JP2011173622A - Supply conveyer for lateral bag form-fill-sealing machine - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a supply conveyer for a lateral bag form-fill-sealing machine, which permits an easy maintenance operation such as cleaning of the supply conveyer. <P>SOLUTION: Supply beds 12, 12 where an article W is placed are arranged so that the upper opening part T of a body part 10 can be opened and closed. A pair of article guides 32, 32 which can guide both side parts of the article W in the width direction, are configured above the supply beds 12, 12 to be adjustable of an opposing interval of the article guides in the width direction by being connected with an adjusting mechanism 36 arranged in the body part 10. The adjusting mechanism 36 includes attaching members 38, 38 which extend in the width direction and move oppositely from each other. The article guides 32 corresponding to ends of respective attaching members 38 which project outwardly from the body part 10 are supported rotatably. The article guides 32 rotate between a guide position where the article W on the supply beds 12, 12 can be guided and an open position where the article guides 32 are laterally apart from each other, from above the supply beds 12, 12. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a supply conveyor for supplying articles toward a film in a horizontal bag making and filling machine.

  The horizontal bag making and filling machine includes a supply conveyor that conveys articles at predetermined intervals toward a cylindrical film formed into a cylindrical shape by bag making means. In this supply conveyor, an endless chain provided with a feeding member for pushing an article at predetermined intervals is disposed below the article conveying surface so as to be able to run. Each pushing member moves in a state of protruding upward from the article conveying surface through an elongated gap extending along the article conveying line on the article conveying surface, and the article placed on the article conveying surface is It is designed to push toward the film.

  Above the article transport surface, a pair of article guides for guiding the left and right sides of the article pushed on the article transport surface by each pushing member are disposed. Each article guide has a plurality of guide openings provided in a supply bed serving as an article conveyance surface in a guide adjustment mechanism disposed below the article conveyance surface of the supply conveyor, as described in Patent Document 1, for example. Are connected via a guide support portion inserted through the guide, and the distance between the two article guides can be adjusted according to the width of the article to be pushed. In addition, the article guide is detachably disposed with respect to the mounting base portion protruding from the article conveyance surface in the guide support portion, and is configured to be removable as necessary.

Japanese Patent No. 4374543

  Especially for food packaging etc., the supply conveyor with which food is in direct contact is required to maintain a hygienic condition. In horizontal bag making and filling machines, the entire supply conveyor is washed with alcohol, water, etc. Cleaning work is carried out regularly. In particular, the contact surface of the supply conveyor with the supply bed and the article guide is thoroughly cleaned, and the cleaning operation is frequently performed every time the product type is changed. For this reason, there is a need for an improved apparatus that can be easily and easily cleaned.

  In the apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 1, when the supply bed is cleaned, the article guide is moved to the guide by, for example, eliminating the residue of the article that has entered the gap with the article guide disposed on the upper part of the supply bed. It is performed by removing it from the support part. In this case, when the article guide is removed, the supply bed has a plurality of guide openings corresponding to the movement range of the guide support portion, and these are obstructed in cleaning the supply bed, etc. In addition to being troublesome, cleaning including the mounting base and the guide opening is necessary, and the debris dropped from the article when supplying the article during packaging production passes through the gap between the article guide and the guide opening. Since it falls into the inside of the supply conveyor, it is necessary to carry out cleaning including its removal work, which requires time and effort for the cleaning work.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a supply conveyor of a horizontal bag making and filling machine that can easily perform maintenance work such as cleaning of the supply conveyor according to the above-described prior art.

