JP3452069B2 - Packaging method and device including freshness-retaining agent bag - 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 method and apparatus, and more particularly, to a packaging film used for forming a packaging body such as foods, in which a freshness-preserving agent is automatically attached and the packaging film is used. The present invention relates to a method and a device for packaging an object to be packaged. More specifically, the present invention is an article in which application of a freshness-retaining agent represented by an oxygen scavenger or a desiccant is effective, for example, confectionery, coffee, yellow flour, grain flour, beans, rice, rice cake, ramen, ham, The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for automatically attaching a freshness-retaining agent to a packaging film forming a package for foods, etc., for immobilizing and fixing a freshness-retaining agent enclosed in a package for foods such as sausages and delicacy.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Freshness-retaining agents exemplified by oxygen scavengers and desiccants are small bags (hereinafter referred to as "freshness-retaining agent bags") packaged in breathable packaging materials. , Traditionally,
In many cases, they were stored in the final package without being fixed. However, if the freshness-keeping agent bag is not fixed, when the consumer opens the bag, the freshness-keeping agent may be mistakenly eaten or cooked together with the food. For this reason, the freshness-keeping agent bag is now fixed to the package, which has been conventionally fixed by various methods, but each has its problems. For example, a method is used in which the seal portion of the freshness preserving agent bag is sandwiched and fixed to the seal portion of the package. However, in this method, since there is a step in the sealed portion of the package, uniform pressure cannot be applied during sealing, and the sealing strength is weak and airtightness may not be maintained. Further, in recent years, a method of fixing a freshness-keeping agent bag to a packaging film via a double-sided tape has been developed, but it has a problem in heat resistance.

Recently, in order to solve the above-mentioned problems of heat resistance and adhesive strength, and due to a demand for automation of package production,
JP-A-3-56224 proposes a method for automating the fixing of a freshness retaining agent bag to a packaging film with a hot melt adhesive. In the method described in the same publication, a hot-melting agent is dropped on a predetermined position on the inner surface of the packaging film, and the freshness-keeping agent bag is fixed to the packaging film to which the hot-melting agent is attached. However, in the method that adopts the method of fixing the freshness preservation bag by this method, we will increase the production capacity by arranging multiple packaging machines that automatically manufacture the final product packaging with packaging film in the longitudinal direction and width direction. In this case, a hot-melt agent dropping device is required for each position of the packaging film for fixing the freshness-retaining agent bag, and not only the number of other auxiliary devices is increased, but also the installation space is excessively large. Therefore, improvement has been desired. Also, if the processing capacity of the packaging machine itself is increased, the supply speed of the packaging film, etc. will increase, but with this, it is difficult to synchronize and associate the hot melt dropping position on the packaging film with the freshness-keeping agent bag. Becomes

[0004]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above problems of the prior art, and its purpose is to:
When packaging a packaged object using this packaging film with the freshness preservation bag fixed to the packaging film, the production capacity of the packaging machine that automatically manufactures the final product package is increased, and Even when arranging multiple machines to increase the production capacity, it can be adequately handled without increasing the number of equipment and space problems, and there is no hindrance to the fixing of the freshness preserving agent bag to the packaging film. An object of the present invention is to provide a highly efficient packaging method and device.

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to achieve such an object, the present invention attaches an adhesive to a freshness-retaining agent bag strip in which freshness-retaining agent bags are connected in a strip shape in one direction and separates them. The freshness-preserving agent bag is cut, and the freshness-preserving agent bag is guided to the running line of the packaging film strip to be continuously fed separately, and each freshness-preserving agent bag is passed through the adhered adhesive. The present invention provides a packaging method for fixing a packaged object to be separately supplied, by fixing it to the packaging film strip and using the packaging film strip containing at least one freshness-keeping agent bag. In this case, whichever of the step of applying the adhesive and the step of cutting into the individual freshness-keeping agent bags may be performed first.

According to the present invention, the freshness-retaining agent bag is continuously supplied with a freshness-retaining agent bag in which the freshness-retaining agent bag is continuous in one direction, and an adhesive is attached to the freshness-retaining agent bag. Adhesive attachment / cutting means for cutting this into individual freshness-retaining agent bags, film supply means for continuously supplying the packaging film strip, and freshness-retaining agent bags from the adhesive attachment / cutting means for packaging film strips Guide means for guiding to the running line of the body, crimping means for crimping the freshness-retaining agent bag guided by the guiding means to the packaging film strip through the adhesive, and the freshness-retaining agent bag is fixed by the crimping means. And a packaging means for packaging an article to be packaged using the packaging film strip.

