JP2013014349A - Packaging apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a packaging apparatus that suppresses deterioration in production efficiency when storing an object to be packaged while reducing time and effort or cost in the process of manufacturing a packaging bag.SOLUTION: The packaging apparatus 1 includes: a conveying mechanism 110 for conveying a sheet material; a folding mechanism 130 for folding the sheet material so that a first side part 6C of the sheet material aligned along a conveying direction is aligned along the other second side part 6D of the sheet material with the bottom part of the packaging bag as a base point of the folding; a joining mechanism 150 for joining the sheet material together along a cross direction CD at regular intervals to form a side surface of the packaging bag; a cutting mechanism 160 for cutting the sheet material along the side surface of the packaging bag; and a timing adjusting mechanism 170 for feeding the packaging bag in response to a packaging bag request signal from a storage means.

Description

  The present invention relates to a packaging device that accommodates a packaged body such as an absorbent article in a packaging bag.

  Patent Document 1 describes a packaging device that accommodates a package body such as a sanitary napkin or a disposable wearing article in a packaging bag. The packaging device described in Patent Document 1 cuts a continuous cylindrical sheet material while sealing it at regular intervals, manufactures a packaging bag from the sheet material, and accommodates a packaged body in the packaging bag .

JP-A-5-65102 (FIG. 1, paragraph 0015, etc.)

  However, the above packaging apparatus has the following problems.

  The above-mentioned packaging apparatus manufactures a packaging bag using a cylindrical sheet material. This cylindrical sheet material is generally manufactured by inflation molding. The cylindrical sheet material manufactured by inflation molding has a problem that the molding process takes time and costs are higher than that of a single-layer sheet material.

  There is also provided a packaging bag manufactured from a single-layer sheet material without using a cylindrical sheet material. For example, a wicket bag is widely known as a packaging bag manufactured by folding a single-layer sheet material. Generally, a plurality of wicket bags are distributed in a stacked state. The stacked wicket bags are in close contact with each other due to static electricity or the like, and may be difficult to handle. Therefore, for example, in a packaging apparatus, one wicket bag cannot be picked up appropriately, and production efficiency may be reduced.

  Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of such a situation, and a packaging device capable of suppressing a reduction in production efficiency at the time of accommodating a packaged body while reducing labor and cost in the manufacturing process of the packaging bag. For the purpose of provision.

  In order to solve the above-described problems, the present invention manufactures a packaging bag (packaging bag 10) for housing a packaged body (packaged body 11) from a single-layer sheet material (sheet material 6), and the packaging bag. A packaging bag manufacturing means (packaging bag manufacturing apparatus 100) that transports the sheets one by one, and a direction that is downstream of the packaging bag manufacturing means in the transport direction (transport direction MD) of the packaging bag and that is orthogonal to the transport direction A packaging device (packaging device 1) including a packaging means (a packaging device 200) that accommodates a packaged body in the packaging bag continuously disposed from the packaging bag manufacturing unit. The bag manufacturing means includes a conveyance mechanism (conveyance mechanism 110) that conveys the sheet material, and a first side portion (first side portion 6C) that is one side portion of the sheet material along the conveyance direction. The second side (second side) which is the other side of the material D) a folding mechanism (folding mechanism 130) that folds the sheet material from the bottom serving as the bottom surface of the packaging bag, and a crossing that intersects the conveyance direction with the sheet material folded by the folding mechanism. A joining mechanism (joining mechanism 150) that joins at regular intervals along the direction (crossing direction CD) to form a side surface of the packaging bag, and the sheet material joined by the joining mechanism, A cutting mechanism (cutting mechanism 160) that cuts along the side surface to form the packaging bag, and a timing adjustment that obtains the request signal of the packaging bag from the storage means and supplies the packaging bag in response to the request signal And a mechanism (timing adjustment mechanism 170).

  According to the packaging device of the present invention, a packaging bag is manufactured from a single-layer sheet material by folding the single-layer sheet material from the bottom serving as the bottom, and joining and cutting the folded sheet material. can do. Compared with a packaging apparatus that manufactures a packaging bag using a cylindrical sheet material, labor and cost can be reduced. The accommodating means is arranged downstream of the packaging bag manufacturing means, and the packaging bags are supplied one by one. Therefore, it is possible to suppress a decrease in production efficiency due to the close contact between the packaging bags.

