JP2000043809A - Packaging system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a packaging system enhancing safety for and an operator. SOLUTION: For a packaging system wherewith articles are conveyed with a supply conveyor 100 to a lifter at the downstream side and the articles on the lifter are pushed up to a packaging station and packaged with a film, an infrared detector 96 is provided for detecting infrared rays emitted from a human body at a supply passage of the supply conveyor 100 and/or a discharge passage from the packaging station, and packaging operation is prevented from starting or stopped when a part of the human body is detected by the infrared detector 96.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a packaging system for packaging goods at a packaging station.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a packaging system of this type is configured such that goods are conveyed by a supply conveyor to a downstream lifter, the goods on the lifter are pushed up to a packing station, and then the goods are pushed out by a packing pusher. While discharging, wrap the goods in film.

[0003]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Since the packaging mechanism is complicated and operates at a high speed, it is preferable to ensure sufficient safety. Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a packaging system with enhanced operator safety.

[0004]

That is, the present invention provides an infrared detector for detecting infrared light emitted from a human body in a supply path by the supply conveyor and / or a discharge path from the packaging station in such a packaging system. A wrapping operation is not started or the wrapping operation is stopped when the infrared detector detects a part of a human body.

[0005] "Products" handled in this packaging system
Means what is packaged and what is packaged. In the present packaging system, the “goods” are generally often placed on a tray, but need not necessarily be placed on the tray.

In the present invention, it is necessary to provide an infrared detector for detecting a human body in at least one of the supply path and the discharge path. In the present invention, in a state where the packaging operation has not been started, when the infrared detector detects a part of the human body, control is performed so that the packaging operation is not started. On the other hand, when the infrared detector detects a part of the human body during the packaging operation, the packaging operation is stopped in an emergency.

[0007]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. First, the general structure and operation of the present packaging system will be described. In FIG.
100 is a weighing conveyor (supply conveyor), 200 is a packaging mechanism, 3 is a discharge device, 4 is a stock conveyor, 5 is a label printer, and 7 is a touch screen.

In FIG. 2A, the weighing conveyor 1
Reference numeral 00 denotes a weight detection unit 101 such as a load cell for measuring the weight of the product M, and a plurality of drive belts 103 stretched between a pair of pulleys 102 supported on the weight detection unit 101. ing. The end of the tray T is pushed onto each of these drive belts 103 so that the packaging mechanism 2
A nail-shaped projection 104 for feeding the product M is fixed to the 00 side. Therefore, the product M placed on the drive belt 103 is weighed and then conveyed to the lifter 201 downstream along with the tray T while sliding on the conveying surface 105.

The packaging mechanism 200 includes a lifter 201, a film folding mechanism 203, a heat roller 209, and the like. The post 210 of the lifter 201 is arranged immediately below the packaging station S, and is vertically movable up and down by a lifting means 208. This lifter 201
When the product M is supplied from the weighing conveyor 100, the product M is raised and pushes the product M to the packaging station S.

On the other hand, prior to the wrapping operation, the stretched film F is transported to the wrapping station S by the transfer mechanism 20.
2,202. This film F
When the product M is pushed up, it comes into close contact with the upper surface of the product M. In this state, the film folding mechanism 203 includes a pair of left and right folding plates 204 (only one is shown in FIG. 2A).
A rear folding plate 205, a round bar-shaped front folding member 206,
The packaging pusher 207 folds the front, rear, left, and right side edges of the film F into the bottom surface of the tray T, and
Packaging.

The wrapping pusher 207 pushes out the tray T in the wrapping operation so that a part of the film F is folded into the bottom side of the tray T and also pushes the tray T onto the heat roller 209. The heat roller 20
9 heat-welds the films F to each other on the bottom surface of the tray T and discharges the wrapped goods M onto the first discharge drive conveyor 31 of the discharge device 3 in FIG. The goods M on the first discharge drive conveyor 31 are transferred to the second discharge drive conveyor 3.
2 After the transfer, the label L is applied to the product M by the label printer 5 shown in FIG. 2B, and after the application, the product M is discharged onto the stock conveyor 4 by the second discharge drive conveyor 32.

