JP4142595B2 - Flat folding device for flat articles - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention is applied to a flat article that can be folded in two, for example, a packaging line that folds a two-chamber infusion bag, which is an object to be packaged, into two from almost the center and then fills the packaging bag. The present invention relates to a two-fold processing apparatus.

  In automatic packaging lines, parts processing lines, and various product assembly lines that use conveyor systems, various materials and semi-processed articles are conveyed by the conveyor, and various processes and operations are performed by automatic machinery and robots. Has been done. For example, a two-chamber infusion bag made of synthetic resin for medical use has a substantially rectangular shape and a flat shape as viewed from above, and is bulky when packed in a bag. After being folded into two, it is packed and packed in a packaging bag.

  However, since the operation of folding the infusion bag in two is performed manually, it is difficult to improve the packaging efficiency, which is a factor that hinders complete automatic packaging.

A method for folding a box-shaped folding container is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 10-147338. I can't find the device.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-147338

  An object of the present invention is to provide a two-fold processing apparatus that automatically performs an operation of folding a flat article such as a two-chamber infusion bag into two.

  In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the invention described in claim 1 is configured such that the rotating body rotatably supported by the support column installed on the machine base is intermittently stopped for each of a plurality of steps by the intermittent driving means, and moved. A plurality of slide members that are movable in the vertical direction are arranged at equal angular intervals on the outer side of the rotating body, and a bracket is provided on the vertical front surface of each slide member so as to be pivotable by a predetermined angle. Has a horizontally extending hanging rod arranged so that the center of rotation coincides with the center of rotation, pressing means that allows a pressing member to be freely attached to and separated from the hanging rod, and swiveling around the hanging rod. In the receiving step, a flat article that can be folded in two and placed in a substantially horizontal state is pushed up by the hanging hook by the upward movement of the slide member. Suspended in an inverted U shape, folded in half with the swiveling motion of the scooping member in a state where the bent portion of the suspended article is pressed by the pressing member, and held in a substantially horizontal state In the carry-out process, the article on the scooping member released from the pressing operation by the pressing member is transported to a predetermined position in a subsequent process by the feeding means.

  In order to achieve the same object, the invention described in claim 2 is the flat article folding apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the slide member is moved up and down by a cam and a lever mechanism. Ascending and descending operations are controlled in a timely manner by a lifting and lowering means that can be freely moved, and a cam follower attached to the slide member rolls on a rolling surface provided at the upper end of the support column at a rising position, thereby maintaining a constant It rotates with the rotating body while maintaining its height, and the cam follower is disengaged from the rolling surface, so that the lowering operation is performed.

  In order to achieve the same object, the invention described in claim 3 is the flat folding apparatus for flat articles according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the bracket is pivoted on the vertical front surface of each slide member. A large-diameter gear is fixed so that the center coincides with the center, and the scooping member rotatably supports the horizontal shaft provided on the free end side on the bracket, and is provided at the base end portion of the horizontal shaft. The small-diameter gear is engaged with the large-diameter gear, and the bracket is turned by the operation of the actuator, and at the same time the horizontal shaft is rotated, so that the scooping member turns around the suspension rod. It is comprised so that it may carry out.

  In order to achieve the same object, the invention described in claim 4 is the flat article folding apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the article has a substantially rectangular shape when viewed from above. The folded portion is an infusion bag that is an article to be packaged so as to correspond to a partition portion that divides at least two chambers.

(Invention of Claim 1)
This flat folding apparatus for an article can automatically and efficiently perform an operation of folding an article in two and transferring it to a predetermined position in a subsequent process. This greatly contributes to the realization of fully automatic packaging of this type of article.

(Invention of Claim 2)
According to the flat folding apparatus for the article, the slide member can be smoothly moved up and down and rotated, so that the work of folding the article in two can be performed stably.

(Invention of Claim 3)
According to the flat folding apparatus for a flat article, the scooping member that holds the article suspended in two in a substantially horizontal state is smoothly operated, so that the operation of folding the article in two is stable. Can be done.

(Invention of Claim 4)
According to the flat folding apparatus for a flat article, it is possible to automatically perform an operation of folding an infusion bag, which is an article having a partition wall partitioning at least two chambers, into two at the partition wall without manual operation. it can. This can greatly contribute to the realization of fully automatic packaging of this type of infusion bag.

