JP3476502B2 - Packaging equipment - Google Patents

Description

Description: BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an article to be packaged (for example, vegetables such as lettuce and cabbage, or fruits such as melon and apple).
For packaging agricultural products. 2. Description of the Related Art A packaging apparatus as described above is disclosed in, for example, JP-A-3-133710. In this packaging apparatus, a packaging table provided with an opening into which an object to be packaged falls is provided, a packaging sheet cut to a predetermined length is placed on the packaging table, and the object to be packaged is pushed into the opening from above and dropped. I do. As a result, the packaging sheet is squeezed at the outer edge of the opening, the object to be packaged is wrapped in the packaging sheet and supported by the lower support table, and then the excess portion of the squeezed packaging sheet is cut. Then, a fastening operation is performed so that the packaging sheet is not opened. [0003] In the case of vegetables such as lettuce, the quality may be maintained by packing the vegetables as described above and then performing a vacuum pre-cooling operation to cool the items to be packaged to some extent. . In this vacuum pre-cooling operation, the packaged object is placed in a dried cooling chamber, and the cooling chamber is set to a state close to vacuum to evaporate moisture in the object to be packaged. This is performed by cooling the packaged object by being taken away from the object. [0004] When performing the vacuum pre-cooling operation as described above, the packaging sheet is brought into close contact with the article to be packaged as in the prior art.
If the package is wrapped so that it is almost completely sealed by the packaging sheet, the moisture inside the package evaporates during the vacuum pre-cooling operation, and even if it tries to go outside, it must go outside with the packaging sheet. May not be performed, and a sufficient vacuum precooling operation may not be performed. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a packaging apparatus for wrapping an article to be packaged in a packaging sheet so that a vacuum precooling operation performed after the packaging is sufficiently performed. [0005] A feature of the present invention resides in the following configuration in the above-described packaging apparatus. That is, a packaging table for placing the packaging sheet cut to a predetermined length by the cutting device, a packaging unit for packaging the packaging object on the packaging sheet on the packaging table, and a packaging sheet wrapping the packaging object. A sealing means for sealing the upper end so as not to be opened, and a packaging sheet for packaging the article to be packaged.
From the cutting end cut by the cutting device in
A vent hole is formed at a position deviated toward the center by a predetermined length, and a gap between the cutting device and the hole means is changed.
Change the predetermined length from the cut end by changing
To are a changeable change means the position of the vent hole. According to the present invention, the packaging sheet is deviated toward the center by a predetermined length from the cut end of the packaging sheet by the opening means .
Since the vent hole is provided at the position, the moisture evaporated from inside the packaged object during the vacuum pre-cooling operation can easily go out through the vent hole of the packaging sheet. Thereby, the evaporation of moisture from the inside of the package is not hindered by the packaging sheet, and a sufficient vacuum pre-cooling operation of the package can be performed. [0007] As means for sealing the packaging sheet, there are means for heating the upper end of the packaging sheet with a heater to cause welding, or attaching an adhesive tape without heating. And
When the upper end of the packaging sheet is sealed by such a means, if the range of welding or the range of the adhesive tape is wide, it is conceivable that the ventilation hole of the packaging sheet may be closed by the sealing. Therefore, as in the present invention, the space between the cutting device and the opening means is provided.
If you change the air gap so that you can change the position of the vent,
If the position of the ventilation hole is changed according to the range of welding or the range of the adhesive tape, it is possible to prevent a situation in which the ventilation hole is closed by sealing. As described above, during the vacuum precooling operation, the moisture in the packaged object evaporates without being disturbed by the packaging sheet.
The package can be cooled sufficiently, and the quality of the package can be maintained sufficiently. And, by arranging the position of the ventilation hole so as to be changed, the sealing of the packaging sheet (welding by heating or sticking of adhesive tape).
Thereby, the situation that the vent hole is blocked can be prevented, so that the reliability of the vacuum pre-cooling operation by the vent hole can be enhanced. Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. (1) FIG. 6 shows the entire packaging device of the present invention. First,
FIG. 12 shows a flow of one packaging in this packaging apparatus.