As shown in FIG. 3, the packaging system has a main controller 8 and a sub controller 9. The main controller 8 weighs goods, issues labels, and weighs the conveyor 1.
00 (FIG. 2A), and has a first CPU 80, a first ROM 81 and a first RAM 82, and has a touch screen 7, a stroke key unit 70, a label printer 5 via an interface (not shown). And measuring means 83.

The first ROM 81 stores a control program. In the first RAM 82, data such as a unit price of a product and a product name are stored for each product. The weighing unit 83 includes the weight detection unit 101 of the weighing conveyor 100 and an A / D converter (not shown), and outputs weight data to the first CPU 80. The label printer 5 prints data such as weight, unit price, and price on the label L and issues the label L.

The sub-control unit 9 has a second CPU 91, a second ROM 93 and a second RAM 94. Further, the sub-control device 9 is connected to the local control unit 95 via an interface (not shown).
U91 controls the operations of the weighing conveyor 100, the packaging mechanism 200, and the discharge device 3 via the local control unit 95.

Next, the characteristic configuration and functions of the present packaging system will be described. In the present packaging system, a pair of infrared radiation thermometers 90A, 90A,
90B is connected. The infrared radiation thermometer 90A, 9
OB has an infrared detector 96 as a detection head.

Each of the infrared detectors 96 detects infrared rays emitted from the human body on the lines indicated by alternate long and short dash lines L1 and L2 in FIGS. That is, each infrared detector 96 detects infrared rays emitted from a human body in a supply path by the weighing conveyor 100 or a discharge path from the packaging station S.

The optical axes L1, L2 of the infrared detector 96
Is set in a substantially horizontal direction substantially orthogonal to the supply direction or the discharge direction of the product M, and therefore, the central axes L1 and L2 of the visual field (detection area) A indicated by a two-dot chain line in FIG.
However, as shown in FIG. 4, it is set in a substantially horizontal direction substantially orthogonal to the supply path or the discharge path.

The position where the infrared detector 96 is provided is the weighing conveyor 10 of the main frame 6 of the packaging system.
It is preferable that the first and second walls 60 are accommodated in one of the wall surfaces 60 located on both sides of the zero. Thereby, the body frame 6
A part of the human body that has entered the space between the two wall surfaces 60, 60 can be detected.

The infrared detector 96 converts the infrared radiation radiated from the object in the field of view A in FIG.
The light is condensed on a detection element (not shown) such as a thermopile by an optical system such as. The infrared radiation thermometers 90A and 90B
Calculates the temperature based on the energy of the infrared ray incident on the detection element and the output of a reference temperature sensor (not shown), and outputs the calculated temperature to the sub control device 9 in FIG.

The second RAM 94 of the sub-control unit 9 includes a threshold storage unit 92 for storing a lower limit value and an upper limit value of the temperature detected by the human body. In the threshold storage unit 92, using the touch screen 7 and the stroke key unit 70,
The lower limit value and the upper limit value are input, and the setting can be changed. Second CPU 9
1 compares the temperature measured by the infrared radiation thermometers 90A and 90B with the lower limit and the upper limit, and when the measured temperature falls within the range from the lower limit to the upper limit,
It recognizes that the human body has been detected.

When the infrared detector 96 detects a human body, the second CPU 91 stops and inhibits the packaging operation. That is, when the infrared detector 96 detects a human body and the weighing conveyor 100 and the packaging mechanism 200 in FIG. 2A are already operating, the second CPU 91 in FIG. FIG.
The operation of each drive unit of the weighing conveyor 100 and the packaging mechanism 200 in (a) is emergency stopped. On the other hand, the infrared detector 9
When the operation of the weighing conveyor 100 and the packaging mechanism 200 is stopped when the human body is detected in FIG. 6 (FIG. 3), the second CPU 91 of FIG. Conveyor 100 and packaging mechanism 2
The operation start is prohibited so that each of the drive units 00 does not operate. As described above, in the present packaging system, when a human body is detected, the packaging operation is stopped and prohibited.
Safety is improved.

