JP2916754B2 - Goods packaging equipment - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a packaging apparatus for automatically packaging rectangular articles such as laminated steel sheets.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, when a laminated product of a steel sheet cut to a fixed length and leveled is wrapped with packing paper for the purpose of rust prevention or the like, the laminated product is spread on a packing paper spread on a platen or the like. Since the packaging was performed by hand, the operation was labor intensive and extremely inefficient. In particular, when the front, rear, left, and right sides of the laminated product are wrapped with packing paper, it is troublesome and it is difficult for one person to work.

[0003] Accordingly, the applicant has disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 3-226415.
The article packaging device disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (Kokai) No. H10-26083 was proposed. According to the article packaging apparatus, the packaging of the article on the top surface by the sheet material can be automatically and efficiently performed without manual operation during the transportation by the conveyor, and the labor saving can be achieved.
In particular, a packaging device suitable for top-side packaging of heavy-weight articles that cannot be handled manually has been obtained.However, in order to obtain an excellent packaging state without slack or bulging of packaging paper, Further, there was room for improvement.

[0004]

That is, in the above-mentioned article packaging apparatus, the article is wound by a sheet material wider than the article, and a sheet material overlapping portion extending in the width direction of the conveyor is heat-sealed by a heat bonding heater. Following the step, in the bending device section for bending the left and right overhanging portions of the sheet material on the side of the article, as shown in FIG. After being bent by driving in the direction of approaching the article side surface (direction of arrow j), the arm 30
The lower protruding portion 232 and the upper protruding portion 231 are driven by the pressing sheet 303 made of a flexible material by the rotational drive in the direction of the arrow k in FIG.
In this state, the conveyor 4 is driven to advance the folded and folded sheet material 4 in the direction of arrow Y in this state, and the sheet material 4 is subjected to a subsequent adhesive tape attaching step. Arrow j by the above-mentioned bent plate 301
Sheet material 4 that covers the top surface of the article when driving close to the direction
It is difficult to bend the lower overhanging portion 232 into an orthogonal plane in which the bent corner portion 304 is squared at right angles due to the cover pressing by the pressing sheet 303, and the bent plate 301 is It was easy to be in a bent state with swelling and sagging in combination with the interposition with the article 3. (Note that some of the reference numerals and names of the respective components in FIG. 46 have been changed from those in the above-mentioned publication.)

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention solves the above-mentioned conventional problems, and provides a packaged product having an excellent appearance in which the sheet material in which the articles are wrapped has no bulging or sagging and the bent corners are squared. It is intended to provide an article packaging device.

[0006]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an article packaging apparatus comprising: a heat-adhesive sheet material wound around an article on the left and right sides of an article conveying conveyor; An ear-folding device is provided for folding the front end ear and the rear end ear of the overhanging portion, and a lifting platform supported so as to be able to move up and down above the conveyor is provided on both left and right sides of the conveyor, and is movable in the left-right direction. A movable traversing table, and a moving frame that is supported by the elevating table so as to be movable in the left-right direction and that engages with the traversing table, moves up and down with the elevating table, and moves in the left-right direction together with the traversing table. An upper lower bending device comprising a driving device for vertically lifting and lowering the upper lower curved plate supported by the movable frame and extending upward and downwardly biased toward the side surface of the article; Articles extending in the direction And the lower the music apparatus comprising equipped with on the lower curved plate lift drive for driving machine with a lower on curved plate to vertically movably supported on the transverse table, which is biased toward the side surface,
An upper inner curved plate which extends in the front-rear direction and is urged toward the upper surface of the article, is movably supported in the moving frame in the left-right direction, and has a drive unit for driving the upper inner curved plate left and right. A folding device for bending the upper and lower overhanging portions of the left and right overhanging portions comprising a device is disposed on both left and right sides of the conveyor.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, the upper inner curved plate of the upper inner bending device is provided with a heater for thermally bonding the sheet material which can be protruded and drawn downward.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, the ear folding device is connected to a first rotor rotatably supported around a vertical axis on a side of the conveyor, and interlocks with elevation of the elevator. A second rotor, which is disposed above and below the first rotor and is driven to rotate about the vertical axis together with the first rotor by a rotary drive.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the first rotor and the second rotor have a brush at a tip end.

[0010] In the present invention, the front side refers to the side in which the article is conveyed by the conveyor for transferring articles, and the rear side refers to the opposite side. The left-right direction refers to the width direction of the conveyor.

[0011]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. First, FIG. 1 to FIG. 3 show the whole of the article packaging apparatus 1, but the illustration of a bending apparatus section for bending the left and right protruding portions of the sheet material 4 wound around the article 3 is omitted. In these figures, reference numeral 2 denotes a conveyor for transporting articles, and an article 3 made of a laminated product of steel sheets.
Is conveyed by the charging conveyor 261 on the rear side, is wrapped by the sheet material 4 made of single-sided polyethylene laminated kraft paper while being conveyed on the conveyor 2, and is discharged forward by the discharge conveyor 262 on the front side. . 1A is the left and right center line of the article packaging apparatus 1 (= the left and right center line of the conveyor). Reference numeral 5 denotes a base frame fixed on the foundation, which is formed by framing a beam member, a girder member and the like on the upper portions of the columns 5B and 5C erected on the base 5A. Reference numeral 6 denotes a bobbin winding device which is formed at the entrance of the conveyor 2 and rolls the sheet material 4 around the article 3. The details thereof will be described later. Reference numerals 7a and 7b denote tape applicators comprising an automatic adhesive tape applicator for attaching the upper surface.
a, 60b (described later) movably in the left-right direction. These tape applicators 7a and 7b are provided with a commercially available tape head for applying the upper surface, detect the passage of the article 3 by a sensor (not shown), raise and lower the tape head, and automatically apply and cut the adhesive tape 8. Things.

As shown in FIGS. 4 to 7, the conveyor 2 has three slat conveyors 11a and 11 extending in the front-rear direction.
b, 11c, and slat conveyors 11a, 11b
The left and right ends of the article 3 by the slat conveyor 1
1c also conveys the vicinity of the central portion while supporting the same, and these conveyors are movable in the left-right direction so that the interval between the slat conveyors 11a and 11b can be adjusted according to the width of the article 3. I have.

