JP4925753B2 - Filling method and package - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a filling apparatus, a filling method, and a packaging body for filling a package with a seasoning such as mayonnaise and ketchup, or a fluid food with high viscosity such as condensed milk, or other fluid such as cosmetics.

  Conventionally, when filling a package with a mouth attached to the bag body, the air contained in the bag body is degassed, then the fluid food is filled from the mouth, and then attached to the mouth. It was filled based on the three basic steps of washing the liquid food.

  Regarding the invention of such a filling method and the filling apparatus used therefor, the present patent applicants have already disclosed the technical contents in Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2.

  In the invention disclosed in Patent Document 1, in filling a package body in which a mouth portion is attached to a bag body with a liquid food such as jelly, a packaging body in which the mouth portion is held is firstly concerned. The container fitting portion is covered, and the inside of the bag body is sucked through the container fitting portion to degas the inside of the bag body. The container fitting portion covers the mouth from the outside so as to cover the mouth. Next, the liquid food is filled in a predetermined amount through the container fitting portion. When the liquid food is filled in this manner, the liquid food adheres to the mouth portion after filling because the container fitting portion covers the outside of the mouth portion. In order to remove the liquid food adhering to the mouth portion, the invention disclosed in Patent Document 1 is provided with a washing step, and the mouth portion is washed after filling.

  Also in the invention disclosed in Patent Document 2, the process for filling a package with liquid food is basically the same as the invention disclosed in Patent Document 1.

  In the inventions disclosed in Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2, the cleaning process is performed by injecting the cleaning liquid into the mouth portion. In addition to this, a method of cleaning the mouth portion by an air blow method is also known. Yes.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-157502 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-227724

  However, as in the inventions disclosed in Patent Documents 1 and 2, when the package filled with the liquid food is a pouch container made of a film material that is a flexible material, it is sequentially conveyed due to the nature of the pouch container. It is difficult to make the shape of each pouch used uniform. This is thought to be due to variations in the form of forcing by external forces.

  Further, compressed air is used to perform deaeration and air blow. For this reason, once the tempering is impaired, the compressed air may have an adverse effect on the fluid food. Furthermore, since the deaeration process and the washing process were provided before and after the process of filling the liquid food, it was difficult to efficiently fill.

  The present invention has been made in view of such problems, and there is no solid-to-solid variation with respect to the form of a package filled with fluid food, and the filling device can be filled efficiently and filled. Methods and packages are provided.

  In the present invention, in order to solve the above problems, in a filling device for filling a package with fluid from a cylindrical mouth portion attached to a bag body, a holder for holding the mouth portion, and an inside of the mouth portion. A nozzle to be inserted, pump means connected to the nozzle and discharging fluid through the nozzle, and the position of the nozzle and the mouth relative to each other so that the nozzle is inserted into and removed from the mouth. A moving means for moving the nozzle in the axial direction, a regulating means for regulating the operation of the moving means so that a relative position between the mouth and the nozzle is regulated within a certain range, and an operation of the pump means. Control means for controlling the timing and the timing of operation of the moving means, the nozzle being inserted in the mouth and having a diameter so as to close the mouth, the pump means The fluid is discharged at a flow rate above a certain level so that the internal pressure of the bag body is higher than the external pressure, and the control means is configured to immediately before the liquid level of the fluid filled in the bag body reaches the tip of the nozzle A filling device is used which controls the pump means and the moving means so that the nozzle is extracted from the nozzle.

  With regard to this filling apparatus, in the present invention, the restricting means includes the moving means so that when the nozzle is inserted into the mouth, the tip of the nozzle is inserted deeper than the mouth by a predetermined dimension. The operation of is regulated.

  In the present invention, the nozzle is fixed in position, and the moving means is an elevating means for elevating the holder. And the said raising / lowering means comprises the raising / lowering cam apparatus act | operated by a drive source, The said holder raises / lowers in response to the action | operation of this raising / lowering cam apparatus, It is characterized by the above-mentioned.

  On the other hand, the pump means is a plunger pump that pushes the filling in the cylinder as the piston moves in the axial direction in the cylinder, and is coupled with the crank rotation operation rotated by the drive source. It is characterized by being configured to move.

  And in this invention, regarding this filling device, the operation timing of the elevating means and the operation timing of the plunger pump are determined by the eccentric direction of the cam constituting the elevating cam device and the extension of the arm of the crank. It was configured to be determined by the angle difference made with the direction.

  In the above filling apparatus, the present invention is characterized in that the nozzle is connected and a fluid tank containing a fluid to be filled is provided, and the pump means is disposed inside the fluid tank. .

