JP2005075365A - Overwrapping packaging machine and method for setting guide width of transverse folding guide - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an overwrapping packaging machine and a method for setting a guide width of a transverse folding guide which can package beautifully even a product being longitudinally long in the up and down direction on a packaging line under a double-point end fold packaging form. <P>SOLUTION: The overwrapping packaging machine is equipped with a movable transverse folding guide 12 and a fixed transverse folding guide 18 for inserting respectively a part of a selvage of a sheet S as a packaging material and forming the remaining of the selvage as upper and lower flaps, and their guide widths of these transverse folding guides 12 and 18 are set so as to provide a trapezoid shape leaving an apex edge with a required length to the upper and lower flaps. The guide width of the transverse folding guide is set from a result where a tentative packaging of a product P is simulated based on the size of the product P and that of a sheet S and a required length of the apex edge required. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an overwrapping machine and a packaging material for packaging a product in a form of a double point end fold from a packaging material with respect to a cube-shaped product whose side faces are vertically long when on a packaging line. The present invention relates to a method for setting a guide width of a lateral folding guide that folds an ear portion of the guide.

For packaging of this type of product, a packaging form called a double point end fold is frequently used. In this packaging form, first, the packaging material is cylinder-folded around the product, and both ends of the packaging material are overlapped with each other and cylinder-sealed. At this time, square ears that protrude from both side surfaces of the product are formed on the packaging material.
After this, regarding the folding of the ear part of the packaging material, the part of the ear part perpendicular to the packaging line is first folded sequentially with respect to the side surface of the product, and this folding forms a trapezoidal flap vertically on the ear part. To do. The upper and lower flaps are then folded and folded sequentially with respect to the side of the product, and are overlapped with each other, and are adhered by side seals to complete the packaging of the product.

The packaging form described above is suitable for a product having a height dimension shorter than the width dimension along the packaging line, as viewed from the product on the packaging line. However, depending on the customer's request, the length is longer than the width. The product may need to be packaged in the packaging form described above.
When a vertically long product is packaged in the above-described packaging form, the ears E of the packaging material S project greatly from both side surfaces of the product P as shown in FIG. The vertical portion E _V such ears E are successively folded, the upper and lower flaps F _U formed by this folding, F _L is will be pointed triangular shape instead of the normal trapezoidal shape, the so-called fight folding It becomes a state.

Thereafter, the upper and lower flaps F _U, the folding up and folding lowering of F _L, the flap F _U, even F _L are superposed to each other, these triangular flaps F _U, overlapping margin of F _L is very small For this reason, even if the flaps F _U and _FL are side-sealed, the sealing strength may be insufficient.
Further, when causing a folding fight described above, the upper and lower flaps F _U, it is difficult to make constant the folding shape of F _L, also will not clean packaging forms can be obtained.

In order to avoid the above-mentioned problems, regarding the folding of the ear part, the horizontal part above the ear part is first folded, and then the vertical part is folded, and the lower flap formed by this folding is folded up. A packaging device (Patent Document 1) and a packaging device (Patent Document 2) that forms a trapezoidal flap by cutting a vertical part when folding a vertical part of an ear are known.
JP-A-3-240614 JP-A-6-48407

The packaging machine of Patent Document 1 requires a separate folding guide and its drive source for folding the horizontal portion of the above-mentioned ears, which not only complicates the structure, but the folding form is a regular double It will fall out of the point end fold.
Moreover, in the packaging machine of patent document 2, since a notch | incision is made in packaging material itself, packaging strength will become weak.

  The present invention has been made based on the above-mentioned circumstances, and the purpose of the present invention is that it is possible to wrap a vertically long product with a simple configuration while maintaining a regular double point end fold packaging form, The purpose is to provide an overwrapping machine that can ensure the cleanliness and strength of the packaging, and the guide width of the lateral folding guide used for folding the ear part can be easily set, and the overwrapping packaging It is an object of the present invention to provide a guide width setting method capable of shortening the time required for machine setup work.

  In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a packaging line in which a cube-shaped product is transferred, and a packaging material is folded around the product when the product is supplied onto the packaging line. Forming ears projecting from the side of the product with the material, the ears being perpendicular to the packaging line and having a vertical part located in the front and back as viewed in the product transfer direction, and reciprocating along the packaging line Movable lateral folding guide that folds the rear vertical part of the ear part as a trapezoidal rear ear fold part with respect to the product side when moving in the product transfer direction and movable in the product transfer direction Located along the packaging line on the downstream side of the horizontal fold guide, as the product is transferred, the front vertical part of the ear part is folded into the trapezoidal front ear fold part with respect to the product side, and the front end of the front ear fold part is When superimposed on the tip of the side ear fold In addition, the fixed horizontal folding guide that forms the rest of the ear as upper and lower flaps, and the upper and lower flaps are alternately folded in the selected order on the downstream side of the fixed horizontal folding guide in the selected order. And a flap folding means for overlapping the tips of each other, and presupposes an overwrapping machine for wrapping a product in a double-point endfold packaging form.

  In the case of the overwrapping machine according to the present invention (Claim 1), the product has a vertically long side surface whose height is larger than the width along the transfer direction on the packaging line, and a movable and fixed lateral folding guide. Are arranged at the center of the product side as viewed in the height direction of the product on the packaging line, have a guide width smaller than the product height and in the transport direction, and the guide width is The upper and lower flaps are set to be formed into a trapezoidal shape having a tip edge of a specified length when the rear and front ear folds are folded by the movable and fixed lateral folding guides.

  Preferably, the guide width of the fixed transverse fold guide is set to be slightly smaller than the guide width of the movable transverse fold guide (Claim 2), and the flap folding means is configured such that after one flap is folded, the other flap is folded. A holding guide for holding the overlapping portion of the rear side and front side ear folds via one of the flaps until it is folded is provided.