This will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG.
As shown in (a), when one package sheet 1 cut to a predetermined length is placed on the packaging table 2, the worker places the packaged object A in the opening 2 a of the packaging table 2. When pushed down and dropped, the article to be packaged A falls into the lower support 3 while being slightly wrapped in the packaging sheet 1. Thereafter, when a start switch (not shown) is operated, a pair of left and right holding arms 39 provided on the support base 3 are pivotally operated to the package A side as shown in FIG. Object A is held,
The support 3 and the holding arm 39 are lowered and stopped at a predetermined position. In this case, a plurality of rubber plate-shaped auxiliary squeezing members 11 are provided below the opening 2a so as to surround the article to be packaged A, and the auxiliary squeezing members 11 further narrow the packaging sheet 1. Next, a pair of plate-like holding members 14 arranged on the lower side of the packaging table 2 are shown in FIGS.
As shown in (a), the sheet proceeds to the packaging sheet 1 side, and the upper part 1a of the packaging sheet 1 is sandwiched and narrowed down.
Thereby, the article to be packaged A is almost completely wrapped in the wrapping sheet 1 (the above corresponds to wrapping means). After this, FIG.
As shown in FIG. 5, the pair of disk cutters 28 advances along the upper surface of the holding member 14, the upper portion 1a of the packaging sheet 1 is cut off, and compressed air is injected from the injection nozzle 6,
Upper part 1 of packaging sheet 1 attached to disk cutter 28
a is blown away. Next, as shown in FIG. 13B, an adhesive tape 4 (corresponding to a sealing means) cut to a predetermined length is placed over the upper end of the packaging sheet 1 and the end of the holding member 14. Then, the adhesive tape 4 is pressed from above by the sponge member 7 as shown in FIG. 14 with the adhesive tape 4 pressed by the sponge member 7.
As shown in (a), the pair of holding members 14 are opened, and the sponge member 7 is pressed again to the packaged object A, so that the adhesive tape 4 is securely brought into close contact with the packaging sheet 1. Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 14B, the holding arm 39 is opened to the left and right, the support 3 is turned sideways, and the packaged object A is released to the slide 8 and collected. One package is completed as above.
FIG. 14C shows the state of the packaged object A after the packaging. Then, the support base 3 is again raised to the original position shown in FIG. (2) A new wrapping sheet 1 for the next wrapping is automatically pulled out and cut when one wrapping is completed. Next, the support structure of the wrapping sheet 1 will be described. . As shown in FIGS. 1, 5, and 6, a transparent packaging sheet 1 is wound in a roll shape and supported by a pair of freely rotatable support rollers 5. A pair of left and right guide rollers 40 that determine left and right positions of the roll-shaped portion are provided upright. As shown in FIGS. 4 and 1, a guide roller 40 is erected and fixed on a support plate 41 slidably provided in the axial direction of the support roller 5 (vertical direction in FIG. 4). The operating rod 42 is mounted on the support plate 41 by the packaging table 2.
And a dedent portion 43 for engaging and holding the operation rod 42 at three positions. As a result, the operation knob 42a at the end of the operation rod 42 is held by hand and pushed and pulled, whereby the guide roller 4
The position of 0 is changed and adjusted along the axial direction of the support roller 5 (vertical direction on the paper surface of FIG. 4). (3) Next, the pull-out mechanism 16 for pulling out the packaging sheet 1 supported by the support roller 5 onto the packaging table 2 by a predetermined length will be described. As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7A, a pair of support plates 17 are slidably supported along guide rails 2b provided on both left and right sides of the packaging table 2. A support shaft 18 is erected, and five operation arms 19 are respectively fitted on the support shaft 18 so as to be swingable independently.
a is fixed. Then, on the upper side of the operation arm 19, five receiving portions 20 having substantially the same width as the operation arm 19 are provided.
Is fixedly supported. In this case, the receiving portion 20 of the drawer mechanism 16 is set so as to be located slightly above a receiving table 10 described later. Then, each operation arm 19 is received by a receiving unit 20.