That is, the slat conveyors 11a, 13b are mounted on the traversing tables 13a, 13b movably supported in the left-right direction by the guide rails 12, 12 laid on the base 5A.
The frames 14a and 14b of the center slat conveyor 11c are fixedly mounted on the base 5A via a prism 15 extending in the front-rear direction (see FIG. 7). Numeral 16 denotes a hydraulic cylinder which is a driving device for adjusting the interval between the conveyors. The hydraulic cylinder 16 is supported by a base 5A, and the tip of the piston rod is connected to one of the traverses 13b. 17 is both pedestal 13
a, 13b and thus both slat conveyors 11a, 11b
A synchronous device that moves closer and closer while maintaining a parallel state,
As shown in FIG. 5, the rack 18 connected to the pedestal 13a
a and a rack 18b connected to the traversing table 13b are meshed with a pinion 19 to synchronize them. Reference numeral 20 denotes a press roller, and reference numeral 21 denotes a bracket erected on a base 5A that supports the pinion 19 and the press roller 20. is there. The pinions 19, 19 of the two synchronizers 17, 17, which are spaced apart in the front-rear direction, are integrally connected by a connection shaft 22 that penetrates through the inside of the prism 15, so that the two slat conveyors 11a, 11b are parallel. Will be maintained.

Reference numeral 25 denotes a drive shaft which is rotationally driven by a driving device 26 for driving the conveyor. The drive shaft 25 comprises spline shafts rotatably supported by bearings 27, 27 on brackets erected on the base 5A. Conveyors 11a, 11
B and 11c are fitted into spline holes at the center of the driving sprockets (not shown), and these slat conveyors are driven to rotate at the same speed.

On the other hand, in FIGS. 1 to 3, reference numeral 30 denotes a lift table supported on the base frame 5 above the conveyor 2 so as to be able to move up and down, and its rear portion is guided by a guide rail 31 attached to a support 5C so as to be movable up and down. Is driven up and down by a hydraulic cylinder 32 attached to the upper beam of the base frame 5. Reference numeral 33 denotes a rack and pinion type synchronizing device that regulates the lifting platform 30 so that it can move up and down while maintaining a horizontal state. A pinion 35 that meshes with four racks 34 whose lower ends are connected to the lifting platform 30 is connected to a connection shaft 36. , 36, 37 and gearboxes 38, 38 of an input / output shaft orthogonal shape are used for synchronous rotation.

A main part of the body winding device 6 described later is mounted on a lower beam part 30B, which is connected to the rear part of the lift table 30 in a stepped manner below the upper beam part 30A. 40 is
With a roll support frame vertically movably supported by guide rails 41 provided on the supports 5C, 5C, a rack 42 fixed to the roll support frame 40 and a rack 43 fixed to the upper beam 30A of the elevating platform 30 are arranged. And the pinion 44 pivotally supported by the column 5C.
0 moves up and down by the same amount as the elevating table in the direction opposite to the elevating table 30. A roll 4R of the sheet material 4 is rotatably supported on the roll support frame 40 by a support shaft 45 extending in the left-right direction so that the sheet material can be pulled out. In this specific example, the support disk 4 having three support shafts 45 is provided.
6 is rotated by a driving device 47 to form three rolls 4.
Although R is sequentially used and replenished, the roll support structure may be other than the above three types.

In FIGS. 1 and 3, reference numeral 50 denotes an article height measuring device attached to the center of the rear surface of the lower beam 30B of the elevating platform 30, which moves a piston which projects downward and whose tip contacts the upper surface of the article 3. The amount is measured by the encoder and the
Is issued to the hydraulic cylinder 32, which is an elevating drive device, for lowering the same to a predetermined position corresponding to the height h of the article 3. Reference numeral 51 denotes a guide roller which is supported by a bracket 52 fixed to the column 5C and is provided as necessary for supporting the article 3; 53, a rear guide plate similarly fixed to the bracket 52 via a support beam 54; A front guide plate is supported at both ends by a guide 56 attached to a bracket 52 so as to be able to move up and down, and is driven to move up and down by an air cylinder 57. Both guide plates are provided at the entrance of the conveyor 2. Reference numeral 58 denotes a semi-cylindrical stocker fixed on the foundation below the entrance of the conveyor 2 for temporarily storing the lower part of the sheet material 4 which has been drawn out from the roll 4R and hung. As a stocker for temporarily storing the lower portion of the sheet material 4, in addition to the container-shaped stocker 58 described above, a pit having a depth in which the lower portion of the sheet material 4 is accommodated in a hanging state is used by digging deeply. And Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open
The belt conveyor for laying the wrapping paper disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 109079 may be installed and used from below the entrance portion of the conveyor 2 to below the feeding conveyor 261.

In FIGS. 1 and 2, 60a, 6
Reference numeral 0b denotes a moving frame which is supported by the elevating platform 30 so as to be movable in the left-right direction by a guide rail 61 provided on the lower surface of the upper beam 30A of the elevating platform 30. Guide rails 64, 64 provided on arms 62, 63 having lower portions fixed thereto are vertically movable with respect to these arms, whereby the movable frames 60 a, 60 b are moved up and down by the lift 30.
Together with the traversing tables 13a and 13b. The width detectors 67a, 67b of the sheet material 4 are provided on the rear surfaces of the substantially U-shaped mounting frames 66a, 66b fixed to the upper portions of the other arms 65a, 65b having the lower portions fixed to the traversing tables 13a, 13b. Is attached, and a tape pasting machine 7 is attached to the front of the traversing tables 13a and 13b.
a and 7b are supported by a guide rail 68 (see FIG. 28) so as to be movable in the left-right direction, and are connected to the width detectors 67a and 67b via an interlocking mechanism 69, respectively. It will be described later with reference to FIGS.

