JP2003321010A - Stretch film packaging machine - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a packaging machine having a mechanism capable of adjusting a right and left folding amount according to a width dimension of an item to be packaged in a simple mechanism. <P>SOLUTION: In the packaging machine packaging the item to be packaged by placing the item (a) to be packaged on an elevator, pushing it up from below to a film 4' stretched over the packaging portion (b) to cover the upper surface of the item to be packaged with the film and folding the edge portion into the bottom surface side of the item to be packaged, the packaging machine is equipped with a rotating mechanism 18 opening and closing right and left folding members 6 and 6' via an energizing means 24 in accompany with forward and backward movement of a post folding member 7, a stopper 25 contacting a part of the right and left folding members to stop their rotation and a rotation amount adjusting means 26 adjusting the rotation amount of the right and left folding members by moving the stopper. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to products such as fresh foods (packaged items) in backyards of supermarkets.
The present invention relates to a wrapping machine for wrapping a sheet with a stretch film, and more specifically, to a wrapping machine for adjusting the folding amount of the left and right folding members according to the width dimension of a packaged item.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An elevator having a packaged object is pushed up from below against a film stretched around a packaging section to cover the upper surface of the packaged object with the film, and the end portion of the film is placed on the bottom surface side of the packaged object. A variety of stretch film wrapping machines that fold and wrap the product have been developed.

By the way, the articles to be packaged (commodities placed on the tray) to be packaged by this kind of stretch film packaging machine have various width sizes, and if they are folded with the same folding amount, the packaging finish is obtained. Causes a problem. Therefore, there has been proposed a development in which the left and right folding amounts of the left and right folding members are adjusted according to the width dimension of the packaged object. As a method of adjusting the left and right folding amounts according to the width dimension of the packaged item, the left and right folding members and the front and rear folding members are independently driven by a stepping motor. The left and right folding members are mechanically interlocked with the rear folding member to change the initial position that is the center of rotation of the left and right folding members. (For example, Japanese Patent Publication No. 7-11354
(Gazette No. 0)

[0004]

However, each of the adjusting devices described above has a problem that the device becomes expensive because each is independently driven. Further, in the case of (1), there is a problem that the mechanism for changing the initial position (ball screw mechanism) is complicated and expensive.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems of the prior art, and the purpose thereof is to:
It is an object of the present invention to provide a packaging machine provided with a mechanism capable of adjusting the left and right folding amount according to the width dimension of an object to be packaged with a simple mechanism.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above object, the technical means taken by the present invention is to mount a material to be packaged from below on a film stretched over a packaging part, push it up on an elevator, and push it up. In a packaging machine that covers the upper surface of the package with a film and folds the end of the film to the bottom side of the packaged object, the left and right folding members are opened and closed via the biasing means as the rear folding member moves back and forth. A moving mechanism, a stopper that abuts against a part of the left and right folding member to stop the rotation of the left and right folding member, and a rotation amount adjusting means that adjusts the rotation amount of the left and right folding member by moving the stopper. Is provided (claim 1). The stopper may be moved by either an automatic method using an electromagnetic solenoid or a manual method by an operator. When the stopper is automatically moved, the width of the packaged item is detected, or the product file or tray is moved. The stopper may be automatically moved by setting folding amount data for each product and each tray in a file and designating an object to be packaged (product or tray).

Further, the movement direction of the stopper is vertical (up and down).
It may be either horizontal or horizontal (left and right, front and rear), and the stopper may be moved in the front and rear direction to change the position where it abuts against a part of the left and right folding members. In that case,
It is possible to continuously adjust the amount of folding. Furthermore,
A plurality of stoppers having different diameters may be provided so that the folding amount can be changed in multiple stages.

