Moshe N Epstein, 782530 Queens Way, Northbrook, IL 60062

7272918, Sep 25, 2007

Feb 16, 2006

11/354655

Moshe Epstein - Northbrook IL, US

B65B 31/00
B65B 51/14

53510, 533293

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-most perimeter of the sealing gasket is made of a greater hardness in the approximate durometer-hardness range of between 60-85 Shore A, while the remainder of sealing gasket is made of less hardness in the approximate durometer-hardness range of between 30-50 Shore A.

7299609, Nov 27, 2007

Jun 21, 2006

11/425466

Moshe Epstein - Northbrook IL, US

B65B 47/04
B65B 43/08
B29C 51/38

53561, 53456, 264299

A piston-cylinder arrangement is provided for mounting and actuating the lower tool of an indexing packaging machine, which has an annular piston head that has a ratio of outer diameter to inner diameter that is less than two, and which drives a relatively oversized hollow piston rod having a protruding mounting portion that projects upwardly and outwardly from the main cylinder, to the upper end of which is mounted an upper mounting plate connected to the lower tool of a station of the packaging machine. The oversized piston rod or shaft ensures stable and tilt-free mounting of the lower tool that ensures the parallelism thereof with the upper stationary tool, while providing more than the necessary force for activating the lower tool.

7520801, Apr 21, 2009

May 24, 2005

11/135950

Moshe Epstein - Northbrook IL, US
Peter Parthenis - Inverness IL, US

A22C 11/00

452 30

A device for manufacturing a frusto-conical shaped meat product using mold casing that receives ground meat under pressure. The mold casing has an inner wall, a first lateral end, and a second lateral end. The mold casing has a frusto-conical shape, for forming the meat product into a desired shape and cross section. An end fitting is secured to the discharge end of a meat stuffer. The end fitting includes a plurality of pivotable, flexible, adjacent, partially overlapping fins. The fins pivot as they are moved relative to the mold casing, and in that way maintain contact with the inner wall of the mold casing.

7963091, Jun 21, 2011

Nov 4, 2008

12/264466

Moshe Epstein - Northbrook IL, US
Suzali Suyut - Indianapolis IN, US

B65B 47/00

53559, 53561, 53427

An improved indexing vacuum-packaging machine more accurately positions and aligns the upper film relative to the lower film at the sealing station. A video camera replaces a conventional photocell, whereby the braking and concomitant stretching of the upper film at the sealing station need only be performed only every few indexing cycles, whereby shaking and jerking of the machine is negated as compared to a conventional vacuum-packaging machine. The video camera may use any portion of the printed matter on the upper film as a target for determining when to brake the upper film for the subsequent stretching thereof, without having to rely solely upon the hithertofore-used one black target-box imprinted on the upper film. The video camera is focused on a section of the portion of upper film at the sealing station for detecting a predetermined target area of printed matter, which section to be detected may form any part of the printed matter, and is not limited to, and preferably not, the one black target-box located longitudinally centrally between each longitudinally repeating pattern of printed matter on the upper surface-face of the upper film. When the target image-area has been detected by the video camera apparatus and the software thereof, an output signal is generated to cause the braking mechanism of the vacuum-packaging machine at the sealing station to be actuated to brake the upper film that will stretch the upper film.

8156721, Apr 17, 2012

Jul 21, 2009

12/506396

Moshe Epstein - Northbrook IL, US

B65G 17/30

53559, 53563, 53574, 464 49, 245 4

A transport indexing chain for a food-packaging machine is made of two different materials in order to provide the most optimal result of a drive chain that resists wear and tear and thus reduces elongation of the chain over time, and which also provides a drive indexing chain that resists bacterial infection. In order to satisfy the first objective of providing a chain that resists wear and elongation of the drive chain, the parts thereof that remain exposed to greasing or lubrication, and thus are resistant to rusting, are made of the same prior-art material of nickel-plated carbon steel. These parts are: The bushings, the rollers, and the pivot rods or pins. The remaining parts, namely the links or side plates and the clamping attachments, are made of stainless steel, whereby prevention of bacterial infection is substantially achieved without increased wear.

5271207, Dec 21, 1993

Nov 18, 1992

7/978126

Moshe Epstein - Northbrook IL
Robert D. Tischer - Oak Forest IL
Lilac Epstein - Northbrook IL

B65B 3102

53432

A dual-section nozzle-head for use in a vacuum-packaging machine. The first section of the nozzle-head is provided with an interiorly-located manifold, that fluidly connects a series of first orifices, the exit-ends of which are located at the tip of the nozzle-head, so that these orifices may be fluidly coupled to the interior of packages at a sealing station of a vacuum-packaging machine for evacuating the packages via a vacuum source to which the orifices are connected. Interspersed between these first orifices are second orifices, which also have their exit-mouths at the tip of the nozzle-head. The second orifices are spaced apart, one from the other, along the length of the nozzle-head, and are coupled to a second manifold that is positioned exteriorly of the housing of the nozzle-head. The second manifold is coupled to a supply of protective inert gas.

4951444, Aug 28, 1990

Feb 6, 1989

7/306683

Moshe Epstein - Olympia Fields IL
Paul Durden - Bellwood IL

Durden to A.M.E. Engineering, Inc. - South Holland IL

B65B 4702
B65B 5700

53 77

A new computerized control system designed for packaging machines. This control system can be installed on any dieless packing machine. The advances achieved by this control system are: High speeds are achieved by synchronizing the machine index cycle and tooling controls, permitting the prestart of tooling before the end of the index cycle; because the motor speed is monitored and profiled by the computer continuously, faster machine speeds can be achieved while maintaining the minimum machine jerk; total index time savings; diagnostics which dramatically reduce machine down time as a user friendly hard-copy print out is produced describing and pinpointing locations of malfunctions in the timers, tooling, and motor performance; access to all timer control settings through easy to use thumbwhell switches. In addition, a new arrangement of the tooling stations is used, allowing for the increase of per cycle capacity several times the capacity of the prior art. The sealing station includes an initial sealing substation where no vacuum operation is performed, and a final sealing substation where a vacuum operation of considerably reduced requirements of time is carried out.

4744130, May 17, 1988

Feb 17, 1987

7/015368

Moshe N. Epstein - Olympia Fields IL
Peter Parthenis - Inverness IL

Grecian Delight, Inc. - Rosemont IL

A22C 700

17 45

With the device and method, ground meat is pumped through an elongated discharge tube into a plastic bag at the bottom of a frustoconical-shaped mold casing. The mold casing cooperates with a pneumatic or air inflatable elastic resilient piston that causes the meat being pumped through the discharge tube to be packed tightly down to a desired texture. As more meat is pumped into the bag and mold casing, the piston when inflated has a varying diameter and the mold casing moves axially downward with respect to the resilient piston to allow for more room for meat in the mold casing and bag until a point is reached where the discharge tube along with the inflated piston are forced out of the mold casing by downward movement of the mold casing. Then the meat in the mold casing and the bag are severed and removed from the mold casing whereupon the discharge tube and air inflated piston member is repositioned with respect to the mold casing by having the mold casing moved up to a position where the discharge tube and resilient air inflated position are in their first position so that the cycle can be repeated.