Title of Invention

SHEET MATERIAL FOR PRODUCING PACKAGES OF FOOD PRODUCTS, AND PACKAGES MADE OF SUCH MATERIAL

Abstract A sheet material (2) for producing packages (17) of food products and having a succession of optically detectable register mark (18); each mark, has a first and a second segment (37a, 37b; 37d) parallel to each other and perpendicular to a feed direction of the material (2), and a sloping segment (37c; 37e) interposed between the parallel segments, so as to define a broken, to substantially Z-shaped line (37), which may be used to determine the position of the material both in the feed direction and in a perpendicular direction.
Full Text SHEET MATERIAL FOR PRODUCING PACKAGES OF FOOD PRODUCTS, AND PACKAGES MADE OF SUCH MATERIAL
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates to a sheet material for packaging food products.
BACKGROUND ART
Materials are known for packaging pourable food products, such as fruit juice, wine, tomato sauce, pasteurized or long-storage (UHT) milk, etc.
The packages are formed from a continuous web of packaging material. According to one known technique, the web is longitudinally sealed to form a continuous tube.
The packaging material has a multilayer structure comprising a layer of paper material covered on both sides with layers of heat-seal material, e.g. polyethylene, and, in the case of aseptic packages for long-storage products, such as UHT milk, also comprises a layer of barrier material defined, for example, by an aluminium film, which is superimposed on a layer of heat-seal plastic material and in turn covered with another-layer of heat-seal plastic material eventually defining

the inner face of the package contacting the food product.
To produce aseptic packages, the web of packaging material is unwound off a reel and fed through an aseptic chamber in which it is sterilized, e.g.* by applying a sterilizing agent such as hydrogen peroxide, which is later vaporized by heating and/or by subjecting the packaging material to radiation of appropriate wavelength and intensity.
The sterilized web is then folded into a cylinder and sealed longitudinally to form, in known manner, a continuous, vertical, longitudinally sealed tube. The tube of packaging material, in other words, forms an extension of the aseptic chamber, and is filled continuously with the pourable food product and then fed to a form-and-seal unit for forming the individual packages and on which pairs of jaws grip and seal the tube transversely to form pillow packs.
The pillow packs are then separated by cutting the sealing portion between the packs, and are fed to a final folding station where they are folded mechanically into the shape of the finished packages.
The various operations in the packaging material manufacturing process are performed using, as a reference, a register mark or marks printed on the material at the first printing stage.
The register mark or marks include a printed code • that is normally also used on the forming machine to

control feed of the material through the various work stations. More specifically, as is known, a so-called "decoration correcting" device acts on the packages being formed to variously "draw" the material in the feed direction and ensure performance of .the mechanical forming operations matches the decoration on the packages.
On known packaging machines, before the web is sealed longitudinally to form the tube, the transverse position of the web must normally also be controlled, e.g. to perform auxiliary operations, such as cutting and applying removable tabs or opening devices.
It is also necessary to control the angular position of the tube on the sealing unit, which may vary, in use, with respect to the desired angular position, on account of the lateral edges of the web not being perfectly straight, of the effect produced by the pairs of jaws successively striking the tube, and of the effects due to the web tensioning variations.
As this may have negative effects on the quality of the longitudinal and transverse seals, and on the accuracy with which the packages are formed, known machines are provided with devices for manually adjusting the angular position of the tube. Such devices/ however, are relatively time-consuming, and may involve shutting down the machine with consequent loss of production. Systems have also been proposed for automatically -adjusting the angular position of the tube of packaging

material, but call for the use of a dedicated sensor to determine the position of the superimposed material layers at the longitudinal seal.
DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the.present invention to provide a sheet packaging material for producing packages of food products, and which comprises optically detectable register marks by which to determine the position of the material both in the feed direction on the machine and transversely.
According to the present invention, there is provided a sheet material for producing packages of food products and comprising a number of fold lines, and a succession of optically detectable register marks; characterized in that each register mark comprises at least two parallel segments perpendicular to a feed direction of said material; and a sloping segment interposed between the parallel segments.
According to the invention, as the material is fed through the machine, the register marks can be detected by one or more optical sensors for controlling the position of the web at a respective work station and connected to a processing and control unit for controlling devices governing the position of the web. The sloping segment, together with the two segments transversal to the feed direction, indicates the transverse position of the material, which may be used to. automatically correct both the transverse position of the

