JP2023171174A - Sealing device - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a sealing device which prevents paper powder from being mixed into a content of a container during sealing, and can be manufactured at low cost with a simple configuration.SOLUTION: A sealing device is for sealing a lid body in an opening of a container, and includes: sealing means 2 for sealing the lid body to the container; container holding means 3 for holding the container; lid body storage means 4 for storing the lid body; removal means for taking out the lid body from the lid body storage means; and transfer means for transferring the lid body taken out by the removal means onto the opening of the container held by the container holding means, the container holding means includes the transfer means for transferring the container between a container holding position where the container is held and a position where the lid body is placed on the container and sealed.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

The present invention relates to a sealing device for sealing a lid on a container.

BACKGROUND ART Sealing devices for sealing the opening of a container containing contents such as food or drink with a lid have been known. An example of such a sealing device is the one disclosed in Patent Document 1 shown below. The sealing device (hereinafter also referred to as "sealing device") disclosed in Patent Document 1 includes a device body, a film mechanism that conveys a film used as a lid, and a film conveyed by the film mechanism. It is equipped with a film pressing mechanism that presses the film against the periphery formed at the edge of the opening of the container, and by sealing the film to the periphery of the container, the opening of the container is closed with the film and hermetically sealed. It is configured so that it can be done.

Utility model registration No. 3152023

Conventional sealing devices, such as the one disclosed in Patent Document 1, seal a container by pressing a film used as a lid against the container while conveying it and sealing the film around the periphery of the container. was. However, in recent years, there has been a strong tendency to reduce the amount of resin materials used as raw materials for film materials as much as possible, and materials using paper-based materials have been used as substitute materials for resin materials. However, supplying a roll of paper-based material using the method disclosed in Patent Document 1 requires cutting the material at a position close to the container when sealing the container. Therefore, there was a problem that paper dust could be generated. Furthermore, when sealing a lid on a container using a roll-shaped material, there is a problem in that it is difficult to accommodate containers of different sizes. In order to solve this problem, it becomes necessary to attach cutters for all types depending on the container size to the sealing device, which complicates the configuration of the sealing device and increases manufacturing costs. There was a high possibility that other problems such as an increase in the number of children would occur.
The present invention has been made in view of these problems, and provides a sealing device that does not allow paper powder to be mixed into the contents of the container during sealing, has a simple configuration, and can reduce manufacturing costs. The purpose is to provide

The present invention
(1) A sealing device for sealing a lid to an opening of a container, which includes a sealing means for sealing the lid to the container, a container holding means for holding the container, and the lid. a lid storage means for storing the body, a take-out means for taking out the lid from the lid storage means, and an opening of the container where the lid taken out by the take-out means is held by the container holding means. a transfer means for transferring the container upward, and the container holding means transfers the container between a container holding position for holding the container and a position for placing and sealing the lid on the container. A sealing device characterized in that it has a means,
(2) The container holding means includes a holding space in which the container is located when the container is held, and a container supporting portion surrounding the holding space, and the container supporting portion is configured such that the container is The sealing device according to (1) above, which is configured to be in an open state when inserted into the holding space and to be in a closed state when the container is located in the holding space;
(3) The sealing device according to (2) above, wherein the container support part is rotatably provided on a base part formed separately from the container support part;
(4) The sealing device according to (2) above, wherein the container support portion and the base portion are integrally formed;
(5) The sealing device according to any one of (1) to (4), wherein the lid storage means includes a storage maintenance section that maintains the stored lid in a stored state;
(6) The sealing device according to any one of (1) to (5) above, wherein the take-out means takes out the lids one by one from the lid storage means;
(7) The take-out means is arranged below the lid storage means, and the take-out means takes out the stored lid from the lower part of the lid storage means. The sealing device according to any one of the above,
(8) The sealing device according to any one of (1) to (7) above, wherein the transfer means includes a positioning part that positions the transported lid at a position below the sealing means;
(9) The container holding means is the lid according to any one of (1) to (8) above, which is formed to be able to hold a plurality of types of containers of different sizes.

According to the present invention, there is provided a sealing device for sealing a lid in an opening of a container, comprising a sealing means for sealing the lid to the container, and a container holding means for holding the container. , a lid storage means for storing the lid, a take-out means for taking out the lid from the lid storage means, and a lid taken out by the take-out means of the container held by the container holding means. a transfer means for transferring the container onto the opening, and the container holding means moves the container between a container holding position where the container is held and a position where the lid body is placed on the container and sealed. Since it has a transfer means for transferring, it is possible to greatly reduce the mixing of paper powder into the contents of the container, and it is also possible to reduce the manufacturing cost due to the simple structure.