The spring 21 is provided with five springs that urge the swing mechanism toward the swinging side, and the drawer mechanism 16 is configured as described above. The support shaft 18 is rotatably supported on a support plate 17, and arms 18a are fixed to the left and right of the support shaft 18, and one rod 18 extends over the left and right arms 18a.
b is erected and fixed. A link 23 is provided over a fan-shaped gear 22 swingably supported by one support plate 17 and one arm 18a, and a motor 24 for driving the fan-shaped gear 22 is provided. The state shown in FIG. 7 (a) is a state in which the motor 24 is driven to push up the rod 18b to pull down each operating arm 19 from the receiving portion 20. When 18b is lowered, each operating arm 19 is raised toward the receiving portion 20 by the urging force of each spring 21 to clamp the packaging sheet 1. (4) Next, the cutter 12 for cutting the packaging sheet 1 drawn to a predetermined length by the drawing mechanism 16 will be described. As shown in FIG. 5 and FIG. 7A, the receiving table 10 is disposed on one side of the packaging table 2. The pedestal 10 has a plurality of receiving portions 10a protruding in a tongue shape, and is provided with a cutter (cut).
Example of cutting device) Receiving part 10 for receiving recess 10b into which 12 enters
a, and the receiving portion 10a is set at a position slightly lower than the base side of the receiving base 10. As shown in FIGS.
A support frame 13 is arranged on the upper side of the support sheet 13, and a flat cutter 12 having a width wider than the width of the packaging sheet 1 is fixed to the support frame 13. A total of four pressing members 15 in the form of a plate having a width approximately half the width of the packaging sheet 1 are provided, two on the front left and right sides and two on the rear left and right sides of the cutter 12. A rubber material 15a is attached to the lower surface of each of the holding members 15a.
Is provided on the support frame 13 so as to be vertically movable and urged downward by a spring 15b. Fig. 7 (a)
As shown in (1), the rubber member 15a of the pressing member 15 is set to project below the lower end of the cutter 12. As shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3, bosses 13a fixed to the left and right of the support frame 13 are fitted to the left and right guide rails 9 so that the entire support frame 13 is slidably supported up and down. ing. Disks 27a are fixed to both ends of a drive shaft 27 arranged below the packaging table 2,
Left and right disks 27a and left and right boss portions 1 of support frame 13
3a are connected via a link 29, and the motor 30 and the transmission chain 3 for driving the drive shaft 27 to rotate.
1 is provided. With the above structure, when the packaging sheet 1 is pulled out to a predetermined length by the drawing mechanism 16, the motor 3
By 0, the drive shaft 27 is driven to rotate one rotation clockwise from the position shown in FIG. Thereby, the cutter 1
2 is lowered and the packaging sheet 1 is cut.
After cutting, the cutter 12 moves up to the original position shown in FIG. (5) Next, the conical member 33 (corresponding to an opening means) for providing a plurality of ventilation holes 1d in the packaging sheet 1 cut to a predetermined length by the drawer mechanism 16 and the cutter 12 will be described.
As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG.
4 is rotatably supported, and a pair of left and right support arms 46 is fixed to the operation shaft 44. Elongated holes 34a (corresponding to changing means) are provided on the left and right sides of the U-shaped frame 34 in plan view, and bolts 47 fixed to the left and right support arms 46 are inserted into the left and right long holes 34a of the frame 34. Then, the frame 34 is fixed to the support arm 46. Then, three pyramid members 33 are fixed to the frame 34 side by side in the left-right direction (axial direction of the roll-shaped portion of the packaging sheet 1). An arm 45 is fixed to the operation shaft 44, and a spring 35 for urging the operation shaft 44 and the frame 34 in a counterclockwise direction in FIG. 1 is connected to the arm 45.
A fixed stopper 36 for holding the frame 34 in the posture shown in FIG. 9 is provided. A flat guide plate 37 is fixed to the upper side of the receiving table 10, and the packaging sheet 1 is passed between the receiving table 10 and the guide plate 37. As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG.
The arm 27b is fixed to the drive shaft 27 on the side. As a result, the drive shaft 27 is rotated clockwise by the motor 30 as shown in FIGS.
