Apparatus and methods for wrapping food products

Abstract

Apparatus and methods are provided for forming a sealed package about a food product, such as a confectionary including a bonbon. A sheet of film having a pre-applied adhesive is wrapped around the food product. The adhesive is positioned on the film so that a fin seal is formed between leading and trailing edge portions of the film in the course of forming a tube about the food product. Adhesive is also positioned on the film so that during the twisting of the open ends of the tube to enclose the food product a seal is formed at each end.

1 . A method of wrapping a food product, the method comprising:
 positioning a sheet of film over the food product, the film having leading and trailing edge portions;   lifting the food product and the film;   folding the leading and trailing edge portions of the film about the food product using a leading folding bar and a trailing folding bar during the step of lifting the food product and the film; and   moving a sealing bar against the leading folding bar to seal the leading and trailing edge portions of the film about the food product, wherein the step of moving the sealing bar against the leading folding bar includes biasing the sealing bar relative to a support for the sealing bar to accommodate variations in the size and orientation of the food product during sealing of the leading and trailing edge portions of the film about the food product.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the step of lifting the food product and the film includes supporting the bottom of the food product to lift both the food product and the film. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 2 , further including the step of supporting the sides of the food product prior to the step of moving the sealing bar against the leading folding bar to seal the leading and trailing edge portions of the film about the food product. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 3 , wherein the step of moving the sealing bar against the leading folding bar to seal the leading and trailing edge portions of the film about the food product includes passing the sealing bar beneath at least a portion of the food product. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 4 , further including the step of removing support for the bottom of the food product prior to the step of passing the sealing bar beneath at least a portion of the food product. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 5 , wherein the step of supporting the sides of the food product prior to the step of moving the sealing bar against the leading folding bar further includes the step of gripping the food product between an upstream and a downstream gripper, and the method further includes the step of advancing the food product in a downstream direction using the upstream and downstream grippers after the step of moving a sealing bar against the leading folding bar to seal the leading and trailing edge portions of the film about the food product. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 4 , wherein the step of moving the sealing bar against the leading folding bar includes the step of folding lateral sides of the film about the food product. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 7 , further including the step of providing the film with a pre-applied adhesive pattern in the leading and trailing edge portions of the film such that the adhesive pattern cooperates to form a fin seal following the step of moving the sealing bar against the leading folding bar to seal the leading and trailing edge portions of the film about the food product. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein the pre-applied adhesive pattern surrounds an adhesive-free space that is sized to accommodate the food product and the adhesive pattern does not extend to at least one edge of the film. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 9 , further including the step of twisting the film on opposite sides of the food product in areas that include the adhesive pattern. 
     
     
         11 . An apparatus for wrapping a food product, the apparatus comprising:
 a retractable lift for contacting a bottom of the food product and lifting the food product from a first position to a second position;   a pair of lateral supports for supporting a sheet of film above the food product in the first position and having a gap between the supports for the food product to pass through;   an upstream folding member and a downstream folding member positioned to fold leading and trailing portions of the film about the food product when the food product is lifted from the first position to the second position;   a pair of grippers for contacting sides of the food product with the film thereabout to support the food product in the second position when the lift is retracted; and   a sealing bar movable against the downstream folding member and beneath the food product in the second position for sealing the leading and trailing portions of the film together to form a tube about the food product, the sealing bar being biased relative to a support for the sealing bar to accommodate variations in the size and orientation of the food product during sealing of the leading and trailing edge portions of the film about the food product.   
     
     
         12 . The apparatus of  claim 11 , wherein the sealing bar is spring-biased relative to a sealing bar support. 
     
     
         13 . The apparatus of  claim 11 , wherein the grippers are mounted to arms that are rotatable about the central pivot axis, the grippers being rotatable about the central pivot axis to move the food product with the film thereabout from the second position to a third position whereby a twisting mechanism twists opposing open ends of the tube to enclose the food product in the film. 
     
     
         14 . The apparatus of  claim 11 , wherein a segmented feed roller is positioned upstream of the lateral supports for feeding the film to the lateral supports. 
     
     
         15 . The apparatus of  claim 14 , wherein the lateral supports are coated with a friction-reducing material to facilitate movement of the film thereover. 
     
     
         16 . The apparatus of  claim 11 , further comprising a feed member for moving the food product into place above the lift and in the first position. 
     
     
         17 . The apparatus of  claim 11 , wherein the film has a pre-applied adhesive pattern in the leading and trailing edge portions and the downstream folding member and the sealing bar are configured to apply pressure to form a fin seal between the leading and trailing edge portions of the film using the adhesive pattern. 
     
     
         18 . The apparatus of  claim 17 , wherein the pre-applied adhesive pattern surrounds an adhesive-free space that is sized to accommodate the food product and the adhesive pattern does not extend to at least one edge of the film, the pair of lateral supports positioned to support the adhesive-free space of the film over the food product in the first position. 
     
     
         19 . The apparatus of  claim 11 , wherein the lateral supports are coated with a friction-reducing material to facilitate movement of the film thereover.