WO2019123484A1

WO2019123484A1 - A horizontal form, fill and seal machine for creating pouches having a partition and a method thereof

Info

Publication number: WO2019123484A1
Application number: PCT/IN2018/050868
Authority: WO
Inventors: Pranav Patel
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2017-12-21
Filing date: 2018-12-21
Publication date: 2019-06-27
Anticipated expiration: 2020-06-21

Abstract

The present invention discloses a horizontal form-fill-and seal machine for creating pouches, having a partition, dividing the pouch cavity into two compartments for two components of a product, to be separately contained. The said horizontal machine comprises an unwinding station, having more than one unwind web reel, configured for forming front and back web faces of said pouches along with a partition web membrane. The machine discloses a sensing means configured for sensing a photo mark position, in at least one of said unwound webs, and providing a feedback of said photo mark position, to align a longitudinal position of a web face with respect to another web face or marks, when a print matter, on either or both said webs faces, is to be registered, in a longitudinal direction, before being fed to a common nip.

Description

A HORIZONTAL FORM, FILL AND SEAL MACHINE FOR CREATING POUCHES HAVING A PARTITION AND A METHOD THEREOF

TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The disclosure relates to a horizontal form, fill, and seal system. More preferably, the present invention relates to a horizontal form, fill, and seal system for making flexible pouches, having two compartments, for two components of a product to be separately contained and a method thereof.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Presently, two different components, intended to be mixed prior to use, in a given proportion, to form a single pharmaceutical or personal care product, are sold in distinct primary packs i.e. they are filled separately in two pouches and then packed in a single box or pouch again. This increases the head of costs. In the packaging industry, two types of form fill and seal machines are popular and widely used; the horizontal form fill and seal machine (HFFS), and the vertical form fill (VFFS) and seal machine. Figure 1 shows a schematic of a generic horizontal form fill and seal machine (100) for making 3/4 sides sealed filled pouches/sachets from a heat sealable laminate.

As shown in Figure 1 , the laminate web (1 10) is unwound from reel (101 ) by pulling nip (120), with close loop tension control, through dancer rolls (130). The laminate web is folded and fed to film guide (121 ), tear notch station (150) and bottom seal station (123). The folded web moves on to pouch opening (124), a vertical sealing (125) and a filling station (126) where all these three operations happen, simultaneously. The web of filled and sealed pouches, separated by vertical seals (125), moves to top seal station (127) where it is sealed at its mouth. The web of sealed pouches is gripped and pulled by pulling station (129) to bring it to the cutting station (140). The pulling is servo controlled with feedback from a photo mark sensing station (1 1 1 ). At the cutting section (140), the web is cut into discrete pouches, in register with photo mark. Thus, individual filled and sealed pouches are delivered presently. However, these machines cannot be used for containing two different product components, separately, in a single pouch. Therefore, there is a need to overcome one or more abovementioned drawbacks of the conventional packaging machines.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to an aspect of the invention, a horizontal form fill and seal machine is adapted to make, fill and seal four sides sealed pouches wherein the pouch cavity is divided into two compartments by a middle membrane. The said horizontal form, fill and seal machine comprises:

• an unwinding station, having more than one unwind web reel and which is configured for forming front and back web faces and a partition membrane of said pouch.

• a first sealing means for sealing aligned bottom edges of said webs and creating a single sealed web for said pouch;

• a second sealing means for vertical sealing of said webs at set spaced intervals, according to a width of the pouch;

• a pouch opening means for opening a pouch cavity, divided into two by the partition membrane, between said front and back webs; • a pouch filling means for each compartment to feed a predetermined amount of a first component and a second component into said two compartments of said cavity between said two front and back webs;

• a third sealing means for sealing said top edges of said webs; and

• a pouch pulling means, to pull said webs, and a photo eye sensor, to detect and pass a signal to a cutter station, for producing a cut, in said set intervals, to create individual said pouches or a pre-defined series of said pouches.

According to an embodiment, the machine includes a sensing means configured for sensing a photo mark position, in at least one of said unwound webs, and providing a feedback of said photo mark position, to align a longitudinal position of a web face with respect to another web face or marks, when a print matter, on either or both said webs faces, is to be registered, in a longitudinal direction, before the webs are fed to a common nip.

According to an embodiment, said unwinding station includes a spout sealing means for spot sealing a spout, positioned on said partition web membrane; and said sensing means is configured for sensing a photo mark position, in said partition membrane, and provides a feedback of said photo mark position, to align a longitudinal position of said partition membrane with respect to said front and back web faces or marks.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, said first, second and third sealing means includes ultrasonic sealing for increasing seal integrity and improving machine speed. According to an embodiment of the present invention, the laminates of the front and back faces may be of same or different structures.

According to the embodiment, twin diving nozzles, for accurately dispensing predetermined amounts of two components, into said two compartments of the pouches, are included.

