Patent ID: 7296390

Claim:
A vacuum packaging machine comprising a plurality of vacuum chambers each arranged to receive an unsealed product package and operable to perform a vacuum sealing operation on the respective unsealed product package, each vacuum chamber having a longitudinal direction defined by a direction of travel of the respective product package through the chamber, each vacuum chamber having therein a heat seal assembly for forming a heat seal across the respective product package, the heat seal disposed transversely to said longitudinal direction, wherein the vacuum packaging machine comprises a conveyor arrangement configured to load and unload a product package to and from a respective vacuum chamber, the conveyor arrangement comprising an infeed conveyor operable to load a selected vacuum chamber with a product package, wherein the infeed conveyor has a telescoping portion operable to telescope over a portion of the heat seal assembly in a vacuum chamber to load the product package into the vacuum chamber such that an unsealed portion of the product package is located over a portion of the heat seal assembly, and to then retract from the chamber to allow the chamber to close to perform the vacuum sealing operation.