2 starts to cut the packaging sheet 1, the arm 27 b of the drive shaft 27 comes into contact with the roller 45 a of the arm 45 on the conical member 33 side, and the operation shaft 44 and the frame 34 swing clockwise in the drawing. Manipulate. Therefore, three cone members 3
3 moves upward, and the long hole of the receiving table 10 and the guide plate 3
7 3 through the long hole 37a of, put on the packaging sheet 1
From the cut end cut by the cutter 12
The three vent holes 1d (FIG. 6)
See). In this case, the bolt 47 is loosened and the frame 3
4 and the position of the cone member 33 within the range of the elongated hole 34a as shown in FIG.
By changing the distance between the cutter 12 and the opening means 33 and retightening the bolt 47, the positions of the three ventilation holes 1d opened in the packaging sheet 1 as shown in FIG. 2 can be changed along the longitudinal direction (the direction in which the packaging sheet 1 is pulled out by the drawer mechanism 16). Also, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a pair of rods 34 b fixed to the frame 34 are configured to contact the lower surface and the upper surface of the operation shaft 44. This prevents a situation in which the bolt 47 is loosened during the work, and the frame 34 rotates about the bolt 47 with respect to the support arm 46 as a fulcrum. (6) Next, the flow of the operation of the pull-out mechanism 16, the cutter 12, and the cone member 33 when the packaging sheet 1 is pulled out onto the packaging table 2 for the next packaging after the completion of one packaging will be described. The state shown in FIG. 7A is a state in which one package is completed, and the drawer mechanism 16 moves to the cutter 12 side in order to pull out the next packaging sheet 1 for packaging onto the packaging table 2. State. Then, as shown in FIG.
When the drawer mechanism 16 reaches the holding position which is the position of the receiving table 10 and stops, each operation arm 19 of the drawer mechanism 16 is moved.
And the receiving part 20 enters between the receiving parts 10a of the receiving base 10. Next, the motor 24 of the pull-out mechanism 16 is operated, the rod 18b is pulled down, and each operating arm 19 is raised to the receiving portion 20 side by the urging force of each spring 21, and is packaged by each operating arm 19 and the receiving portion 20. The end 1b of the sheet 1 is held. Next, as shown in FIG. 7 (b) to FIG. 8, with the end 1b of the packaging sheet 1 held therebetween,
6 starts to move rightward on the paper, and
Start withdrawing upwards. In this case, as shown in FIGS. 8 and 5, a support plate 32 is supported so as to be able to swing up and down around the horizontal axis P1 at the end of the receiving table 10. This support plate 3
Numeral 2 is substantially the same width as the support roller 5 and has a wider width than the packaging sheet 1, and a friction plate made of urethane rubber is fixed at the end. The support plate 32 is lightly urged downward by a spring (not shown), and the friction plate at the tip is in contact with the outer surface of one support roller 5. Thus, when the packaging sheet 1 is pulled out by the drawing mechanism 16, the rotation of the support roller 5 is slightly braked by the contact action of the support plate 32, and the rotation of the roll-shaped portion of the packaging sheet 1 and the packaging sheet 1 are prevented. A little braking is applied to the drawer. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 8, the packaging sheet 1 is pulled out in a taut state without being loosened in the middle part. And the packaging sheet 1 does not fall between the support roller 5 and the receiving table 10 due to the support plate 32. As shown in FIG. 9, the packaging sheet 1 is transparent, but the mark 1c is formed along the longitudinal direction of the packaging sheet 1.
Printed at predetermined intervals corresponding to the type of the packaged object A and the like. As shown in FIGS. 6 and 9, a reflection type optical sensor 26 having a light emitting device and a light receiving device is provided on a frame 25 fixed to the packaging table 2. With the above structure, the packaging sheet 1 is pulled out and the mark 1c of the packaging sheet 1 reaches the position of the optical sensor 26 as shown in FIG.
