Superior tooling for a capping machine

Abstract

Upper tooling (2) for a heat-sealing machine (1) for a container (30) comprising a support frame (5), a heating element (6), at least one sealing plate (7) removably coupled to the heating element (6), a recessed stripping pressure plate (8), a knife (12), and a main actuator (15) for driving the sealing plate (7) assembly of the heating element (6) to move the sealing plate (7) within a recess (9) of the stripping pressure plate (8) between a retracted position and a sealing position. The pressure plate (8) is removably coupled and fixedly mounted on the support frame (5), and the knife (12) is mounted on the moving stripping pressure plate (8) and is returned to the inactive position.The upper tooling (2) includes an auxiliary actuator (17) for driving the knife (12) having a movable part (18) configured to, during a first part of a stroke, drive the knife (12) and, during a second part of said stroke, exert pressure on the assembly comprising at least the sealing plate (7) and the heating element (6) in the direction of the sealing position. Figure for the abbreviation: Fig. 5.

Description

Title of the invention: Upper tooling for a sealing machine

[0001] The present invention relates to an upper tool for a machine for sealing at least one container by heat sealing with or without deformation of a sealing film by pressure differential, a sealing machine comprising such an upper tool and a sealing method with such an upper tool.

[0002] Machines for sealing containers under film, for example of the tray type, by heat-welding or heat-sealing a film on a sealing edge of said container, in particular for the purpose of vacuum or modified atmosphere packaging of products, in particular food products, are known. Such machines have undergone numerous improvements and today, due to their design, allow the sealing machine to be quickly adapted to a container format without changing the heating body or the means for driving the sealing plate. Users now require such sealing machines to be versatile and to allow both sealing with deformation of the sealing film by pressure differential so that the film conforms to the contents of the container as illustrated in [Fig. 1] and sealing without deformation of the sealing film as illustrated in [Fig.2], without compromising the compactness or performance of the sealing machine. To enable such versatility of use, the sealing pressure exerted must be high.

[0003] An object of the invention is to propose superior tooling for a sealing machine whose design allows the sealing of containers with or without deformation of the film by pressure differential without harming the compactness or performance of the sealing machine.

[0004] To this end, the invention relates to an upper tool for a machine for sealing at least one container by heat sealing with a sealing film, said upper tool being intended to cooperate with a lower tool to trap the sealing film between them, said upper tool comprising a support frame, a heating body, at least one sealing plate removably coupled to the heating body for conduction heating of the sealing plate by the heating body, a hollowed-out stripping press plate having one or more recesses and an active pressing face facing the outside of the upper tool, at least one knife and at least one so-called main actuator for driving the movement of the at least one sealing plate and the heating body. heater forming a fixed assembly in movement for movement of the or each sealing plate in the or a recess of the stripping press plate between a retracted position and a sealing position, characterized in that the stripping press plate is removably coupleable to the support frame and is, in the state coupled to the support frame, fixedly mounted on the support frame, in that the knife or knives are mounted on the stripping press plate in a movable manner in movement between an inactive position called high, spaced from the stripping press plate, and an active position called low, close to the stripping press plate, in which they extend flush with or at least partially project from the active pressing face of the stripping press plate, in that the upper tooling comprises members for returning the knife or knives to the inactive position,in that the upper tooling comprises at least one so-called auxiliary actuator for driving the movement of the knife(s) having a movable part configured to, over a first part of a movement stroke, drive the movement of the knife(s) from the inactive position to the active position against the action of the return members and, over a second part of said stroke, exert, on the assembly comprising at least the sealing plate and the heating body, pressure in the direction of the sealing position.

[0005] The design of the upper tooling allows versatility of the auxiliary actuator(s) which ensure, on the one hand, the cutting of the film by driving the knives in movement, and on the other hand, additional pressure on the sealing plate, this additional pressure supplementing the pressure action exerted by the main actuator on the sealing plate. This design thus allows the exertion of high pressure on the sealing plate without compromising the compactness of the upper tooling, its versatility and its simplicity. In particular, it is not necessary to increase the power of the actuators.