  Further, in the present invention, in order to solve the above problems, in a filling method of filling a package with fluid from a cylindrical mouth portion attached to a bag body, a nozzle is inserted into the mouth portion, and the mouth portion is The nozzle body is closed, and then the fluid is filled into the bag body from the nozzle so that the internal pressure of the bag body is higher than the external pressure. Thereafter, the liquid level of the fluid to be filled is at the tip of the nozzle. On the other hand, when the nozzle is approached to a certain distance, the nozzle is extracted from the mouth, and by removing the nozzle, residual air accumulated in a space formed above the fluid level in the bag body is collected. The degassing action of ejecting from the mouth portion to the outside of the bag body is generated by the internal pressure of the bag body, and the bag body is contracted by the degassing action, thereby causing the liquid level rising action of the fluid, and the upper side of the liquid level. Formed into The space was adopting a filling method for filling with fluid.

  In the present invention, in such a filling method, the nozzle is filled by inserting the tip of the nozzle deeply into the mouth by a preset dimension with respect to the mouth.

  Further, the position of the nozzle is fixed, the packing body is moved in the axial direction of the nozzle, and filling is performed by inserting and removing the tip of the nozzle into and from the mouth portion of the packaging body.

  And what the said bag main body was comprised flexibly by the laminated | multilayer film is used as the said package.

  In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, the present invention comprises a bag body made of a laminated film and a mouth part that is attached to the bag body and allows the inside and outside of the bag body to communicate with each other. The package body is filled with fluid, and the bag body is filled with fluid from the nozzle so that the internal pressure of the bag body is higher than the external pressure, and above the liquid level of the filled fluid. The bag body is contracted by a deaeration action in which the formed residual air accumulated in the space inside the bag body is ejected from the mouth portion to the outside of the bag body by the internal pressure of the bag body, so that the fluid liquid By causing the surface rising action, a packaging body filled with a fluid filled in the space formed above the liquid surface is employed.

  In the present invention, when the fluid is filled into the package body, the fluid is injected at a flow rate above a certain level so that the internal pressure of the bag body is higher than the atmospheric pressure. Inflated. Due to this expansion action, the bag body is not formed with a dent or the like. For this reason, after filling with fluid, it can prevent effectively that an individual difference arises in the appearance shape of a package.

  The appearance shape is also affected by the flow rate of the fluid to be filled. In this regard, in the present invention, the fluid can be filled into the package by an appropriate flow rate by controlling the timing and time at which the pump means discharges the fluid and the timing and time at which the nozzle is inserted into and removed from the mouth.

  Furthermore, in the present invention, since the nozzle is inserted into the mouth portion of the package to fill the fluid, the fluid does not adhere to the outer peripheral portion of the mouth portion after filling. For this reason, the washing process after filling can be omitted. In addition, in the present invention, the fluid is filled so that the internal pressure of the bag body becomes higher than the atmospheric pressure, and then the bag body is deaerated. For this reason, it is not necessary to provide the process which extracts the air which remains in the bag main body in the step before filling the fluid. Thus, in the present invention, the fluid filling process can be simplified.

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

  First, with reference to FIG.1 and FIG.2, the packing body which is the object of filling with the filling apparatus and filling method of this invention is demonstrated.

  FIG. 1 shows a gusset bag 1 with a spout, which is a representative example of a target package. This spout-equipped gusset bag 1 is one in which a spout 6 provided with a mouth portion 7 is attached to the upper end of a bag body 2. The bag body 2 is composed of a pair of opposed flat portions 3 and a pair of side portions 4 that connect the side edges of the flat portions 3. The side surface 4 is formed with a folding line 5 extending vertically in the center of the package in the thickness direction, and the side surface 4 is configured to be folded inside the bag body 2 by the folding line 5.

  The flat surface portion 3 and the side surface portion 4 are connected by heat-sealing each side edge. Further, the lower end edges of the flat surface portion 3 and the side surface portion 4 are heat sealed to each other, and the lower portion of the bag body 2 is sealed.

  On the other hand, a spout 6 for connecting the inside and outside of the bag body 2 is attached to the upper portion of the bag body 2. The spout 6 has a flat central portion sandwiched between the upper edge 3a of the flat portion 3 so that the lower side in the axial direction is inserted into the bag body 2 and the upper side protrudes from the bag main body 2. 3 is heat sealed and attached. In the spout 6, a portion protruding upward from the bag body 2 is the mouth portion 7. A cap 9 is detachably fastened to the outer periphery of the mouth portion 7. In addition, the spout 6 is formed with a two-stage flange 8 projecting outward from the lower portion of the mouth portion 7.

