JP3388696B2 - Method and apparatus for confirming sealing of article package - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for confirming the tightness of a package of articles containing solids.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Pharmaceuticals, chemicals used in solid form,
When foods and the like are used in a small amount, most of them are put in a packaging bag made of plastic or the like and handled as one small bag with the periphery sealed. Then, particularly if the solid substance has a property of being active with respect to moisture in the air, oxygen, etc., and thereby causing a change with time, a bag having a high barrier property against the moisture, oxygen, etc. is selected. Of course, it is also necessary to check and confirm whether the sealing performed at the time of packaging is completely performed. Hereinafter, this is called confirmation of sealing.

There are various methods for checking the above-mentioned sealing, but in many cases, the following method is used. That is, a solid is put in advance in a bag made of plastic or the like together with an inert gas such as helium and sealed by heat fusion or the like to form a package, and a predetermined external pressure is applied to the package in a separately provided sealed hood. In addition, the sealing is confirmed by collecting and detecting the inert gas leaking from the package. Then, the sealed package is placed on a solid plate (plastic bag, metal), a rubber sheet, or a plastic bag in which a liquid such as water is sealed as an underlay (mounting table). Next, the placed bag is pressed with a predetermined pressure by the pressing means. By this pressing operation, the inert gas leaked from the package is collected through the sealed hood that is provided so as to surround the upper portion of the mounting table, and is sent to the gas detecting means through the tube for detection. To be done.

[0004]

Particularly, when a solid material is hermetically sealed in a plastic bag and the above-mentioned hard plate-like material or a rubber sheet is used as a mounting table, the plastic bag becomes a balloon shape. If a sufficient amount of inert gas is sealed at the position, the pressure inside the plastic bag can be made sufficiently high by pressurizing with the pressing means, and the pressure from the insufficiently sealed portion can be The inert gas leaks, and this leak gas can be collected and detected. However, in the usual case, encapsulation of a large amount of inert gas is not performed due to problems of running cost, packaging form, and equipment, and generally, an amount of inert gas such that a plastic bag is slightly swollen with respect to a solid substance. Enclosed. However, in such a case, a small bag of a desiccant or an oxygen scavenger is often enclosed in order to prevent the solid matter inside the plastic bag and the drying and oxidation of the solid matter. Pouches and solids act as a heavy rod and stop the operation of the pressing plate of the pressing means, so that the pressure inside the plastic bag cannot be raised sufficiently, and the part that is insufficiently sealed from Inert gas cannot be leaked and accurate detection cannot be performed.Moreover, by increasing the pressure, small bags of solids, desiccant and oxygen absorber, and even plastic bags are damaged. The problem arises that In such a case, it is effective to use a plastic bag sealed with a liquid such as water as the underlay (mounting table). However, in the case of a liquid such as water, the plastic bag sealed with the liquid is damaged and the object to be inspected. And, the problem of having a great adverse effect on the device remains. In view of the above-mentioned conventional drawbacks, the present invention does not vary even in a solid-state sealed plastic bag in any state, and a method and an apparatus capable of confirming a complete and rapid sealing, particularly a mounting table, and found out. It is a thing. It can be achieved by the following method and device.

[0005]

A method for confirming the tightness of an article package in which a solid matter and an inert gas are hermetically packaged, wherein the package body is placed on a mounting table that is arranged opposite to a hermetically sealed hood. Then, an external force is applied to the package in the sealed hood to press the package with a predetermined pressure, and when the inert gas leaking from the package into the sealed hood is detected, the mounting table is formed of a gel-like material. When the package is pressed by doing so, the molded gel will deform following the shape of the solid in the package, and detect the inert gas leaking in the sealed hood to seal the package. It is characterized by confirming. An article package in which a solid matter and an inert gas are hermetically packaged is placed on a mounting table that is arranged opposite to a vertically movable sealing hood, and the package on the mounting table is placed at a predetermined pressure in the sealing hood. A pressing means having a pressing plate to be pressed, and an inert gas detecting means for collecting and detecting an inert gas leaking into the sealed hood by pressing the package at a predetermined pressure by the pressing operation of the pressing means. In the device for confirming the sealing of the article package, the placing table is mainly composed of a molded gel-like material, and when the pressing plate of the pressing means is pressed against the packaging body, the placing table is a solid substance in the packaging body. It is characterized by being deformed following the shape of. Furthermore, the molded gel-like material has a thickness of 3 to 20 mm, is placed on a fixed frame, and the fixed frames are movably arranged side by side, and at least the upper surface of the molded gel-like product is a flexible plastic film. It is characterized in that the coated and molded gel-like material mainly comprises a silicone-based gel-like material. The present invention will be described in detail below.

