WO2012123415A1

WO2012123415A1 - Sealing surface structure for producing a sealing seam

Info

Publication number: WO2012123415A1
Application number: PCT/EP2012/054280
Authority: WO
Inventors: Thomas Fischer
Original assignee: Herrmann Ultraschalltechnik Gmbh & Co. Kg
Priority date: 2011-03-15
Filing date: 2012-03-12
Publication date: 2012-09-20
Also published as: DE102011005537B4; DE102011005537A1

Abstract

The present invention relates to a tool for producing a sealing seam, comprising two elements that can be moved toward each other, of which one has a sealing surface (2) having a preferably flat base surface (9) and an attached relief structure (10). In order to achieve a sealing seam having energy-saving production and a low reject rate but at the same time good peeling properties, high seam strength, and an appealing optical appearance, the relief structure (10) is composed of a plurality of elevations (4), which protrude above a base surface (9) and which in a cross-sectional view are arranged perpendicular to the sealing surface (2) at a distance (D) from each other between 1.2 mm and 0.4 mm, preferably between 1.0 mm and 0.5 mm, best between 0.9 mm and 0.6 mm. The distance (D) refers to the distance measured parallel to the base surface (9) between the points of two adjacent elevations (4) having the greatest distance from the base surface (9). In the case of plateaus (5) having a constant distance from the base surface (9), the center point of the plateaus (5) in the cross-sectional view is to be used as the starting point for determining the distance between the elevations (4).

Description

Sealing surface structure for producing a sealed seam

The present invention relates to a tool for producing a sealed seam consisting of two elements which can be moved towards one another, of which one has a sealing surface with a preferably flat base surface and a relief structure placed on the base surface.

In the production of a sealed seam, at least two superimposed materials are welded together using energy. The resulting sealing seam can be composed of several individual seams. The sealed seam structure, d. H. the number, shape, spatial extent and arrangement of the individual seams is determined by the seal surface structure, i. H. determined by the relief structure of the sealing surface, and imprinted on the material in the course of welding.

Sealing seams described above are used, inter alia, in tubular bag packaging machines, z. B. in the food industry, used. Of particular technical interest is the production of transverse sealing seams, which run transversely, ie perpendicular, to the material movement direction. This is due to the fact that usually at these seams, the opening of the packages by the end user is provided. From this fact, there are generally four criteria that determine the quality of cross-seams: First, the sealed seam should result in a tight closure of the packaging. Second, it should have sufficient seam strength, ie the seal should be so durable that it remains intact on the way to the end user. Here, the seam strength of a sealed seam is determined by the force applied to open the seal. A high quality sealed packaging should be tight and kept tight until it is intended to be opened by the consumer. Only in this way can it be ensured that the contents of the packaging remain unchanged from the time the packaging is welded until it is opened. Especially with food, it is important to prevent unwanted contamination or spoilage of the product, which can only be ensured by a durable and impermeable packaging seal. Third, a transverse seal should have good peel properties, ie, be easy to open to the end user by hand without the use of additional aids. Fourth, the seal should have an attractive and promotional as possible optics. For the properties of a sealed seam, the applied seal seam structure is decisive in addition to the nature of the material to be processed. The sealed seam structure is itself determined by the sealing surface structure of the tool used for the sealing.

Basically, in the case of seal surface structures of essentially the same geometric design, the larger the areas of the sealing tool that are in direct contact with the material to be processed and in the region of which the immediate welding takes place are in their sum, the more stable the produced seal seam becomes , However, the more stable the sealing seam is, the harder it can be opened by the end user by hand.