Next, in FIGS. 8 to 13 showing the body winding device 6, reference numeral 71 denotes a pinch roll for feeding the sheet material 4 from the roll 4 R, which is provided above the entrance of the conveyor 2. Roll 71, both ends of which are rotatably supported by lower beam portion 30 </ b> B and driven to rotate by driving device 72
A, and a free roll 71B driven to approach and separate in the front-rear direction with respect to the drive roll 71A. The free roll 71B is rotatably supported by a girder 74 that is movably supported in the front-rear direction by the guide rail 73 on the lower beam portion 30B. Reference numeral 75 denotes an air cylinder for driving the beam 74 back and forth. Reference numeral 77 denotes an air outlet pipe which is fixedly attached to the lower beam portion 30B, has a large number of air outlets 78 opening forward, and is connected to a compressed air supply source (not shown).

Reference numeral 80 denotes a sheet material rear end wrapping device, which is located at a lower end position 81A shown by a dashed line in FIG. 8 at a position on the front side of the sheet material 4 hanging down from the pinch roll 71 and from the pass line 2A of the conveyor 2. A roller driving mechanism 84 that rotatably drives the roller 81 is supported by a roller supporting mechanism 83 that movably supports the roller 81 that is located on the lower side and extends in the left-right direction. The roller support mechanism 83 is provided with guide rollers 87 fixed to both ends of a beam 86 guided movably in the front-rear direction by guide rails 85 provided on the lower beam 30B.
The first bearings 82, 82 are supported so as to be able to move up and down, and air cylinders 88, 88 for driving up and down and air cylinders 89, 89 for driving the girder 86 back and forth are provided.

Reference numeral 91 denotes a heat bonding heater extending in the left-right direction. The heater 91 can be moved up and down by a guide bush 93 attached to a beam 92 fixed to the lower beam 30B at a position forward of the roller 81 at the forward end position. It is supported and is driven up and down by an air cylinder 94. Also 96
Is the heat bonding heater 91 and the roller 8 at the forward end position.
2 and a chain wound between sprockets 98 and 99 pivotally supported by a beam 97 having both ends fixed to the lower beam 30B with a cutter provided with a cutting blade 102 for cutting the sheet material 4. 100 is guided by a guide plate 101,
The base of a cutting blade 102 is attached to a link plate of a chain 100, and one sprocket 98 is driven to rotate by a motor 103. Reference numeral 104 denotes a guide bar for guiding the sheet material 4 and is fixed to the guide plate 101.

Reference numeral 106 denotes a sheet pressing device which is driven up and down on the front side of the heat bonding heater 91.
A press roll 110 extending in the left-right direction is supported on a beam 109 supported vertically by a guide bush 108 attached to a beam 107 having both ends fixed to the beam 107, and the beam 109 is driven up and down by an air cylinder 111. Has become.

Next, in FIG. 1, reference numeral 115 denotes ear wrapping devices disposed on the left and right sides of the conveyor 2, and front end ears 23 of the left and right overhanging portions of the sheet material 4 wound around the article 3 in a torso shape.
3 and the rear end ear 234 (see FIG. 29), and details thereof are shown in FIGS. Reference numeral 116 denotes a vertically extending spline shaft.
(A generic name for the traversing tables 13a and 13b. The other parts are also generically referred to below.) A rotatably supported bracket 117A is fixed to an arm 117B fixed to the moving frame 60 at its upper end. The spline hole of the supported upper boss 118 is slidably fitted in a vertical direction. 119
Is a first rotor, which has a brush 120 at its distal end which engages with a lower portion of the side surface 3A of the article 3 on the conveyor 2, and has a proximal end attached to a lower boss 121 fixed to a spline shaft 116. Reference numeral 122 denotes a second rotor, which has a brush 123 for engaging with a vertical intermediate portion of the side surface 3A of the article 3 at a distal end, and a central boss which is fitted to a spline shaft 116 in a vertically slidable manner. 124. Between the upper boss 118 and the middle boss 124, and between the middle boss 124 and the lower boss 121, compression springs 125 and 125 are interposed, and the middle boss 124 is moved by about の of the lowering amount of the moving frame 60 and thus the bracket 117B. Is lowered, and the rotation of the spline shaft 116 by the motor 126 causes the first rotor 119 and the second rotor 122 to make one rotation around the vertical axis from the standby position 127 indicated by a chain line in FIG. I have. The rotation direction is selected from two directions: a forward rotation direction indicated by an arrow p in which the tip of the rotor is directed in the same direction as the traveling direction of the article 3 (arrow Y direction), and a reverse rotation direction indicated by an arrow r opposite thereto. Is done.

Next, FIGS. 16 to 24 show that the upper overhanging portion 231 and the lower overhanging portion 232 (also shown in FIG. 29) of the left and right overhanging portions of the sheet material 4 wound around the article 3 are bent. A folding device 130 is shown, which comprises an upper lower bending device 131 for bending the upper extension 231 downward and a lower extension 232 together with the tip of the upper extension 231 upward. It comprises a lower upper bending device 132 for bending and an upper inner bending device 133 for bending the inner bent piece portion 235 at the tip of the lower overhang portion 232 toward the center of the article. , And from the front to the front side. 17 to 20, the folding device 130 is provided with the left-right center line 1A of the article packaging device 1.
Although only one side is shown in the drawing, the actual device has a symmetrical structure with respect to the left-right center line 1A, and the operations of the devices on both sides are also symmetrical.

The upper lower bending device 131 is supported on the movable frame 60 via a guide rod 141 so as to be able to move up and down (in detail, as shown in FIG. 18 movably along an inclined line 142 whose lower side is inclined inward). An upper lower curved plate 144 extending in the front-rear direction is swingably supported around the horizontal axis 145 on the beam 143, and the lower lower curved plate 14 at the time of lowering shown by a chain line in FIG.
A compression spring 147 urges the beam 143 so that the tip 146 of the 4A is pressed toward the side 3A of the article 3.
An air cylinder 148 is provided as a driving device for driving the upper and lower curved plate 144 up and down through the air cylinder 148.

The lower upper bending device 132 is supported by the traversing table 13 via a guide rod 151 so as to be able to move up and down (in detail, to be movable along an inclined line 152 whose upper side is inclined inward as shown in FIG. 19). A lower upper curved plate 154 having a substantially L-shaped cross section extending in the front-rear direction is swingably supported around the horizontal axis 155 on the beam 153, and the lower upper curved plate 154 at the time of ascent is lifted.
The air cylinder 157 is connected to the lower upper curved plate 154 and the beam 1 so that the upper corner 156 of A is pressed toward the side surface 3A of the article 3.
53, and a lower upper curved plate 154 via a beam 153.
An air cylinder 158 is provided as a driving device for driving the actuator up and down.