As the rotating mechanism, a link mechanism having play is used, and when part of the left and right folding members hits the stopper, the play can be absorbed by the play of the link mechanism. Item 2). The link mechanism may be made of a spring material. Further, the link mechanism having the play is urged by the urging means in the closing direction of the left and right folding members to be in abutting engagement (claim 3). As a result, the film can be folded to the set depth without being affected by the resistance of the film and the inertial force of the left and right folding members within the range of the urging force.

[0009]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows an outline of a stretch film wrapping machine for directly placing an article to be packaged on an elevator. The elevator 2 is arranged, a packaging portion b for stretching and holding a film used for packaging is provided at a position slightly below the upper limit position of the elevator 2, and the article a to be packaged a is provided on the side of the packaging portion b. A roll placement unit 3 for supplying a film to be wrapped is provided, and a film roll 4 is set in the roll placement unit 3.

A film conveying means 5 is arranged on a path passing from above the roll arranging portion 3 to above the wrapping portion b, and the film 4'unrolled from the film roll 4 by the film conveying means 5 is arranged. Both sides of the film are pulled out and cut by a predetermined length, and the cut film 4'is stretched around the packaging part b.

Further, right and left folding members 6 and 6'and a rear folding member 7 are arranged above the conveying means 5 so that the end portion of the film 4'covering the upper surface of the object to be packaged a is to be packaged a. And a discharge pusher 8 is disposed above the rear folding member 7 so that the packaged object a ′ can be horizontally pushed toward the heat seal portion 9 and discharged. ing. The front end of the film 4'is folded to the bottom side of the object to be packaged a by pushing to the heat seal part 9, and the end of the folded film is heat-sealed by the heat seal part 9 for packaging. Complete. A weighing table 10 is arranged below the elevator 2, and when the elevator carrying the package a descends to the lower limit position,
The object to be packaged a is placed on the weighing table 10 and is configured to be weighed.

The elevator 2 is a mounting table on which the object to be packaged a is placed, and the object to be packaged a is pushed up from below against the film 4 ′ stretched over the packaging section b. It has a function of wrapping the upper surface of the film with a film 4 ', and comprises an elevating part 2a and an elevator head 2b.
a is a top plate 20 to which the elevator head 2b is attached
1 and side plates 202 and 202 'vertically attached to both ends of the top plate 201 in the width direction downward, are formed in a substantially gate shape, and the connecting plate 2 extends across the left and right side plates 202 and 202'.
One end of 03 is attached, and the other end of the connecting plate 203 is connected to the machine frame 1. In addition, the left and right side plates 202, 20
2'and the machine frame 1 are provided with links 204, 204 'located below the connecting plate 203 to form an elevating link mechanism. Then, the elevating part 2a is operated in the vertical direction by the rotation of the electric motor 205 through the rotating shaft 206, the operating rod 207 connected to the rotating shaft 206, and the vertical rod 208 connected to the operating rod 207, and a predetermined range. Up and down. Further, the start position and the end position of the upper and lower one cycle in the elevator 2 are set to the upper limit position on which the object to be packaged a is placed and the packaging is performed.

Further, in the upper surface plate 201 of the elevating part 2a, the gap 11 penetrating in the vertical direction is formed in a substantially comb-like shape in a plane,
The weighing platform 10 is arranged at a lower position corresponding to the upper plate 201, and when the elevator 2 descends, the weighing platform 10 is fitted into and protrudes into the gap 11 so as to be packaged a on the elevator 2.
The weight of the packaged object a can be weighed. The elevator 2 is stopped from rising until the lower limit position of the elevator 2 is reached and the weighing of the object to be packaged a by the weighing platform 10 is completed.

