| Apparatus and method of forming a flexible pouch with improved side seam -> Monitor Keywords |
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Apparatus and method of forming a flexible pouch with improved side seamApparatus and method of forming a flexible pouch with improved side seam description/claimsThe Patent Description & Claims data below is from USPTO Patent Application 20070189644, Apparatus and method of forming a flexible pouch with improved side seam. Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS [0001]This application claims priority of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/772,949 filed Feb. 14, 2006, which is incorporated herein by reference. FIELD OF THE INVENTION [0002]The present invention relates generally to a flexible pouch for packaging a product and, more specifically, to a flexible pouch with an improved side seam for packaging a product and an apparatus and method of manufacturing the same. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0003]Various types of disposable, portable containers are known in the art for storing a fluid or dry product, such as a liquid, granular material, powder or the like. One example of such a container is a flexible pouch. Consumers prefer the convenience of flexible pouches, due to their shape, size, shelf life and storage adaptability. Manufacturers recognize the packaging benefits of a flexible pouch, since the pouch can be formed and filled on the same manufacturing line. An example of a method and apparatus for filling a flexible pouch with a product is disclosed in commonly assigned U.S. Pat. No. 6,199,601, which is incorporated herein by reference. [0004]The flexible pouch is made from a flexible material, such as an extrusion or a laminate composed of sheets of plastic or aluminum or the like. An outer layer of the material may have preprinted information, such as a logo or the like, to provide the consumer with information regarding the contents of the pouch. The material is available in sheet form, on a roll, and a plurality of pouches may be fabricated from one width of the roll. [0005]The pouch may be formed using conventionally known manufacturing techniques, such as a horizontal form-fill-seal machine with single or multiple lanes, a flat bed pre-made pouch machine, a vertical form-fill-seal machine, or the like. The machine includes a number of stations, with a particular operation or operations taking place at each station. The pouch is generally formed by folding a sheet or sheets of material over each other to achieve a predetermined shape. The pouch may also include an insert or gusset positioned between two parallel edges to form a pouch capable of standing unsupported. Edges, such as a side edge may be joined together using a sealing technique such as bonding or welding. Alternatively, the roll is folded to form a pouch with three open sides. An upper edge of the front panel and back panel is generally not sealed until after the pouch is filled. The empty pouch may be placed in a corner, or gripper assembly or a holder such as a cup or puck or combination of both prior to the filling process. The pouch is ready to be filled, sealed and finished as required. [0006]It is advantageous to concurrently form a plurality of pouches from one width of the roll of material, or multiple lanes across the machine bed. For example, a high speed multiple lane machine, can form approximately 100-200 pouches per lane in a minute. At such a high machine speed, it is important to control the tolerance of the side seam. Each pouch formed from the roll width typically has a side seam dimension of 5-10 mm and tolerance of .+-.2 mm, for a total seam dimension in the range of 3-12 mm. Present manufacturing techniques require this large of seam size and tolerance due to slippage of the unrolling material during the high speed manufacturing process. However, the failure rate of the narrow seam increases due to this large variation. The integrity of the side seal is an important functional feature of the pouch, and a poor seal can lead to a failure of the seam. Thus, there is a need in the art for an apparatus and method of making a flexible pouch with an improved side seam seal width and tolerance. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION [0007]Accordingly, the present invention is an improved flexible pouch for a product and an improved apparatus and method for manufacturing the pouch. The flexible pouch includes a front panel and a back panel each having an upper edge, a lower edge opposite the upper edge, and side edges extending therebetween the upper and lower edges. The side seal is 4-6 mm.