  On the other hand, in the overwrapping machine according to claim 1, when the specified length is given to the linear length of the flap leading edge, the guide width required for the movable and fixed lateral folding guide is set (claim 4). Refers to one side of the product side parallel to the packaging line, with the rear end and the front end as the first reference point and the second reference point in the product transfer direction, respectively, and the upper and lower flaps from the size of the product and packaging material. Assuming that the rear ear fold and the front ear fold are folded by a preparation step for obtaining a predetermined temporary value for the guide width and a movable and fixed lateral folding guide having a temporary guide width. An intersection between the front edge of the rear ear fold or the extension line thereof and the oblique side of the one side of the front ear fold having a trapezoidal shape, and the one side edge of the front edge of the front ear fold Tip point A first step determined based on the product size, the flap length and the guide width of the guide width, and a first circle having a flap length radius around the first reference point is drawn, and the intersection point is in contact with the first circle. A second step of obtaining a first straight line passing through, and a third step of obtaining an intersection point between an auxiliary line parallel to the one side and spaced apart from the one side by a flap length and the first straight line as one end point of the leading edge of the flap. A fourth step of drawing a second circle having a flap length radius around the second reference point, obtaining a second straight line in contact with the second circle and passing through the tip point, the second straight line and the auxiliary A fifth step for obtaining an intersection point with a line as the other end point of the leading edge of the flap, a sixth step for obtaining a distance between the one end point and the other end point as a length of the flap leading edge, and Does it match the specification length substantially? And when the determination result of the seventh step is false, the temporary value of the guide width is increased or decreased and the first to seventh steps are repeated, and the comparison result in the seventh step is The temporary guide width when it becomes true is set as the normal guide width.

  Preferably, the preparatory step gives a minimum guide width of the lateral folding guide to the initial value of the temporary value, and when the determination result of the seventh step is false, the temporary value of the guide width is increased by a predetermined increment to The seventh step is repeated (claim 5).

  According to the above-described overwrapping machine (Claim 1), even if the ear portion of the packaging material is folded by the movable and fixed lateral folding guide, the specification length is ensured at the leading edge of the upper and lower flaps. These flaps have the desired trapezoidal shape. Therefore, even if the product side surface is vertically long, the product can be packaged neatly while maintaining the regular double point end fold packaging form. Moreover, since the overlap allowance of the upper and lower flaps is sufficiently secured, the packaging strength will not be insufficient. Furthermore, since the above-mentioned operation and effect can be obtained only by appropriately setting the guide width of the movable and fixed lateral folding guide, an overwrapping machine capable of packaging a vertically long product with a simple configuration can be obtained.

If the guide width of the fixed lateral folding guide is set to be slightly smaller than the guide width of the movable lateral folding guide (Claim 2), the front ear folding section interferes with the rear ear folding section already in the folded state. Instead, they are folded by a fixed lateral folding guide, and the front and rear ear folds are stably overlapped at their tips.
Furthermore, if the flap folding means includes a holding guide (Claim 3), the holding guide holds the overlap of the front and rear ear folds through one of the already folded flaps. Thereafter, the other flap is stably folded, and the product can be packaged neatly.

  According to the above-described guide width setting method for the lateral folding guide (claim 4), the guide width required for the lateral folding guide based on the size of the product and the packaging material and the specification length required for the leading edge of the flap. Therefore, it is possible to set the guide width of the movable and fixed lateral folding guide without packaging the product on a trial basis, and the setup operation of the overwrapping machine can be performed easily and quickly. .

  If the minimum guide width of the lateral folding guide is given to the initial value of the temporary value (Claim 5), the guide width setting algorithm is simplified, and the calculation time required for setting the guide width can be shortened.

FIG. 2 schematically shows an overwrapping machine.
The upper wrapping machine includes a vertically long packaging line 2 for products P, and this packaging line 2 has a bottom plate 4 on the downstream side thereof, that is, on the right side in FIG. The bottom plate 4 extends horizontally and guides the transfer of the product P.
In the upstream area of the packaging line 2, a supply line (not shown) for the product P is disposed below, and a supply elevator 6 is disposed at the end of the supply line. The supply elevator 6 receives one product P from the supply line and raises the received product P toward the packaging line 2. At this time, the product P passes through a latch claw (not shown) disposed at the same height level as the bottom plate 4, and thereafter, the product P is held on the latch claw as the supply elevator 6 is lowered. Is done. That is, the product P is raised to the top of the packaging line 2 and positioned adjacent to the starting end of the bottom plate 4.

Note that the latch claw is disposed on the front and rear end surfaces of the product P as viewed in the direction of transfer of the product P on the packaging line 2 and supports the bottom corners of the end surface.
On the other hand, when the product P is supplied onto the supply elevator 6, a sheet S made of a film as a packaging material has already been fed immediately above the product P. The sheet S has a length and a length corresponding to the size of the product P. It has a width and is transferred along a predetermined feeding path (not shown). Further, a pair of body folding guides 8 forming a part of the body folding means is disposed immediately above the sheet S, and these body folding guides 8 are separated by a distance corresponding to the width of the product P in the transport direction of the packaging line 2. Is in a state.