[0007]

The inventor has a problem that the freshness-retaining agent bag is conventionally fixed to the position of the attached packaging film after the adhesive is attached to the packaging film. By changing the way of thinking, an adhesive is applied to the freshness-retaining agent bag, which is moved to the packaging film supply line and fixed to the packaging film, which solves the problems of the conventional technology. . As a result,
For example, when arranging a plurality of packaging machines, a device for adhering an adhesive to a packaging film must be provided for each number of packaging machines, and there are problems such as installation space. Yes, i.e., the equipment for applying the adhesive would be one for the freshness bag.

[0008]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described below based on the embodiments shown in the drawings. 1 to 6 show a first embodiment of the present invention, and FIGS. 7 and 8 show a second embodiment of the present invention. In both cases, foods are taken as an example of the object to be packaged. Particularly, the first embodiment uses a so-called cup sealer packaging machine in the final step,
In addition, the packaging machine is a so-called three-row type in which three packaging machines are provided in the width direction of the production line, and is also a so-called double system in which two final products are produced in the production line direction. On the other hand, the second embodiment uses a so-called horizontal pillow packaging machine.

In FIG. 1 showing the first embodiment, reference numeral 10
Is a bag for keeping freshness agent, and this bag for keeping freshness agent 10
As shown in FIG. 2, the individual freshness-keeping agent bags 12 are connected in one direction in a strip shape via a heat-sealing portion. The freshness-keeping agent bag strip 10 includes a supply device 16 including a plurality of rollers 13 and a detector 14 for detecting the position of the heat-sealed portion between the freshness-preserving agent bags 12 in the strip.
Is automatically supplied to the cutter described later via.

A cutter 18 and a hot melt gun 20 for discharging an adhesive are arranged downstream of the supply device 16 in the flow direction. In this embodiment, the hot melt gun 20 is arranged immediately downstream of the cutter 18, but it is not limited to this, and the hot melt gun 2 is provided upstream.
0, the cutter 18 may be arranged on the downstream side. Cutter 18, which based on said detection result of the detector 14 of the feeder 16, making individual freshness keeping agent bags 12 by cutting the heat-sealed portion between the inner individual freshness keeping agent bag 12 of band member 10 In this embodiment, the hot melt adhesive is adhered to the surface of the freshness-keeping agent bag 12 by the hot melt gun 20 immediately before or after the cutter 18 cuts the freshness-keeping agent bag 12 at the lower end. Here, as the hot melt adhesive, polypropylene or EVA is used.
Examples of such materials include (ethylene / vinyl acetate copolymer) as a main component. Among these, those containing polypropylene as a main component are preferable because they meet the standards of food additives and the like in the hygiene law of food to be packaged, have a high softening point, and have a high peel strength. Here, as in this example, the means for attaching the adhesive does not have to be limited to one that discharges the hot-melt adhesive using a hot-melt gun, and substantially on the surface of the freshness-keeping agent bag, Any material may be used as long as it applies an adhesive that can adhere to the packaging film described below.

A single freshness-keeping agent bag is produced by the cutter 18, and after the adhesive is applied to the surface of the bag, the freshness-keeping agent bag is guided by the guide mechanism 22 to the traveling line of the packaging film. . In this embodiment, the guide mechanism 22 includes a chute 24 that allows each freshness-keeping agent bag 12 to reach a predetermined position by its own weight.
The cross-sectional shape of can be square or oval.
The inclination is preferably 30 to 60 degrees, more preferably 40 to 45 degrees.

In this embodiment, three packing machines, which will be described later, are provided in the width direction of the production line.
4 is branched in three directions on the way and then extends in parallel. Its structure is also shown in FIG. That is, the single freshness retaining agent bag 12 cut by the cutter 18
Fall into a single hopper 26, from which they are guided to one of the chutes 24 via a sorting device 28. The distribution device 28 rotates the short passage 30 so as to match any one of the three chutes by the action of the motor 32, and guides the freshness preservation agent bag to a predetermined chute. Is activated by a signal from the packaging machine. A standby device 34 is provided near the lower end of each chute 24 to synchronize the supply of the freshness-retaining agent bag with the operation of the packaging machine. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, this standby device 34 is in the form of a shield plate 36 that rotates so as to block the passage of the chute 24. As shown by the solid line in FIG. When the freshness-preserving agent bag 12 is blocked, the bag 12 is blocked and stands by there. Also,
The tip of each chute 24 extends to immediately below the temporary attachment roller 40 among the plurality of rollers that guide the packaging film, and terminates there. The distance between the tip of the chute 24 and the temporary adhesion roller 40 is so small that the freshness-retaining agent bag 12 thus guided is pressed against the packaging film guided by the temporary adhesion roller 40. ing.