  In addition, since a timing adjustment unit that adjusts the timing of supplying the packaging bag to the storage unit is provided, for example, even when processing is delayed in the storage unit, a series of processing is smoothly performed without interruption. Can proceed. Thus, according to the present invention, it is possible to process from the production of the packaging bag to the accommodation of the packaged body in a series of flows, and the production efficiency can be increased.

It is the front view which showed typically the packaging bag manufacturing apparatus of the packaging apparatus which concerns on this embodiment. It is a right view of the packaging bag manufacturing apparatus of the packaging apparatus shown in FIG. It is the figure which showed the manufacturing process of the packaging bag typically. It is a schematic cross section of the cross section shown in FIG. It is the top view which showed typically the packaging bag manufacturing apparatus and storage apparatus of the packaging apparatus which concerns on this embodiment. It is the perspective view which showed typically the accommodation apparatus of the packaging apparatus which concerns on this embodiment.

  Hereinafter, a packaging device according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Specifically, (1) Configuration of packaging device, (2) Configuration of packaging bag manufacturing device, (3) Configuration of storage device, (4) Configuration of timing adjustment mechanism, and (5) Other embodiments will be described. To do.

  In the following description of the drawings, the same or similar parts are denoted by the same or similar reference numerals. However, it should be noted that the drawings are schematic and ratios of dimensions and the like are different from actual ones. Accordingly, specific dimensions and the like should be determined in consideration of the following description. Moreover, it is a matter of course that portions having different dimensional relationships and ratios are included between the drawings.

(1) Structure of packaging apparatus First, the structure of the packaging apparatus which concerns on this embodiment is demonstrated, referring drawings. FIG. 1 is a front view schematically showing a packaging bag manufacturing apparatus 100 as a packaging bag manufacturing means of the packaging apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment. FIG. 2 is a right side view of the packaging bag manufacturing apparatus of the packaging apparatus shown in FIG.

  The packaging device 1 according to the present embodiment is a device that manufactures a packaging bag 10 from a single-layer sheet material 6 and stores a disposable diaper (packaged body) as an absorbent article in the packaging bag 10. The single-layer sheet material is a single-layer sheet material, but is a concept including, for example, a sheet having a plurality of layers and multilayer sheets joined together.

  The packaging apparatus 1 includes a packaging bag manufacturing apparatus 100 that manufactures a packaging bag that accommodates a body to be packaged from the sheet material 6, and a housing apparatus 200 as a housing unit that houses the body 11 (see FIG. 6) in the packaging bag 10. (See FIG. 6).

  The packaging bag manufacturing apparatus 100 continuously manufactures the packaging bag 10 from a material (single layer sheet material) wound in a roll shape. The packaging bag 10 is a so-called wicket bag. In FIG.1 and FIG.2, the conveyance direction of the sheet material 6 and the packaging bag 10 is shown as MD. In addition, conveyance direction MD does not correspond in the whole process of the manufacturing process of the packaging bag 10 by the packaging bag manufacturing apparatus 100, but is different in several manufacturing processes. However, the conveyance direction MD is shown as a series of flow from the process of feeding out the material to the process of forming individual packaging bags.

  The storage device 200 is disposed downstream of the packaging bag manufacturing apparatus 100 in the conveyance direction MD of the packaging bag 10 and in a direction orthogonal to the conveyance direction MD. In the present embodiment, the direction orthogonal to the conveyance direction MD in which the accommodation device 200 is arranged is a direction orthogonal to the direction in which the packaging bag 10 manufactured by the packaging bag manufacturing apparatus 100 is conveyed. For example, in the manufacturing process of the packaging bag 10, when the conveyance direction for conveying the sheet material is different from the conveyance direction for conveying the packaging bag, the direction in which the accommodation device 200 is arranged is the process of forming the packaging bag 10. It becomes the direction orthogonal to the conveyance direction of the packaging bag 10 in the process of conveying a subsequent packaging bag.

