System for Forming Packages From Film Material

Abstract

An apparatus for forming sealed pouches includes a rotatable base forming drum having a plurality of base tooling recesses in its outer surface, a base stock supply mechanism feeds a base stock web of material along a base stock path extending in part along the outer surface of the base forming drum, and a material feed mechanism feeds at least one material into the base tooling recesses. A lid stock supply mechanism feeds a lid stock web of material along a lid stock path that intersects with the base stock path downstream of the material feed mechanism, a hardenable material feed mechanism feeds a hardenable material along the base stock path or the lid stock path, and mechanism brings the base stock web and the lid stock web into contact under pressure. In one form a cooling system provides cooling to assist in cooling the hardenable material.

1 . An apparatus for forming sealed pouches comprising:
 a rotatable base forming drum having an outer surface with a plurality of base tooling recesses in the outer surface;   a base stock supply mechanism for feeding a base stock web of material along a base stock path, a portion of the base stock path extending along the outer surface of the base forming drum;   a system for displacing the base stock web into the base tooling recesses to form a pocket of base stock material within each base tooling recess;   a material feed mechanism for feeding at least one material into each said Docket of said base stock web,   a rotatable lid forming drum having an outer surface with a plurality of lid tooling recesses in the outer surface;   a lid stock supply mechanism for feeding a lid stock web of material along a lid stock path, a portion of the lid stock path extending along the outer surface of the lid forming drum;   a system for displacing the lid stock web into the lid tooling recesses to form a lid recess of lid stock material within each lid tooling recess;   a hardenable material feed mechanism for feeding a hardenable material into each said lid recess of said lid stock web; and   mechanism bringing said base stock web and said lid stock web into contact under pressure.   
     
     
         2 . The apparatus of  claim 21 , wherein the cooling system includes cooling conduits within the lid forming drum and provides cooling to the lid tooling recesses. 
     
     
         3 . The apparatus of  claim 2 , wherein the cooling system directs liquid through the cooling conduits. 
     
     
         4 . The apparatus of  claim 2 , wherein the cooling system directs a gas through the cooling conduits. 
     
     
         5 . The apparatus of  claim 21 , wherein the cooling system includes cooling conduits to direct a gas towards the lid tooling recesses of the lid forming drum. 
     
     
         6 . The apparatus of  claim 5 , wherein the cooling conduits are positioned downstream of the hardenable material feed mechanism. 
     
     
         7 . The apparatus of  claim 21 , further including an insulating material adjacent the outer surface of the lid forming drum to provide an insulative layer between the lid stock web and the outer surface of the lid forming drum. 
     
     
         8 . The apparatus of  claim 21 , wherein said base stock material feed mechanism is a hardenable material feed mechanism for feeding a hardenable material into each said Docket of said base stock web, and a cooling system associated with the base forming drum to provide cooling along a length of the base stock path to assist in cooling the hardenable material in said pockets. 
     
     
         9 . The apparatus of  claim 8 , further including an insulating material adjacent the outer surface of the base forming drum to provide an insulative layer between the base stock web and the outer surface of the base forming drum. 
     
     
         10 . The apparatus of  claim 21 , wherein the material feed mechanism sequentially feeds the material into said pockets and the hardenable material feed mechanism sequentially feeds the hardenable material into said lid recesses. 
     
     
         11 . The apparatus of  claim 21 , wherein the systems for displacing said base stock web and said lid stock web includes a vacuum system for generating a vacuum within the base drum recesses to draw the base stock web into the base tooling recesses to form the pocket within each base recess, and a vacuum system for generating a vacuum within the lid tooling recesses to draw the lid stock web into the lid tooling recesses to form the lid recess within each lid tooling recess. 
     
     
         12 . The apparatus of  claim 21 , wherein the base stock path and the lid stock path intersect at a location at which the base forming drum and the lid forming drum are adjacent each other and said mechanism bringing said lid stock web and base stock web into contact under pressure forms said sealed pouches. 
     
