| 摘要 |
<p>A package (20, 40, 48, 56, 72) is sealed to enclose dental floss or other filament (22). The filament is sealed at its end portions (22b) within sealed ends (26b, 26d; 46b, 46d; 50b, 50d; 62b, 62d; 74b, 74d) of the package, and a bunched-up filament portion is sealed within the package. notch (30) with a cut (30a and 30b), a tear line 54, a tearaway tab (64) or simply the package material which is easily tearable, enables the package to be opened, by using a greater or lesser sized segment (e.g., 34; 64; 72a or 72b) of the package as a handle to draw the filament untangled and unknotted from the package. The package is formed using instrumentation including a feed tube (114) and a mandrel (116) which are concentrically positioned and relatively movable with respect to one another in timed movements. These movements are coordinated with movements of accompanying sealers (74, 98), holders (78, 102) and a cutter (104), to draw an uncut length of filament (22) between two films (72a, 72b) of wrapping material, and bunch up a measured amount (22a) of the filament for deposit into an open-ended compartment (28) formed from the wrapping material.</p> |