  The packaging bag manufacturing apparatus 100 supplies the packaging bags 10 one by one toward the accommodation apparatus 200. The accommodation device 200 receives the packaging bags 10 one by one, and accommodates the plurality of packages 11 in the received packaging bags 10.

(2) Configuration of Packaging Bag Manufacturing Device Next, the configuration of the packaging bag manufacturing device 100 will be described in detail with reference to the drawings along the manufacturing process of the packaging bag. The packaging bag manufacturing apparatus 100 includes a transport mechanism 110, a perforation forming mechanism 120, a folding mechanism 130, a printing mechanism 140, a joining mechanism 150, a cutting mechanism 160, and a timing adjusting mechanism 170.

  The transport mechanism 110 includes a plurality of rollers 111 that transport the sheet material 6 that is the material of the packaging bag 10 along the transport direction. At least one of the plurality of rollers is a drive roller connected to a drive unit (not shown). The drive unit rotates the drive roller about the axis of the drive roller. The drive unit includes a motor that rotates a drive roller. Some of the plurality of rollers are not driving rollers but guide rollers for guiding the conveyed sheet material to move along the conveyance path.

  The transport mechanism 110 continuously transports the single-layer sheet material 6 wound in a roll shape. The front side of the sheet material in FIG. 1 is the front surface 6A of the sheet material, and the opposite surface (the surface in contact with the roller) is the back surface 6B of the sheet material 6. In addition, since the roll-shaped sheet material 6 is arrange | positioned in the back side in FIG. 1, it is abbreviate | omitting in FIG.

  The sheet material 6 is conveyed from the lower side to the upper side shown in FIG. A sensor 112 that detects the position of the sheet material 6 is provided in the conveyance path of the sheet material 6. The sensor 112 detects a positional deviation of the sheet material 6. The sheet material 6 is manufactured into the packaging bag 10 while being perforated or being folded while being transported by the transport mechanism 110.

  The perforation forming mechanism 120 forms the perforations 7 on the sheet material 6 conveyed by the conveyance mechanism 110. The perforation 7 forms an opening when the packaged body accommodated in the packaging bag 10 containing the packaged body 11 is sealed.

  The perforation forming mechanism 120 is constituted by a rotating body 121 having a rotation axis along a cross direction CD orthogonal to the transport direction MD. A plurality of protrusions 122 for forming perforations are provided on the outer peripheral surface of the rotating body 121. The protrusion 122 is configured to pierce the sheet material 6 conveyed along the outer peripheral surface of the roller 111 of the conveyance mechanism 110 and form a perforation 7 in the sheet material 6.

  The perforation 7 is formed along the conveyance direction MD of the sheet material 6. The perforation 7 is shifted outward in the cross direction from the center in the cross direction CD of the sheet material 6. The sheet material 6 is folded by the folding mechanism 130 based on a fold passing through the center in the intersecting direction. If the fold line and the perforation line 7 overlap, the perforation line 7 may be opened when the sheet material 6 is folded. Therefore, the perforation 7 is formed at a position that does not overlap the fold.

  The folding mechanism 130 folds the sheet material 6 along a plurality of folds FL1 to FL3 along the conveyance direction MD. The folding mechanism 130 includes a pair of first guide plates 131 arranged in an inverted U shape and a second guide plate 132 arranged to face the first guide plate 131 in a front view shown in FIG. Is provided. Both end portions 131C and 131D in the crossing direction of the pair of first guide plates 131 are along the transport direction from the upstream side to the downstream side in the transport direction MD (from the upper side to the lower side shown in FIG. 1). Inclined gradually toward the inside in the crossing direction.

  A folding mode of the sheet material 6 by the folding mechanism 130 configured as described above will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4. FIG. 3 is a diagram schematically showing a process from the sheet material 6 until the packaging bag 10 is manufactured. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the cross section shown in FIG.

  FIG. 4A shows the sheet material 6 on the upstream side of the first guide plate 131. When the sheet material 6 reaches the first guide plate 131, the sheet material 6 is folded along the first guide plate 131. Specifically, the side end portions 6C and 6D in the cross direction of the sheet material 6 are folded to the back surface 6B side of the sheet material by the side end portions 131C and 131D in the cross direction CD of the first guide plate 131.

