JP4261465B2 - Shrink film and article, and related processing apparatus, inspection method and manufacturing method, - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to shrink film and the packaging of articles thereby.

  An article such as a paper pack filled with a beverage such as shochu may be wrapped with a shrink film (heat shrink film). The shrink film is made of polypropylene, for example, and has a property of shrinking by heat. The shrink film is shrunk by heating after the shrink film is placed on the article.

In general, when packaging an article such as a paper pack with a shrink film, a belt-like shrink film is placed on the article from above, both sides of the shrink film are hung down, and both sides are charged with static electricity. It is made into a bag shape by using and joining. Then, the shrink film is adhered to the article by heating and shrinking the bag-shaped shrink film.
JP-A-11-295034

  In the packaging process as described above, a bonding failure may occur due to an operation failure of the apparatus for bonding both sides of the shrink film, an abnormality of the shrink film, or the like.

  As a method for inspecting such a bonding failure, there is a method in which a bonding portion of a shrink film is imaged with a camera and an image of the bonding portion is analyzed. However, particularly when a colorless and transparent shrink film is used, it is difficult to find it by the conventional method unless it is an extreme abnormality such that the joint portion of the shrink film is full or there is no shrink film.

  The present invention has been made on the basis of recognition of the above-mentioned problems, and an object thereof is to make it possible to inspect whether or not packaging of an article with a shrink film is normal, for example, with high reliability.

The first aspect of the present invention relates to an inspection method for inspecting an article, the inspection method, ultraviolet rays are irradiated to the article packaged by the shrink film has inspection patterns with ultraviolet fluorescent ink attached, the ultraviolet A step of determining whether or not the packaging of the article by the shrink film is normally performed by reading a test pattern that emits light by irradiation, and the shrink film packaging the article includes the strip-shaped shrink film as the article The two side portions, which are the inner regions of the two end portions of the strip-shaped shrink film, are superposed on each other and heated and then shrunk, and the inspection pattern has the end portions Including a linear pattern extending along the line .

A second aspect of the present invention relates to a method for manufacturing a packaged article, which includes a step of packaging the article with a shrink film to which a test pattern is attached with ultraviolet light emitting fluorescent ink, and the packaged article. the irradiating ultraviolet radiation, by reading the test pattern which emits light by irradiation of ultraviolet rays, seen including a step of determining whether the packaging of the article by the shrink film has been made successfully, and wrapping the article The shrink film is shrunk by being heated after the strip-shaped shrink film is put on the article and the two side portions that are the inner regions of the two end portions of the strip-shaped shrink film are overlapped and joined. The inspection pattern includes a linear pattern extending along the end portion .

A third aspect of the present invention relates to a shrink film, and the shrink film has a linear pattern extending along the inside of the end portions on two side portions which are regions inside each of the two end portions. The test pattern to be included is attached with the test pattern by the ultraviolet light emitting fluorescent ink.

