JP2852507B2 - Article supply device for horizontal bag making and filling machine - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an article supply apparatus for supplying articles at predetermined intervals to a horizontal bag making, filling and packaging machine.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As an article supply apparatus for supplying articles at predetermined intervals to a horizontal bag making, filling and packaging machine, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No.
There is an apparatus disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 44912/44. In this apparatus, a separation conveyor, a pool conveyor, and an introduction conveyor are sequentially arranged upstream on the upstream side of a horizontal bag-making and filling machine, and articles conveyed by the introduction conveyor are passed through the pool conveyor and the separation conveyor to be manufactured horizontally. It is transported to a bag filling and packaging machine. The pool conveyor is driven at a lower speed than the introduction conveyor, and is set so that a plurality of articles transferred from the introduction conveyor to the pool conveyor can be aggregated. Furthermore, the separation conveyor is driven at a higher speed than the pool conveyor, and is set so that articles transferred from the pool conveyor to the separation conveyor can be separated from subsequent articles at regular intervals.

In this apparatus, when the supply capacity of articles from the introduction conveyor to the pool conveyor temporarily increases, the machine speed of the packaging machine, the pool conveyor and the separation conveyor is automatically increased to exceed the capacity. To cope with this, or when there is a large variation in the interval between articles supplied from the introduction conveyor to the pool conveyor, the pool conveyor and the separation conveyor are controlled to increase and decrease speed to keep the article transport interval constant, and the packaging machine It has also been proposed to prevent intermittent operation.

[0004]

In the above-described conventional apparatus, it is possible to prevent intermittent operation of the packaging machine by controlling the speed of the conveyor to cope with variations in the interval between articles to be supplied. When the supply capacity temporarily falls significantly below the processing capacity of the packaging machine, it was necessary to perform an intermittent operation in which the packaging machine repeatedly started and stopped.

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems inherent in the prior art, and has been proposed to solve the problem suitably. Provided is an article supply device for a horizontal bag making / filling / packaging machine capable of continuously operating the packing machine by averaging the amount of articles delivered per hour to the horizontal bag making / filling / packaging machine even if the number varies. The purpose is to:

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to overcome the above-mentioned problems and achieve the intended object, the present invention relates to a film feeding device driven by a driving device from a supply source to form a film in a tubular form using a bag making machine. , And sequentially supplies articles into the tubular film, longitudinally seals the longitudinal edges of the tubular film, and a horizontal sealing mechanism driven by driving means before and after sandwiching the article in the tubular film. In the horizontal bag-making filling and packaging machine which is designed to be laterally sealed, an endless belt which is disposed upstream of the bag making machine and conveys the article is provided so that the article can be conveyed, and the article conveying speed of the belt is "film". And a separation conveyor set on the basis of a value obtained from `` the cut pitch × the number of packaging processes '' and an endless belt that is disposed upstream of the separation conveyor and conveys the article, and is provided so as to run freely. A pool conveyor whose article conveying speed is lower than the article conveying speed of the separation conveyor, and which is set based on a value obtained from “length of the article conveying direction × number of packaging processes”; and a pool conveyor upstream of the pool conveyor. Established
An endless belt for transporting the articles is provided so that it can run freely, and the article transport speed of the belt is provided at a required position in an article transport area of the separation conveyor, where the introduction conveyor is set to be faster than the article transport speed of the pool conveyor. A first article detection sensor for detecting an article conveyed on the conveyor, a first article detection sensor movably disposed within a predetermined range in the article conveyance direction, and a downstream end of the introduction conveyor and an upstream of the pool conveyor. A movable holder, the side end of which is connected to each endless belt in a freely movable state, and the movable holder is moved within a predetermined range in the transport direction, and the moving speed to the downstream side is the same as the article transport speed of the pool conveyor. A moving means set to be substantially the same, and a second means arranged on the moving holder and capable of detecting articles transferred from the introduction conveyor to the pool conveyor.
Based on the article detection signal from the article detection sensor and the first article detection sensor, the film feeding means and the driving means of the mechanism are operated and controlled so as to synchronize the phases of the film feeding means and the horizontal sealing mechanism. Control means for starting the driving of the mechanism and controlling the operation of the moving means of the moving holder to move the holder to the upstream side based on the article detection signal of the second article detection sensor. I do.

Another object of the present invention is to overcome the above-mentioned problems and achieve the intended object by forming a film fed by a film feeding means driven by a driving means from a supply source into a cylindrical shape by a bag making machine. Then, an article group in which two articles are gathered in the tubular film is sequentially supplied, a longitudinal end portion of the tubular film is longitudinally sealed, and driving means is provided before and after the article group in the tubular film is sandwiched. In a horizontal type bag making and filling machine that is made to perform horizontal sealing by a horizontal sealing mechanism driven by an endless belt that is disposed upstream of the bag making device and conveys the article, the belt is movably provided. The article conveying speed is set on the basis of the value obtained from “cut pitch of film × the number of wrapping processes”, and the endless belt that is disposed upstream of the separating conveyor and conveys the articles runs on the separation conveyor. Provided, when the conveying direction length of the conveying region, the transport direction length of the article to be set is the L, (2
× L) shorter than (L), and an endless belt that is disposed upstream of the split and conveyer and conveys the article, and is provided with an endless belt, and the article conveying speed of the belt. Is lower than the article conveying speed of the separation conveyor, and "the length of the group of assembled articles in the conveying direction ×
A pool conveyor set on the basis of a value obtained from `` the number of wrapping processes '', and an endless belt that is disposed upstream of the pool conveyor and conveys the articles is provided so as to be freely movable,
An introduction conveyor in which the article conveyance speed of the belt is set to be higher than the article conveyance speed of the pool conveyor, and an introduction conveyor which is provided at a required position in an article conveyance area of the separation conveyor and detects articles conveyed on the conveyor. (1) A state in which the article detection sensor and the article conveyor are movably disposed within a predetermined range in the conveying direction of the article, and the downstream end of the introduction conveyor and the upstream end of the pool conveyor can run on each endless belt. A moving holder connected to the moving holder and moving the moving holder within a predetermined range in the conveying direction, and a moving means for setting the moving speed to the downstream side substantially equal to the article conveying speed of the pool conveyor; A second article detection sensor arranged and capable of detecting articles transferred from the introduction conveyor to the pool conveyor; and an article detection signal from the first article detection sensor. In order to synchronize the phases of the film feeding means and the horizontal sealing mechanism, the driving means of the means and the mechanism are controlled to start the driving of the means and the mechanism, and the second article detection sensor detects the article. On the basis of the signal, control means for operating the moving means of the moving holder to move the holder to the upstream side, and setting the article conveying speed of the divided assembly conveyor to the high speed side substantially equal to the article conveying speed of the separation conveyor. A speed changing means for switching to a low speed side substantially the same as the article conveying speed of the pool conveyor; and a third means located on the downstream side for detecting an article on the divided assembly conveyor and inputting a detection signal to the control means. The control means comprises an article detection sensor and a fourth article detection sensor located on the upstream side. The control means detects a downstream signal of the article by the third article detection sensor. The article transport speed of the divided assembly conveyor is switched to the high speed side, and the article transport speed of the divided assembly conveyor is shifted to the low speed side by a detection signal obtained by detecting the upstream end of the group of assembled articles on the divided assembly conveyor by the fourth article detection sensor. The operation of the speed change means is controlled so as to switch.

[0008]

When a second article detecting sensor disposed on a moving holder connected to the downstream end of the introducing conveyor and the upstream end of the pool conveyor detects an article conveyed by the introducing conveyor, the moving holder is detected. Is moved to the upstream side to transfer the articles to the pool conveyor. That is,
Each time the second article detection sensor detects an article, the movable holder moves to the upstream side, and articles conveyed by the introduction conveyor are sequentially accumulated on the pool conveyor. The articles transferred to the pool conveyor are conveyed toward the separation conveyor by driving the conveyor, and the articles are transferred to the separation conveyor. At this time, the article conveying speed of the pool conveyor is set based on the value obtained from “length of the conveying direction of the article × the number of wrapping processes”, and the article conveying speed of the separation conveyor is set as “the cut pitch of the film × the number of wrapping processes”. Is set on the basis of the value obtained from the above, the transport pitch of each article delivered to the separation conveyor coincides with the cut pitch of the film. Then, when the first article detection sensor detects the article transferred and conveyed to the separation conveyor, the phase of the film feeding means and the horizontal sealing mechanism in the packaging machine are synchronized, and the driving of the means and the mechanism is performed. Let it start. Thereby, the article conveyed from the separation conveyor toward the packaging machine is supplied to a fixed position of the tubular film formed by the bag making machine.

