JP3726298B2 - Stretch film packaging machine - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
[Industrial application fields]
The present invention relates to a stretch film packaging machine, and more particularly to an improvement in a cutting mechanism that cuts a film fed out from a roll of stretch film that wraps an article to be packaged into a predetermined length.
[0002]
[Prior art]
In the conventional stretch film packaging machine of this type, the stretch film that wraps an object to be packaged is cut by a cutter after the film has been unrolled for a necessary length and then unrolled.
That is, if the film is cut while it is moving, the film surface will not be flat, so there will be a time difference at the part in contact with the cutter, the film cut will not be a straight line, and there may be tears. This is because there is a possibility that the end of the film cannot be securely gripped when the film necessary for the next packaging is unwound.
[0003]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
Therefore, in the above-described conventional packaging machine, the film is unrolled for a necessary length, and then the unwinding is stopped and cut with a cutter, and then the cut film of a predetermined length is tensioned and moved to a predetermined position of the packaging unit. After that, the package is pushed up from the bottom of the film and packaged. Therefore, the time from stopping the film feeding to the start of the centering movement extends the time to stretch the film at the specified position on the packaging part. Further, the push-up timing of the product is also delayed, which causes a problem that the entire processing capacity is lowered.
[0004]
The present invention has been made in view of the problems of the prior art as described above, and the object of the present invention is to perform stretching without stopping the feeding of the film during the operation of the cutter and to improve the packaging processing capacity. It is to provide a film packaging machine.
[0005]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The technical means taken by the present invention in order to achieve the above object is to cut the film fed from the film roll and move it to a predetermined position of the packaging part to push the packaged object up to the stretched film. In a stretch film wrapping machine that folds the film end into the bottom of the package, a gripping means for gripping and moving the film leading end fed from the film roll, and a film trailing end moving at approximately the same speed as the film feeding speed A rear clamp for gripping the film, a cutter for cutting the film into a predetermined length, and an operating means for applying the cutting edge of the cutter at a substantially right angle to the film surface during the feeding of the film. And the cutter can be moved at substantially the same speed as the feeding speed of the film .
[0006]
The cutter is provided on the movable part for gripping the clamp that grips the trailing edge of the film to be cut and moves the film to a predetermined position of the packaging part, and is located behind the film contact surface. It is characterized by that. In that case, the above-described cutter is configured to hit the film before the clamp at the trailing edge of the film.
[0007]
The cutter moving mechanism can be provided separately from the above-described clamp moving mechanism. In this case, the cutter operating means is also provided separately from the clamp operating means.
[0008]
Further, a cutter receiving portion that is moved by the cutter moving means may be provided at a position facing the blade edge of the cutter, and a fitting groove into which the blade edge of the cutter is fitted may be provided in the cutter receiving portion. The cutter receiving portion may be shared by a member constituting the rear clamp 6, or a dedicated cutter receiving portion may be provided separately from the rear clamp.
[0009]
[Action]
According to the above-mentioned means, the film gripping means is moved to the side where the film roll is set via the moving means driven by the control means, and the leading end of the film held by the holding part of the film holding means is gripped. The means will grab and move to draw the film length needed for packaging. When the film holding means is pulled out by a predetermined length, the rear clamp of the film holding means starts moving toward the center at the same speed as the film, and moves at the position in front of the film holding means while moving the film end (film drawer). When viewed from the direction, the rear edge) is grasped, and at the same time, the cutter hits substantially at right angles to the film surface to cut the end of the film. Further, the film gripping means and the rear clamp move to the center side while holding the film in tension, and perform centering for aligning the center of the gripped film with the center of the packaging portion.
[0010]
【Example】
Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
The stretch film wrapping machine shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 is provided with a product placement part a for placing an article to be packaged on the front side of the machine frame C, that is, at the front part, and is placed on the product placement part a. An object is conveyed by the conveyor 1 to the elevator 2 provided inside the machine casing C.
A packaging part b is provided above the elevator 2, and the film roll arrangement part 3 and the film rolls 4a and 4b set in the arrangement part 3 are provided on the left and right sides sandwiching the packaging part b. Film holding means A for holding the film is provided. In the film holding means A, the holding part 5 that holds the leading edge of the film fed from the film rolls 4a and 4b and the gripping means B that holds the film leading edge move to draw the film by a predetermined length. The rear clamp 6 that clamps the rear portion of the film at the time and the cutter 7 that cuts the film to a predetermined length are configured. The rear clamp 6 and the cutter 7 are configured to move together. In addition, left and right folding plates 8a and 8b and a rear folding plate 9 are disposed above the holding portion 5 in the film holding means A.