When the product P is lifted together with the supply elevator 6, the product P passes through the pair of cylinder fold guides 8 together with the sheet S, and these cylinder fold guides 8 fold the sheet S around the product P. Accordingly, both ends of the sheet S are suspended downward from the product P held at the raised position by a predetermined length.
Further, a plate-like bottom tacker 10 is disposed immediately above the body folding guide 8, and the bottom tacker 10 is positioned at the same height level as the bottom plate 4. The bottom tacker 10 can be contacted and separated in the horizontal direction with respect to the starting end of the bottom plate 4, and the bottom tacker 10 is at a rest position separated from the bottom plate 4 when the product P is lifted. When the bottom tacker 10 is moved from the rest position toward the bottom plate 4, the bottom tacker 10 folds one end (body flap) of the sheet S hanging from the product P with respect to the bottom of the product P, and then the product P Support.

Thereafter, when the product P is pushed out onto the bottom plate 4 in a state in which the folded state is maintained, the bottom plate 4 similarly folds the other end (body flap) of the sheet S with respect to the bottom of the product P. The both ends of the sheet S are overlapped with each other at the bottom of the product P. At this point, the sheet S wraps around the product P in a prismatic shape, and the prismatic sheet S is formed with square-shaped ears E that protrude from both side surfaces of the product P as shown in FIG. . These ears E is viewed in the transport direction of the products P of on the packaging line 2, and a vertical portion E _V spaced around a pair of horizontal portions E _H spaced vertically. Here, it goes without saying that the protruding length of each ear E, that is, the width of the sheet S is determined according to the height of the product P. 3 indicates a bottom wrap formed by overlapping both ends of the sheet S.

Each ear E described above is folded into the side of the corresponding side of the product P in the double-point end fold packaging form when being transported through the packaging line 2, but the folding of each ear E is the same. To be implemented. Therefore, in order to avoid complication of the description, only the folding configuration with respect to the ear portion E on one side will be described below.
A movable lateral folding guide 12 is arranged above the bottom tacker 10 at the rest position. The movable lateral folding guide 12 extends horizontally toward the bottom plate 4 and can reciprocate with a predetermined stroke in the transfer direction of the packaging line 2. That is, the movable lateral folding guide 12 can reciprocate along the side surface (corresponding side) of the product P in the raised position.

More specifically, the movable lateral folding guide 12 is positioned at the center of the product P in the raised position when viewed at the height level, and the width along the vertical direction, that is, the guide width Ha is constant in the transport direction. The guide width Ha is shorter than the height of the product P, and is appropriately set as described later when the ear E is folded in a desired form similar to the double point end fold.
The movable lateral folding guide 12 also functions as a pusher for the product P. When the product P is supported on the bottom tacker 10 by receiving the above-described trunk flap folding of the sheet S, the movable lateral folding guide 12 moves forward. Thus, the product P can be pushed out from the bottom tacker 10 onto the bottom plate 4.

  When the product P is pushed onto the bottom plate 4 in this way, the product P is transferred on the bottom plate 4 by the chain conveyor 14. That is, the chain conveyor 14 has the transfer pusher 16 with a certain interval, and the product P on the bottom plate 4 is transferred while being pushed out by the transfer pusher 16. In FIG. 2, only one transfer pusher 16 is shown.

Further, a fixed lateral folding guide 18 is disposed above the bottom plate 4. The fixed lateral folding guide 18 is positioned at the same height level as the movable lateral folding guide 12 and extends horizontally from the end of the stroke area of the movable lateral folding guide 12 over a predetermined length.
Here, the guide width Hb along the vertical direction of the fixed lateral folding guide 18 is the same as the guide width Ha of the movable lateral folding guide 12 or slightly shorter than the guide width Ha, and the fixed lateral folding guide 18. It is constant over the longitudinal direction.

  A folding guide 20 that forms part of the flap folding means is disposed adjacent to the end of the fixed lateral folding guide 18, and the folding guide 20 extends from the end of the fixed lateral folding guide 18 to the end of the bottom plate 4. It extends along. The starting end of the folding guide 20 is formed as an inclined edge that gradually rises from the bottom plate 4 to the upper edge of the fixed horizontal folding guide 18 when viewed in the transport direction of the packaging line 2, and the upper edge of the folding guide 20 is fixed laterally folded. It is arranged at the same height level as the upper edge of the guide 18. The terminal end of the fixed lateral folding guide 18 is also disposed along the inclined edge of the folding guide 20.

A discharge elevator 22 is disposed near the end of the bottom plate 4. The discharge elevator 22 can receive the product P from the bottom plate 4 and raise the received product P.
A plate-like holding guide 24 is disposed adjacent to the end of the folding guide 20. This holding guide 24 also extends horizontally and has an upper edge at the same height level as the upper edge of the folding guide 20.

Further, a plate-like lowering guide 26 that forms a pair with the folding guide 20 is disposed above the holding guide 24, and this lowering guide 26 is a product received on the discharge elevator 22 from the bottom plate 4. Positioned just above P.
According to the folding configuration of the ear E described above, the ear E can be folded in the following procedure.

First, when the movable lateral folding guides 12 are moved toward the product P in the raised position from its rest position, the movable folding guide 12 abuts against the vertical portion E _V side after the ear E, the vertical portion E _V is folded with respect to the side surface of the product P as shown in FIG. 4A, the side surface of the product P is formed of left and right vertical sides and upper and lower horizontal sides.
Here, since the guide width Ha of the movable folding guides 12 is less than the height of the product P, the movable folding guide 12 will be folding the vertical portion E _V central region as ear folded portion of the trapezoidal shape, the ears when the The folding portion α is defined with an upper base i and a lower base j at the leading edge of the movable folding guide 12 and the longitudinal side on the rear side of the product side, respectively. It forms a tapered trapezoidal shape in which the line segment connecting each corner is the hypotenuse k.

