Patent ID: 7409810

Claim:
A vertical form fill and seal continuous pouch machine, comprising: a forming tube having a cross section with a long axis of length L and a short axis of length S, about which a film tube is continuously formed from a continuous film and from which the film tube is vertically fed downward; a horizontal sealing assembly, including at least one pair of opposing sealing bars that impart horizontal seals to the film, thereby forming pouches, wherein the horizontal seal is formed in a plane with the long axis; a hole-punch station which intermittently punches at least two holes in the continuous film which is moving in a machine direction, wherein the at least two holes are in a line extending in the cross machine direction, whereby the at least two holes are in a horizontal plane after the film tube has been formed; and a pleat assembly, disposed to impart a gusset, including at least three folds, including a center fold and two side folds, whereby the gusset is defined by at least two outer segments and at least two inner segments, wherein the at least two holes are disposed on the inner segments and aligned with one another; and wherein the horizontal seals are disposed such that the outer segments are sealed to one another through the at least two holes.