Packaging machine with pouch gripping clamps

Claim 1

Apparatus for handling an upright pouch having upright side margins and for forming a top heat seal along the extreme upper end portion and along the top margin of the pouch, said apparatus comprising a pair of clamps for releasably gripping opposite side margins of the pouch, means for advancing said clamps and the gripped pouch along a predetermined path, each of said clamps having upper opposing jaws and having lower opposing jaws spaced below the upper jaws, a pair of opposing heated seal bars disposed on opposite sides of said path for heat sealing the extreme upper end portion of the pouch between the pair of clamps, means for moving said bars to active positions in which the bars contact opposite sides of the extreme upper end portion of the pouch to form said top heat seal, said sealing bars having oppositely extending portions projecting toward said side margins and spaced below the top ends of the bars and extending into the spaces between the upper and lower jaws of said clamps when said bars are in said active positions, the upper and lower jaws of each clamp gripping said pouch at elevations respectively located above and below the bottom margin of the top heat seal formed by said bars.