In the case where a divided conveyer is provided between the pool conveyor and the separation conveyor, the divided conveyer driven at a lower article conveying speed which is substantially the same as the article conveying speed of the pool conveyor. Then, articles are sequentially transferred from the pool conveyor. When the third article detection sensor detects the downstream end of the article transferred to the divided collecting conveyor, the article conveying speed of the divided collecting conveyor is switched from the low speed side to the high speed side, and the second conveyor is placed on the divided collecting conveyor.
Individual items are separated from the items on the pool conveyor. Then, an article group in which the two articles are assembled is transferred from the divided assembly conveyor to the separation conveyor. When the fourth article detection sensor detects the upstream end of the article group, the article conveying speed of the divided assembly conveyor is switched from the high speed side to the low speed side.
Since the article conveying speed on the low speed side of the divided assembly conveyor is set to be substantially the same as the article conveying speed of the pool conveyor, and the article conveying speed on the high speed side is set to be substantially the same as the article conveying speed of the separation conveyor, The conveyance pitch of each group of articles delivered to is in a state in which it matches the cut pitch of the film, and the group of articles can be supplied to the fixed position of the tubular film in the same manner as described above.

[0010]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Next, a preferred embodiment of an article supply apparatus for a horizontal bag making and filling machine according to the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. The article supply device of the present invention,
It is provided immediately upstream of a horizontal bag making and filling machine, and is used for sequentially supplying one or two articles to the packing machine. Since the present application has two inventions, the first
The present invention will be described with reference to a first embodiment, and the second invention will be described with reference to a second embodiment.

[0011]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an article supply device of a horizontal bag making, filling and packaging machine according to a first embodiment.
The article supply device 10 is disposed immediately upstream of the horizontal bag making / filling and packaging machine 11, and is configured to supply the articles 12 to the packaging machine 11 one by one. First, the outline of the packaging machine 11 will be described. As shown in FIG. 1, a film 15 fed from a roll-shaped supply source 13 by feeding rollers 14 as film feeding means constituting a film feeding mechanism 68, It is made to pass through the bag making device 16 and formed into a cylindrical shape.
The articles 12 conveyed by the article supply device 10 are sequentially supplied into the tubular film 15. A longitudinal seal is applied to the longitudinal edge of the cylindrical film 15 enclosing the article 12 by a vertical seal mechanism 17 and before and after the article 12 in the film 15 is sandwiched by a horizontal seal mechanism 18. It is configured to cut and continuously manufacture a three-side sealed package.

The vertical sealing mechanism 17 is provided for the cylindrical film 1.
5 is composed of a feed roller 69 that feeds the film toward the downstream side while sandwiching the longitudinal edge of the feed roller 5, and a seal member 70 such as a seal roller disposed downstream of the roller 69. , The mechanism 17 and the film feeding mechanism 68
Is connected by a drive transmission means 71 such as a belt-pulley, and as shown in FIG.
And it is driven by M _1. Also the transverse sealing mechanism 18 has a transverse sealer 72 which rotates unequal speed by a servo motor SM ₂ as a driving means is feedback-controlled by the servo amplifier 75, the film 15 while the transverse sealer 72 makes one rotation It is set to be fed by one cut pitch. The servomotor SM ₂ which drives the servo motor SM ₁ and the transverse sealing mechanism 18 drives the vertical sealing mechanism 17 and the film feeding mechanism 68 is adapted to be operatively controlled by the controller 55 as a control means. Therefore, the servo motor SM ₁ and the servo motor SM ₂ are provided with an encoder R as shown in FIG.
E ₃ and encoder RE ₄ are provided. The vertical seal mechanism 17 and the film feeding mechanism 68 may be driven by independent motors instead of being driven by a common motor. Also,
The feed roller 69 of the vertical seal mechanism 17 can function as a film feeding means. In this case, the film feeding mechanism 68 can be omitted.

The film 1 fed from the supply source 13
5, the registration mark of the film 15
Registration mark sensor S ₁ for detecting is arranged (not shown). The transverse sealing mechanism 18 is provided with an origin sensor S ₂ for detecting the origin position for the initial alignment of the transverse sealer 72. Then, the detection signals of both sensors S ₁ and S ₂ are input to the control unit 55 (see FIG. 9).

The article supply device 10 is provided at an introduction conveyor 19 for transporting the articles 12 sent out from the preceding process in a state of being placed at random, and is disposed downstream of the introduction conveyor 19 to accumulate the articles 12. A pool conveyor 20, disposed downstream of the pool conveyor 20,
It basically comprises a separation conveyor 21 for conveying the articles 12 one by one toward the bag making machine 16.

(About the introduction conveyor) As shown in FIG.
An upper moving holder 29 described later is provided between the pair of frames 22, 22 which are separated in a direction intersecting with the conveying direction of the article 12.
In addition, a drive shaft 24 and a driven shaft 25 that constitute a moving mechanism 23 of the lower moving holder 31 are rotatably supported rotatably at predetermined intervals in the transport direction. Driven shaft 2 located on the upstream side
5, an intermediate roller 26 is rotatably fitted to the outside, and the frame 2 on the upstream side of the position where the driven shaft 25 is disposed.
As shown in FIG. 3, an upper fixed roller 27 and a lower fixed roller 28 are rotatably mounted between the upper and lower parts 22, 22 so as to be vertically separated from each other. On the downstream side of the upper fixed roller 27, at the same horizontal level as the roller 27, a pair of upper moving holders 29, 29 facing each other at a predetermined interval in a direction intersecting with the conveying direction so as to be movable in the conveying direction. And two upper and lower upper moving rollers 30, 3 between the holders 29, 29.
0 is installed rotatably. Further, on the downstream side of the lower fixed roller 28, at a horizontal level above the disposition position of the roller 28, a pair of lower moving holders 31, 31 facing each other at a predetermined interval in a direction intersecting with the transport direction are transported. The holders 31, 31
A lower moving roller 32 is rotatably provided between the lower moving rollers 32.
Then, the endless belt 33 is wound around these roller groups to form the introduction conveyor 19. In the introduction conveyor 19, a region between the upper fixed roller 27 and the upper upper moving roller 30 is a conveyance area of the article 12.

[0016] The introduction conveyor 19, the first motor M ₁ is controlled by an inverter 73 shown in FIG. 9, the lower fixed roller 28 Chen - is connected via a transmission means 34 such as a sprocket, the first motor M ₁ drives the vehicle in a predetermined direction. In addition, introduction conveyor 19
Is configured to be driven by a packaging machine operation signal to be described later to convey the article 12 toward the pool conveyor 20.

(About Pool Conveyor) The drive shaft 24
The upper fixed roller 36 and the lower fixed roller 37 are rotatably mounted between the frames 22, 22 downstream of the drive shaft 24 while being vertically separated from each other. You. The upper moving holder 2
Upper and lower two upper moving rollers 38, 38 are rotatably mounted between 9, 29, and the lower moving rollers 39 are rotatably supported by the lower moving holders 31, 31, respectively. Then, an endless belt 40 is wound around these roller groups to constitute the pool conveyor 20. This pool conveyor 2
In the case of 0, the space between the upper fixed roller 36 and the upper upper moving roller 38 is a conveyance area of the article 12, and the conveyance area of the endless belt 40 running in the conveyance area and the conveyance area of the introduction conveyor 19 run. It is set so that it is at the same horizontal level as the transport surface of the endless belt 33. The upper moving rollers 30, 38 provided on the upper moving holders 29, 29 are set at intervals at which the transfer of the articles 12 from the introduction conveyor 19 to the pool conveyor 20 can be performed without any trouble.

[0018] The pool conveyor 20, the second motor M _2, which is controlled by the inverter 76 shown in FIG. 9, the lower fixing roller 37 Chen - is connected via a transmission means 41 such as a sprocket, the second motor M ₂ drives the vehicle in a predetermined direction. The article transport speed of the pool conveyor 20 is set to be lower than the article transport speed of the introduction conveyor 19. In the pool conveyor 20, the articles 1 transferred from the introduction conveyor 19 are
While accumulating a 2, the lower moving holder 31 when it is detected by the second holder detection sensor SW ₄ to be described later, is configured to perform feeding to the separation conveyor 21 of the article 12.

As the endless belts 33 and 40 of the introduction conveyor 19 and the pool conveyor 20, toothed belts having teeth formed on the back surface thereof may be used, and the corresponding rollers may be toothed pulleys. . In this case, since the vehicle can travel without slipping the belts 33 and 40, accurate feeding can be achieved even during high-speed operation.

(Moving Mechanism) Next, the moving mechanism 23 of the upper and lower moving holders 29, 31 to which the introduction conveyor 19 and the pool conveyor 20 are connected will be described. That is, a pair of toothed pulleys 42, 42 (see FIG. 8) integrally rotate with the driven shaft 25, which is provided on the frames 22, on both sides of the intermediate roller 26 of the introduction conveyor 19. It is arranged as possible. A pair of toothed pulleys 43 are provided on the drive shaft 24 on both sides of the intermediate roller 35 of the pool conveyor 20 so as to be able to rotate integrally with the shaft 24. The toothed pulleys 42, 43 aligned in the transport direction and the toothed belts 44 for movement are wound between the toothed pulleys 42, 43, respectively. As shown in FIG. 4, the upper moving holder 29 and the lower moving holder 31 are connected to each moving toothed belt 44,
With the movement of the moving toothed belts 44, 44, the holder 2
9, 31 is moved upstream or downstream in the transport direction.

