of the nipple  46  could be formed to shape or control flow of the fluent material. Further, polymer material having different material characteristics (e.g., such as density and rigidity) could be integrally formed with the material of the bag  16  at the outlets for such purposes. 
     Downstream from the support  14  and the bag  16  is a mechanism for closing the containers  10  filled with fluent material F. As shown in FIG. 1, a web  78  from a roll of closure material held by a second feed roller  80  is fed downwardly under a second guide roller  82  toward and under the first guide roller  26  to the take-up roller  24 . Thus, it may be seen that the take-up roller  24  collects both remnants of the container material web  22  and the closure material web  78 . After passing under the second guide roller  82 , the closure material web  78  is in face-to-face relation with the unformed material of the web  22  surrounding the open tops of the containers  10 . The closure mechanism comprises a heat sealing device  84  capable of coming down against the closure material web  78  and sealing the closure material with the container material of the web  22  so that the open tops of all four containers  10  in the row are separately closed, sealing in the fluent material F in the containers. A punch  86  and a die  88  downstream from the closing mechanism are operable to move together to punch through the closure material web  78  and the container material web  22  to separate each container  10  (including its own closure) from the container material web and the closure material web. The remnants of the container material web  22  and the closure material web  78  remain in tact for movement to the take-up roller  24 . The punch  86  has four rectangular projections  86 A (only one is shown) and the die has four holes  88 A (only one is shown), one for each container  10  in the row. The projections  86 A are received in the holes  88 A when the punch  86  and die  88  are activated to cut through the closure material web  78  and container material web  22 . The containers  10  drop down through the die  88  to the belt conveyor  28  for transport to the box B. 
     Having described the construction of the apparatus  12  and the flexible bag  16 , the operation of the apparatus will be described. As an initial matter, flexible bags such as bag  16  will have been formed, filled with the fluent material F (e.g., honey) to be packaged in the containers  10 , and sealed at a remote location, such as a processing plant. The method of the present invention is not limited to remote forming, filling and sealing of the bags, but is suited for this type of manufacturing arrangement. The bags  16  are formed, filled with the fluent material F and sealed at the processing plant, and then placed in a suitable transport to the manufacturing facility where the final packaging is to be done. The bags can be formed, filled and sealed in an aseptic form/fill/seal machine, or could be formed under non-aseptic conditions and then sterilized along with the fluent material after the bag is filled. As previously stated, it is not necessary that the bags  16  be aseptic where the conditions do not require it, but bags of this type are particularly adapted for use where aseptic conditions are needed, such as in food or medicine packaging. 
     Once at the final packaging site, one of the bags  16  is loaded into the apparatus  12  by lifting at least one end of the rod  42  out of the U-shaped receptacles  44  and sliding the bag onto the rod so that the rod is received through both of the loops  40  at the top of the bag. The rod  42  is then replaced on the support  14  with its ends in the receptacles  44 . The door  58  of the pump  18  is open, substantially as shown in FIG. 4, and the nipples  46  are positioned in the upper and lower slots of the crosspiece  54  in registration with the valleys of the shuttle  50 . The door  58  is then closed and the latch locked so that the nipples  46  are received in both the valleys of the shuttle  50  and the valleys of the anvil  52  (FIG.  5 ). The first feed roller  20  will have had a roll of container material mounted thereon and the web  22  of container material is threaded from the roll around the first guide roller  26  and attached to the take-up roller  24 . Similarly, the roll of closure material is received on the second feed roller  80  and the web  78  of closure material is threaded around the second guide roller  82  to the first guide roller  26  and then attached to the take-up roller  24 . The apparatus  12  is ready for production operation to form, fill and seal containers  10 . 
     Referring now to FIGS. 2A and 2B, the sequence of operation of the apparatus  12  is described. As illustrated in FIG. 2A, the first and second feed rollers  20 ,  80  and the take-up roller  24  are actuated (such as by one or more electric motors, not shown) to index the container material web  22  and the closure material web  78  forward one increment. The increment in the illustrated embodiment corresponds to the dimension of one containers  10  to be formed which is parallel to the lengthwise extent of the web  22  plus a predetermined amount corresponding to the spacing between adjacent rows of containers. The first and second feed rollers  20 ,  80  and the take-up roller  24  are halted to stop the forward advance of the container material web  22  and closure material web  78  for a dwell. The form and die  32  are actuated to engage the container material web  22  to form a row of containers  10  still attached to the container material web. The index and form steps are initially repeated until a row of formed containers  10  underlies the nipples  46  when the container material web  22  dwells. 