  The best mode of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a front view of a flat folding apparatus for an article, FIG. 2 is a schematic plan view thereof, FIG. 3 is an explanatory view of a two-chamber infusion bag, and FIG. 4 is a front view illustrating the periphery of a rotating body and a slide member 5 is a front view of the elevating means, FIG. 6 is a plan view of the elevating means and the intermittent drive means, FIG. 7 is an arrow A view of FIG. 1, and FIG. 8 is a two-chamber infusion bag folded in two. FIG. 9 is a front view of the feeding means, and FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line BB in FIG. 9.

  The flat article folding apparatus K according to the present embodiment shown in FIG. 1 is configured to process two articles in a substantially horizontal posture before the filling process in an automatic packaging line for filling and packaging a flat article in a packaging bag. It plays the role of being folded into one and transported to a predetermined position of the filling device. The “flat article” in this embodiment is intended for a medical two-chamber infusion bag (hereinafter simply referred to as “infusion bag”).

  As shown in FIG. 3, the infusion bag 1 is formed into a flat rectangular shape by heat-sealing four sides with a thick synthetic resin film superimposed, and the capacity of the two chambers 1a and 1b is as follows. Differently, it is partitioned by a partition wall portion 4 extending in the short (width) direction. This infusion bag 1 is provided with a plug 7 at one end 2 in the short direction and a plug 8 at the other end 3, and automatically in the previous process of the bi-folding process by the bi-folding apparatus K. A predetermined amount of chemical solution is filled from the injection device.

  In this bi-folding processing apparatus K, a square cylindrical rotating body 20 is supported rotatably on a support column 12 erected on the upper surface of the machine base 11 via bearings 13 and 14. Reference numeral 15 denotes a support plate fixed to the upper end portion 12 a of the support column 12, and the upper surface of the support plate 15 is a rolling surface 15 a of a cam follower 27 described later.

  A disc-shaped gear 22 is fixed to the flange 21 at the lower part of the rotating body 20 so that the center of the disc-shaped gear 22 coincides with the axis of the column 12. Further, on the outer surface 20a of the rotating body 20, vertically long slide members 25 are arranged at equal angular intervals of 90 ° when viewed from the plane. Each slide member 25 is attached to a slider 25a slidably provided on a rail 23 fixed in the vertical direction on the outer side surface 20a and is provided so as to be movable in the vertical direction. A lower cam follower 26 is attached to the lower end of the front surface of the slide member 25, and an upper cam follower 27 is attached to the upper end of the rear surface of the slide member 25.

  As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, in the lower part of the machine base 11, the rotating body 20 is placed in a plurality of processes, here, a receiving process (A), an idle process (B), an unloading process (C), a standby process. An intermittent driving means 30 for intermittently stopping and moving every four steps (d) and an elevating means 45 for controlling the ascending and descending operations of the slide member 25 in a timely manner are provided.

  As for the intermittent drive means 30, as shown in FIG. 6, a motor device 32 and bearing members 34 a to 34 c that rotatably support the transmission shaft 35 are attached to the base 31, and are attached to the transmission shaft 35 by the motor device 32. The sprocket 36 is provided to be driven to rotate. Further, another sprocket 37 attached to the transmission shaft 35 and the sprocket 39 on the input side of the index device 38 provided on the lower surface of the machine base 11 are connected by a chain 40. A gear 41 is fixed to the output shaft 38 a of the index device 38, and this gear 41 is provided so as to rotate the gear 22 via an intermediate gear 42.

Thus, the intermittent driving means 30 for intermittently rotating the rotating body 20 is configured by operating the index device 38 by the motor device 32 and rotating the gear 22.

  Bearing members 47 and 48 that rotatably support the horizontal shaft 46 are provided on the lower surface of the machine base 11, and “H” shaped levers 49 and 50 are attached to the horizontal shaft 46 at a predetermined interval. The tips of the short arm portions 49a and 50a of the levers 49 and 50 are provided so as to contact the outer peripheral surfaces of the disc cams 51 and 52 attached to the transmission shaft 35, respectively. The distal end of the long arm portion 49b of one lever 49 is connected via a connecting member 55 to a pair of first elevating rods 54 disposed at the position of the receiving step (A). Reference numeral 56 denotes a receiving piece fixed to the upper end of the first lifting rod 54. Similarly, the tip of the long arm portion 50b of the other lever 50 is connected to a pair of second lifting rods 57 disposed at the position of the standby step (d) via a connecting member 58. Reference numeral 59 denotes a receiving piece fixed to the upper end of the second elevating rod 57.