In order to overcome the above-mentioned problems and achieve the intended object, the supply conveyor of the horizontal bag making and filling machine according to the invention of claim 1 comprises:
A supply bed which is disposed on an upper portion of the main body of the supply conveyor so as to cover an upper open portion between the side walls of the supply conveyor and defines a gap extending along the article conveyance line;
A pushing member that extends upward through the gap and pushes the article placed on the supply bed along the article conveying line;
A pair of article guides provided with a predetermined gap above the supply bed and having a side plate and a top plate serving as a guide surface for guiding a side of an article conveyed by the pushing member;
An adjustment unit provided in the main body unit and configured to move the article guides close to and away from each other
A moving rod that protrudes outward from the side wall in the adjusting portion and moves in a direction intersecting the article conveying direction;
Each of the article guides and rotation means for rotatably supporting the protruding end of the moving rod,
The article guide is configured to be rotatable from a guide position above the supply bed to a side open position separated from the main body.

  In the invention which concerns on Claim 2, the said supply bed supports to the said main-body part so that rotation between the closed position which covers the said upper open part and faces horizontally, and the open position which opens an upper open part is possible. The gist is that it is configured.

  The gist of the invention according to claim 3 is that each of the supply bed and the article guide is configured to rotate to a posture in which the back side is face up and to maintain the posture in the open position.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the article guide is located near the guide surface of the article guide and arranged at predetermined intervals in the article conveyance direction, and is placed on the supply bed at the guide position of the article guide. The gist is provided with a rotating member that contacts the supply bed.

According to the invention according to claim 1, by moving the article guide from above the supply bed, the supply bed can be a flat surface without any obstacles during cleaning such as protrusions and holes, The workability at the time of cleaning the supply conveyor is improved, and the work time can be shortened. Moreover, the work load at the time of cleaning can be reduced without requiring the article guide to be attached or detached during the cleaning work.
According to the second aspect of the present invention, the upper open portion can be opened simply by rotating the supply bed without using a detaching tool for cleaning, and the food drops into the main body from the gap of the supply bed. Cleaning work such as removing scum can be easily performed.
According to the invention of claim 3, since the article guide and the supply bed can be in a posture in which the back side is face up, when cleaning the back side of each member, the operator can visually recognize in a standing posture with a comfortable working posture. The cleaning can be performed and the occurrence of a cleaning leakage portion can be prevented.
According to the invention according to claim 4, since the rotating body rolls on the supply bed when adjusting the width of the article guide, the article guide is not rubbed against the supply bed, and the width adjustment can be performed with a light load. Regardless of the adjustment position of the article guide, the gap between the article guide and the supply bed can always be kept constant by the guide member, and the horizontal posture of the top board can be maintained without changing.

It is a top view which abbreviate | omits and shows the supply conveyor which concerns on an Example. It is a side view which abbreviate | omits and shows the supply conveyor which concerns on an Example. It is a top view which shows the guide adjustment mechanism of the supply conveyor which concerns on an Example. It is the sectional view on the AA line of FIG. It is the BB sectional view taken on the line of FIG.

  Next, a preferred embodiment of the supply conveyor of the horizontal bag making and filling machine according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  1 and 2 show the overall configuration of a supply conveyor of a horizontal bag making and filling machine (hereinafter referred to as a packaging machine) according to an embodiment, and the supply conveyor covers the upper space of the main body 10. The articles W placed on the supply beds 12, 12 arranged in the slab are formed by bag making means by a transport body 18 having push members 16 provided at endless chains (endless rope bodies) 14 at predetermined intervals. It is comprised so that it may convey toward the made cylindrical film. The main body 10 has a pair of side walls 20 and 22 that are separated in the width direction across the article conveyance line L and are connected via a plurality of coupling members 24 that are separated in the article conveyance direction. Is open upward.