The above-listed quality requirements for a sealed seam therefore lead to the following requirements for a seal surface structure: The structure as a whole should lead to a sufficiently large area of welded material to ensure a suitable seam strength and at the same time ensure that the total size of the welded material surfaces Peel properties of the sealed seam is not adversely affected. In the case of a transverse sealing seam, at least part of the seal should run continuously over the entire width of the packaging in order to ensure a tight seal. These challenges are addressed in packaging production by using seal seam structures consisting of several individual seams. These individual seams are arranged in parallel in the case of transverse sealing seams and extend in a line across the entire packaging surface. For opening, the packaging is usually gripped by the end user with his hands near the transverse seam, which defines two opposite gripping points. At these gripping points, the materials welded together are pulled apart perpendicular to the plane approximately defined by the sealing seam. Due to the tensile forces applied, the individual seams are loosened one after the other, beginning with the seam closest to the grip points. This approach leads to the situation that while the closest individual seam is already largely loosened, an adjacent seam is only partially loosened. Thus, the tensile force can be gradually distributed over several individual seams. The share of force attributable to the different individual seams depends not only on the nature of the same from their distance to the grip points, as well as how far the seams in question are already solved. Overall, the individual seams thus stabilize each other by distributing the attacking forces on the entire sealed seam structure.

With the help of sealing seam structures consisting of several individual seams, it is possible to produce stable sealing seams, which nevertheless open well. The seam strength can ever varied upon requirements of the packaging by different configurations of the sealing seam structure and can be precisely determined. However, a middle way must be found between the width of the individual seams, ie the size of the welded material surfaces, on the one hand, and the size of the distances between adjacent individual seams, ie the unwelded material surfaces between the welds, on the other hand. If the individual seams are too wide and the distances too small, the packaging is difficult to open. However, if the widths of the individual seams are too small and the distances too large, the resulting seam strength is insufficient. In addition, the seal seam structure should be such that, if possible, damage to the seal seams during welding is avoided.

Also important for the properties of the seal seam structure resulting from the weld are the heights of the elevations of the seal surface structure. If these elevations are very high, the sonotrode can penetrate very deeply into the material to be processed. This can lead to the material melted in the area of the upper ends of the elevations being almost completely displaced into the interspaces between the elevations. In this case, the desired material welding in the region of the upper elevation end can not be achieved, and rather undesired clumping or optical damage of the material to be processed occurs in the area of the recesses between the elevations.

On the part of a manufacturer, who packs his products mechanically using sealing seams, there is an additional interest in making the entire production process as cost-effective as possible. An important contribution to the cost is owed to the energy consumed for welding. Therefore, another requirement of sealed seams is that they can be produced in the most energy-efficient manner possible.

In this regard, for example, the method of ultrasonic sealing offers advantages. In this production technology, energy is applied in the form of mechanical vibrations in the ultrasonic range, ie in a frequency range from about 20 kHz up to frequencies of 1 GHz, via a sonotrode to the material to be processed. The advantage of this method over today's widespread heat sealing lies in the saving of energy and thus costs. In addition to the production process, the design of the sealed seam structure offers opportunities for energy savings. The energy consumed for welding correlates with the welded material surface: the larger the surface to be welded, the more energy must be used. From the aspect of energy saving, therefore, a sealing surface structure of advantage, which ensures the greatest possible stability of the seal with the lowest possible total area of welded material.

Further production costs can be saved by reducing the rejection rate of leaky packaging. Leaking seals in the case of transverse sealing seams can occur if consistently applied seals across the entire packaging width are interrupted by production errors. However, the wider such welds, the less the risk that production errors can lead to a complete break in the seal. However, when used for the purpose of energy saving thin welds, the risk of leaking packaging increases. In this respect, it would be advantageous to have sealed seam structures that minimize the rejection rate of leaky packaging despite a low overall weld area.

Based on the described prior art, the present invention therefore has the object to provide sealing surface structures with which sealing seams can be produced, the sealed seam structures are energy efficient in production and lead to a low reject rate, but at the same time stable seals with good peel properties and aesthetically pleasing Appearance. According to the invention, this object is achieved in that the sealing surface structure used to produce the sealing seam is formed by a relief structure composed of a plurality of protrusions which protrude beyond the base surface, which in a sectional view perpendicular to the sealing surface at a distance D between 1 , 2 mm and 0.4 mm, preferably between 1, 0 mm and 0.5 mm, most preferably between 0.9 mm and 0.6 mm are arranged to each other. In this case, the distance D is the distance, measured parallel to the base area, between the points of two adjacent elevations with the respectively greatest distance to the base area.

