JP3370273B2 - Container sealing device - Google Patents

Description

Description: BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0001] 1. Field of the Invention [0002] The present invention relates to a sealing device for welding a lid material to an opening of a container for storing foods and the like by heat welding, and more particularly to a sealing device for each of the lid materials. The present invention relates to a container sealing device capable of completely cooling a lid member before cutting for each container. 2. Description of the Related Art FIG. 3 is a partial sectional view showing a part of a conventional container sealing device. Container C is a polystyrene foam,
The container C, which is made of hard resin or paper, and into which the contents have been put in the preceding process, is held by the carrier 1 and transferred to the left in the figure. At the opening Ca of the container C, a cover film F extending in a belt shape is installed. This lid material film F is P
A heat-sealing seal layer is formed on the surface facing the container C such as a P film or a laminated film. When the container C to which the lid film F is welded is sent to the left in the figure, the lid film F is sent together with the lid film F to the left. Reference numeral 2 denotes a heat welding member, which is pressed around the opening Ca of the container C with the cover film F interposed therebetween in a heated state. Heat-welded to the portion Ca. The lid material film F is thermally welded to the opening Ca of the container C by the thermal welding member 2, and immediately thereafter, the thermal welding member 2 separates from the lid material film F. After that, the cooling platen 3 located on the left side of the heat welding member 2 is pressed against the welding portion between the opening Ca of the container C and the lid material film F.
A cooling water passage 3 a is formed in the cooling board 3.
The cooling board 3 is cooled by the cooling water supplied to the inside a. When the cooling platen 3 is pressed, the heat-welded portion is cooled. In the next step of the cooling, the cover film F is cut around the opening Ca of the container C. [0004] When the cooling platen 3 shown in FIG. 3 is lowered, the cooling platen 3 hits the opening of the container C to cool that part.
There is a case where the cooling board 3 does not reliably hit the outer peripheral portion Fa of the opening Ca. The reason is that the lid material film F heated in a region outside the opening of the container C may be loosened, and the opening Ca of the container C heated by the heat welding member 2 may be heated downward. As a result, the lid film F and the cooling board 3 cannot be brought into close contact with each other at the outer peripheral portion of the opening Ca. If the cooling platen 3 cannot reliably contact the outer peripheral portion Fa of the lid material film F, this portion Fa will not be reliably cooled by the cooling platen 3.
As a result, when the cutting blade hits in the cutting process immediately after that, the portion Fa elongates, and the lid film F is not cut cleanly around the opening Ca of the container C. The present invention solves the above-mentioned conventional problems. When cooling the heat-welded portion of the lid, the lid at the outer peripheral portion of the opening of the container is surely cooled to cut the lid. It is an object of the present invention to provide a container sealing device that is easy to use. According to the present invention, there is provided a container sealing apparatus comprising: a heat sealing means for heat-sealing a lid material to an opening of a container;
A cooling unit that cools the heat-welded portion by contacting the portion where the lid material is welded; and a gas blowing unit that cools the lid material by blowing a gas on the lid material in a region outside the portion where the cooling unit abuts. Cutting means for cutting the lid material cooled by the gas blowing means into individual containers. [0008] A container sealing device according to the present invention is a heat sealing means for heat-sealing a lid material to an opening of a container;
A cooling unit that cools the heat-welded portion by contacting the portion where the lid material is welded; and a gas blowing unit that cools the lid material by blowing a gas on the lid material in a region outside the portion where the cooling unit abuts. Cutting means for cutting the lid material cooled by the gas blowing means into individual containers .
The cooling means contacts the portion where the lid material is welded.
A cooling plate having a cooling surface, and cooling the entire cooling plate
A passage for a cooling fluid, and a periphery of the cooling surface of the cooling board.