flat web and the angular position of the tube.
Another problem typically associated with known packaging materials is the following:
The packages are formed by folding the packaging material along fold lines "creased" intb the material. Though formation of the packages must match the fold lines, packaging material feed on the forming machine is normally controlled on the basis of register marks printed on the material.
The reason for this lies in conventional direct optical detection of the fold lines still posing problems for which a satisfactory solution has not yet been devised.
Creasing and printing are performed at different stages in the material production cycle, so that register tolerances between the two are inevitable. Using printed register marks as position references for operations which should match the fold lines therefore inevitably results in errors.
According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the optically detectable register marks are defined by compression-creased fold lines having a recessed profile on a first face of the material, and a nonconvex profile on a second face of the material.
As compared with known creasing methods, compression creasing provides for obtaining much clearer compression lines which are detectable optically and can therefore be' used as register marks.

According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the material also comprises a decoration having a printed area at least partly enclosing one or more compression-creased fold lines, so that the fold lines in the printed area define optically detectable, "negative-printed" marks.
When printed using any known printing technique, the packaging material is compressed between a print cylinder and a counter-cylinder. If a conventional creasing method is used, the convex profile of the crease on the counter-cylinder side produces thrust resulting in accidental, undesired contact between the packaging material and print cylinder on the concave side of the crease line, thus resulting in lines with blurred profiles which are substantially undetectable optically.
Compression creasing, on the other hand, also produces a flat or slightly concave profile on the face of the packaging material contacting the counter-cylinder, thus eliminating thrust, and the recessed opposite side of the fold line is definitely ink-free, thus obtaining a high-contrast mark perfectly detectable by an optical sensor.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
A number of non-limiting embodiments of the present invention will be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
Figure 1 shows, schematically, a machine for * producing aseptic packages from a web of sheet material

in accordance with the present invention;
Figure 2 shows a portion of a sheet packaging material in accordance with the present invention;
Figures 3 and 4 show, schematically, respective steps in a method of producing the Figure'2 material;
4
Figure 5 shows a portion of a packaging material in accordance with a further embodiment of the invention.
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Number 1 in Figure 2 indicates a portion of a sheet packaging material 2 fed in the form of a continuous web
3.
Web 3 of material 2 comprises a number of fold lines 4 and a printed decoration 5, which are repeated at intervals R equal to the length of material required to produce one package.
Web 3 can be used on a machine 6, shown schematically in Figure 1, for producing aseptic packages, and on which web 3 is unwound off a reel 7 and fed through an aseptic chamber (not shown) , where it is sterilized, and through an assembly 8 by which it is folded and sealed longitudinally to form, in known manner, a continuous vertical tube 9.
Tube 9 of packaging material is filled continuously with the pourable food product by means of a known filling device 10, and is then fed to a forming and transverse sealing station 14 where it is gripped between pairs of jaws (not shown) which seal the tube transversely to form pillow packs 15.

Pillow packs 15 are then separated by cutting the sealing portion between the packs, and are fed to a final folding station 16 where they are folded mechanically to form the finished packages 17.
The packages are formed by folding the material along fold lines 4, and by controlling material feed by means of an optical sensor 16 for "reading" register marks 18 located on the material at intervals R.
According to the present invention, each register mark 18 comprises a broken, substantially Z-shaped register line 3 7 defined by a first and a second segment 37a, 3 7b parallel to each other and perpendicular to the feed direction of web 3 on machine 6, and a segment 37c sloping with respect to segments 37a, 37b.
Consequently, as web 3 is fed through machine 6, register mark 18 can be detected by one or more optical sensors 16 for controlling the position of web 3 at a respective work station and connected to a processing and control unit 41 for controlling known devices (not shown) governing the position of web 3.
Using a Z-shaped register line 37, the position of web 3 can be controlled both in the feed direction and transversely, e.g. to correct the transverse position of the still-flat web - to perform auxiliary operations such as cutting and applying removable tabs or opening devices - or to correct the angular position of tube 9.
Furthermore, control of the lateral alignment is enabled during the process of applying the adhesive strip