In order to keep the total area of welded material low, the elevations must have as few as possible narrow contact surfaces with the material to be processed. In this case, the distances between the elevations may not be too large or too small. If they are too small, the resulting seam strength approaches that of a single wide full weld and becomes too large. If they are too large, the seal structure loses suture strength and becomes too weak to meet the quality criteria defined above. It has been found that for typical materials in the field of food packaging, spacings D between adjacent elevations of the sealing surface in the above-mentioned size range lead to seals which combine good peel properties with high seam strength. At the same time, de on this scale sealing structures, which defy because of their small total area of welded material, the high seam strength energy-saving in production.

It is also advantageous if the elevations are formed as webs, since it can be ensured that, in the case of a transverse sealing seam, a continuous welding occurs over the entire width of the packaging and the closure is tight.

For most of the materials used in the packaging industry, it has been found that the height of the elevations above the base area is between 0,6 mm and 0,1 mm, preferably between 0,5 mm and 0,2 mm, best should be between 0.45 mm and 0.25 mm. In this case, the base area is selected as a rectangular area with length L _B and width B _B.

On this base surface, the elevations are placed so that the sealing surface at least in

Area of the base area has no section that has a lower level than the base area.

For surveys with heights in this size range, it is possible to ensure as far as possible that the risk of welding defects in most packaging materials is largely avoided as a result of unfavorably chosen elevation heights.

The base surface may be any portion of the seal surface. In order to be able to define a meaningful base area that captures the essential features of a seal surface structure as described above, both the length L _B and the width B _B must be at least 2 × Z, and most preferably at least 4 × D. At a distance D of 0.8 mm between adjacent elevations, this means that both L _B and B _{B should be} at least 1.6 mm to ensure that the base area has a representative section of the relief structure from as full elevations as possible and recesses.

If the webs form plateaus on the side facing away from the base surface, this produces individual seams which, apart from their length, are characterized by their width. In this case, forces acting on the packaging, for example when opening the packaging, are distributed not only continuously in the longitudinal direction but also transversely over the sealing seams. Since the force applied is greater, the closer the weld is to the grip, in particular the width of the seams is decisive for the seam strength, since it determines the size of the weld in the vicinity of the grip. The use of plateaus makes it possible to produce sealing seams of well-defined thickness. The distance D between two adjacent protrusions in a sectional view perpendicular to the sealing surface is given in the case of plateaus by the distance between the centers of the plateaus, measured parallel to the base surface, in the sectional view. "

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The technical challenge is to choose the width of the plateaus to ensure both high seam strength (achieved by wide plateaus) and good peel properties (achieved by narrow plateaus). In practice, the o. G. Distances between the surveys Plateaubreiten of at most 0.30 mm, preferably between 0.20 mm and 0.05 mm, preferably between 0.17 mm and 0.08 mm proved to be particularly advantageous. In these, the total surface of welded material is minimized despite good seam strength and the resulting energy savings optimized.

Also of importance for the properties of the sealing seams are the angles of inclination of possible plane flank surfaces adjoining the plateau planes. These angles determine whether and to what extent partial welds of the packaging materials occur between the individual fully welded seam sections. This in turn allows the transitions between fully welded and loose packaging sections to vary in their nature, which affects the seam strength of the overall seal. In this case, acute angles between plateau level and flank surface between 20 ° and 70 °, preferably between 30 ° and 60 °, preferably between 40 ° and 50 ° to advantageous results. The angles discussed here and below are always angles between surfaces in a sectional view perpendicular to a base surface of the sealing surface. It is true that the base of the survey on the base area is preferably the widest part of the survey. If the angles are too sharp in this case, the partial welds become too tight and the packaging is difficult to open. If the angles are too shallow, the partial welds have no appreciable effect on the seam strength of the overall seal. However, because the part welds provide additional stabilization of the seal seams, they help minimize the fully sealed areas.