The upper inner bending device 133 is moved in the left-right direction (more specifically, toward the center of the article as shown in FIG. 20) by a guide rod 161 mounted between the outer girder 60A and the inner girder 60B of the moving frame 60. Line 162 slightly inclined downward
Attaching plate 164 to beam 163 movably supported
Is swingably supported around a horizontal axis 165, and a lower mounting plate 166 is swingably supported on the mounting plate 164 around a horizontal shaft 167, and an upper inner curved plate 168 extending in the front-rear direction is fixed to the lower The horizontal shaft 1 is attached to the tip of the arm of the mounting plate 166
In addition to being pivotally supported around the front end 69, the front end portion 170 of the upper inner curved plate 168A at the time of forward movement indicated by a chain line in FIG.
A compression spring 171 is interposed between the mounting plate 164 and the lower mounting plate 166 such that the compression spring 171 is pressed toward the upper surface 3B of the article 3. As shown in FIG. 21, the stopper 173 engaging with the lower mounting plate 166 has an upper inner curved plate so as to prevent the rear end portion 172 from being excessively dropped when the rear end portion 172 is retracted. 168. The upper inner curved plate 168 is driven right and left by using an air cylinder 174 in which a cylinder portion is attached to the moving frame 60 and a piston rod is connected to the beam 163 as a driving device.

In this specific example, the upper inner curved plate 168 is provided with heaters 180 for thermally bonding the sheet material, which can be protruded downward, at four locations spaced apart in the front-rear direction. FIG.
As shown in FIG. 24, the electric heater 180 is fitted into a hole 181 formed in the upper inner curved plate 168, and the horizontal shaft 1 is fixed by a bracket 182 fixed to the upper inner curved plate 168.
An arm 185 fixed to the mounting plate 184 that can swing around the arm 83 is driven by an air cylinder 186 to move the heater 180 to a projecting position indicated by a solid line and a retracted position indicated by a chain line. Switching drive is performed.

In this specific example, when the lower upper curved plate 154 is driven upward, the tip of the lower overhang portion 232 of the sheet material bent upward is hooked on the lower surface of the upper inner curved plate 168, and In order to avoid the possibility of bending, the mounting plate 164, and thus the upper inner curved plate 168, is driven up and down around the horizontal axis 165 by the air cylinder 175. When there is a space to retreat outside, the mounting plate 164 is
3, the air cylinder 175 can be omitted to simplify the device.

FIGS. 25 to 28 show the interlocking and driving mechanism of the tape applicator 7, and also in these figures, the left and right center lines 1A of the article packaging apparatus 1 are similar to the folding apparatus 130.
Although only one side is shown, the actual device has a structure which is symmetrical with respect to the left and right center line 1A, and operates in opposite directions. First, in FIG. 26, a width detector 67 is provided at the tip of a transverse stick 192 supported on a rear surface of the mounting frame 66 by a guide 191 so as to be movable in the left-right direction, at a photoelectric switch 19 for detecting the side edge 4A of the sheet material 4.
3, one end of a wire 194 is connected to the base end of the transverse stick 192, and an air cylinder 19 for driving the transverse stick 192 is provided.
It consists of five. This wire 194 is wound around pulleys 196, 197, 198 supported on the mounting frame 66,
As shown in FIG. 27, the wire winding points 201A and 201A are supported by the mounting frame 66 and the moving frame 60, respectively, around a horizontal axis.
02A is located on the vertical line 199 and the two pulleys 201,
After being wound around the movable frame 60, it is wound around pulleys 203 to 207 pivotally supported by the moving frame 60, and is movably supported in the left-right direction by the guide rail 9 attached to the moving frame 60 as shown in FIG. It is connected 7B to the base 7A of the tape applicator 7.

Then, the wire 194 is further extended,
The wire extension 194A is connected to the pulley 2
08 and 209, and then connected to a piston rod of an air cylinder 211 extending in the left and right direction with a cylinder portion attached to a bracket 210 fixed to the rear end of the moving frame 60. It is pulled outward as shown by. The air cylinder 211 is an urging device that urges the tape applicator 7 in a direction in which tension is applied to the wire 194, and is used for eliminating slack of the wire 194 and causing the tape applicator 7 to accurately follow the movement of the wire 194. The weight may be used instead of the air cylinder 211, or the tape extension machine 7 may be directly urged by the air cylinder 211 in the direction of the arrow s opposite to the arrow t by omitting the wire extension 194A. .

FIG. 25 shows a width detector 67 and a tape applicator 7.
Before the packaging of the article 3 is started, the width detector 67 is mounted on the mounting frame 66 integrated with the traversing table 13 positioned at the article having the width w (at a reference position described later). , The transverse stick 192 is in the most retracted reference position,
At this time, the photoelectric switch 193, which is the width detecting end, is located at a reference position outside the side surface 3A of the article 3 by a predetermined distance a, and the tape applying machine 7 includes the lifting table 30 and the moving frame 60.
And on the moving frame 60 positioned with respect to the article 3 having the width w together with the traversing table 13, at a position inside (side of the article center) a distance b from the side surface of the article 3.

Next, the article wrapping operation of the apparatus having the above configuration will be described with reference to FIGS. First, the elevating table 30 and the moving frame 6 that moves up and down integrally therewith
0 is located at the rising end position, and the roller 81 of the sheet material rear end winding device 80 is located at the falling end position 81A (see FIG. 8), and the value of the width w of the article 3 to be packaged is input to the control device. The hydraulic cylinder 16 is driven by a predetermined amount by the
The right and left distances between the traversing tables 13a and 13b and the slat conveyors 11a and 11b are adjusted through the position 7 (see FIG. 31). This state is referred to as a reference position. At this reference position, the moving frame 6 is moved by the horizontal positioning of the traversing platform 13 and the moving frame 60 moving integrally therewith.
The lower bending device 131 supported by the upper lower bending device 131 and the lower bending device 132 supported by the traversing platform 13 lower the upper overhanging portion 231 and the lower overhanging portion of the sheet material for the article 3 having the width w. The upper inner bending device 133 supported by the moving frame 60 at the rising end position and capable of upward bending of H.232 makes the height h ₀ which is the maximum height in the article to be packaged (as described later, in this specific example, The inner bent piece portion 232A of the sheet material can be bent inward for the article 3 of 300 mm).