  Therefore, the first elevating rod 54 and the second elevating rod 57 are moved up and down in a timely manner by the swinging motion of the disk cams 51 and 52 and the levers 49 and 50 rotated by the motor device 32. A means 45 is configured.

  The slide member 25 is held at the lower end by placing the lower cam follower 26 on the receiving piece 56 of the first elevating rod 54, and on the rolling surface 15a of the support plate 15 as the rotating body 20 rotates at the upper end. The upper cam follower 27 is mounted on the rotary body 20 so as to rotate intermittently integrally with the rotating body 20 while maintaining a constant height. The slide member 25 is moved up and down after the upper cam follower 27 is disengaged from the rolling surface 15a of the support plate 15 and the lower cam follower 26 is placed on the receiving piece 59 of the second elevating rod 57 in the standby step (d). It is provided to move to the lower end by the lowering operation of the flange 57.

  The support plate 15 is provided with a not-shown notch portion in order to allow the upper cam follower 27 to advance in the receiving step (A) and to escape from the upper cam follower 27 in the standby step (D).

  As shown in FIG. 4, a large-diameter gear 61 whose center direction is horizontal is fixed to the front surface of each slide member 25, and a short shaft 62 protruding from the center of the gear 61 is bracketed via a bearing 63. 64 is rotatably provided. As shown in FIG. 7, the rod side 65a of the pneumatic cylinder 65 is connected to the protrusion 64a of the bracket 64, the cylinder body side 65b is attached to the slide member 25, and the bracket 64 is moved at a predetermined angle by the operation of the pneumatic cylinder 65. Here, it is provided so as to be able to reciprocate by 70 °.

  The bracket 64 has a horizontally extending hanging rod 67 arranged so that the center of rotation coincides with the center of rotation, and a holding member 73 having a pressing member 73 that can be contacted and separated from the peripheral surface of the hanging rod 67. Means 70 and a scooping member 75 that can turn around the suspension rod 67 are provided. The suspension rod 67 is provided to support the infusion bag 1 with the partition wall portion 4 and suspend it substantially in an inverted U shape.

  With respect to the pressing means 70, a pneumatic cylinder 71 with a rod 71a downward is attached to the transverse portion 64b of the bracket 64, and a pair of guide bars 72, 72 are slidable in the front-rear direction on both sides of the pneumatic cylinder 71. The flat pressing member 73 is attached to the tips of the rod 71a and the guide bars 72, 72.

  Further, the scooping member 75 is provided so that the horizontal shaft 76 is rotatably supported by the bracket 64 and the small diameter gear 77 provided at the base end portion 76 a of the horizontal shaft 76 is engaged with the large diameter gear 61. . On the free end side of the horizontal shaft 76, scooping portions 78a, 78a formed with a constant width are arranged in parallel with a small interval.

The bracket 64 is turned by the operation of the pneumatic cylinder 65, and at the same time, the small diameter gear 77 revolves around the large diameter gear 61 to rotate the horizontal shaft 76, whereby the scooping member 75 is suspended. The periphery of the collar 67 is provided so as to be able to turn. As shown in FIG. 8, the scooping member 75 is provided so that the horizontal state is maintained with the flat portions 78a and 78a being the upper surface when rotated in the clockwise direction.

  In the unloading step (c), there is provided a feeding means 80 for transferring the infusion bag 1 on the flat portion 78a of the scooping member 75 released from the pressing operation by the pressing member 73 to a predetermined position in the subsequent step. In this feeding means 80, as shown in FIG. 9, a base 82 is horizontally attached to a plurality of columns 81 erected on the upper surface of the machine base 11, and two are attached to stands 83 and 84 erected on the base 82. The guide bar 85 is provided in parallel. Reference numeral 86 denotes a mounting plate that is loosely fitted to the guide bar 85 and is freely slidable. As shown in FIG. 10, on the front face 86a of the mounting plate 86, two push rods 87 are arranged in parallel in the vertical direction at a predetermined interval, and the tips of the push rods 87 are fixed by connecting pieces 88. Yes. The rod side 89 a of the pneumatic cylinder 89 attached to the rear surface 86 b of the attachment plate 86 is connected to the connecting piece 88. Reference numeral 90 denotes an electric actuator attached to the base 82. A lower end portion of the mounting plate 86 is connected to the movable portion 90a of the electric actuator 90 that can move by a predetermined stroke.