The arrangement of the webs can also influence the sealing seam properties. Parallel webs running along the sealing seam enable a continuous, tight seal over the entire length of the sealed seam. By using several parallel webs, even at low plateau width can be ensured that the seal is tight even in the case of production errors in individual seams. Should a web be interrupted, the remaining intact individual seams ensure the sealing and the resistance of the seal, whereby the reject rate is kept low. The sealing bars can also intersect. The advantage of a crossed structure is that forces acting on the seal are distributed more uniformly over the entire seam surface. In addition, in the case of punctual damage to a single sealing seam as a result of a production error or comparable, not all the individual stitching loses its effect on the tightness of the weld, but loses depending on the concrete form of the crossed structure at most a spatially very limited section its sealing effect. The sealed seam structure as a whole retains its tightness. It has surprisingly been found that a suitable seam strength can be achieved even for small plate widths. A particularly stable and visually attractive sealing structure is achieved by two mutually parallel sets of webs intersecting at an angle between 60 ° and 120 °, preferably between 70 ° and 110 °, most preferably between 80 ° and 100 °. By crossing the seams, the sealing structure in the surface is more uniform and thus more stable against forces that do not attack perpendicular to the sealing surface. Conceivable are both embodiments in which the distances D between the parallel webs vary, as well as those in which D is constant.

In a further preferred embodiment, it is provided that the elevations form two or more sets each of a plurality of webs extending parallel to each other. The individual sets intersect and preferably include an angle between 60 ° and 120 ° and best between 80 ° and 100 °.

The parallel to each other extending webs of a set can either form constant distances to each other or the distances between the parallel to each other extending webs can vary.

In particular, in the formation of the elevations as webs remain between the webs grooves, which could be considered in principle as recesses. Another factor that determines the properties of the seal is the ratio between the volume of these recesses V _A above the base area and a base or reference volume V _B. The base surface can in turn be selected as a rectangular surface with length L _B and B _B width. The base volume V _B is then defined as the area of the base area multiplied by the height of the highest peak H above the base area, ie V _B = L _K x B _B y. H . The volume of the recesses V _A is given by the base volume minus the volume of the elevations above the base surface. Thus, the ratio between the volume of

Recesses V _A and the base volume V _B are specified as Υ. , The base area should be

V _B

be chosen so that it includes a representative section of the relief structure of the most complete elevations and recesses.

In the course of welding in the upper part of the elevations, a partial melting of the material to be processed occurs. At the upper ends of the surveys acts at the same time the highest pressure on the material. This leads to a material displacement in the areas between the surveys. Here, it should be avoided that in too narrow recesses compared to the size of the surveys, the material in the region of the recesses is compressed so that it also comes here to clumping or even Vollverschweißungen. On the other hand Teilversschweißungen can be controlled selectively, which can vary the properties of the seal and positively influenced. A ratio between the volume of the recesses V _A and the base volume V _B has proven to be advantageous in the range between 0.68 and 0.25, preferably between 0.63 and 0.30, most preferably between 0.58 and 0.35 ,

An alternative structure of the sealing seam surface offers itself in the form of webs with curved surface sections on the side facing away from the base surface. This embodiment has the advantage of continuous transitions between fully sealed and unsealed material sections without the risk of possible material damage through the use of edges. However, this does not control the size of the fully sealed material surface as accurately as it is possible in the case of the plateaus. The continuous transitions, on the other hand, lead to a visually softer appearance of the total seam.

Even in the case of rounded webs, the results of the sealing can be further differentiated and optimized, for example by the use of different radii of curvature for the curved surface sections. For typical packaging materials, curvature radii of at most 0.5 mm, preferably between 0.15 mm and 0.05 mm, more preferably between 0.12 mm and 0.08 mm, are recommended. It is true that the larger the radius, the larger the strongly to fully sealed material sections.

