JP2006036296A - Packaging apparatus for rice ball - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a bag packed package for rice ball, by which a rice ball which is manufactured under a puffy state can be handled without spoiling the quality, of which the self-standing property is favorable, and which can prevent foreign matters from mixing therein. <P>SOLUTION: The overlapped end edge sections which are overlapped into a butt state at the upper part of a cylindrical film Fa is vertically sealed by a vertical sealing mechanism 20, and a vertical sealed edge section which protrude upward from a bag body section is formed. The vertical sealed edge section is folded along the bag body section by a folding guiding means 26. The cylindrical film Fa is laterally sealed by a lateral sealing mechanism 32, and a lateral sealed edge section is formed. When the lateral sealing is performed by the lateral sealing mechanism 32, a folded section is formed by a folding forming means 38 on the bottom surface side of the rice ball 11 in the cylindrical film Fa. The cylindrical film Fa on the opposite side from the side on which the folding section is formed is stretched to the outside and held by a holding member 40. A quality displaying label is pasted by a label pasting means 47 on the upper surface of the package 24 in which the lateral seal is cut. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a rice ball packaging apparatus.

  Traditionally, rice balls wrapped directly with seaweed are often inserted into the bag opening shaped along the outer shape of the rice balls so that the packaging closely adheres to the outer shape of the rice balls. After the opening is folded, the folded extension is sealed with a label that is attached to a position on the back of the rice ball (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

Since the packaging described above is a sealing form in which the bag opening is folded and affixed with a label, there is a possibility that foreign matter may enter from the gap of the bag opening. Therefore, in order to solve this problem, the applicant of the present application has proposed an apparatus for heat-sealing a film in a shape along the shape of a rice ball (see, for example, Patent Document 2).
JP 10-33130 A JP 2003-276710 A

  Recently, handmade-style rice balls finished in a plump state are being sold at convenience stores, etc. In this case, the packaging and outer shape are closely attached to the rice balls as obtained by the conventional device described above. Adopting products that are packaged in the package will not result in a package with a sense of volume, and it will not be able to appeal to the consumer of plumpness, but also when transporting from the manufacturer to the retail store or at the retail store At the time of product display, etc., it has been pointed out that the packaged rice balls need to be handled and handled directly by hand, so that the finished state cannot be maintained at the time of manufacture and the product value is reduced. The

  In addition, it is generally sold in a state where rice balls are raised at the time of display at a retail store, but in the packaging form obtained by the device disclosed in Patent Document 2, when the rice balls are raised, The seal part protrudes on the bottom side, and is not self-supporting. In particular, in the case where the onigiri to be accommodated is a round shape, it has been difficult to display in a self-supporting state in any of the packaging forms obtained by the respective devices described above.

  That is, the present invention has been proposed in order to suitably solve the above-mentioned problems inherent in the prior art described above, and without impairing the quality of the rice balls manufactured in a plump state. It is an object of the present invention to provide a rice ball packaging apparatus that can be handled and has a good self-supporting property and can obtain a package of rice ball packaging that can prevent foreign matter from being mixed.

In order to overcome the above-mentioned problems and achieve the desired purpose suitably, the rice ball packaging apparatus according to the present invention comprises:
Bag-making means for forming a strip-like film drawn upward from a supply source disposed below into a cylindrical shape;
A supply conveyor for supplying the cylindrical film with rice balls placed in a posture in which the back of the product faces upward and the bottom of the product faces in the direction intersecting the transport direction;
A vertical seal mechanism that applies a vertical seal to the polymerization edge that has been polymerized in the shape of a palm above the tubular film on the downstream side of the bag making means;
Bending guide means for bending the vertical seal edge formed by the vertical seal mechanism along the bag body;
The tubular film is disposed on the downstream side of the bending guide means, sandwiches the tubular film by a pair of sealing bodies, horizontally moves in the film transfer direction, and applies a horizontal seal to the tubular film and cuts the tubular film. A lateral seal mechanism;
A knife provided with a cutting blade disposed on one of the pair of seal bodies, cutting the tubular film between each rice ball, and forming a notch for opening at the cut end;
Folding forming means comprising a pair of folding claws for folding one side of the tubular film corresponding to the bottom side of the rice ball on both sides of the seal body;
Holding means for projecting and holding the tubular film outwardly on the opposite side of the tubular film with respect to the disposition position of the folding forming means during transverse sealing by the transverse sealing mechanism;
Provided on the downstream side of the lateral seal mechanism, and provided with a label attaching means for attaching a quality display label to the upper surface of the obtained package,
The horizontal seal mechanism is set so as to form a horizontal seal edge narrower than the vertical seal edge by performing horizontal seal and cutting at a front and rear position close to the front and rear end edges of the rice ball in the tubular film, On the other hand, the cutting blade forms a notch for opening at a position that is approximately 1/2 or more of the height of the rice balls that are accommodated with the resulting packaging upright and above the vertical seal edge. In addition, the amount of the tubular film projected by the holding means is such that the length from the upper end of the package rice ball to the upper edge of the bag in an upright state does not touch the rice ball. It is characterized by being set so as to have a size that can be handled by picking up the.

  According to the rice ball packaging apparatus according to claim 1 of the present invention, a packaging body can be obtained without lowering the texture of the rice ball, and a self-supporting packaging body having a folded portion formed at the bottom of the bag can be obtained. It becomes possible to display and sell in a self-standing state regardless of the round shape. Therefore, for example, it is possible to obtain a package that can avoid a reduction in the value of the product due to the damage of the product, such as a rice ball that has been finished with a large amount of deformation due to rolling during display or a gripping state that varies. In addition, since a package with a space formed on the top of the bag that can be handled by picking it with a finger without touching the rice ball is obtained, according to the package, it can be used for rice balls during distribution from the manufacturer to the store. Since it can be prevented from being touched directly and can be handled without deteriorating the quality of the rice balls produced in the plump state, the commercial value is not lowered.

  Furthermore, the sealed package which can prevent the foreign material mixing in a bag by a vertical seal and a horizontal seal can be manufactured. Furthermore, since the opening notch is formed at a position that is approximately 1/2 or more of the height of the rice ball in the state where the bag is raised, the packaging material remaining below after the opening is grasped. A package capable of eating rice balls is obtained, which is excellent from a hygienic point of view.