[0006] According to one embodiment of the invention, the or each sealing plate, which has an active sealing face and an opposite face in contact with the heating body, is provided, on its active sealing face, with a sealing bead delimiting a location having one or more gas inlet and / or outlet orifices preferably made in the form of orifices passing through said sealing plate. The presence of these gas inlet and / or outlet orifices, i.e. blowing and / or suction orifices, makes it possible, when necessary, to deform the film.

[0007] According to one embodiment of the invention, the stripping press plate is provided, on its active pressing face, with at least one seal, the or each seal forming a closed loop surrounding the or at least one recess of said stripping press plate.

[0008] According to one embodiment of the invention, the or at least one of the knives comprises at least one series of teeth and a support portion for the series of teeth, said series of teeth extending along at least one edge of the or one of the recesses of the stripper presser plate for sliding movement along said edge when the knife passes from one position to another.

[0009] According to one embodiment of the invention, the return members of the knife(s) to the inactive position are formed, for the or at least one of the knives, of at least one spring interposed between the support part of the series of teeth of the knife and the face of the stripping press plate opposite the active pressing face of said stripping press plate.

[0010] According to one embodiment of the invention, the or at least one of the auxiliary actuators for driving the movement of the knife(s) which has a movable part configured to, over a first part of its movement stroke, drive the knife(s) from the inactive position to the active position against the action of the return members and, over a second part of its stroke, exert, on the assembly comprising at least the sealing plate and the heating body, pressure in the direction of the sealing position, is a jack with a body and a rod and the movable part of the auxiliary actuator formed by the rod or the body of the jack is terminated by a plate provided with a so-called fallen edge, the fallen edge extending opposite at least one knife and the plate extending opposite the heating body.The design of the moving part of the or at least one of the auxiliary actuators allows, on the second part of the movement stroke of said moving part, to exert, on the assembly comprising at least the sealing plate and the heating body, a pressure in the direction of the sealing position, that is to say a pressure in the direction of driving said assembly towards the sealing position. The exertion of this pressure reinforces the pressure action on the sealing plate exerted by the main actuator. This results in an increase in the pressure force exerted on the sealing plate so that the sealing is improved.

[0011] According to one embodiment of the invention, the heating body is in the form of a plate incorporating at least one resistor to form a heating plate and the sealing plate is, in the state coupled to the heating body, arranged in an applied position on one of the faces of the plate constituting the heating body. The production of the sealing plate in the form of a removable plate positionable in an applied position on the heating body allows a rapid change of the sealing plate when such a change is necessary due for example to a change in container format.

[0012] The invention also relates to a machine for sealing at least one container by heat sealing with a sealing film, said sealing machine comprising an upper tool, a lower tool for supporting the container(s) containers to be sealed and a supply of sealing film in the form of a strip between the upper tooling and the lower tooling, the lower tooling and the upper tooling being mounted to move between a spaced apart position and a close position in which they are configured to trap the sealing film between them, characterized in that the upper tooling conforms to that described above.

[0013] The invention also relates to a method for sealing at least one container by heat sealing with or without deformation of a sealing film by pressure differential with a sealing machine comprising an upper tool, a lower tool for supporting the container(s) to be sealed and a supply of sealing film in the form of a strip between the upper tool and the lower tool, the lower tool and the upper tool being mounted to move between a spaced apart position and a position close to each other in which they are configured to trap the sealing film between them, characterized in that the upper tool of the sealing machine being of the aforementioned type,the method comprises at least one step of actuating the main actuator for the passage of the assembly formed at least by the sealing plate and the heating body from the retracted position to the sealing position and a step of actuating the movable part of the auxiliary actuator(s) for the passage of the knife(s) from the inactive position to the active position over a first part of a stroke of said movable part and the exertion of pressure on said assembly in the direction from the retracted position to the sealing position over a second part of the stroke of said movable part. This additional pressure on said assembly, which supplements the pressure action on said assembly exerted by the main actuator, makes it possible to increase the sealing pressure. Brief description of the drawings