That is, the angle formed by the oblique side k of the ear fold portion α and the horizontal side of the product side surface is wider than in the case of a normal double point end fold. Therefore, the remaining portion of the vertical portion E _V after folding the top and bottom of the ear folding unit alpha, the bulges T respectively formed in cooperation with a part of the horizontal part E _H in the ear E, these Rise The protruding portion T has a half-conical shape with the upper and lower corners of the product side face as apexes. That is, the bulging portion T is formed between the oblique side k of the ear fold portion α and the corresponding horizontal side of the product side surface.

It should be noted that in the folding at the normal double point end fold, the above-mentioned bulging portion T is in a flat state of being folded in two, whereby the upper and lower horizontal portions E _H of the ear E are formed as upper and lower flaps. become.
When the folding by the movable lateral folding guide 12 is completed as described above, the movable lateral folding guide 12 thereafter functions as a pusher for the product P, and the product P is pushed out from the bottom tacker 10 onto the bottom plate 4. Thus, the sheet S is completely wound around the product P, and the product P is positioned between the transfer pushers 16 of the chain conveyor 14.

The bottom wrap BL (see FIG. 3) of the sheet S is heat-sealed by a bottom sealer (not shown) at the position where the movable lateral folding guide 12 pushes the product P to the end of its stroke. Note that the bottom sealer is disposed immediately below the bottom plate 4, and FIG. 4A shows a state in which the body winding of the sheet S has already been completed.
On the other hand, before the movable lateral folding guides 12, as is apparent from FIG. 2 reaches the end of its stroke, the vertical portion E _V of the front of the ears E comes into contact with the starting end of the fixed lateral folding guides 18, the front side of the vertical site E _V also in the same manner as the vertical part on the rear side as described above, is folded against the product side by a fixed lateral folding guides 18. That is, the vertical portion E _V of the front as shown in FIG. 4 (b) the central region is folded as ear folded portion β of trapezoidal bulged portion T above and below the ear folding unit β is similarly It is formed.

Ear folding portion α mentioned above, the folding of the β forms the remainder of the ears E upper and lower flaps F _U, as F _L, these flaps F _U, F _L consists bulges T of the two by two.
Thereafter, when the transfer pusher 16 comes into contact with the product P, the product P is further transferred by the transfer pusher 16, and at this time, the tip of the ear fold portion β is overlapped with the tip of the ear fold portion α.

Here, the width of the leading edge at the ear folds α and β is defined by the guide widths Ha and Hb of the movable and fixed lateral folding guides 12 and 18, but the guide width Hb is slightly shorter than the guide width Ha. The leading edges of the ear folds β are stably overlapped with each other without interfering with the leading edges of the ear folds α.
Further, the guide widths Ha and Hb of the movable and fixed lateral folding guides 12 and 18 determine the size of the bulging portion T described above, that is, the size of the opening end thereof, and the guide widths Ha and Hb are described above and below. The flaps F _U and F _L are set so as to leave a straight line portion γ parallel to the horizontal side of the product side surface and having a desired length at the center of the tip of the upper and lower flaps F _U and F _{L when} viewed in a plan view. That is, the guide widths Ha and Hb are set to avoid the fighting fold described above.

Thereafter, when the product P is further transferred by the chain conveyor 14 and enters the region of the folding guide 20 described above, the starting end of the folding guide 20, that is, the inclined edge is shown in FIG. Fold up the lower flap _FL with respect to the product side. At this time, the ear folding unit alpha, since the superposition of the tip in β is held by the fixed lateral folding guides 18, at folding up the start of the lower flap F _L, the ear folding unit alpha, hypotenuse k of β is reliably maintained Is done. Therefore, the lower flap F _L will be the bulging portion T is Oriage guide 20 and the ear folding unit alpha, raised folded while stably pinching et between the beta (product side), as a result, folding even after raising the lower flap F _L is kept in a trapezoidal shape having a linear portion γ described above to the leading edge.

The effective section in which the hypotenuses k of the ear folds α and β are held by the fixed lateral fold guide 18 is indicated by reference numeral R in FIG. Even after passing through the folding guide 18, it is held by the folding guide 20.
Thereafter, the product P is extruded from the bottom plate 4 onto the discharge elevator 22 by the chain conveyor 14 and supplied onto the discharge elevator 22. Even the product P is supplied to a discharge elevator 22, the holding guide 24 so as to connected to Oriage guide 20 is arranged, the holding guide 24 is ears folded portion α through the lower flap F _L, the β Hold the tip overlap and take over this hold.

When the product P is increased with discharge elevator 22, the upper flap F _U enters Orisage guide 26, lower folding the lower edge upper flap F _U in the folded down guide 26 to the product side. Even at the start of the folding, since the overlap of the ear folds α and β is held by the holding guide 24, the upper flap F _U is stably folded in the same manner as the lower flap F _U. As a result, the upper flap F _U also its leading edge as shown in FIG. 4 (d) is maintained stably a trapezoidal shape formed by straight portions gamma, and, superimposed on the bottom flap F _U.

In this way, the product P packaged by the sheet S, that is, the packaged product, is held by the plurality of latch claws (not shown in FIG. 2) at a position elevated from the discharge elevator 22, and the ascent At the position, the overlapping portions of the upper and lower flaps F _U and F _L in the packaged product are heat sealed by the side sealer, and at this point, the packaging of the product P is completed.
When the next packaged product is lifted from the discharge elevator 22, the packaged product is held on the latch claw while sequentially pushing up the previous packaged product, whereby the packaged product is sequentially stacked on the latch claw.

According to the packaging machine described above, a packaged product as shown in FIG. 5 can be obtained, and this packaged product provides a packaging form similar to a double point end fold. That is, the upper and lower flaps F _U, F _L No together stable trapezoidal shape, the upper and lower flaps F _U, F _L to the desired overlap cash LA (overlapping area) is sufficiently secured.
Here, cash LA is the distal edge of the upper flap F _U overlap, i.e., more and its length of the straight portion gamma (flap edge length) L _FE, and the upper and lower flaps F _U, the vertical direction of F _L overlap width W _FL It is defined and shown by the hatched area in FIG.