  According to the packaging device of the second aspect, by degassing the inside of the bag by a predetermined amount, it is possible to manufacture a package that can be easily handled by picking it with a finger with the space portion in the upper portion of the bag in a flat state. According to the packaging device of claim 3, even when the tubular film is pressed, the onigiri plump state is not impaired.

  According to the packaging device of claim 4, it is possible to form a predetermined amount of space with a simple configuration, to prevent the generation of seal wrinkles at the time of lateral sealing, and to satisfactorily fold the tubular film. Can do. According to the packaging device of the fifth aspect, it is possible to obtain a package body in which the shape retention of the lower portion of the bag is improved by sticking of the label and the self-supporting property is improved. Further, since the vertical seal edge closely contacts the body side of the tubular film, it is possible to prevent foreign matter from being caught in the gap with the seal edge. According to the packaging device of claim 6, it is possible to obtain a package that does not accidentally lose rice balls when opened. According to the packaging device of the seventh aspect, even when a thin and flexible plastic film is employed as the packaging material, a packaging body can be obtained in which shape retention is imparted to the bag bottom and the self-supporting property is enhanced.

  According to the packaging apparatus of claim 8, the placement position of the onigiri on the belt conveying surface manually can be regulated without providing guide means for guiding the side of the article, and the article has directionality like a triangular rice ball. When the position is regulated by contacting the guide, it does not rotate and change its posture. According to the packaging device of claim 9, the package does not have a size larger than necessary, and a space as a picking allowance can be formed in the upper portion of the bag with a necessary and minimum amount of packaging material used, and the appearance is reduced. It can be set as an optimum value as a picking allowance without.

  Next, a rice ball packaging apparatus according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings by giving a preferred embodiment.

(About the overall configuration of the packaging device)
FIG. 1 is a schematic view showing the overall configuration of a packaging apparatus according to an embodiment, in which the apparatus 10 continuously conveys a triangular or round rice ball 11 toward the downstream side. And a bag making device 17 that is disposed downstream of the supply conveyor 12 and that forms the strip-shaped film F drawn upward from the lower raw roll 16 into a cylindrical shape, and is disposed downstream of the bag making device 17. A vertical sealing mechanism 20 that performs vertical sealing on the overlapping edge that has been polymerized in a palm-like manner above the tubular film Fa, and a vertical sealing edge 21 formed by the vertical sealing mechanism 20 along the bag body. A folding guide means 26 for bending, and a transverse seal which is disposed on the downstream side of the bending guide means 26 and applies a lateral seal to the tubular film Fa by a pair of seal bodies 30 and 31 and cuts the tubular film Fa. The seal mechanism 32 and one seal body 30 are arranged. A knife 35 provided with a cutting blade 37 that cuts the tubular film Fa between the front and rear rice balls 11 and 11 and forms a notch 36 for opening at the cut end, and the seal bodies 30 and 31 are sandwiched. On both sides, a fold forming means 38 that folds one side of the cylindrical film Fa corresponding to the bottom surface side of the rice ball 11 and a cylindrical shape with respect to the position of the fold forming means 38 at the time of horizontal sealing by the horizontal sealing mechanism 32. A holding means 40 that projects and holds the tubular film Fa outward on the opposite side of the film Fa and a downstream side of the lateral seal mechanism 32 are provided, and a quality label 48 is pasted on the upper surface of the resulting package 24. Label attaching means 47 for wearing.

(About supply conveyor and work conveyor)
In the supply conveyor 12, the rear surface of the rice ball 11 (any surface is acceptable if the product has no distinction between the front and back sides) faces upward, and the bottom surface side of the product (the bottom side of the triangular rice ball) intersects the conveyor conveyance direction. It is placed on the transport surface in a sleeping posture that faces either one of the left and right sides of the direction. As shown in FIG. 2, two placement reference lines (lines) 13 and 13 serving as a guide for placing the rice ball 11 in the center of the packaging line are provided on the conveying surface of the belt 12a in the supply conveyor 12. 11 is attached to the entire circumference of the belt along the conveyance line on both the left and right sides of the packaging line center (conveyance line center) corresponding to the outer dimensions of 11. The placement reference line 13 may be any line as long as it can serve as a guideline, such as a straight line or a wavy line arranged in a straight line, regardless of whether it is continuous or discontinuous.

  A belt-type work conveyor 14 is connected to the upstream side of the supply conveyor 12. For example, a rice roll 11 that has been transferred from a rice ball manufacturing apparatus is wrapped with seaweed by hand to the work conveyor 14. The rice balls 11 are configured to be fed toward the supply conveyor 12 by being placed at intervals. As shown in FIG. 2, the delivery parts from the work conveyor 14 to the supply conveyor 12 are provided with article guides 15 and 15 that are located on both sides in the width direction across the center of the packaging line and that expand on the work conveyor side. When the rice ball 11 placed on the belt conveying surface of the work conveyor 14 is displaced from the center of the packaging line, the rice balls 11 can be shifted to the center of the packaging line by the article guides 15 and 15 and delivered to the supply conveyor 12. It is like that. In addition, it is more preferable to attach a line (a mark) that serves as a guide for the placement position of the rice ball 11 to the belt conveying surface of the work conveyor 14 as in the case of the supply conveyor 12.

  At a suitable position on the downstream end side of the supply conveyor 12, a detection sensor 25 is disposed as a detection means, for example, comprising a light emitting element and a light receiving element, which detects the rice ball 11 transported by the continuously running supply conveyor 12. The transport position of the rice ball 11 on the supply conveyor 12 is detected by the article detection signal of the detection sensor 25. Based on the article detection signal, the belt-shaped film F draw-out mechanism 18, the vertical sealing mechanism 20, the feed rollers 22, 22 and the first transport conveyor 19 are sent at the timing when the detected rice ball 11 is delivered to the tubular film Fa. And a lateral seal mechanism 32 (both described later) are driven and controlled to pull out a strip-shaped film F for one packaging length from the raw roll 16 and transfer it from the supply conveyor 12 toward the tubular film Fa. The tubular film Fa is fed to the downstream side by one packaging length so that 11 is placed at the center position of the film for one packaging length. The detection sensor 25 is not limited to an optical sensor, and a mechanical sensor that detects contact with the rice ball 11 can be used.