Next, the front guide plate 5 at the entrance of the conveyor 2
5 is raised by the air cylinder 57 and the pinch roll 7
1 is rotated forward by the driving device 72, and the sheet material 4 having a length set in advance according to the length of the article 3 and the maximum height h ₀ is sent out from the space between the front guide plate 55 and the rear guide plate 53. It is supplied into the stocker 58 (see FIG. 32), and then the front guide plate 55 is lowered to release the pinch roll 71.

Next, the article 3 is stopped at a fixed position on the infeed conveyor 261, and the height h of the article 3 is measured by the article height measuring device 50 (see FIG. 33). 32 movable frame 60 integral elevation frame 30 and therewith the distance d = h ₀ -h is lowered by [see Figure 34]. As a result, the upper inner bending device 133 is positioned at a position where the inner bending can be performed on the article 3 having the height h. Further, as the elevator 30 descends, the roll support frame 40 and the roll 4R supported by the same move up by the same amount as the elevator 30 by the engagement of the racks 42 and 43 and the pinion 44,
As a result, a portion of the sheet material 4 partially stored in the stocker 58 below the pass line 2A of the conveyor 2 (the sheet material 4 is laid under the article 3 as the article 3 advances and is wound around the rear end of the article 3). the length of the used amount) is corrected to be shorter d = h ₀ -h min only be varied in the height of the articles, the sheet material front end sheet rear end at the same location on the article 3 Therefore, heat sealing is performed without any trouble.

Further by downward moving frame 60, the pulley 202 is lowered amount with movable frame 60 in FIG. 27 d = h ₀
Since the wire 194 is lowered by −h, the wire 194 is loosened by the length d, and the tape applicator 7 moves by d in the arrow s direction in FIGS. 25 and 28 by the pulling force of the air cylinder 211.

Next, in the above lowered state, the width detector 6
7, the width of the sheet material 4 is detected. That is, the horizontal stick 192 is driven toward the sheet material 4 by the air cylinder 195, and the photoelectric switch 193 is moved to the side edge 4A of the sheet material 4.
Is detected, the driving by the air cylinder 195 is stopped,
Hold the transverse stick 192 in its stop position. As a result, the wire 194 is pulled by the transverse stick 192 by the value e of the following equation, and the tape applicator 7 moves in the direction of the arrow t by the distance e (see FIG. 25). e = (w / 2) + a− (y / 2) (1) where w: width of article 3 y: width of sheet material 4

Since the tape applicator 7 has moved in the direction of the arrow s by the amount d of movement of the moving frame 60, the above-mentioned amount of movement e accompanying the width detection is added to this. It comes to a position shifted from the side surface of the article 3 inward (center side of the article) by the following distance f. f = b + d-e = b + (h 0 -h) - [w / 2 + a-y / 2 ] _{= b + h 0 -a-h} + (y-w) / 2 ... (2)

On the other hand, in FIG. 30, when the lower protruding portion 232 of the sheet material 4 of the width y, which is wound around the article 3 of the width w, is bent upward and then bent inward, the tip position of the inner curved piece portion 232A is indicated by If the thickness and the like of the bent overhang portion 231 are neglected, the following z can be obtained from the side surface 3A of the article 3 as apparent from the drawing.
Come to the position. z = [(y−w) / 2] −h (3) Thus, when the expressions (1) and (2) are compared, the following expression is obtained: b + h ₀ −a = 0 (4) If you define each initial value,
The position f = z of the tape applicator 7 by the above-mentioned interlocking mechanism 69 is satisfied. According to the height of the article 3 and the width of the sheet material 4, the tape applicator 7 moves the tip position of the inner curved piece portion 232A, that is, a desired tape. It will be automatically positioned at the sticking position. In this specific example, for h ₀ = 300 mm, a = 5
The above automatic positioning is realized by adopting 00 mm and b = 200 mm. Since the automatic positioning is performed independently by the left and right interlocking mechanisms 69 of the article 3, even if, for example, the roll 4R of the sheet material 4 is set in a state of being shifted in the left and right direction, the sheet in the shifted state is set. The width detectors 67a and 67b individually detect the left and right side edges of the tape 4 and the tape applicators 7a and 7b are automatically positioned at the leading end positions of the left and right inner curved pieces 232A by the respective interlocking mechanisms 69. Is done.

The width w of the article 3 is changed by positioning the traversing table 13 to the reference position as shown in FIG.
Is always maintained, the tape applicator 7 is positioned in accordance with the width of the article 3 by the positioning of the traversing table 13, and the height of the article 3 And the positioning according to the width of the sheet material 4 is added, so that the tape applying machine 7 is automatically positioned at the tape applying position according to the width and height of the article 3 and the width of the sheet material 4. It is.

Next, following the above steps, the feed conveyor 26
When the conveyor 1 and the conveyor 2 are driven in the forward direction, the article 3 enters the conveyor 2 and, along with this, the sheet material 4 hanging down across the approach path is laid under the article 3, Further, the sheet advances while pulling out the necessary sheet material 4 from the roll 4R (see FIG. 35).

When the article 3 having the sheet material 4 wound around the front end thereof in a bobbin shape by the above-mentioned forward movement passes through the ear wrapping device 115, the first rotor 119 and the second rotor 122 are moved in the direction of the arrow r. The sheet 2 is reversed in the direction (see FIG. 15), the front end tab 233 of the sheet material 4 is folded, and the conveyor 2 is stopped when the rear end of the article 3 has passed the roller 81 of the sheet material rear end winding device 80. Pressing roll 110 of sheet material pressing tool 106
And press the sheet material 4 against the upper surface of the article [see FIG. 36]. This prevents the sheet material 4 on the article 3 from sagging.