It is also advantageous that connect to the curved surfaces flat flank surfaces, with the tangent to the highest point of the surveys whenever possible an acute angle between 20 ° and 70 °, preferably between 30 ° and 60 °, preferably between 40 ° and 50 ° form. With an inclination of the flank surfaces in this angular range, it comes to partial welding, the degree is just chosen so that the full welds are optimally supported without affecting the peel properties of the sealed seam.

Further conceivable structures are those in which both webs with plateaus and those with curved surfaces are used and thus the advantages of both embodiments are combined.

The visual appearance of the sealing seam can moreover be achieved both by the use of varying angles of inclination of the flank surfaces and by varying distances D between the flanks. see the surveys are influenced. Thus, embodiments are possible in which certain patterns or lettering are impressed by means of sealed seam structure of the packaging material.

With regard to energy savings, the method of ultrasonic welding is suitable for the production of transverse sealing seams. The advantage of this method over the widespread welding by means of heat sealing on the one hand is the saving of energy and thus costs, on the other hand the possibility to effectively focus the energy used and thus to use it selectively. This, in turn, makes it possible to use very fine sealed seam structures that meet all the requirements defined above in terms of quality features. When welding by means of ultrasound, wherein one of the two tool elements is a sonotrode, it proves to be advantageous if the sealing surface is arranged with a relief structure on the sonotrode facing side of the opposite element.

Further advantages, features and applications will become apparent from the following description of five exemplary embodiments and the associated figures. FIG. 1 a shows a first exemplary embodiment of a sealing seam strip,

FIG. 1 b shows a side view of the sealing seam strip with a section plane A - A drawn in,

FIG. 1 c shows a vertical view of the sealing surface of the sealing seam strip from above,

FIG. 1 d shows a sectional view of the sealing seam strip according to A-A from FIG. 1 b,

FIG. 1e shows a detail view of the section according to A-A from FIG. 1b,

FIG. 2 a shows a second exemplary embodiment of a sealing seam strip,

FIG. 2b shows a side view of the sealing seam strip with the section plane A-A drawn in,

FIG. 2c shows a vertical view of the sealing surface of the sealing seam strip from above with the cutting planes B-B and C-C drawn in,

2d shows a sectional view of the sealing seam strip according to A-A from FIG. 2b, FIG.

FIG. 2e shows a detail view of the section according to A-A from FIG. 2b,

FIG. 2f shows a sectional view of the sealing seam strip according to C-C from FIG. 2c,

FIG. 2g shows a detail view of the section according to C-C from FIG. 2c,

FIG. 2h shows a sectional view of the sealing seam strip according to D-D from FIG. 2c,

FIG. 2i shows a detail view of the section according to D-D from FIG. 2c,

FIG. 2j shows a detailed view of the relief structure of the sealing seam strip,

FIG. 3 a shows a third exemplary embodiment of a sealing seam strip,

FIG. 3b shows a side view of the sealing seam strip with a section plane A-A drawn in,

FIG. 3c shows a vertical view of the sealing surface of the sealing seam strip from above, 3d figure one