  As shown in FIG. 3 to FIG. 5, a supply bed on which an article W supplied to a conveyor is placed and conveyed in an upper opening T that opens upward between the side walls 20 and 22 in the main body 10. 12 are rotatably supported by a plurality of hinges 26 as rotational support members that are spaced apart in the article transport direction, and each supply bed 12 has left and right sandwiching the article line L so as to cover the upper open portion T. It is configured to rotate between a closed position that covers the area and faces horizontally, and an open position that reverses 180 degrees from the closed position so that the back side faces upward and opens the upper open portion T. Is done. In the closed position of both the supply beds 12, 12, the both supply beds 12, 12 extend along the article transport line L from the supply beds 12, 12 to extend the pushing member 16 that transports the article W. It is provided so as to be positioned on both sides of the gap S serving as a passage. Further, below the gap S, a guide rail 28 that abuts the lower surface of the endless chain 14 on which the pushing member 16 is disposed and guides the traveling thereof extends in the traveling direction of the endless chain 14. It is arranged so that.

  As shown in FIG. 1, a plurality of sprockets 30 are rotatably disposed between the opposing side walls 20 and 22 of the main body 10 so as to be spaced apart in the article transport direction. The endless chain 14 travels on the guide rail 28 from the upstream side toward the downstream side by rotating the sprocket 30 in a predetermined direction by a drive motor (not shown) wound around the endless chain 14 at predetermined intervals. The article W is configured to be conveyed into the cylindrical film by the disposed push member 16.

  As shown in FIG. 1 or FIG. 4, a pair of article guides 32 and 32 facing in the width direction across the article conveyance line L are arranged above the supply beds 12 and 12 so as to extend a predetermined length in the conveyance direction. It is configured to be position-adjustable so as to be able to guide both left and right sides in the width direction of the article W conveyed by the conveying body 18. Each article guide 32 is a long member having a reverse tray shape having a side plate extending downward from the outer peripheral edge of the top plate 32a having a predetermined width dimension capable of covering the supply bed 12, and the article guide line L The side wall portion made of the side plate facing the side is used as a guide surface 32b that guides the side surface of the article M that is supported and conveyed by the pushing member 16. As shown in FIG. 1, the article guide 32 has a downstream outer portion cut out over a predetermined length so that the width dimension is set narrower than the upstream side. In the embodiment, the article guide 32 has a width toward the downstream side. A width sandwiching portion whose size is gradually reduced is formed in a plurality of steps (for example, two steps). Further, the top plate 32a of the article guide 32 is used as a mounting table for the article W when an operator supplies the article W between the pushing members, and is formed in a flat plane.

  On the outer end side of each article guide 32, a plurality of support members 34 are extended downward and spaced apart in the article transport direction, and each support member 34 is disposed in the main body 10. Is rotatably supported by the moving rod 38a. As shown in FIG. 3 or FIG. 4, the adjusting mechanism 36 is provided between a pair of racks 40, 40 extending in parallel in the width direction and spaced apart from each other, and is meshed in common. A plurality of adjustment units 44 each including a pinion 42 that is separated from each other in the article conveyance direction are provided, and an operation unit 46 that rotates the pinion 42 of these adjustment units 44 forward and backward is provided.

  A mounting member 38 that moves in the width direction integrally with each rack 40 in each adjustment portion 44 extends in a predetermined length in the width direction, and has a moving rod that protrudes outward from the corresponding side walls 20, 22. 38a and a holder 38b that is attached to the projecting end of the rod 38a so as to be adjustable in position and extends upward. The support member 34 of the article guide 32 on the corresponding side is provided at the extended end of the holder 38b. Are rotatably supported by hinges (rotating means) 58. As shown in FIG. 4, each article guide 32 has a guide position of the article W facing substantially horizontally above the supply bed 12 around the hinge 58 facing the outside of the main body 10, and the side walls 20, 22. It is configured to rotate between the open position moved outward.