The elevator head 2b mounted on the upper surface of the comb-shaped upper surface plate 201 is a well-known one in which a head member is mounted in an inclinable manner on the upper part of a rod.
A plurality of such heads are installed upright at predetermined intervals in the front-rear direction and the left-right direction. Then, the object to be packaged a is placed on the elevator head 2b of the elevator 2 when the elevator 2 is located at the upper limit position, and after the object to be packaged a is placed, the elevator 2 descends. . The descent of the elevator 2 is configured so that the presence or absence of the object to be packaged a on the elevator head 2b of the elevator 2 is detected. The detection of whether or not the article to be packaged a is placed on the elevator 2 located at the upper limit position is detected by the article detection sensor 13 arranged in the packaging section b which is the upper limit position of the elevator 2, and the article detection sensor The detection signal of 13 is used as a condition for starting the descent of the elevator 2.

The film conveying means 5 holds and holds both side portions of the film fed from the film roll 4 set in the roll arranging portion 3 arranged upstream of the wrapping portion b, and has a length required for wrapping. It is pulled out, cut and then stretched and held in the packaging section b. The film transporting means 5 includes a pair of upper and lower endless elastic belts 5a and 5a 'for sandwiching side edges in the width direction of the film, and a clamp for pressing the lower elastic belt 5a' to the upper elastic belt 5a side. The plate 5b is composed of a plate 5b and a holding belt 5c which is arranged so as to be superposed on the upper surface of the lower elastic belt 5a 'on the starting end side, and they are arranged in front and rear of the packaging portion b.
The above-mentioned pair of front and rear constituent members are respectively supported by the mounting frames 5d and 5d ', and the mounting frames 5d and 5d
5d 'is fixed to the machine casing 1 at a predetermined interval.

The pair of upper and lower endless elastic belts 5a and 5a 'constituting the film conveying means 5 are driven and rotated in the same direction so that the film can be nipped and conveyed. The drive system is a motor 5e with a reduction gear and an elastic belt 5 on the lower side.
a'rotates the drive roller 5f 'wound around it, and a pulley (not shown) fixed to the shaft of the drive roller 5f' and the shaft of the drive roller 5f wound around the upper elastic belt 5a. Power is transmitted by winding a belt around a pulley (not shown) fixed to the upper elastic belt 5a. The upper and lower elastic belts are equipped with a tension adjusting mechanism on the way so that the film can be sandwiched and conveyed stably and reliably.

The clamp plate 5b for pressing the lower elastic belt 5a 'to the upper elastic belt 5a is divided into three as shown in FIG. 2, and the three clamp plates are electromagnetic solenoids or the like. Are independently driven in the vertical direction, pressed against the lower elastic belt 5a ', and separated from the lower elastic belt 5a'.
Therefore, the release timing of the clamp plate 5b divided into three parts can be changed separately.

Further, on the starting end side of the film conveying means 5, there is provided a crimping portion 12 for stopping the movement of the film by crimping the leading end portion of the film with the lower elastic belt 5a 'and the pressing belt 5c. A perforation blade 14 that inserts perforations for cutting into the film fed from the film roll 4 is arranged upstream of the crimping portion 12 so as to advance and retreat in a direction perpendicular to the film surface. As a result, the leading end of the film, which has passed through the pressure-bonding portion 12 provided on the starting end side of the film conveying means 5 and is located on the downstream side, is pinched by the driving of the conveying means and pulled out by a predetermined length, and a predetermined length The perforation blade 14 operates at the pulled-out position to form perforations on the film 4'and the perforation portion is conveyed to a position where the perforations have passed through the crimping part 12, and the perforations have passed through the crimping part 12. At this time, the crimping portion 12 is activated to stop the movement of the film. As a result, the film located on the downstream side of the crimping section 12 is pulled to the downstream side by the drive of the film transporting means 5, and is torn at the perforated portion, and the cut film 4'of a predetermined length is put on the packaging section b. It is held on a stretch.