  The package shown in FIG. 2 is an example of a standing pouch 10 having excellent self-supporting properties. The standing pouch 10 also includes a bag body 11 and a spout 15 attached to the upper portion of the bag body 11. The bag body 11 is composed of a pair of opposed flat portions 12 and a bottom portion 13 that seals the bottom. The bag body 11 is configured such that the side edges of the flat surface portion 12 are heat-sealed, and the bottom surface portion 13 is heat-sealed to the inner surface of the flat surface portion 12 at the lower end of the flat surface portion 12.

  And the spout 15 which connects the inside and outside of this bag main body 11 is attached to the upper part of the bag main body 11. As shown in FIG. The lower side of the spout 15 is also inserted into the bag main body 11, and the upper side protrudes upward from the upper end of the bag main body 11. This protruding portion is the mouth portion 16. The spout 15 is attached such that the central portion in the axial direction is sandwiched between the upper end edges 12 a of the plane portion 12 and heat sealed to the upper end edges 12 a of the plane portion 12. The spout 15 is also provided with a cap 18 that is fastened to the outer periphery of the mouth portion 16 protruding from the upper end and detachable from the mouth portion 16. Further, a two-stage flange 17 is formed at the lower portion of the mouth portion 16 so as to project outward.

  In the package shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the spouts 6 and 15 are formed with a relatively short length, and the lower side inserted into the bag bodies 2 and 11 is the bag body 2. , 11 are slightly protruded from the upper end edges 3a, 12a to the inside of the bag bodies 2, 11. Details are shown in FIGS. 16 and 17.

  The bag bodies 2 and 11 of these packaging bodies 1 and 10 are constituted by the following laminated films.

ON # 15 / DL / L-LDPE # 50-100
ON # 25 / DL / CPP # 50-100
PET # 12 / Printing / DL / ON # 15 / DL / L-LDPE # 50-100
PET # 12 / Printing / DL / ON # 15 / DL / CPP # 50-100
PET # 12 / Print / DL / AL6-12μ / DL / ON # 15 / DL / L-LDPE # 50-100
PET # 12 / Print / DL / ON # 15 / DL / AL6-12μ / DL / CPP # 50-100
The meaning of each symbol is as follows.
ON: biaxially stretched nylon DL: dry laminate L-LDPE: linear low density polyethylene PET: polyethylene terephthalate CPP: unstretched polypropylene “#” means μm.

  The bag bodies 2 and 11 made of such a laminated film not only constitute the packaging bodies 1 and 10 having excellent self-supporting properties, but also constitute the flexible packaging bodies 1 and 10. Since it is flexible, it has the property that it can be easily deformed by human hands and can easily follow the state of the contents.

  The filling device and the filling method according to the present invention fill a package made of such a flexible material with a highly viscous fluid such as seasonings such as mayonnaise and ketchup, highly viscous foods such as condensed milk, or cosmetics such as milky lotion. It can be applied satisfactorily.

  FIG. 3 shows a front view of the filling device 20 according to one embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 4 shows a side view of the filling device 20.

  The filling device 20 includes a drive box 21 that includes a drive mechanism including a drive motor 100 therein, a food hopper 40 that is disposed above the drive box 21 and stores fluid food with high viscosity, and these drive boxes. 21 and a food hopper 40, and a holder 25 for holding the package 1 filled with food. A control panel 35 for controlling the operation of the filling device 20 is attached to the side of the filling device 20.

  A caster 22 is attached to the lower portion of the drive box 21 so that the filling device 20 can be moved. On the other hand, at the lower part of the drive box 21, stoppers 23 are provided at the four corners to prevent the filling device 20 from moving against the grounding surface G. Further, an opening / closing door 24 is provided on the side of the drive box 21 so that the internal drive mechanism can be adjusted and inspected.

  In FIG. 4, the left side of the drawing is the front part of the filling device 20, and the right side is the back part. As shown in FIG. 4, the holder 25 is provided on the front surface side of the filling device 20 so as to protrude upward from the upper surface of the drive box 21. In addition, a support block 30 that extends upward from the upper surface is attached to the drive box 21 at the center in the front-rear direction. Further, the support block 30 is provided with a hopper holder 31 extending forward from the upper surface thereof and a column 32 extending upward.

  The holder 25 includes a column portion 26 that extends vertically and a fork 27 that is provided at the upper end of the column portion 26 and on which the mouth portion 7 of the package 1 is hung. The holder 25 is configured to be moved up and down by an elevating mechanism in the drive box 21. On the other hand, the food hopper 40 is formed to taper downward, and the lower end thereof is held by the hopper holder 31. A lower end of the food hopper 40 is provided with a nozzle 41 extending downward. This nozzle 41 extends toward the position of the fork 27 of the holder 25, and when the packaging body 1 is held by the holder 25, the hopper holder is positioned so as to be coaxial with the mouth portion 7 of the packaging body 1. 31 is held.