When the light is reflected by the light sensor 26 and detected by the light receiver of the optical sensor 26, the drawer mechanism 16 temporarily stops at that position. In this case, as shown in FIG. 9, the friction plate at the tip of the support plate 32 comes into contact with the outer surface of one of the support rollers 5 and slightly rotates the roll portion of the packaging sheet 1 and pulls out the packaging sheet 1. Since the braking is applied, the roll-shaped portion of the packaging sheet 1 and the support roller 5 also stop immediately at the same time as the drawer mechanism 16 stops. This prevents the packaging sheet 1 from waving or wrinkling between the roll-shaped portion of the packaging sheet 1 and the draw-out mechanism 16. Next, as shown in FIGS. 10 and 1, the drive shaft 27 is started to be rotated clockwise by the motor 30 and the support frame 13 provided with the cutter 12 and the holding member 15 is started to descend. In this case, FIG.
Since the rubber member 15a of the holding member 15 projects below the lower end of the cutter 12 as shown in (a), when the support frame 13 is lowered, first, the four holding members 15 before and after the cutter 12 are moved. Receiving the packaging sheet 1
To the receiving portion 10a. When the drive shaft 27 is further rotated clockwise from this state, as shown in FIGS. 10 and 1, the cutter 12 enters the concave portion 10b of the receiving portion 10a and cuts the packaging sheet 1 at a stretch. . At the same time, the arm 27b of the drive shaft 27 pushes the roller 45a of the arm 45 on the side of the cone member 33, so that the frame 34 and the cone member 33 move upward, and three ventilation holes 1d are formed in the packaging sheet 1. Provided. As described above, before being cut to a predetermined length by the cutter 12 and used for packaging, the packaging sheet 1 is provided with the ventilation hole 1d by the conical member 33. As shown in FIG. 10, the front end side of the packaging sheet 1 is sandwiched between the receiving portion 10 a of the receiving table 10 and the holding member 15, and the middle of the packaging sheet 1 is
And the guide plate 37, and the roll-shaped portion of the packaging sheet 1 is stopped and held by the braking action of the support plate 32 on the support roller 5. 1, the ventilation hole 1d is provided neatly without breaking. As described above, when the cutting of the packaging sheet 1 and the opening of the ventilation hole 1d are completed, the drive shaft 27 is further moved to 1 /
After two rotations, the support frame 13 of the cutter 12 is raised to the original position, and the drawer mechanism 16 is moved to the right in the drawing as shown in FIG. 11 and stopped, so that the center of the cut packaging sheet 1 is It is made to come to the position of opening 2a of packing stand 2 (refer to Drawing 6). Thereafter, each operation arm 19 of the drawer mechanism 16 is pulled down from the receiving portion 20 to release the end 1b of the packaging sheet 1, and the single packaging sheet 1 cut to a predetermined length is placed at a predetermined position on the packaging table 2. Placed on In this case, as shown in FIG. 6, in the portion of the packaging sheet 1 between the opening 2a and the drawer mechanism 16,
Three ventilation holes 1d are arranged in the left-right direction on the paper. In the description of the preceding paragraph (1) and FIG. 13B, the adhesive tape 4 is attached so that the longitudinal direction thereof is along the longitudinal direction of the packaging table 2. As a result, in the state before packaging as shown in FIG. 6, the three ventilation holes 1d are arranged so as to be substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the adhesive tape 4. In this state, as described in the above item (1), packaging proceeds as shown in FIGS. 12 (a) to 13 (a), and as shown in FIG. 4
Are attached, three air holes 1d are arranged so as to be substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the adhesive tape 4. As a result, when the adhesive tape 4 is stuck, FIG.
As shown in FIG. 3, three air holes 1d are located on the longitudinal end of the adhesive tape 4 and on both left and right sides thereof. As described above, if the three ventilation holes 1d are arranged so as to be substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the adhesive tape 4, the position where the adhesive tape 4 is stuck in FIG. Even if it is displaced in the direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of 4, it does not mean that all three ventilation holes 1 d are closed by the adhesive tape 4. Then, as described in (5) above, the position of the conical member 33 (the position of the three ventilation holes 1d) is changed.
