JP2001219903A - Filling and packaging apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a filling and packaging apparatus wherein a flexible container is held in a box tray, a substance to be filled is put into the container, a cap is put over a mouth of the container, and the container is out into a packaging box. SOLUTION: The filling and packaging apparatus for filling the substance to be filled into the flexible container 1 through its mouth 3 for packaging comprises a tray carry means 4 for carrying the box tray 2 to a filling position P while the container 1 is inserted into the box tray 2 and the mouth 3 is kept on an upper part of the tray, a filling means 5 for filling the substance into the container 1 in the tray 2 at the filling position P, a tray carry means 7 for carrying the box tray 2 with the container 1 filled with the substance inserted to a box loading part 6, a capper 9 for putting the cap 8 over the mouth 3 of the container 1 at a capping position Q, and a separate loading means 11 for separating the container 1 from the box tray 2 at the box loading part 6 for loading it into the packaging box 10.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an apparatus for filling a flexible container with an object to be filled from a mouth provided on an upper surface thereof and packaging the container.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For example, an 18 liter container used for transporting various liquids such as detergents for business use, liquid fertilizers, chemical liquids, etc., is a foldable thin wall instead of a conventional tin can or a resin thick wall container. In recent years, flexible containers made of resin have been used. Since the flexible container is foldable, it is convenient to carry or store the container in an empty state before filling with the liquid, and is not bulky by folding after using the liquid filled in the container. It is very useful because it is easy to use.

[0003]

By the way, in the above flexible container, since the container itself does not have sufficient shape-retaining property,
When filling the liquid, it is difficult to accurately position the mouth of the container at the filling position immediately below the filling means, so that the filling operation becomes very difficult. Therefore, the present invention uses a box tray that can accurately position the mouth of the flexible container at the filling position, holds the flexible container in this box tray, fills the container with the object to be filled, It is an object of the present invention to provide a filling and packaging apparatus in which a cap is attached to a part and the container is further put into a packaging box.

[0004]

The invention according to claim 1 is
An apparatus for filling a flexible container 1 with an object to be filled from a mouth portion 3 provided on an upper surface thereof and packaging the container 1, wherein the container 1
Is inserted into the box tray 2 so that the mouth 3 of the container 1 is held at a fixed position on the tray.
Transporting means 4 for transporting the container 1 to the filling position P, filling means 5 for filling the container 1 in the box tray 2 at the filling position P with the material to be filled from the mouth 3, and the container 1 filled with the material to be filled. Tray transporting means 7 for transporting the box tray 2 into which the box tray 2 is inserted to the box input section 6, a capper 9 for mounting the cap 8 on the mouth 3 of the container 1 at the cap mounting position Q being transported to the box input section 6, and a box. A separating unit 11 is provided for separating the container 1 from the box tray in the charging unit 6 and charging the container 1 into the packaging box 10.

[0005] A second aspect of the present invention is the box tray according to the first aspect, further comprising tray collection means 12 configured to transport the box tray 2 separated from the container 1 to the container insertion position R and collect it. Features.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the filling and packaging apparatus according to the first or second aspect, the separating / injecting means 11 connects the mouth 3 of the container 1 held on the box tray 2 to the catcher 2.
7, the container 1 is moved from the box tray 2 to the container loading position T while the container 1 is suspended, and the container 1 is loaded into the lower packaging box 10 at the container loading position T. It is characterized by the following.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the box tray according to the third aspect, one end of the packaging box is lifted before the container is loaded into the packaging box by the separating / injecting means. Inclination means 34 for inclining at a predetermined angle
It is characterized by having.

[0008]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view showing a series of filling and packaging devices for automatically filling a flexible container 1 with a required liquid (filled material) and packing the same. In this filling and packaging apparatus, a tray transport for transporting the box tray 2 to a filling position P while inserting the flexible container 1 into the box tray 2 and holding the mouth 3 of the container 1 at a fixed position above the tray 2 is performed. Means 4 and a filling nozzle 5 for filling the flexible container 1 in the box tray 2 with liquid from its mouth 3 at the filling position P
(Filling means), tray transport means 7 for transporting the box tray 2 into which the flexible container 1 filled with the liquid is inserted to the box input section 6, and a cap mounting position Q on the way of transporting the box tray 2 to the box input section 6. A capper 9 for attaching a cap 8 to the mouth 3 of the flexible container 1 in the box tray 2, and the flexible container 1 is separated from the box tray 2 in the box input section 6 and the container 1 is placed in a packaging box 10. It comprises a separating and charging means 11 for charging, and a tray collecting means 12 for transporting and collecting the box tray 2 separated from the flexible container 1 to the container insertion position R.