  As shown in FIG. 3 or FIG. 5, the operation portion 46 is an operation that is rotatably disposed on one of the plurality of connection members 24 to extend horizontally in the width direction. The operation shaft 48 is provided so that one end of the operation shaft 48 protrudes outward from the one side wall 20, and an adjustment handle 50 is provided at the protruding end of the operation shaft 48. The The operation unit 46 includes a connection shaft 52 that is rotatably supported by the connection member 24 so as to extend along the article conveyance line L. The pinion 42 of each adjustment unit 44 is connected to the connection shaft 52. Each is arranged. A worm gear 56 that meshes with a worm wheel 54 disposed on the connection shaft 52 is disposed at a portion of the operation shaft 48 that intersects the end of the connection shaft 52 so as to rotate integrally with the operation shaft 48. The The pair of article guides 32 and 32 are configured to move toward and away from each other via the operation unit 46 and the gear transmission mechanism of each adjustment unit 44 based on the rotation operation of the adjustment handle 50. As shown in FIG. 4, the arrangement positions of the support members 34 in the article guide 32 are located on the back side of the top plate 32 a, and become the guide surfaces 32 b of the article guide 32 from the attachment portion of the support member 34. A guide member 62 is disposed toward the side wall portion, and a mounting portion 64 that abuts on the supply bed 12 at the guide position of the article guide 32 is provided at an end portion of the guide member 62 on the guide surface 32b side. Arranged. The mounting portion 64 is provided with a plurality of metal rollers 60 made of stainless steel as a rotating body at positions spaced apart in the width direction of the article guide 32. In a state where the roller 60 is placed on the supply bed 12, a predetermined gap is formed between the lower end of the side plate in the article guide 32 and the supply bed 12, and the top plate 32a is in a substantially horizontal posture. To support.

  Further, the supply bed 12 rotatably supported by the main body 10 by the hinge 26 and the article guide 32 rotatably supported by the adjusting mechanism 36 by the hinge 58 are 90 relative to the closed position and the guide position. It is configured to be able to maintain the open state at the open position where the guide surface 32b is turned upward and the guide surface 32b faces upward. That is, the back surface opposite to the front surface side in the closed position of each supply bed 12 and the guide position of each article guide 32 is in an attitude that faces upward in the open position (see FIG. 4 or FIG. 5). Thereby, it is possible to clean the supply bed 12 and the back side of the article guide 32 while visually observing the worker in an easy posture.

(Effects of Example)
Next, the operation of the supply conveyor of the horizontal bag making and filling machine according to the above-described embodiment will be described.

  When performing maintenance work such as cleaning the supply beds 12 and 12, as shown by a two-dot chain line in FIG. It faces the open position that is spaced apart toward the front with the back side facing up and facing up. Since the article guide 32 and the adjustment mechanism 36 are connected to each other on the left and right outer sides of the main body 10, an opening through which a member for connecting the article guide 32 and the adjustment mechanism 36 is inserted into the supply bed 12. In addition, since there is no obstacle that hinders maintenance work such as cleaning of the supply bed 12 due to a connecting member or the like protruding on the supply bed 12, the maintenance work can be easily performed in a short time.

  When cleaning the internal space of the main body 10, the supply bed 12 is further rotated around the hinge 26 while the article guide 32 is maintained in the open position as indicated by a two-dot chain line in FIG. 4. Then, by facing the open position, the upper open portion T of the main body portion 10 is opened. Thereby, the food waste etc. which fell to the internal space from the clearance gap S used as the extension channel | path of the said pushing member 16 can be removed easily. Further, the supply bed 12 and the article guide 32 are rotated 90 degrees or more from the closed position and the guide position, and the back side of each of the supply bed 12 and the article guide 32 is in the upward position at the open position where the guide surface 32b of the article guide 32 faces upward. Therefore, the operator can clean the supply bed 12 and the back surface side of the article guide 32 and the guide surface 32b of the article guide 32 while visually checking from the upper side in a standing posture. Can be prevented. The article guide 32 is rotatably supported by a hinge 58 on a holder 38b disposed at the end of the movable rod 38a of the adjusting mechanism 36 at the lower end of the support member 34 substantially orthogonal to the top plate 32a. Therefore, when the article guide 32 is rotated to the open position around the hinge 58, the top plate 32a moves greatly outward of the main body 10 and does not hinder the opening and closing of the supply bed 12.