A fourth aspect of the present invention relates to an article, and the article includes a linear pattern extending along the inside of the two ends on two sides which are regions inside each of the two ends. pattern is wrapped by shrink film that is attached by ultraviolet fluorescent ink.
A fifth aspect of the present invention relates to a processing apparatus, and the processing apparatus includes a linear pattern extending along the inside of the end portion on two sides which are regions inside each of the two end portions. A packaging device that wraps an article with a shrink film to which an inspection pattern is attached with ultraviolet light-emitting fluorescent ink, and that discharges the joint portion of the two side portions of the shrink film that wraps the article facing downward. ,
An operation device that operates the article so that the joint portion of the shrink film wrapping the article faces sideways, and the article that is operated by the operation device and the joint portion faces sideways is packaged. An irradiation unit that irradiates the surface including the joint portion of the shrink film with ultraviolet rays, a camera that images an inspection pattern that emits light when irradiated with ultraviolet rays, and a shrink film based on the inspection pattern imaged by the camera A determination unit that determines whether or not the packaging of the article is normally performed, the operating device includes a first conveyor that conveys the article on a first surface, and a first conveyor that is lower than the first surface. A second conveyor that conveys articles on two surfaces, and a virtual that is substantially parallel to the conveyance direction of the first conveyor for the articles conveyed by the first conveyor A rotating mechanism that is dropped from the first surface onto the second surface and passed to the second conveyor while being rotated approximately 90 degrees around, and the rotating mechanism is an article conveyed by the first conveyor An extruding part for pushing the article conveyed by the first conveyor to the side so that the article rolls down from the first surface onto the second surface, and the article conveyed by the first conveyor is in a predetermined position. Until the article reaches the position, the article is supported from above so that the article does not roll down from the first surface to the second surface, and after passing through the predetermined position, the article is unsupported. And a defining mechanism that defines the predetermined position at which the article starts to rotate about the virtual axis .
A sixth aspect of the present invention relates to a processing apparatus, and the processing apparatus is a shrink film in which a test pattern is attached to two side portions, which are inner regions of two end portions, by ultraviolet light emitting fluorescent ink. The packaging device that wraps the article and discharges the shrink film that is wrapping the article in a state in which the joint portion of the two side portions faces downward, and the joint portion of the shrink film that wraps the article An operation device that operates the article so that the side faces sideward, and an ultraviolet ray on a surface including the joint portion of the shrink film that is operated by the operation device and wraps the article with the joint portion facing sideways. Based on the irradiation unit for irradiating, the camera for imaging the inspection pattern emitted by the irradiation of ultraviolet rays, and the inspection pattern imaged by the camera A determination unit that determines whether or not the article is normally packaged with a shrink film, and the operating device includes a first conveyor that conveys the article on a first surface, and a first conveyor. A second conveyor that conveys articles on the lower second surface, and the article conveyed by the first conveyor while rotating approximately 90 degrees around a virtual axis that is substantially parallel to the conveying direction of the first conveyor. A rotating mechanism that drops onto the second surface from the first surface and passes the second conveyor to the second conveyor, and the rotating mechanism allows the article conveyed by the first conveyor to move from the first surface to the second surface. Until the article conveyed by the first conveyor reaches a predetermined position, and the extruding part for extruding the article conveyed by the first conveyor to the side so as to roll down on two sides The article is supported from above so that the article does not roll down from the first surface onto the second surface, and when the article passes through the predetermined position, the article is unsupported, whereby the article is moved to the virtual axis. And a defining mechanism for defining the predetermined position at which rotation starts .

  According to the present invention, for example, it is possible to inspect whether or not packaging of an article with a shrink film is normal with high reliability.

  Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of an article packaged with a shrink film. The article 10 is, for example, a paper pack filled with a beverage or the like. Typically, the article 10 is a four-sided body part 30, a bottom part 60, two triangular top faces 50, a top seal 40, and a spout. And a cap 70 attached thereto. The article 10 is packaged with a shrink film 20.

  As will be described later, the shrink film 20 is in the form of a band or a roll before the article 10 is packaged. When the article 10 is packaged, both sides (regions inside the ends) are overlapped and joined by static electricity or the like. The An article 10 according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention is packaged with a shrink film 20 having an inspection pattern 20i attached to both sides with ultraviolet light emitting fluorescent ink. In a state where the article 10 is packaged with the shrink film 20, the inspection pattern 20 i is located at the joint portion on both sides of the shrink film 20 and appears at least on one surface 10 </ b> B of the trunk portion 30.

  The inspection pattern 20i preferably includes a linear pattern extending along the end portion 20e on each side portion (region inside the end portion) of the shrink film 20 in the belt state. In the example shown in FIG. 1, the test pattern 20 i includes two linear patterns extending along the end 20 e on each side portion, and thus includes a total of four linear patterns.