  5 and 6 show a state in which the holder 25 holds the package 1 filled with food. FIG. 5 shows a state in which the package 1 is seen from the front, and FIG. 6 shows a state in which the package 1 is seen from the side. As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the package 1 is held by the flange 8 projecting outward at the lower portion of the mouth portion 7 being hung on the fork 27 of the holder 25. And the opening part 7 of the package 1 hold | maintained at the holder 25 and the nozzle 41 extended toward the downward direction from the food hopper 40 are distribute | arranged on the same axis line.

  Two swing levers 50 are attached to the upper portion of the support column 32 provided on the upper side of the support block 30 so as to extend in the front-rear direction of the filling device 20. These swing levers 50 are supported so that the center in the axial direction can swing with respect to the support column 32. The upper ends of the vertically extending rods 51 and 52 are connected to the front end sides of the swing levers 50, respectively. The lower sides of these rods 51 and 52 extend to the inside of the food hopper 40, and the lower ends thereof are connected to a plunger pump 60 built in the food hopper 40.

  FIG. 7 shows an outline of the plunger pump 60. The plunger pump 60 includes a cylindrical cylinder case 61 forming an outer shell, a cylindrical cylinder 63 disposed inside the cylinder case 61, and reciprocating in the axial direction of the cylinder 63 inside the cylinder 63. And a moving piston 64. An end block 42 integrated with the lower end portion of the food hopper 40 is provided at the lower portion of the cylinder case 61, and a check valve 70 and a nozzle 41 are attached to the lower end portion of the end block 42.

  An introduction portion 62 that communicates the inside and the outside is formed at the lower portion of the peripheral wall of the cylinder case 61 that forms the outer shell. The introduction portion 62 is a portion that introduces food contained in the food hopper 40 into the cylinder 63. The cylinder case 61 is attached to the end block 42 and fixed so as not to move. On the other hand, the cylinder 63 provided inside the cylinder case 61 is configured to reciprocate up and down with respect to the axial direction of the cylinder case 61. The upper portion of the cylinder 63 is connected to the two rods 51 and moves up and down in the cylinder case 61 in response to the vertical movement of the rod 51. When the cylinder 63 is raised, the introduction portion 62 formed at the lower portion of the cylinder case 61 is opened, and when the cylinder 63 is lowered, the introduction portion 62 is closed. A rod 52 is connected to the upper end of the piston 64, and the piston 64 is configured to move up and down in the cylinder 63 in response to the vertical movement of the rod 52. A sealing material 65 is provided on the outer peripheral surface of the piston 64 to seal between the outer peripheral surface of the piston 64 and the inner peripheral surface of the cylinder 63. The outer peripheral surface of the piston 64, the inner peripheral surface of the cylinder 63, and the like. The food is prevented from leaking from the clearance formed between the two.

  In addition, the capacity | capacitance of the foodstuff filled into the inside of the cylinder 63 can be changed by changing the stroke of the cylinder 63 of the plunger pump 60, and the stroke of the piston 64. FIG. By changing the strokes of the cylinder 63 and the piston 64, it can be appropriately applied to the capacity of the package used for filling the food.

  The end block 42 is formed with a communication passage 43 extending in the vertical direction at the center thereof, and communicates the inside and outside of the food hopper 40. A check valve 70 for opening and closing the communication path 43 is attached to the lower surface of the end block 42. Further, the nozzle 41 is attached so as to extend downward from the lower portion of the check valve 70. The check valve 70 has a seat surface 71 with a hole in the center, a ball 73 that is pressed against the seat surface 71 to close the communication passage 43, and is connected to the ball 73. And a spring 72 urged upward from the side 42 and pressed against the seat surface 71. When the food is discharged toward the nozzle 41 by the plunger pump 60, the check valve 70 pushes the ball 73 away from the seat surface 71 against the urging force of the spring 72 with the pressure. This allows food to flow from the food hopper 40 to the nozzle 41. On the other hand, when the discharge from the plunger pump 60 is stopped, the ball 73 is attracted to the seat surface 71 by the urging force of the spring 72 and closes the communication path 43 again. For this reason, even when the piston 64 of the plunger pump 60 is raised, the outside air is prevented from flowing backward from the nozzle 41 side into the food hopper 40.

  On the other hand, vertically extending rods 53 and 54 are also connected to the rear end side of the swing lever 50. The lower sides of these rods 53 and 54 extend toward the drive box 21, and are connected to a drive mechanism provided inside the drive box 21. A cover 33 extending upward from the top of the drive box 21 is provided on the back side of the filling device 20, and the rods 53 and 54 are covered with the cover 33.

  Next, the operation principle of the filling device 20 will be described.

  FIGS. 8 to 10 respectively show an elevating mechanism for the holder 25 and a driving mechanism for operating the plunger pump 60 disposed inside the food hopper 40, which are built in the driving box 21.