As can be seen from FIGS. 2 and 3, the flexible container 1 is made of a soft synthetic resin and is formed in a thin and substantially rectangular shape, and a hard synthetic resin opening 3 is provided at one end of the upper surface 1a. And is normally folded into a substantially triangular shape in a side view as shown in the figure.
Is to be mounted. As shown in FIG. 3, the mouth 3 is fixed to the top of the bulging portion 13 bulging from the upper surface 1a of the container 1, and the base of the mouth 3 has a flange 1
An annular recessed step 15 is formed between the flange 14 and the top of the bulging portion 13, and a male screw portion on which the cap 8 is screwed is fitted on the outer peripheral surface on the upper side of the mouth 3. 16 is screwed.

As shown in FIG. 3, the box tray 2 is provided so that the opening 3 of the flexible container 1 faces the filling nozzle 5 (filling means) and is accurately positioned at the filling position P thereof.
Has a tray body 2o, which holds:
As shown in FIG. 2A, the tray body 2o is formed of a bottom plate 2b, left and right side plates 2c, 2c, and a top plate 2a so that both front and rear portions in the transport direction are open.
The annular concave step 15 of the container opening 3 is
Is provided with a notch opening 17 having a substantially U-shape in plan view, into which is engaged. Further, a thick plate-like base plate 18 is mounted on the lower surface of the bottom plate 2b of the tray main body 2o. On the bottom plate 2b of the tray body 2o, an inclined support plate 19 whose upper surface is inclined upward from the rear end side to the front end side is disposed, and a stopper piece 20 is provided on the inner surface rear end of each of the left and right side plates 2c. Is attached.

On the top plate 2a of the tray body 2o, a required portion of the top plate 2a facing the cutout opening 17 is cut off from other portions to form a lock piece 21.
The inner end of the flexible container 1 is pivotally attached to the top plate 2a, and the outer end thereof is oriented in a direction for preventing the opening 3 of the flexible container 1 from coming out of the notch opening 17 by the spring 22. It is being rushed. An inner end of the lock piece 21 is pivotally connected to a mounting plate J fixed to the top plate 2a by a pivot S, one end of the spring 22 is fixed to the top plate 2a, and the other end is a lock portion. The piece 21 is fixed to the inner end. K in the figure is a lock piece 2
1 is a support plate piece that supports the other end side of the first member.

The box tray 2 having the above-described configuration is kept at the container insertion position R of the filling and packaging apparatus shown in FIG. 1, and the empty flexible container 1 is placed in the box tray 2 as shown in FIG. And set in the state as shown in FIG. That is, the flexible container 1 folded as shown in FIG. 2B is inserted into the tray body 2o, and the annular concave step 15 of the mouth 3 is engaged with the cutout opening 17 of the top plate 2a. Let it. Note that the flexible container 1 may be inserted and set in the tray main body 2o in a state of being fully expanded without being folded as shown in FIG.

Each box tray 2 in which the flexible container 1 is inserted and set at the container insertion position R is transported to the filling position P by the tray transport means 4, and the opening of the flexible container 1 held by the tray body 2o. 3 is accurately positioned so as to face a filling position P immediately below the filling nozzle 5 as shown in FIG. In this manner, the filling nozzle 5 descends and enters the opening 3 of the flexible container 1 positioned at the filling position P by the box tray 2 as shown by the phantom line in FIG.

Referring to FIG. 1, the tray transport means 4 includes a box tray 2 into which a flexible container 1 is inserted and set.
From the container insertion position R to the position shown by the imaginary line on the left side of the figure, and a pusher (not shown) for pushing each box tray 2 at the position shown by the imaginary line to the filling position P. Become. At each filling position P, the position of the tray main body 2o is regulated via the base plate 18 on the lower surface, and each box tray 2 is accurately positioned at the filling position P.