In yet another aspect, the present invention discloses a method of horizontal form-fill-and seal machine for creating pouches comprising the steps of:

a) adapting said horizontal form-fill-and seal machine to make, fill and seal four sides sealed pouches with a pouch cavity, divided into two compartments by a middle membrane;

b) providing an unwinding station having more than one unwind web reel, configured for forming front and back web faces and a partition membrane of said pouch,

c) sealing with a first sealing means for sealing aligned bottom edges of said webs and creating a single sealed web for said pouch;

d) sealing with a second sealing means for vertical sealing said webs at set spaced intervals, according to pouch width;

e) opening a pouch with a pouch opening means for opening said pouch cavity, divided into two by said partition membrane, between said front and back webs;

f) filling each compartment with a pouch filling means with a predetermined amount of a first component and a second component into said cavity between said two webs, g) sealing the pouch with a third sealing means for sealing said top edges of said webs;

h) pulling a pouch with a pouch pulling means, to pull said webs, and i) cutting the pouch filled with two different components with a cutter station, to create individual said pouches or a pre-defined series of said pouches.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other aspects, features, and advantages of certain exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be more apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 shows layout of a horizontal form fill and seal machine of prior art;

Figure 2 shows an assembly layout of a horizontal form fill and seal machine according to an aspect of the invention;

Figure 3 shows an assembly layout of a horizontal form fill and seal machine with a spout insertion means according to an embodiment of the invention; and Figure 4 shows a top view and a front view of a pouch with a partition membrane according to an embodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

According to an aspect of the invention, a horizontal form fill and seal machine that is adapted to make, fill and seal four sides sealed pouches wherein the pouch cavity is divided into two compartments by a middle membrane. The said horizontal form, fill and seal machine comprises an unwinding station, a first sealing means, a second sealing means, a pouch opening means, a pouch filling means, a third sealing means and a pouch pulling means along with a cutter section. The unwinding station comprises more than one unwinding web reel and is configured for forming front and back web faces and a partition membrane of said pouch. The first sealing means seals aligned bottom edges of said webs and creates a single sealed web for said pouch. The second sealing means seals said webs vertically at set spaced intervals, according to a width of the pouch. The pouch opening means opens a pouch cavity, divided into two by the partition membrane, between said front and back webs. The pouch filling means feeds each compartment a predetermined amount of a first component and a second component into said two compartments of said cavity between said two front and back webs. Then the third sealing means seals top edges of said webs which are pulled by the pouch pulling means and cut by cutter section, in said set intervals, to create individual said pouches or a pre-defined series of said pouches, with the help of a photo eye sensor, to detect and pass a signal to the cutter station.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, said first, second and third sealing means includes ultrasonic sealing for increasing seal integrity and improving machine speed.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the laminates of the front and back faces may be of same or different structures.

According to the embodiment, twin diving nozzles, for accurately dispensing predetermined amounts of two components, into said two compartments of the pouches, are included. In yet another aspect, the present invention discloses a method of horizontal form-fill-and seal machine for creating pouches comprising the steps of:

f) filling each compartment with a pouch filling means with a predetermined amount of a first component and a second component into said cavity between said two webs,

g) sealing the pouch with a third sealing means for sealing said top edges of said webs;

Referring Figure 4 through Figure 4 (a) shows a top view and through Figure 4 (b) shows a front view of a pouch (400) with a partition membrane (402) according to an embodiment of the invention. Now, the invention is explained with reference to the figures in the following way:

Referring Figure 2 shows a form fill and seal machine (200) according to an embodiment of the invention. As shown in Figure 2, the machine (200) comprises an unwinder station (210), having three feeding webs namely a front-side heat sealable laminate (21 1 ), a back-side heat sealable laminate (212) and a middle both-side heat sealable laminate (213). Each web has its respective dancer rolls. Each of the webs are pulled, respectively, by their nips (221 , 222, 223) and are fed to common nip (214) through respective dancers and web aligners (215, 216, 217).

Advantageously, only the front (21 1 ) and back (212) webs are sensed, by photocells (220), before being fed to common nip (214). According to method of the present invention, the photo-marks of laminates (21 1 ) and (212) are matched, prior to their entry into common nip (214). All the three laminates (21 1 , 212, 213) get sealed at the bottom side by a bottom heat sealing means (230). This also ensures that the three laminates do not get separated and behave as one single web, in succeeding operations. A bottom seal cooling station (240), ensures cooling of the bottom seal. The dancer rolls ensure that the web remains in tension, between common nip (214) and a cutter (260). The laminate web is then fed to film guide (121 ), tear notch station (150). A pouch opener (224) opens both compartments, simultaneously. Twin fillers (226A) and (226B), feed to specially designed twin diving nozzles such that the content of each filler is fed to a separate compartment of the pouch. Vertical sealing station (225) seals the pouches at spaced intervals, simultaneously with opening and filling. The filled pouch moves on to top sealing means (250) and a pouch pulling means (290) through photo eye (280) which passes a signal to the cutter (260), cutting the pouch singly or in a predefined series to form a string or ladi. Thereafter, the filled pouch is ready for collection.

