Patent ID: 7003929

Claim:
In a method of packaging food products, a method of forming a film into a sleeve disposed around a filling tube, the method comprising: feeding the film in a film feed direction over a continuous film entrance surface to an entrance of a folding tunnel, at least a portion of the entrance surface being inclined at an obtuse angle to a longitudinal axis of the folding tunnel, the obtuse angle between the portion of the entrance surface and an upstream extension of the longitudinal axis of the folding tunnel being between 90 degrees and 130 degrees; folding a first longitudinal side portion of the film at least partially around the filling tunnel using a first folding wing of the folding tunnel as the film is fed in the film feed direction; folding a second longitudinal side portion of the film, disposed opposite the first longitudinal side portion of the film, at least partially around the filling tube and overlapping at least a portion of the first longitudinal side portion of the film using a second folding wing of the folding tunnel as the film is fed in the film feed direction to form the sleeve.