[0014] The invention will be better understood on reading the following description of exemplary embodiments, with reference to the appended drawings in which:

[0015] [Fig-1] represents a sectional view of a container sealed with a film deformed lid to fit the contents of the container;

[0016] [Fig.2] represents a sectional view of a container sealed with a film undistorted sealing;

[0017] [Fig.3] represents a longitudinal sectional view of a sealing machine in position of the lower and upper tools apart;

[0018] [Fig.4] represents a partial view, partially in section, of a machine sealing in a position separated from the lower and upper tools;

[0019] [Fig.5] represents a cross-sectional view of a sealing machine in position of the lower and upper tools apart;

[0020] [Fig.6] represents in the form of a succession of sectional views the different steps of a sealing process with deformation of the sealing film;

[0021] [Fig.7] represents in the form of a succession of sectional views the different steps of a sealing process without deformation of the sealing film;

[0022] [Fig.8] represents a partial perspective view of a sealing machine;

[0023] [Fig.9] represents a sectional view of a sealing machine in active position knives in which they partially protrude from the active face of the stripping press plate;

[0024] [Fig. 10] represents a partial perspective view of a stripping press plate in the inactive position of the knives in which they extend back from the active face of the stripping press plate;

[0025] [Fig. 11] represents a partial perspective view of a stripping press plate in the active position of the knives in which they partially extend projecting from the active face of the stripping press plate;

[0026] [Fig. 12] represents a partial view, partly in section, of sealing plates.

[0027] As mentioned above, the invention relates to an upper tool 2 of a sealing machine 1 and the sealing machine 1 incorporating such upper tooling 2 as illustrated in figures 3 and following.

[0028] Such a sealing machine 1 is intended for sealing containers 30, for example of the tray type, as illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2 where the container 30 has a sealing rim.

[0029] Such a container 30, which may be made of metal, glass, ceramic or other, contains a product 31 intended to be protected by a sealing film 3 closing said container 30 in a manner known per se.

[0030] As mentioned above, generally, the container 30 comprises a sealing rim on which the sealing film 3 is able to be applied.

[0031] Figures 1 and 2 illustrate two sealing techniques. [Fig. 1] illustrates the case where the sealing film 3 is deformed during the sealing operation to match the shapes of the product 31, while [Fig. 2] illustrates the case where the sealing film 3 is not deformed during the sealing operation and is simply welded to the sealing edge of the container 30.

[0032] Regardless of whether or not the film is deformed, the sealing film 3, which is generally a plastic film, is, during the operation of closing the container, welded to the container by heat in a manner known per se, i.e. by heat sealing.

[0033] As visible in [Fig. 3], the sealing machine 1 comprises an upper tool 2 and a lower tool 4 for supporting the container(s) 30 to be sealed. Indeed, in the example shown, the sealing machine 1 is designed to seal two containers in parallel, but could have sealed a single container in an equivalent manner.

[0034] Such a sealing machine 1 also comprises a supply of sealing film 3 in the form of a strip between the lower tool 4 and the upper tool 2. This supply is not shown and can simply be produced in the form of at least one roll, possibly motorized, on which the film is wound. The supply can be carried out manually or automatically. This supply will not be described in detail because it is well known to those skilled in the art and is of no interest in the context of the present invention.

[0035] The lower tool 4 may, as illustrated in [Fig. 6], be formed of a frame providing at least one housing for receiving a container 30, this housing being bordered by a peripheral shoulder at the level of which the sealing edge of the container is placed. This peripheral shoulder is surrounded by a flat surface which, in the close position of the lower 4 and upper 2 tools, bears against a flat surface of the upper tool 2, in this case, the active pressing face 100 of the presser plate 8 stripping the upper tool 2, which will be described below, to allow pinching of the sealing film 3 between said lower 4 and upper 2 tools in the close position of said tools.

[0036] In fact, the lower 4 and upper 2 tools are mounted to move between a position separated from each other, as illustrated in [Fig. 3], and a position brought closer to each other, as illustrated in [Fig. 8], in which the sealing film 3 is trapped between said tools by pinching.