Incidentally, FIG. 4 shows another embodiment of the tip portion of the chute. In this alternative embodiment, the standby device 34
As an auxiliary chute 42 at the tip of the body of the chute 24.
Is provided, the tip of the auxiliary chute extends to the vicinity of the temporary attachment roller, and has a stopper portion 44 bent into an L shape. The auxiliary chute 42 is rotatable with respect to the chute body 24 by a motor 46, so that the freshness retaining agent bag 12 waiting by the stopper portion 44 is fixed to the packaging film running on the temporary fixing roller 40. It has become.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 50 is a wrapping film strip in which a wrapping film extends in a strip shape, and is unwound from a winding roll 52 wound in layers. The wrapping film strip 50 is wound around the above-mentioned temporary attachment roller 40 via a plurality of rollers 53, and the freshness-retaining agent bag 12 is fixed thereto at an appropriate interval. The agent bag 12 is fixed to the packaging film strip and then introduced into the packaging machine 60. As the packaging film, a film having a gas barrier property is preferable, and a film which has an inner surface when the final product packaging is formed has thermal adhesiveness.

The wrapping machine 60 is a so-called cup sealer wrapping machine, and as shown in FIG. 1, here, a so-called double type is used which forms two wrappings at the same time in the production line direction. There is. More specifically, first, the cups 6 formed in a plurality of strips formed in advance are formed.
2 is supplied to the packaging machine by the conveyor 66 in a state in which the articles 64 to be packaged are stored therein. When the two cups 62 are arranged at predetermined positions in the packaging machine 60, the packaging film strip 50 with the freshness-retaining agent bag 12 fixed thereto is located above the apex cups 62. In this state, the feeding of the wrapping film strip is temporarily stopped, the sealers 68, 68 are pressed against each other from above and below, the periphery of each cup 62 is sealed together with the wrapping film strip 50 , and two wrapping bodies 70 are connected. It is formed. Thereafter , although not shown, each is cut by a cutter to form a final package 70 shown in FIG.

Next, the operation of the above embodiment will be described. Since the wrapping machine 60 is a so-called cup sealer wrapping machine, the feeding of the wrapping film is temporarily stopped in the step of sealing the wrapping body. Therefore, the entire packaging line must be synchronized with the operation of the packaging machine. That is, the operation timings of the traveling line of the packaging film strip 50 and the standby device 34 are determined so as to be synchronized with the packaging machine 60.

Here, the timing of main steps will be described with reference to FIG. The freshness-keeping agent bag 10 is continuously supplied toward the cutter 18, and the hot melt adhesion operation by the hot melt gun 20 and the operation of cutting the band 10 into individual freshness-keeping agent bags 12 are continuously performed. Done. That is, immediately after the adhesion of the hot melt, the strip is cut to form one single freshness-keeping agent bag 12, and then the bag 12 is distributed to the predetermined chute 24 by the distribution device 28.
Will be guided to. This operation is performed 3 times in succession, and each bag 1
2 is distributed to three shoots 24. The bags 12 assigned to the chutes stand by by the waiting device 34. The signal from the wrapping machine 60 is input to the standby device 34 directly or after the time is adjusted, the shield plate 36 is opened, and each bag 12 reaches the temporary attachment roller 40, where the wrapping film strip 50 is formed. Fixed to. In the example of FIG. 4, instead of opening the shield plate, the auxiliary chute 42 is rotated and the bag 12 is pressure-fixed to the packaging film strip. By the above operation, the three bags 1 are provided at three locations in the width direction of the packaging film strip 50.
2 will be fixed and sent to the packaging machine.
The packaging film strip 50 also operates in synchronization with the signal from the packaging machine.

In this embodiment, the wrapping machine 60 seal-molds two continuous wrapping bodies 70 while they are connected at once, so the above operation is performed twice in succession, and as shown in FIG. When the two bags 12 are located in the packaging machine 60, the feeding of the packaging film is temporarily stopped, and the sealers 68, 68 of the packaging machine 60 are activated to seal all around the cup 62, and then the cutting process is performed. . Note that, in FIG. 5, the sealing process by the packaging machine is shown in the lowermost stage, but actually, the operation timing of each process is determined based on the signal from the packaging machine.

In this embodiment, three packaging machines are arranged in the width direction of the line. However, when only one packaging machine is arranged as in the conventional case, a sorting device or a branching device is provided. Multiple shots taken are no longer necessary. In addition, if the entire lines are well synchronized, the standby device is unnecessary.