When the direction along the width direction of the bottom plate 4 on the bottom plate 4 is the length direction of the product P, the length, width, and height of the product P in FIG. 5 are L _P , W _P , H _P Respectively. The length L _P and the height H _P of the product P determine the sheet width W _S required for the sheet _S , and the width W _P and the height H _P of the product P determine the sheet length L _S of the sheet _S. decide.
More specifically, since the sheet width W _S is represented by L _P + H _P + W _FL / 2, the length L _P and the height H _{P of} the product _P are known, and the required overlap width W _FL is it is set, the sheet width W _S is necessarily determined. Further, since the sheet length L _S is expressed by the peripheral length (2W _P + 2H _P ) + bottom wrap BL (see FIG. 3) of the product P, if the required width W _{BL of the} bottom wrap _BL is set. The sheet length L _S is also inevitably determined.

However, even if the sheet width W _S is set according to the size of the product P, the length of the straight portion γ, that is, the flap end length L _FE is the guide of the movable and fixed lateral folding guides 12 and 18 as described above. Since these are determined by the widths Ha and Hb, the guide widths Ha and Hb must be varied according to the required flap end length _LFE .
Therefore, in the packaging machine of the present invention, the guide widths Ha and Hb of the movable and fixed lateral folding guides 12 and 18 described above can be adjusted, and details of these lateral folding guides 12 and 18 will be described below.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the movable lateral folding guide 12 includes a pair of upper and lower fingers, that is, an upper finger 28 and a lower finger 30. These fingers 28 and 30 extend in parallel toward the fixed lateral folding guide 18 and are vertically Are spaced apart from each other by a predetermined interval. The base ends of the upper and lower fingers 28 and 30 are attached to sliders 32 and 34 via bolts 37, and these sliders 32 and 34 are slidably fitted to guide rails 36 and 38, respectively. The guide rails 36 and 38 extend in the vertical direction, and the upper and lower fingers 28 and 30 can be brought into and out of the vertical direction via the slider and the guide rail.

The upper and lower guide rails 36 and 38 are attached to a common holder 40, and this holder 40 also extends in the vertical direction and is attached to one end of a common attachment plate 42 via upper and lower bolts 44. The attachment plate 42 extends in the width direction of the packaging line 2 and is attached to the other end via a movable lateral folding guide on the other side, that is, its holder.
The upper and lower bolts 44 respectively penetrate the long holes 46 of the mounting plate 42, and these long holes 46 extend in the vertical direction. Therefore, the mounting position of the holder 40 with respect to the mounting plate 42 can be adjusted in the vertical direction, so that the movable lateral folding guide 12 can be positioned in the center when viewed in the height direction of the product P. Further, the mounting plate 42 is provided with a plurality of sets of upper and lower long holes 46, and the long holes 46 of each set are arranged at intervals in the width direction of the packaging line 2. Therefore, the movable lateral folding guides 12 which are separated from each other in the width direction of the packaging line 2 can be attached to the mounting plate 42 using the long holes 46 corresponding to the length L _P of the product P. An interval corresponding to the length L _P of the product P can be secured between the folding guides 12.

A reciprocating rod 48 extends horizontally from the mounting plate 42 and is connected to a reciprocating drive source (not shown). Therefore, the reciprocating drive source can reciprocate the movable lateral folding guide 12 with the above-described stroke via the reciprocating rod 48 and the mounting plate 42.
Further, a center bracket 50 extends integrally from the holder 40 toward the distal end side of the movable lateral folding guide 12, and the center bracket 50 is positioned between the upper and lower fingers 28 and 30. A screw rod 52 is attached to the tip of the center bracket 50, and the screw rod 52 penetrates the center bracket 50 up and down. The screw rod 52 sandwiches the center bracket 50 and has a right screw portion 54 and a left screw portion 56 above and below the center bracket 50, respectively. The right screw portion 54 and the left screw portion 56 are screwed into the upper finger 28 and the lower finger 30. In the state, these fingers 28 and 30 are penetrated. That is, the upper and lower fingers 28 and 30 are integrally formed with the upper bracket 58 and the lower bracket 60, and the brackets 58 and 60 are respectively formed with screw holes through which the screw portions 54 and 56 are passed.

When the screw rod 52 is rotated in one direction, the upper and lower fingers 28 and 30 are vertically moved toward and away from each other in accordance with this rotation direction. As a result, the upper finger 28 and the lower finger 30 have a lower edge. The guide width Ha of the defined movable lateral folding guide 12 is adjusted.
Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 6, a net spring 62 is attached between the upper and lower fingers 28 and 30, and this net spring 62 is provided between the upper and lower fingers 28 and 30 regardless of increase or decrease of the guide width Ha. Construct a telescopic guide wall to connect.

As shown in FIG. 7, the guide width adjusting mechanism including the screw rod 52 is disposed outside the packaging line 2, that is, outside the upper and lower fingers 28 and 30, and this adjusting mechanism folds the sheet S by the movable lateral folding guide 12. There will be no interference.
Further, as shown in FIG. 7, pusher claws 64 protrude from the inner surfaces of the upper and lower fingers 28, 30, respectively, and these pusher claws 64 move when the movable lateral folding guide 12 is moved forward toward the fixed lateral folding guide 18. Then, the product P abuts on the product P in the raised position, and the product P is pushed out onto the bottom plate 4 in cooperation with the bottom tacker 8.