[0006]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION In the present invention, an article package containing a solid substance means, as described above, a solid substance such as a pharmaceutical product, a chemical agent, a food product, and the shape thereof ranges from powdery to granular, pellet-like and larger ones. It contains the solid matter, air, and some kind of gas in a hermetically sealed form.

Inert gas as a gas that is often used means a gas that is inert to the solid matter and the packaging bag. Therefore, the type of gas is not particularly limited. For example, commonly used gases are helium, xenon, argon, nitrogen, etc. Among them, helium gas has the smallest specific gravity (lightness) and its abundance in air is small. Therefore, it is preferable that the leaked gas easily leaks even from a fine defective sealing portion because it is easily collected and the detection efficiency by the detection means is high.

As a bag of an article package for hermetically packaging a solid substance and an inert gas, a plastic film or sheet (having a thickness of about 0.1 to 0.5 mm) for packaging is generally used. It is a bag made with specifications that fit the packaging of. Therefore, the kind of the material of the film or the sheet, and if the film or the sheet is a single layer, a multi-layer, or a multi-layer, a non-plastic material such as an aluminum foil, or metal vapor deposition is involved. Moreover, there is no limitation on the form of packaging. However, in terms of strength, the bag should not be a bag that is damaged by the pressing action of the pressing means that presses it with a predetermined pressure described later. As described above, the plastic bag is not limited, but in terms of the greater effect of the present invention, with respect to the overall hardness of the plastic bag itself, softer than hard is more effective. is there. This means that as the overall hardness of the plastic bag itself becomes harder, in the sealing confirmation means generally used for the mounting table (hard plate, rubber sheet, liquid), the gas at a predetermined pressure is This can also be explained from the fact that there are many variations in leaks and the quality of sealing cannot be completely achieved.

The solid matter and the inert gas are put in a plastic bag and sealed. The method is, for example, one side or a part of the bag is opened and the other part is heat-sealed. After that, a completely sealed state is obtained in advance, a predetermined (type, amount) of fixed matter is put into the opened portion, and then an appropriate amount of inert gas is put, and the opened portion is immediately heat-sealed. Or
Either part is unfused or partly fused, the film for the bag is placed under an inert gas atmosphere, leaving one side or part under the atmosphere, and heat fused, For example, a predetermined solid substance is put in the remaining one side or a part thereof and the unsealed portion is heat-sealed. Of course, this sealing means
Any method will do. The amount of inert gas enclosed is
The amount that the entire bag is pressed (expanded) is not necessary,
An amount that maintains normal pressure is sufficient.

In order for the package in which the solid material and the inert gas are hermetically sealed to be shipped as a final product, various checks are performed in the course of the process. In the present invention, the complete confirmation of the seal of the extremely important package is surely and swiftly performed by using the same device by the specific seal confirmation method, and the package is shipped as a complete product.

At this time, the method for confirming the tightness of the article package is as follows. The package is placed on the molded gel and the gel is molded by applying an external force to the package. Since it deforms following the shape, it deforms the bag of the package without applying excessive pressure to the package, makes it easier for gas and gas leaks, and confirms the sealing of the package by detecting the gas. It is possible. Next, the sealing confirmation device will be described.

The seal confirming device is basically a device provided with the seal hood, the mounting table, the pressing means, and the inert gas detecting means as described above. In the present invention, the mounting table is particularly preferable. With respect to the above, a mounting table different from the conventional one is incorporated.

The mounting table is mainly composed of a molded gel-like material. First, the molded gel-like material will be described. Here, molding means that the gel-like material has a certain shape, but when the gel-like material itself is fluid, the certain shape is put into a soft packaging bag to be a molded product. If it is not fluid, it can be shaped in the mold, so that it can maintain its shape by itself without the need to put it in the packaging bag. The shape here refers to a plate-like body having a certain thickness because it is generally flat although it depends on the shape of the plastic bag. If the thickness is particularly thin, if it is too thin, the quality of the sealing may not be sufficiently confirmed depending on the state of the sealed plastic bag. In other words, the confirmation of sealing is likely to vary. On the other hand, if it is too thick, it is not preferable in terms of handling (manufacturing, handling, etc.). Therefore, in order to make it easier to handle and to check the sealing more effectively, it is determined according to the size (thickness or height) of the solid material or the small bag packaged in the bag-making, and numerically, Although it ranges from several microns to several millimeters, it is about 3 to 20 mm, preferably about 5 to 15 mm when the solid substances such as the pharmaceuticals, chemicals and foods are packaged.