As shown in FIG. 6, when the packaging operation is started, the lifter 201 and the packaging pusher 207 are used.
Alternatively, one of the weighing conveyors 100 is operating.
Therefore, in the period T1, the product M crosses the optical axis L2 (FIG. 1), and in the period T2, the packaging pusher 207 crosses the optical axis L2. In the period T3, the next product M may cross the optical axis L1 in FIG. Therefore, a detector that detects a product or device without distinguishing it from a human body cannot detect only a human body during operation.

On the other hand, in the present packaging system, infrared rays emitted from the human body are detected, so that even if a part of the product or device crosses the optical axes L1 and L2, the product or device can be distinguished from the human body. be able to. Therefore, the human body can be detected and safety can be achieved in all the periods of the packaging operation.

By the way, some products such as "baked fish" and "side dish" are warm products, and these products have a temperature state close to that of the human body, which causes erroneous detection. A system that can prevent such erroneous detection will be described in the second and third embodiments below.

FIGS. 7 and 8 show a main part of the second embodiment. In the second embodiment, the first and second commodity detectors 97A and 97B of FIG. 7 are provided. First product detector 97
A detects a product on the weighing conveyor 100, that is, a product in the supply path. On the other hand, the second product detector 97
B detects a product on the heat roller 209, that is, a product in the discharge path. Note that the second product detector 97B can be provided above the front folding member 206 or above the packaging station S in FIG.

When the first product detector 97A detects a product, the second CPU 91 (FIG. 8) performs the packaging operation even if the infrared radiation thermometer 90A detects an object having a temperature within a predetermined range in the supply path. Allow. Further, the second CPU 91
In FIG. 8, when the second product detector 97B detects a product, the packaging operation is permitted even if the infrared radiation thermometer 90B detects an object having a temperature within a predetermined range in the discharge path. Therefore, in the present embodiment, when a product having a temperature close to the temperature of the human body passes through the supply path or the discharge path, there is no risk of erroneous detection as a human body.

The other configuration of the second embodiment is the same as that of the first embodiment, and the same or corresponding portions are denoted by the same reference characters, and description and illustration thereof will be omitted.

FIG. 9 shows a main part of the third embodiment. In the third embodiment, as shown in FIG. 9B, information on the temperature of the product is stored in advance in the product master (product information storage unit) 82a of the first RAM 82 in FIG. 9A. is there. For example, for the product "Sirloin steak" etc., "cold" is stored as temperature information,
For "baked fish A" and the like, "temperature" is stored as temperature information. Note that a temperature or a temperature range may be stored as the temperature information.

If the temperature information of the product to be packaged is "cold", the infrared radiation thermometer 90A
First product detector 97A provided on the same path as (90B)
When (97B) detects the product, the infrared radiation thermometer 9
The first CPU 80 stops or inhibits the packaging operation based on the detection result of 0A (90B), as in the first embodiment. On the other hand, when the temperature information of the product to be packaged is “warm”, the infrared radiation thermometer 90A (9
0B), the first product detector 97A (97
When B) detects a product, the infrared radiation thermometer 90A
Regardless of the detection result of (90B), the first CPU 80 allows the packaging operation.

The other configuration of the third embodiment is the same as that of the second embodiment, and the same or corresponding portions are denoted by the same reference characters, and description and illustration thereof will be omitted.