(About film supply source and bag making machine)
Below the packaging line, a raw fabric roll (supply source) 16 in which a heat-sealable strip-shaped packaging material (hereinafter also referred to as a film) is wound in a roll shape is rotatably disposed. The packaging material is a heat-weldable transparent plastic film based on 30-50 μm thick polypropylene or the like, or a thermoplastic synthetic resin layer such as polyethylene laminated on a base such as Japanese paper or pseudo Japanese paper A heat-weldable sheet material having a thickness of 30 to 50 μm is suitable, and a product name, other various patterns, and the like are printed on the packaging material.

  A bag making device (bag making means) 17 is disposed on the downstream side of the supply conveyor 12, and the belt-like film F drawn upward from the original fabric roll 16 via the drawing mechanism 18 is formed. By passing it through the bag device 17, it is formed into a cylindrical shape according to the thickness of the rice ball 11 (the height of the article placed on the supply conveyor 12 and placed thereon) and the outer dimensions. And the both ends 11 of a longitudinal direction along the feed direction of the strip | belt-shaped film F are superposed | polymerized in the shape of a palm in the upper direction, and the rice ball 11 comes to be supplied sequentially via the said supply conveyor 12 in the continuous cylindrical film Fa. ing.

(About vertical seal mechanism)
As shown in FIG. 1, when the cylindrical film Fa is fed toward the downstream side in the feeding direction, the lateral seal mechanism 32, which will be described later, is provided at the downstream side of the bag making machine 17 from the outlet of the bag making machine 17. A first conveying conveyor 19 is disposed to support and convey the lower surface of the rice ball 11 supplied into the tubular film Fa through the film until just before the position where the sealing bodies 30 and 31 are disposed. A vertical sealing mechanism 20 is provided above the first transport conveyor 19 to apply a vertical seal to the overlapping edge portion polymerized above the cylindrical film Fa. As shown in FIG. 3, the vertical seal mechanism 20 has a vertical seal that protrudes upward from the bag body by applying a vertical seal to the edge of the cylindrical film Fa so as to face each other across the overlapping edge. It has a pair of heated seal rollers 20a, 20a that form an edge 21. Further, on the upstream side of the vertical seal mechanism 20, a pair of feed rollers 22, 22 that feeds by sandwiching the overlapping edge portion of the tubular film Fa and continuously rotating in opposite directions is disposed. is there. The seal rollers 20a and 20a and the feed rollers 22 and 22 and the bag body portion of the tubular film Fa are spaced apart in a predetermined dimension width direction that allows the overlapping edge portion to extend upward. A pair of protective plates 23, 23 is provided, and the protective plate 23 prevents heat from the sealing rollers 20a, 20a from being transmitted to the body of the tubular film Fa, and the overlapping edge portion is linear. In this way, the vertical seal can be satisfactorily performed.

  The sandwiching position of the film overlapping edge portions of the seal rollers 20a and 20a and the feed rollers 22 and 22 is set at the center of the packaging line, and the longitudinal seal edge portion 21 which has been longitudinally sealed is formed into a cylinder by a bending guide means 26 which will be described later. When the folding base portion of the vertical seal edge 21 is folded so as to contact the body portion of the film-shaped film Fa, the position of the onigiri 11 on the posture of the obtained packaging body 24 is approximately half the height. It comes to face. However, a space portion 41 to be described later is formed in the upper part of the rice ball 11, and the cylindrical film Fa on the bottom side is folded inward so that the vertical seal edge portion 21 is a bag in the erected packaging body 24. It is located below half of the height (see FIG. 10).

(Bending guide means)
As the vertical seal edge 21 projecting upward from the body of the tubular film Fa is fed toward the downstream side of the protective plates 23 and 23 on the downstream side of the vertical seal mechanism 20, the cylinders are fed. Folding guide means 26 is disposed so as to bend gradually toward one side which is the bottom surface side of the rice ball 11 so as to follow the body portion of the film-shaped film Fa. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the bending guide means 26 is located on the most upstream side and protrudes in a substantially upright state above the tubular film Fa on the other side of the vertical seal edge 21 (the bottom surface of the rice ball 11. A guide piece 27 that inclines upward from the opposite side) toward the one side and guides the substantially upright vertical seal edge 21 by bending toward the one side, and the guide piece 27 The vertical seal edge 21 inclined to one side is disposed substantially in parallel so as to be sandwiched from above and below, and as the vertical seal edge 21 is fed to the downstream side, the barrel of the tubular film Fa gradually increases. It comprises bending guides 28 and 29 for guiding them so as to fall down on the part side. Both folding guides 28 and 29 are formed of a thin plate material made of an elastically deformable material, and are arranged so as to extend obliquely downward, and the upper folding guide 28 is a lower folding guide 29. The extended end portion extending further downstream is provided with a support piece 28a extending in the width direction, and is set so as to be able to contact the upper surface of the tubular film Fa. With this support piece 28a, the upper bending guide 28 allows the vertical sealing edge 21 to be bent when the upper and lower sealing bodies 30, 31 of the horizontal sealing mechanism 32 described later sandwich the cylindrical film Fa and perform horizontal sealing. By holding and supporting the tubular film Fa flatly without curving and swelling, it is possible to prevent generation of seal wrinkles at the time of lateral sealing and to make good folding formation by the folding forming means 38 described later. It also has a function.

(About horizontal seal mechanism)
A horizontal seal provided with a pair of sealing bodies 30 and 31 composed of heating seal bars opposed vertically on the downstream side of the bending guide means 26 with the transfer path of the tubular film Fa interposed therebetween. A mechanism 32 is provided. The horizontal seal mechanism 32 is configured to be movable back and forth along the film transfer direction, and moves close to each other with a predetermined timing while the upper and lower seal bodies 30, 31 move from the most upstream side to the downstream side. Then, in a state where the substantially central position between the front and rear rice balls 11, 11 in the tubular film Fa is sandwiched at a substantially intermediate position of the article height, the tubular film Fa is horizontally moved by a required distance on the downstream side. The cylindrical film Fa is laterally sealed by being separated from each other after moving.