7 and 8 show another embodiment of the present invention, which is an example in which a so-called horizontal pillow packaging machine is used as the packaging machine. Individual freshness preservation bag 12
Is basically the same as that of the above-mentioned embodiment, so the description thereof will be omitted.
The operation of the packaging machine will be described. Horizontal pillow packaging machine 80
Has a bag-making device 82, folds the wrapping film strip 50 into a substantially cylindrical shape with the longitudinal direction as the central axis, and wraps the article to be wrapped 64 supplied by the conveyor 66 in the folded cavity. Is automatically captured. Center sealers 84, 84 that seal the lower mating surface of the tubular packaging film 50 are provided on the downstream side of the bag making device 82.
Further, on the downstream side thereof, a top sealer 86 that seals and cuts each packaged object 64 into one bag is provided. As shown in FIG. 8, the package 70, which is a final product, has a packaged object 64 in a bag sealed at both ends.
And the freshness retaining agent bag 12 is fixed to the inner surface of the packaging film.

In this embodiment, the center sealer 84 continuously seals as the line is fed,
As for the top sealer 86, as shown by the arrow in FIG. 7, the upper and lower sealers move in a substantially circular arc as the line moves, so that it is not necessary to stop the feeding of the packaging film. Therefore, the production efficiency of the packaging machine itself is high, and when such a horizontal pillow packaging machine 80 is used, it is not usual to install a plurality of such packaging machines. Therefore, it is not possible to provide a plurality of chutes in parallel. Although not usually required, it is not necessary to limit to this, and a plurality of packaging machines may be provided in multiple rows and multiples as in the first embodiment.

In the above embodiments, the case where the cup sealer packaging machine and the horizontal pillow packaging machine are used as the packaging machines has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and other packaging machines such as the above-mentioned horizontal packaging machine can be used. The pillow packaging machine may be a reverse lateral pillow packaging machine in which the center seal portion is brought to the upper part, or a so-called deep drawing packaging machine.

[0023]

As described above, according to the present invention,
As in the past, instead of attaching the adhesive to the packaging film, the adhesive is attached to the freshness-retaining agent bag. Since it is not necessary to provide multiple accessories for each number of packaging machines, it is possible to reduce installation space, maintenance space and equipment costs, and to meet the demand for faster production capacity without any inconvenience. It has an excellent effect that it can be done.

[0024]

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic view showing an entire first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a freshness retaining agent bag strip.

FIG. 3 is a plan view showing a distribution portion of chutes according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a side view showing another example of the standby device according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a timing chart showing the timing of each process of the first embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view showing a package which is a final product of the first embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing a part of the packaging machine according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view showing a package according to the second embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

10: Freshness preservative bag 12: Freshness preservative bag 16 ... Feeding device 18 ... Cutter 20 ... Hot melt gun 22 ... Guidance mechanism 24 ... Shoot 34 ... Standby device 40 ... Temporary wearing roller 50 ... Wrapping film strip 60 ... Packing machine 70 ... Package

Claims (5)

(57) [Claims] 1. A cut into individual freshness keeping agent bag this with freshness keeping agent bag to attach the adhesive to the freshness-keeping agent Fukuro body continuous to strip in one direction, each freshness-keeping agent bag has been cut Sort to multiple transport paths
And guide it to a plurality of running lines of the separately supplied packaging film strip, and fix each freshness-preserving agent bag to the packaging film strip through the adhered adhesive. A packaging method for packaging a separately supplied article by using the packaging film strip containing at least one freshness-keeping agent bag. 2. The packaging method according to claim 1, wherein the freshness-retaining agent bag is cut into individual freshness-retaining agent bags after the adhesive is applied to the band. 3. The packaging method according to claim 1, wherein the freshness-retaining agent bag is cut into individual freshness-retaining agent bags, and then an adhesive is attached to each freshness-retaining agent bag. 4. A bag-strip supplying means for continuously supplying a freshness-preserving bag strip in which the freshness-preserving bag is connected in a strip shape in one direction, and an adhesive agent is attached to the freshness-preserving bag strip to separate it Adhesive attachment / cutting means for cutting the freshness preservation bag, film supply means for continuously supplying the packaging film strip, and freshness preservation bag from the adhesive attachment / cutting means traveling line for the packaging film strip between the plurality of guide means for guiding said plurality of guide means and the adhesive attachment and cutting means until the
Each freshness-retaining agent bag provided in the
And distributing means for distributing, and crimping means for crimping the freshness keeping agent bag has been guided by the guide means to the packaging film strip member via the adhesive, the packaging film strip body freshness keeping agent bag has been secured by the pressing means And a packaging means for packaging the article to be packaged,
A packaging device equipped with. 5. The adhesive adhering / cutting means is provided with an adhesive ejecting device for ejecting the adhesive, and is located upstream or downstream of the adhesive ejecting device, and the freshness-retaining agent bag strips are provided as individual freshness-retaining agent bags. The packaging device according to claim 4 , further comprising a cutter for cutting.