[0037] The movement of one and / or the other of the tools can be carried out using actuators, such as jacks, in a manner known per se.

[0038] The upper tool 2 comprises, for its part, a support frame represented at 5 in the figures. In the example represented in the figures, it is the lower tool 4 which is moved in the direction of moving the upper tool 2 away from and towards each other and the support frame 5 of the upper tool 2 is stationary.

[0039] Obviously, a solution in which both tools are mobile or a solution in which only the upper tool 2 is mobile are conceivable without departing from the scope of the invention.

[0040] The upper tool 2 comprises, mounted on the support frame 5, a heating body 6 whose function is to allow, directly or indirectly, a rise in temperature of the sealing film 3 in order to allow it to be sealed on the container 30.

[0041] This heating body 6 is presented here in the form of a plate 61 integrating resistors 62 to form a heating plate.

[0042] The upper tool 2 also comprises at least one sealing plate 7 removably coupleable to the heating body 6 for conduction heating of the sealing plate 7. This sealing plate 7 is, in the coupled state to the heating body 6, arranged as an application on one of the faces of the plate 61 constituting the heating body 6.

[0043] The coupling between the sealing plate 7 and the heating body 6 is generally carried out by screwing. A detail of the sealing plates 7 is shown in [Fig. 12].

[0044] This sealing plate 7, which has an active sealing face 190 and an opposite face 191 in contact with the heating body 6, is provided on its active sealing face 190 with a sealing bead 20 delimiting a location having one or more gas intake and / or exhaust orifices 21 preferably made in the form of orifices passing through said sealing plate 7.

[0045] These gas inlet and / or outlet orifices 21 are connectable to a source for creating a vacuum, such as a vacuum pump, when they are used as gas outlet orifices, i.e. suction orifices. These gas inlet and / or outlet orifices 21 are connectable to a source of pressurized gas, such as a compressed gas generator, when they are used as gas inlet orifices, i.e. gas blowing orifices, for example air.

[0046] In the example shown in [Fig. 12], two coplanar sealing plates 7 are provided, joined together to form a single-piece assembly. These sealing plates 7 could have been separated in an equivalent manner and each coupled to the heating body 6 to form, with the latter, a moving assembly.

[0047] Each sealing plate has a sealing cord 20. Therefore, in [Fig. 12], two sealing cords are provided, each equipping a sealing plate 7 to allow the parallel sealing of two containers. Again, a single sealing cord 20 could have been provided without departing from the scope of the invention.

[0048] The or each sealing bead 20 extends opposite the or a peripheral shoulder of the lower tool 4 in a position close to the lower 4 and upper 2 tools, as illustrated in [Fig.9], to allow the sealing of the lidding film 3 to the sealing edge of the container arranged at the level of said peripheral shoulder.

[0049] The upper tool 2 also comprises a stripping press plate 8. This stripping press plate 8 has an active pressing face 100. The active pressing face 100 of this stripping press plate 8 has the function of cooperating with a surface facing the lower tool 4 in a position close to the lower 4 and upper 2 tools to trap the sealing film 3 by pinching between the active pressing face 100 of the stripping press plate 8 and the surface facing the lower tool 4. The active pressing face 100 forms therefore the surface of the stripping press plate 8 faces the outside of the upper tool 2 in particular faces the lower tool 4.

[0050] This stripping press plate 8 is hollowed out and comprises a number of recesses 9 depending on the number of containers 30 to be sealed and consequently, on the number of sealing plates 7.

[0051] In the example shown in [Fig. 10], the stripping press plate 8 comprises two recesses 9 each capable of cooperating with a sealing plate 7.

[0052] This stripping press plate 8 is removably coupleable to the support frame 5 to allow easy disassembly of the stripping press plate 8. This removability makes it possible, in fact, to adapt the format of the stripping press plate 8 to the format of the sealing plate(s) 7. Changing the stripping press plate 8 is extremely easy. Generally, the stripping press plate 8 is coupled to the support frame 5 by screwing.