Figure 3e a

Figure 4a a

Figure 4b a

Figure 4c a

Figure 4d a

Figure 4e a

Figure 4f a

Figure 4g a

Figure 5a a

Figure 5b a

FIG. 1 a shows a first sealing seam strip 1 with continuous, laterally disposed boreholes 3 for fastening in a packaging machine. The sealing seam strip 1 has the shape of an elongated cuboid, wherein the longitudinal side with relief structure 10 is narrower than the longitudinal sides with holes 3. The sealing surface 2 extends in the illustrated embodiment over the entire upper side surface of the sealing seam strip 1. In Figure 1b is a side view to see the sealing seam strip 1, in which a sectional plane AA is drawn perpendicular to the sealing plane. FIG. 1c shows a vertical view of the sealing surface 2 from above. In FIG. 1d, a cross-sectional view X according to A-A from FIG. 1b is shown, which is again shown in FIG. 1e as a detailed view. To see are elevations 4 in the form of parallel webs, which form on the side facing away from the base surface 9 plateau 5. The grooves or recesses 12 between the elevations 4 taper toward the base surface 9 towards. In this embodiment, the distances D between the individual plateaus 5 as well as the plateau widths P are kept identical for all elevations 4. The height H of the elevations 4 over the base surface 9 is also the same for all webs, wherein the ratio between the height H of the elevations 4 and the distance D between adjacent webs is 1: 2. In addition, all flank surfaces 6 of the elevations 4 have the same angle of inclination 7 of 45 ° with respect to the base surface 9. This uniform seal surface structure results in a correspondingly uniform sealing seam structures during welding.

FIGS. 2 a to 2 j show a second sealing seam strip V, which has a sealing surface structure consisting of elevations 4, which form webs with plateaus 5. On the elongated, cuboid sealing seam strip in FIG. 2a, boreholes 3 are arranged laterally for attachment in a packaging machine. In this embodiment, there are two sets of mutually parallel webs, which intersect at an angle of 90 °. This structure can be seen in detail in FIG. 2j, a detailed view W of the relief structure of the sealing surface 2 'from FIG. 2a. The webs each close at an angle with the longitudinal edges of the cuboid 45 °. The longitudinal side with relief structure 10 'is narrower than the pierced longitudinal sides, wherein the sealing surface 2' extends over the entire longitudinal side. The sealing surface 2 'is shown in FIGS. 2d to 2i in different sections perpendicular to the sealing plane along the sectional planes AA, BB and CC, as defined in FIGS. 2b and 2c. Here, FIG. 2b shows a side view and FIG. 2c shows a vertical view of the sealing surface 2 'of the sealing seam strip V from above. FIG. 2d shows a cross-sectional view along the sectional plane AA. FIG. 2e shows a detailed view of the cross section X 'from FIG. 2d. In this illustration, the cut runs exactly through the intersections of the webs. For the cross sections from FIGS. 2f and 2h, detailed views are shown in FIGS. 2g and 2i, respectively. The sectional view in Figure 2g shows a section perpendicular to the sealing surface 2 ', which forms an angle of 45 ° with the longitudinal axis of the bar. The section in FIG. 2i likewise runs perpendicular to the sealing seam surface and encloses an angle of 90 ° with the sectional plane of FIG. 2g. The similarities between FIGS. 2g and 2i reflect the symmetry of the relief structure 10 '. The plateau widths P and the distances D between adjacent parallel webs are the same for all elevations 4. Likewise, all elevations 4 have the same height H, as well as all flank surfaces 6 at the elevations 4 have the same inclination angle 7 of 45 °. At the foot of the elevations 4, the base surface 9 adjoins the flank surfaces 6 directly. In the present embodiment, the base surface 9 in the recesses 12 between the elevations 4 in the form of squares. The ratio between the plateau width P of the ridges and the side length L of the squares is 1: 2, while the ratio between the height H of the ridges 4 and the side length L is 2: 3. Such a sealing surface structure leads during welding to a uniform, symmetrical appearance of the sealed seam structure, which has a high stability due to the numerous intersecting individual seams. A third exemplary embodiment can be seen in Figures 3a to 3e, wherein Figure 3a shows a sealing seam strip 1 "of the shape of an elongated cuboid with continuous, laterally mounted boreholes 3 for mounting in a packaging machine 3b shows a side view of the sealing seam strip 1 ", in which the sectional plane AA is defined perpendicular to the sealing plane, and furthermore, a vertical view of the sealing surface 2 is shown in FIG " from above. Figure 3d consists of a section along the cutting plane AA. This section is shown in detail in FIG. 3e. 3e show parallel webs forming elevations 4, which have curved surfaces 11 at the top and flat sides 6 on the sides, each with the same inclination angle 7. The heights H of all elevations 4 over the base surface 9 are identical. The acute angle, which include the flank surfaces 6 each with the tangent 8 at the highest point of a survey 4, is 45 °. The ratio between the height H and the distance D between adjacent lands is 1: 2. The ratio between web height H and radius of curvature the curved surfaces 1 1 is 8: 1. The recesses 12 between the webs run towards the base surface 9 towards pointed. Such a seal surface structure results in a seal pattern with a uniform pattern during sealing, the single seams of which, due to the settlements, create a smooth, flowing appearance of the seal.

