Plastic bag and packaging machine

Claim 1

AN ARTICLE PACKING APPARATUS FOR USE IN COMBINATION WITH A LONGITUDINALLY FOLDED WEB OF HEAT SEALABLE MATERIAL, WHEREIN THE OPPOSITE SIDES OF THE WEB ARE DISPOSED IN CONFRONTING RELATION WITH EACH OTHER, THE APPARATUS INCLUDING, A FRAME, MEANS ON THE FRAME FEEDING A PREDETERMINED LENGTH OF THE WEB WITH THE OPPOSITE SIDES IN CONFRONTING RELATION WITH EACH OTHER, CLAMPING MEANS FOR CLAMPING THE OPPOSITE SIDES OF THE WEB TOGETHER AND INCLUDING A PAIR OF CLAMPING PORTIONS, EACH DISPOSED ADJACENT THE WEB AND IN CONFRONTING RELATION WITH ONE SIDE THEREOF TO ENGAGE THE WEB ALONG TRANSVERSE AREAS ACROSS THE WEB, EACH CLAMPING PORTION INCLUDING A PAIR OF SPACED PARALLEL CLAMPING BARS RIGIDLY INTERCONNECTED WITH EACH OTHER AND EXTENDING TRANSVERSELY ACROSS THE WEB, THE CLAMPING BARS OF EACH CLAMPING PORTION BEING SPACED FROM EACH OTHER LONGITUDINALLY OF THE WEB TO DEFINE AN UNOBSTRUCTED SPACE ACROSS WHICH THE WEB EXTENDS WHEN CLAMPED TO BE SEVERED AND SEALED, MEANS ON THE FRAME MOUNTING AND MOVING SAID CLAMPING PORTIONS TOWARD AND AWAY FROM ONE ANOTHER, A BURN-OFF BLADE LYING IN THE UNOBSTRUCTED SPACE BETWEEN THE PAIR OF BARS OF ONE OF SAID CLAMPING PORTIONS AND BEING MOVABLE THROUGH THE CLAMPED WEB AND INTO THE UNOBSTRUCTED SPACE BETWEEN THE OTHER OF SAID CLAMPING PORTIONS TO BURN-OFF AND SEAL THE CLAMPED WEB, MEANS MOVING SAID BURN-OFF BLADE INTO AND OUT OF ENGAGEMENT WITH THE FILM AND THROUGH SAID UNOBSTRUCTED SPACES, THE CLAMPING BARS OF ONE OF SAID CLAMPING PORTIONS HAVING EDGE PORTIONS CONFRONTING THE WEB AND HAVING A SERIES OF INDIVIDUALLY RESILIENT RETRACTABE ELEMENTS ON SAID EDGE PORTIONS AND IN OPPOSED RELATION TO THE CLAMPING BARS OF THE OTHER CLAMPING PORTIONS.