1 is an external perspective view showing an embodiment of a sealing device according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram schematically showing the configuration of a container holding section. It is a schematic diagram for demonstrating the operation|movement of a container holding part. It is a schematic diagram showing the modification of a container holding part. It is a schematic explanatory view showing the structure of a take-out mechanism and a transfer part.

Embodiments of the sealing device according to the present invention will be described in detail using the drawings. In addition, the "front side", "rear side", "upper side", "lower side", "left side", and "right side" of the sealing device and each member constituting the sealing device in this specification refer to the sealing device. Indicates the front side, rear side, upper side, lower side, left side, and right side when viewed from the front.

A sealing device according to the present invention is for sealing a lid in an opening of a container. As shown in FIG. 1, the sealing device 1 includes a heater 2 as a sealing means for sealing a lid on a container, a container holding part 3 as a container holding means for holding the container, and a lid. A lid body storage section 4 as a lid storage means for storing a lid body, a take-out mechanism 5 as a take-out means for taking out a lid body from the lid body storage part 4, and a lid body taken out by the take-out mechanism 5 is held by a container holding part. and a transfer section 6 as a transfer means for transferring the container onto the opening of the container.

As shown in FIG. 1, the sealing device 1 according to the present invention includes a casing 16, and the above-described heater 2 and the like are provided in the casing 16. The heater 2 is electrically connected to a power source (not shown), and when the switch is turned on and electricity starts flowing, the temperature rises to a predetermined temperature. This rising temperature may be set arbitrarily using an operation panel (not shown) or the like, or a predetermined temperature that is set in advance may be maintained. This heater is for sealing the container by heat-sealing the lid L to the container. When a drive switch (not shown) is turned on, it is lowered by a drive motor (not shown) and is pressed against the top surface of the lid L to heat it, thereby joining the container and the lid L. Note that in this embodiment, a heater is used as an example of the sealing means, but instead of heat sealing using a heater, the lid body may be joined to the container by ultrasonic bonding or the like. . When joining the lid L to the container using ultrasonic waves, an anvil or the like may be used. The heater 2 may be any conventionally known heater as long as the lid can be joined to the container, and the shape of the heater may be arbitrarily selected from any conventionally known shape. May be used. For example, the heater 2 may be formed in a shape (for example, a donut shape) that can heat only the region where the lid body and the peripheral edge formed around the opening of the container are joined, or If the entire lid body can be heated, it may be formed into a disk shape or the like. Further, instead of moving up and down, the heater 2 may be of a movable type, such as going around the joint between the lid and the container, or may be of a fixed type, which heats the entire lid when lowered.

In the example shown in FIG. 1, the container holding section 3 is configured to be able to be transported between a container holding position outside the housing 16 and a sealed position inside the housing 16. This conveyance can be performed, for example, by sliding it on a rail attached to the housing 16 via a bearing, but other methods may also be used. This container holding part 3 has a base member 3a, and a first support member 3b and a second support member 3c as support members. 3c is rotatably attached by a pin member or the like. These first support member 3b and second support member 3c are formed so that they can be opened and closed, and as shown in FIG. 2(a), the first support member 3b and second support member 3c are in the open position. As shown in FIG. 2(b), the first support member 3b and the second support member 3c can be rotated about a rotation fulcrum O between the closed position and the closed position. Further, a first contact portion 3d is formed on the first support member 3b, and a second contact portion 3e is formed on the second support member 3c. These first contact portion 3d and second contact portion 3e are located at a position where the side wall of the container comes into contact with the container when the container is inserted into the holding space 3f of the container holding portion 3, as shown in FIG. As the container is inserted, the positions of the first contact portion 3d and the second contact portion 3e are displaced, and the first support member 3b and the second support member 3c are closed with the rotation fulcrum O as the fulcrum. It is configured to rotate in the direction. In addition, by pulling the container held by the base member 3a, the first support member 3b, and the second support member 3c in a direction to remove the container, the container holding part 3 can release the first support member 3b and the second support member 3c. It is also configured to be able to pivot from a closed position to an open position.

The holding plate 7 is arranged below the container holding part 3. This holding plate 7 holds the container holding part 3 so that the lid and the container are sufficiently joined together when the container holding part 3 is pressed by the heater 2, and also serves as a support for a person who supports the container (e.g. This is to make it easier for a person (such as a purchaser) to visually insert a container toward the container holding section 3. Note that the container holding part 3 and the holding plate 7 may be configured to be able to reciprocate in conjunction with each other between a position corresponding to the initial position of the container holding part 3 and a position corresponding to the retracted position. , the holding plate 7 may be fixed at a predetermined position of the housing, and only the container holding part 3 may be configured to be able to reciprocate between the above-mentioned positions. This holding plate 7 is formed with an entry space 7a into which the container enters, and a first guide part 7b and a second guide part 7c as guide parts that guide the movement of the container when moving the container into the entry space 7a. ing. Note that the holding plate 7 is provided for the purpose of holding the container holding part 3 as described above, and therefore, for example, the holding plate 7 is provided so that the container holding part 3 has strength enough to withstand the pressing force of the heater 2. In this case, the holding plate 7 may not be provided.