     
         13 . An apparatus for forming sealed pouches comprising:
 a rotatable base forming drum having an outer surface with a plurality of base tooling recesses in the outer surface;   a base stock supply mechanism for feeding a base stock web of material along a base stock path, a portion of the base stock path extending along the outer surface of the base forming drum;   a heater system along the base stock path for heating the base stock web;   a forming system for displacing the base stock web into the base tooling recesses to form a pocket of base stock material within each base tooling recess;   a material feed mechanism for feeding at least one material into the base tooling recesses in the outer surface of the base forming drum;   a lid stock supply mechanism for feeding a lid stock web of material along a lid stock path, the base stock path and the lid stock path intersecting downstream of the material feed mechanism;   a hardenable material feed mechanism for feeding a hardenable material along one of the base stock path and the lid stock path; and   mechanism bringing said base stock web and said lid stock web into contact under pressure.   
     
     
         14 . The apparatus of  claim 27 , wherein the hardenable material feed mechanism feeds hardenable material into the base tooling recesses and the cooling system is associated with the base forming drum and provides cooling to the base tooling recesses. 
     
     
         15 . The apparatus of  claim 27  wherein the lid stock supply system includes:
 a rotatable lid forming drum having an outer surface with a plurality of lid tooling recesses in the outer surface, a portion of the lid stock path extending along the outer surface of the lid forming drum; 
 a heater system along the lid stock path for heating the lid stock web; 
 a forming system for displacing the lid stock web into the lid tooling recesses to form a lid recess within each lid tooling recess; and 
 wherein the hardenable material feed mechanism feeds hardenable material into the lid tooling recesses and the cooling system is associated with the lid forming drum and provides cooling to the lid tooling recesses. 
 
     
     
         16 . A method of forming a sealed pouch comprising:
 providing a base stock web of material along a base stock path;   heating the base stock web;   forming a plurality of pockets in the base stock web;   feeding at least one material into each pocket;   providing a lid stock web of material along a lid stock path, the base stock path and the lid stock path intersecting after the material is fed into a particular pocket;   feeding a hardenable material along one of the base stock path and the lid stock path;   cooling the hardenable material with a cooling medium; and   securing the base stock web and the lid stock web together.   
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 16 , further including forming a plurality of recesses within one of the base stock web and the lid stock web, and the feeding step includes feeding the hardenable material into the plurality of recesses. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 16 , further including:
 heating the lid stock web;   forming a plurality of lid recesses in the lid stock web; and   the feeding step includes feeding the hardenable material into the plurality of lid recesses.   
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 16 , further including cutting the base stock web and the lid stock web after the securing step to separate the sealed pouches. 
     
     
         20 . (canceled) 
     
     
         21 . An apparatus for forming sealed pouches as claimed in  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a cooling system associated with the lid forming drum to provide cooling along a length of the lid stock path to assist in cooling the hardenable material fed by the hardenable material feed mechanism.   
     
     
         22 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the system for displacing said base stock web and said lid stock web includes a vacuum system for generating a vacuum within the base drum recesses to draw the base stock web into the base tooling recesses to form the pocket within each base recess, and a vacuum system for generating a vacuum within the lid tooling recesses to draw the lid stock web into the lid tooling recesses to form the lid recess within each lid tooling recess. 
     
     
         23 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , including a base stock heater to heat said base stock web and a lid stock heater to heat said lid stock web. 
     
     
         24 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , including a lid stock wetting system to apply a solvent to the lid stock film. 
     
     
         25 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the base stock path and the lid stock path intersect at a location at which the base forming drum and the lid forming drum are adjacent each other and said mechanism bringing said lid stock web and said base stock web into contact under pressure forms said sealed pouches. 
     
     
         26 . The apparatus of  claim 25 , wherein said apparatus includes cutting mechanism to cut said webs to form individual pouches. 
     
     
         27 . The apparatus of  claim 13  further comprising
 a cooling system associated with the one of the base stock path and the lid stock path to provide cooling along a length thereof to assist in cooling the hardenable material fed by the hardenable material feed mechanism.