  As shown in FIG. 7, a knife 35 for cutting the tubular film Fa can be operated up and down between the portions where the front and rear seal surfaces are formed in the upper seal body 30 located above the horizontal seal mechanism 32. When the tubular film Fa is sandwiched and horizontally sealed by the lower seal body 31, the knife 35 is lowered and the substantially central position between the front and rear rice balls 11 and 11 in the tubular film Fa is set to a width. Configured to cut in the direction. A cutting blade 37 forming a V-shaped opening notch 36 is disposed on the knife 35 so as to be positionally adjustable in the longitudinal direction of the knife 35 (transverse direction of the tubular film Fa). When Fa is cut, an opening notch 36 is formed at the cut end of the lateral seal edge 33.

  As shown in FIG. 10, the formation position of the opening notch 36 by the cutting blade 37 is above the vertical seal edge 21 in the state where the obtained packaging body 24 is erected, and the cut line (cutting locus) is a rice ball. It is preferable to position and set the knife 35 at a predetermined position in accordance with the position passing through the vicinity of the upper end of the 11 so that the rice ball 11 is not damaged at the time of opening. Further, by setting the position of the cutting blade 37 so that it is at least about half the height of the rice ball 11 with the opening notch 36 in the standing position, the package remaining below after opening It can be sanitary because it can be eaten by holding the timber by hand.

  It should be noted that the front and rear horizontal seal edges 33, 33 in the package 24 obtained by horizontal sealing and cutting by the horizontal seal mechanism 32 and the vertical seal edge 21 bent along the bag body are crossed. Corresponding to the above, on the surface of the packaging film, for example, by performing double-sided welding processing of the film such as part-coating a heat seal layer, at the time of horizontal sealing by the horizontal sealing mechanism 32, the overlapping surfaces of both seal edges 21 and 33 are formed. Can be welded.

  Sealing surfaces are formed on opposite surfaces of the seal bodies 30 and 31 before and after being separated in the film transfer direction, and the width in the front-rear direction of each seal surface is the vertical seal mechanism 20 applied by the vertical seal mechanism 20. The width is set narrower than the seal width, and the width of the horizontal seal edge 33 obtained thereby is set to be smaller than the width of the vertical seal edge 21 (see FIG. 10). Specifically, it is preferable to set the width of the vertical seal edge 21 to about 10 to 15 mm and the width of the horizontal seal edge 33 to about 5 to 8 mm. Moreover, the sealing pitch by the horizontal sealing mechanism 32 is such that the horizontal seal is applied to the front and rear end portions of the tubular film Fa close to the front and rear end edges of the rice ball 11, and the packaged rice balls 24 shown in FIG. The length of the left and right cavities 34 formed between the left and right ends of 11 and both sides of the bag (ends on the inside of each lateral seal edge 33) may be set to be approximately 5 to 15 mm. preferable.

  As shown in FIG. 1, a belt-type second transport conveyor 42 having the same transport level as that of the first transport conveyor 19 is disposed on the downstream side of the lateral seal mechanism 32. The opposing end portions of the first and second transport conveyors 19 and 42 are moved away from each other when the pair of seal bodies 30 and 31 are close to each other to allow the lower seal body 31 to pass therethrough. When the seal bodies 30 and 31 are separated from each other, they are moved close to each other so that the unwrapped body can be smoothly delivered from the first transport conveyor 19 to the second transport conveyor 42. The belt traveling speed of the second conveyor 42 is set to be higher than the belt traveling speed of the first conveyor 19, and the preceding packaging body 24 that has been laterally sealed and cut by the lateral sealing mechanism 32 is replaced with the subsequent unwrapped body. It is configured so that it can be reliably separated from and transported downstream.

(About folding forming means)
As shown in FIG. 3, the horizontal sealing mechanism 32 has the sealing bodies 30 and 31 on one side of the transfer path of the cylindrical film Fa facing the product bottom side of the rice ball 11 supplied in the cylindrical film Fa. A fold forming means 38 having a pair of fold claws 38a, 38b on the upstream side and the downstream side of the upper and lower sides is disposed so as to be movable integrally with the movement of the upper and lower seal bodies 30, 31 in the film transport direction. At the same time, the pair of folding claws 38a and 38b are moved forward and backward in synchronization with the vertical movement of the seal bodies 30 and 31, and the width direction of the portion corresponding to the lateral seal edge 33 in the tubular film Fa is equal. The folds 39, 39 are formed by folding the side inward.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the front ends of the both folding claws 38a and 38b are formed in a triangular shape having a top portion located at an intermediate position in the height direction, and are bent toward the sealing body to form a tubular film. By folding Fa with the folding claws 38a and 38b, a folded portion 39 having a triangular shape in plan view that is inclined upward as it goes from the bottom side to the corresponding left and right end portions in the obtained package 24 is formed. (See FIG. 11).

  Note that the folded packaging material is laterally sealed by performing double-sided welding processing such as part-coating a heat seal layer on the surface of the packaging material corresponding to the folding site at the lateral sealing position in the seal bodies 30 and 31. The side seal edge portions 33, 33 formed on the left and right sides of the bag f in a state in which the packaging material 24 obtained in the state where the packaging body 24 is stood can be separated from each other by thermally welding the packaging materials of the folded overlapping surfaces. As a column extending from the bottom surface to the upper end of the bag, the self-supporting property can be enhanced. However, the thermal welding between the packaging materials of the folding part 39 by the double-sided welding process may be applied to a packaging material having no waist such as a thin and flexible film based on polypropylene, for example, Japanese paper or the like on the substrate. A packaging material having a relatively low waist and having shape retention may be omitted, and may be adopted as necessary.