The lid storage section 4 is provided at the rear of the casing of the sealing device. The lid storage section 4 is formed into a generally cylindrical shape, and is configured to be able to store a plurality of lids, for example, about 500 to 1000 lids. The lid storage section 4 has an open bottom, and the lids are taken out one by one from the opening at the bottom. Further, a protrusion that protrudes radially inward is formed in the lower opening, and is configured to prevent the lid of the lid storage section 4 from falling when the extraction mechanism 5 is not operating. ing. The protrusion has an opposing surface that faces the stored lids and slopes downwardly toward the inside in the radial direction so that the lids can be easily taken out when the extraction mechanism 5 takes out the lids one by one. It is preferable to form an inclined surface.

The extraction mechanism 5 is provided below the lid storage section 4 and is for taking out the lids stored in the lid storage section 4 one by one from the opening at the bottom of the lid storage section 4. be. As shown in FIG. 4, the extraction mechanism 5 has a structure such as a suction cup that can be pulled out by sucking on the lid. Moreover, this extraction mechanism 5 has a vacuum forming means such as a solenoid valve or a vacuum pump (not shown), and when the suction cup is attracted to the lid, it creates a negative pressure inside the suction cup and moves downward. It is designed to pull the adsorbed lid downward. The take-out mechanism 5 places the pulled-out lid on the belt member or guide rail that constitutes the transfer section 15, and releases the negative pressure inside the suction cup. Note that the extraction mechanism 5 is not limited to one using a solenoid valve, and may be configured to perform vacuum suction using a syringe, for example.
The transport unit 15 is for transporting the lid body taken out by the take-out mechanism 5 to a position corresponding to the initial position. As shown in FIG. 10, the transfer unit 15 includes a belt member and a drive motor for rotating the belt member, and the lid body taken out by the take-out mechanism 5 is placed on the belt member. It is adapted to move as the belt member rotates. The lid body moved by the transfer section 15 moves to a positioning section 17 provided on the downstream side of the transfer section 15.

The positioning part 17 is provided at a position where the heater 2 is located above and the initial position of the container holding part 3 is below. As shown in FIG. 4, this positioning part 17 is formed with four gripping parts for gripping the transported lid. The arm portion provided with this grip portion is configured to be able to rotate in a direction in which the lid body is expanded in both directions. For example, when the heater 2 is lowered, these arm portions perform an action of expanding in accordance with the operation of the heater 2, thereby causing the lid gripped by the gripping portion to fall downward. At this time, the fallen lid falls to a position where it closes the opening of the container supported by the container holder 3, and the lid is joined to the container by the subsequent operation by the heater 2.
In such a configuration, the sealing device operates as described below. First, a user picks up a container and inserts the container into the container holder 3 to support it. At this time, the container holding part 3 is located at the initial position, and the first support member and the second support member are in an open state. Since an insertion space is formed between the first support member and the second support member in the open state, the user should insert the container into the container holding part 3 by passing it through the insertion space. shall be.

At this time, the holding plate 7 provided under the container holding part 3 has a first guide part and a second guide part protruding forward from the container holding part 3, so it can be used as a guide member to insert the container. It's getting easier. Although the shapes of the first guide part and the second guide part of the container may be arbitrarily selected, for example, if the distance between the first fitting part and the second fitting part is narrowed, the upper end of the container This is preferable because it makes it easier for the user to guide the user to the container holding part 3 in order to pass through the part that has a smaller diameter than the container holding part 3.

When a user inserts a container into the container holding part 3, predetermined locations on the side wall of the container come into contact with the first contact part and the second contact part. When the side wall of the container comes into contact with the first contact part, the container holding part 3 rotates the first support member in the closing direction about the rotation fulcrum. Similarly, when the side wall of the container comes into contact with the second contact member, the container holding part 3 rotates the second support member in the closing direction about the rotation fulcrum. Therefore, the container inserted into the container holding part 3 is in a state where it is entirely supported over the entire circumference by the base part, the first support member, and the second support member. Note that the term "whole" here includes a state in which there is a slight gap between the side wall of the container and the container holding part 3.