  The ultraviolet light-emitting fluorescent ink is an ink containing a fluorescent material that emits light when receiving ultraviolet light. For example, “16-2340” available from Videojet Corporation is suitable. Since the ultraviolet light emitting fluorescent ink does not emit light even when it receives visible light, it is particularly suitable for attaching a test pattern to a colorless and transparent shrink film, and has an advantage that it is not recognized by general consumers in the market. . Therefore, the inspection pattern 20 i can be attached to the shrink film 20 without affecting the design of the article 10.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram schematically showing an overall configuration of a processing apparatus according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. The article 10 is packaged by the shrink film 20 to which the test pattern 20i is attached with the ultraviolet light emitting fluorescent ink in the packaging device 200. Here, the general packaging apparatus discharges the packaged article 10 in a state where the joint portion of the shrink film 20 (the portion where the inspection pattern 20i exists) faces downward. Also in this embodiment, the packaging device 200 is described as having such a specification, but this is merely for convenience of explanation, and is not intended to limit the technical scope of the present invention.

  The article 10 packaged by the packaging device 200 is conveyed through the conveyance path 300 and is rotated approximately 90 degrees around the axis along the conveyance direction by the operation device 100 in the middle thereof. Thereby, the surface 10B where the joining part of the shrink film 20 appeared turns to the side. The article 10 rotated by the operating device 100 is inspected by the inspection device 400 to determine whether or not the packaging with the shrink film 20 is normal (the presence or absence of abnormality).

  The inspection apparatus 400 applies ultraviolet light to the surface including the joint portion of the shrink film (where the inspection pattern 20i exists), that is, the surface 10B of the article 10 (or the region where the inspection pattern 20i should be present). Based on the image of the irradiation unit 410 that irradiates, a camera (for example, a CCD camera) 420 that images the inspection pattern 20i that emits light when irradiated with ultraviolet rays, and the image of the inspection pattern 20i that is captured by the camera 420, the shrink film 20 The determination part 430 which determines whether the packaging of the article | item 10 is made normally (absence of abnormality), and the control part 440 which controls these can be included. The determination unit 430, for example, extracts a portion corresponding to the inspection pattern 20i from an image captured by the camera 420, and compares the extracted portion with the characteristic information of the inspection pattern set in advance. It can be determined whether or not 10 packages are normal.

  Based on the determination result by the determination unit 430, the control unit 440 controls the evacuation device 450 to evacuate the abnormal product (the article 10 determined to have an abnormality in packaging with the shrink film 20) to the evacuation path or the evacuation region 320. Control. The normal product (the product 10 determined to have no abnormality in the packaging with the shrink film 20) is sent to the normal product conveyance path 310 without being rejected.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating the principle of packaging in the packaging apparatus 200. First, as shown in (a), the shrink film 20 is placed on the article 10 such as a paper pack filled with a beverage or the like from above, and both side portions 20a and 20b of the shrink film are hung downward. Next, as shown in (b), the shrink film 20 is formed in a bag shape so that the body portion of the article 10 is completely wrapped, and the side portion 20a and the side portion 20b are joined together by static electricity, etc. The side is cut by a hot wire heater or the like. Next, as shown in (c), in the heat tunnel, the shrink film 20 is contracted by heating to, for example, about 150 ° C., whereby the article 10 packaged with the shrink film 20 is obtained.

  FIG. 4 is a plan view schematically showing a configuration example of the packaging device 200. In the packaging device 200, the strip-shaped shrink film 20 provided from the shrink film roll 20 r is covered from above the article 10. The belt-shaped shrink film 20 has both side portions 20a and 20b (see FIG. 3) hung downward by the winding guides 201 and 202, and the both side portions 20a and 20b are overlapped by the overlapping guides 205 and 206. Next, static electricity is applied by the electrostatic bonding machine 210 provided below, and the side portions 20a and 20b are bonded to each other. Next, the shrink film 20 is first cut on the top seal side and then on the bottom side by the hot wire cutter 220. As a result, the article 10 is wrapped by the bag-shaped shrink film 20. Next, in the heat tunnel 230, for example, the shrink film 20 is heated to about 150 ° C. and contracts. The article 10 packaged in this way is then discharged from the packaging device 200.