[0011]
As described above, the article to be packaged placed on the elevator 2 is pushed up with respect to the film e stretched on the packaging part b as the elevator rises, and the end of the film e in the stretched state is inserted into the left and right folded parts. The film 8 is folded into the bottom of the package by the plates 8a and 8b and the rear folding plate 9, and then the film is pushed horizontally by the discharge pusher 10 toward the discharge section c on the front side of the machine frame C, while the film The film is folded by folding the front end of e.
[0012]
When the film roll to be used is determined, the length of the film to be drawn out from the roll is determined. The length is determined by measuring the “length (depth)” and “height” of the package in the carry-in section. After the measurement, the “width (width)” of the package is measured with a movement sensor, the measured value of “width (width)” and the measured value of “height” above are added, and the added value Based on this, the cutting length is determined from a table previously set in the RAM, and based on this, the movement amount of the film gripping means B is controlled to control the film withdrawal amount.
[0013]
The elevator 2 installed so as to be connected to the terminal end of the conveyor 1 is composed of five support members 11 standing vertically at predetermined intervals, and the upper surfaces of these support members 11 are flush with each other. The articles to be packaged conveyed by the conveyor 1 are constituted by the support members 11 by being inserted between a plurality of endless belts 12 arranged side by side so as to coincide with each other. It is configured to be received at the upper surface of the elevator head. The elevator 2 moves up and down between the end portion of the conveyor 1 which is a lowered position and the packaging portion b which is a raised position by supporting each integrated support member 11 with a lifting mechanism (not shown). It is comprised so that it may do.
[0014]
As shown in FIG.2 and FIG.3, the arrangement | positioning part 3 of the film rolls 4a and 4b is provided in the right-and-left both sides which pinch | interpose the packaging part b. The stretch film wrapping machine in this embodiment has two film rolls 4a and 4b with different film widths arranged on the right and left sides one by one, and the film ends pulled out from both film rolls 4a and 4b are film-held. Each of them is held by the holding unit 5 of the means A.
The film holding means A on both the left and right sides are configured in exactly the same way and are installed in a state of facing the left and right side portions in the machine frame C. Since the holding means A is constructed in exactly the same manner, its structure will be described based on the right film holding means A.
[0015]
As shown in FIG. 3, the holding portion 5 of the film holding means A is horizontal with respect to the machine frame C in a state where two holding plates 13 formed in a substantially plane shape are overlapped with a slight gap therebetween. Is attached and supported. The film e drawn from the film roll 4 b is inserted from the outside between the holding plates 13 by bypassing the guide roller 14, and is held in a state of being drawn to the inner edge of the holding plate 13.
Further, two guide shafts 15 are mounted and supported in parallel at a slightly lower interval than the width of the holding portion 5 at a level somewhat lower than the left and right holding portions 5.
The guide shaft 15 is slidably supported by penetrating both ends of the film gripping means B and the left and right rear clamps 6 so that the film gripping means B and the left and right rear clamps 6 are supported by the left and right film holding parts 5. , 5 are guided so as to slide horizontally in the drawing direction of the film e.
[0016]
The film gripping means B is slidably moved in both the left and right directions along the guide shaft 15 by a driving mechanism (not shown) using a timing belt or the like, and is held by the holding portion 5 on either the right side or the left side. The film e is selectively gripped and pulled out toward the center. The film gripping means B pivotally supports a support shaft 17 along the lower surface of the connecting member 16 straddling between the front and rear guide shafts 15, and integrally attaches a gripping plate 18 along the support shaft 17. It is swingably supported. That is, the film e is drawn out across the end of the conveyor 1 by the film gripping means B.
The gripping plate 18 is formed so that the left and right side edges are notched in a comb-like shape, and the convex portions of these comb-tooth portions enter the corresponding gaps of the holding portion 5 formed in the comb-tooth shape as described above. It is configured.
The gripping plate 18 rotates like a seesaw on the right and left sides with the support shaft 17 at the center as a fulcrum, and contacts the right lower surface or left lower surface of the connecting member 16 to grip the film e.
Further, an anti-slip member 18a is attached to the upper surface of the convex portion of the gripping plate 18, and the anti-slip member 18a and the lower surface of the connecting member 16 are moved along with the rotation of the gripping plate 18 as described above. The film e is securely held between the two. Further, a rotating arm 17a is attached to one end portion of the supporting shaft 17 of the gripping plate 18, and a driving cylinder 19 is connected to the tip of the rotating arm 17a. 17 and the gripping plate 18 are configured to selectively rotate to the right or left.