The drive shaft 24 of the moving mechanism 23 is connected to a second motor M of the pool conveyor 20 via a differential gear 57 by a transmission means such as a chain-sprocket.
₂ and is connected, when the second motor M ₂ is driven are configured to move the upper moving holder 29 to the downstream (see FIG. 8). As shown in FIG. 3, a servo amplifier 77 shown in FIG.
In the third motor M ₃ has been arranged to be servo-controlled,
The third motor M ₃ and the drive shaft 24 are connected to each other by a transmission means 45 such as a chain-sprocket.
Linked via 7, when the third motor M ₃ is driven are configured to move the upper moving holder 29 to the upstream. That is, the second motor M ₂ and the third motor M ₃ function as moving means of the moving holders 29, 31 and the reciprocating movement of the moving toothed belts 44, 44 by the driving of the motors M ₂ , M _3. The movable holders 29 and 31 reciprocate within a predetermined range (described later). Thereby, the moving holder 2
The transfer areas of the introduction conveyor 19 and the pool conveyor 20 connected to the transfer rollers 9, 31 via the moving rollers 30, 32, 38, 39 are changed (see FIGS. 10 to 12). The moving speed of the moving holders 29, 31 (moving toothed belts 44, 4)
4) is approximately the same as the article transport speed of the pool conveyor 20 when the upper moving holder 29 moves downstream, and is approximately the same as the article transport speed of the pool conveyor 20 when the holder 29 moves upstream. The speed is set to double (described later). Also the third motor M ₃ are, the encoder RE ₂ is provided.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, a plurality of receiving rollers 46 are rotatably mounted at predetermined intervals in the running direction between the two moving toothed belts 44, 44. The endless belts 33 and 40 in the transport area are supported from below. The projecting portions 46a, 46a projecting from both shaft ends of each receiving roller 46 project outward from the belts 44, 44 as shown in FIG. 6, and these projecting portions 46a, 46a are arranged on the frames 22, 22, respectively. It is configured to move stably by being guided by the provided rails 47, 47.

(Regarding Separation Conveyor) A separation conveyor 21 for transporting the articles 12 delivered from the conveyor 20 one by one toward the bag making machine 16 is disposed downstream of the pool conveyor 20. This separation conveyor 21
As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, a pair of driven rollers 49, 49, which are separated by a predetermined distance in the transport direction at the same horizontal level, are rotated between a pair of frames 48, 48 separated in a direction intersecting the article transport direction. Freely provided. Driven rollers 49,4
A drive roller 50 is rotatably supported between the frames 48 and 48 below the arrangement position 9, and an endless belt 51 is wound around the roller group. In the separation conveyor 21, the space between the pair of driven rollers 49
Transport area. Reference numeral 52 denotes an endless belt 51.
Indicates a roller that is wound around the belt 51 and applies tension to the belt 51 to guide the belt 51.

The separation conveyor 21 includes a driving roller 50
Is the fourth motor M ₄ is inverter controlled linked via the transmission means 53 of the sprocket such as the travel drive in a predetermined direction - Chen on. The fourth motor M _4, the is controlled by the first motor M ₁ and the same inverter 73 of the introduction conveyor 19, are driven travel by the packaging machine operation signal. The article conveying speed of the separation conveyor 21 is set to be higher than the article conveying speed of the pool conveyor 20, so that the articles 12 transferred from the pool conveyor 20 to the separation conveyor 21 are separated from subsequent articles 12. . The first motor M ₁ and the fourth motor M ₄ may be controlled at each separate inverter.

As shown in FIG. 7, a suction chamber 54 connected to a suction source such as a blower (not shown) for generating a negative pressure therein is provided below the article conveying area of the separation conveyor 21. On the upper surface of the suction chamber 54, an elongated hole 54a extending in the article transport direction is formed. In the endless belt 51, a plurality of through holes 51a are formed at positions corresponding to the long holes 54a at predetermined intervals in the article transport direction (see FIG. 2). That is, the article 12 transferred to the endless belt 51 is configured to be suction-held on the upper surface of the belt 51 by the negative pressure of the suction chamber 54 acting through the through hole 51a and the long hole 54a. Thus, the position of the article 12 is prevented, and the article 12 can be accurately sent to a fixed position of the film 15 formed into a cylindrical shape by the bag making device 16.

(About Article Detecting Sensor and Holder Detecting Sensor) A first article detecting sensor SW ₁ for detecting an article 12 conveyed by the conveyor 21 is provided at a required position in an article conveying area of the separation conveyor 21. The signal is input to the control unit 55 in FIG. Then the control unit 55, from the time when the article detection signal of the first article sensor SW ₁ is input, when the article 12 is the delivery from the separation conveyor 21 to the tubular film 15, the sealing and cutting position of the film 15 When the transfer position reaches a position corresponding to the transfer, the phases of the film feeding mechanism 68 and the horizontal sealing mechanism 18 of the film 15 in the packaging machine 11 are synchronized (the sealing / cutting position of the film 15 and the horizontal sealing mechanism 18). (Corresponding to the meshing position of the lateral sealer 72 in (1)). The transmission timing of the operation start signal is judged by the first item sensing input pulse number of the article detection time point after the sensor SW ₁ from encoder RE ₁ annexed to the separation conveyor 21. The number of pulses, the data corresponding to the first item arrangement position of the detection sensor SW _1, obtained from the input stored cut pitch.

The introduction conveyor 19 and the pool conveyor 2
The upper moving holder 29, 29 for connecting the 0 and, the second article sensor SW ₂ for detecting an article 12 being conveyed by both conveyors 19, 20 are provided (see FIGS. 4 and 5) . The article detection signal from the sensor SW _2, as is input to the control unit 55 shown in FIG. 1, it is controlled to move by driving the third motor M ₃ the upper moving holder 29 to the upstream side Has become. And by the article 12 is transferred to the pool conveyor 20, the second article sensor SW ₂ is in the non-detection state, the upstream side of the upper moving holder 29 to stop the operation of the third motor M ₃ It is set to stop moving to. Note that the second article sensor SW ₂ is at a position where the upstream end of the upstream end and pool conveyor 20 of the article 12 substantially matches the upper mobile holder 2
9 is located at a position where it stops the movement to the upstream side. As the first article sensor SW ₁ and the second article sensor SW _2, photoelectric sensors oppositely disposed the emitters and receivers across the article conveyor line are preferably used.

The introduction conveyor 19 and the pool conveyor 2
0, the lower moving holder 31
As shown in FIG. 1, three holder detection sensors SW ₃ , SW ₄ , and SW ₅ are arranged at predetermined positions in order from the upstream side in the transport direction at a position close to the movement path of. As shown in FIG. 5, the _three sensors SW ₃ , SW ₄ , and SW ₅ are set so as to detect the reflection plate 31 a provided on the lower moving holder 31 and to input each detection signal to the control unit 55. Only between the first holder detection sensor SW ₃ located at the most upstream and the third holder detection sensor SW ₅ located at the most downstream,
The lower moving holder 31, that is, the upper moving holder 29 is moved. When the first holder detection sensor SW ₃ located on the most upstream side detects the lower movable holder 31, the upper movable holder 29 becomes the most downstream MI.
N position (FIG. 10 (a)), and the third
When the holder detection sensor SW ₅ detects the lower moving holder 31, the upper moving holder 29 has arrived at MAX position on the most upstream side (FIG. 12 (a)). And both sensors SW
_3, by either SW ₅ detects the lower moving holder 31, said a second motor M ₂ and the third motor M ₃ and stop control is set to stop the movement of the moving holder 29, 31 . Incidentally, when the third holder detection sensor SW ₅ detects the lower moving holder 31 is controlled so that the previous step to produce a signal. By taking measures such as stopping the previous process based on this signal, the supply of the new article 12 to the introduction conveyor 19 can be stopped.

Further second holder detection sensor SW ₄ located in the middle, when the sensor SW ₄ detects the lower moving holder 31, the upper moving holder 29 MID position (FIG. 11
be one that detects that it has arrived at (a)), pool conveyor 20 by driving the second motor M ₂ at this time
The upper article 12 is set to be sent out to the separation conveyor 21. When the lower moving holder 31, which faces between the second holder detection sensor SW ₄ and the third holder detection sensor SW ₅ (when the upper moving holder 29 faces between the MID position and MAX position) Is a packaging machine 11,
The control is made so that the capacity (processing speed) of the separation conveyor 21, the pool conveyor 20, and the introduction conveyor 19 is increased at the same rate. This ratio can be changed via data input means 56 described later.