A predetermined length from the cut end cut by the cutter 12
By changing the entry position in the left-right direction on the paper surface of FIG. 1, it is possible to prevent the ventilation hole 1 d from being closed by the adhesive tape 4. Further, as shown in FIG. 13A, the upper portion 1a of the packaging sheet 1 is narrowed by the pair of sandwiching members 14, so that there are many wrinkles near the area where the adhesive tape 4 is stuck. Therefore, the vent 1
When the air hole 1d is provided, the air hole 1d does not come into close contact with the article A to be packaged.
d slightly floats, and a little space is created between the surface of the packaged object A and the ventilation hole 1d. Thereby, the packaged object A
The water evaporated in a wide range is collected through the above-mentioned space and exits through the ventilation hole 1d, so that the evaporation of the water and the discharge to the outside of the packaging sheet 1 are performed well. [Another Example] In the above-described packaging apparatus, instead of the conical member 33, a heater (not shown) is used to heat the packaging sheet 1 so that the air holes 1 are formed in the packaging sheet 1.
d may be provided. Although the packaging sheet 1 is sealed with the adhesive tape 4 in the above-described embodiment,
The present invention may be applied to a packaging apparatus in which the packaging sheet 1 is heated after the upper portion 1a is cut, the packaging sheet 1 is welded, and the packaging sheet 1 is sealed. In addition, instead of the disk cutter 28 as shown in FIG. 13 (a), the present invention is applied to a packaging apparatus in which the upper portion 1a of the packaging sheet 1 sandwiched by the sandwiching member 14 is heated by a heater (not shown) and blown. The invention may be applied. Incidentally, reference numerals are written in the claims for convenience of comparison with the drawings, but the present invention is not limited to the configuration of the attached drawings by the description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a side view showing a state in which a packaging sheet pulled out to a predetermined length is cut by a cutter and ventilation holes are provided in the packaging sheet by a conical member. FIG. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the vicinity of a cutter, a cone member, a drive system thereof, and a guide plate in the packaging device. FIG. 3 is a front view showing a vertical drive structure of the cutter. FIG. FIG. 5 is a plan view showing the support structure. FIG. 5 is an overall perspective view of the packaging device viewed from above with a cutter, a support frame, and the like removed. FIG. 6 is an overall perspective view of the packaging device seen from above. FIG. 8 is a side view showing a state in which the drawer mechanism has moved to the holding position and holding the end of the packaging sheet. FIG. 8 is a side view showing a state in which the drawer mechanism has started to draw out the packaging sheet from the state in FIG. 9 FIG. FIG. 10 is a side view showing a state in which the drawer mechanism is stopped at the drawer position from the state shown in FIG. 10; FIG. 10 is a side view showing a state in which the cutter cuts the packaging sheet from the state in FIG. 11 is a side view showing a state in which the drawing mechanism has moved the cut packaging sheet to a predetermined position on the packaging table after the state shown in FIG. 10; FIG. 13 is a perspective view showing the flow of packaging up to the narrowing of sheets. FIG. 13 is a perspective view showing the flow of packaging from cutting of the upper portion of the packaging sheet to pressing of the adhesive tape by the sponge member. FIG. perspective view showing a completed state of the flow and the packaging of the packaging to the release of the package [eXPLANATION oF sYMBOLS] 1 package sheet 1d wrapping sheet vents 2 wrapping sack 4 sealing means 12 cutting device 33 opening means 34 Change means A to be packaged

Claims (1)

(1) A packaging sheet (1) cut to a predetermined length by a cutting device (12), a packaging table (2) for placing the packaging sheet, and the packaging table (2) on the packaging table (2). To be packaged (A) on the packaging sheet (1)
And a sealing means (4) for sealing the upper end of the packaging sheet (1) wrapping the packaged object (A) so as not to open, and the packaged object (A) In the packaging sheet (1) for packaging
The cutting end cut by the cutting device (12)
Vent hole (1d) at a position deviated toward the center by a predetermined length
And a cutting device (12) for forming a hole.
By changing the distance between the hole and the opening means (33).
Changing means (34a) capable of changing the position of the ventilation hole (1d) by changing a predetermined length from the cut end .