  As described above, the supply bed 12 and the article guide 32 are arranged so that they can be rotated manually without using tools with respect to the main body 10 and the adjustment mechanism 36, respectively. Such workability is improved, and there is no trouble of detaching the supply bed 12 and the article guide 32 from the main body 10 and the adjusting mechanism 36, and the work load can be reduced. That is, there is no problem such as securing the place where the removed supply bed 12 and article guide 32 are placed, and the supply bed 12 and article guide 32 placed on another place are not contaminated. Can do. Further, since the operation of rotating the supply bed 12 and the article guide 32 to the open position when cleaning the supply conveyor is very simple, even a worker who is unfamiliar with the handling of a machine such as a part timer is required to perform the cleaning operation. Can be carried out efficiently and in a short time.

  The article guides 32 and 32 are placed on the supply beds 12 and 12 at a plurality of positions where the rollers 60 and 60 are spaced apart by a predetermined distance in the article conveyance direction above the supply beds 12 and 12 at the guide position. A gap is formed between the supply beds 12 and 12 and the attachment members 38 and 38 are moved in opposite directions in the respective adjustment portions 44 through the gear transmission mechanism by the rotation operation of the adjustment handle 50. The rollers 60, 60 roll on the supply beds 12, 12, and the side plates of the article guides 32, 32 move without holding the gap with the supply beds 12, 12 without rubbing against the supply beds 12, 12. Adjusted. Accordingly, the horizontal posture of the top plate 32a is maintained. Further, the roller 60 is arranged on the inner end side near the guide surface 32b that is separated from the outer end side that is the attachment side of the support member 34 to which the article guide 32 and the adjustment unit 44 are connected. Since it is disposed, the load on the end side separated from the support side of the article guide 32 can be supported by the roller 60, and the adjusting operation force by the adjusting handle 50 can be operated with a light load.

(Example of change)
The present invention is not limited to the configuration of the examples, and various embodiments can be adopted within the scope of the gist of the present invention. For example, the following modifications can be made.
(1) In the embodiment, the support member 34 extending from the top plate 32a of the article guide 32 is rotatably supported by the hinge 58 on the upper end portion of the holder 38b provided at the protruding end portion of the moving rod 38a. However, for example, a configuration in which either the holder 38b or the support member 34 is omitted, and the article guide 32 is rotatably supported by arranging the hinge 58 directly on the top plate 32a or the moving rod 38a may be employed.
(2) In the embodiment, the hinge 58, which is a separate member, is used as the rotating means. However, for example, a protruding end of the moving rod 38a and a protrusion provided on one of the article guides 32 are formed in a recess or hole provided on the other. Other known configurations that can rotatably support the article guide 32 with respect to the moving rod 38a, such as fitting in a rotatable manner, can be employed.
(3) In the embodiment, the article guide 32 is configured so that the back surface side and the guide surface 32b face upward in the open position where the article guide 32 is rotated 90 degrees or more from the guide position. If the article guide 32 is spaced apart from the main body 10 to the side, such as a posture in which the guide surface 32b faces outward or downward, such that the guide surface 32b faces away from the side, the rotation to the open position is possible. The moving angle and the posture at that time are not limited.
(4) In the embodiment, the position where the supply bed 12 is inverted 180 degrees from the closed position is the open position, but the rotation angle from the closed position to the open position is not limited to this, and the main body portion The angle may be smaller or larger than 180 degrees as long as it can open the ten upper opening portions T.
(5) In the embodiment, the metal roller 60 made of stainless steel is used as the rotating body of the mounting portion 64 in the guide member 62, but a spherical body or the like that can roll on the supply bed 12 may be employed. The material may also be plastic, hard rubber or the like.
Moreover, as the mounting part 64, it is mounted on the supply bed 12 and slides, and has a structure adopting various engineering plastic materials which are metal or low friction / abrasion resistant resin, A configuration in which the article guide 32 is floated with respect to the supply bed 12 by a magnet, and further, a configuration in which the article guide 32 is held in a horizontal position at the guide position by using a rotation portion (rotating means) of the article guide 32 as a rotation limiting mechanism. Various other forms can be adopted.
Further, in the embodiment, a plurality of guide members 62 are arranged at the same position as the support member 34 of the article guide 32, but at least the posture change of the top board 32a in the article guide 32 and the supply bed 12 are arranged. It is only necessary to provide a predetermined number at appropriate positions that do not affect the change in the gaps between them, and providing them in the vicinity of the adjustment portion 44 of the article guide 32 reduces the load of operation force when adjusting the position of the article guide 32. Is most preferred because it can be maximized.
(6) In the embodiment, a mechanism using the rack 40 and the pinion 42 is adopted as the adjustment unit 44. However, the pair of article guides 32 and 32 can move toward and away from each other, such as a screw shaft or a link mechanism. Other mechanisms may be employed.
(7) In the embodiment, a configuration is adopted in which the pair of article guides 32 and 32 are moved toward and away from each other to adjust the facing distance, but each article guide is independently moved in the width direction individually. Can be adopted.
(8) In the embodiment, the supply bed 12 that opens and closes the upper release portion T of the main body portion 10 is rotatably supported by the main body portion 10. It is possible to adopt a configuration that opens and closes by sliding movement.
(9) In the embodiment, the case where the pushing member 16 is arranged in the endless chain 14 has been described. However, as the pushing member 16 is arranged, other endless cords such as a toothed belt can be adopted, A rotating body (such as a toothed pulley) that wraps around according to the endless cord to be used may be used.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Main-body part, 12 Supply bed, 16 Pushing member, 20 Side wall, 22 Side wall 32 Article guide, 32a Top plate, 32b Guide surface, 38a Moving rod, 44 Adjustment part 58 Hinge (rotating means), 60 Roller (rotary body) , 62 Guide member, 64 Placement part L Article conveyance line, S clearance, T Upper open part, W article