[0030] (control unit for) controller 55 shown in FIGS. 1 and 9, the sensors SW ₁ to SW ₅ and the sensor S
_1, based on a signal from S ₂ with controls each motor M ₁ ~M ₄ and the servo motor SM _1, SM _2, storage and computation of functionally input data (setting data corresponding to each packaging varieties) a performs the processing, a storage unit 78 for performing storage of the input data, the motor M ₃ and a servo motor SM _1, controls the SM ₂ servo controller 79
And an inverter control unit 80 for controlling the motors M ₁ , M ₂ , M ₄ . Further, data input means 56 such as an operation panel provided on the packaging machine main body is connected to the control section 55. In the data input means 56, the cut pitch of the film 15, the packaging capacity of the packaging machine 11, that is, the number of packaging processes per required time, the correction value for the article transport speed of the pool conveyor 20, and the like are input by a keyboard or the like for inputting various data. Is to be entered. Then, based on the data input from the data input means 56, the speed command is sent from the control unit 55 to the first motor M ₁ , the second motor M ₂ and the fourth motor M ₄ which are variable-speed controlled by the inverters 73 and 76. together give, adapted to provide a required rotation command to the servo motor SM _1, SM ₂ of the third motor M ₃ and packaging machine 11 is servo-controlled by the servo amplifier 77,74,75.

That is, in the first embodiment, when the "film cut pitch" and the "number of wrapping processes" corresponding to the number of articles supplied per required time from the previous process are input to the data input means 56 of the wrapping machine 11. based on the values obtained by the control unit 55 from the "cut pitch × packaging process speed of film" fourth value of frequency corresponding to the rotational speed of the motor M ₄ as the article conveying speed is set in the separation conveyor 21 ( a value) is set in the inverter control unit 80. The first motor M ₁ of the fourth motor M ₄ and the introduction conveyor 19 in the first embodiment the separation conveyor 21 is adapted to be driven by the same inverter 73, each of the transmission means 53,34
, The article conveying speed of the introduction conveyor 19 is set to be higher than the article conveying speed of the separation conveyor 21. In the control unit 55, the servo control unit 7
In FIG. 9, the film 15 is fed at the film feeding speed during the continuous operation of the packaging machine 11, and the rotation of the horizontal seal mechanism 18 is controlled via the servo amplifiers 74 and 75 according to the film feeding amount. Data setting for giving a rotation command to the servo motors SM ₁ and SM ₂ is performed.

In the first embodiment, the frequency corresponding to the rotation speed of the second motor M _{2 with} respect to the pool conveyor 20 is set in advance by the controller 55 with respect to the value a in the inverter controller 80. The correction value is automatically set to a value lower than the fixed ratio (the value is b) and the correction value is input to the data input means 56 so that the article transport speed matches the value obtained from “the length of the article in the transport direction × the number of packaging processes”. , The value of the frequency for controlling the rotation of the second motor M ₂ is set by increasing or decreasing the b value.
Is driven and controlled to an article transport speed corresponding to a value obtained from “length of article transport direction × number of packaging processes”.

It is to be noted that a value relating to the “length of the article in the transport direction” is input to the data input means 56 and the inverter control section 80
At the second rotary control frequency of the motor M ₂ corresponding to the article transport speed of the pool conveyor 20 resulting from the "conveyance direction length × packaging process number of articles" it may also be automatically set.

As described above, the article conveying speed of the separation conveyor 21 is set higher than the article conveying speed of the pool conveyor 20, and the article conveying speed of the introduction conveyor 19 is set higher than the article conveying speed of the separating conveyor 21. The three conveyors 19, 2 in the first embodiment.
The article conveying speeds of 0 and 21 are set to satisfy the relationship of the pool conveyor 20 <the separation conveyor 21 <the introduction conveyor 19.

The speed at which the introduction conveyor 19 and the upper moving holder 29 of the pool conveyor 20 move upstream is higher than the speed at which they move downstream (substantially the article conveying speed of the pool conveyor 20). In the first embodiment, for simplification of the control system, the speed at which the upper moving holder 29 moves upstream is set as a fixed value, and is set corresponding to the expected maximum length in the transport direction and the maximum number of packaging processes. that pool conveyor 20 of the article transport speed and so as to be approximately 2 times the moving speed of the downstream side of the holder 29 which is substantially the same value, the rotation control signal is supplied from the servo control unit 79 to the third motor M ₃ ing. The speed at which the upper moving holder 29 moves upstream may not be a fixed value, but may be varied according to the length of the article in the transport direction or the number of packaging processes.

[0036]

Next, the operation of the article supply apparatus according to the first embodiment will be described. After setting and inputting the above-described conditions, the separation conveyor 2 is operated by the operation signal of the packaging machine.
1. The introduction conveyor 19 starts operating. At this time, the packaging machine 11 and the pool conveyor 20 are stopped. Also,
As shown in FIG. 10A, a lower moving holder 31 of the introduction conveyor 19 and the upper moving holder 29 of the pool conveyor 20 are provided.
Is detected by the first holder detection sensor SW ₃
Assume that you are facing a position.

(Regarding the operation of the introduction conveyor and the pool conveyor) The articles 12 are sent to the introduction conveyor 19 from the previous process, and the leading end (downstream end) of the articles 12 conveyed downstream by the conveyor 19 is the second article detection. When detected by the sensor SW _2, the signal is input to the control unit 55.
The control unit 55 gives a drive command to the third motor M ₃ , and based on the command, the drive from the third motor M ₃ is transmitted to the moving mechanism 23 via the differential gear 57, and the upper moving holder 29 is moved upstream. Move to Thus, the article 12 is moved from the introduction conveyor 19 to the pool conveyor 2.
Transferred to 0. The second article sensor SW ₂ is the longer detects the article 12, to stop the operation of the third motor M ₃ stops moving to the upstream of the upper moving the holder 29. By this article transfer operation, the article 12 is transferred onto the pool conveyor 20 with its upstream end substantially coinciding with the transport upstream end of the pool conveyor 20 (see FIG. 10B).

[0038] Each time the article 12 conveyed by the introduction conveyor 19 is conveyed to the arrangement position of the second article detecting sensor SW _2, repeat the above-mentioned article transfer operation upper moving holder 29 is moved to the upstream Thus, the articles 12 are accumulated on the pool conveyor 20 in a state of being substantially in contact with the pool conveyor 20 (see FIG. 11A). That is, the pool conveyor 20 extends to the upstream side, and the transport area thereof is enlarged. In addition, since the upstream end of the accumulated uppermost stream side article 12 always substantially coincides with the upstream end of the pool conveyor 20, the article 12 does not exist across the pool conveyor 20 and the introduction conveyor 19, and is accumulated. Since the article 12 does not receive the line pressure from the introduction conveyor 19, the article 12 can be prevented from being damaged by the pressure.

[0039] Then, as the upper moving holder 29 is moved to the upstream side, move to the MID position where the lower moving holder 31 as shown in FIG. 11 (a) is detected by the second holder detection sensor SW ₄ Then, the second motor M ₂ is driven to travel on the endless belt 40 of the pool conveyor 20 and convey the articles 12 on the conveyor 20 toward the separation conveyor 21. The second drive from the motor M ₂ is transmitted to the moving mechanism 23 via the differential gear 57 to move the upper moving holder 29 to the downstream. At this time, the moving speed of the upper moving holder 29 is set to be substantially the same as the article conveying speed of the pool conveyor 20, so that the upstream end of the article 12 on the most upstream side on the pool conveyor 20 and the upstream of the pool conveyor 20 The end moves downstream with the conveyance of the article 12 while maintaining the substantially matched state (FIG. 11).
(b)). In addition, since a predetermined number of articles 12 are accumulated in the pool conveyor 20 in advance, and the articles 12 are conveyed toward the separation conveyor 21 connected on the downstream side, a large change in the article supply amount from the previous process may occur. Can also respond.

[0040] In this state, when the articles 12 conveyed by the introduction conveyor 19 is a second article detecting sensor SW ₂ detects performs article transfer operation of the moving mechanism 23 described above. In this case, the upper moving holder 29 is the second motor M ₂
While moving downstream by the drive of the third motor M
₃ is moved upstream by the driving of the motor ₃ , but as described above, the differential gear 57 is provided in the drive transmission path of the two motors M ₂ and M ₃ and the upper moving holder 29
Is set higher than the speed at which it moves upstream (substantially the article transport speed of the pool conveyor 20), so that the upper moving holder 29 can be moved upstream. Therefore, the upper moving holder 29 moves upstream while the endless belt 40 of the pool conveyor 20 runs and conveys the articles 12 to the downstream side. In addition, introduction conveyor 1
9 is set to be faster than the article transport speed of the pool conveyor 20, the articles 12 transferred to the pool conveyor 20 are accumulated in a substantially contact state. That is, when the supply amount of the articles 12 from the introduction conveyor 19 is increased, the article each time the article 12 is detected in the second article detecting sensor SW _2, in the state where the endless belt 40 of the pool conveyor 20 is traveling The transfer operation is repeated, and while the pool conveyor 20 conveys the articles 12, the upper moving holder 29 moves further upstream to accumulate the articles 12.

