JP2021172420A - Packaging system - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a packaging system that enables confirmation of the consistency of a commodity with a display content of a label attached to a package, even if the commodity in the package cannot be visually confirmed.CONSTITUTION: A packaging system includes: a packaging machine body 11 for packaging different sorts of commodities 7 that are supplied in sequence; an inlet weight checker 16 arranged at a front stage of the packaging machine body to measure a weight of the commodity; an outlet weight checker 19 arranged at a rear stage of the packaging machine body to measure a weight of the package 8 that is carried out from the packaging machine body; and a labeler 18 for printing and attaching a label 9 that displays information according to the commodity on a surface of the package. The weights measured by the inlet weight checker and the outlet weight checker are given to a commodity information management system 20. The weight of each commodity that is continuously conveyed is compared with the weight of each package that the commodity would have been packaged in, and if the difference is constant, the commodity is packaged in the correct order, and the consistency between a display content of the label and the included commodity can be confirmed.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

The present invention relates to a packaging system for packaging different products.

For example, when the products continuously supplied to the main body of the wrapping machine are different from each other, such as agricultural products such as fruits, handmade bread, and mail-order products, the printed film cannot be individually switched. Therefore, for example, it is preferable to use a packaging system as shown in FIG. This packaging system includes a product supply conveyor 1, a packaging machine main body 2, and a unloading conveyor 3 arranged in order from the upstream side along the product transport direction. Further, a product information reading device 4 for detecting information on the products transported by the product supply conveyor 1 is arranged, and a labeler 5 is arranged above the unloading conveyor 3. In this packaging system, the products 7 that are sequentially supplied, transported, and packaged while being continuously operated are randomly different. In the example of FIG. 1A, the products 7 are sequentially supplied from the beginning. They are transported in the order of a, b, c, d, e, a, f. Then, the two products 7 transported on the carry-out conveyor 3 are packaged by the packaging machine main body 2 and transported in the state of the package 8.

The product information reading device 4 is a device for acquiring information for specifying the type of the product during transportation, and is composed of, for example, a bar code scanner, a radio frequency identification reader, or the like, and is attached to the bar code. , RF tags, etc. The information acquired by the product information reading device 4 is given to the product information management system 6.

The labeler 5 is a device that attaches a label printed based on the information given from the product information management system 6 to the surface of the package 8 to be conveyed on the carry-out conveyor 3. The product information management system 6 also controls the operations of the product supply conveyor 1, the packaging machine main body 2, the unloading conveyor 3, etc., and the product of the information received from the product information reading device 4 is packaged and the labeler 5 is arranged. At the same time, the labeler 5 is instructed to print and attach the label corresponding to the information of the product.

By doing so, for example, as shown in FIG. 1A, the product 7 randomly passes under the labeler 5 one after another in the order of a, b, c, d, e, a, f from the beginning. Even in such a case, the label 9 on which the information is printed can be attached to the package 8 if it is present in each product (see FIG. 2). The content to be printed on the label 9 includes, for example, information for specifying a product such as a product type and a material. Further, in the case of a mail-order product, the content printed on the label 9 includes information (address, name, telephone number, etc.) that identifies the delivery destination. As a packaging system of this type, for example, there is a technique disclosed in Patent Document 1.

Special Table 2018-514474

There is no problem if the individual products are packaged normally and in order. However, when manual work is involved due to trouble or the like, there is a possibility that the product actually flowing on the transport line and the information held by the product information management system 6 may deviate from each other. For example, as shown in FIG. 1 (b), when the front and back of the product (c) and (d) are exchanged on the transport line in the packaging machine main body 2, the package containing the product (c) is charged with the product ( The label for the product (d) is affixed, and the label for the product (c) is affixed to the package containing the product (d).