[0017]
The rear clamp 6 is configured such that the film gripping means B grips the leading end of the film e held by the right holding unit 5 and draws it horizontally, and then the right end of the drawn film e (with respect to the moving direction). The film e is cut at the holding position, and the cutter 7 is provided together with the film e holding mechanism.
The rear clamp 6 is slidably supported along the guide shaft 15 by inserting the front and rear guide shafts 15 into blocks 20a provided at both left and right ends of the connecting member 20, and a timing belt. As in the case of the film gripping means B, it is slid and moved in both the left and right directions along the guide shaft 15 by a drive mechanism (not shown) utilizing the above.
Between the left and right blocks 20a described above, a support shaft 21 that is rotated by a drive mechanism similar to the support shaft 17 of the film gripping means B described above is installed and disposed along the lower surface of the connecting member 20. A base end of a gripping plate 22 bent in a crank shape is attached to the support shaft 21, and the tip end side edge of the gripping plate 22 is supported in a vertically swingable manner with the gripping means B facing it. . The gripping plate 22 is provided with a non-slip member 22a on the upper surface, and swings up and down with the support shaft 21 at the base end as a fulcrum, and when the upper plate swings, the bottom edge of the connecting member 20 and the anti-slip member 22a The rear end portion of the film e pulled out by sandwiching the film e is gripped.
A cutter 7 having a blade position higher than the upper surface of the anti-slip member 22a is provided along the intermediate portion of the grip plate 22, and the grip plate 22 grips the rear end of the film e as described above. The rear side of the grip portion of the film e is completely cut by the cutter 7 almost simultaneously with the holding.
[0018]
The cutting of the film e by the cutter 7 is performed while the film e pulled out by the film gripping means B is being pulled out, and the rear clamp 6 that moves at substantially the same speed as the pulling speed grips the rear end of the film e. The cutting is performed at the same time as the operation, but the cutting is performed by the gripping plate 22 swinging upward so that the cutting edge of the cutter 7 is substantially perpendicular to the tensioned film surface.
The film e may be cut as described above, but as shown in FIG. 11, a groove 23 into which the cutter 7 is fitted is formed in the upper member for holding the film e in the rear clamp 6, that is, the connecting member 20. It is good also as a structure which presses a film to the edge of 23 by the action | operation of the cutter 7, and a cutter pushes a film in a groove | channel in that state, and cuts it. That is, the rear clamp 6 also serves as a cutter receiving portion. In that case, since the relative horizontal positions of the cutter 7, the film e, and the groove 23 do not change, the film can be cut linearly and more reliably along the groove 23.
[0019]
The rear clamp 6 provided on the left film holding means A holds the left end of the film e after the film e held by the left holding part 5 is pulled out horizontally by the film holding means B. The film e is cut at the gripping position, and is configured in exactly the same manner as the right rear clamp 6 and is disposed on the left side of the film gripping means B on the guide shaft 15.
[0020]
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a front clamp 24a and a rear clamp 24b are provided in the front and rear portions of the machine frame C at the same height as the left and right rear clamps 6 and 6, respectively. The front and rear clamps 24a and 24b grip the side end of the film e held between the film gripping means B and the left and right rear clamps 6 and 6, as described above. Each of the clamps 24a and 24b is composed of a strip-like upper plate 25 extending in parallel with the guide shaft 15 and an elevating body 26 that comes into contact with the upper plate 25 from below. It is slidably supported in the front-rear direction by being inserted through a guide shaft (not shown) installed in parallel with the conveyor 1.
[0021]
Therefore, the film e pulled out from the left and right film rolls 4a or 4b is held at both the front and rear ends by the film gripping means B and the left and right rear clamps 6 and by the above-described front and rear clamps 24a and 24b. The front end portion and the rear end portion are gripped, and are held in a state of being horizontally stretched on the packaging portion b in a state where the four side portions are gripped.
[0022]
The left and right folding plates that fold the end of the film e stretched by pushing up the packaged object on the bottom of the packaged object at the upper part of the left and right rear clamps 6 and the front and rear clamps 24a, 24b in the packaged part b 8a, 8b and a rear folding plate 9 are installed.
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the pair of left and right folding plates 8a and 8b are configured by overlapping an upper folding plate 27 and a lower folding plate 28 with a small gap therebetween.