As is generally known, the gel-like material is a jelly-like material having an intermediate hardness between solid and liquid, and with respect to elasticity, it has an ideal elastic deformation behavior generally found in rubber. Rather, it exhibits post-elastic deformation behavior. Specific examples of the gel-like material having such characteristics are silicone gel, urethane gel, vinyl alcohol gel, acrylic gel, gelatin gel, etc. When based on a molecular weight polymer, which is partially crosslinked into a gel with a low crosslink density. Further, it is a method of adjusting the molecular weight itself to form a gel. On the other hand, it is also possible to use a super-superabsorbent resin gel in which a proper amount of water is taken into a molecular cell to form a gel. (Since this gel is fluid, it is molded in a plastic bag.) Of these, silicone gel and urethane gel are preferable, and silicone gel is more preferable. This is because it is the most effective in exerting the above-mentioned effects, and it is possible to easily obtain a desired hardness, and further, maintain a predetermined shape by itself and not break the shape.

An example of producing a gel-like material molded from the silicone gel is shown below. For example, an organosiloxane and an organosiloxane having vinyl groups bonded to both terminals are mixed under addition polymerization catalyst (platinum, etc.), and the mixture is poured into a mold having a predetermined shape and heated. The partial addition reaction proceeds and polymerizes to change to a low molecular weight polymer. Due to the partial addition reaction, it does not become a high molecular weight polymer and terminates in a gel. A molded silicone gel having a desired hardness can be easily obtained by controlling the progress of the partial addition reaction. The obtained silicone gel is
Remove from mold. It feels like konjac and retains its shape.

Next, the mounting table mainly composed of the molded gel-like material will be described. It is desired that the mounting table is such that the plastic bag is firmly placed on it so that the next pressing means can function smoothly and that it can withstand repeated use. Therefore, there is no particular restrictive specification as long as such a condition is satisfied.
For example, a quadrangular plate gel having a thickness of about 10 mm may be packaged in itself or in a soft plastic film and used as a mounting table as it is, or a fixed frame made of plastic or metal may be prepared. Then, a molded gel mounting table with a fixed frame can be provided with the front surface facing upward at the center and the other surfaces filled in. However, from the viewpoint that the desired functions described above are fully exhibited and continuous automation is performed, it is preferable to use a molded gel mounting table with a fixed frame.

In many cases, the molded gel-like material is adhesive and is easily damaged by external impact. Therefore, at least the surface of the plastic bag to which the plastic bag is placed is in contact with the soft plastic film. It is desirable to coat. This is because, if the soft plastic film is coated with a too hard film (sheet), the soft plastic film does not sufficiently act on the sealing confirmation by the molded gel-like material. Therefore, the softness is
The closer it is to the hardness of the molded gel, the better,
This can be done by selecting a material with low hardness or making the thickness thinner. However, a weak material that is damaged by the pressing means described later is not preferable.

Next, the pressing means will be described. The pressing means is placed on a mounting table mainly composed of a gel-like material molded in the sealed hood, and a sealed plastic bag of a solid material and an inert gas is pressed with a predetermined pressure to be internally sealed. It is a means for performing an operation of pushing out an inert gas to the outside. Therefore, the structure is not particularly limited as long as the operation can be performed safely and surely. In general,
As a pressing device that presses a pressing plate consisting of a flat plate with a pressing drive source (for example, an air cylinder) that has a pressing adjustment mechanism,
This is provided above the mounting table. Here, the predetermined pressure may be pressed with the minimum pressure required for the inert gas contained therein to leak from the poorly sealed portion, and pressing with more pressure than necessary may damage the bag, which is not preferable. . Therefore, in determining the predetermined pressure, it is sufficient to carry out a successive preliminary test to determine the best condition and perform the pressing operation according to it, but generally, a pressing pressure of about 10 to 25 kg is sufficient, and due to poor sealing. It is possible to detect leak gas.