Further, as is apparent from FIG. 7, the tips of the upper and lower fingers 28 and 30 have a tapered shape so that the sliding contact with the product side surface is smooth. A square hole is formed at the upper end of the screw rod 52, and the screw rod 52 can be easily rotated by inserting a tool into the square hole.
8 and 9 show details of the fixed transverse folding guide 18. FIG.

  The fixed lateral folding guide 18 also includes upper and lower upper and lower bars 66 and 68 that are integrated with each other. The upper and lower bars 66 and 68 correspond to the upper and lower fingers 28 and 30 in the movable lateral folding guide 12, respectively. That is, the upper and lower bars 66 and 68 are spaced apart in the vertical direction and extend in parallel to each other to the starting end of the folding guide 20 described above, that is, the inclined edge thereof. Therefore, as apparent from FIG. 8, the upper bar 66 is longer than the lower bar 68, and the ends of the upper and lower bars 66 and 68 are inclined corresponding to the inclined edge of the folding guide 20.

  Brackets 70, 72 protrude from the upper and lower bars 66, 68, respectively, the lower end of the lifting rod 74 is connected to the bracket 70, and the upper end of the lifting rod 76 is connected to the bracket 72. These elevating rods 74 and 76 extend in the vertical direction and are respectively connected to an elevating mechanism (not shown). Accordingly, the upper and lower elevating mechanisms can move the upper and lower bars 66 and 68 in the vertical direction via the elevating rods 74 and 76, thereby allowing the upper and lower bars 66 and 68 to move closer to and away from the upper edge of the upper bar 66 and the lower edge of the lower bar 68. The prescribed guide width Hb can be adjusted.

A net spring 78 is also attached between the upper and lower bars 66 and 68, and this net spring 78 also constitutes an extendable wall.
As is apparent from FIG. 9, the upper ends of the upper and lower bars 66 and 68 are bent outward so that the product P can be smoothly introduced, and the upper end portion of the folding guide 20 is tapered.

Note that the starting end portion of the folding guide 20 also has a tapered shape in order to smoothly introduce the product P. In addition, the upper edge of the folding guide 20 described above needs to be positioned at the same height level as the fixed horizontal folding guide 18, that is, the upper edge of the upper bar 66. it is a replacement part that is prepared in advance in accordance with the H _P. Furthermore, it goes without saying that the fixed lateral folding guide 18 and the folding guide 20 are positioned in accordance with the length L _P of the product P in the width direction of the packaging line 2.

As described above, the holding guide 24 is connected to the end of the folding guide 20, and this holding guide 24 also has the upper edge of the folding guide 20, that is, the same height bell as the upper edge of the fixed lateral folding guide 18. Have. Therefore, when the guide width Hb of the fixed lateral folding guide 18 is adjusted, the vertical position of the holding guide 24 must also be adjusted along with this adjustment.
Therefore, as shown in FIG. 10, the rod 80 extends horizontally from the holding guide 24 to the side of the packaging line 2, and the rod 80 penetrates the sleeve 82 so as to be slidable. The sleeve 82 is supported by the elevating cylinder 84. The expansion and contraction of the elevating cylinder 84 changes the height level of the holding guide 24 and adjusts the vertical position thereof according to the guide width Hb of the fixed lateral folding guide 18. Further, with respect to the width direction of the packaging line 2, the holding guide 24 is also positioned according to the length L _P of the product P by the rod 80 sliding in the sleeve 82.

Needless to say, with respect to the above-described folding guide 26, the height level and the mounting position in the width direction of the packaging line 2 can be adjusted according to the size of the product P. FIG. 10 also shows the telescopic cylinder 86 that supports the discharge elevator 22 and the latch pawl 88 that cooperates with the discharge elevator 22.
Guide width Ha of the movable and the fixed lateral folding guides 12, 18 as described above, although Hb are both adjustable, to obtain a cash LA overlap specifications between the flaps F _U, F _L (top and bottom) the above-described, Conventionally, it is necessary to perform a setup operation to find the guide widths Ha and Hb at which the overlap allowance LA according to the specification is obtained by repeating the test packaging of the product P while changing the guide widths Ha and Hb in various ways.

Such a setup operation requires a great deal of labor. However, the setting method of the present invention is based on the sizes of the product P, the sheet S, and the overlap margin LA, and a guide width Ha by a controller (not shown) of the packaging machine. , Hb are automatically set. Hereinafter, the setting method of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIGS.
FIG. 11 shows a routine for setting the guide widths Ha and Hb, specifically, the guide width Hb in the present invention.

First, the size (L _P , W _P , H _P ) of the product A is input to the controller (step S1), and the size (length, width) of the sheet S is input (step S2). Thereafter, the controller based on the input data described above, the width W _BL and the upper and lower flaps F _U bottom lap BL, (corresponding to the protruding length of the ear portion E: see FIG. 5) flap length L _F of F _L and Calculation is performed (step S3). Note that the flap length L _F also matches the folding length of the above-described ear folds α and β.

Next, the flap F _U of vertically controller, the size of the overlap generations LA specifications in F _L, specifically, the upper and lower flaps F _U, the flap edge length of F _L (specifications length) L _FE is input (Step S4). Here, the overlap width W _FL defining the overlap allowance LA can be obtained from the flap length L _F based on the following equation by calculation, and it is not necessary to input the overlap width W _FL to the controller.

W _FL = 2L _F −H _P
Thereafter, the provisional value Hbe of the guide width Hb is input to the controller (step S5). In this step, the input temporary value Hbe may be an arbitrary value, but in order to shorten the calculation time, it is preferable to input the minimum value of the guide width Hb in the fixed lateral folding guide 18.
In addition, the minimum value of the guide width Hb can be preset in the controller as a fixed value. In this case, the controller bypasses step S5 and can immediately execute the next step S6 and subsequent steps.