to one web edge in order to longitudinally seal the web and form a tube, as well as control of the alignment of superimposed web edges in the case of web splicing.
Optical sensor 16, in fact, successively detects first segment 3 7a, sloping segment 3 7c, and second segment 3 7b of the line; control unit 41 calculates a first time Tl between detection of first segment 3 7a and sloping segment 37c, and a second time T2 between detection of sloping segment 3 7c and second segment 37b; and the transverse position error of web 3 can be calculated and corrected on the basis of the Tl to T2 ratio. More specifically, if sensor 16 is located in the mid-plane of register marks 18, in the correct or reference position of web 3, the correct transverse position of the web corresponds to a T1/T2 ratio of 1. If the ratio is less than or greater than 1, the web can be moved transversely in known manner in the appropriate direction to reduce the position error.
It is similarly possible to calculate the lateral position error of web 3 from the ratio between Tl or T2 and total time Tl + T2. In this case, the value 0.5 indicates the centre, while different values indicate lateral displacements.
Fold lines 4 are conveniently defined by compression lines formed by means of a compression creasing process (Figure 3) .
More specifically, material 2 is compressed between a creasing roller 20 - the profile of which is shown

partly, in plan form in Figure 3, and has a number of projections 21 corresponding with compression lines 4 -and a smooth reaction roller 22, i.e. with no cavities corresponding with projections 21. Conveniently, roller 20 operates on the face 23 of the material defining the outer surface of the package, i.e. on which decoration 5 is printed, and roller 22 on the opposite face 25.
The height of projections 21 ranges between 5 0% and 90%, and is preferably about 80%, of the thickness of material 2. The thickness of the material is reduced by the same percentage during compression, after which, the material recovers partly, but retains a permanent compressive set. The residual depth of the compression lines conveniently ranges between 3 0% and 60% of the thickness of material 2, and equals about 50% of the thickness when roughly 80% deformation is imposed during creasing.
As shown clearly in Figure 4, compression lines 4 have a recessed profile, defined laterally by step sides 26, on face 23 of material 2, and a substantially flat or slightly concave profile on the opposite face 25.
Figure 4 also shows, schematically in plan form, the profiles of a print roller 3 0 and a counter-roller 31 respectively contacting faces 23 and 25 of material 2 at a compression line 4.
As shown clearly in Figure 4, the substantially flat or slightly concave profile of compression line 4 on the * side facing counter-roller 31 eliminates thrust on

material 2 which may result in the thinner portion of the material being brought into contact with print roller 30.
Print roller 30 therefore only contacts the surface of material 2 outside compression line 4, which therefore appears as a sharp "negative-printed"'1 line on the material.
This property of compression creasing may, in a preferred embodiment of the present invention, be exploited to obtain register marks 18 corresponding perfectly with compression lines 4. For example, with reference to Figure 2, register mark 18 may be defined by a rectangular area 3 6 printed on the portion of material
2 eventually defining the bottom of finished package 17.
Area 3 6 encloses part of compression lines 4 - in
particular, z-shaped line 3 7 defined by segments 3 7a,
37b, 3 7c of compression lines 4 - so as to define
register mark 18 with and by contrast with line 37.
Z-shaped line 3 7 is thus "negative-printed" in area
3 6 forming part of decoration 5.
Material 2 (Figure 2) is conveniently provided with optically detectable marks 40 for read-enabling optical sensor 16, so as to prevent mark 18 (which produces three variably spaced readings) from being "confused" with other marks defined by decoration 5, lines 4, or combinations of these.
Marks 40, which may be printed or creased, may be defined by a register code or two or more lines' perpendicular to the feed direction and spaced a

predetermined distance apart. The register code may be located in any convenient position on the web.
Processing unit 41 may be programmed, for example, to only open a read window - sized to definitely comprise the reading of register mark 18 - af ter • a predetermined time interval and/or distance from when the known succession of marks 4 0 with a given spacing has been read.
In the Figure 5 variation, register mark 18 is defined by compression lines 4 formed solely for that purpose, i.e. playing no part in the formation of the package, and conveniently comprises a square printed area 36 enclosing four compression lines 3 7d forming a square, and a compression line 3 7e along the diagonal of the square.
The mark can thus be "read" in exactly the same way as Z-shaped register line 3 7, but , being square, can be read in two perpendicular material feed directions X, Y with respect to an optical sensor 16.
This may be useful, for example, to use mark 18 as a register on a unit for applying opening devices to finished packages 17, and on which the packages are fed forward differently oriented.
Clearly, changes may be made to material 2 as described herein without, however, departing from the scope defined in the accompanying Claims.
In particular, if the contrast obtained by • compression creasing is sufficient, printed area 3 6 may

be omitted and the crease read directly.
Moreover, the material may be provided with Z-shaped or square-and-diagonal register marks printed positively or negatively in conventional manner, as opposed to compression-creased.