  FIG. 4B shows a state in which both side portions of the sheet material 6 start to be folded by the first guide plate. In the process in which the sheet material 6 is conveyed, a region where the sheet material 6 is folded toward the back side by the first guide plate 131 gradually increases. The sheet material 6 is folded based on the second fold line FL2 and the third fold line FL3 so that the first side part 6C and the second side part 6D coincide with each other by the first guide plate 131. The area between the second fold line FL2 and the third fold line FL3 constitutes the bottom 10B of the packaging bag 10. That is, the first guide plate 131 of the folding mechanism 130 is folded with the bottom of the packaging bag 10 as a base point.

  Next, the sheet material 6 is folded by the second guide plate 132 with the first fold FL1 between the second fold FL2 and the third fold FL3 as a base point. The first fold line FL1 overlaps the center of the sheet material 6 in the cross direction CD, and also overlaps the center of the region between the second fold line FL2 and the third fold line FL3 in the cross direction CD.

  The second guide plate 132 presses the center of the sheet material 6 in the cross direction CD toward the back surface 6B side of the sheet material. FIG. 4C shows a state in which the second guide plate 132 starts to be folded with the first fold FL1 as a base point. The sheet material is conveyed while being folded by the second guide plate 132.

  And it is pressed to the thickness direction by the roller 111 arrange | positioned downstream of a 2nd guide plate, and it will be in the state shown in FIG.4 (d). In this state, the both end portions 6C and 6D of the sheet material are not joined, and the both end portions 6C and 6D of the sheet material constitute the opening 10A of the packaging bag 10.

  The sheet material 6 folded by the folding mechanism 130 is conveyed by the conveying mechanism 110 and passes through an accumulating roller 172 that constitutes a timing adjusting mechanism 170. The accumulation roller 172 is configured to be movable in the vertical direction shown in FIG. 2 along a guide (not shown). When the accumulation roller 172 moves upward, the conveyance path of the sheet material 6 is shortened, and when the accumulation roller 172 moves downward, the conveyance path of the sheet material 6 is shortened. The timing adjustment mechanism 170 will be described in detail later.

  The sheet material 6 that has passed through the accumulation roller 172 reaches the printing mechanism 140. The printing mechanism 140 prints information such as a manufacturing date and a serial number on the sheet material 6. Printing on the sheet material 6 can be performed by various conventionally known printing methods such as thermal transfer printing and ink jet printing.

  The sheet material 6 printed by the printing mechanism 140 is cut while being joined by thermal welding by the joining mechanism 150 and the cutting mechanism 160. In the present embodiment, the joining mechanism and the cutting mechanism are integrated. The joining mechanism and the cutting mechanism are cut while joining the side portions of the packaging bag at regular intervals along the crossing direction by melting the sheet material with heat and sealing (thermal welding). This cut portion forms the side of the packaging bag.

  By adjusting the joining interval by the joining mechanism 150 and the cutting interval by the cutting means, the length between the side portions of the packaging bag can be adjusted. That is, packaging bags of different sizes can be formed. In this way, each packaging bag 10 is manufactured by the packaging bag manufacturing apparatus 100. Note that the joining mechanism and the cutting mechanism may be provided separately.

(3) Configuration of Storage Device Next, the storage device 200 will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 5 and 6. The accommodation device 200 includes at least a packaging bag holding mechanism 210, a packaged body accommodation mechanism 220, and a transport mechanism 230.

  The packaging bag holding mechanism 210 includes a holding claw portion 211 that holds the packaging bag 10 in a state where the opening 10A of the packaging bag 10 is expanded. The holding claw portion 211 is provided on a rotating body 212 that rotates about an axis disposed along the intersecting direction CD. The packaging bag 10 is disposed on the downstream side of the conveyance path through which the packaged body 11 is conveyed by the rotational drive of the rotating body 212. An opening 213 is formed on the inner side in the longitudinal direction than the holding claw 211 of the rotating body 212. The packaged body is accommodated in the packaging bag 10 hung on the holding claw portion 211 through the opening 213.