In the description of step S6, an XY coordinate system as shown in FIG. In this XY coordinate system, when viewed from the side of the product P, the upper horizontal side is positioned on the X axis and the left vertical side is positioned on the Y axis, and the left end of the upper horizontal side is the origin (first reference point) C (0 , 0). In this case, the right end (second reference point) A of the upper waterside is represented by (W _P , 0).
Assuming that the ear folds α and β are folded with respect to the product side surface by the movable and fixed lateral folding guides 12 and 18 as described above in the XY coordinate system, as shown in FIG. The upper end (tip point) of the tip edge of the ear fold part β is the point B, the XY coordinates of the point _B are (x _B , y _B ), and the tip edge of the ear fold part α or its extension line and the hypotenuse of the ear fold part β The intersection with k (upper side) can be represented as _D , and the XY coordinates of the intersection D can be represented as (x _D , y _D ), where x _D matches the flap length L _F.

Since the guide width Ha is set slightly wider than the guide width Hb as described above, in FIG. 12A, for example, the intersection point D is shown in a state of being located on the hypotenuse k of the ear fold β. ing.
In step S6, the coordinates of the intersection point D are calculated. Here, as apparent from FIG. 12A, the triangle ADQ and the triangle ABG are in a similar relationship, and therefore the relationship of the following equation is established.

QD: AQ = GB: AG
That is,
y _D : (W _P −x _D ) = (H _P −Hbe) / 2: x _{D
y D = {(W P -x} D) · (H P -Hbe)} / 2 · x D
Next, as shown in FIG. 12B, the controller selects a straight line L1 that is a tangent to the first circle with the radius L _F centered on the origin C and that passes through the intersection D (x _D , y _D ). The function to represent is calculated (step S7).

Specifically, the function of the straight line L1 is expressed by the following equation.
y = x · tan θ _D + (y _D −x _D · tan θ _D ) (1)
here,
θ _D = sin ⁻¹ {x _D / (x _D ² + y _D ² ) ^1/2 } −tan (y _D / x _D )
It is.

Thereafter, the controller assumes that the upper flap F _U is lowered folded as shown in FIG. 12 (c), the extension line of the distal end edge of the upper flap F _U (auxiliary line) and the straight line L1 and the intersection (end point ) XY coordinates (x ₁ , y ₁ ) of I, that is, X coordinates x ₁ are calculated (step S8).
Specifically, from the above (1), x ₁ is expressed by the following equation.
x ₁ = {(y ₁ −y _D ) + x _D tan θ _D } / tan θ _D (2)
Here, since the Y coordinate y ₁ of the intersection point I is the flap length L _F , that is, x _D , the equation (2) can be rewritten as the following equation.

_{x 1 = {(x D -y} D) + x D · tanθ D} / tanθ D ... (3)
Next, as shown in FIG. 12D, the controller is a straight line L2 that is a tangent to the second circle having the radius L _F centered on the point A and that passes through the intersection point B (x _B , y _B ). Is calculated (step S9).
Specifically, the function of the straight line L2 is expressed by the following equation.

y = −x · tan θ _B + (y _B −x _B · tan θ _B ) (4)
here,
θ _B = sin ⁻¹ {x _D / {(W _P −x _B ) ² + y _B ² } ^1/2 } −tan {y _B / (W _P −x _B )}
Then, the controller calculates the XY coordinates (x ₂ , y ₂ ), that is, the X coordinate x ₂ of the intersection (the other end point) N of the extended line of the leading edge and the straight line L2 in the folded upper flap F _U ( Step S10).

Specifically, from the above (4), x ₂ is expressed by the following equation.
x ₂ = {(− y ₂ + y _B ) + x _B · tan θ _B } / tan θ _B (5)
Here, since the Y coordinate y ₂ of the intersection N is also the flap length L _F , that is, x _D , the equation (5) can be rewritten as the following equation.
x ₂ = {(− x _D + y _B ) + x _B · tan θ _B } / tan θ _B (6)
Thereafter, the controller calculates the distance between the intersection point I and the intersection point N, that is, the flap end length L _O by the following equation (step S11).
L _O = x ₂ −x ₁
= {(− X _D + y _B ) + x _B · tan θ _B } / tan θ _B
− {(X _D −y _D ) + x _D · tan θ _D } / tan θ _D (7)
Here, as described above, the XY coordinates of the intersections D and B are obtained from the flap length L _F , the width W _{P of the} product _P , the height H _P, and the provisional value Hbe of the guide width Hb. ) To obtain the flap end length L _O.

Then, the controller determines whether or not the calculated flap end length L _O is approximate to the input flap end length L _FE (step S12). If the determination result here is false (No), the controller increases the provisional value Hbe of the guide width Hb by a predetermined increment value ΔH (step S13), and repeats the steps after step S6.
Thereafter, when the determination result in step 12 becomes true (yes), the controller sets the current provisional value Hbe as the guide width Hb of the fixed lateral folding guide 18 (step S14), and the guide width Hb and flap length L. After displaying _F and the width W _BL of the bottom wrap BL on a display (not shown) connected to the controller (step S15), the guide width setting routine is terminated.

If the guide width Hb is displayed in this way, the operator of the packaging machine can adjust the actual guide width of the fixed transverse folding guide 18 to the displayed guide width Hb, and based on this guide width Hb, The guide width Ha of the movable lateral folding guide 12 can also be adjusted.
As a result, if it is set guide width Hb from the results of simulation based on the setting routine described above, experimental packaging products P is not required, the upper and lower flaps F _U, the cash LA overlap specifications between F _L In addition to facilitating the preparation of the packaging machine, the time required for the operation can be significantly shortened.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications can be made. For example, the packaging material of the product may be a packaging material such as paper instead of a film. In this case, an adhesive or a sealing tape is used for the trunk seal or the side seal.
Also, after folding up the lower flap F _L, if the lower flap F _L is part folding ear alpha, it is adhered by heat sealing the distal end of the beta, retaining guide is not required.