When such a situation occurs, for example, if the product name is displayed on the label, if the packaging uses a transparent film, the packaged product is confirmed in the post-packaging process, that is, the contents and the label. You can check the consistency. On the other hand, in recent years, there has been an increasing demand for using paper as a packaging material due to heightened environmental awareness. In the case of paper packaging, it is difficult to visually confirm the packaged product because the packaging material is opaque.

If the product information written on the label and the product in the package are shipped differently, a serious complaint will occur and there will be a problem. Therefore, when packaging products of various sizes and types, it is necessary to manually check the products, store them in a bag or the like, and attach a label, which becomes a bottleneck in the automation of packaging. In addition, manual packaging by a worker makes it difficult to work for a long time.

The above-mentioned problems are described as independent of each other, and the present invention does not necessarily have to be able to solve all of the described problems, as long as at least one problem can be solved. In addition, we have the intention to acquire the rights to the structure for solving this problem independently by divisional application, amendment, etc.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the packaging system of the present invention has (1) a packaging machine main body for packaging different products to be sequentially supplied with packaging materials, and product features arranged in front of the packaging machine main body. The first detecting means for detecting the above, the second detecting means for detecting the feature based on the product stored in the packaging body carried out from the packaging machine main body, which is arranged after the packaging machine main body, and the first one. The information output from the detection means is compared with the information output from the second detection means for the package in which the product is packaged, and the product supplied to the packaging machine main body is supplied. It is provided with a determination function for determining whether or not the items are packaged in order and carried out from the main body of the packaging machine.

The first detection means on the upstream side of the packaging machine body detects the characteristics of the product entering the main body of the packaging machine, and the second detection means on the downstream side detects the characteristics of the product in that order. Then, it is possible to confirm the consistency of the products as to whether the products supplied to the main body of the packaging machine are packaged and carried out in the order of supply. When the characteristics are inconsistent before and after packaging, it is possible to detect that inconsistencies such as product replacement and toothlessness have occurred in the packaging machine body, for example. Without directly visually inspecting the contents of the package, it is possible to check the integrity of the product, such as the products being packaged in the order in which they entered the packaging machine and being carried out as a package, based on the characteristics detected before and after packaging.

(2) The first detecting means and the second detecting means may measure the weight. If it is a weight, it is good because it can be easily measured and compared. The first detecting means can directly measure the weight of the product, and the second detecting means can indirectly measure the weight of the product as the content by measuring the weight of the package. .. In this way, the measured value of the second detecting means is heavier than the weight of the product stored by the amount of the packaging material or the like constituting the packaging body. Therefore, the determination function may make a determination in consideration of the relevant points.

(3) When the difference between the weight output from the first detection means and the weight output from the second detection means is constant, the determination function packages and carries out the products in the order in which they were supplied. It is good to judge that it is. In this way, the weight of the packaging material can be determined without any particular setting.

(4) The first detection means and the second detection means may detect the characteristics of the product by image processing. It is useful when the type of product can be accurately identified from the outer shape of the product by image recognition.

(5) It is preferable to provide a forming means for forming a display portion for displaying information corresponding to the product on the surface of the package. A packaging system that processes different products by providing a display unit on the surface of the packaging that is sequentially carried out from the main body of the packaging machine to display information corresponding to the products, without having to directly check the products themselves. You can get information about the contents. Then, if the products are packaged in the order of being supplied to the main body of the packaging machine and carried out, the contents of the package can be matched with the contents displayed on the display unit on the surface of the package.

In this way, it is possible to confirm the alignment of the order of the products to be packaged by a method that does not rely on visual inspection. Therefore, for example, in a packaging form such as paper packaging, in which the surface is opaque and the contents cannot be directly visually confirmed after packaging. Even if there is, the contents after packaging and the displayed information can be matched.

In the embodiment, the display unit corresponds to a label attached to the surface of the package. As the forming means, it suffices to finally form a display portion on the surface of the packaging body, and various measures such as attaching a label to the packaging body as in the embodiment and attaching to the packaging material as in the modified example. Can be taken. Further, it may be printed directly on the surface of the package.

