JP2863714B2 - Cover film supply device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a cover film supplying apparatus for a blister packaging machine, and more particularly, to a cover film supplying apparatus suitable for use in a packaging machine using a thermoplastic resin as a cover film.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a blister packaging machine, usually, a long strip-shaped container film made of a thermoplastic resin is overheated and softened by a heater in the middle of conveyance, and then the container film is continuously moved or stopped intermittently by a molding device. A large number of containers or pockets are formed, a product is filled in the pockets by a filling device, and then a cover film is covered from above. Then, the container film and the cover film are tightly sealed by a sealing device. Then, as shown in FIG. 7, the container film f ₂ before being put on the cover film f ₁ at a position of the sealing device a, is heated to a predetermined sealing temperature by preheating rolls b.

[0003] By the way, in the conventional blister packaging, a cover film formed by coating a thermoplastic resin on the surface of an aluminum foil as a base is used. There was no particular problem with the method of heating the film. However, even when using a cover film that does not include any aluminum foil and is entirely made of a thermoplastic resin, if the cover film is heated to the sealing temperature (welding temperature) with the preheating roll as described above, When the tensile strength of the film is suddenly reduced and the film is pressed by a pair of seal rolls of the sealing device, the cover film is broken and the film does not flow smoothly. It has been found that this is because the diameter of the preheating rail is large and the mass is large, so that the turning force exceeds the tensile strength of the cover film.

[0004]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and has been made in view of the above problems, and is a blister package that is packaged using a cover film made of only a thermoplastic resin. The purpose of the present invention is to provide a cover film supply device suitable for a machine.

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to the present invention, an article is filled in a container formed in a container film, and then the container film is covered with a cover film. Then, both films are brought into close contact with a sealing device having a pair of seal rolls. In a cover film supply device for supplying the cover film to the sealing device in a blister packaging machine for sealing, a feeding mechanism for feeding a cover film formed of a thermoplastic resin, a film feeding speed of the feeding mechanism and a pair of A speed difference absorbing device for absorbing the difference between the film feeding speed of the seal roll and a fixed guide roller at the outlet of the speed difference absorbing device, and a linear transfer of the cover film extending substantially vertically between the pair of seal rolls; A heating device that is disposed along a path and heats the cover film,
A heating device having a pair of flat heat plates spaced apart from each other and heating the cover film between the heat plates through the cover film.

[0006]

In the cover film supply device having the above structure,
The cover film pulled out from the film roll comes into contact with the feeding roll of the feeding mechanism and is sent to the speed difference absorbing device side by the rotation of the feeding roll. The cover film that has passed through the speed difference absorbing device is heated while passing between the pair of heat plates of the heating device, and is supplied to a sealing device arranged close to the outlet side of the heating device. When the feed speed of the feeding roll is higher (faster) than the feed speed of the seal roll of the sealing device, the speed difference absorbing device absorbs the extra cover film generated due to the difference in speed between the two. When the amount (length) of the cover film reaches a predetermined amount, the rotation speed of the feeding roll is reduced so that the feeding speed becomes lower (slower) than the feeding speed of the seal roll.

[0007]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In FIG. 1, one embodiment of a cover film supply device according to the present invention is shown, generally at 1, with a sealing device 100 of a blister packaging machine.
Seal device 100 includes a first sealing roll 101 a number of recesses for receiving the container for receiving the container r formed in the container film f ₁ to the outer periphery (not shown) is formed, said first
And a second seal roll 105 biased toward the first seal roll and cooperating with the first seal roll to pressure seal the container film and the cover film. The structure and function are the same as those of the sealing device. Therefore, further detailed description of the structure of the sealing device is omitted.

The cover film supply device 1 includes a film roll supporting mechanism 2 for supporting the roll R of the cover film f ₂ , a film feeding mechanism 3, a heating device 4 for heating the cover film, and a speed difference absorbing device 5. These are arranged on a common frame plate 10 as shown in FIG. 1 and the outlet of the heating device 4 is arranged close to a pair of sealing rolls 101 and 105 of the sealing device 100.

In FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, a film roll support mechanism 2 has a support shaft 21 having one end fixed to a frame plate 10 and supported by the frame plate in a cantilever manner, and a support shaft 21 which is rotated by a bearing 22. A rotating sleeve 23 is freely mounted, and a roll R of a cover film is detachably mounted on the outer periphery of the rotating sleeve 23 by a known method. The film roll support mechanism 2 further includes an arc-shaped brake arm 2 rotatably supported at one end by a support post 24 fixed to the frame plate 10.
5, a rod-shaped spring receiver 26 movably inserted into a hole at the other end of the brake arm 25, one end of the spring receiver 26 (the left end in FIG. 1), and a pin 2 fixed to the frame plate 10.
7 and a tension spring 28 stretched between them. The brake arm 25 is provided with a brake shoe 25a that comes into contact with the outer periphery of a flange 23a formed integrally with one end (the end on the frame plate side) of the rotating sleeve 23 and gives rotational resistance to the rotating sleeve. A male screw 26a is formed on the outer periphery of the spring receiver 26, and an adjusting nut 26b formed with the female screw is screwed thereto. By rotating the adjustment nut 26b, the brake arm 2 is rotated.
The position of the spring bearing 26 with respect to 5 can be adjusted, whereby the braking force applied to the rotating sleeve 23 can be adjusted.