  FIG. 8 shows an outline of the lifting cam device 80 and the transmission mechanism 110 as a lifting mechanism for lifting the holder 25 up and down. The elevating cam device 80 includes a rotating shaft 81 that is connected to an output shaft of the drive motor 100 via a pulley and the like, and a cam 82 that rotates around the rotating shaft 81. Although the drive motor 100 is not shown in FIG. 8, the same motor as the drive motor 100 that drives the plunger pump 60 is used. On the other hand, the transmission mechanism includes a lever 83 whose center in the axial direction is bent, and the center in the axial direction is supported by the swing shaft 85. The lever 83 is configured such that both ends in the axial direction are swung up and down around the swing shaft 85. A cam floor 84 is attached to one end of the lever 83 in the axial direction. The cam floor 84 is in contact with the outer peripheral edge of the cam 82 and rotates on the outer peripheral edge of the cam 82 as the cam 82 rotates. Further, as the cam 82 rotates, the lever 83 swings up and down around the swing shaft 85 corresponding to the amount of eccentricity of the cam 82. On the other hand, a rod 89 extending vertically is connected to the other end of the lever 83 via a link 87 and connecting pins 86 and 88. The upper end of the rod 89 protrudes outward from the upper surface of the drive box 21, and the holder 25 is attached to the upper end. Further, an air cylinder 90 is connected to the lever 83 between the cam floor 84 and the swing shaft 85. The air cylinder 90 has a function of pressing the cam floor 84 attached to the lever 83 against the outer peripheral edge of the cam 82 and functions as a damper, and the lever 83 is smoothly swung.

  By these mechanisms, the holder 25 is raised and lowered as follows. When the cam 82 is rotated around the rotation shaft 81, the cam 82 rotates while being eccentric. Then, the lever 83 moves up and down by the amount of eccentricity of the cam 82 as the cam 82 rotates, and swings about the swing shaft 85 as the cam 82 rotates. At this time, since the lever 83 is pressed against the cam 82 by the air cylinder 90, the cam floor 84 does not move away from the cam 82.

  When the lever 83 is swung around the swing shaft 85, the rod 89 connected to the lever 83 via the link 87 and the connecting pins 86 and 88 reciprocates up and down. The holder 25 is moved up and down as the rod reciprocates. Note that the stroke of the holder 25 is regulated by the amount of eccentricity of the cam 82.

  FIG. 9 shows a drive mechanism of the cylinder 63 constituting the plunger pump 60.

  The drive motor 100 is connected via an endless belt 101 to one of two pulleys 103 in which two pulleys are arranged in parallel by a single rotating shaft 103a. Further, the other pulley of the double pulley is connected to the large pulley 104 via the endless belt 102. Therefore, the rotation of the drive motor 100 is transmitted to the large pulley 104 by the double pulley 103 and the two endless belts 101 and 102.

  The rotation shaft 103a of the double pulley 103 is connected to the continuously variable transmission 105, and the rotation of the pulley connected to the endless belt 101 is appropriately transmitted when transmitting the rotation of the pulley to the other pulley connected to the endless belt 102. The rotational speed is changed. The rotating shaft 108 of the large pulley 104 rotated by the endless belt 102 is connected to the speed reducer 106 via the brake / clutch 107. The speed reducer 106 includes a case that forms an outer shell and a plurality of gears that mesh with each other inside the case. The speed reducer 106 decelerates rotation input from the rotary shaft 108 to an appropriate rotation speed.

  A cam 110 of a drive cam device is connected to the output shaft 109 of the speed reducer 106. The output shaft 109 is connected to the cam 110 at a position shifted from the center of the cam 110, and the cam 110 is rotated so as to be eccentric about the output shaft 109. Above the cam 110, a lever 111 formed in an “L” shape is arranged, and the cam 110 swings the lever 111 up and down. The base end of the lever 111 is supported via a connecting shaft 114 by a bracket 115 provided at the upper part of the speed reducer. The connecting shaft 114 connects the base of the lever 111 to the bracket 115 so that the lever 111 can freely rotate with respect to the bracket 115 about the connecting shaft 114. On the other hand, a cam floor 113 is attached to the tip of the lever 111 that bends downward, and this cam floor 113 is in contact with the outer peripheral edge of the cam 110. A push-up pin 112 is provided at the bent portion of the lever 111. In the push-up pin 112, the lower end of the link 116 extending upward from the lever 111 is engaged with the push-up pin 112. On the other hand, the upper portion of the link 116 protrudes outward from the upper surface of the drive box 21 and is connected to the transmission lever 120 to which the rod 53 is connected.