[0041] The upper moving holder 29, as shown in FIG. 12 (a), when moved to the MAX position lower moving holder 31 is detected by the third holder detection sensor SW _5, the third motor M of the moving mechanism 23 Stop ₃ At this time in the middle of the article transfer operation, as shown in FIG. 13 (a), the second article sensor SW ₂ is sometimes detects the article 12. As described above, the upper moving holder 29 is thereafter detected that the second holder detection sensor SW ₄ that it has moved to the MID position, the second motor M ₂ is driven separating the articles 12 in the pool conveyor 20 conveyor because they were transported to the 21, article 12 has been detected by the second article sensor SW ₂ is conveyed to the downstream side. Also since the drive from the second motor M ₂ is transmitted to the moving mechanism 23 via the differential gear 57, also the upper moving holder 29 moves downstream. Thus, when the upper moving the holder 29 is moved from the MAX position downstream, the third holder detection sensor SW ₅ becomes a non-detection state, the third motor M of the second article detecting sensor SW ₂ of the article detection signal by the moving mechanism 23 ₃ is driven to move the upper moving holder 29 upstream. Then also the third holder detection sensor SW ₅ becomes the detection state, the third motor M ₃ is stopped. At this time, the second
If the article detection sensor SW ₂ is still detecting the article 12
(FIG. 13B), the above operation is repeated. By repeating this operation, the upstream end of the pool conveyor 20 and the upstream end of the article 12 on the most upstream side on the conveyor 20 are brought into substantially the same state (FIG. 13C).

Thereafter, the pool conveyor 20 and the article 1
As shown in FIG. 13 (d), the upper moving holder 29 moves downstream while the upstream ends of the two substantially coincide with each other. That is, in the article transfer operation at the MAX position of the upper moving holder 29, as shown in FIGS. 13 (a) to 13 (c),
With the upper moving holder 29 almost stopped at the MAX position,
When the article 12 on the pool conveyor 20 is conveyed downstream and the upstream end of the article 12 substantially coincides with the upstream end of the pool conveyor 20, the upper moving holder 29 moves downstream as it is. Note that the upper moving holder 29 is
When the position is between the position D and the position MAX, the packaging machine 11, the separation conveyor 21, the pool conveyor 20 and the introduction conveyor 19 are set so as to increase the capacities at the same rate. Twelve processes may be performed.

When the supply amount of the article 12 is reduced or cut off, the pool conveyor 20 moves the article 1
2 is conveyed to the separation conveyor 21, and the upper moving holder 29 moves downstream. Then, this state continues, and the upper moving holder 29 moves to the first holder detection sensor SW _3.
Moving in until MIN position set, to stop conveyance of articles 12 to stop the second motor M ₂ pools conveyor 20. Thereafter, when the articles 12 are conveyed from the introduction conveyor 19, the article transfer operation described above is repeated, and the articles 12 are accumulated.

The article 12 conveyed by the pool conveyor 20, the one on separate conveyors 21 are transferred, when the article 12 the first article sensor SW ₁ is detected,
The packaging machine 11 starts operating according to conditions described later.

(Operation of Pool Conveyor and Separation Conveyor) The separation conveyor 21 is constantly operated by a packaging machine operation signal. Then, when the articles 12 are accumulated on the pool conveyor 20 and the endless belt 40 of the pool conveyor 20 starts running as described above, FIG.
As shown in (a) and (b), the articles 12 on the conveyor 20 are transferred to the separation conveyor 21. At this time, the article conveying speed of the separation conveyor 21 is expressed by “film cut pitch × times”.
Since the number of wrapping processes is set to be the same as the value obtained from “the number of wrapping processes”, and the article transport speed of the pool conveyor 20 is set to be the same as the value obtained from “the length of the product in the transport direction × the number of wrapping processes”, The transport pitch of each article 12 transferred to 21 is in a state that matches the cut pitch of the film 15. The articles 12 transferred to the separation conveyor 21
Is held by suction on the conveying surface of the endless belt 51 by the suction action of the suction chamber 54, so that the article 12 is displaced and the above relationship (article conveying pitch = film cut pitch) is obtained.
Is prevented from changing. Pool conveyor 2
Since the article group on 0 is not subjected to line pressure from the introduction conveyor 19, stable separation can be performed when the articles 12 are transferred to the separation conveyor 21.

[0046] (Operation of the separation conveyor and packaging machine) the separation from the time the article 12 conveyed by the conveyor 21 is detected by the first article sensor SW _1, the pulse encoder RE ₁ annexed to the separation conveyor 21 When the number reaches a predetermined number of pulses, the article 12
5 is conveyed from the separation conveyor 21 to a position to be delivered to the cylindrical film 15 in a state corresponding to the sealing / cutting position corresponding to the cut pitch of 5, and the servo motor S of the packaging machine 11
Each of M ₁ and SM ₂ is driven, and the film feeding mechanism 68
And the horizontal seal mechanism 18 starts operation by synchronizing the phase.

That is, as shown in FIG. 14A, when the article 12 is detected by the first article detection sensor SW ₁ (K
Cycle start signal issued after the required time (t ₁ )
(R), the servo motor S of the film feeding mechanism 68
M ₁ and the servo motor SM ₂ of the horizontal seal mechanism 18 start rotating in a synchronized state, and the servo motor SM ₁ of the film feeding mechanism 68 is increased in speed by a predetermined acceleration.
After the film feeding speed reaches the same value (V) as the value obtained from “film cut pitch × number of wrapping processes”, the speed becomes constant, and the wrapping machine 1 determined according to the number of wrapping processes
From the end of one cycle of 1 (S), the servo motor SM ₁
Starts deceleration at the deceleration value corresponding to the acceleration, and stops rotation after the required time (t ₂ ). Also, this servo motor S
Servomotor SM ₂ also accelerated activation in accordance with the rotation of the M _1, deceleration stop is performed. As a result, the film feeding mechanism 68 feeds the film for one cut pitch, and the film feeding mechanism 68 such that the operating position of the horizontal sealer 72 in the horizontal sealing mechanism 18 becomes a position corresponding to the film feeding amount. And the phase of the horizontal seal mechanism 18 are synchronized, and the control operation of the packaging machine 11 is performed by the basic control pattern (X) by this one cycle operation.

[0048] Incidentally, until the 1-cycle operation at the end (S) and subsequent deceleration ending time (t _2), is not the detection of an article 12 to be followed by the first article sensor SW _1, cycle start signal ( If R) is not transmitted, the next article 1
Until 2 is detected by the first article sensor SW _1, the servo motor SM ₂ of the servomotor SM ₁ and the transverse sealing mechanism 18 of the film feeding mechanism 68 is in a stopped waiting state, each cycle by the basic control pattern (X) Intermittent operation is performed. The packaging machine 11 includes, in addition to the intermittent operation, the next cycle start signal transmitted in response to the detection timing of the subsequent article 12 according to the first article sensor SW ₁ (R), the basic control pattern (X) The continuous operation in which the feeding speed of the film 15 is constant (operation A) or the feeding speed of the film 15 is temporarily reduced (operation B) Alternatively, a continuous operation controlled at a high speed (operation C) is performed, and the operation position of the horizontal sealer 72 in the horizontal seal mechanism 18 is synchronously controlled in accordance with the feed amount of the film 15.

(Operation A) The transport pitch of the articles 12 transferred to the separation conveyor 21 is the same as the cut pitch of the film 15, and the basic control pattern (X _{If the} end point of one cycle (S) of ₁ ) coincides with the point of transmission of the next cycle start signal (R ₁ ), the feeding speed (the feed rate based on the value obtained from “film pitch × wrapping number”) is obtained. as the film 15 maintains V) is fed continuously fed, servo motors SM ₁ of the film feeding mechanism 68 is driven continuously rotated at a constant speed, the packaging machine 11 is further based on the following basic control pattern (X ₂₎ One cycle operation is performed to feed the film 15 for one cut pitch.
Rotation of the servo motor SM ₂ horizontal sealing mechanism 18 to synchronize the 8 phase is controlled (FIG. 14 (b)). That is,
The preceding article 12 and the succeeding article 12 conveyed by the separation conveyor 21 driven at the same speed as the film feeding speed of the packaging machine 11 have the same conveyance pitch as the cut pitch of the film 15 in the packaging machine 11. Therefore, the film 15 can be supplied to a predetermined position corresponding to the sealing / cutting position of the tubular film 15 of the packaging machine 11, and the film 15 has a constant feeding speed.
(V) means continuous feeding.

(Operation B) The transport pitch of the articles 12 transferred to the separation conveyor 21 is wider than the cut pitch of the film 15, and the basic control pattern (X ₁ ), When the next cycle start signal (R ₂ ) is transmitted during the deceleration of the film feeding mechanism 68 after the end of one cycle (S), the film at the time of transmission of the cycle start signal (R ₂ ) Fifteen feeding speeds (Va) correspond to the following basic control pattern (X ₂ )
And the servo motor SM ₁ is controlled so that the film feeding speed becomes constant after reaching the same value (V) as the value obtained from “film pitch × packing process number”. The packaging machine 11 is driven to rotate, and is further operated for one cycle based on the following basic control pattern (X ₂ ) to feed the film 15 by one cut pitch. to synchronize the phase, the rotation of the servo motor SM ₂ is controlled (Fig. 1
4 (c)). That is, by delaying the feed of the film 15, the preceding article 12 transferred to the tubular film 15 is
Then, an operation of bringing the conveyance pitch of the subsequent article 12 conveyed by the separation conveyor 21 close to the cut pitch of the film 15 so as to be close to the subsequent article 12 is performed.
Is fed into the tubular film 15 in a state where the is aligned with the position corresponding to the sealing / cutting position of the film 15.