  Thus, at the standby position where the mounting plate 86 is closest to the support column 12, the push rod 87 is moved upward from the lowered end position by the operation of the pneumatic cylinder 89 based on the infusion command of the infusion bag 1, and is moved to the raised end position. After a certain push rod 87 moves by a predetermined stroke to the transfer position by the operation of the electric actuator 90, the push rod 87 moves downward by the operation of the pneumatic cylinder 89, and the push rod 87 at the lower end position returns to the original standby state by the operation of the actuator 90. The feeding means 80 is configured to perform a series of quadrilateral movements of returning to the position.

  The flat folding apparatus K for flat articles according to the present embodiment is configured as described above.

  In addition, the conveyor 100 for sending the infusion bag 1 in a substantially horizontal state is attached to the place of the receiving step (A) of the two-fold processing apparatus K for the flat article. In this conveyor 100, conveyor belts 101 and 101 are divided into left and right parts, and a space portion 102 is provided between both conveyor belts 101 to allow the hanging rod 67 of the apparatus K to move in and out. About the infusion bag 1, the said partition part 4 is supplied to a receiving process (A) so that it may correspond to the position where the hanging rod 67 has appeared.

Moreover, the filling apparatus (not shown) of the automatic packaging line which fills the packaging bag with the infusion bag 1 is attached to the location of a carrying-out process (c). Reference numeral 105 denotes a transporting conveyor of the filling device installed in a direction orthogonal to the transfer direction of the infusion bag 1 by the feeding means 80.

Next, the operation of the flat folding apparatus K for a flat article having such a configuration will be described.
(1) In the receiving step (A), the slide member 25 intermittently stopped in the step is moved up by the lifting of the first lifting rod 54 of the lifting means 45, and the rotation operation is stopped by the hanging rod 67 during the movement. The infusion bag 1 placed on the conveyor belts 101 and 101 in a substantially horizontal state is supported by the partition wall portion 4 and suspended in a substantially inverted U shape.
(2) Next, the bent portion of the suspended infusion bag 1 is pressed by the pressing member 73 that has moved forward by the operation of the pneumatic cylinder 71 of the pressing means 70.
(3) The slide member 25 is maintained at a certain height by the upper cam follower 27 being placed on the rolling surface 15a of the support plate 15 in accordance with the rotation of the rotating body 20 at the rising end. ) To intermittently rotate integrally with the rotating body 20.
(4) At substantially the same time, the bracket 64 is rotated clockwise by the operation of the pneumatic cylinder 65, and at the same time, the small diameter gear 77 revolves around the large diameter gear 61 to rotate the horizontal shaft 76. As a result, the scooping member 75 rotates around the suspension rod 67 in the clockwise direction, and the infusion bag 1 is folded in two at the flat portions 78a and 78a and held in a substantially horizontal state (FIG. 8).
(5) In the unloading step (c), the infusion bag 1 on the flat portion 78a of the scooping member 75 is released from the pressing operation because the pressing member 73 is moved backward by the operation of the pneumatic cylinder 71. The push rod 87 that has been moved upward is moved to a predetermined position on the conveyor 105 while sliding on the flat portion 78a.
(6) Next, the push rod 87 of the feeding means 80 moves downward by the operation of the pneumatic cylinder 89 and returns to the original standby position by the operation of the actuator 90.
(7) While the rotating body 20 is rotationally moved from the unloading step (c) to the standby step (d), the bracket 64 is turned counterclockwise by the operation of the pneumatic cylinder 65 to return to the original vertical posture state. To do. At the same time, the small-diameter gear 77 revolves around the large-diameter gear 61 to rotate the horizontal shaft 76, so that the scooping member 75 rotates counterclockwise around the hanging rod 67 and returns to the original standby position. Return to.
(8) In the standby step (d), the slide member 25 has the upper cam follower 27 disengaged from the rolling surface 15a of the support plate 15 and the lower cam follower 26 is placed on the receiving piece 59 of the second lift rod 57, It moves to the lower end by the lowering action.