Next, the roller 8 is driven by the roller support mechanism 83.
1, the rear portion of the sheet material 4 is lifted up by the roller 81 (see FIG. 37), and then the roller 81 is advanced, and is lowered a little at the advanced end position to press the rear portion of the sheet material 4 against the upper surface of the article, and to remove the air. When the air is blown out from the blow-out pipe 77, the rear end portion 4B of the sheet material 4 is blown forward, so that the shape is along the upper surface of the article 3. When the roller 81 is rotated in the direction of arrow u by the roller driving device 84, the sheet material 4 is wound around the rear portion of the article 3 without slack, and the upper and lower bent corners of the sheet material 4 are squared. [Figure 3]
8]. When the sheet material 4 is rich in rigidity, the air blowing or the installation of the air blowing pipe 77 may be omitted.

Next, after the rotation of the roller 81 is stopped, the heat bonding heater 91 is driven downward to heat-bond the overlapped portion of the sheet material 4, and the cutting blade 102 is driven to run by the motor 103 at the cutter 96, and the sheet is moved. The material 4 is cut (see FIG. 39), and the heat bonding heater 91 and the presser roll 11 are cut.
0, the pinch roll 71 is reversed, and the sheet material 4 is moved until the front end of the sheet material comes to the exit of the pinch roll 71.
At the lower end position 8 where the roller 81 of the sheet material rear end wrapping device 80 is brought into contact with a stopper (not shown).
Return to 1A [see FIG. 40].

The sheet material 4 wound around the article 3 in the above-described body winding device 6 is cut by a cutter 96 on the rear end portion 4B of the sheet material 4 as shown in FIG. The bonded front end 4C is thermally bonded in an overlapping manner, and the upper front end 4C faces backward, opposite to the article traveling direction indicated by the arrow Y. The front end portion 4C is prevented from being caught or turned over by the contacting member, thereby preventing the sheet material 4 from being torn. At the time of the thermal bonding in FIGS. 38 to 39, the sheet material 4 is pressed by the pressing roll 110 and the roller 81 in the vicinity of both front and rear ends without any slack, and the pressing roll 110 and the pinch roll 71 are pressed.
(Specifically, during the thermal bonding), after the sheet material 4 wound around the drive roll 71A is pressed down by the bonding heater 91 to apply tension while applying heat (including during the thermal bonding).
6, the sheet material 4 is wound around the article 3 without slack as a whole, and a body-wrapped product 250 having a good appearance is obtained.

Next, the conveyor 2 is driven forward, and when the rear end of the article 3 reaches the ear wrapping device 115, the conveyor 2 is stopped, and the first rotor 119 and the second rotor 122 are moved by arrows p. The sheet material 4 is rotated in the normal direction, and the rear end ear 234 of the sheet material 4 is folded. Thus, the sheet material 4 wound around the article 3
As shown in FIG. 29 (c), the front end ear 233 and the rear end ear 234 are folded.

Next, the bending process by the bending device 130 is started.
8, the upper lower curved plate 144 is driven downward [see FIG. 41]. As a result, in FIG. 18, the distal end portion 146 of the upper lower curved plate 144 descending along the inclined line 142 together with the beam 143 bends the upper protrusion 231 of the sheet material downward, and the distal end of the protrusion is As shown in FIG. 18 and FIG. 29 (d), it descends until it overlaps the lower overhang portion 232. At this time, since the distal end portion 146 of the upper lower curved plate 144 is elastically urged toward the side surface 3A of the article 3 by the compression spring 147, the upper projecting portion 231 faces downward while being pressed against the side surface by the distal end portion 146. The sheet material 4 is bent while being pulled by the frictional force, the bent corner of the sheet material 4 is squared, and a bent state is obtained along the side surface 3A of the article in a flat shape without slack.

Next, while the upper lower curved plate 144 is in the lowered state, the lower upper bending device 132
8, the lower upper curved plate 154 is driven upward (see FIG. 42). As a result, in FIG. 19, the upper corner 156 of the lower upper curved plate 154 that rises along the inclined line 152 together with the beam 153 forms the lower overhanging portion 232 of the sheet material and the upper overhanging portion 231 overlaid thereon. Bend the tip upward,
The upper surface 154B of the L-shaped lower curved plate 154 rises until it reaches the upper surface position of the article 3. At this time, the lower upper curved plate 154
Since the upper corner 156 is pneumatically urged toward the side surface of the article 3 by the air cylinder 157,
2 and the tip of the upper protrusion 231 are connected to the upper corner 15
6, while being pressed upward by the frictional force while being pressed against the surface of the upper lower curved plate 144 in the descending position, and bent.
The bent corners are squared and bent into a flat shape without slack. Then, when the lower upper curved plate 154 reaches the rising end, the upper lower curved plate 144 is pulled out upward, but this also does not change the above-mentioned planar bent state, and the lower overhang portion 232 becomes the lower upward curved portion. The upper corner 156 of the plate 154 continues to be pressed toward the side of the article 3.

Next, in the upper inner bending device 133, the upper inner curved plate 168 is brought into the horizontal state shown by the solid line in FIG. 20 by the air cylinder 175, and the upper inner curved plate 168 is moved to the center side of the article 3 by the air cylinder 174. It is driven forward [see FIG. 43]. As a result, in FIG.
The tip 170 of the upper inner curved plate 168 that moves in the left-right direction along the inclined line 162 along with the 63 moves the inner curved piece 232 </ b> A of the lower protruding portion 232 projecting above the article 3 to the center of the article 3. Fold it to the side. At this time, the upper inner curved plate 16
8 is urged downward by a compression spring 171 and the rear end 172 is gravitationally urged by the weight of the upper inner curved plate 168.
A is bent while being pulled by the frictional force toward the center of the article 3 while being pressed against the upper surface of the article 3 (specifically, the sheet material 4 covering the upper surface of the article 3) by the upper inner curved plate 168, and has a bending angle. The part is cornered and bent into a flat shape without slack.