  The packaged body accommodation mechanism 220 includes a pressing member 221 that pushes the packaged body 11 into the packaging bag 10. A conveyance mechanism is comprised by the belt conveyor, conveys a to-be-packaged body toward the packaging bag 10, or conveys the packaging bag 10 in which the to-be-packaged body was accommodated.

  The packaging bag 10 in which the package body 11 is accommodated is conveyed by the conveying mechanism 230, and the opening is sealed by a joining mechanism (not shown). In this way, a packaged product in which the package body is accommodated in the packaging bag is formed.

(4) Configuration of Timing Adjustment Mechanism Next, the timing adjustment mechanism 170 of the packaging bag manufacturing apparatus 100 will be described in detail. The timing adjustment mechanism 170 acquires a request signal for the packaging bag 10 from the storage device 200 and adjusts the timing for supplying the packaging bag 10 according to the request signal.

  Specifically, as shown in FIG. 1, a control unit 171 that receives a request signal of the packaging bag 10 from the storage device 200 and controls the driving of the accumulator roller and the transport mechanism according to the request signal, and the packaging bag and the sheet An accumulating roller 172 as a distance adjusting mechanism for adjusting the conveyance distance of the material and a speed adjusting mechanism 173 for adjusting the conveyance speed of the packaging bag are provided.

  The control unit 171 acquires a request signal for the packaging bag 10 from the storage device 200. The storage device 200 includes a control unit (not shown), and when a packaging bag is requested from the packaging bag manufacturing device based on the transport mode of the package body 11, the storage mode of the package body 11, and the like, A request signal is transmitted to the control unit 171 of the apparatus 100.

  When the control unit 171 of the packaging bag manufacturing apparatus 100 acquires a request signal from the control unit of the storage device 200, the control unit 171 executes a process of supplying the packaging bag to the storage device 200. When the request signal is not acquired for a certain period of time, the control unit 171 of the packaging bag manufacturing apparatus 100 does not supply the packaging bag, delays the processing of the packaging bag manufacturing apparatus, or stops the processing of the manufacturing apparatus. Execute the process.

  Since the supply of the packaging bag from the packaging bag manufacturing apparatus 100 to the accommodation apparatus is based on the request of the accommodation apparatus 200, the packaging bag 10 may be continuously supplied or the supply may be stopped, and further supplied continuously. There may be a transition from a state to a stopped state. The manufacturing process of the packaging bag 10 has a plurality of processes. For example, the bonding process and the cutting process of the packaging bag 10 can be performed on the sheet material 6 that moves continuously. In order to stabilize the processing conditions, it is desirable to temporarily stop the sheet material 6 and execute the processing. Therefore, the manufacturing process of the packaging bag 10 is an intermittent operation process as a whole.

  However, for example, if the folding process is intermittently performed, the folding of the sheet material 6 is not stable. Therefore, it is desirable that the folding step be performed slowly without instantaneously starting and stopping the operation. Thus, in the manufacturing process of a manufacturing bag having a plurality of manufacturing processes, the operation timing and the speed change suitable for driving differ for each process.

  In the packaging bag manufacturing apparatus 100 that performs such a plurality of steps, by providing the accumulation roller 172, the conveyance distance of the sheet material 6 and the packaging bag 10 can be adjusted by driving the accumulation roller 172 in the vertical direction. Therefore, the timing at which the sheet material 6 reaches each process can be adjusted as appropriate, and the other folding process can be smoothly executed while the folding process of the packaging bag 10 is stably performed.

  The packaging bag manufacturing apparatus 100 also includes a speed adjustment mechanism 173 that adjusts the conveyance speed of the packaging bag 10. The speed adjustment mechanism 173 in the present embodiment is a roller of a transport mechanism that is disposed downstream of the cutting mechanism 160 and transports the packaging bag 10. By adjusting the conveyance speed of the packaging bag 10, the packaging bag 10 can reach the correct position of the storage device 200 even when packaging bags with different sizes are supplied. Specifically, for example, even packaging bags of different sizes can be supplied to the storage device B200 while matching the centers of the packaging bags in the transport direction CD. Therefore, even if it is a packaging bag from which size differs, the accommodation process in the accommodation apparatus 200 can be performed smoothly.