  The transmission lever 120 is connected at its base end to a bracket 119 attached to the upper surface of the drive box 21 by a connection pin 122. The tip of the transmission lever 120 extends toward the back side of the filling device 20. The transmission lever 120 is coupled to the bracket 119 by the coupling pin 122 so that the tip of the transmission lever 120 swings up and down about the coupling pin 122. And the front end side of this transmission lever 120 is comprised as the attaching part 121 which is formed flat and the lower end of the rod 53 is attached.

  Further, a biasing member such as a spring is connected to the axially central portion 117 of the link 116, and the link is biased toward the distal end side of the lever 111. Further, a biasing member such as a spring that biases the distal end side of the transmission lever 120 downward is coupled to the distal end of the transmission lever 120. By these two urging members, the link 116 is urged toward the distal end side of the lever 111 and urged downward. Therefore, the lower end of the link 116 is always in close contact with the push-up pin 112 provided on the lever 111, and the tip of the lever 111 is urged toward the cam 110 by the link 116 via the push-up pin 112.

  With such a configuration, the rod 53 is moved up and down as follows.

  The rotation of the drive motor 100 is transmitted to the double pulley 103 by the endless belt 101. This rotation is transmitted to the large pulley 104 by the endless belt 102. At this time, the rotation of the drive motor 100 is shifted to an appropriate rotation speed by the continuously variable transmission 105. Then, the rotation transmitted to the large pulley 104 is input from the rotary shaft 108 to the speed reducer 106. The rotation decelerated to an appropriate rotation speed by the speed reducer 106 is transmitted to the cam 110 by the output shaft 109. As a result, the cam 110 is rotated while being eccentric about the output shaft 109. When the cam 110 is rotated, the tip of the lever 111 to which the cam floor 113 is attached moves up and down, and the lever 111 swings up and down around the connecting shaft 113 provided at the base end thereof. Then, the link 116 is pushed upward by the push-up pin 112. However, the link 116 is always pressed toward the lever 111 by the urging force of the urging member connected to the central portion 117 of the link 116 and the urging member connected to the tip of the transmission lever 120. For this reason, when the tip end side of the lever 111 is lowered, the link 116 is also lowered in conjunction with the lowering of the lever 111. The tip of the lever 111 is always urged toward the outer peripheral edge of the cam 110. In addition, the lever 111 itself is also urged toward the cam 110 by the link 116. Therefore, the lever 111 also rotates the cam 110. Swing up and down following Through these actions, the link 116 reciprocates up and down in conjunction with the swing of the lever.

  When the link 116 reciprocates up and down, the transmission lever 120 connected to the link 116 swings up and down around the connecting pin 119. Then, the rod 53 whose lower end is connected to the attachment portion 121 of the transmission lever 120 reciprocates up and down.

  FIG. 10 shows a drive mechanism for moving the piston 64 of the plunger pump 60 up and down. The mechanism from the drive motor 100 to the output shaft 109 of the speed reducer 106 is the same as the drive mechanism of the cylinder 63 described above, and therefore, the same reference numerals as those shown in FIG. The description is omitted. Here, the details of the mechanism from the output shaft 109 to the rod 54 will be described.

  A crank 126 is connected to the output shaft 109, and the crank 126 rotates as the output shaft 109 rotates. The lower end of a rod 127 extending vertically is connected to the distal end of the crank 126 in the radial direction via a crank pin 125. The upper portion of the rod 127 protrudes outward from the upper surface of the drive box 21, and a transmission lever 130 is connected to the upper end of the rod 127.

  The transmission lever is connected at its base end to a holding portion 30 a formed on the support block 30 via a connection shaft 131, and its distal end extends toward the back side of the filling device 20. The rod 127 is connected to the distal end side of the transmission lever 130. The lower end of the rod 54 is connected to the tip of the transmission lever 130.

  With such a configuration, the rod 54 for driving the piston 64 of the plunger pump 60 is reciprocated up and down as follows.

  First, the crank 126 is rotated around the output shaft 109 as the output shaft 109 rotates. Then, the tip of the crank 126 performs a circular motion around the output shaft 109. As a result, the lower end of the rod 127 connected to the crankpin 125 performs a circular motion in the vertical direction as the crank 126 rotates. When the lower end of the rod 127 performs a circular motion in the vertical direction, the entire rod 127 reciprocates up and down. Since the transmission lever 130 is connected to the upper end of the rod 127, the tip side of the transmission lever 130 swings up and down around the connection shaft 131 as the rod 127 moves up and down. By swinging the transmission lever 130 in this way, the rod 54 whose lower end is connected to the tip of the transmission lever 130 is reciprocated upward.