A gas blowing hole that blows gas to the lid material opens in the enclosure
It is characterized in that there. The gas blowing means may be provided separately from the cooling plate of the cooling member, and the lid may be cooled by gas independently of cooling by the cooling plate. However, if the gas blowing holes are formed in the cooling board as described above, it is not necessary to provide a separate component for blowing gas, so that the structure can be simplified and the gas is cooled by the cooling board. Therefore, the lid member can be reliably cooled in a short time. FIG. 1 is a front view showing a main part of a container sealing device according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is an enlarged sectional view showing a part thereof. In the container transport section A, transport tables 11 are arranged at regular intervals, and each transport table 11 is connected to a transport chain and transported continuously or intermittently at a predetermined speed to the left in the figure. The containers C are held on the individual transfer tables 11. Specifically, a concave portion having an upper opening is formed in each carrier 11, and the container C is inserted into the concave portion, and the flange portion of the opening Ca of the container C is set on the upper surface of the carrier 11. I have. The container C is made of Styrofoam, PP or PE
It is made of plastic such as T, or surface-treated paper. At the stage before being conveyed to the sealing device shown in FIG. 1, contents such as food are put in the container C. A movable table 12 is provided above the sealing device, and the movable table 12 includes a first support table 12a and a second support table 12b. The movable table 12 is schematically shown in FIG. 1 by a driving mechanism (not shown).
It operates on a trajectory almost following. When the movable base 12 is driven by the cam, the movable base 12 operates on a trajectory slightly different from the trajectory indicated by the arrow, but in any case, the speed of the movable base 12 at the time of the trajectory indicated by Substantially matches the transport speed. A heat welding means B is mounted on the first support 12a. The heat welding means B is provided in one or two stages, and a heat welding member 14 is provided in the heat welding means B. A support shaft 15 is fixed to the heat welding member 14, and the support shaft 15 is slidably supported by the first support 12a, and is interposed between the heat weld 14 and the first support 12a. The heat welding member 14 is elastically urged downward by a spring 16. On the lower surface of the heat-welding member 14, a heating surface 14a having a shape following the flange of the opening Ca of the container C is formed. Further, a heater is incorporated in the heat welding member 14, and the heat welding member 14 is heated to a predetermined temperature. A cooling means D is provided at the next stage of the heat welding means B. The cooling means D is provided with a cooling board 17. A support shaft 18 is fixed to the cooling board 17, the support shaft 18 is slidably supported by the first support base 12 a, and a spring 19 is provided between the cooling board 17 and the first support base 12 a. The cooling board 17 is urged downward in the figure. As shown in FIG. 2, a flat cooling surface 17a is formed on the lower surface of the cooling board 17 so as to follow the flange of the opening Ca of the container C. Also, cooling surface 1
At the outer peripheral portion of 7a, a step portion 17b is formed which is separated from the lid material film F installed on the opening Ca of the container C. A fluid passage 17c is formed in the cooling board 17,
Cooling fluid is supplied into the fluid passage 17c to cool the cooling board 17, thereby suppressing an increase in temperature. A gas passage 17d is formed in the cooling board 17, and air is supplied to the gas passage 17d at a predetermined pressure. The distribution passage 17 is provided in the gas passage 17d.
e are continuous, and gas blowing holes 17f are continuous with this distribution path 17e. The gas blowing hole 17f is open at the step 17b, and in the region of the opening Ca outside the flange portion, the gas blowing hole 17f is formed.
From f, gas is blown to the lid material film F to form a gas blowing means. This gas blowing hole 17
f are formed at regular intervals along the outer periphery of the flange portion of the opening Ca of the container C. The gas discharged from the gas blowing holes 17f is cooled when passing through the inside of the cooling board 17. The cutting means E is provided at the next stage of the cooling means D. The cutting means E is provided with a presser board 21, and a plurality of support shafts 22 fixed to the presser board 21 are slidably supported by the second support table 12b. A spring 2 is provided between the presser board 21 and the second support table 12b.
The presser plate 21 is urged downward by the spring 23. A guide shaft 24 is fixed on the upper surface of the presser board 21, and a cutter holder 25 is slidably supported on the guide shaft 24. A cutting member (cutting blade) 26 is provided on the lower surface of the cutter holder 25. Has been fixed. The blade of the cutting member 26 has a shape surrounding the entire periphery of the flange of the opening Ca of the container C. An elevating cylinder 27 is attached to the second support base 12b.