Next, the inert gas detecting means will be described. This is because the sealed plastic bag on the mounting table is pressed by the pressing means, and as a result, if there is a defective sealing part, the inert gas inside will leak, so while collecting it, Leak A means for detecting (existing) the gas by a detector. This detector is also called an inert gas detector and is commercially available. (If the inert gas is helium, it is marketed as a helium detector.) This detector is guided using a conduit, but the amount of leaking gas differs depending on the size of the poorly sealed part, so if there is a small amount, there is a conduit. In some cases, vacuum means may be attached to the location. Moreover, it is preferable to devise a device for collecting the leak gas immediately after the leak so as not to leak outside.

It should be noted that if an inert gas is detected by the detector, it must be instructed to immediately exclude it as a defective sealing product. However, in this instruction, the sealing confirmation operation is all manual (discontinuous). If it is), it is sufficient to connect a buzzer etc. to the detector and instruct with the buzzer, but if all is to be automated continuously, a defective product elimination means should be installed near the mounting table to detect this. The means for electrically discharging the container and automatic discharge will be taken.

The solid state sealed plastic bag sealing confirmation device including the mounting table, the pressing means and the inert gas detection means described above will be further described in detail with reference to the perspective view of FIG. Figure 1
1 is a molded silicone gel 2 (penetration 140-
180, thickness 10 mm) is a mounting table that is housed and fixed in a frame. The top surface of the gel is covered with a PET film having a thickness of 0.1 mm indicated by 2a, as shown in the section AA. (Since the gel itself has adhesiveness, P
The ET film can be attached or removed with one touch. The mounting table 1 is in a state of being fixed to the belt conveyor 4.

On the upper part of the mounting table 1 described above, there are provided a pressing plate 8 for pressing the bag 3 in which the solid powder 3a and the inert gas are sealed at a predetermined pressure and an air cylinder 9 with a pressure adjusting mechanism. By the pressing means and the pressing means, the inert gas leaking from the bag is collected by the hood 5, and is sent to the detector 11 via the conduit (flexible pipe) 10 to detect the gas. And means are provided.

The pressing operation by the pressing means is performed as follows. First, the polypropylene bag 3
When it is placed in the center of the mounting table 1, a sensor (sensor for contact, light, etc.) (not shown) operates, and it is transmitted to the lowering operation of the air cylinder 7. When the hood 5 descends and comes into contact with the peripheral line surface of the mounting table 1, the contact sensor operates and the descent drive of the air cylinder 7 is stopped. Then, at the same time as the stop, the air cylinder 9 starts descent drive. Then, the push plate 8 starts to push the upper surface of the bag manufacturing device 3. The pressure applied to the bag-making device 3 is input to the pressure adjusting mechanism of the air cylinder 9 in advance. Therefore, when the pressing amount is reached,
The operation of the pressure sensor (not shown) causes the air cylinder 9 to stop the pushing operation and keep the pushing state for a predetermined time. During the predetermined time (generally, about 2 to 5 seconds), the bag 3 having a poor sealing is leaked with an inert gas. When the presence / absence of a leak is confirmed by the detection means, the pressing operation ends, so at the same time when the air cylinder 9 starts the ascending drive, the air cylinder 7 also starts the ascending drive and returns to their original positions. Wait for the next confirmation operation.

On the other hand, the detecting operation by the detecting means is as follows. That is, when there is a poor sealing due to the pressing operation of the pressing means for about 2 to 5 seconds, the bag-making 3
Since the inert gas leaks from the inside, it is collected by the sealed hood 5 without leaking to the outside. Then, the collected leaked gas is discharged from an outlet hole (not shown) formed at the front left end of the sealed hood 5,
It exits immediately and is introduced into the detector 11 through the conduit 10. The detector here is, for example, a small mass spectrometer. As a result, the leak gas is immediately detected electrically.
When it is detected, the polypropylene bag 3 with the poor sealing is instructed to be removed digitally or analogically. Exclusion, that is, the discharging means includes both manual and automatic, but in the case of automatic exclusion, for example, the order of the number of the sent bag-making bag 3 sent from the detector is determined by the detector. Have the computer record the instructions through the leads. On the other hand, an ejecting device is arranged at a certain portion of the belt conveyor 4 at the rear of the line and is connected to the computer. In response to an instruction from the computer, the discharging operation is performed, and the bag 3 with the poor sealing is automatically discharged to the outside of the system. Incidentally, when the automatic discharging means is adopted, it is necessary to automate the sealing confirmation device including the above-mentioned three means correspondingly. There is no special condition for the automation method, and it is sufficient to use the above-mentioned means as a base and operate each in an interlocking manner.