Figure 3 shows an aspect of the invention comprising the system of Figure 2 with addition of a spout insertion means (330) for fixing spout on a middle laminate (213) by a sealing means. The middle web (213) must be with photo cell and must be registered with front (21 1 ) and back webs (212), before entering common nip (214). The middle web may be die cut (320) on the bottom edge, in register with the photo cell. In the die cut, the spout may be positioned, and spot sealed, in the same instant.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the machine ensures the longitudinal registration of front and back webs by provision of respective dancer and nip rolls, one each for front and back webs, by respective photo sensors and an electro-pneumatic system. In case of the embodiment of figure 3, the middle web has also to be, similarly, registered and, therefore, provided.

The FIFFS machine of the present invention can be used for making filled flexible four side sealed pouches, partitioned into two separate compartments for discretely packaging two different components, intended to be mixed prior to use, in a given proportion, to form a single pharmaceutical or personal care product eg hair dye comprising hair colour and developer and any other such products. The horizontal form fill and seal system of the present invention is compact and fulfills GMP requirements. It enables

• Wrinkle-free pouches even when foil laminates are used.

• Reliable seal quality, free of product contamination, essential for packaging of liquids in a tamper evident pack, • Easy change of pouch dimensions; width and height, for running several packs,

• Inline printing options,

• Output of a string or“ladi” of pouches, if required.

• Differential barrier requirements of the two components

The foregoing description of the invention has been set merely to illustrate the invention and is not intended to be limiting. Since modifications of the disclosed embodiments incorporating the substance of the invention may occur to person skilled in the art, the invention should be construed to include everything within the scope of the disclosure.

Claims

I CLAIM:

1 . A horizontal form fill and seal machine that is adapted to make, fill and seal four sides sealed pouches, wherein the pouch cavity is divided into two compartments by a middle membrane. The said horizontal form, fill and seal machine comprises:

an unwinding station, having more than one unwind web reel and which is configured for forming front and back web faces and a partition membrane of said pouch.

a first sealing means for sealing aligned bottom edges of said webs and creating a single sealed web for said pouch;

a second sealing means for vertical sealing of said webs at set spaced intervals, according to a width of the pouch;

a pouch opening means for opening a pouch cavity, divided into two by the partition membrane, between said front and back webs;

a pouch filling means for each compartment to feed a predetermined amount of a first component and a second component into said two compartments of said cavity between said two front and back webs;

a third sealing means for sealing said top edges of said webs; and

a pouch pulling means, to pull said webs, and a photo eye sensor, to detect and pass a signal to a cutter station, for producing a cut, in said set intervals, to create individual said pouches or a pre-defined series of said pouches.

2. The machine as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the machine includes a sensing means configured for sensing a photo mark position, in at least one of said unwound webs, and providing a feedback of said photo mark position, to align a longitudinal position of a web face with respect to another web face or marks, when a print matter, on either or both said webs faces, is to be registered, in a longitudinal direction, before the webs are fed to a common nip.

3. The machine as claimed in claim 1 or 2, wherein

said unwinding station includes a spout sealing means for spot sealing a spout, positioned on said partition web membrane; and

said sensing means is configured for sensing a photo mark position, in said partition membrane, and provides a feedback of said photo mark position, to align a longitudinal position of said partition membrane with respect to said front and back web faces or marks.

4. The machine as claimed in anyone of the preceding claims 1 to 3, wherein said first, second and third sealing means includes ultrasonic sealing for increasing seal integrity and improving machine speed.

5. The machine as claimed in anyone of the preceding claims 1 - 4, wherein the laminates of the front and back faces may be of same or different structures.

6. The machine as claimed in any of the preceding claims 1 - 5, wherein twin diving nozzles, for accurately dispensing predetermined amounts of two components, into said two compartments of the pouches, are included.

7. A method of horizontal form-fill-and seal machine for creating pouches comprising the steps of:

b) providing an unwinding station having more than one unwind web reel, configured for forming front and back web faces and a partition membrane of said pouch;

d) sealing with a second sealing means for vertical sealing said webs at set spaced intervals, according to pouch width; e) opening a pouch with a pouch opening means for opening said pouch cavity, divided into two by said partition membrane, between said front and back webs;

f) filling each compartment with a pouch filling means with a predetermined amount of a first component and a second component into said cavity between said two webs;

g) sealing the pouch with a third sealing means for sealing said top edges of said webs; h) pulling a pouch with a pouch pulling means, to pull said webs; and

i) cutting the pouch filled with two different components with a cutter station, to create individual said pouches or a pre-defined series of said pouches.