(Operation C) The transport pitch of the articles 12 transferred to the separation conveyor 21 is narrower than the cut pitch of the film 15 and the basic control pattern (X ₁ )), The next cycle start signal (R ₃ ) during the constant speed feeding of the film 15 at the feeding speed (V) obtained from “the film pitch × the number of wrapping processes” obtained before the end of one cycle (S). Is transmitted from the film feed speed (V) to the end of one cycle (S) of the basic control pattern (X ₁ ) with the same acceleration as the basic control pattern (X), and the next basic A constant speed (V) until the end of acceleration (U) in the control pattern (X ₂ )
After maintaining b), after the film is decelerated by the same deceleration value as the basic control pattern (X), the film feeding speed becomes equal to the feeding speed (V) obtained from “the film cutting pitch × the number of packaging processes”. Servo motor SM so that the speed is maintained
₁ is driven to rotate, and the packaging machine 11 has the following basic control pattern.
(X ₂ ) and the film 15
For one cut pitch, and the horizontal seal mechanism 18
The rotation of the servo motor SM ₂ is controlled so as to synchronize the phase of the film feeding mechanism 68 (FIG. 14 (d)). That is, by fast-forwarding the film 15, the preceding article 12 transferred to the cylindrical film 15 and the separation conveyor 21
By performing an operation of separating the transport pitch with the subsequent article 12 transported in the same manner as the cut pitch of the film 15, the subsequent article 12 is positioned at a position corresponding to the sealing / cutting position of the film 15. The sheet is fed to the tubular film 15 in the aligned state.

In the first embodiment, if the lengths of the articles 12 to be packaged in the transport direction are the same, the separation conveyor 2
1 is set to the same value as the value obtained from “film cut pitch × the number of packaging processes”, and the item transport speed of the pool conveyor 20 is obtained from “the length of the product in the transport direction × the number of packaging processes”. Is set to the same value as that of the first article detection sensor SW ₁ , each article 12 delivered on the separation conveyor 21 is transported at a transport pitch that matches the cut pitch of the film 15.
Of the cycle start signal and the packaging machine 1
The end point of one cycle of 1 always coincides, and the packaging machine 11 repeats the operation A described above. Thus, after the first article 12 has been delivered to the tubular film 15, the film 15 is continuously fed at the above-mentioned constant speed (V).

When the shape of the article 12 is irregular and the length in the transport direction is not constant, the article transport speed of the pool conveyor 20 is set to the value of “length of transport direction of article × number of packaging processes”. At this time, it is recommended to set the “length of the article in the transport direction” as the “expected longest length of the article”. That is, since the length of the articles 12 in the transport direction is not constant, the transport pitches of the articles 12 transferred from the pool conveyor 20 to the separation conveyor 21 are different from each other. Since the operations A to C are selected in response, it is possible to respond. Here, the reason why the "length of the article in the transport direction" is set as the "expected longest length of the article" is to maintain the set number of packaging processes of the packaging machine 11, and "the transport of the article". Even when the length in the direction is set to an arbitrary length such as "the expected maximum length and the shortest average length", the packaging machine 11 can perform the corresponding operation.

In the operations C and D described above, the conveyance pitch of the article 12 is shifted from the cut pitch of the film 15. , It is also possible to feed the film 15 at a constant speed as in the operation A. For example, until the first article sensor SW ₁ detects the trailing article 12 from the detection of the leading article 12 being conveyed by the separating conveyor 21, the encoder RE ₁ which is attached to the conveyor 21 Measure the number of transmitted pulses. The number of pulses, the number of pulses separation conveyor 21 is transmitted from the encoder RE ₁ when riding cutting pitch, and adjusting the number of pulses upon separation conveyor travel which corresponds to the displacement amount of packaging possible range of above If the value is within the range of the allowable number of pulses obtained from the value, when the article 12 is transferred from the separation conveyor 21 to the cylindrical film 15,
While rotation control servo motor SM ₁ of the film feeding mechanism 68 such that the film feeding speed by a value obtained from the "cut pitch × packaging process speed of the film" is maintained, the horizontal so as to synchronize the phase of the film feeding mechanism 68 a method such as a servo motor SM ₂ sealing mechanism 18 also controls the rotation can be adopted. In this case, the shift of the transport pitch of the wrappable article 12 changes according to the cut pitch of the film 15 with respect to the length of the article 12 in the transport direction,
By inputting the shift amount to the data input means 56, the allowable pulse number is set by the control unit 55, and the measured pulse number is compared with the allowable pulse number. If it is within the range, it is set to control the rotation of the servo motors SM ₁ and SM ₂ as described above.

[0055]

[Second Embodiment] FIG. 15 is a schematic configuration diagram of an article supply device of a horizontal bag making / filling / packaging machine according to a second embodiment. The packaging machine 1 is arranged on the upstream side to pack the articles 12 in units of two.
1. Since the basic configuration is the same as that of the first embodiment, only the configuration of a different portion will be described.

The article supply apparatus 10 according to the second embodiment collects two articles 12 supplied from the pool conveyor 20 between the pool conveyor 20 and the separation conveyor 21, , A divided set conveyor 58 is provided. This divided set conveyor 58
As shown in FIG. 16, a pair of driven rollers 6 separated by a predetermined distance in the transport direction at the same horizontal level between a pair of frames 59, 59 separated in a direction intersecting the article transport direction.
0,60 are provided rotatably. The driven roller 60,
As shown in FIG. 17, a driving roller 61 is rotatably supported between the frames 59, 59 below the disposition position of 60, and an endless belt 62 is wound around these roller groups. In the divided assembly conveyor 58, a space between the pair of driven rollers 60, 60 is a conveyance area of the article 12. The length in the transport direction in this transport area is L, where L is the length in the transport direction per unit of the articles 12 to be assembled.
It is set shorter than “2 × L” and longer than “L”.

Driving roller 6 of the divided assembly conveyor 58
1, the fourth motor M ₄ of the separating conveyor 21, FIG. 1
As shown in FIG. 8, it is connected via a power transmission means 64 provided with a differential gear 63 and is configured to be operated synchronously with the separation conveyor 21 by a packaging machine operation signal. The power transmission means 64 is provided with a high-speed transmission system 65 and a low-speed transmission system 66 having different reduction ratios, so that both transmission systems 65 and 66 can be selectively switched via a clutch 67 as a transmission means. Has become. When the fourth motor M ₄ and the drive roller 61 are connected via the low-speed transmission system 66, the article conveying speed of the divided conveyer 58 is set to be substantially the same as the article conveying speed of the pool conveyor 20. ing. However, the article transport speed of the pool conveyor 20 in the second embodiment is set to a value that matches the value obtained from “the length of the assembled article group in the transport direction × the number of packaging processes”.

Further, by connecting the clutch 67,
The low-speed side transmission system 66 via the clutch 67 and differential gear 63 driven from the fourth motor M ₄ is transmitted, the high-speed side transmission system 65 is formed. When the fourth motor M ₄ and the drive roller 61 are connected via the high-speed transmission system 65, the article conveying speed of the divided conveyer 58 is set to be substantially the same as the article conveying speed of the separation conveyor 21. I have. Then, the divided set conveyor 58, always is adapted to be connected to the fourth motor M ₄ via the low-speed transmission system 66, rotates at the article conveying speed substantially the same speed of the pool conveyor 20.

A third article detection sensor SW ₆ for detecting the downstream end of the group of articles conveyed by the divided conveyer 58 is disposed near the connection between the separation conveyor 21 and the divided conveyer 58. The signals are shown in FIGS.
Is input to the control unit 55. When the article detection signal of the third article detection sensor SW ₆ is input, the control unit 55 operates the clutch 67 to switch the transmission system to the high-speed transmission system 65, and the divided assembly conveyor 58
Are set to rotate at substantially the same speed as the separation conveyor 21. A fourth article detection sensor SW for detecting the upstream end of a group of articles conveyed by the divided conveyer 58 at a predetermined position of the article transport area on the divided conveyer 58
₇ is provided, and its signal is input to the control unit 55 shown in FIGS. Then the control unit 55, when the article detection signal from the fourth article sensor SW ₇ is input, switches the operation to train the clutch 67 to the low speed side transmission system 66, divided collection conveyor 58 the pool conveyor 20 It is set to rotate at substantially the same speed as.
In addition, the fourth article detection sensor SW ₇ is configured such that the articles 12 on the upstream side gathered by the divided gathering conveyor 58 are separated by the separation conveyor 12.
Is positioned so as to detect the upstream end of the article 12 when the article 12 can be conveyed by the endless belt 51.
At this time, the transport direction length of the transport region of the divided assembly conveyor 58 is set so that the articles 12 following the assembled article group are not transported by the divided assembly conveyor 58.

