US 12,070,911 B2
Stretching unit for clamping and stretching a tubular film, flow-wrapper and method for clamping and stretching a tubular film
Bruno Gerfried Baumeister, Aachen (DE)
Assigned to GEA FOOD SOLUTIONS WEERT B.V., RV Weert (NL)
Appl. No. 17/635,414
Filed by GEA Food Solutions Weert B.V., RV Weert (NL)
PCT Filed Sep. 9, 2020, PCT No. PCT/EP2020/075177
§ 371(c)(1), (2) Date Feb. 15, 2022,
PCT Pub. No. WO2021/048193, PCT Pub. Date Mar. 18, 2021.
Claims priority of application No. 19196135 (EP), filed on Sep. 9, 2019.
Prior Publication US 2022/0266540 A1, Aug. 25, 2022
Int. Cl. B29C 65/00 (2006.01); B65B 9/20 (2012.01); B65B 9/207 (2012.01)
CPC B29C 66/4312 (2013.01) [B29C 66/344 (2013.01); B29C 66/849 (2013.01); B65B 9/2049 (2013.01); B65B 9/207 (2013.01)] 20 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A stretching unit for clamping and stretching a tubular film in a flow-wrapper, the stretching unit comprising:
a gripping head;
two coupling rods attached to a moving means;
two gripping fingers, each of the two gripping fingers is attached to the gripping head and to one of the two coupling rods;
wherein the two gripping fingers are moved from a remote position to a clamping position by a relative linear movement between the gripping head and the moving means parallel to a center axis of the moving means; and
wherein the gripping head is connected with a driving means, wherein the driving means is an electric motor or a linear motor or a linear servo motor.