Claims (4)

A gap extending along the article conveying line (L), which is disposed on the upper part of the main body (10) of the supply conveyor so as to cover the upper opening (T) between the side walls (20, 22) of the supply conveyor ( Supply bed (12,12) defining S),
A pushing member (16) that extends upward through the gap (S) and pushes the article (W) placed on the supply bed (12, 12) along the article conveying line (L);
A side plate and a top plate serving as a guide surface (32b) disposed above the supply bed (12, 12) with a predetermined gap and guiding the side of the article (M) conveyed by the push member (16). A pair of article guides (32, 32) having (32a);
An adjustment portion (44) provided in the main body portion (10) for moving the article guides (32, 32) close to and away from each other;
A moving rod (38a) that protrudes outward from the side wall (20, 22) in the adjustment section (44) and moves in a direction intersecting the article conveying direction;
Each of the article guide (32) includes a rotating means (58) that rotatably supports the protruding end of the moving rod (38a),
The article guide (32) is configured to be rotatable from a guide position above the supply bed (12) to a side open position separated from the main body (10). Supply conveyor.   The supply bed (12) is configured to be rotatable between a closed position that covers the upper open part (T) and faces horizontally and an open position that opens the upper open part (T). The supply conveyor of the horizontal bag making and filling machine according to claim 1, wherein the supply conveyor is configured to support the above.   3. The horizontal bag making and filling machine according to claim 2, wherein each of the supply bed (12) and the article guide (32) is configured to rotate to a posture in which the back side is face up and to maintain the posture in an open position. Supply conveyor.   Located near the guide surface (32b) in the article guide (32) and disposed at predetermined intervals in the article transport direction, and placed on the supply bed (12) at the guide position of the article guide (32). The guide member (62) having a mounting portion (64) to be mounted, and the mounting portion (64) is provided with a rotating body (60) that contacts the supply bed (12). A supply conveyor of the horizontal bag making and filling machine according to any one of the above.

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