The lower folding plates 28 of the left and right folding plates 8a and 8b are belt-like plates extending in the front-rear direction, and two guide shafts (not shown) are attached and supported in parallel between the left and right side surfaces of the machine frame C at both front and rear ends. ) Is inserted, both folding plates 8a and 8b are configured to move horizontally from the left and right sides toward the center while maintaining parallelism between them.
[0023]
A discharge pusher 10 is provided on the rear folding plate 9. The discharge pusher 10 is configured to move horizontally on the rear folding plate 9 from the rear side to the front side, and the packaged product after the folding of the left and right end portions and the rear end portion of the film e at the packaging portion b is completed. Is pushed horizontally toward the discharge part c on the front side of the machine casing C.
In the stretch film packaging machine constructed as described above, the conveyor 1, the elevator 2, the film holding means A, the film gripping means B, the left and right rear clamps 6a and 6b, the front and rear clamps 24a and 24b, the left and right folding plates 8a and 8b, The operations of the rear folding plate 9 and the discharge pusher 10 are controlled by a control means (not shown) constituted by a microcomputer or the like. For example, as shown in the time chart of FIG. By actuating at a predetermined timing, the article to be packaged placed on the placement part a is packaged along a predetermined operation process.
[0024]
Next, the operation of the stretch film packaging machine described above will be described following the packaging process shown in FIGS. 1 and 4 to 12. The packaged item f shown in the present embodiment is a state where food or the like is placed on a tray.
An operator places the article to be packaged f on the placing portion a projecting from the front surface of the packaging machine. The article to be packaged f placed on the receiving member constituting the placing portion a is pushed from behind by a pushing piece attached to the endless belt 12 of the operating conveyor 1 and pushed out horizontally, and the endless belt 12 is pushed. Is transported to the top of the elevator 2.
When the article to be packaged f is conveyed on the conveyor 1 as described above, the vertical, horizontal, and height sizes of the article to be packaged f are measured by the optical sensors provided on one side and the upper part of the conveyor 1. A detection signal is output toward a control means (not shown). Further, the control means selects a film roll having the optimum film width for packaging from among the film rolls set in the left and right film roll arrangement portions 3 based on the dimensional information of the object f to be packaged by the optical sensor. Select the film size. Here, which film width roll is set in the left and right film roll placement sections 3 is automatically detected by the detection sensor provided in the placement section, and the data is input to the control means. Or, when the film roll is set, it is manually input to the control means.
[0025]
At the same time that the film roll to be used is selected, the moving direction of the film gripping means B is determined, and the film gripping means B moves toward the holding unit 5 in order to grip the leading end of the selected film e. (FIG. 4). In this description, the left film e is selected, but if the right film e is selected, the film gripping means B moves toward the right holding unit 5 as shown in FIG. Become.
The film gripping means B moved to the left end grips the end portion of the film e held by the holding portion 5 (FIG. 6), and pulls out toward the center (FIG. 7).
The rear clamp 6 waits behind the holding unit 5 so as not to obstruct the operation when the film holding means B holds the end of the film e held by the holding unit 5. ing. Then, when the leading end of the film e is pulled out to the center by the film gripping means B, the left rear clamp 6 starts moving toward the center at the same speed as the film along the guide shaft 15 to hold the left side. It moves to the front of the part 5 (FIG. 8).
The left rear clamp 6 moved to the front of the holding unit 5 clamps the left end of the film e pulled out horizontally while moving. Almost simultaneously with the clamp by the left rear clamp 6 (strictly speaking, the cutting of the film e is performed slightly earlier), the cutter 7 enters substantially perpendicular to the film surface and the left end of the film e is cut. (FIG. 9).
[0026]
Next, the film gripping means B for gripping the front and rear end portions of the cut film e and the left rear clamp 6 continue to move further to the right, so that the center of the gripped film e and the center of the packaging portion b are moved. Match (Fig. 10). At this time, the film gripping means B and the left rear clamp 6 are stopped at a wider interval than when the film e is first gripped, and the film e gripped by this is pulled in the front-rear direction. Give tension.
Thus, since the film holding means B moves without stopping until the center of the film e and the center of the packaging part b are brought together when the film e starts to be pulled out, the film can be stretched in a short time.
Further, both the front and rear clamps 24a and 24b are operated to clamp the side end portions of the film e described above. Thereafter, the front and rear clamps 24a and 24b move in directions away from each other. As a result, the cut film e is clamped on four sides and is in a state of being given an appropriate tension.