  In the packaging method as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the article 10 that has been packaged is in a state in which both side portions 20 a and 20 b of the shrink film 20 are joined on the lower side. Therefore, if it is going to test | inspect the junction part of the shrink film 20, without rotating the articles | goods 10 in which packaging was completed, it is necessary to observe the articles | goods 10 from the downward direction. However, since the article 10 is typically supported and transported from below, when the article 10 is to be inspected from below, for example, it is necessary to provide an opening in a conveyor for transportation. Is very difficult due to the structure of the conveyor.

  Therefore, in this embodiment, the operating device 100 is arranged in the transport path 300 of the processing device, and the inspection device 100 is rotated around a virtual axis substantially parallel to the transport direction of the article 10 by the operating device 100 prior to the inspection of the packaged article 10. The article 10 is rotated approximately 90 degrees. Thereby, the junction part (inspection object part) 10B of the both side parts 20a and 20b of the shrink film 20 faces sideways.

  5 to 7 are diagrams showing a schematic configuration of the operating device 100 that can be arranged in the conveyance path 300, FIG. 5 is a plan view, FIG. 6 is a side view, and FIG. 7 is a perspective view. In FIG. 6, the guide member 122 is omitted. Also, in FIGS. 5 to 7, a support mechanism for supporting the member or mechanism is omitted.

  As described above, the packaging device 200 discharges the article 10 with the portion 10B where the side portions 20a and 20b of the shrink film 20 are joined facing downward.

  The operating device 100 conveys the article 10 on the first conveyor 110 that conveys the article 10 on the first surface A (see FIG. 6) and the second surface B (see FIG. 6) that is lower than the first surface A. A second conveyor 20. The first conveyor 110 receives and conveys the article 10 from the packaging device 200 or a conveyor connected to the packaging device 200. The second conveyor 20 conveys the article 10 to the inspection apparatus 170 or a conveyor that conveys the article 10 to the inspection apparatus 170. The article 10 conveyed by the first conveyor 110 can be guided laterally by the guide members 112 and 114. The article 10 conveyed by the second conveyor 120 can be guided sideways by the guide members 122 and 124.

  The operation device 100 further includes a rotation mechanism 130 that rotates the article 10 by approximately 90 degrees. The rotation mechanism 130 rotates on the first surface A while rotating the article 10 conveyed by the first conveyor 110 approximately 90 degrees around a virtual axis VAX (see FIG. 5) substantially parallel to the conveyance direction by the first conveyor 110. Is dropped onto the second surface B and passed to the second conveyor 120.

  For example, the rotation mechanism 130 is conveyed by the first conveyor 110 so that the article 10 conveyed to the first conveyor 110 rolls down while rotating approximately 90 degrees from the first surface A to the second surface B. The extrusion part 134 which extrudes the article | item 10 on the coming 1st surface to the side is provided. The extruding unit 134 may be configured to include, for example, a guide member that guides the side of the article 10 conveyed by the first conveyor 110. In this case, the article 10 conveyed by the first conveyor 110 is pushed out to the side by the guide member as it moves.

  The rotation mechanism 130 preferably includes a defining mechanism that defines a position where the article 10 starts to rotate around the virtual axis VAX. The defining mechanism can be configured to include, for example, a roller 136 that supports the side (for example, the upper side) of the article 10 conveyed by the first conveyor 110 and a motor 138 that rotationally drives the roller 136.

  The roller 136 supports the article 10 so that the article 10 does not roll from the first surface A onto the second surface B until the article 10 reaches a predetermined position. This predetermined position is a position where the width of the portion that supports the article 10 on the first surface A is sufficiently narrower than the width of the article 10 throughout the article 10 (for example, less than ½ of the width of the article 10). Position) (when a third conveyor 132 to be described later is provided) is preferable. In this case, immediately after the support by the roller 136 is released, the article 10 is subjected to a moment around the virtual axis VAX due to its own weight, both on the front end portion and on the rear end portion thereof, and stably. Rotate. On the other hand, in a configuration that does not have a defining mechanism such as the roller 136, the moment around the virtual axis VAX can be applied only to the tip portion of the article 10 first, so the rotational motion may not be stable.