The left and right folding members 6 and 6'for folding the left and right end portions of the film covering the upper surface of the object to be packaged into the bottom side of the object to be packaged are formed of long strip-shaped flat plates. The pair of left and right flat plates are rotatably supported at one side by brackets 16 provided on the machine body 1 on the side opposite to the heat seal part 9 by shafts 17 and 17 ', and the other side of the flat plates is the width of the machine frame. It is held so that the initial state is a state in which it is opened outward in the direction (substantially inverted inverted V shape). And the left and right folding members 6,
Rotating mechanism 18 for rotating 6'in the film folding direction
Are attached to the rear folding member 7. That is, the rear folding member 7 is configured to be opened / closed with the forward / backward movement.

The rear folding member 7 includes the left and right folding members 6, 6.
6'is composed of a long strip plate-shaped flat plate, and the flat plate has mounting plates 20 fixed to drive belts 19 and 19 ', both sides of which in the longitudinal direction are arranged in parallel on both left and right sides sandwiching the packaging part b,
It is erected and supported over 20 'and is configured to horizontally move in the front-rear direction by the rotation of the drive belts 1, 19'. Further, the back and forth movement of the rear folding member 7 is caused by the driving belt 1
Guide plates 21, 2 installed in parallel with 9, 19 '
Guide rollers 22 and 22 'mounted on the mounting plates 20 and 20' are brought into contact with the outer surface of 1 ', so that stable back and forth movement is performed.

A rotating mechanism 1 for linking the back-and-forth movement of the rear folding member 7 with the opening / closing operation of the left and right folding members 6, 6 '.
Reference numeral 8 is composed of a link 23 in which the link piece 23a and the link piece 23b are flexibly connected by a pin 23c, and an urging means 24 such as a coil spring, and the link 23 has the open end of the link piece 23a as the attachment plate. It is pivoted to 20, 20 ',
The open ends of the link pieces 23b are connected to the left and right folding members 6, 6 '.
Is connected to the outer portion on the tip side of the. And link 23
A biasing means 24 is stretched across the pin 23c and the rear folding member 7. As a result, a link mechanism having play is constructed, and the link 23 is always biased by the biasing means 24 in the closing direction of the left and right folding members 6, 6 '.

Further, the link piece 2 constituting the link 23.
Even if the force of the urging means 24 acts, the receiving portion 2 provided on the attachment plates 20 and 20 'to which it is attached is denoted by 3a.
The link 24 is prevented from rotating more than necessary in the closing direction by abutting on 0a and 20a '. As a result, the rotation mechanism 18 having a play is within the range of the urging force of the urging means 24, and the resistance force of the film and the left and right folding members 6, 6 '.
It can be folded to the set depth without being affected by the inertial force of. If a force exceeding the urging force of the urging means 24 acts against the closing movement of the left and right folding members 6, 6 ′, the left and right folding members 6, 6 ′ are moved by the link 23 in the direction opposite to the folding direction. It is opened so that the folding mechanism is not damaged.

Further, the shafts 17 and 1 which are the center of rotation of the left and right folding members 6 and 6'which are rotated by the rotating mechanism 18.
A stopper 25 for restricting the amount of rotation of the folding members 6, 6'by contacting the outer periphery of the shaft supporting portions of the left and right folding members 6, 6'is provided on the bracket 16 at a substantially intermediate position of 7 '. The stopper 25 is constructed so that its movement can be adjusted by the rotation amount adjusting means 26. The stopper 25
As shown in FIG. 10, has a large-diameter shaft portion 25a and a small-diameter shaft portion 25b continuous with the upper portion thereof, and the left and right folding members 6, 6.
When the outer circumference of the shaft support portion 6'abuts on the large diameter shaft portion 25a,
The turning amount of the folding members 6 and 6'is small, and the folding amount of the film is small (shallow). When the outer circumferences of the shaft support portions of the left and right folding members 6 and 6'abut on the small diameter shaft portion 25b, the amount of rotation of the folding members 6 and 6'is large and the folding amount of the film is large (deep).

