System and Method for Assembly of Packettes Having Closures

Abstract

A method of automatically manufacturing a filled packette having a closure where a film is advanced from a feed roller to a punch that produces a series of holes in the film. Individual closures are then positioned into each punched hole and ultrasonically welded into place. The film is folded and oriented vertically so that heat sealing may be used to form the side and bottom edges of individual pockets. The film is then clipped to form individual pockets and filed with the appropriate amount of desired material from a bulk feeder. The filled pockets may be sealed along the top edge to form a closed packette and die cut to form the final packette shape.

1 . An apparatus for making a packette, comprising:
 a feed roll for supplying a substrate;   at least one roller for advancing said substrate provided by said feed roll in a horizontal orientation;   a punch positioned to form a hole in said substrate as said substrate is advance passed said punch.   a feeder bowl having a weld nest and a pick and place mechanism for positioning a closure in said substrate in alignment with said hole formed in said substrate;   a welder for adhering said closure to said substrate;   a guide for orienting said substrate and said closure vertically;   a first sealing mechanism positioned to form side and bottom seals in said substrate around said closure, thereby defining a pocket in said substrate;   a filling station positioned to fill said pocket with a predetermined amount of material from a bulk source;   a second sealing mechanism positioned to form a top seal in said substrate, thereby forming a closed pocket; and   cutting knives for cutting said substrate in a predetermined location to sever said pocket from said substrate.   
     
     
         2 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , further comprises a roller positioned to grasp said substrate on said feed roll and advance said substrate to said punch. 
     
     
         3 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein said welder is an ultrasonic welder. 
     
     
         4 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , further comprising an inspection station positioned downstream of said filling station. 
     
     
         5 . The apparatus of  claim 4 , wherein said vision inspection system comprises an vision camera aligned to capture images of said pocket after filling with said material and verify that said pocket has been properly filled. 
     
     
         6 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein said guide comprises a plurality of adjustable guide rods. 
     
     
         7 . The apparatus of  claim 6 , wherein said guide rods are positioned to fold said substrate and reorient said substrate from a horizontal to a vertical alignment. 
     
     
         8 . A method of forming a packette, comprising the steps of:
 advancing a film of substrate;   punching a hole in said substrate;   attaching a closure to said substrate so that said closure is aligned with said hole;   folding said substrate;   forming first and second side seams and a bottom seam in said substrate around said closure and said hole to form a pocket in said substrate;   filling said pocket with material from a bulk source; and   forming a top seam in said filled pocket.   
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 8 , further comprising the step of clipping said substrate to isolate said pocket from any adjacent substrate. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 9 , further comprising the step of inspecting said filled pocket. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein the step of inspecting said filled pocket comprising capturing a digital image of said filled pocket and analyzing the captured image to verify that the step of filling said pocket with material was performed correctly. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein said step of forming comprises heat sealing, 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 12 , where said step of attaching said closure to said substrate comprises the step of ultrasonically welding said closure to said substrate. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein said step of ultrasonically welding said closure to said substrate comprises ultrasonically welding said closure to said substrate with 20,000 Hz. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 9 , further comprising the step of die cutting said filled pocket after forming the top seam.