Also in the case of the second embodiment, as described above, when the upper moving holder 29 is located between the MID position and the MAX position, the packing machine 11, the separation conveyor 21, the pool conveyor 20 and the introduction conveyor 19 are moved. Control is set so that the capacity is increased at the same rate. At this time, since the divided set conveyor 58 is connected to the separation conveyor 21, the capacity is also increased at the same rate, so that the article 12 can be moved at a high speed. Processing can be performed.

[0061]

[Operation of the Second Embodiment] Next, the operation of the article supply apparatus according to the second embodiment will be described only for the parts different from the first embodiment. When a packaging machine operation signal is input to the control unit 55, as shown in FIG.
1. The introduction conveyor 19 and the split assembly conveyor 58 start operation. In this case, split the set conveyor 58 from being coupled through the fourth motor M ₄ and the low-speed side transmission system 66, the conveyor 58 is rotated in the pool conveyor 20 substantially the same speed.

Article 1 conveyed by the introduction conveyor 19
As shown in FIG. 20 (b), as shown in FIG. 20 (b), the upper moving holder 29 is transferred from the introduction conveyor 19 to the pool conveyor 20 while being moved upstream, and is accumulated. Then, when the upper moving holder 29 moves to the MID position,
The endless belt 40 travels by a second motor M ₂ pools conveyor 20 is driven, the article 12 on the conveyor 20 is transferred to the divided set conveyor 58. At this time, since the divided assembly conveyor 58 and the pool conveyor 20 are rotating at substantially the same speed, as shown in FIG.
The articles 12 are transferred to the divided conveyer 58 in a state of being substantially in contact with each other.

When the two articles 12 are transferred to the divided assembly conveyor 58 and the third article detection sensor SW ₆ detects the downstream end of the article 12 on the downstream side, the signal is sent to the control section 55.
Is input to In the control unit 55, the power transmission means 64
Of the transmission system 66 by operating the clutch 67
To the high-speed side transmission system 65. As a result, the divided assembly conveyor 58 is rotated at substantially the same speed as the separation conveyor 21, and the two articles 12 placed on the conveyor 58 are
It is separated from the following articles 12 placed on the pool conveyor 20 (see FIG. 21B). When the upstream end of the upstream side of the article 12 in the two articles 12 separated fourth article sensor SW ₇ for detecting, by operating the clutch 67 by the control unit 55, a high speed side transmits the transmission system By switching from the system 65 to the low-speed side transmission system 66, the speed of the divided assembly conveyor 58 is returned to substantially the same as the article conveyance speed of the pool conveyor 20. At this time, the articles 12 on the upstream side have already been separated from the separation conveyor 2.
1 are placed on the conveyor 21 so that a group of articles assembled in units of two are separated from each other.

Each time an article 12 is conveyed from the pool conveyor 20, the above-mentioned article assembly / separation operation is repeated, and as a result, as shown in FIG. Are grouped at predetermined intervals. Note that the speed of the divided conveyer 58 during high-speed operation is set to be substantially the same as the article conveying speed of the separation conveyor 21, and the speed of the divided conveyer 58 during low-speed operation is set to be substantially the same as the article conveying speed of the pool conveyor 20. Therefore, the article groups delivered on the separation conveyor 21 are arranged in a state where the transport pitch of the article groups is substantially equal to the cut pitch of the film 15. Note that the cut pitch in this case is a length required for packaging an article group in which two articles 12 are assembled.

Then, the first article detection sensor SW ₁ detects the article group, and at the position where the article group has been conveyed a predetermined distance, the packaging machine 11 moves the vertical sealing mechanism 17, the film feeding mechanism 68 and the horizontal sealing mechanism 18. The operation is started by synchronizing the phases. Thus, the group of articles is delivered to a fixed position of the film 15 formed into a cylindrical shape by the bag making device 16.

In the second embodiment, the data input means 56
Further, by setting and inputting one packaging unit as the setting data corresponding to each packaging type, the control unit 55 can control the operation of the clutch 67 so as to fix the transmission system to the high speed side or the low speed side. . As a result, the article conveying speed of the divided assembly conveyor 58 is always substantially the same as the conveying speed of the separation conveyor 21 or the pool conveyor 20, and the divided assembly conveyor 58 functions as a part of the separation conveyor 21 or the pool conveyor 20. , First
As in the case of the embodiment, packaging in units of one unit becomes possible. Also,
The division set conveyor 58 has been explained the case of driving by the fourth motor M _4, the present application is not limited thereto, it may be driven by a separate servo motor or the like.

[0067]

As described above, according to the article supply apparatus of the horizontal bag making / filling / packaging machine according to the present invention, when the article supply amount per time from the previous process is large, the article transport area of the pool conveyor is reduced. Since the number of articles is increased on the conveyor and the amount of articles supplied per hour is small, the accumulated articles are sent out to the packaging machine one by one or two by a separation conveyor, so that the packaging is performed. The machine can always be operated with a fixed number of processes, the frequency of intermittent operation can be reduced, and efficient packing can be performed.

The transport pitch of the articles on the separation conveyor is substantially the same as the cut pitch of the film, so that the film of the packaging machine can be advanced or stopped with respect to the supplied articles. Shift control of the feeding speed can be minimized, and it is possible to effectively prevent biting of the article by the horizontal seal mechanism caused by displacement of the article supplied to the tubular film.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing a schematic configuration of an article supply device of a horizontal bag making, filling and packaging machine according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic plan view of the article supply device according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a schematic side view showing the article supply device according to the first embodiment in a longitudinal section.

FIG. 4 is a side view showing a main part of the moving mechanism.

FIG. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a main part of the moving mechanism.

FIG. 6 is a longitudinal sectional view of a main part showing a receiving roller of the moving mechanism.

FIG. 7 is a longitudinal sectional view of a main part of the separation conveyor.

FIG. 8 is a schematic explanatory view showing a drive system of the article supply device according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram of a control circuit used in the article supply device according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 10 is an explanatory view showing a step of accumulating articles conveyed by an introduction conveyor on a pool conveyor in the first embodiment.

FIG. 11 is an explanatory view showing a step of transporting articles accumulated on a pool conveyor toward a separation conveyor in the first embodiment.

FIG. 12 is an explanatory view showing a process of transferring articles from a pool conveyor to a separation conveyor in the first embodiment.

FIG. 13 shows a first embodiment in which the upper moving holder is MAX.
It is explanatory drawing which shows the transfer operation | movement of articles | goods in the state facing the position.

FIG. 14 is an explanatory diagram showing a film feeding speed under each condition in the packaging machine.

FIG. 15 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of an article supply device of a horizontal bag making, filling and packaging machine according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 16 is a schematic plan view of an article supply device according to a second embodiment.

FIG. 17 is a schematic side view showing an article supply device according to a second embodiment in a longitudinal section.

FIG. 18 is a schematic explanatory view showing a drive system of the article supply device according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 19 is a block diagram of a control circuit used in the article supply device according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 20 is an explanatory view showing a step of accumulating articles conveyed by an introduction conveyor on a pool conveyor in the second embodiment.

FIG. 21 is an explanatory view showing a process of collecting and accumulating articles accumulated on a pool conveyor in a second embodiment by using a separation and collection conveyor, and transporting the collected and separated articles to a separation conveyor.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 12 Article 13 Supply source 14 Feeding roller (film feeding means) 15 Film 16 Bag-making device 18 Horizontal sealing mechanism 19 Introducing conveyor 20 Pool conveyor 21 Separation conveyor 29 Upper moving holder 33 Endless belt 40 Endless belt 51 Endless belt 51a Through hole 54 suction chamber 55 control unit (control means) 58 divides a set conveyor 62 the endless belt 67 clutch (shifting means) M ₁ first motor M ₂ second motor (moving means) M ₃ third motor (moving means) M ₄ fourth motor SM ₁ servo motor (drive means) SM ₂ servo motor (drive means) SW ₁ first article detection sensor SW ₂ second
Article detection sensor SW ₃ First holder detection sensor SW ₄ Second
Holder detection sensor SW ₅ Third holder detection sensor SW ₆ Third
Article detection sensor SW ₇ 4th article detection sensor RE ₄ encoder

Claims (11)