  Such a series of operations is carried out in four steps of the receiving step (b), the idle step (b), the unloading step (c), and the standby step (d). Are sequentially transferred to a predetermined position on the conveyor 105 in a horizontal posture folded.

  As described above, this flat article folding device automatically and efficiently transfers a flat article such as an infusion bag to a predetermined position in a subsequent process in a horizontal position folded in two. There is an advantage that can be done well.

Front view of a flat folding device for flat articles Same as above, top view Illustration of a two-chamber infusion bag Front view explaining the periphery of the rotating body and slide member Front view of lifting means Plan view of lifting means and intermittent driving means View A in FIG. Explanatory drawing which shows the state which folded the two-chamber type infusion bag in two and was held horizontally by the scooping member Front view of feeding means BB sectional view of FIG.

Explanation of symbols

K: Flat folding apparatus for articles (b) ... Accepting process (b) ... Idle process (c) ... Unloading process (d) ... Standby process 1 ... Infusion bag (Article) 4 ... partition part 11 ... machine stand 12 ... support column 15 ... support plate 15a ... rolling surface 20 ... rotating body 25 ... slide member 26 ... lower part Cam follower (cam follower)
27 ... Upper cam follower (cam follower)
30 ... Intermittent drive means 45 ... Lifting means 49, 50 ... Lever 51, 52 ... Disc cam 54 ... First lifting rod 57 ... Second lifting rod 61 ... Large Diameter gear 64 ... Bracket 65 ... Pneumatic cylinder (actuator)
67 ... Suspension rod 70 ... Holding means 73 ... Holding member 75 ... Scooping member 78a ... Flat portion 76 ... Horizontal shaft 77 ... Small diameter gear 80 ... Feeding means 87 ... Push rod

Claims (4)

  The rotating body, which is freely supported by the prop installed upright on the machine base, is moved intermittently by the intermittent drive means for each of the plurality of processes, and the outer part of the rotating body is movable in the vertical direction. A plurality of slide members are arranged at equal angular intervals, and a bracket is provided on the vertical front surface of each slide member so as to be pivotable by a predetermined angle. The bracket is arranged so that the center of rotation coincides with the pivot center. In the receiving process, there is provided a hanging rod extending in the horizontal direction, a holding means that allows the holding member to contact and separate from the hanging rod, and a scooping member that can turn around the hanging rod. A flat article that can be folded in two placed in a horizontal state is pushed up by the lifting rod by the lifting movement of the slide member and suspended in a substantially U-shape, and the suspended article is folded. In a state where the bald portion is pressed by the pressing member, the article is folded in two by the turning operation of the scooping member and is held in a substantially horizontal state, and the pressing operation by the pressing member in the carry-out process An apparatus for folding a flat article into two, wherein the article on the scooping member that has been released is transferred to a predetermined position in a subsequent process by a feeding means.   The slide member is controlled on a timely basis by an elevating means in which an elevating rod is movable up and down by a cam and a lever mechanism, and on a rolling surface provided at an upper end portion of the support column at an elevated position. When the cam follower attached to the slide member rolls, the cam follower rotates together with the rotating body while maintaining a certain height, and the cam follower moves off the rolling surface so that the lowering operation is performed. The flat folding apparatus for flat articles according to claim 1, wherein:   A large-diameter gear is fixed to the vertical front portion of each slide member so that the center coincides with the pivot center of the bracket, and the horizontal axis on which the scooping member is provided on the free end side is attached to the bracket. A small-diameter gear provided at the base end portion of the horizontal axis is supported so as to freely rotate, and is engaged with the large-diameter gear. The flat folding apparatus for a flat article according to claim 1, wherein the scooping member is configured to pivot around the suspension rod. The article is an infusion bag as an article to be packaged, wherein the article has a substantially rectangular shape when viewed from a plane, and the bent portion corresponds to a partition wall partitioning at least two chambers. The flat folding apparatus of the flat article in any one of 1-3.

Images