[0053] The stripping press plate 8 is, in the state coupled to the support frame 5, a stationary plate relative to the support frame 5, that is to say a plate mounted fixedly on the support frame 5. Thus, in the position close to the lower 4 and upper 2 tools, this stripping press plate 8 is fixed relative to the support frame 5 and can form with the equally fixed surface opposite the lower tool 4, in the manner of a press, plates enclosing the sealing film 3 which is thus perfectly held by pinching without risk of slipping as can be the case in the state of the art when the stripping press plate 8 is mounted on a spring.

[0054] The surface of the stripping press plate 8 surrounding a recess 9 and which forms the active face 100 for passage of the stripping press plate 8 is intended to bear on the surface of the lower tool 4 surrounding a peripheral shoulder.

[0055] This stripping press plate 8 is provided, on its active pressing face 100, with at least one sealing gasket 11. The or each sealing gasket 11 forms a closed loop surrounding the at least one recess 9 of the stripping press plate 8.

[0056] Thus, in the close position of the lower 4 and upper 2 tools, a seal is ensured at the periphery of the recess 9 or of each recess 9 of the stripping press plate 8 to allow optimized operation of the gas intake and / or exhaust orifices 21 of the sealing plate 7.

[0057] The upper tool 2 also comprises a so-called main actuator shown at 15 in the figures. This main actuator 15 is an actuator for driving the displacement of the sealing plate(s) 7 and the heating body 6. Indeed, the sealing plate(s) 7 and the heating body 6 form a unitary assembly in displacement. The main actuator 15, which is preferably a jack, therefore acts on said assembly. For this purpose, the movable part of the main actuator 15, formed by the rod or the body of the cylinder constituting the actuator 15, is coupled to the assembly formed by the heating body 6 and the sealing plate(s) 7 to allow by retraction or extension of the cylinder a movement of said assembly.

[0058] During this movement of said assembly, at least a portion of the or each sealing plate 7 of complementary shape to the or a recess 9 of the stripping press plate 8 and which is arranged at least partially in a recess 9 of the stripping press plate 8 moves between a retracted position inside said recess 9 of the stripping press plate 8 and a sealing position in which it at least partially projects from said recess 9 to come by its sealing bead 20 opposite the or a peripheral shoulder of the lower tool 4 and apply the sealing film 3 in this shoulder on the sealing rim of the container arranged inside this shoulder. Generally, the sealing position corresponds to the position in which the sealing plate 7 at least partially protrudes from the or a recess 9 of the stripping press plate 8.

[0059] The retracted position of the heating body 6 / sealing plate 7 assembly is visible to the left of [Fig.7] in the so-called upper view, i.e. the view of the first line of [Fig.7], while the sealing position resulting from the actuation of the main actuator 15 is visible to the left of [Fig.7] in the second lower view, i.e. the first view of the series of views of the second line of views of [Fig.7].

[0060] In the retracted position, the sealing bead 20 therefore extends back or flush with the recess 9 on the outlet side of said recess 9 surrounded by the sealing gasket 11.

[0061] In the sealing position, the sealing bead 20 generally extends projecting from said recess 9 on the outlet side of the recess 9 surrounded by the sealing gasket 11.

[0062] To allow the film to be separated by cutting from the rest of the film reel, once the film is sealed, the upper tool 2 comprises at least one knife 12. The knife or knives 12 are mounted on the stripping press plate 8 in a movable manner between an inactive position, called high, spaced from the stripping press plate 8, and an active position, called low, close to the stripping press plate 8 in which they extend flush with or at least partially project from the active pressing face 100 of the stripping press plate 8.

[0063] The inactive position of the knives 12 is shown in [Fig. 10], while the active position of the knives 12 is shown in [Fig. 11].

[0064] In the example shown in Figures 10 and 11, at least the active part of each knife 12 extends inside a recess 9 following the peripheral contour of this recess 9 so that the active part of the knife 12 extends inside the perimeter delimited by the sealing gasket 11 of the stripping press plate 8 surrounding the recess 9 but outside the perimeter delimited by the sealing cord 20 of the sealing plate 7 associated with said recess 9.