  Further, the speed adjustment mechanism is not limited to a mechanism that adjusts the speed of the packaging bag. For example, when the mechanism that transports the packaging bag operates intermittently, the speed adjustment mechanism adjusts the time and timing when the transport mechanism operates to adjust the timing and position for supplying the packaging bag. Also good.

(5) Other Embodiments As described above, the contents of the present invention have been disclosed through the embodiments of the present invention. However, it is understood that the description and drawings constituting a part of this disclosure limit the present invention. Should not. From this disclosure, various alternative embodiments, examples and operational techniques will be apparent to those skilled in the art.

  For example, in the present embodiment, the sheet material is folded so that the first side portion and the second side portion arranged on both side portions in the intersecting direction coincide with each other. However, the sheet material is not limited to this configuration and is folded. In this state, the first side portion and the second side portion may be shifted from each other. However, it is possible to reduce waste of materials by folding the first side portion and the second side portion so as to coincide with each other.

  Moreover, although the packaging apparatus which concerns on this Embodiment is provided with the distance adjustment mechanism and the speed adjustment mechanism as a timing adjustment mechanism, it is not restricted to this structure. Specifically, the packaging device may include at least one of a distance adjustment mechanism and a speed adjustment mechanism, or may not include any mechanism.

  CD ... crossing direction, MD ... conveying direction, FL1-FL3 ... fold, 1 ... packaging device, 6 ... sheet material, 6A ... front surface, 6B ... back surface, 6C ... first side, 6D ... second side, 7 ... Perforation, 10 ... packaging bag, 10A ... opening, 10B ... bottom, 11 ... packaged body, 100 ... packaging bag manufacturing apparatus, 110 ... transport mechanism, 111 ... roller, 112 ... sensor, 120 ... perforation forming mechanism, DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 121 ... Rotating body, 122 ... Protruding part, 130 ... Folding mechanism, 131 ... First guide plate, 131C, 131D ... Both ends, 132 ... Second guide plate, 140 ... Printing mechanism, 150 ... Joining mechanism, 160 ... Cutting 170, timing adjustment mechanism, 171 ... control unit, 172 ... accumulator roller, 173 ... speed adjustment mechanism, 200 ... storage device, 210 ... packaging bag holding mechanism, 11 ... holding claw portion, 212 ... rotary member, 213 ... opening, 220 ... the wrapping material storing mechanism, 221 ... pressing member 230 ... transfer mechanism

Claims (5)

A packaging bag manufacturing means for manufacturing a packaging bag for containing a packaged body from a single-layer sheet material and conveying the packaging bag one by one;
A body to be packaged is placed on the packaging bag that is arranged downstream of the packaging bag manufacturing means in the conveyance direction of the packaging bag and in a direction orthogonal to the conveyance direction and continuously supplied from the packaging bag manufacturing means. A packaging device comprising:
The packaging bag manufacturing means includes a transport mechanism for transporting the sheet material,
A bottom portion serving as a bottom surface of the packaging bag is formed so that a first side portion that is one side portion of the sheet material along the conveying direction is along a second side portion that is the other side portion of the sheet material. A folding mechanism for folding the sheet material at a base point;
A joining mechanism that joins the sheet material folded by the folding mechanism at regular intervals along the intersecting direction intersecting the transport direction, and forms a side surface of the packaging bag;
A cutting mechanism that cuts the sheet material joined by the joining mechanism along the side surface of the packaging bag, and forms the packaging bag;
A packaging device comprising: a timing adjustment mechanism that obtains a request signal for the packaging bag from the housing means and supplies the packaging bag in response to the request signal.   The packaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the folding mechanism folds the sheet material so that the first side portion and the second side portion coincide with each other.   The packaging apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an interval adjusting mechanism that adjusts an interval at which the sheet material is bonded by the bonding mechanism.   The said timing adjustment mechanism is a distance adjustment mechanism which is arrange | positioned downstream of the said folding mechanism in the said conveyance direction, and adjusts the conveyance distance of at least any one conveyance path | route among the said packaging bag and the said sheet | seat material. The packaging device according to any one of claims 1 to 3.   The packaging device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the timing adjustment mechanism is a speed adjustment mechanism that is provided in a conveyance path of the packaging bag and adjusts a conveyance speed of the conveyance path.

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