(57) [Claims] A film (15) fed by a film feeding means (14, 14) driven by a driving means (SM ₁ ) from a supply source (13) is formed into a tubular shape by a bag making machine (16), This tubular film
(15) to sequentially supply the article (12) into the tubular film (15)
Along with vertically sealing the longitudinal edges of the tubular film (15)
In a horizontal bag making and filling machine in which a horizontal sealing mechanism (18) driven by a driving means (SM ₂ ) horizontally seals an article (12) inside, upstream and downstream of the bag making machine (16) Endless belt (51) disposed on the side and conveying the article (12), the belt (51)
The article conveying speed of the separation conveyor (21) which is set based on a value obtained from `` film cut pitch × the number of wrapping processes '', and disposed upstream of the separation conveyor (21), the article ( 1
An endless belt (40) for transporting the belt 2) is provided so that it can travel freely, and the article transport speed of the belt (40) is lower than the article transport speed of the separation conveyor (21), and `` length in the transport direction of the article × packing ''. A pool conveyor (20) set on the basis of a value obtained from the number of processes, and an article disposed upstream of the pool conveyor (20),
An introduction conveyor (19), which is provided with an endless belt (33) that conveys (12) freely and the article conveyance speed of the belt (33) is set higher than the article conveyance speed of the pool conveyor (20), A first article detection sensor (SW ₁ ) provided at a required position of an article transport area in the separation conveyor (21) and detecting an article (12) transported on the conveyor (21); And the downstream end of the introduction conveyor (19) and the upstream end of the pool conveyor (20) are endless belts (40, 33).
And a moving holder (29, 29) connected in a freely movable state, the moving holder (29, 29) being moved within a predetermined range in the transport direction, and a moving speed of the pool conveyor being moved downstream.
Moving means (M ₂ ,
M ₃ ) and the introduction conveyor (19) disposed on the moving holder (29, 29).
A second article detection sensor (SW ₂ ) capable of detecting the article (12) transferred from the first article detection sensor (SW ₁ ) to the pool conveyor (20); Feeding means (14, 14) and horizontal seal mechanism
Phase to synchronize the (18), said means (14, 14) and mechanism (18) of the drive means (SM _1, SM ₂₎ controls the operation to said means (14, 1
4) and the drive of the mechanism (18) is started, and the second
Based on the article detection signal of the article detection sensor (SW ₂ ), the control means for controlling the operation of the moving means (M ₃ ) of the moving holder (29, 29) to move the holder (29, 29) to the upstream side ( 55). An article supply device for a horizontal bag making, filling and packaging machine comprising: 2. A first holder detection sensor (SW ₃ ) disposed at a predetermined interval in the article transport direction and detecting that the movable holder (29, 29) has reached a downstream movable end. a third holder detection sensor for detecting that the mobile holder (29, 29) has come to the movement end of the upstream side (SW _5), the first holder detection sensor (SW ₃₎ and the third holder detection sensor (SW ₅₎ is arranged between the, according to claim 1, further comprising a second holder detection sensor by the mobile holder to a predetermined position between the two moving end (29, 29) detects that arriving (SW ₄₎ Article supply device for horizontal bag making and filling machine. Wherein when the mobile holder (29, 29) is moved to the upstream side from the position detected by the second holder detection sensor (SW _4), the packaging machine, the separation conveyor (21), the pool conveyor (2
3. The article supply device for a horizontal bag making and filling machine according to claim 2, wherein the processing speed of the feed conveyor (19) is set to be high. 4. A film (15) fed from a supply source (13) by a film feeding means (14, 14) driven by a driving means (SM ₁ ) is formed into a tubular shape by a bag making machine (16), This tubular film
(15) An article group in which two articles (12) are assembled is sequentially supplied, and a longitudinal edge of the tubular film (15) is longitudinally sealed, and an article group in the tubular film (15) is provided. In a horizontal type bag making and filling machine in which a horizontal seal mechanism (18) driven by a driving means (SM ₂ ) is used to horizontally seal the front and rear sides of the bag making machine, disposed upstream of the bag making machine (16), An endless belt (51) that conveys the article (12) is provided so as to run freely, and the belt (51)
The article conveying speed of the separation conveyor (21) which is set based on a value obtained from `` film cut pitch × the number of wrapping processes '', and disposed upstream of the separation conveyor (21), the article ( 1
2) is provided with an endless belt (62) for transporting freely, and the length of the transport area in the transport direction is shorter than (2 × L), assuming that the length of the collective articles (12) in the transport direction is L; (L) a divided assembly conveyor (58) set to be longer than, and an endless belt (40) disposed upstream of the divided assembly conveyor (58) and transporting the article (12). The article transport speed of the belt (40) is lower than the article transport speed of the separation conveyor (21), and is set on the basis of a value obtained from `` the length of the group of assembled articles in the transport direction × the number of packaging processes ''. A pool conveyor (20), which is disposed upstream of the pool conveyor (20), and
An introduction conveyor (19), which is provided with an endless belt (33) that conveys (12) freely and the article conveyance speed of the belt (33) is set higher than the article conveyance speed of the pool conveyor (20), A first article detection sensor (SW ₁ ) provided at a required position of an article transport area in the separation conveyor (21) and detecting an article (12) transported on the conveyor (21); And the downstream end of the introduction conveyor (19) and the upstream end of the pool conveyor (20) are endless belts (40, 33).
And a moving holder (29, 29) connected in a freely movable state, the moving holder (29, 29) being moved within a predetermined range in the transport direction, and a moving speed of the pool conveyor being moved downstream.
Moving means (M ₂ ,
M ₃ ) and the introduction conveyor (19) disposed on the moving holder (29, 29).
A second article detection sensor (SW ₂ ) capable of detecting the article (12) transferred from the first article detection sensor (SW ₁ ) to the pool conveyor (20); Feeding means (14, 14) and horizontal seal mechanism
Phase to synchronize the (18), said means (14, 14) and mechanism (18) of the drive means (SM _1, SM ₂₎ controls the operation to said means (14, 1
4) and the drive of the mechanism (18) is started, and the second
Based on the article detection signal of the article detection sensor (SW ₂ ), control means for controlling the operation of the moving means (M ₃ ) of the moving holder (29, 29) to move the holder (29, 29) to the upstream side ( 55), the article conveying speed of the split assembly conveyor (58), the high speed side substantially the same as the article conveying speed of the separation conveyor (21), and the low speed substantially the same as the article conveying speed of the pool conveyor (20) And a third means for detecting an article (12) on the divided assembly conveyor (58) and inputting a detection signal to the control means (55). sensor (SW ₆₎ and become from the fourth article sensor located upstream (SW _7), the said control means (55), the downstream end of the article (12) by the third article sensor (SW ₆₎ the article conveying speed of cut sets conveyor by detection signals detected (58) switched to the high speed side, cut sets conveyor in the fourth article sensor (SW ₇₎ ( 58) The transmission means (67) is configured to control the operation of the speed change means (67) so as to switch the article conveying speed of the divided assembly conveyor (58) to a low speed side in accordance with a detection signal that detects the upstream end of the group of articles collected on the upper side. An article supply device for a horizontal bag making and filling machine. 5. The article conveying speed of the divided assembly conveyor (58) irrespective of the detection signals of the third article detecting sensor (SW ₆ ) and the fourth article detecting sensor (SW ₇ ). The article supply device for a horizontal bag making and filling machine according to claim 4, wherein the speed change means (67) can be operated and controlled so that the speed is fixed to a high speed side or a low speed side. 6. A first holder detection sensor (SW ₃ ) arranged at a predetermined interval in the article transport direction and detecting that the movable holder (29, 29) has reached a downstream movable end. a third holder detection sensor for detecting that the mobile holder (29, 29) has come to the movement end of the upstream side (SW _5), the first holder detection sensor (SW ₃₎ and the third holder detection sensor (SW ₅₎ is disposed between the claim 4 or 5 and a second holder detection sensor by the mobile holder to a predetermined position between the two moving end (29, 29) detects that arriving (SW ₄₎ An article supply device for the horizontal bag-making filling and packaging machine according to the above. 7. When the movable holder (29, 29) moves upstream from a position detected by the second holder detection sensor (SW ₄ ), the packaging machine, the separation conveyor (21), and the divided assembly conveyor.
7. The article supply device for a horizontal bag making and filling machine according to claim 6, wherein the processing speed of the pool conveyor (20) and the introduction conveyor (19) is set to be high. 8. A pool conveyor in the control means (55) according to a detection signal of the second holder detection sensor (SW ₄ ).
The horizontal bag making and filling machine according to any one of claims 2, 3, 6 and 7, wherein the drive means (M ₂ ) of (20) is operated to start the drive of the conveyor (20). Article supply device. 9. The endless belt (51) of the separation conveyor (21).
Has a plurality of through-holes (51a) in its article carrying surface,
By applying a negative pressure formed in a suction chamber (54) disposed on the back side of the article conveying surface to the article (12) through the hole (51a), the article (12) is suction-held on the article conveying surface. The article supply device for a horizontal bag making and filling machine according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein 10. The separation conveyor (21), the pool conveyor (20), and the introduction conveyor (19) each have an independent motor (M ₄ ,
M _2, M ₁₎ is driven in, also the mobile holder (29, 29) according to claim is moved by an independent motor (M ₃₎ to the upstream side is 1-9
An article supply device for a horizontal bag-making filling and packaging machine according to any one of the above. 11. An article (12) conveyed by the separation conveyor (21) or a shift of an article group interval from a cut pitch of the film (15), and a wrappable range with respect to the cut pitch of the film (15). And if it is in the range that can be packed,
While controlling the driving means (SM ₁ ) of the film feeding means (14, 14) so as to maintain the film feeding speed according to the value obtained from `` film cut pitch × number of packaging processes '',
Horizontal bag filling and packaging according to any one of claims 1 to 10 which is adapted to control the drive means of the transverse sealing mechanism to synchronize (18) (SM ₂₎ to the phase of the film feeding means (14, 14) Equipment supply machine.