Therefore, by moving the stopper 25 up and down, the amount of rotation of the left and right folding members 6, 6'can be regulated. The rotation amount adjusting means 26 is composed of an electromagnetic solenoid, and when the electromagnetic solenoid is turned on, the stopper 25 is provided.
Is pulled up, and the large-diameter shaft portion 25a becomes the left and right folding members 6,
6'corresponding to 6 ', when the electromagnetic solenoid is turned off, the pulling up is released and the stopper 25 descends, and the small diameter shaft portion 25b
Corresponds to the left and right folding members 6, 6 '. An operation switch for operating the rotation amount adjusting means 26 is provided on the console section 32 arranged on the machine body 1, and the position of the stopper 25 can be changed and switched by operating the operation switch.

The stopper 25 is of a type in which the stepped shaft is moved in the vertical direction to adjust the amount of rotation.
As shown in FIG. 2 (a), the stopper 25 'may be a multi-stepped shaft having different diameters (three steps in the drawing) so that the folding amount can be changed in multiple steps, or as shown in FIG. 12 (b). In addition, the stopper 27 is formed in a wedge shape, and the stopper 27 is located at an intermediate position of the shaft supporting portions of the left and right folding members 6, 6 '.
It may be arranged such that it can move back and forth, and the contact position can be changed by moving the stopper 27 back and forth. In the case of this method, the rotation amount can be continuously changed and adjusted.

The discharge pusher 8 pushes the package whose film end is folded to the bottom side of the package a by the operation of the left and right folding members 6 and 6'and the rear folding member 7 to the heat seal portion 9. A pair of left and right drive belts 19 and 19 'for dynamically ejecting and moving the rear folding member 7 back and forth.
It is laid across a pair of left and right drive belts 28, 28 'arranged inside.

Weighing stand 1 arranged below elevator 2
Reference numeral 0 is composed of a balance main body 10a and a weighing pan 10b arranged on the balance main body 10a. The weighing pan 10b is provided on the side where a packaged object a'which has been packaged is discharged as shown in FIG. A guide protrusion 29 whose inner surface is inclined inward is formed upright on the side edge. The guide projection 29 corrects the position of the object a to be packaged a received on the elevator 2 so as to be placed at a predetermined position on the weighing table 10, and after the measurement is completed, it is placed on the elevator 2 again and stretched on the packaging section b. The object to be packaged a is positioned substantially at the center of the packaging part b when it is pushed up to the formed film 4 '.

Further, a removal sensor 15 for detecting the presence or absence of the packaged object a'which has been packaged is arranged in the heat seal portion 9, and the removal sensor 15 and the article detection sensor arranged in the packaging portion b. A safety sensor 15 ′ is arranged between the sensor 13 and the sensor 13. The safety sensor 15 'is a sensor that detects whether or not the operator's hand or the like is present near the heat seal portion 9. If it is confirmed that the operator's hand or the like is not present at least within the monitoring range of the sensor 15', the packaging cycle It will be possible to start. That is, the article detection sensor 13 arranged in the packaging section b detects the presence of the article a to be packaged and
If the safety sensor 15 'is "OFF" when the safety sensor 15' detects "N", the removal sensor 15 detects that the packaged object a has been removed, that is, from "ON" to "O".
When it becomes FF, packaging starts. In addition, the packaging operation is started by operating the start key on the first item inputting the product number etc. under the conditions (article detection sensor 13: ON, removal sensor 15: OFF, safety sensor 15 ': OFF). After that, the packaging operation starts when the above conditions are met.

FIG. 11 shows a rotating mechanism 1 in the embodiment shown above.
The link mechanism 8 is composed of a spring member 31 that can be expanded and contracted with a relatively strong force, and the left and right folding members 6 and 6'and the rear folding member 7 are connected by the spring member 31. still,
Although the followability with the rear folding member 7 is poor, it can be applied to the invention of claim 1. In the figure, 33 is a console unit, and 34 is a label printer.

