A vacuum packaging machine for performing a vacuum sealing operation on product packages, comprises a vertical stack of vacuum chambers 4 which each manage to receive at least one unsealed product package 2 and are operable to perform an independent vacuum sealing operation on the least one product package 2. A conveyor arrangement 8, 9 is operable to load and unload a selected vacuum chamber 4 with the at least one product package, and the machine is arranged to operate the respective vacuum ch...

The meat packaging machine of the present invention is designed to vacuum pack meat products between two webs of heat sealable thermo-plastic material. One web of each package is formed with at least two pockets connected by and bounded by a sealing flange extending outwardly therefrom. The second web which closes the pockets also extends over the sealing flange and the entire interface between the two webs is heat sealed to prevent migration of meat juices. The machine includes a sealing head a...

An apparatus for extracting air from within flexible packages having granular or otherwise flowable contents includes a package conveyor and a downwardly-open, vacuum extraction hood through which the packages are conveyed so that an upper portion of each package is moved through the extraction hood. The interior of the hood is joined in fluid communication with a vacuum source, so that air is extracted from within each package as it is conveyed through the hood. The present apparatus further in...

A container sealing device includes a platform slidable and movable in and out of a casing and having an opening for receiving a container to be sealed. A lever and a support device are slidably attached to the platform, and movable up and down relative to the platform, to support the container. The platform includes a peripheral bulge having a peripheral channel to form an inner peripheral wall which may support an outer flange of the container, and an outer peripheral wall having an orifice fo...

An improved sealing gasket for a vacuum-sealing station of a vacuum packaging machine which is made such that the outer perimetric portion thereof is made of a greater hardness than the rest of the sealing gasket, whereby the sealing heat-elements of a reciprocal heating element only substantially contacts against the softer material of the sealing gasket, allowing this softer material to conform to the uneven or non-level condition of the heating element. In the preferred embodiment, the outer-...

A vacuum packaging machine (10) is provided having a base (12) and a pivotally mounted lid (14) which cooperatively define a package air evacuation chamber (76) adapted to receive the open end (98) of a filled flexible package (100), thereby allowing evacuation of air from the package (100) and heat sealing of end (98). The machine (10) is characterized by an essentially flat and uninterrupted, easily cleanable base upper wall (28) which eliminates concavities in the like which can lead to unsan...

A heat-shrinkable multilayer film comprises (A) a first layer, which is an outer layer, and which comprises polyolefin; (B) a second layer comprising at least one member selected from the group consisting of polyolefin, polystyrene, and polyurethane; (C) a third layer comprising at least one member selected from the group consisting of amorphous polyester and polyester having a melting point of from about 130.degree. C. to about 260.degree. C.; (D) a fourth layer, which is an outer layer, the fo...

A head space inserting system is used in a packaging machine for forming, filling and sealing packages. The inerting system directly introduces an inerting gas into the head space of the formed package subsequent to filling and prior to sealing. The inerting system includes an inerting gas source, an inerting gas heater to heat the inerting gas and an inerting gas nozzle. The inerting gas nozzle is disposed within the form, fill and seal packaging machine to introduce the inerting gas directly i...

Packaging apparatus for making hermetically sealed vacuum packages from two continuous webs of plastic packaging material supplied as roll stock. The lower web is formed into product receptacles, and the upper web is applied over the receptacles to serve as the top. The apparatus includes a single-station evacuate-and-seal head where the two webs are initially sealed together around the flanges of the receptacle. The resulting package is then evacuated through a slit in the lower web, and the ev...

In a vacuum packaging machine there is provided the combination of a sealing unit and vacuum unit. The sealing unit comprises first and second sealing dies and the vacuum unit comprises a primary spacer located adjacent the input end of the sealing dies. The primary spacer is spaced from the first die to form a first web feeding passage therebetween and is spaced from the second die to form a second web feeding passage therebetween. The vacuum unit also includes a secondary spacer located adjace...