At each filling position P, a load cell (not shown) for detecting the amount of liquid to be filled into the flexible container 1 by the filling nozzle 5 is provided, and a detection signal from this load cell is provided. Is sent to the filling device and the filling nozzle 5
Of the liquid in each flexible container 1 is controlled to a predetermined amount. Since each flexible container 1 is folded as shown in FIG. 2 until it is filled with liquid, the air supply nozzle (not shown) is transported to the position shown by the phantom line by the roller conveyor 4a. 3), air is blown into each flexible container 1 to be in a swelling state shown by a virtual line in FIG. 3, and the swelling state is sent to the filling position P by the pusher.

Each box tray 2 in which the flexible container 1 is filled with a predetermined amount of liquid at the filling position P is transferred to the loading end of the tray transfer means 7 by the pusher of the tray transfer means 4 as shown in FIG. Is done. This tray conveying means 7
Is for intermittently transporting each box tray 2 in which a flexible container 1 is filled with a predetermined amount of liquid to a box input unit 6 at a constant pitch, and is composed of a slat chain conveyor (see FIG. 8).

At the cap mounting position Q where each box tray 2 is being conveyed to the box input section 6 by the tray conveying means 7, the capper 9 is attached to the opening 3 of the flexible container 1 held by the tray main body 2o. The cap 8 is attached. That is, the capper 9 provided at the cap mounting position Q has a driver 9a as shown in FIG. 4, and after receiving and holding the cap 8 at a predetermined position, the driver 9a descends and moves down the tray body 2o. The cap 8 is screwed into the mouth portion 3 of the container 1 protruding from the top plate 2a and rotated in the tightening direction to mount the cap 8.

The box tray 2 having the cap 8 attached to the opening 3 of the flexible container 1 is separated from the box tray 2 by the separating and charging means 11 at the box charging section 6. The flexible container 1 is put into a cardboard packaging box 10. An empty packaging box 1 is placed in the box input section 6.
0 is supplied by the supply conveyor 24, and the packaging box 10 in which the flexible container 1 is loaded is discharged by the packaging box discharge conveyor 25 after being closed. Further, the box tray 2 separated from the flexible container 1 is
2 to the container insertion position R where it is collected.

The tray collecting means 12 comprises a first conveyor 12a and a second conveyor 12 each comprising a roller conveyor.
As shown schematically in FIG. 1, the box tray 2 from which the flexible container 1 is separated is transported from the box input section 6 by the first conveyor 12a and then transferred to the second conveyor 12b. It is transferred and transported to the vicinity of the container insertion position R, from which it is pushed by the pusher 26 to the container insertion position R.
Is pushed to.

FIGS. 5 and 7 show a process in which the container 1 is separated from the box tray 2 by the separating and charging means 11 in the box charging section 6 and the container 1 is charged into the packaging box 10. Now, this step will be described in detail below.

The separating and charging means 11 grips the opening 3 of the container 1 held by the tray main body 2o of the box tray 2 by a catcher 27 driven to open and close, and suspends the container 1 to the container charging position T while suspending the container. The container 1 is moved to separate the container 1 from the box tray, and the container is dropped into the lower packing box while being lowered at the container input position T. As shown in FIG. An openable / closable catcher 27 for gripping the mouth 3, a pusher 30 for moving a slider 28 holding the catcher 27 along a guide 29 in a direction orthogonal to the transport direction of the tray transport means 7, and a slider 28. There is provided an elevating means 31 for driving the catcher 27 up and down, and the pusher 30 and the elevating means 31 each comprise an air cylinder.

In order to separate the container 1 from the box tray 2, when the box tray 2 holding the container 1 is intermittently conveyed by the tray conveying means 7 and enters the box input section 6,
As shown in FIGS. 5 and 5, the catcher 27 moves to the container loading position T in a direction orthogonal to the transport direction of the tray transport means 7 in a state where the catcher 27 grasps the mouth portion 3 of the container 1 and hangs the container 1. The container 1 is pulled out of the box tray 2 and separated. The container 1 is supported on the movable flap 32 which is in a horizontal posture when the container 1 is gripped by the catcher 27 and moves to the container loading position T.