  By such a mechanism, the raising and lowering of the holder 25 and the operation of the plunger pump 60 are performed. However, these operations need to be operated so as to be correlated with each other in order to properly fill the food inside the package 1 held by the holder 25. The association of the operations is performed by adjusting the eccentric direction of the elevating cam device 80, the cams 82 and 110 of the drive cam device, the direction in which the crank 126 extends, the shape and the rotational speed of the cams 82 and 110. The two cams 82 and 110 go through four steps of ascending-stop-descent-stop, respectively, during one rotation. The crank 126 is also subjected to an ascending-descending process by making one rotation. The food in the food hopper 40 is appropriately filled into the package 1 by appropriately combining these processes.

  In addition, by appropriately selecting the rotational speed of the drive motor 100 and the shapes of the cams 82 and 110, the speed at which the holder 25 is raised and lowered, and the flow rate at which food is ejected from the plunger pump 60 can be suitably set. it can.

  In addition, in the filling device 20 according to this embodiment, the piston 64 is configured to be driven by a combination of the crank 126 and the rod 127 coupled thereto, but is not limited thereto, and the piston 64 is not limited thereto. Also, a method of converting the rotational motion of the drive motor 100 into a linear motion using a cam device may be adopted. In this case, the stroke of the piston 64 is determined by the amount of eccentricity of the cam used. The timing at which the piston 64 finishes descending and the holder 25 descends and the nozzle 41 is pulled out depends on the eccentric direction of the cam that drives the piston 64 and the cam 82 that is used in the elevation cam device 80 that raises and lowers the holder. It is determined by the angle formed with the eccentric direction.

  FIG. 11 shows an example of a time chart showing the correlation between the raising / lowering operation of the holder 25, the raising / lowering operation of the cylinder 63, and the raising / lowering operation of the piston 64. The horizontal axis of this time chart is the rotation angle of the output shaft 109 as the cam shaft that constitutes the drive mechanism of the plunger pump 60.

  First, raising of the holder 25 is started. When the cam 81 rotates and a certain time elapses, the ascending operation ends and the holder 25 is maintained in the raised state. In the plunger pump 60 in the food holder 25, the cylinder 63 is raised in advance to open the introduction portion 62, and the piston 64 is also raised. The plunger pump 60 is filled with food. ing. FIG. 12A shows this state. Next, the cylinder 63 of the plunger pump 60 is lowered and the introduction part 62 is closed. Simultaneously with the lowering of the cylinder 63, the piston 64 is also lowered, and the food inside the cylinder 63 is pushed out toward the nozzle 41. The food extruded toward the nozzle 41 is ejected from the nozzle 41 to the package 1. At this time, as shown in FIG. 12B, the food pushed out by the piston 64 pushes the ball 73 against the spring 72 of the check valve 70 to release the check valve 70. In this way, while the piston 64 is lowered and food is ejected from the nozzle 41 to the package 1, the cylinder 63 is maintained in the lowered state, and the introduction portion 62 is closed.

  In the plunger pump 60 according to this embodiment, when the output shaft 109 that is a cam shaft is rotated about 20 ° from the initial state, the cylinder 63 is completely lowered, and the output shaft 109 further rotates 140 °. Until then, the lowered state is maintained as it is. This rotation angle gives the plunger pump 60 an optimum protruding state.

  When the output shaft 109 is rotated 160 ° (20 ° + 140 °) from the initial state, the cylinder rises from the state shown in FIG. And the holder 25 descend | falls when it rotates 180 degrees. The piston 64 is also raised. At this time, the check valve 70 is closed again when the ball 73 is pressed against the seat surface by the spring 72. Then, since the cylinder is raised and the introduction part 62 is opened, the food in the food hopper 40 is sucked into the cylinder 63 from the introduction part 62 as the piston 64 rises.

  Particularly important in this cycle are the timing when the piston 64 finishes descending and the timing when the holder 25 is lowered. By setting this timing to the timing shown in FIG. 11, an effective deaeration action can be imparted to the package 1 as described later. This timing is performed by appropriately setting the phase difference between the eccentric direction of the cam 82 that raises and lowers the holder 25 and the direction in which the arm of the crank 126 that raises and lowers the piston 64 extends.

  One cycle is established from such an action. In this filling device 20, since the piston 64 is driven by the rotation of the crank 126, its locus becomes a sine wave as shown in the time chart of FIG.

  FIG. 13 is a flowchart summarizing these operations performed by the filling device 20.

  In the first step, the holder 25 holding the package 1 is raised (S1). When the holder 25 is raised, the lower end portion of the nozzle 41 is inserted into the mouth portion 7 of the package 1. Next, the cylinder 63 of the plunger pump 60 that has been lifted is lowered and the introducing portion 62 is closed (S2). Then, the piston 64 of the plunger pump 60 is lowered simultaneously with the lowering of the cylinder 63, and the food in the cylinder 63 is discharged (S3). As a result, the inside of the package 1 held by the holder 25 is filled with food. Thereafter, the holder 25 is lowered and the package 1 is pulled away from the nozzle 41 (S4). At this time, the packaging bag 1 is deaerated. Thereafter, the cylinder 63 is raised to open the introduction part 62 (S5). Further, the piston 64 is raised, and the food is sucked into the cylinder 63 from the opened introduction portion 62 (S6). In this filling apparatus 20, the food is sequentially filled in the plurality of packaging bodies 1 by repeating these steps.