(About holding member)
On the side of the tubular film Fa opposite to the folding side of the tubular film Fa by the folding forming means 38, the upstream side of the upstream side moving position of the sealing bodies 30, 31 from the inlet of the bag making device 17 is provided. A holding member (holding means) 40 that extends into the tubular film Fa and holds the film from the inside is detachably disposed by the fixing knob 40a over the vicinity. As shown in FIG. 4 or FIG. 5, the holding member 40 is inserted into the tubular film from the opening at the entrance of the bag making machine 17 and does not interfere with the outer edge of the rice ball 11 supplied to the tubular film Fa. It is formed in a shape that extends downward and inclines downward toward the downstream side and slightly expands outward from the outlet of the bag making machine 17 (see FIG. 6). Further, as shown in FIG. 7, the holding member 40 is located at a position corresponding to the folding position of the folding claws 38 a and 38 b in the folding forming means 38 and is substantially at the center of the height from the conveying surface of the rice ball 11 in the tubular film Fa. And the tip (the end on the side of the horizontal seal mechanism) is bent in a U-shape toward the outside, holding the tubular film Fa from the inside, and the end of the rice ball 11 The cross-sectional shape of the space 41 extending from the (upper end in the standing posture) to the other side is made to be substantially triangular. In this way, by extending and holding one side of the tubular film Fa outward, the fold forming means 38 can be favorably folded and the occurrence of seal wrinkles at the time of lateral sealing by the lateral sealing mechanism 32 can be prevented. It is like that.

  The amount of protrusion of the holding member 40 from the rice ball 11 at a position corresponding to the clamping position of the tubular film Fa on the upstream side of the sealing bodies 30 and 31 in the lateral sealing mechanism 32 is the state in which the obtained packaging body 24 is raised. Then, the length from the upper end of the rice ball 11 to the upper edge of the bag can be maintained at a size that can form a space 41 that can be handled by picking the upper portion of the bag without touching the rice ball 11. It is set to support Fa from the inside. Specifically, it is most preferable that the length of the space 41 is set to a predetermined overhang amount that can be approximately 25 to 40 mm.

(About deaeration means)
The support member 43 on which the upper seal body 30 in the horizontal seal mechanism 32 is disposed is provided with a deaeration means 44 for degassing the inside of the bag during the horizontal seal. This deaeration means 44 is provided with a pressing body 45 made of a soft elastic member such as a soft sponge located on the downstream side of the upper seal body 30, and the pressing body 45 has a cylindrical shape as shown in FIGS. 4 and 8. The film-like film Fa is pressed from above and partly pressed against the upper part of the rice ball 11, and at least the pressing force at the pressing portion of the rice ball 11 is set so that the rice ball 11 does not deform. . That is, the pressing body 45 is formed in a substantially U-shape that opens to the downstream side in a plan view, and presses the tubular film Fa against the upper surface of the rice ball 11 with the article pressing portion 45a extending along the width direction. The film pressing portions 45b, 45b on both sides in the width direction press the cylindrical film Fa from the upper side by a predetermined amount by pressing only the film outside the outer edge of the rice ball 11 to deaerate the inside of the bag. ing.

  The deaeration means 44 is disposed such that its height position can be adjusted with respect to the support member 43, and the deaeration amount in the bag can be varied by changing the pressing height of the tubular film Fa at the time of horizontal sealing. It has come to be able to do. That is, a pair of guide cylinders 50 and 50 are erected on the upper surface of the support base 49 disposed so as to project from the support member 43 to the downstream side, and the pressing body 45 is disposed on the lower surface. A pair of slide shafts 52, 52 erected on the arranged holder 51 and spaced apart in the width direction are slidably inserted into the guide tubes 50, 50 from below. The guide cylinders 50 and 50 are provided with stoppers 53 and 53 for fixing the slide shafts 52 and 52 so that the positions of the slide shafts 52 and 52 can be adjusted. By changing the fixing positions of the slide shafts 52 and 52 with respect to the stoppers 53 and 53, It is configured so that the height position of the pressing body 45 with respect to the support member 43 can be adjusted. Then, the rice ball contained in the bag f is obtained by horizontally sealing and cutting the tubular film Fa in a state where a predetermined amount of air is discharged by the deaeration means 44 in which the pressing body 45 is positioned. The space 41 formed at the upper end of 11 and the upper edge of the bag can be in a state without swelling and can be picked with a finger in a substantially flat state. Note that the air deaeration amount in the bag by the deaeration means 44 is selected when the film does not adhere to the surface of the rice ball 11 and appropriate air remains in the bag, and at least when the space 41 is picked with a finger. What is necessary is just to make it set so that a site | part may become a substantially flat state. By leaving moderate air in this way, the air becomes a cushion against an externally applied impact, and the rice ball 11 can be prevented from being deformed.

(About labeling means)
A labeling conveyor 46 is connected to the downstream side of the second transport conveyor 42, and the package 24 transferred by the labeling conveyor 46 is supplied to the label attaching means 47. The label sticking means 47 operates at the timing when the packaging body 24 transported by the labeling conveyor 46 arrives at the sticking position, and on the upper surface (back side of the bag f) of the packaging body 24, the name of the raw material, the expiration date It is configured to affix a quality display label 48 describing the manufacturer or the like.

  As shown in FIG. 10, the quality indication label 48 is preferably not attached to the cut line formed by the opening notch 36 and is attached to a position where a part thereof overlaps the vertical seal edge 21, In this case, when the package 24 is opened, the quality label 48 does not get in the way and can be easily opened, and the vertical seal edge 21 is brought into close contact with the bag body portion to prevent foreign matter from being caught in the gap. can do. Further, it is more preferable that one side edge corresponding to the bottom surface side of the rice ball 11 in the quality display label 48 is attached to a position close to the bottom side of the bag f, thereby providing shape retention property under the bag and being self-supporting. Can be increased.

(Effects of Example)
Next, the operation of the rice ball packaging apparatus according to the above-described embodiment will be described. On the conveying surface of the working conveyor 14, the rice balls 11 were placed at predetermined intervals with the product back face facing upward and the product bottom face facing one side in the width direction intersecting the conveyor conveying direction. When the rice ball 11 is displaced from the center of the conveying line and placed, the rice ball 11 is moved to the center of the packaging line by the article guides 15 and 15 and delivered to the supply conveyor 12. When the rice ball 11 continuously fed by the supply conveyor 12 is detected by the detection sensor 25, a mechanism for pulling out the raw roll 16 from the raw roll 16 at the timing when the detected rice ball 11 is delivered to the tubular film Fa. A belt-shaped film F for one packaging length is drawn through 18 and fed to the bag making machine 17 from below. The band-shaped film F is formed into a cylindrical shape according to the height and outer dimensions of the rice ball 11 by the bag making device 17, and the rice ball 11 is supplied to the central position of the film for one packaging length in the cylindrical film Fa. . When the rice ball 11 is directly placed on the transport surface of the supply conveyor 12, the rice ball 11 can be placed at the center of the packaging line by the above-described placement reference lines 13 and 13. When the rice ball 11 is subsequently detected by the detection sensor 25, the feeding of the belt-like film F is increased / decreased in accordance with the placement interval (detection interval), and is drawn out continuously by a predetermined amount. The mechanism 18, feed rollers 22, 22 and the like are controlled. However, if the interval between the rice balls 11 is long and cannot be dealt with only by slowing down, the feeding of the belt-like film F is temporarily stopped, and the rice balls 11 are always supplied to the central position of the film for one packaging length in the tubular film Fa. To be controlled.