As described above, when the container 1 arrives at the container input position T, the corrugated cardboard packaging box 10 conveyed by the packaging box supply conveyor 24 is located immediately below the container 1 as shown in FIG. a and the side pieces b, b are standing by in an opened state in which they are raised. A stopper 33 for stopping the packaging box 10 protrudes from the discharge end of the packaging box supply conveyor 24.

When the container 1 is put into the packaging box 10,
As shown in FIG. 6 and further shown in FIG. 8, the movable flap 32 is tilted downward to enter the inside of the wrap piece a of the packaging box 10, and in this state, the catcher 27 by the operation of the elevating means 31 is actuated. As a result, the container 1 starts to be put into the packaging box 10 as shown in FIG. At this time, the container 1 has the opening 3 biased toward one end of the upper surface of the container, and since the opening 3 is grasped by the catcher 27, the container 1 is inclined with respect to the vertical posture as can be seen from FIG. Hanged at.

Immediately after the bottom of the container 1 has been fitted in the packaging box 10 as shown in FIG. 6, the packaging is performed by the inclination means 34 as shown in FIGS. One end of the box 10 is lifted to incline the packaging box 10 to the inclined posture of the suspended container 1, and in this state, the catcher 27 is further lowered to completely put the container 1 into the inclined packaging box 10. . After that, the lifting of the packaging box 10 by the inclination means 34 is released, and the packaging box 10 in which the container 1 is put is returned to the vertical posture as shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 8, the inclining means 34 is provided on the roller 2 of the packaging box supply conveyor 24 comprising a roller conveyor.
Lifter 34a arranged to be able to emerge from between 4a and 24a
And an air cylinder (not shown) for driving the lifter 34a.
As shown in FIG. 8, one end of the lower surface of the packaging box 10 is raised by protruding from between the rollers 24a, 24a, and the lifter 34a is immersed downward as shown in FIG. I have. In this manner, by raising and tilting the packaging box 10 by the tilting means 34, the container 1 suspended in the tilted posture can be accurately put into the packaging box 10 waiting in the vertical posture.

The packaging box 10 into which the container 1 has been loaded by the separating and loading means 11 as described above is pushed out onto a packaging box discharge conveyor 25 by a pusher 35 as schematically shown in FIG. During the discharge on the discharge conveyor 25, the wrap pieces a, a and the side pieces b, b of the packaging box 10 are folded by the automatic box making means (folding means), and further sealed and printed. I have.

As described above, when the flexible container 1 is filled with the filling material such as liquid from the mouth provided on the upper surface and the container 1 is packed, the box tray 2 is used. Since the opening 3 of the flexible container 1 can be accurately positioned with respect to the filling position P and the cap mounting position Q, the filling operation of the liquid or the like and the mounting operation of the cap 8 can be performed accurately and smoothly. It is possible to improve the work efficiency.

Further, the container 1 can be held in the box tray 2 from the time when the flexible container 1 is filled with the liquid or the like to be filled until immediately before the container 1 is put into the packaging box 10. There is no risk that the heavy flexible container 1 filled with the material to be filled will be damaged during transportation, and the flexible container 1 can be finally safely boxed. In this embodiment, a liquid is exemplified as the material to be filled in the flexible container 1. However, the material to be filled may be a paste or cream-like material having higher viscosity than the liquid, or a granular material. .

Further, in this filling and packaging apparatus, there is provided a tray collecting means 12 for transporting and collecting the box tray 2 separated from the container 1 to the container insertion position R. Therefore, it is not necessary to carry the container to the container insertion position R, and the working efficiency can be greatly improved. Further, the separating and charging means 11 grasps the mouth 3 of the container 1 held by the tray main body 2o of the box tray 2 with the catcher 27, and moves the container 1 to the container charging position T while suspending the container 1. Is separated from the box tray, and the container is dropped into the lower packaging box at the container loading position T, so that the container 1 is quickly separated from the box tray 2 and immediately transferred to the packaging box 10. The container 1 can be inserted, and the distance for suspending the container 1 can be shortened as much as possible, so that the flexible container 1 can be prevented from being damaged.