[0065] Each knife 12 comprises at least one series of teeth 13 and a support part 14 of the series of teeth 13. The series of teeth 13 forms the active part of the knife 12. The series of teeth 13 extends along at least one edge, in this case along each edge of the recess 9 of the stripping press plate 8, for sliding movement along each edge when the knife 12 passes from one position to another.

[0066] Alternatively, the series of teeth 13 could be applied only along one edge of the recess depending on the dimensions of the sealing film to be cut.

[0067] Here the recess 9 is quadrangular in shape but it could have been of another shape without departing from the invention.

[0068] To allow sliding movement of the series of teeth 13 along at least one edge of the or a recess 9 of the stripping press plate 8, the or each knife 12 is mounted on the stripping press plate 8 in a movable manner in movement between an inactive position, called high, spaced from the stripping press plate 8 and an active position, called low, close to the stripping press plate 8 in which the knife 12, in particular the active part of the knife formed by the series of teeth 13 of the knife 12, extends flush with or at least partially projects from the active face 100 of the stripping press plate 8.

[0069] The upper tool 2 further comprises return members 16 for returning the knife(s) 12 to the inactive position. These return members 16 for returning the knife(s) 12 to the inactive position are formed, for each knife 12, of at least one spring interposed between the support part 14 of the series of teeth 13 of the knife 12 and the face 101 of the stripping press plate 8 opposite the active pressing face 100 of said stripping press plate 8.

[0070] These springs are visible in figures 10 and 11. These springs are therefore compressed in the active position of the knives 12 and relaxed in the inactive position of the knives 12.

[0071] To enable the movement of each knife 12 between an inactive position and an active position, the upper tool 2 comprises at least one auxiliary actuator 17 for driving the movement of the knife(s) 12. In the examples shown, one actuator 17 is provided per knife 12.

[0072] These auxiliary actuators 17 are controlled in displacement in a synchronized manner. Each auxiliary actuator 17 is here a cylinder with a body and a rod, the body or the rod forming the movable part 18 of the auxiliary actuator 17. This movable part 18 is configured so that, over a first part of its displacement stroke, drive the knife(s) 12 from the inactive position to the active position against the action of the return members 16. This movable part 18 is also configured to, over a second part of said stroke, exert on the assembly comprising at least the sealing plate 7 and the heating body 6, pressure in the direction of the sealing position, i.e. pressure in the direction from the retracted position to the sealing position. In particular, the movable part 18 of the actuator is terminated by a plate 181 provided with a fallen edge 182. The fallen edge 182 extends at least partially opposite the knife(s) 12 and the plate 181 opposite the heating body 6. This configuration of the movable part 18 of the auxiliary actuator 17 is more particularly visible in [Fig.9].

[0073] The plate 181 and the fallen edge 182 of the movable part of the auxiliary actuator 17 delimit a housing inside which is arranged the assembly comprising at least the heating body 6 and the sealing plate(s) 7.

[0074] It is understood that, when the movable part 18 is moved in the direction of the heating body 6, it comes: - initially act by the fallen edge 182 on the support part 14 of the series of teeth 13 of the knife 12 against the action of the members 16 for returning the knives to the inactive position, which has the effect of compressing the springs constituting the return members 16 and of driving the knives into the active position in which the series of teeth 13 of the knife 12 extends projecting from the active face 100 of the stripping presser plate 8 to ensure cutting of the sealing film 3 then, - in a second step, act by the plate 181 on the heating body 6, which has the effect of increasing the pressure force exerted by the assembly comprising at least the heating body 6 and the sealing plate(s) 7 via the sealing cord 20 on the sealing film 3 to optimize the sealing.

[0075] The sealing machine 1, as described above, allows the sealing of a container to obtain a sealed container 30 conforming to that shown in [Fig.l] where the sealing film 3 follows the contour of the product 31 contained in the container 30.

[0076] To obtain such a sealing, the sealing method comprises, as illustrated in [Fig. 6], after positioning a sealing film 3 between the lower 4 and upper 2 tools and the placement of at least one container in the lower 4 tool, a step of driving the lower 4 and upper 2 tools in movement for the passage of said tools from the spaced apart position to the close position as illustrated by the first line of the views in [Fig. 6].