  In the example illustrated in FIGS. 5 to 7, the rotation mechanism 130 includes a third conveyor 132 disposed on the downstream side in the transport direction of the first conveyor 110. Similar to the first conveyor 110, the third conveyor 132 conveys the article 10 on the first surface A. The width of the portion of the third conveyor 132 that supports the article 10 from below is narrower than the width of the portion of the first conveyor 110 that supports the article 10 from below, typically less than ½. Here, when the third conveyor 132 is provided, the extruding part 134 is not necessarily required. However, when the extruding part 134 is configured by a guide member, the third conveyor 132 supports the article 10 from below. The width can be determined by the guide member. When the rotation mechanism 130 includes the third conveyor 132, the article 10 conveyed by the first conveyor 110 is transferred from the third conveyor 132 (first surface A) to the second conveyor 120 (second Rotate approximately 90 degrees by rolling down the surface.

  The article 10 that has rotated approximately 90 around the virtual axis VAX by rolling down from the first surface A to the second surface B is conveyed by the second conveyor 120 while maintaining its orientation. The article 10 on the second conveyor 120 has a joint portion 10B facing sideways.

  As described above, the inspection pattern 20i is attached to the shrink film 20 with the ultraviolet light emitting fluorescent ink, so that the inspection pattern 20i can be inspected or not by observing whether the article 10 is normally packaged by the shrink film 20. Can be determined. Further, when the article 10 is inspected, since the inspection pattern 20i is irradiated with ultraviolet rays, distortion, defect, etc. of the shrink film 20 can be detected as distortion, defect, etc. of the inspection pattern 20i. Whether or not the packaging of the article is normal (or whether there is an abnormality) can be inspected with high reliability. Moreover, since the ultraviolet light emitting fluorescent ink does not emit light even when it receives visible light, it does not obscure characters, pictures, photographs, etc. attached to the surface of the article, and does not impair the design of the article.

It is a figure which shows an example of the articles | goods packaged with the shrink film. 1 is a diagram schematically showing an overall configuration of a processing apparatus according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure which shows the principle of the packaging in a packaging apparatus. It is a top view which shows the structural example of a packaging apparatus roughly. It is a top view which shows schematic structure of the operating device which can be arrange | positioned at a conveyance path. It is a side view which shows schematic structure of the operating device which can be arrange | positioned at a conveyance path. It is a perspective view which shows schematic structure of the operating device which can be arrange | positioned at a conveyance path.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Article 20 Shrink film 20a, 20b Shrink film side 20e Shrink film end 20i Inspection pattern 20r Shrink film roll 30 Body 40 Top seal 50 Triangle top 60 Bottom 70 Cap 10B Surface having shrink film joint DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 Operation apparatus 110 1st conveyor 112,114 Guide member 120 2nd conveyor 122,124 Guide member 130 Rotation mechanism 132 3rd conveyor 134 Extrusion part 136 Roller 138 Motor A 1st surface (Conveyance surface of 1st conveyor and 3rd conveyor )
B 2nd surface (Conveying surface of 2nd conveyor)
VAX virtual axis 200 packaging apparatus 201, 202 winding guide 205, 206 stacking guide 210 electrostatic bonding machine 220 hot wire cutter 230 heat tunnel 300 transport path 310 normal product transport path 320 waste path or waste area 400 inspection device 410 irradiation Unit 420 Camera 430 Determination unit 440 Control unit 450 Exclusion device

Claims (6)

