Patent ID: 8776485

Claim:
A form-fill-seal machine for laterally sealing a tubular packaging material, whereby a bag is formed from the tubular packaging material and is filled with a packaged article dropped in from above, the form-fill-seal machine comprising: a first cylindrical member including interior dimensioned for passage of the packaged articles dropped in from above; a second cylindrical member located below the first cylindrical member such that the packaged article dropped through the interior of the first cylindrical member passes through an interior of the second cylindrical member; a shaping member for winding a sheet of packaging material around an outer circumference of the second cylindrical member, and causing the packaging material to deform into the tubular packaging material; a lateral sealing mechanism for laterally sealing the tubular packaging material to form a lower sealing part and an upper sealing part of the bag, the lateral sealing mechanism located below the second cylindrical member; an opening and closing member disposed between the first cylindrical member and the second cylindrical member and adapted to shut off an upwardly oriented flow of air through the interior of the second cylindrical member when the opening and closing member is in a closed state; and a control device for controlling movements of the lateral sealing mechanism and the opening and closing member such that when the opening and closing member is in the closed state, a first packaged article is located within a first bag on which the upper sealing part is formed a second packaged article that follows the first packaged article is located inside the tubular packaging material on which the second lower sealing part is formed above the first bag, and a third packaged article that follows the second packaged article is located in the interior of the first cylindrical member above the opening and closing member.