The packaging machine constructed as described above is provided with the package a
By changing and adjusting the folding depth (rotation amount) of the left and right folding members 6, 6'according to the width dimension of the film, the film is folded according to the width dimension of the object to be packaged, resulting in a beautiful packaging finish. You can For example, when the width a of the article to be packaged a is large, as shown in FIG.
The amount of rotation is reduced to make the folding depth shallow. vice versa,
When the width dimension of the article to be packaged a is small, as shown in FIG. 9, the turning amount of the left and right folding members 6, 6'is increased to deepen the folding depth. If the amount of rotation is the same as that of the package a with a small width dimension and the package a with a large width dimension, the folding of the film may not reach the inside of the edge of the bottom surface. Incomplete packaging. However, if the amount of rotation is increased, the above-mentioned concern is eliminated.

In the above-mentioned embodiment, the left and right folding members and the rear folding member are seen from the working position, but they may be specified by seeing from the discharge direction of the package. Is an easy-to-understand expression and can be seen from anywhere.

[0032]

According to the stretch film packaging machine of the present invention, with the constitutions of claims 1 and 2, it is possible to easily change and adjust the folding amount by the left and right folding members with a simple and inexpensive constitution. Further, according to the third aspect of the present invention, if it is within the range of the urging force of the urging means, it can be folded to the set depth without being affected by the resistance force of the film and the inertial force of the left and right folding members.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a vertical cross-sectional side view showing an outline of a packaging machine according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional plan view of the same.

FIG. 3 is a vertical sectional front view of the same.

FIG. 4 is a plan view showing a configuration of a rear folding member.

FIG. 5 is a plan view showing a configuration of left and right folding members.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a mounting portion of a rotation mechanism that links a rear folding member and a left and right folding member.

FIG. 7 is a plan view showing the structure of a discharge pusher.

8A and 8B show the amount of rotation (folding depth) of the left and right folding members when packaging an object to be packaged with a large width dimension, in which (a) is a plan view and (b) is a bottom view.

9A and 9B show the amount of rotation (folding depth) of the left and right folding members when packaging an object having a small width dimension, in which (a) is a plan view and (b) is a bottom view.

10A and 10B show the relationship between a stopper that regulates the rotation amount of the left and right folding members and a rotation amount adjustment means. FIG. 10A shows a case where the rotation amount is small, and FIG. 10B shows a case where the rotation amount is large.

FIG. 11 is a schematic view showing a form in which the link of the rotating mechanism is formed of a spring member.

12A and 12B are views showing another modified example of the stopper, in which FIG. 12A is a multistage shaft form (three stages), and FIG.

[Explanation of symbols] A ... Wrapping machine a ... Wrapping object b ... Packaging unit 2 ... Elevator 4 '... film 6, 6' ... left and right folding members 7 ... Rear folding member 8 ... Discharge pusher 9 ... Heat seal part 18 ... Rotation mechanism 24 ... Biasing means 25 ... Stopper 26 ... Rotation amount adjusting means

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Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. An object to be packaged is placed on an elevator from below the film stretched over the wrapping part and pushed up to cover the upper surface of the object to be packaged with the film, and the end of the film is placed on the bottom surface side of the object to be packaged. In a packaging machine that folds and wraps, a turning mechanism that opens and closes the left and right folding members via a biasing means as the rear folding member moves forward and backward, and a rotating mechanism that abuts a part of the left and right folding members to rotate the left and right folding members. A stretch film wrapping machine comprising: a stopper for stopping the movement, and a rotation amount adjusting means for adjusting the rotation amount of the left and right folding members by moving the stopper. 2. The rotating mechanism is a link mechanism having a play, and when a part of the left and right folding members abuts on the stopper, the rotating force is absorbed by the play of the rotating mechanism. The stretch film packaging machine according to claim 1. 3. The stretch film packaging machine according to claim 2, wherein the link mechanism having the play is biased by the biasing means in the closing direction of the left and right folding members.