When the upper inner curved plate 168 reaches the forward end, the air cylinder 186 in FIG.
The heater 180 is pressed and heated on the inner curved piece portion 232A, and the inner curved piece portion 232A and the sheet material 4 thereunder are thermally bonded 242 at a plurality of locations. As a result, a good bent state is maintained until the subsequent tape application.

After the heat bonding by the heater 180, the conveyor 2 and the discharge conveyor 262 are operated while the inner curved portion 232A is pressed by the upper inner curved plate 168.
The front end 4C of the sheet material wound around the article 3 is shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 5, the front end of the upper inner curved plate 168 which slides on the sheet material by the operation of the conveyor is not broken. Then, the front end of the folded packaged product 251 (see FIG. 29) in which the folding (and the temporary fixing of the inner bent piece portion 232A by the heater 180 in this specific example) in the folding device 130 is completed is attached to the tape applying machine 7 part. Upon arrival, the tape applying machine 7 detects this arrival, and starts applying the adhesive tape 8 to the overlapping portion between the leading edge of the inner bent piece portion 232A and the sheet material 4 covering the upper surface of the article [FIG. See also], the tape application is continued by the advance of the folded package 251, and when the rear end of the package reaches the tape applying machine 7, the tape applying machine 7 detects this arrival and cuts the adhesive tape 8, The tape application is completed (see FIG. 45).

The tape applicators 7a and 7b are operated by the interlock mechanism 6 according to the width and height of the article 3 and the width of the sheet material 4 as described above.
9 automatically positions the tip of the inner bent piece 235, so that the adhesive tape 8 can be stuck at an appropriate position without manually adjusting the position of the tape applicator 7.

Thereafter, the upper inner curved plate 1 of the upper inner bending device 133
68 is retracted and returned to the retracted position rotated upward by the air cylinder 175, the lower upper curved plate 154 of the lower upper bending device 132 is returned to the lowered position by the air cylinder 158, and the width detector 67 is also moved horizontally. When the reference position 192 returns to the retracted reference position and the lifting platform 30 is raised to the rising end position, the tape applying machine 7 also returns to the reference position by the interlocking mechanism 69, and the article packaging apparatus 1 returns to the reference state shown in FIG. Therefore, the above steps may be repeated for the next new article 3 conveyed by the infeed conveyor 261.

The obtained package 252 (see FIG. 29)
Since the sheet material is not bulged or sagged by the folding device 130, and the sheet material bent corners are squared, the tape is applied to the folded package 251 having an excellent appearance. It has an excellent appearance.

The present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned specific examples. For example, drive mechanisms and biasing means such as upper lower curved plate, lower upper curved plate, upper inner curved plate, elevating table, traversing table, moving frame, etc. May be other than the above. Further, when the fluctuation of the width of the articles is small, the conveyor 2 may not be mounted on the pedestal but may be a conveyor having a constant width.

Further, in the above specific example, the plurality of heaters 180 are provided on the upper inner curved plate 168.
A heater having a length that can be thermally bonded to the maximum length may be used by attaching one to the upper inner curved plate 168. Further, in the case where the sheet material is a material that can easily maintain a bent shape, for example,
The attachment of the heater 180 to the upper inner curved plate 168 may be omitted. Further, as the ear-folding device, a device having a rotor other than the above-mentioned brush type such as a device in which a rubber roller is pivotally supported at the tip of an elastic plate may be used, and the height of the article does not vary greatly. In some cases, the rotor may be configured to rotate at a certain vertical position.

Further, in the above specific example, the left and right overhanging portions of the sheet material 4 are bent by the bending device 130 with respect to the well-wound product 250 obtained by the body winding device 6, so that the winding direction and the bending A package having a better appearance without sagging of the sheet material in both directions can be obtained.
Since the front end portion 4C of the sheet material is thermally bonded in an upward and rearward direction at the sheet material overlapping and bonding portion of
This has the advantage that the front end 4C is prevented from being turned up or torn in a subsequent process. However, depending on the rigidity and strength of the sheet material, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Other types of body winding devices, such as a body winding device in an article packaging apparatus described in Japanese Patent No. 226415, may be used. Further, in the above specific example, the interlocking mechanism 69
The automatic positioning of the tape applicator by means of this can further reduce labor and improve the productivity of the packaging line.
In the case where the width and height of the article do not vary much, a tape applicator that does not have the interlocking mechanism 69 and that is positioned by another type of positioning mechanism such as a manual adjustment or switching type may be used.

[0058]

As described above, according to the present invention,
The upper lower curved plate, the lower upper curved plate, and the upper inner curved plate urged by the spring force, the air pressure, the own weight, and the like are slid in contact with the sheet material to be folded so as to bend the sheet material. As a result, a package having an excellent appearance in which the bent corners of the sheet material are squared and the sheet material is bent into a flat shape without swelling or sagging is obtained.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, since the inner bent piece portion after the bending step is thermally bonded by the heater, a good folded state of the sheet material by the bending device is maintained as it is. In the state, it is possible to perform subsequent tape application, and it is good even when the material of the sheet material is difficult to maintain the folded state, or when the folding device section and the tape applying machine are separated. A tape-applied product having an excellent appearance obtained by applying a tape to a folded package product in a proper folded state is obtained.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the vertical position of the second rotor is changed in conjunction with the elevating table which moves up and down in accordance with the height of the article. Also, the second rotator does not come off from the side of the article upward, and the second rotator whose vertical position is variable and the first rotator located at a certain lower position allow the sheet material wound around the article to be wound. The ears can be reliably folded in the ears regardless of fluctuations in the height of the article.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the lug of the sheet material can be reliably folded into the shape along the side surface of the article by the sliding contact of the flexible brush. The structure is simple.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view of a main part of an article packaging apparatus showing a specific example of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the article packaging apparatus of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a side view taken along the line AA of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a plan view of the conveyor 2 of the apparatus of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a side view taken along a line BB in FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along line CC of FIG. 4;

FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken along line DD of FIG. 4;

FIG. 8 is a vertical sectional view of a central portion of a sheet material rear end wrapping device 80 of the apparatus of FIG. 1;

FIG. 9 is a plan view taken along the line EE of FIG. 8;

FIG. 10 is a sectional view taken along line FF of FIG. 8;

FIG. 11 is a sectional view taken along line GG of FIG. 8;

FIG. 12 is a sectional view taken along line HH of FIG. 8;

FIG. 13 is a sectional view taken along line II of FIG. 8;

FIG. 14 is a sectional view taken along line JJ of FIG. 1;

FIG. 15 is a sectional view taken along line KK of FIG. 14;

FIG. 16 is a partially cutaway front view of a bending device section in the device of FIG. 1;

FIG. 17 is a sectional view taken along line LL of FIG. 16;

FIG. 18 is an enlarged view of a portion M in FIG. 17;

FIG. 19 is an enlarged view of a portion N in FIG. 17;

FIG. 20 is an enlarged view of an O portion in FIG.

