Patent ID: 7191575

Claim:
A vertical form fill and seal continuous pouch machine, comprising: a forming tube having a cross section area of CA in square inches about which a film tube is continuously formed 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 seals are formed in a horizontal sealing zone, wherein the vertical distance from a lower end of the forming tube to the center of the horizontal sealing zone is a transition distance; wherein the transition distance in inches is no more than 0.5 multiplied by CA; and a hole-punch station which intermittently punches at least two holes in a continuous film 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; 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.