  Both ends in the longitudinal direction along the feeding direction of the tubular film Fa are polymerized in the form of a palm above the film Fa, and the film overlapping edges are held downstream by the feed rollers 22 and 22. Be fed. Further, by feeding the film overlapping edge portion to the downstream side while being sandwiched between the heated seal rollers 20a and 20a of the vertical seal mechanism 20 disposed on the downstream side of the feed rollers 22 and 22, A vertical seal is applied to the overlapping edge portion to form a continuous belt-like vertical seal edge portion 21.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the vertical seal edge portion 21 in which the cylindrical film Fa is transferred to the downstream side together with the rice ball 11 by the first conveying conveyor 19 and faces the upper side of the cylindrical film Fa in an upright state, as shown in FIG. 4. By contacting the guide piece 27 in the means 26, the rice ball 11 is bent toward the bottom surface side. Further, the vertical seal edge 21 is bent so as to be in contact with the body of the tubular film Fa by being transferred to the downstream side while being sandwiched between the upper and lower bending guides 28 and 29.

  The tubular film Fa in which the rice ball 11 is accommodated is transferred to the downstream side by the first transfer conveyor 19 that travels at substantially the same speed as the film transfer speed. The upper and lower seal bodies 30, 31 of the lateral seal mechanism 32 move closer to each other while moving upstream and then downstream. At this time, the opposing front ends of the first transport conveyor 19 and the second transport conveyor 42 are separated from each other, and the lower seal body 31 extends above the transfer path through a gap formed therebetween, and the upper seal body 30 and The tubular film Fa is sandwiched at a substantially central position of the article height.

  Further, at the timing before the sealing bodies 30 and 31 come into contact with each other, the folding claws 38a and 38b of the folding forming means 38 move to the folding position so that the tubular film is located on the upstream and downstream sides sandwiching the sealing bodies 30 and 31. Folded portions 39 and 39 are formed in the tubular film Fa by folding inward one side in the width direction, which is the product bottom side of the rice ball 11 supplied in Fa. Then, the pair of seal bodies 30 and 31 moves substantially horizontally by a required distance in accordance with the transfer of the tubular film Fa while sandwiching the tubular film Fa to horizontally seal and cut the tubular film Fa. As a result, the lateral seal edge portions 33 are formed at a substantially central position of the article height. At this time, the intersection part of the vertical seal edge 21 and the horizontal seal edges 33 and 33 bent along the bag body of the tubular film Fa is heat-welded. As a result, the vertical seal edge 21 can be prevented from rising from the bag body, the degree of adhesion between the vertical seal edge 21 and the bag body can be increased, and foreign matter can be prevented from entering between them. The package 24 obtained by the seal edge portions 33, 33 can be given shape retention and can be self-supporting. Moreover, since the obtained bag f is sealed by the vertical and horizontal seal edges 21, 33, 33, it is possible to reliably prevent foreign matter from entering the bag. In addition, each lateral seal edge 33 is formed at a substantially central position of the thickness of the bag f in the front-rear direction, and its width is set to be narrower than the width of the vertical seal edge 21, so that packaging is possible. The appearance of will not decline.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 11, folding portions 39 are formed on the left and right sides of the package 24 to be folded inward from the bottom of the bag. Each folding part 39 is folded into a triangular shape in plan view that is inclined upward as it goes from the bottom of the bag f toward the corresponding left and right ends, and the packaging material of the overlapping part with the lateral seal edge 33 at the end The inner surfaces of each are thermally welded at the time of horizontal sealing. As a result, the bottom surface of each folding portion 39 located between the front and back films of the bag f is inclined toward the bottom side from the corresponding left and right end portions of the bag f, and the inclined surface spreading in the front-rear direction. The folded portion 39 is formed by a triangular folded surface that is positioned at the front and back and overlaps the front and back films of the bag f, and supports the lower left and right sides of the rice ball 11 by the inclined surfaces of the folded portions 39 and 39. , 39 spreads to ensure shape retention at the bottom of the bag. In addition, when the packaging material by which double-sided welding processing was performed on the packaging material surface corresponding to the folding site | part in the horizontal sealing position in the horizontal sealing mechanism 32, the packaging materials of a folding superposition surface weld each time at the time of horizontal sealing. For example, it can be applied to packaging materials such as a thin and flexible film made of polypropylene as a base material, so that the shape of the bottom of the bag is improved, and the side seal edges 33 and 33 become struts. Thus, the packaging body 24 with improved self-supporting property can be obtained, and the rice ball 11 can be prevented from losing its shape due to the packaging body 24 falling over when standing and selling.

  The tubular film Fa is spread toward the other side opposite to the folding side by the tip of the holding member 40 extending from the inlet of the bag making device 17 to the upstream side of the lateral seal mechanism 32. Therefore, the folding forming means 38 can be folded well, and the occurrence of seal wrinkles during lateral sealing by the lateral sealing mechanism 32 can be prevented. And the space part 41 which functions as a pinch allowance is formed from the upper end of the rice ball 11 in the obtained package 24 to a bag upper edge part. By setting the length of the space portion 41 to a length that can be handled by picking the upper portion of the bag without touching the rice ball 11, it is possible to transport the resulting package 24 from the manufacturer to the retail store. At the time of product display at a retail store, etc., it is possible to handle the picking allowance corresponding to the space 41 with a finger without touching the contained rice ball 11, and to prevent deterioration of the quality of the rice ball 11 that has been finished plumply at the time of manufacture. Can do. Furthermore, the folded portions 39, 39 are formed on one side of the package 24 to be obtained, and the space 41 is formed on the other side, so that the vertical seal edge 21 is a raised package. It comes to be located below 1/2 of the bag height at 24, and shape retention can be given to the lower part of the bag to enhance the self-supporting property.