7, the cutter holder 25 and the cutting member 26 are driven up and down. Next, each step of welding, cooling and cutting of the lid material by the sealing device will be described. The transfer table 11 on which the container C is installed is continuously or intermittently transferred to the left in the drawing, but the foodstuffs are stored in the container C in the front stroke of the single-stage or multi-stage heat welding means B shown in FIG. Contents such as are input. The cover material film F is formed by forming a heat-sealing seal layer on the lower surface of a single-layer or multi-layer film such as PP or PET. To the upper part of the container C. The movable table 12 operates in synchronization with the transfer of the transfer table 11, but while the movable table 12 moves down and moves in the direction together with the transfer table 11, the heat welding member 14 of the heat welding means B and the cooling means D are used. Cooling plate 17 and cutting plate E holding plate 21
Presses against the flange portion of the opening Ca of the container C via the elastic force of the springs 16, 19, and 23, respectively. In the heat welding means B, the heating surface 14a of the heat welding member 14 is
The lid film F is thermally welded to the flange of the opening Ca of the container C. Therefore, while the transfer table 11 moves leftward in the figure, the container C
Is transported to the left in the figure together with the transfer of the container C. In the cooling means D, the cooling surface 17 of the cooling board 17
When a contacts the flange portion of the opening Ca of the container C, the heat-welded portion between the container C and the lid film F is cooled. That is, the heat of the heat-welded portion is transmitted to the cooling board 17 and radiated. At this time, as shown in FIG.
Gas is blown from a plurality of gas blowing holes 17f on the outer peripheral portion of 7a to cover material film F on the outer peripheral portion of opening Ca of container C. This gas (air) is supplied to the cooling board 1
7, the outer peripheral portion Fb of the cover film F is reliably cooled. That is, the outer peripheral portion Fb of the cover film immediately after passing through the heat welding means B has considerable heat, but is reliably cooled by blowing gas. The opening Ca of the container C
Even if the outer peripheral portion Fb is loosened in the outer peripheral portion of
Due to the cooling by gas, a sufficient cooling effect can be obtained. In the cutting means E, the outer peripheral portion Fb of the lid material film is pressed against the upper surface of the transfer table 11 by the presser board 21, and thereafter, the cutting member (cutting blade) 26 is lowered by the lifting cylinder 27 so that the cutting member The blade 26 cuts through the cover film F and enters the concave portion 11a of the carriage 11. At the time of this cutting, since the outer peripheral portion Fb of the lid material film is sufficiently cooled, there is no elongation when the blade hits, and the lid material film F is clean along the outer periphery of the opening Ca of the container C. Be cut off. By repeating the above operation, heat welding, cooling, and cutting of the lid material film F are continuously and repeatedly performed. As described above, according to the present invention, since the lid material around the opening of the container is cooled by blowing gas, even if the lid material on the outer peripheral portion is loosened, the lid material is removed. Is surely cooled. Therefore, the cutting of the lid material is performed neatly along the container.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a front view showing a main part of a container sealing device according to the present invention; FIG. 2 is an enlarged sectional view showing a part of the sealing device shown in FIG. 1; A partially enlarged cross-sectional view for explaining a problem of the sealing device. [Description of symbols] A Container transport section B Heat welding means C Container Ca Opening D Cooling means E Cutting means 11 Transport table 12 Movable table 14 Heat welding member 17 Cooling board 17c Fluid passage 17d Gas passage 17f Gas blowing hole 26 Cutting member

Claims (1)

(1) A thermal welding means for thermally welding a lid material to an opening of a container, and a cooling means for abutting a portion where the lid material is welded to cool the thermally welded portion. Gas blowing means for blowing a gas to the lid material in a region outside the portion where the cooling means abuts to cool the lid material, and cutting means for cutting the lid material cooled by the gas blowing means for each container. Is provided, and the cooling means is configured to cool a part in contact with a portion where the lid member is welded.
Cooling plate having a surface, and cooling for cooling the entire cooling plate
Fluid passage, around the cooling surface of the cooling board
A container sealing device, characterized in that a gas blowing hole for blowing gas to the lid member is open .