     This time the shuttle pump  18  is actuated to deliver a preselected charge of fluent material F to each of the four containers  10  in the row. After the bag  16  was installed in the apparatus  12  as described above, the lower pinchers  66  were extended (to the position shown in solid lines in FIG. 5) to pinch the nipples  46  near, but spaced somewhat above their lower ends against the crosspiece  54  in the slots  62 . The ends of the nipples  46  were cut open to form outlets for delivering fluent material F. The upper pinchers  64  are then extended to pinch off the nipples  46  near their upper ends (the position shown in solid lines in FIG. 5) and define a charge of fluent material F located in each nipple between the upper pincher and the lower pincher  66 . After the first row of containers  10  stops under the nipples  46 , the pump  18  is activated to retract the lower pinchers  66  into the crosspiece  54  (the position shown in phantom lines in FIG. 5) and slide the shuttle  50  in a direction transverse to the container material web  22 . Retraction of the lower pinchers  66  allows fluent material to flow out of the nipples  46  under the force of gravity. However, the pump  18  also deforms the nipples  46  by squeezing to make certain the charges of fluent material F between the pinchers  64 ,  66  is delivered out of the nipples. The sliding of the shuttle  50  moves the valleys  50 B substantially out of registration with the nipples  46  and moves the plateaus  50  A substantially into registration with the valleys  52 B of the anvil  52 , squeezing the nipples and forcing the fluent material out of the outlets at the lower ends and into the containers  10 . 
     The shuttle  50  moves back to its original position and the lower pinchers  66  are extended to close off the nipples  46  against further flow of fluent material F. The upper pinchers  64  are retracted and more fluent material moves down into the nipple, re-filling it. The upper pinchers  64  are then closed to pinch off the upper ends of the nipples and define new charges of the same volume as the previous charges and the cycle is repeated. The re-filling of the nipples  46  preferably occurs in the time it takes for the container material web  22  to be advanced forward one row. It will be appreciated that the pump  18  operates at the same time a new row of containers  10  is being formed during a dwell of the container material web  22 . It is envisioned that additional rollers or other devices (not shown) to hold the web  22  from vibrating under the bag  16  as a result of the act of forming of the containers could be used as needed. 
     The filled containers  10  in the row move downstream with each feed of the container material web  22 , eventually passing under the closure material web  78 . The open tops of the containers  10  are covered by the closure material web  78  when the containers reach the heat sealing device  84 . During the dwell, the heat sealing device  84  moves down against the closure material web  78  and seals the closure material to the unformed material of the container material web  22  surrounding the open upper ends of the containers  10 . The fluent material F is now sealed inside the containers  10 . The containers continue to be attached to the container material web  22  and are now also attached to the closure material web  78 . The attachment is illustrated by the dashed lines on the closure material web  78 . 
     At a subsequent dwell, the row of sealed containers  10  is aligned with the punch  86  and die  88  which are actuated to cut through the closure material web  78  and container material web  22  to separate the sealed containers from the webs. The containers  10  fall through the holes  88 A in the die  88  onto the belt conveyor  28 . The belt conveyor may run continuously to carry the loose containers to the box B. In the illustrated embodiment, the containers  10  simply fall into the box B (i.e., are tumble packed). It will be understood that other final packing arrangements within the knowledge of those of ordinary skill could be used. The remnants of the container material web  22  and the closure material web  78  continue on around the second guide roller  82  to the take-up roller  24 . 
     When the bag  16  is exhausted of fluent material F, it may be removed and replaced with a new bag. The exhausted bag  16  can be disposed. It will be appreciated that none of the machinery of the apparatus  12  comes into contact with the fluent material F in the packaging operation. The bags  16  themselves, rather than the fluent material F, are acted upon by the pump  18  to cause the containers  10  to be filled so that the bags may serve as the aseptic surfaces in the apparatus  12 . Of course, the container material and the closure material must be aseptic when conditions require it, but in every circumstance it will be easier to keep the parts of the apparatus  12  which handle this material clean. It will not be necessary in the ordinary course to clean the fluent material from the apparatus  12 . 
     In view of the above, it will be seen that the several objects of the invention are achieved and other advantageous results attained. 
     When introducing elements of the present invention or the preferred embodiment(s) thereof, the articles “a”, “an”, “the” and “said” are intended to mean that there are one or more of the elements. The terms “comprising”, “including” and “having” are intended to be inclusive and mean that there may be additional elements other than the listed elements. 
     As various changes could be made in the above without departing from the scope of the invention, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description and shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

Technology Classification (CPC): 1