After the container is supported by the container holding part 3, when the user applies force in the direction in which the container holding part 3 moves into the housing while holding the container, in the case of this embodiment, the container is held. Both the part 3 and the holding plate 7 move from the initial position to the retracted position. At this time, if a member such as a cushion material is provided that reduces the moving speed of the container holder 3 just before it reaches the retracted position, a shock will be generated when the container holder 3 reaches the retracted position. This also prevents the contents from spilling out of the container due to impact.
When the container holder 3 reaches the retracted position, a switch (not shown) is turned on and the sealing device starts to be driven. In the sealing device of this example, the lid body, which has been conveyed in advance above the container located at the retracted position, is held by the positioning part 17. Therefore, when the switch is turned on and the heater 2 is lowered, the holding of the lid by the positioning tool is released when the processing reaches a predetermined position. Then, the lid is dropped onto the opening of the container, and immediately after that, the heater 2 presses the lid from the top surface to heat it. After heating and pressing for a predetermined period of time, the heater 2 moves upward, completing the joining of the lid to the container. Note that, for example, when the positioning means detects that the holding of the lid is released, the take-out mechanism 5 and the transfer unit 15 start taking out the lid and transporting the taken-out lid. Then, in preparation for the next sealing, the held state is maintained by the positioning means.

When the lid has completed sealing the container, the sealing device notifies the user that the container has been sealed. This notification may be carried out by lighting a lamp or by making a sound to notify the user. Further, methods other than these may also be used. When the user knows that the sealing has been completed, the user picks up the container and pulls the container holder 3 forward from the pull-out position to the initial position. When the container holding part 3 reaches the initial position, the first support member and the second support member are opened, and the user can take actions such as picking up the container with the lid sealed and drinking a beverage. It becomes like this.

As described above, according to the sealing device according to the present invention, the user can insert and support the container held by the user into the container holding part 3, push the container together with the container holding part 3 to the back, or pull the container to the front. The lid is joined to the container and sealed only by performing the following steps. Therefore, it becomes possible to seal the container very easily and easily.

Next, a modification of the sealing device will be described. FIG. 4 shows a modification of the container holder. This container holder is configured such that the base portion, the first support member, and the second support member in the container holder described above are integrally molded, and can hold the container by elastically deforming. has been done. Further, the first support member and the second support member are formed with guide portions so that the container can be easily inserted. In addition, in the example shown in FIG. 5, the first support member and the second support member have their tips touching each other and are closed in the initial state, but in the initial state, the first support member and the second support member In the initial state, the ends of the member and the second support member do not contact each other and are open. However, from the viewpoint of applying the force evenly to the container and the lid when the heater 2 is pressed and heated and compressed, the first support member and the second support member are in a closed state in the initial state. It is preferable that This is because in this state, the container and the lid can be supported as a whole, so that the pressing force of the heater 2 can be applied evenly.

As described above, according to the sealing device 1 according to the present invention, by having the above-described configuration, it is possible to greatly reduce the mixing of paper powder into the contents of the container, and the sealing device 1 has a simple configuration. It is also possible to reduce manufacturing costs. Note that the above is an example of the sealing device according to the present invention, and the present invention is not limited to the above example, and may be modified as appropriate without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

1 Sealing device 2 Heater 3 Container holding section 4 Lid storage section 5 Removal mechanism 7 Support plate 15 Transfer section 16 Housing

Claims (9)

A sealing device for sealing a lid in an opening of a container,
a sealing means for sealing the lid to the container;
container holding means for holding the container;
a lid storage means for storing the lid;
extraction means for taking out the lid from the lid storage means;
and a transfer means for transferring the lid taken out by the taking out means onto the opening of the container held by the container holding means,
The container holding means is characterized in that it has a transfer means for transferring the container between a container holding position where the container is held and a position where the lid is placed on the container and sealed. Sealing device. The container holding means includes a holding space in which the container is located when the container is held, and a container support that surrounds the holding space,
2. The container support section is configured to be in an open state when the container is inserted into the holding space and to be in a closed state when the container is located within the holding space. The sealing device described. 3. The sealing device according to claim 2, wherein the container support part is rotatably provided on a base part formed separately from the container support part. The sealing device according to claim 2, wherein the container support portion and the base portion are integrally formed. The sealing device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the lid storage means includes a storage maintaining section that maintains the stored lid in a stored state. 6. The sealing device according to claim 1, wherein the take-out means takes out the lids one by one from the lid storage means. the extraction means is arranged below the lid storage means,
7. The sealing device according to claim 1, wherein the take-out means takes out the stored lid from a lower part of the lid storage means. The sealing device according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the transfer means includes a positioning part that positions the transferred lid at a position below the sealing means. 9. The lid according to claim 1, wherein the container holding means is formed to be able to hold a plurality of types of containers of different sizes.

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