+-.1 mm wide. [0008]The apparatus and method of forming a pouch with a reduced side seam seal includes the steps of unrolling a sheet of material having a predetermined width along a horizontal orientation, and turning the sheet of material to have a vertical orientation. The method also includes the steps of checking the alignment of the sheet of material, and adjusting the alignment with respect to a vertical axis, so that the edges of the sheet of material are in alignment. The method further includes the steps of cutting the roll width of material in halt and joining the two material sections together to form the front and back panels of the pouches in the width of material. The method still further includes the step of delineating individual pouches in the roll width of material by sealing together the side edges and lower edge of each pouch. The method also includes the steps of separating the individual pouches from the roll width of material, sorting the pouches and removing the pouches from the pouch-forming machine. [0009]One advantage of the present invention is that a flexible pouch with an improved side seam and method of making such a flexible pouch using a high speed apparatus that moves the film in multiple index steps in a linear manner is provided. Another advantage of the present invention is that the method of making the flexible pouch results in more precise side seams, with a reduced seam width and tolerance. Still another advantage of the present invention is that the flexible pouch has improved pouch strength and stability. A further advantage of the present invention is that the method of making a flexible pouch with improved side seam is cost effective since less laminate material is required. Still a further advantage of the present invention is that the method and apparatus for making the flexible pouch improves the cost-effectiveness of manufacturing the pouch. [0010]Other features and advantages of the present invention will be readily appreciated, as the same becomes better understood after reading the subsequent description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS [0011]FIG. 1 is an elevational view of a flexible pouch with improved side seam, according to the present invention. [0012]FIG. 2 is a flowchart of a method of forming and filling the flexible pouch of FIG. 1, according to the present invention. [0013]FIG. 3a is an elevational view of the film as it is unrolled, according to the present invention. [0014]FIG. 3b is an elevational view of the film after it is cut, according to the present invention. [0015]FIG. 4 is an elevational view of an apparatus for forming a flexible pouch using the method of FIG. 2. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS [0016]Referring to FIG. 1, a flexible pouch 10 is illustrated. The pouch 10 is filled with a product (not shown) and sealed. The filled pouch may assume various shapes, such as cylindrical, cube, conical or the like. The type of product and usage of the pouch influences the shape. The type of product is unlimited, and could have a solid or a liquid form. [0017]The flexible pouch 10 is preferably formed from a roll of flexible, preprinted laminate material. The choice of laminate material is nonlimiting, and is influenced by factors such as the product contained in the pouch 10, the shape of the pouch or the anticipated use of the pouch. Preferably, the laminate is either a three, four or five gauge material, and the outer layer is preprinted. It should be appreciated that a portion of the material may be a clear laminate, in order to view the contents of the pouch. For example, the laminate material may include at least one layer of virgin polyethylene terphalate (PET) and at least one layer of aluminum foil (AL) and another layer such as EVOH, PET, polyethylene, or polypropylene or nylon or the like. The laminate may also include a metalized foil paper layer laminated to a cast polypropylene layer and another layer of PET, polyethylene or EVOH. It should be appreciated that there may be a fourth layer of nylon. Another material example includes a cast polypropylene (CPP) layer, a polyethylene (PET) layer, a foil (AL) layer, a nylon (ONO) layer and another CPP layer. Another example of a material structure is the use of nylon, foil, nylon, and cast polypropylene (ONO/AL/ONO/CPP) or CPP/NY/AL/CPP. A further example of a laminate material structure is CPP/AL/ONO/PE. This structure works well when the product has a short shelf life, and the nylon eliminates stretching or cracking of the AL layer. Advantageously, a pouch 10 made using the cast polypropylene laminate material retains its filled shape even as the product is removed from the pouch 10. It should be appreciated that if a filled carbonated pouch is stored at ambient temperature, the laminate will start to creep after a period of time, such as ten days. The laminate material may include an extrusion layer to contain "creepage" or "stretch" of the film after filling due to carbonation expansion, if the product is carbonated. In addition, the selected material may be organoleptic compliant in order to avoid the transfer of odor contaminants to the product, or product contamination during the shelf life period of the product. [0018]The pouch 10 itself is defined by a panel, which may be formed using one or more sheets of material. In this example, the pouch 10 includes a front wall 12 and a back wall 14, and the edges are joined along a seam. With one sheet of material, it is folded so that the outer edges are joined together to form one seam. Alternatively, the pouch may be formed from two facing panels of material that are joined together along corresponding side edges. Continue reading about Apparatus and method of forming a flexible pouch with improved side seam... 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