CLAIMS
1) A sheet material (2) for producing packages of
food products and comprising a number of fold lines (4),
and at least one optically detectable register mark (18) ;
characterized in that said register mark (18) comprises
at least two parallel segments (3 7a, 3 7b) perpendicular
to a feed direction of said material (2) ; and a sloping
segment (37c) interposed between the parallel segments.
2) A material as claimed in Claim 1, characterized
in that said register mark (37) comprises four segments
(3 7d) arranged to form a square; and a s loping s egment
(37e) along the diagonal of the square.
3) A material as claimed in Claim 1 or 2,
characterized in that said fold lines (4) are compression
lines having a recessed profile on a first face of the
material, and a nonconvex profile on a second face of
said material.
4) A material as claimed in Claim 3, characterized in that said register mark (18) is at least partly-defined by said compression lines (37).
5) A material as claimed in any one of the foregoing Claims, characterized by comprising a printed decoration (5) .
6) A material as claimed in Claim 5, characterized in that said decoration (5) comprises at least one printed area (36) at least partly enclosing said t compression lines (37) and defining, with them and by

contrast, said register mark (18) .
7) A material as claimed in Claim 5, characterized in that said optically detectable register mark (18) forms part of said decoration (5) .
8) A material as claimed in any one of the foregoing Claims, characterized by comprising optically detectable marks (40) for enabling reading of said register mark (18) .
9) A package containing a food product and formed
from a sheet material (2) folded along fold lines (4) ;
said package (17) comprising an optically detectable
register mark (18); characterized in that said register
mark (18) comprises at least two parallel segments (3 7a,
3 7b), and a sloping segment (3 7c) interposed between the
parallel segments.
10) A package as claimed in Claim 9, characterized
in that said register mark (3 7) comprises four segments
(37d) arranged to form a square; and a sloping segment
(37e) along the diagonal of the square.
11) A package as claimed in Claim 9 or 10,
characterized in that said fold lines (4) are compression
lines having a recessed profile on an outer face of the
material (2) , and a nonconvex profile on an inner face of
the material (2) .
12) A package as claimed in Claim 11, characterized in that said register mark (18) is at least partly defined by said compression lines (37).
13) A package as claimed in any one of Claims 9 to

11, characterized by comprising a printed decoration (5) .
14) A package as claimed in Claim 13, characterised in that said decoration (5) comprises at least one printed area (36) at least partly enclosing said compression lines (3 7) and defining, with them and by contrast, said register mark (18).
15) A package as claimed in Claim 14, characterized in that said optically detectable register mark (18) forms part of said decoration (5).

16. A sheet material for producing packages of food products
substantially as hereinabove described with reference to the
accompanying drawings.
17. A package substantially as hereinabove described with reference to
the accompanying drawings.


Documents:

927-chenp-2004 abstract.pdf

927-chenp-2004 claims.pdf

927-chenp-2004 correspondence others-26-06-2009.pdf

927-chenp-2004 drawings.pdf

927-chenp-2004 form-1.pdf

927-chenp-2004 form-3.pdf

927-chenp-2004 others.pdf

927-chenp-2004 petition.pdf

927-chenp-2004-claims.pdf

927-chenp-2004-correspondnece-others.pdf

927-chenp-2004-correspondnece-po.pdf

927-chenp-2004-description(complete).pdf

927-chenp-2004-drawings.pdf

927-chenp-2004-form 1.pdf

927-chenp-2004-form 26.pdf

927-chenp-2004-form 3.pdf

927-chenp-2004-form 5.pdf

927-chenp-2004-pct.pdf

EXAMINATION REPORT REPLY.PDF


Patent Number 240040
Indian Patent Application Number 927/CHENP/2004
PG Journal Number 18/2010
Publication Date 30-Apr-2010
Grant Date 26-Apr-2010
Date of Filing 30-Apr-2004
Name of Patentee TETRA LAVAL HOLDINGS & FINANCE SA
Applicant Address 70, avenue Général-Guisan CH-1009 Pully
Inventors:
# Inventor's Name Inventor's Address
1 SCARABELLI, Paolo Via Garzanti, 14 I-42100 Sesso
2 TACCONI, Lorenzo Via Del Frassino, 1 I-41100 Modena
3 GALAVOTTI, Giorgio Via Gramsci, 61/B I-41033 Concordia Sulla Secchia
4 NORENSTAM, Rickard Verkstadsvägen 4 S-244 91 Kavlinge
PCT International Classification Number B65B 41/18
PCT International Application Number PCT/EP02/12209
PCT International Filing date 2002-10-31
PCT Conventions:
# PCT Application Number Date of Convention Priority Country
1 TO2001A 001045 2001-11-02 Italy