Shaped seal bar and knife for sealing and cutting a contoured shape for a flow wrap machine

Abstract

A form-fill-seal method and apparatus for wrapping food items. A form-fill-seal apparatus includes a shaped seal member and a shaped cutting knife, for example, a curved seal member and a curved cutting knife. Wrapping film is provided to the form-fill-seal machine, e.g., as a flat shape, and formed into another shape. A food item is fed into a pocket of the formed wrapping film. A shaped seal is formed in the wrapping film along a first end of the food item using the shaped seal member and cut adjacent to the shaped seal with the shaped cutting knife.

1 - 36 . (canceled)  
     
     
         37 . A form-fill-seal apparatus for wrapping a food item, comprising: 
 a wrapping material;    a collar;    a lateral sealing member;    the wrapping material passing over the collar, the collar transforming the wrapping material from a first shape into a second shape, and the lateral sealing member receiving edges of the wrapping material having the second shape to form a lateral seal along a lateral length of the wrapping material;    a shaped seal bar; and    a shaped cutting knife,    the shaped seal bar producing a shaped seal at a first end of the food item, and the wrapping film being cut adjacent to the shaped seal by use of the shaped cutting knife.    
     
     
         38 . The apparatus of  claim 37 , the wrapping material comprising a heat-shrinkable wrapping film.  
     
     
         39 . The apparatus of  claim 37 , the wrapping material a flexible wrapping film that conforms to a shape of the food item.  
     
     
         40 . The apparatus of  claim 37 , the wrapping material being unrolled as a flat sheet and being attached to the collar, the collar transforming the flat sheet into the secondary shape.  
     
     
         41 . The apparatus of  claim 37 , transforming the wrapping film further comprising forming the wrapping film into a shape substantially corresponding to a cross-section of the food item.  
     
     
         42 . The apparatus of  claim 37 , transforming the wrapping film further comprising forming the wrapping film into a generally cylindrical shape.  
     
     
         43 . The apparatus of  claim 37 , transforming the wrapping film further comprising forming a wrapping film into a shape having a diameter that is approximately the same as a diameter of the food product.  
     
     
         44 . The apparatus of  claim 37 , the food item being directed into an aperture or pocket defined by the transformed wrapping material.  
     
     
         45 . The apparatus of  claim 37 , the collar including a first collar member and a second collar member.  
     
     
         46 . The apparatus of  claim 45 , wherein the first and second collar members are arranged approximately perpendicular to each other.  
     
     
         47 . The apparatus of  claim 37 , the lateral sealing member comprising a pair of rotating members, the lateral edges of the wrapping material being fed through the rotating members, thereby sealing together the lateral edges.  
     
     
         48 . The apparatus of  claim 47 , the pair of rotating members comprising a pair of circularly-shaped members.  
     
     
         49 . The apparatus of  claim 47 , at least one the rotating members being heated so that heat from the heated rotating member heats or melts at least one lateral edge of the wrapping material, thereby sealing together the lateral edges of the wrapping material.  
     
     
         50 . The apparatus of  claim 37 , the shaped seal member comprising a shaped top bar and a shaped bottom bar, wherein the shaped top bar and the shaped bottom bar meet to form the shaped seal.  
     
     
         51 . The apparatus of  claim 50 , at least one of the shaped top bar and the shaped bottom bar being heated.  
     
     
         52 . The apparatus of  claim 50 , the shaped top bar and the shaped bottom bar being approximately the shape and size.  
     
     
         53 . The apparatus of  claim 50 , the shaped seal member comprising a curved seal member.  
     
     
         54 . The apparatus of  claim 37 , the shaped cutting knife including a shaped cutting base and a shaped blade attached to the shaped cutting base, the shaped blade cutting the wrapping material along an outer shaped edge of the shaped seal member.  
     
     
         55 . The apparatus of  claim 37 , the shaped seal member having a shaped top bar and a shaped bottom bar, the shaped blade being proximate to an outer edge of the shaped top bar when cutting the wrapping material.  
     
     
         56 . The apparatus of  claim 55 , the shaped blade being proximate to an outer edge of the shaped bottom bar when cutting the wrapping material.  
     
     
         57 . The apparatus of  claim 37 , the shaped cutting knife being moveable relative to the shaped seal bar.  
     
     
         58 . The apparatus of  claim 37 , the shaped cutting knife being spring-loaded.  
     
     
         59 . The apparatus of  claim 37 , the shaped cutting knife comprising a curved cutting knife.  
     
     
         60 . The apparatus of  claim 37 , the wrapping material, the collar, the lateral sealing member, the shaped seal bar and the shaped cutting knife being configured so that the food item is wrapped and sealed in a continuous manner.