The above-mentioned poor sealing is often due to poor fusion due to heat fusion performed during bag making. However, even if there are pinholes or the like formed during original film (sheet) molding or after bag making, Since the inert gas leaks, this pinhole or the like is also detected as a poor sealing.

[0026]

EXAMPLES Next, examples and comparative examples will be compared with the prior art.

[0027]

Example 1 A polyethylene film, polyvinylidene chloride, and an aluminum foil were laminated in this order, and a polyethylene film was used as an inner layer to form a size 50 × 1 film.
One side was opened and the other side was firmly heat-sealed with a width of 3 mm so as to be finished into a bag of 00 m, and 100 sheets were prepared. Then, about 40 g of the powder of the oxygen scavenger was put from one side that was opened, then about 1% (volume% relative to the inner volume of the bag) helium gas was put, and immediately the remaining side was similarly heat-melted. I wore it. However, at the time of heat-sealing this side, only about 50 μm (fine holes) were heat-sealed so as not to be heat-sealed, and a bag in a poorly sealed state was obtained.

A helium gas leak test was carried out on the 50 poorly sealed bags using the apparatus shown in FIG. At this time, the pressure applied to the bag by the air cylinder 9 was 20 kg, and the pressing time was 4 seconds. A helium leak detector manufactured by Shimadzu Corporation was used as a detector, and the presence or absence of leak was determined by the sound emitted from the detector. As a result of the leak test, sound was emitted from all 50 bags, and the leak was completely confirmed.

[0029]

Comparative Example 1 Using the remaining 50 bags made in Example 1,
A leak test was performed under the same conditions as in Example 1 except that a synthetic rubber plate (thickness: 10 mm) having a rubber hardness of 50 was used instead of the molded silicone gel of the mounting table in FIG.
As a result, the detection sound was confirmed in 38 bags, but the detection sound was not confirmed in 12 bags.

The results of Example 1 and Comparative Example 1 described above are inevitable that defectively sealed products are mixed and shipped with a certain probability as long as the conventional mounting table is used, but in the present invention. As long as the platform is used, only fully sealed plastic bags with solids are shown to be shipped.

[0031]

EFFECTS OF THE INVENTION Since the present invention is configured as described above, a plastic bag in which a solid material is hermetically sealed and incompletely sealed is surely excluded, and only the completely sealed bag is provided. You can choose and ship. This means that a packaging bag of higher quality can be stably and quickly produced, and thus contributes greatly to the improvement of productivity.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view and a sectional view showing an example of a sealing confirmation device according to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 table 2 Molded silicone gel 2a PET film 3 polypropylene bags 3a solid powder 5 hood 8 push plate 11 Leakage inert gas detector

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of front page (58) Fields surveyed (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) G01M 3/26 B65B 57/02 G01M 3/20 G01M 3/24 G01N 27/62

Claims (5)

(57) [Claims] 1. A method for confirming the hermeticity of an article package in which a solid matter and an inert gas are hermetically packaged, wherein the package is placed on a mounting table facing the hermetically sealed hood, and the hermetically sealed hood is placed. When the package is pressed with a predetermined pressure by applying an external force to the package inside and the inert gas leaking from the package into the sealed hood is detected, the mounting table is formed by a molded gel-like material. When the body is pressed the molded gel will deform following the shape of the solid body in the package,
A method to check the tightness of the package by detecting the leaking inert gas in the sealed hood. 2. An article package, in which a solid matter and an inert gas are hermetically packaged, is placed on a mounting table which is arranged opposite to a vertically movable sealing hood, and the packaging on the mounting table is inside the sealing hood. A pressing means having a pressing plate for pressing the body with a predetermined pressure, and an inert gas for collecting and detecting an inert gas leaking into the sealed hood by pressing the packaging body with a predetermined pressure by the pressing operation of the pressing means. In the device for confirming the sealing of the article package including the gas detecting means, the placing table is configured so that the pressing plate of the pressing means is pressed against the package by the pressing table of the pressing means being mainly composed of a molded gel-like object. An apparatus for confirming the tightness of an article package, which deforms following the shape of a solid body in the package. 3. The apparatus for confirming the hermeticity of an article package according to claim 2, wherein the mounting table comprises a fixed frame on which a molded gel-like material having a thickness of 3 to 20 mm is mounted so as to be movable. 4. The apparatus for confirming the seal of an article package according to claim 2, wherein at least the upper surface of the molded gel-like material is covered with a flexible plastic film. 5. The device for confirming the hermeticity of an article package according to claim 2, wherein the molded gel material is mainly composed of a silicone gel material.