1 and 3, a film feeding mechanism 3 includes a hollow cylinder 31 fixed to a frame plate 10.
And the bearing 32 inserted through the hollow cylinder 31
A rotating shaft 33 rotatably supported by the
1 (to the left of the hollow cylinder 31 in FIG. 1) and a pay-out roll 34 connected at its ends to a rotating shaft 33 by a plate 33a, and a drive motor 35 fixed to the frame plate 10; One end (right end in FIG. 1) of the shaft 33 is connected to a drive shaft 35a of a drive motor 35 by a joint 36, and the rotation of the drive shaft 35a is
3 directly. Drive motor 35
Is such that the feeding speed, that is, the peripheral speed of the feeding roll 34 becomes a speed Vh higher than the frame feeding speed Vs by the pair of sealing rolls 101 and 105 of the sealing device 100 and a speed Vl (including zero) lower than the feeding speed V. In addition, the rotating shaft can be selectively rotated. Layer 34a of material such as not to cause slipping between the outer circumference of the feed roll 34 and the cover film f ₂ is formed.

1, 3 and 4, the heating device 4
Is a first heat plate 42 fixed to a pair of support rods 41 fixed to the frame plate 10 in parallel with each other.
And a second heat plate 43 disposed opposite to the first heat plate 42. The first heat plate 42 and the second heat plate 43 have a pair of hinges 44 attached to one end thereof (the right end in FIG. 3).
Are openably and closably (closely accessible).
The heat plates 42 and 43 are held in a closed position where they are parallel to each other by a stopper 45 (FIG. 1) provided at the other end thereof. A gap g through which the cover film can freely move is formed therebetween.
Therefore, the cover film f ₂ is made of both heat plates 42.
The heating is performed while freely moving in the gap between the first and the second. Each of the heat plates has a built-in electric heater having a known structure.

In FIGS. 1, 3, 5 and 6, as shown in FIG. 1, a plurality of speed difference absorbing devices 5 are arranged and fixed at predetermined intervals to a frame plate 10 (3 in this embodiment). Pieces) of fixed guide rollers 51 (51a, 51b and 5).
1c) and a movable guide roller 61 movably arranged vertically at a position between the fixed guide rollers 51a and 51b.
And Each fixed guide roller 51 has a support shaft 52 fixed to the frame plate 10 and a bearing 5 on the support shaft 52.
Roller sleeve 5 rotatably mounted via 3
4. The fixed guide rollers, those rollers sleeve 54 in this specification is called the fixed guide rollers in that guides rotatably supported by the cover film f ₂ have the support shaft at a predetermined position, the roller sleeve itself It does not mean that it is fixed without moving at all.

As shown in FIGS. 1, 5 and 6, the speed difference absorbing device 5 further comprises a pair of horizontally extending support rods 62 fixed to the frame plate 10 in parallel with each other.
A pair of vertically extending guide rods 63 disposed parallel to and spaced from each other between the support rods; and a slider 64 supported by each guide rod 63 so as to be vertically movable.
And a support shaft 65 extending between sliders supported by a pair of guide rods. A movable guide roller 61 is rotatably supported on the support shaft 65 via a pair of bearings 66. The moving guide roller 61 is formed of a thin-walled sleeve so as to reduce the mass and reduce the tension applied to the cover film by gravity. The slider 64 is also made to have a minimum necessary mass. Slider 64, support shaft 65, bearing 66
And the total mass of the moving guide roller 61 is, for example, about 2
00g. Further, the frictional resistance between the slider 64 and the guide rod 63 is also kept small, so that unnecessary tension is not applied to the cover film due to the frictional resistance between them.

A stand 67 is arranged and fixed between the pair of support rods 62 near the frame plate 10 in parallel with the guide rod 63. The stand 67 has a plurality of sensors 68.
(68a, 68b and 68c) are arranged vertically apart. The sensor 68 has a light emitting portion and a light receiving portion in this embodiment, and shields light when a shielding plate 641 attached to one of the sliders 64 (closer to the stand) enters the groove 681 to detect the presence of the shielding plate. Although an optical sensor that detects optically, a magnetic sensor may be used. The sensor 68a is a sensor that detects the upper limit position of the moving guide roller 61,
The sensor 68b is a sensor that detects the lower limit position of the guide roller, and the sensor 68c is a sensor that detects the break of the film.

Next, the operation of the cover film supply device will be described. Cover film f ₂ pulled out from the film roll R, as shown in FIG. 1, after contact with the outer circumference of the feed roll 34 of the third film feeding mechanism sequentially in contact with the outer periphery of the fixed guide roller 51c and 51b, further After coming into contact with the outer periphery of the moving guide roller 61, it comes into contact with the fixed guide roller 51a, and then passes between the pair of heat plates 42 and 43 of the heating device 4 and between the pair of seal rolls 101 and 105 of the sealing device 100 It passed in a state where superimposed on the container film f ₁ in.