4a to 4g show a fourth sealing seam strip 1 "'according to the invention. In FIG. 4a, a sealing seam strip 1"' can be seen which essentially has the shape of an elongated cuboid with laterally arranged mounting holes 3. The relief structure 10 "'comprises an entire longitudinal side of the cuboid, which is narrower than the longitudinal sides with holes 3. In the side view of the sealing seam strip 1"' in Figure 4b, the section plane A-A is set perpendicular to the sealing plane. A vertical view of the sealing surface 2 '"from above is shown in Figure 4c, Figure 4d shows a sectional view along the section plane AA A detailed view of this section is shown in Figure 4e The elevations 4 in Figure 4e are shown as parallel webs Plateaus 5 and flat flank surfaces 6 on the sides, which all have the same angle of inclination 7. The plateaus 5 of the two outer elevations 4 have identical plateau widths P ', which differ from the rest of each identical plateau widths P of the inner elevations between inner and outer plateau widths is 1: 2. The height H of all elevations 4 above the base surface 9 is the same The flank surfaces 6 include acute angles of 45 ° with the base surface 9. The ratio between the height H and the distance D between adjacent ones Webs is 1: 2. The recesses 12 between the webs taper toward the base surface 9. D he outer flank surfaces 6 of the two outermost elevations are each perpendicular to the base surface. In addition, the outer elevations each have a chamfer in the form of curved surface 1 1 with identical radius of curvature R 'on. In this case, the ratio between the outer plateau width P 'and the radius of curvature R' is 4: 3. In addition, the chamfer is designed symmetrically with respect to a straight line, which forms an angle of 45 ° with the base surface 9 and extends through the center of curvature of the radius of curvature R '. Likewise, the sealing seam strip has "chamfers with radius R" at the edges of the sealing surface 2. Figures 5a and 5b show a last exemplary embodiment As can be seen in Figure 5a, the relief structure 10 comprises "" this sealing seam strip 1 "". only two elevations 4 in the form of webs extending parallel to the longitudinal side of the sealing seam strip 1 "" over the entire sealing surface 2 "." These webs with plateaus 5 have chamfers adjoining the plateaus 5 in the form of curved surfaces 11 having a radius of curvature R ". on. FIG. 5b shows a transverse side, which is essentially oblong, block-shaped sealing seam strip 1 "".

For purposes of the original disclosure, it is to be understood that all features as embodied by the present specification, the drawings, and the dependent claims, or even if they have been concretely described only in connection with certain further features, both individually and in any combination with other features or feature groups disclosed herein are combinable, unless this was expressly excluded or technical conditions such Make combinations impossible or pointless. On the comprehensive, explicit representation of all conceivable combinations of features and the emphasis on the independence of the individual features of each other is here omitted only for the sake of brevity and readability of the description.