Furthermore, the order of folding in the upper and lower flaps F _U and F _L may be reversed.

It is the perspective view which showed the packaging form of quarrel folding. It is the schematic side view which showed the packaging machine of one Example. It is a figure which shows the state immediately after the cylinder folding and cylinder sealing of the sheet | seat with respect to a product were completed. It is the figure which showed sequentially the folding process of the ear | edge part in a sheet | seat after the body folding of a sheet | seat. It is the perspective view which showed the packaged goods which packaging completed. It is the side view which showed the movable horizontal folding guide of FIG. 2 in detail. FIG. 7 is a plan view of the movable lateral folding guide of FIG. 6. It is the side view which showed the fixed horizontal folding guide of FIG. 2 in detail. It is a top view of the fixed horizontal folding guide of FIG. It is the figure which showed schematically the adjustment mechanism of the holding guide of FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a guide width setting routine. It is a figure for demonstrating the setting routine of FIG.

Explanation of symbols

2 Packaging line 8 Body folding guide (body folding means)
12 Movable lateral folding guide 18 Fixed lateral folding guide 20 Folding guide (flap folding means)
24 holding guide 26 folding guide (flap folding means)
E Ear part P Product E _V Vertical part F _U , _FL flap α, β Ear fold

Claims (5)

A packaging line for transporting cube-shaped products;
When the product is supplied onto the packaging line, a packaging material is folded around the product, and an ear portion protruding from a side surface of the product is formed by the packaging material by the body folding, and the ear portion is A body folding means having a vertical portion that is perpendicular to the packaging line and that is positioned forward and backward as viewed in the direction of transfer of the product;
A movable lateral fold that can reciprocate along the packaging line and folds the rear vertical part of the ear portion as a trapezoidal rear ear fold portion with respect to the product side surface when moved in the product transfer direction. A guide,
The trapezoidal front ear is disposed along the packaging line downstream of the movable lateral folding guide as viewed in the product transfer direction, and the front vertical portion of the ear portion is trapezoidally shaped with respect to the product side as the product is transferred. A fixed lateral fold guide that folds as a fold, overlaps the tip of the front ear fold with the tip of the rear ear fold, and forms the rest of the ear as upper and lower flaps;
Flap folding means for alternately folding the upper and lower flaps with respect to the product side surface in a selected order on the downstream side of the fixed lateral folding guide, and overlapping the tips of the flaps with each other, In an overwrapping machine that wraps in a double-point endfold packaging form,
The product has a vertically long side surface whose height is larger than the width along the transfer direction on the packaging line,
The movable and fixed lateral folding guides are respectively arranged at the center of the product side surface in the height direction of the product on the packaging line, and are smaller than the height of the product and constant in the transfer direction. Has a guide width,
The guide width is set so that the upper and lower flaps are formed into a trapezoidal shape having a tip edge of a specified length when the rear and front ear folds are folded by the movable and fixed lateral fold guides. An overwrapping machine characterized by having   The overwrapping machine according to claim 1, wherein a guide width of the fixed lateral folding guide is slightly smaller than a guide width of the movable lateral folding guide.   The flap folding means includes a holding guide for holding the overlapping portion of the rear and front ear folding portions via the one flap until the other flap is folded after the one flap is folded. The overwrapping machine according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising: In the overwrapping machine according to claim 1, when a specification length is given to a linear length of the flap leading edge, a guide width required for the movable and fixed lateral folding guide is set,
With respect to one side of the product side parallel to the packaging line, the rear end and the front end as the first reference point and the second reference point, respectively, when viewed in the product transfer direction, Obtaining a flap length of the flap and providing a predetermined provisional value for the guide width; and
Assuming that the rear ear fold and the front ear fold are folded by the movable and fixed lateral fold guides having the temporary guide width, the trapezoidal shape is formed with the leading edge of the rear ear fold or its extension line. The intersection between the front-side folded portion and the oblique side on the one-side side, and the tip point where the one-side end of the leading edge of the front-ear folded portion is located are the size of the product, the flap length, and the guide width. A first step based on the provisional value of
A second step of drawing a first circle centered on the first reference point and having a radius of the flap length, and obtaining a first straight line in contact with the first circle and passing through the intersection;
A third step of obtaining an intersection point between an auxiliary line parallel to the one side and spaced apart from the one side by the flap length and the first straight line as one end point of the leading edge of the flap;
A fourth step of drawing a second circle having the radius of the flap length around the second reference point and obtaining a second straight line in contact with the second circle and passing through the tip point;
A fifth step of obtaining an intersection point between the second straight line and the auxiliary line as the other end point of the leading edge of the flap;
A sixth step of obtaining a distance between the one end point and the other end point as a length of the flap leading edge;
A seventh step of determining whether or not the length substantially matches the specification length,
When the determination result of the seventh step is false, the guide value when the provisional value of the guide width is increased or decreased and the first to seventh steps are repeated, and the comparison result in the seventh step becomes true A guide width setting method for a lateral folding guide of an overwrapping machine, wherein a temporary width value is set as a normal guide width. The preparatory step gives a minimum guide width of a lateral folding guide to the initial value of the temporary value,
5. The overwrapping according to claim 4, wherein when the determination result of the seventh step is false, the temporary value of the guide width is increased by a predetermined increment and the first to seventh steps are repeated. Guide width setting method for the horizontal folding guide of the machine.

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