  In addition, before the upper and lower sealing bodies 30 and 31 of the lateral sealing mechanism 32 sandwich the tubular film Fa, the deaeration means 44 presses the tubular film Fa from the upper side by a predetermined amount so that the air inside the bag is discharged. Since the predetermined amount is discharged, it is possible to easily handle the space 41 in a flat state when picking the space 41 with a finger. At the time of deaeration in the bag, the tubular film Fa is pressed against the upper surface of the rice ball 11 by the article pressing portion 45a of the pressing body 45 with a pressing force that does not cause the rice ball 11 to be deformed. The rice ball 11 is not deformed.

  Further, at the time of horizontal sealing by the horizontal sealing mechanism 32, the upper surface of the tubular film Fa positioned upstream of the seal bodies 30, 31 is supported flat by the support piece 28a of the upper bending guide 28 in the bending guide means 26. Therefore, the upper surface of the film Fa is not curved and swollen, and the lateral seal can be stably prevented and the generation of the seal flaws can be prevented more favorably, and the formation of the fold can be performed well.

  The knife 35 is lowered at a timing until the seal bodies 30 and 31 come into contact with each other and are separated from each other, and at the center position between the front and rear rice balls 11 and 11 in the tubular film Fa, The film Fa is cut linearly along the transverse direction by the knife 35. A V-shaped opening notch 36 is formed by the cutting blade 37 at one cut end of the obtained horizontal seal edge 33. As shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, the opening notch 36 is formed at a height of approximately ½ or more of the height of the rice ball 11 accommodated in the bag f, and the height of the vertical seal edge 21. It is set above the formation position. Thus, in the obtained package 24, when the rice ball 11 is eaten after being opened so as to cross the bag f with the opening notch 36 as an opening base point, the packaging material portion remaining below is held by hand. Can be hygienic. Furthermore, if the opening notch 36 is formed at a position where it can pass near the upper end of the rice ball 11 in which the cut line is accommodated, it is possible to prevent the rice ball 11 from being mistakenly lost during opening.

  When the pair of sealing bodies 30 and 31 move away from each other to release the tubular film Fa, the packaging body 24 subjected to the lateral sealing and cutting is laterally sealed by the second transport conveyor 42 operated at high speed. Immediately downstream from the mechanism 32. Further, at the timing after the sealing bodies 30, 31 release the tubular film Fa, the folding claws 38a, 38b of the folding forming means 38 are returned to the retracted position, and the first and second conveyors 19 and 19 are restored. The opposing tips of 42 are close to each other, the gap between the opposing portions of both conveyors 19, 42 is reduced, and the delivery of the tubular film Fa (rice ball 11) between the conveyors is performed without any problem.

  The sealing pitch by the horizontal sealing mechanism 32 is set so that the voids 34 formed between the left and right ends of the rice ball 11 stored in the obtained package 24 and both sides of the bag are short. As a result, the shape retention of the bottom surface of the bag is improved, and the bag f does not feel loose against the width of the rice ball 11, and the appearance is not impaired.

  The package 24 delivered from the second transport conveyor 42 to the labeling conveyor 46 arrives at the sticking position of the label sticking means 47. At this time, the name of the raw material, the expiration date, the manufacturer, etc. are written on the surface. A quality display label 48 is attached to the upper surface of the package 24. If the quality label 48 is attached so that the upper portion thereof overlaps with the vertical seal edge portion 21 and the one side edge thereof is close to the bottom side of the bag f as shown in FIG. Can be adhered to the bag body portion to prevent foreign matter from being caught in the gap, and shape retention can be provided below the bag to enhance the self-supporting property. Further, by sticking the quality display label 48 at a position where it does not interfere with the cut line by the opening notch 36, the quality display label 48 does not get in the way of opening and can be opened easily.

  In addition, in the state which looked at the packaging body 24 which accommodated the rice ball 11 in the bag f from the front or the back, since the bag f expands back and forth by the rice ball 11, it is located in the left-right position as shown in FIGS. The lateral seal edges 33, 33 appear to be bent outward on the bottom side of the package 24, but only the flat bag f not containing the rice ball 11 is viewed from the front or the back. Then, the left and right lateral seal edges 33, 33 extend in parallel.

[Example of change]
The present application is not limited to the configuration of the above-described embodiment, and other configurations can be appropriately employed.
1. The supply conveyor 12 may employ a roller type or other various types instead of the belt type of the embodiment. The belt type of the embodiment is preferable because it is excellent in sanitary properties such as easy cleaning and washing after the completion of the packaging operation.
2. In the embodiment, the side seal edge portion 21 is bent toward the bottom surface side of the rice ball 11 by the bending guide means 26, but it may be bent to the opposite side. In addition, when it folds to the bottom face side of the rice ball 11 like an Example, when standing and selling the obtained packaging body 24, a foreign material will be pinched | interposed between the vertical seal edge 21 and a bag trunk | drum. This is preferable because it can be avoided.
3. In the embodiment, the cutting blade 37 for forming the V-shaped opening notch 36 is adopted, but the cutting blade for forming the opening notch such as U-shape, semi-circle, trapezoid or U-shape may be provided. Good. In addition, it is possible to adopt cutting blades that can form various unsealed end portions that can form linear or arc-shaped cuts, and further, by providing cutting blades on both the front and rear surfaces of the knife 35, packaging is possible. An opening notch may be provided on each of the lateral seal edges 33, 33 of the body 24.
4). In the embodiment, the cylindrical film Fa is configured to be held from the inside by the holding member 40. However, the holding means is not limited to this, for example, a method of sucking and holding the cylindrical film Fa from the outside and various other types. The following means can be adopted.
5. In the embodiment, the deaeration means 44 for pressing the tubular film Fa from above is adopted, but various other methods can be adopted. For example, the holding member 40 of the embodiment is configured by a pipe, a suction hole is provided in the pipe, the pipe is connected to a suction source, and air in the bag is sucked and removed by a predetermined amount so that the rice ball 11 and the bag f do not adhere to each other. The structure which cares can be employ | adopted.