An inspection method for inspecting an article,
By irradiating ultraviolet light onto an article packaged by a shrink film to which an inspection pattern is attached with ultraviolet light emitting fluorescent ink, and reading the inspection pattern emitted by irradiation of the ultraviolet light, the article is normally packaged by the shrink film. Including the step of determining whether or not
The shrink film wrapping the article is heated after the band-shaped shrink film is put on the article and the two side portions which are the inner regions of the two ends of the band-shaped shrink film are overlapped and joined. The inspection pattern includes a linear pattern extending along the end portion,
Inspection method characterized by that. A method of manufacturing a packaged article, comprising:
Wrapping the article with a shrink film to which a test pattern is attached with ultraviolet light emitting fluorescent ink; and
Irradiated with ultraviolet rays packaged article, by reading the test pattern which emits light by irradiation of ultraviolet rays, seen including a step of determining whether the packaging of the article by the shrink film has been made successfully,
The shrink film wrapping the article is heated after the band-shaped shrink film is put on the article and the two side portions which are the inner regions of the two ends of the band-shaped shrink film are overlapped and joined. The inspection pattern includes a linear pattern extending along the end portion,
The manufacturing method characterized by the above-mentioned. A shrink film characterized in that an inspection pattern including a linear pattern extending along the inside of the end portion is attached to two side portions, which are regions inside each of the two end portions, by ultraviolet light emitting fluorescent ink . . An inspection pattern including a linear pattern extending along the inside of the end portion is wrapped with a shrink film attached with ultraviolet light emitting fluorescent ink on two side portions which are regions inside each of the two end portions . Article characterized by that. An article is packaged by a shrink film in which a test pattern including a linear pattern extending along the inner side of the two ends is applied to the two sides, which are regions inside each of the two ends. , A packaging device that discharges in a state in which the joint portion of the two side portions of the shrink film packaging the article is directed downward,
An operating device for operating the article so that the joint portion of the shrink film wrapping the article faces sideways;
An irradiation unit that irradiates a surface including the bonding part of the shrink film that is operated by the operation device and wraps the article with the bonding part facing sideways;
A camera for imaging a test pattern that emits light when irradiated with ultraviolet rays;
A determination unit that determines whether or not the packaging of the article by the shrink film is normally performed based on the inspection pattern imaged by the camera;
The operating device is:
A first conveyor for conveying the article on a first surface;
A second conveyor for conveying articles on a second surface lower than the first surface;
The article conveyed by the first conveyor is dropped from the first surface onto the second surface while rotating approximately 90 degrees around a virtual axis substantially parallel to the conveyance direction by the first conveyor. A rotation mechanism that passes to two conveyors,
The rotation mechanism is
An extruding unit that extrudes the article conveyed by the first conveyor to the side so that the article conveyed by the first conveyor rolls down from the first surface onto the second surface;
Until the article conveyed by the first conveyor reaches a predetermined position, the article is supported from above so that the article does not roll down from the first surface onto the second surface. A regulation mechanism for defining the predetermined position at which the article starts to rotate around the virtual axis by releasing the support of the article when passing through
The processing apparatus characterized by the above-mentioned . An article is packaged with a shrink film in which an inspection pattern is attached to the two sides which are regions inside each of the two ends by ultraviolet light emitting fluorescent ink, and the two in the shrink film packaging the article A packaging device that discharges with the side joints facing downwards;
An operating device for operating the article so that the joint portion of the shrink film wrapping the article faces sideways;
An irradiation unit that irradiates a surface including the bonding part of the shrink film that is operated by the operation device and wraps the article with the bonding part facing sideways;
A camera for imaging a test pattern that emits light when irradiated with ultraviolet rays;
A determination unit that determines whether or not the packaging of the article by the shrink film is normally performed based on the inspection pattern imaged by the camera;
The operating device is:
A first conveyor for conveying the article on a first surface;
A second conveyor for conveying articles on a second surface lower than the first surface;
The article conveyed by the first conveyor is dropped from the first surface onto the second surface while rotating approximately 90 degrees around a virtual axis substantially parallel to the conveyance direction by the first conveyor. A rotation mechanism that passes to two conveyors,
The rotation mechanism is
An extruding unit that extrudes the article conveyed by the first conveyor to the side so that the article conveyed by the first conveyor rolls down from the first surface onto the second surface;
Until the article conveyed by the first conveyor reaches a predetermined position, the article is supported from above so that the article does not roll down from the first surface onto the second surface. A regulation mechanism for defining the predetermined position at which the article starts to rotate around the virtual axis by releasing the support of the article when passing through
The processing apparatus characterized by the above-mentioned .

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