[0077] In the position close to the tools, the sealing film 3 is, by suction via the gas exhaust orifices 21 of the sealing plate 7, pressed against the sealing plate 7. At this stage, the main actuator 15 is actuated in the direction of an application of the assembly comprising at least the heating body 6 and the sealing plate(s) 7 and, in particular, of the sealing cord 20 of the sealing plate(s) 7 on the sealing film 3 at the rim of the container so that the sealing film 3, softened by the heat of the heating body 6 transmitted by conduction to the sealing plate 7, is sealed to the sealing rim of the container 30. These two steps are illustrated by the views of the second line of [Fig.6].

[0078] This sealing is followed by a plating of the sealing film 3 on the product 31 of the container 30 by blowing pressurized gas through the gas inlet orifices 21 of the sealing plate, so that the film follows the contour of the product 31 of the container 30. This step is followed by an actuation of the auxiliary actuator 17 which, via its movable part 18, firstly actuates the knife 12 thus ensuring a cutting of the sealing film 3 before applying additional pressure to the assembly comprising the heating body 6 and the sealing plate(s) 7 to optimize the sealing. These steps correspond to the views in the last line of [Fig.6].

[0079] The sealing is completed. It is then sufficient to move the lower and upper tools in the direction of separation from each other, to expel the sealed container from the lower tool 4 before proceeding to seal a new container after placing this new container in the lower tool 4.

[0080] The main actuator 15 and the auxiliary actuator(s) 17 are, for their part, returned to the starting position before engaging the sealing of the new container.

[0081] The sealing machine 1 can also allow the sealing of a container 30 in accordance with what is shown in [Fig.2] where the sealing film 3 is not deformed and does not conform to the contents 31 of the container 30.

[0082] The sealing process, implemented for this purpose, comprises the steps illustrated in [Fig.7],

[0083] In a similar manner to what has been described above, the sealing method comprises, after positioning a sealing film 3 between the lower 4 and upper 2 tools and placing at least one container in the lower 4 tool, a step of driving the lower 4 and upper 2 tools in relative movement to move said tools from the spaced apart position to the close position as illustrated by the first line of the views in [Fig.7].

[0084] At this stage, the main actuator 15 is actuated in the direction of application of the assembly comprising the heating body 6 and the sealing plate(s) 7 and, in particular, of the sealing bead 20 of the sealing plate 7 to the sealing film 3 at the rim of the container, so that the sealing film, softened by the heat of the heating body 6 transmitted by conduction to the sealing plate 7 with which the sealing film 3 is in contact, is sealed to the sealing edge of the container 30. This step is illustrated by the first view of the second line of views of [Fig.7].

[0085] This step is followed by an actuation of the auxiliary actuator 17 which, via its movable part 18, firstly actuates the knife 12 thus ensuring a cutting of the sealing film 3 before applying additional pressure to the assembly comprising the heating body 6 and the sealing plate(s) 7 to optimize the sealing. This step corresponds to the second view of the second line of views of [Fig.7].

[0086] The sealing is completed. It is then sufficient to move the lower and upper tools in the direction of separation from each other, to expel the sealed container from the lower tool 4 before proceeding with the sealing of a new container after placing this new container in the lower tool 4.

[0087] The main actuator 15 and the auxiliary actuator(s) are, for their part, returned to the starting position before engaging the sealing of the new container.

[0088] The sealing process is simple to implement regardless of the type of sealing to be carried out, as illustrated by the steps above.