[0031]

According to the filling and packaging apparatus according to the first aspect of the present invention, the mouth of the flexible container is accurately positioned with respect to the filling position and the cap mounting position by using the box tray. This makes it possible to perform the operation of filling the liquid or the like and the operation of attaching the cap 8 accurately and smoothly, thereby improving the operation efficiency. Further, since the container can be held in the box tray until the flexible container is filled with the material to be filled and immediately before the container is put into the packaging box, the flexible material filled with the material to be filled becomes heavy. There is no danger of the container being damaged during transportation, and the filled flexible container can be finally safely boxed.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, by providing a tray collecting means for transporting and collecting the box tray separated from the container to the container insertion position, the box tray can be manually moved to the container insertion position one by one. There is no need to carry, and work efficiency can be greatly improved.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, the separating and charging means moves the container to the container loading position while grasping the mouth of the container held by the box tray with a catcher and suspending the container while moving the container to the container loading position. Is separated from the container, and the container is put into the lower packaging box at the container loading position, so that the container can be quickly separated from the box tray and immediately put into the packaging box, thereby holding the container. Distance can be made as short as possible, and breakage of the flexible container 1 can be prevented.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, when the packaging box is provided with an inclining means for lifting one end of the packaging box to incline the packaging box by a predetermined angle, the mouth of the container is attached to one end of the upper surface of the container. If the container is hung in an inclined position with respect to the vertical position when it is grasped by the catcher, the one end of the packaging box is lifted by the tilting means to move the packaging box to the inclined position of the container suspended in the inclined position. By inclining and inclining, the container suspended in the inclined posture can be accurately put into the packaging box.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view showing a filling and packaging apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 2A is an external perspective view of a box tray showing a state where a folded flexible container is inserted and set in a tray main body, and FIG. 2B is a perspective view showing the flexible container.

FIG. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a box tray in a filling position and a flexible container held by the box tray.

FIG. 4 is a partially longitudinal side view showing a state in which a cap is attached to a mouth of a flexible container held by a box tray at a cap attachment position.

5 is an enlarged sectional view taken along line XX of FIG. 1 and shows a state in which the container is separated from the box tray by the separating and charging means.

6 and 7 are enlarged sectional views taken along the line XX of FIG. 1, respectively, showing a state in which the container has begun to be charged into the packaging box by the separating and charging means.

7 and 7 are enlarged sectional views taken along line XX of FIG. 1, respectively, showing a state in which the container has been put into the packaging box by the separating / putting means.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing a state immediately before the container is put into the packaging box by the separating and putting means, and FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing a state immediately after putting the container into the packaging box inclined by the inclination means.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Flexible container 2 Box tray 3 Flexible container mouth 4,7 Tray conveying means 5 Filling means (filling nozzle) P Filling position Q Cap mounting position 6 Box loading section 8 Cap 10 Packaging box 11 Separating loading means 12 tray collection means

 ────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Masahiko Iida 2-10-5, Kasuga-Kitacho, Hirakata City, Osaka Prefecture F-term in Nakakin Kasuga Plant (reference) 3E018 AA04 AB03 AB06 AB07 BA01 BA06 BA07 BA08 EA03 3E030 AA04 BC04 DA05 DA08 EA01 EB03 GA04 3E049 AA02 AA06 AB02 BA01 CA01 CA04 DA01 EA01 EA02 EA07 EB01 EB02 EB04 EC02

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A device for filling a flexible container with an object to be filled from a mouth provided on an upper surface thereof and packing the container, wherein the container is inserted into a box tray to close the mouth of the container. Tray transport means for transporting the box tray to the filling position while holding the tray at a fixed position above the tray, filling means for filling the container in the box tray with the material to be filled from its mouth at the filling position, Tray transport means for transporting a box tray into which a container filled with is inserted to a box input section,
A capper for attaching a cap to the mouth of a container at a cap attachment position in the middle of a cap being transported to a box input section, and separation / injection means for separating a container from a box tray in the box input section and inserting the container into a packaging box. Become a filling and packaging equipment. 2. The filling and packaging apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a tray collecting means for transporting and collecting the box tray separated from the container to a container insertion position. 3. A separating and charging means, wherein the container is held by a catcher at a mouth of the container held by a box tray, and the container is suspended and moved to a container charging position to separate the container from the box tray. The filling and packaging apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the container is put into a lower packaging box by using (1). 4. The filling package according to claim 3, further comprising an inclination means for lifting one end of the packaging box to incline the packaging box by a predetermined angle before the container is put into the packaging box by the separating / injecting means. apparatus.