(6) The packaging material may be made of an opaque material. Even if the packaging material is opaque, the consistency of the product can be confirmed by packaging the products in the correct order and carrying them out as a package based on the characteristics detected before and after packaging without directly visually inspecting the contents of the package. Can be done.

According to the present invention, for example, in the case of automatic packaging of random products, whether or not the products are packaged and carried out in the order of being supplied to the main body of the packaging machine even if the contents cannot be visually confirmed directly. You can check the consistency. Therefore, even if the package is packaged with an opaque packaging material such as paper, the display content of the product and the display unit can be matched.

It is a figure which shows the conventional example. It is a figure which shows an example of a package. It is a figure which shows one preferable embodiment of the packaging system which concerns on this invention.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. The present invention is not construed as being limited to this, and various changes, modifications, and improvements can be made based on the knowledge of those skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the present invention.

FIG. 3 shows a preferred embodiment of the packaging system according to the present invention. As shown in the figure, the packaging system 10 of the present embodiment continuously pillow-wraps the products 7 in which products 7 of different types, weights, etc. are randomly supplied from the upstream side. Further, in the present embodiment, paper is used as a packaging material for wrapping the product 7.

The packaging system 10 includes a packaging machine main body 11 that pillow-wraps the product 7, a product transport supply conveyor device 12 that is arranged on the upstream side of the packaging machine main body 11 and continuously supplies the product 7 at predetermined intervals, and packaging. It is provided with a carry-out conveyor device 13 and the like arranged on the downstream side of the machine body 11. The wrapping machine main body 11 is provided with a bag making device on the carry-in side thereof, and makes a tubular wrapping paper into a strip-shaped wrapping paper continuously supplied from a film supply device (not shown). The wrapping machine main body 11 is located on the downstream side of the wrapping machine in the transport direction with respect to a center sealing device that seals the left and right ends of the wrapping paper that has been made into a tubular shape, and the center-sealed wrapping paper. It is equipped with a top sealing device or the like that seals and cuts in directions orthogonal to each other.

The product transport / supply conveyor device 12 includes a first conveyor section 14 and a second conveyor section 15 from the upstream side along the transport direction. Then, the carry-out end of the first conveyor section 14 and the carry-in end of the second conveyor section 15 are separated by a predetermined distance, and the inlet weight checker 16 is arranged in the separated space. The entrance weight checker 16 measures the weight of the product 7 moving on the belt conveyor forming the transport path, and sends the measurement result to the product information management system 20.

A product information reading device 17 is arranged above the second conveyor unit 15. The product information reading device 17 is a device that reads information that identifies a product that moves on the second conveyor unit 15, and is, for example, when the product is attached with a barcode or RF tag that represents predetermined information. It is composed of a barcode reader, a radio frequency identification reader, etc. for reading it. Further, for a product to which such a barcode or the like is not added, the product information reading device 17 is composed of, for example, an image recognition device provided with a camera, and image recognition is performed to specify the type of the product or the like. , The information of the specified product may be output, and one or a plurality of various devices may be used.

The product 7 whose weight is measured by the entrance weight checker 16 and whose information for identifying the product is acquired by the product information reading device 17 is supplied to the packaging machine main body 11 at predetermined intervals and pillow-packed there. As a result, the wrapping body 8 wrapped in the opaque wrapping paper is sequentially carried out from the carry-out side of the packaging machine main body 11, and is carried by the carry-out conveyor device 13 arranged on the downstream side.

A labeler 18 is arranged above the transport path of the carry-out conveyor device 13. The labeler 18 manufactures a label on which predetermined information is printed according to an instruction from the product information management system 20, and attaches the manufactured label to the surface of the package. The product information management system 20 also controls the operation of the packaging machine main body 11 and the like. Therefore, the product information management system 20 provides the labeler 5 with information related to the product at the timing when the product corresponding to the information received from the product information reading device 17 is packaged and carried out from the packaging machine main body 11. send. Therefore, the labeler 18 can affix a label 9 on which information suitable for the contents (commodities) is printed to the packaging body 8 containing the products randomly supplied to the main body of the packaging machine. The information contained in the product 7 includes, for example, information for specifying the product such as the product type and material, and information for specifying the delivery destination in the mail-order product (address, name, telephone number, etc.).