W 201 _{Λ Λ}

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LIST OF REFERENCE NUMBERS

1 sealing seam strip

1 'sealed seam strip

1 "sealed seam strip

1 '"Sealing seam strip

1 "" sealing seam strip

2 sealing surface

2 'sealing surface

2 "sealed area

2 "'sealed area

2 "" sealed area

3 borehole

4 survey

5 plateau

6 flank area

7 tilt angle

8 tangent

9 base area

10 relief structure

10 'relief structure

10 "relief structure

10 '"relief structure

10 "" relief structure

11 Curved surface

12 recess

D distance

H height

L side length

P plateau width

P 'plateau width

R radius of curvature

R 'radius of curvature

R "radius of curvature

R '"radius of curvature

W detailed view of Fig. 2a

X cross-sectional view of Fig. 1d

X 'cross-sectional view of Fig. 2d , _

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X "cross-sectional view of Fig. 3d

Querschnitts' "Cross-sectional view of Fig. 4d

Y cross-sectional view of Fig. 2f

Querschnitts' Cross-sectional view of Fig. 4a ζ cross-sectional view of Fig. 2h

Claims

P atent claims

1. Tool for producing a sealing seam consisting of two elements that can be moved towards one another, one of which has a sealing surface (2, 2 ', 2", 2"', 2"") with a preferably flat base surface (9) and on the Base surface (9) of an applied relief structure (10,

10', 10", 10"', 10""),

characterized in that

the relief structure (10, 10', 10", 10"', 10"") is composed of a large number of elevations (4) which protrude above the base surface (9), which in a sectional view are perpendicular to the sealing surface ( 2, 2', 2", 2"', 2"") at a distance D between 1.2 mm and 0.4 mm, preferably between 1.0 mm and 0.5 mm, best between 0.9 mm and are arranged 0.6 mm apart.

2. Tool according to claim 1, characterized in that the elevations (4) on the base surface (9) are designed as webs.

3. Tool according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the height H of the elevations (4) above the base surface (9) is between 0.6 mm and 0.1 mm, preferably between 0.5 mm and 0.2 mm, is best between 0.45 mm and 0.25 mm.

4. Tool according to one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the elevations are designed as plateaus (5) consisting of surface sections with a constant distance from the base surface (9).

5. Tool according to claim 4, characterized in that the plateaus (5) have a width P of at most 0.30 mm, preferably between 0.20 mm and 0.05 mm, most preferably between 0.17 mm and 0.08 mm exhibit.

6. Tool according to claim 4 or 5, characterized in that the elevations (4) have flat flank surfaces (6) adjoining the plateaus (5) which form an acute angle (7) between 20° and 70° with the plateau plane, preferably between 30° and 60°, preferably between 40° and 50°.

7. Tool according to one of claims 2 to 6, characterized in that the webs cross each other.

8. Tool according to one of claims 2 to 7, characterized in that the elevations (4) have two sets, each consisting of a plurality of parallel to each other Form webs that intersect at an angle between 60° and 120°, preferably between 70° and 110°, best between 80° and 100°.

Tool according to one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that the ratio -^L between the volume of the recesses (12) V _A and a base volume

V _B , which is calculated as the product of the base area (9) and the height H of the highest elevation (4) above the base area (9), between 0.68 and 0.25, preferably between 0.63 and 0.30, is best between 0.58 and 0.35, the volume of the recesses (12) V _A being given by the base volume V _B minus the volume of the elevations (4) above the base surface

(9).

10. Tool according to one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that the elevations (4) on the side facing away from the base surface (9) have a curved surface section (11), preferably with a constant radius of curvature (R, R ', R'") .

1 1. Tool according to claim 10, characterized in that the curved surfaces (11) have a radius of curvature (R, R ', R'") of at most 0.5 mm, preferably between 0.15 mm and 0.05 mm best have between 0.12 mm and 0.08 mm.

Tool according to claim 10 or 11, characterized in that the elevations (4) have flat flank surfaces (6) adjoining the curved surfaces (1 1), which have a point with the tangent (8) to the highest point of the elevation (4). Include angle (7) between 20° and 70°, preferably between 30° and 60°, best between 40° and 50°.

Tool according to one of claims 1 to 12, characterized in that one of the two tool elements consists of a sonotrode, the sealing surface (2, 2', 2", 2'", 2"") having a relief structure (10, 10 ', 10", 10"', 10"") is preferably arranged on the corresponding counter element to the sonotrode.