FIG. 21 is a sectional view taken along the line PP of FIG. 20;

FIG. 22 is a sectional view taken along line QQ of the upper inner curved plate 168 in FIG.

FIG. 23 is a plan view taken along the line RR of FIG. 22;

24 is a sectional view taken along the line SS in FIG. 23.

FIG. 25 is a plan view of an interlocking mechanism 69 in the apparatus of FIG. 1;

FIG. 26 is an enlarged plan view of a portion T in FIG. 25.

FIG. 27 is a sectional view taken along line UU of FIG. 25.

FIG. 28 is a side view taken along a line VV in FIG. 1;

FIG. 29 is a perspective view showing a packaging state of an article by the apparatus of FIG. 1;

30 is a longitudinal sectional view showing the relationship between the width of the article, the width of the sheet material, and the bent state when the article is wrapped by the apparatus of FIG. 1;

FIG. 31 is a schematic front view showing a step of packaging an article by the apparatus of FIG. 1;

FIG. 32 is a schematic front view showing a step of packaging an article by the apparatus of FIG. 1;

FIG. 33 is a schematic front view showing an article packaging process by the apparatus of FIG. 1;

FIG. 34 is a schematic front view showing a packaging process of the article by the apparatus of FIG. 1;

FIG. 35 is a schematic front view showing a step of packaging an article by the apparatus of FIG. 1;

FIG. 36 is a schematic front view showing a step of packaging an article by the apparatus of FIG. 1;

FIG. 37 is a schematic front view showing a step of packaging an article by the apparatus of FIG. 1;

FIG. 38 is a schematic front view showing a step of packaging an article by the apparatus of FIG. 1;

FIG. 39 is a schematic front view showing a step of packaging an article by the apparatus of FIG. 1;

FIG. 40 is a schematic front view showing a packaging process of the article by the apparatus of FIG. 1;

FIG. 41 is a schematic front view showing an article packaging process by the apparatus of FIG. 1;

FIG. 42 is a schematic front view showing a step of packaging an article by the apparatus of FIG. 1;

FIG. 43 is a schematic front view showing an article packaging process by the apparatus of FIG. 1;

FIG. 44 is a schematic front view showing a packaging process of the article by the apparatus of FIG. 1;

FIG. 45 is a schematic front view showing an article packaging process by the apparatus of FIG. 1;

FIG. 46 is a perspective view of a main part showing a bending operation in a bending device section of a conventional article packaging apparatus.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Article packaging apparatus, 2 ... Conveyor, 3 ... Article, 4 ... Sheet material, 5 ... Base frame, 6 ... Body winding apparatus, 13a ... Horizontal table, 13
b: traversing table, 26: driving machine, 30: elevating table, 32: hydraulic cylinder, 60a: moving frame, 60b: moving frame, 115:
Ear wrapping device, 116 spline shaft, 119 first rotor, 120 brush, 122 second rotor, 123
Brushes, 126 ... motor, 130 ... bending device, 131 ...
Upper lower bending device, 132 lower lower bending device, 133 upper upper bending device, 144 upper lower bending plate, 147 compression spring, 14
8 Air cylinder, 154 Lower lower curved plate, 157 Air cylinder, 158 Air cylinder, 168 Upper inner curved plate, 171 Compression spring, 174 Air cylinder, 180
.., Heater 186, air cylinder, 231, upper overhanging portion, 232, lower overhanging portion, 233, front end ear portion, 234.
Rear end ear.

Continuation of the front page (56) References JP-A-3-226415 (JP, A) JP-A-2-45311 (JP, A) JP-A-60-58050 (JP, A) JP-A-48-37282 (JP) JP-A-52-112486 (JP, A) JP-A-63-162413 (JP, A) JP-A-51-85886 (JP, A) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁶ , DB Name) B65B 11/00-11/58 B65B 49/00-49/16

Claims (4)

(57) [Claims] 1. A front edge and a rear edge of a left and right overhanging portion of a thermally adhesive sheet material wound around an article on the conveyor on the left and right sides of the article transport conveyor. A lifting and lowering table supported above and below the conveyor so as to be movable up and down, a traversing table disposed on both left and right sides of the conveyor and movable in the left and right directions, and a left and right moving on the lifting and lowering table. A movable frame that is freely supported, moves up and down with the elevating platform, moves in the left-right direction together with the elevating platform, engages with the traversing platform, extends in the front-rear direction, and is urged toward the side surface of the article. An upper lower bending device which supports a lower curved plate on the moving frame so as to be able to move up and down and includes a driving device for driving the upper lower curved plate up and down; and a lower portion which extends in the front-rear direction and is urged toward a side surface of the article. Move the upper curved plate to the A lower upper bending device comprising a driving device for raising and lowering the lower upper curved plate and supporting the upper inner curved plate extended in the front-rear direction and urged toward the upper surface of the article; And an upper inner bending device comprising a driving device for driving the upper inner curved plate left and right and movably in the left and right direction. An article packaging apparatus, wherein a bending device is disposed on both left and right sides of the conveyor. 2. The article packaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the upper inner curved plate of the upper inner bending device is provided with a sheet material heat bonding heater that can be pulled down and retractable. A first rotor rotatably supported around a vertical axis on a side of the conveyor; and a first rotor which moves up and down in conjunction with elevating the elevator. The first position is disposed at a position above the
3. The article packaging apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a second rotor that is driven to rotate about the vertical axis together with the rotor. 4. The article packaging apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the first rotor and the second rotor have a brush at a tip end.