Further, in the present embodiment, the outlet weight checker 19 is arranged on the carry-out side of the carry-out conveyor device 13. Like the inlet weight checker 16, the outlet weight checker 19 measures the weight of the package 8 containing the product 7 moving on the belt conveyor forming the transport path, and sends the measurement result to the product information management system 20. ..

The product information management system 20 sets the product consistency, that is, the package 8 based on the weight of the product 7 sent from the inlet weight checker 16 and the weight of the package 8 sent from the outlet weight checker 19. It is determined whether the information printed on the attached label 9 is that of the product 7 contained in the package 8.

For example, it is assumed that the weights of the products weighed by the entrance weight checker 16 are input to the product information management system 20 in the order of 80 g, 100 g, 160 g, 150 g, 140 g, 90 g, and 100 g. At this time, when the weight of the bag constituting the package is about 8 g, the measured values at the outlet weight checker should be in the order of 88 g, 108 g, 168 g, 158 g, 148 g, 98 g, 108 g. That is, the measured values of the inlet weight checker 16 and the measured values of the outlet weight checker 19 are compared, and if the difference is constant such as 8 g, 8 g, 8 g, 8 g, 8 g, 8 g, 8 g, etc., the packaging It is guaranteed that the products are packaged in order without being replaced or missing in the machine body 11. As a result, it is guaranteed that the correspondence between the product 7 stored in the package 8 and the contents printed on the label 9 is correct.

On the other hand, when the products are replaced or removed in the middle of packaging, for example, in the packaging machine main body 11, the history of the measured values output from the outlet weight checker 19 does not become as described above. For example, when the products are replaced, if the measured values output from the outlet weight checker 19 are in the order of, for example, 88 g, 108 g, 168 g, 148 g, 158 g, 98 g, 108 g, the value comparing the inlet and the outlet is It becomes like 8g, 8g, 8g, -2g, + 18g, 8g, 8g, and abnormal values such as -102g and + 10g occur, and it can be found that the matching of products is inconsistent.

As described above, if the outliers occur in products before and after the series, and the other products have normal values, it can be determined that the products with the outliers have been replaced, and the other packaging bodies. Should certify that the goods have been packaged correctly. Further, when an abnormal value occurs continuously after a certain product, it can be determined that the product is missing at the place where the abnormal value occurs. Further, the product information management system 20 stops the packaging machine when it detects an abnormal value.

If the weight of the bag is known in advance, the weight may be set in the product information management system 20. In this way, by checking whether the obtained difference is equal to the weight of the set bag body, it is possible to verify the match / mismatch between the product and the label with higher accuracy.

On the other hand, it is not always necessary to set the weight of the bag body in this way. It is complicated to obtain and set the weight of the bag, and even if it is unknown, the difference is constant by obtaining the difference between the measured values on the inlet side and the outlet side and recording the obtained difference. If so, the consistency of the product, and by extension, the consistency between the product and the label can be guaranteed. Further, since it can be seen that the weight of the difference is the weight of the bag body, it is preferable to set the weight of the difference obtained at an appropriate timing in the product information management system 20 as the weight of the bag body.

Further, in the present embodiment, the weight measured by the inlet weight checker 16 is compared with the weight measured by the outlet weight checker 19 as described above, and the weight is packaged and carried out in the order of entry into the main body of the packaging machine. By inspecting, it is used to verify the match and inconsistency between the displayed contents of the product 7 and the label 9 in the package 8, and the weight measured by the entrance weight checker 16 is printed on the label 9. It may be configured to be used as a label.