Then, the elevator 2 with the article to be packaged f rises and is pushed up toward the film e stretched at the packaging part b. Next, the left and right folding plates 8a and 8b are operated, and the front and rear end parts of the film e are covered. Folding is performed on the bottom surface of the packaged item f, and the rear folding plate 9 is actuated to fold the side end portion of the film e folded on the bottom surface of the packaged item f from the back to the front. After the rear folding plate 9 has moved to the front ends of the left and right folding plates 8a and 8b, the discharge pusher 10 is actuated, and the article f on the left and right folding plates 8a and 8b is horizontally directed toward the front discharge portion c. And the side end of the film e held by the front clamp 24a is released. As a result, the front and rear end portions and the side end portions of the film e are folded back 180 ° on the bottom surface of the packaged object f and attached to the bottom surface of the packaged object f. The article to be packaged f that has been folded and placed on the discharge portion c is picked up by the operator, and the bottom surface thereof is pressed against the heat seal portion d to be heated and bonded.
In addition, the cutter receiving part provided with the cutter 7 or the groove | channel 23 for cutter insertion can also be provided separately, respectively, without utilizing the moving mechanism and action | operation mechanism of the rear clamp 6. FIG.
[0027]
【The invention's effect】
The stretch film wrapping machine of the present invention does not need to stop the feeding of the film at the time of the cutter operation according to the configuration shown in claim 1, so that the operation of feeding the film and cutting it to a predetermined length, and the predetermined length of the cut Since the centering operation for aligning the center of the film and the center of the packaging portion can be continuously performed, the packaging processing capability can be enhanced.
Moreover, since the cutter enters the substantially right angle with respect to the film surface while moving, the film can be cut linearly, and the operation of grasping the end of the film in the next film feeding can also be performed reliably. Unexpected troubles due to uneven cutting can be prevented in advance.
Further, in the case of the configuration shown in claim 2 and claim 3, since the movement and cutting operation of the cutter uses a clamp moving mechanism and a gripping mechanism for gripping the end of the film, the structure of the entire apparatus is constructed. However, it is simple and small, and can be manufactured at low cost. Moreover, the structure shown in claim 4 enables the film to be cut linearly and reliably.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a longitudinal side view showing a stretch film packaging machine embodying the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line II-II in FIG.
FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing left and right folding plates and a rear folding plate of a packaging unit.
FIG. 4 is a longitudinal front view showing a left holding portion.
FIG. 5 is a longitudinal front view showing a right holding portion.
FIG. 6 is a longitudinal front view of the left holding portion showing a state in which the film end is gripped by the film gripping means.
FIG. 7 is a longitudinal front view of the holding unit showing a state in which the end of the film is pulled out.
FIG. 8 is a longitudinal sectional front view showing a state in which the film is pulled out to the packaging part by the film gripping means.
FIG. 9 is a longitudinal front view showing a state in which the left end of the film is cut by a cutter.
FIG. 10 is a longitudinal front view showing a state in which the film gripped by the film gripping means and the rear clamp is centered in the packaging portion.
FIG. 11 is a sectional view showing another embodiment of the rear clamp. FIG. 12 is a time chart showing one stroke of each operating part.
[Explanation of symbols]
A ... Film holding means B ... Film gripping means C ... Machine frame a ... Placement part b ... Packaging part c ... Discharge part e ... Film 1 ... Conveyor 2 ... Elevator 3 ... Film roll arrangement part 4a, 4b ... Film roll 5 ... Holding part 6 ... Rear clamp 7 ... Cutter

Claims (4)

In the stretch film wrapping machine that cuts the film fed from the film roll, moves it to a predetermined position of the packaging part, pushes up the packaging object on the stretched film, and folds the film end into the bottom part of the packaging object,
A gripping means for gripping and moving the film leading end fed from the film roll, a rear clamp for gripping the film trailing end moving at substantially the same speed as the film feeding speed, and a cutter for cutting the film to a predetermined length And an actuating means for applying the cutting edge of the cutter at a substantially right angle with respect to the film surface during film feeding, and the rear clamp is provided with the cutter so that the cutter can be moved at substantially the same speed as the film feeding speed. stretch film packaging machine, characterized in that it was. The above cutter is provided in the movable part for gripping the clamp that grabs the trailing edge of the film to be cut and moves the film to a predetermined position of the packaging part, located behind the film contact surface. The stretch film packaging machine according to claim 1. The stretch film packaging machine according to claim 2, wherein the cutter hits the film before the clamp at the trailing edge of the film. A cutter receiving portion that is moved by a cutter moving means is provided at a position facing the cutting edge of the cutter, and a fitting groove into which the cutting edge of the cutter is fitted is provided in the cutter receiving portion. The stretch film packaging machine according to 1 to 3.

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