It is a schematic front view which shows the whole rice ball packaging apparatus which concerns on an Example. It is a schematic plan view which shows the connection site | part of the work conveyor and supply conveyor of the packaging apparatus which concerns on an Example. It is a schematic plan view which shows the principal part of the packaging apparatus which concerns on an Example. It is a schematic side view which shows the principal part of the packaging apparatus which concerns on an Example. It is a schematic plan view which shows the arrangement | positioning site | part of the holding member of the packaging apparatus which concerns on an Example. It is a schematic side view which shows the relationship between the holding member of the packaging apparatus which concerns on an Example, and a rice ball. It is a schematic side view which shows the horizontal sealing mechanism of the packaging apparatus which concerns on an Example. It is a schematic side view which shows the deaeration means of the packaging apparatus which concerns on an Example. It is a front view which shows the package manufactured by the packaging apparatus which concerns on an Example. It is a rear view of the package which concerns on an Example. It is a schematic perspective view of the package which concerns on an Example.

Explanation of symbols

11 Onigiri, 12 Supply conveyor, 13 Placement reference line (line)
16 Raw roll (supply source), 17 Bag making machine (bag making means), 20 Vertical seal mechanism 21 Vertical seal edge, 24 Packaging body, 26 Bending guide means, 30 Upper seal body 31 Lower seal body, 32 Horizontal Seal mechanism, 33 Horizontal seal edge, 35 Knife 36 Opening notch, 37 Cutting blade, 38 Folding forming means, 38a Folding claw 38b Folding claw, 40 Holding member (holding means), 41 Spatial part, 44 Deaeration means 45 Press Body, 47 Label sticking means, 48 Quality label, F Strip film Fa Tubular film

Claims (9)

Bag-making means (17) for forming a strip-shaped film (F) drawn upward from a supply source (16) disposed below into a cylindrical shape,
A supply conveyor (12) for supplying rice balls (11) placed in a posture in which the back of the product faces upward and the bottom of the product faces in the direction intersecting the conveying direction to the tubular film (Fa);
A vertical sealing mechanism (20) for applying a vertical seal to the overlapping edge portion polymerized in the shape of a palm above the tubular film (Fa) on the downstream side of the bag making means (17);
Bending guide means (26) for bending the vertical seal edge (21) formed by the vertical seal mechanism (20) along the bag body, and
The tubular film (Fa) is disposed downstream of the bending guide means (26), sandwiches the tubular film (Fa) by a pair of seal bodies (30, 31), and moves horizontally in the film transport direction. A horizontal seal mechanism (32) for cutting the cylindrical film (Fa)
Disposed on one of the pair of seal bodies (30, 31), cuts the tubular film (Fa) between each onigiri (11, 11), and forms a notch (36) for opening at the cut end. A knife (35) with a cutting edge (37)
Folding provided with a pair of folding claws (38a, 38b) for folding one side of the cylindrical film (Fa) corresponding to the bottom side of the rice ball (11) on both sides of the seal body (30, 31) Forming means (38);
During horizontal sealing by the horizontal sealing mechanism (32), the cylindrical film (Fa) is held on the opposite side of the tubular film (Fa) with respect to the fold forming means (38). Means (40);
Label sticking means (47) disposed on the downstream side of the lateral seal mechanism (32) and sticking a quality label (48) on the upper surface of the obtained package (24),
The lateral seal mechanism (32) is laterally sealed and cut at a front and rear position close to the front and rear end edges of the rice ball (11) in the tubular film (Fa), and is narrower than the vertical seal edge (21). The cutting edge (37) is set so as to form a seal edge (33), and the cutting edge (37) with respect to the knife (35) is placed at the height of the rice ball (11) accommodated with the resulting package (24) upright. A cylindrical film formed by the holding means (40), which is disposed so as to form a notch (36) for opening at a position having a height of approximately ½ or more of the height and above the vertical seal edge (21). The overhang amount of (Fa) is such that the length from the upper end of the rice ball (11) of the package (24) to the upper edge of the bag in an upright position is determined by picking the upper part of the bag without touching the rice ball (11). Onigiri packaging equipment, which is set to have a size that can be handled in a bowl.   The rice ball packaging apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a deaeration means (44) for deaerating air in the bag when the cylindrical film (Fa) is laterally sealed.   The deaeration means (44) includes a pressing body (45) that presses the tubular film (Fa) disposed on the downstream side of the sealing body (30) in the lateral sealing mechanism (32), and a presser height thereof. The rice ball packaging apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the length is set to be changeable.   The holding means (40) moves the rice ball (11) from the entrance in the bag making means (17) to a position corresponding to the folding operation position of the folding claws (38a) on the upstream side of the seal body (30, 31). 2. The tubular film (Fa) extends through a path that does not interfere with the outer edge, and its tip is formed to hold the tubular film (Fa) from the inside at an intermediate position of the article height. Or the packaging apparatus of the rice ball of 2.   The label attaching means (47) attaches a quality label (48) to the package (24) at a position where one side edge is close to the bag bottom and overlaps the vertical seal edge (21). 5. A rice ball packaging apparatus according to claim 1, 2 or 4 configured to be worn.   The cutting blade (37) is configured to form the opening notch (36) so that the vicinity of the upper end of the rice ball (11) accommodated with the package (24) in an upright state forms a cut line. The rice ball packaging apparatus according to claim 1, 2, 4 or 5, which is positioned at 35).   Films of the transverse seal edge (33) obtained by transverse sealing / cutting by the transverse seal mechanism (32), the intersection of the longitudinal seal edge (21) and the folding part by the folding formation means (38) 7. A rice ball packaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the overlapping portion is heat-welded.   The belt conveying surface of the supply conveyor (12) has a pair of lines (13, 13) along the conveying direction attached to both sides sandwiching the center of the conveying line. Packaged rice ball packaging equipment. The rice ball packaging apparatus according to any one of claims 1, 2 and 4 to 8, wherein an amount of the tubular film (Fa) projected by the holding means (40) is set to be approximately 25 to 40 mm.

Images