The cover film f ₂ is first fed at a feed speed Vh by the feed roll 34 of the feed mechanism 3, and is supplied to the fixed guide roller 51c side. Cover film f ₂ supplied in this way, the sealing device by a pair of heat plates 42 and 43 of the heating device 10
0 to the desired temperature required for heat sealing,
While being pressed and sealed, that is, heat-sealed together with the container film f ₁ by the sealing device 100, it is sent downstream at the feed speed Vs of the seal roll 101. Since the feed speed Vh by the feed roll 34 is higher (faster) than the feed speed Vs by the seal roll, the device absorbing device is compared with the amount of the cover film supplied per unit time from the film feeding mechanism 3 to the speed difference absorbing device 5. small amount of the cover film per unit time be drawn to the sealing device 5, the cover length of film f ₂ between the sealing device 100 and the film feeding mechanism 3 is increased. Therefore, the moving guide roller 61 starts to descend along with the slider 64 along the guide rod 62. When the slider 64 and the moving guide roller 61 descend and the shielding plate 631 attached to the slider 63 enters the groove 681 of the sensor 68b, the sensor 68b detects that the moving guide roller has reached the lower limit position, and the detection is performed. The signal is output to a control device of the supply device or a control device (neither is shown) for controlling the entire operation of the blister packaging machine. Then, the control device reduces the rotation speed of the drive motor 35 of the film feeding mechanism 3 to reduce the feeding speed of the feeding roll 34, that is, the feeding speed to Vl (Vl may include zero). For this reason, the amount of the cover film drawn out from the speed difference absorbing device to the sealing device is larger than the amount of the cover film supplied from the film feeding mechanism 3 to the speed difference absorbing device. The length of the cover film between them becomes shorter. Therefore, the moving guide roller 61 is moved together with the slider 64 by the guide rod 6.
Start climbing along 2.

When the slider 64 and the moving guide roller 61 rise and the shielding plate 631 attached to the slider 64 enters the groove 681 of the sensor 68a, the sensor 68b detects that the moving guide roller has reached the upper limit position. And outputs the detection signal to the control device. Then, the control device increases the rotation speed of the drive motor 35 of the film feeding mechanism 3 to increase the feeding speed of the feeding roll 34, that is, the feeding speed to Vh higher than Vs. For this reason, the amount of the cover film drawn out from the speed difference absorbing device to the sealing device is smaller than the amount of the cover film supplied from the film feeding mechanism 3 to the speed difference absorbing device. The length of the cover film between them starts to increase, and the moving guide rollers 61
Starts to descend along the guide rod 62 together with the slider 63. Hereinafter, the same operation is repeated to repeat the sealing operation.
0 is supplied with a cover film. If the cover film is cut, there will be no force to support the moving guide roller,
The moving guide roller and the slider 64 are further lowered from the lower limit position, and when the shielding plate enters the groove 681 of the sensor 68c, this is detected, and the operation of the entire apparatus is stopped.

[0018]

According to the present invention, even if a film made of a material having a low thermal tensile strength such as a thermoplastic resin is used as the cover film, it can be supplied stably at a high speed.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view of a cover film supply device according to the present invention.

2 is a sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. 1,
FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating details of a film roll support mechanism.

FIG. 3 is a view taken along line BB in FIG. 1, showing a cross section of a film feeding mechanism and one fixed guide roller and a front view of a heating device.

FIG. 4 is a view taken along line CC of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a view taken along line DD of FIG. 1, showing a cross section of the slider and the moving guide roller.

6 is a sectional view taken along line EE in FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a schematic explanatory view of a conventional cover film supply device.

[Explanation of symbols]

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 cover film supply device 2 film roll support mechanism 21 support shaft 23 rotating sleeve 3 film feeding mechanism 33 rotation shaft 34 feeding roll 35 drive motor 4 heating device 42, 43 heat plate 5 speed difference absorbing device 51 fixed guide roller 61 moving guide roller 63 guide rod 64 slider 65 support shaft

Continuation of the front page (58) Field surveyed (Int. Cl. ⁶ , DB name) B65B 41/00 501 D B65B 11/52 B65B 57/00 B65B 9/04 B65B 41/16

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] Claims: 1. An article is filled in a container formed in a container film, and then the container film is covered with a cover film.
Thereafter, in a blister packaging machine that tightly seals both films with a sealing device having a pair of sealing rolls, in a cover film supply device for supplying the cover film to the sealing device, feeding out a cover film formed of a thermoplastic resin. A speed difference absorbing device for absorbing a difference between a film feeding speed of the feeding mechanism and a film feeding speed of the pair of sealing rolls; a fixed guide roller at an outlet of the speed difference absorbing device; and a pair of sealing rolls. A heating device for heating the cover film, the heating device being disposed along a substantially vertically extending linear transfer path of the cover film between the cover film and the cover film, and having a pair of mutually parallel flat heat plates. And a heating device for heating the cover film between the heat plates. Cover film supply device for packaging machine.