In the first embodiment, FIG.
Although the field of view A gradually widens with respect to the optical axes L1 and L2, the field of view A may be temporarily reduced in diameter as shown in FIG. Further, in the above-described embodiment, the optical axis of the infrared detector is set so as to be substantially orthogonal to the supply direction or the discharge direction of the product. However, the optical axis may be set obliquely to the supply direction or the discharge direction ( Set them so that they intersect.) In the above embodiment, the optical axis of the infrared detector is set to be substantially horizontal, but in the present invention, a human body may be detected from above or below. In each of the above embodiments, the “supply conveyor” is the weighing conveyor 100, but the “supply conveyor” is not necessarily the weight detection unit 101.
Need not be provided, and any conveyor may be used as long as it conveys the product M into the packaging mechanism 200. Furthermore, although the packaging system has two control devices, the main control device 8 and the sub-control device 9, one control device having the functions of the main control device 8 and the sub-control device 9 may be used.

[0032]

As described above, according to the present invention,
Provide an infrared detector that detects infrared rays radiated from an object in the supply path to the packaging mechanism or the discharge path from the packaging mechanism, and when the temperature similar to the human body is detected, the packaging operation is prohibited or stopped. As a result, safety is improved. In particular, since infrared rays are detected, it is possible to distinguish a product from a human body, and even when a product passes through a supply route or a discharge route, a human body can be detected, thereby enhancing safety.

In addition, a product detector may be provided in addition to the infrared detector so as to allow a packaging operation even when an object having a temperature similar to a human body is detected during product detection. In addition, malfunction of human body detection can be prevented. Furthermore, if information on the temperature of the product is used, the distinction between the warm product and the human body is enhanced.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a packaging system showing a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic front view and a schematic side view of the system.

FIG. 3 is a schematic configuration diagram of the same system.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a supply path and a discharge path.

FIG. 5 is a conceptual diagram showing a relationship between an optical axis of an infrared detector and a visual field.

FIG. 6 is a time chart.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing a supply path and a discharge path according to a second embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a schematic configuration diagram of the system.

FIG. 9A is a schematic configuration diagram of a packaging system according to a third embodiment, and FIG. 9B is a table showing storage contents of a product master.

[Explanation of symbols]

 82a: product master (product information storage unit) 96: infrared detector 97A: first product detector 97B: second product detector 100: weighing conveyor (supply conveyor) 201: lifter L1: optical axis L2: optical axis S: Packaging station

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A packaging system in which goods are transported by a supply conveyor toward a downstream lifter, and the goods on the lifter are pushed up to a packaging station and wrapped in a film, the supply path by the supply conveyor and / or the packaging. An infrared detector for detecting infrared rays emitted from the human body in a discharge path from the station is provided, and when the infrared detector detects a part of the human body, the packaging operation is not started, or the packaging operation is performed. The packaging system is characterized in that the packaging is stopped. 2. The packaging system according to claim 1, wherein an optical axis of the infrared detector is set in a substantially horizontal direction intersecting a supply direction or a discharge direction of the product. 3. The packaging system according to claim 1, wherein a lower limit value and / or an upper limit value of the detection temperature of the human body detection by the infrared detector can be changed. 4. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a product detector for detecting a product on the supply path and / or the discharge path, wherein the product detector provided on the same path as the infrared detector detects the product. Is a packaging system that allows a packaging operation regardless of the detection result of the infrared detector. 5. The method according to claim 1, wherein information on the temperature of the product is stored in advance in the product information storage unit as product information on the product, and the temperature of the product to be subjected to the packaging operation is close to the temperature of the human body. Is a packaging system that allows a packaging operation regardless of the detection result of the infrared detector. 6. The product information storage unit according to claim 1, further comprising: a product detector for detecting a product in the supply route and / or the discharge route, and information on a temperature of the product as product information on the product in advance. In the case where the product detector provided on the same path as the infrared detector detects a product, when the temperature of the product is not close to the temperature of the human body,
The packaging operation is stopped or prohibited based on the detection result of the infrared detector.On the other hand, when the temperature of the product is close to the temperature of the human body, the packaging operation is permitted regardless of the detection result of the infrared detector. Packaging system.