Claims

Claims

1. Upper tooling (2) for a machine (1) for sealing at least one container (30) by heat sealing with a sealing film (3), said upper tooling (2) being intended to cooperate with a lower tooling (4) to trap the sealing film (3) between them, said upper tooling (2) comprising a support frame (5), a heating body (6), at least one sealing plate (7) removably coupled to the heating body (6) for conduction heating of the sealing plate (7) by the heating body (6), a hollowed-out stripping press plate (8) having one or more recesses (9) and an active pressing face (100) facing the outside of the upper tooling (2),at least one knife (12) and at least one so-called main actuator (15) for driving the movement of the at least one sealing plate (7) and the heating body (6) forming a unitary assembly for movement of the or each sealing plate (7) in the or a recess (9) of the stripping press plate (8) between a retracted position and a sealing position, characterized in that the stripping press plate (8) is removably coupleable to the support frame (5) and is, in the state coupled to the support frame (5), fixedly mounted on the support frame (5),in that the knife or knives (12) are mounted on the stripping press plate (8) in a movable manner in movement between an inactive position called high, spaced from the stripping press plate (8) and an active position called low, close to the stripping press plate (8) in which they extend flush with or at least partially project from the active pressing face (100) of the stripping press plate (8), in that the upper tooling (2) comprises return members (16) of the knife or knives (12) in the inactive position, in that the upper tooling (2) comprises at least one so-called auxiliary actuator (17) for driving the knife or knives (12) in movement having a movable part (18) configured to, over a first part of a movement stroke, drive the knife or knives (12) in movement from the inactive position to the active position against the action recall organs (16) and,on a second part of said stroke, exerting, on the assembly comprising at least the sealing plate (7) and the heating body (6), pressure in the direction of the sealing position.,

2. Upper tool (2) according to claim 1, characterized in that the or each sealing plate (7), which has an active sealing face (190) and an opposite face (191) in contact with the heating body (6), is provided, on its active sealing face (190), with a sealing bead (20) delimiting a location having one or more gas intake and / or exhaust orifices (21) preferably made in the form of orifices passing through said sealing plate (7).

3. Upper tool (2) according to one of claims 1 or 2, characterized in that the stripping press plate (8) is provided, on its active pressing face (100), with at least one sealing joint (11), the or each sealing joint (11) forming a closed loop surrounding the or at least one recess (9) of said stripping press plate (8).

4. Upper tooling (2) according to one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the or at least one of the knives (12) comprises at least one series of teeth (13) and a support part (14) of the series of teeth (13), said series of teeth (13) extending along at least one edge of the or one of the recesses (9) of the stripping press plate (8) for sliding movement along said edge when the knife (12) passes from one position to another.

5. Upper tool (2) according to claim 4, characterized in that the return members (16) of the knife(s) (12) in the inactive position are formed, for the or at least one of the knives (12), of at least one spring interposed between the support part (14) of the series of teeth (13) of the knife (12) and the face (101) of the stripping press plate (8) opposite the active pressing face (100) of said stripping press plate (8).

6. Upper tool (2) according to one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the or at least one of the auxiliary actuators (17) for driving the movement of the knife(s) (12) which has a movable part (18) configured to, over a first part of its movement stroke, drive the knife(s) (12) from the inactive position to the active position against the action of the return members (16) and, over a second part of its stroke, exert, on the assembly comprising at least the sealing plate (7) and the heating body (6), a pressure in the direction of the sealing position, is a jack with a body and a rod and in that the movable part (18) of the auxiliary actuator (17) formed by the rod or the body

7.

8. of the jack is terminated by a plate (181) provided with a so-called fallen edge (182), the fallen edge (182) extending opposite at least one knife (12) and the plate (181) extending opposite the heating body (6). Upper tool (2) according to one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the heating body (6) is in the form of a plate (61) integrating at least one resistor (62) to form a heating plate and in that the sealing plate (7) is, in the state coupled to the heating body (6), arranged in application on one of the faces of the plate (61) constituting the heating body (6). Machine (1) for sealing at least one container by heat sealing with a sealing film (3), said sealing machine (1) comprising an upper tool (2), a lower tool (4) for supporting the container(s) to be sealed and a supply of sealing film (3) in the form of a strip between the upper tool (2) and the lower tool (4), the lower tool (4) and the upper tool (2) being mounted to move between a spaced apart position and a position close to each other in which they are configured to trap the sealing film (3) between them, characterized in that the upper tool (2) is in accordance with one of claims 1 to 7.

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