As described above, in the present embodiment, the weight, which is one of the features of the product, is measured on the downstream side of the product transport supply conveyor device 12 which is the entrance of the packaging process and the carry-out conveyor device 13 which is the exit of the packaging process. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and various features may be obtained and compared.

For example, in another method of detecting the characteristics of a product, image processing may be used. Image processing involves, for example, using an X-ray camera or a powerful light source that transmits through paper to image the contours, shadows, patterns, etc. of the product, and inspecting the order of the entrance image and the exit image of the product. It is advisable to check the consistency.

Furthermore, the detection of the characteristics of the product may be comprehensively determined based on not only one but a plurality of types such as, for example, a combination of weight and image processing, a combination of different image processing, and the like. By combining the detection means, it is possible to improve the inspection accuracy.

In the above-described embodiment, the case where the wrapping machine main body performs pillow wrapping (normal pillow, reverse pillow) has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this, for example, horizontal three-way wrapping, four-way seal wrapping, and other wrapping. It can be applied to materials that use opaque materials such as paper.

Further, the wrapping material is not limited to the wrapping paper, and various opaque materials can be applied. Furthermore, a transparent film may be used as in the conventional case. Even if it is a transparent film, by applying the present invention, the consistency between the contents of the package and the display contents of the display unit can be automatically performed without visually confirming.

Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, the labeler 18 is arranged on the downstream side of the packaging machine main body 11, but the present invention is not limited to this, for example, the packaging machine main body 11 and the upstream side of the packaging machine main body 11. Therefore, it may be arranged on the downstream side of the entrance weight checker 16. In this way, the moving distance from measuring the weight of the product with the entrance weight checker 16 to attaching the label is shortened, so that the possibility that the product is replaced or pulled out in the middle is suppressed as much as possible. So good. In particular, it is more preferable to attach the label when wrapping the product with the packaging material or immediately after wrapping the product.

Although various aspects of the present invention have been described above with reference to embodiments and modifications, these embodiments and descriptions have not been made for the purpose of limiting the scope of the present invention, and are intended for understanding the present invention. It should be added that it was provided to contribute. The scope of the present invention is not limited to the configurations and manufacturing methods explicitly described herein, but also includes combinations of various aspects of the invention disclosed herein. Of the present invention, the configuration for which a patent is sought is specified in the appended claims, but even if the configuration is not currently specified in the claims, it is disclosed in the present specification. I would like to mention that there is a possibility of claiming a patent for this configuration in the future.

7: Product 8: Package 9: Label 10: Packaging system 11: Packaging machine body 12: Product transport supply conveyor device 13: Carry-out conveyor device 14: First conveyor section 15: Second conveyor section 16: Entrance weight checker 17: Product information reader 18: Labeler 19: Exit weight checker 20: Product information management system

Claims (6)

The main body of the packaging machine that wraps different products that are sequentially supplied with packaging materials,
The first detection means for detecting the characteristics of the product, which is arranged in front of the main body of the packaging machine,
A second detection means, which is arranged after the packaging machine main body and detects features based on the products stored in the packaging body carried out from the packaging machine main body, and
The information output from the first detection means is compared with the information output from the second detection means for the package in which the product is packaged, and the product supplied to the packaging machine main body is obtained. A packaging system having a determination function of determining whether or not the products are packaged in the order in which they are supplied and carried out from the main body of the packaging machine. The packaging system for detecting according to claim 1, wherein the first detecting means and the second detecting means are for measuring weight. When the difference between the weight output from the first detection means and the weight output from the second detection means is constant, the determination function determines that the products are packaged and carried out in the order in which they were supplied. The packaging system according to claim 2. The packaging system according to claim 1, wherein the first detecting means and the second detecting means detect the characteristics of the product by image processing. The packaging system according to any one of claims 1 to 4, further comprising a forming means for forming a display unit for displaying information corresponding to a product on the surface of the packaging body. The packaging system according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the packaging material is made of an opaque material.

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