  Of the steps shown in the flowchart shown in FIG. 13, the steps until the holder 25 is lowered and the package is filled with food will be described in more detail with respect to the state of the packaging bag 1 with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 14 shows a state in which the package 1 is set in the holder 25 as viewed from the side of the package 1. As shown in FIG. 14, the package 1 is held by the holder 25 in such a manner that the flange 8 formed in the mouth portion 7 is hung on the fork 27 of the holder 25 and the package 1 is suspended from the holder 25. . The held package 1 is arranged on the same line as the axis of the mouth portion 7 and the axis of the nozzle 41, and is positioned directly below the tip of the nozzle 41. When the packaging body 1 is held by the holder 25, the holder 25 is raised. Since the mouth 7 and the nozzle 41 are coaxial, when the holder 25 is raised, the tip of the nozzle 41 is inserted into the mouth 7. FIG. 15 shows a state in which the tip of the nozzle 41 is inserted into the mouth portion 7.

  Here, the positional relationship between the tip of the nozzle 41 and the mouth portion 7 in the axial direction will be described with reference to FIGS. 16 and 17. As shown in FIG. 16, the spout 6 in which the mouth portion 7 is provided has a spout 6 a formed on the peripheral wall surface at the distal end side of the portion inserted into the bag body 2. The spout 6a is formed to smoothly pour out the food filled in the bag body 2 when the food is poured out from the package 1 filled with food. . And as shown in FIG. 17, the holder 25 raises the package 1 at least until the tip of the nozzle 41 reaches the back of the bag body 2 from the spout 6a. If the tip of the nozzle 41 is positioned deeper than the spout 6a, the food ejected from the tip of the nozzle 41 is injected into the bag body 2 only from the opening at the tip of the spout 6. Thereby, the flow of the injected food can be smoothly injected into the bag body 2 at a preset flow rate without being disturbed.

  In order to restrict the tip of the nozzle 41 to be inserted into the mouth portion 7 in such a state, the amount of eccentricity of the cam 82 constituting the lift cam device 80 that lifts and lowers the holder 25 is appropriately set. By setting to, the stroke of the holder 25 is appropriately regulated.

  In this way, after the packaging body 1 is raised by the holder 25 so that the tip of the nozzle 41 is inserted deeper than the spout 6a, the food product is sprayed from the nozzle 41 into the bag body 2 as shown in FIG. Enter. In addition, this FIG. 18 has shown the state filled with the food to about 50% of the accommodation volume of the bag main body 2. FIG. The food injected from the nozzle 41 is injected at a flow rate of a certain value or higher. Although the mouth 7 is closed by the nozzle 41, a small gap is formed between the outer periphery of the nozzle 41 and the inner periphery of the mouth 7. For this reason, the air remaining inside the bag body 2 leaks outside through this gap. However, by setting the flow rate to a certain level or more, the bag body 2 is filled with food before all the air remaining inside the bag body 2 is leaked to the outside. For this reason, the air remaining in the bag body 2 is pushed away to the upper side of the bag body 2 by the injected food and stays in a compressed state on the upper side of the liquid level of the food. Thereby, the internal pressure of the bag main body 2 becomes higher than the external pressure. Note that the flow rate of the food ejected from the nozzle 41 is adjusted by the speed at which the piston 64 of the plunger pump 60 is lowered.

  Thereafter, the food is injected from the nozzle 41 into the bag body 2 until the liquid level of the food reaches a position slightly below the tip of the nozzle 41. Then, as shown in FIG. 19, the injection of food ends when the liquid level reaches a position slightly below the tip of the nozzle 41. When the process is completed, a space in which compressed air is stored is formed at a position above the liquid level.

  Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 20, the holder 25 is lowered and the nozzle 41 is removed from the mouth portion 7. Thereby, the deaeration phenomenon in which the compressed air remaining on the upper side of the liquid level is ejected to the outside from the mouth portion 7 occurs. This phenomenon will be described with reference to FIGS. As shown in FIG. 21, in the state where the tip of the nozzle 41 is inserted into the inside of the mouth portion 7 after the filling is completed, the nozzle 41 closes the mouth portion 7. Air stays between the liquid level of the food and the nozzle 41. Moreover, the state where the internal pressure of the package 1 is higher than the external air pressure is maintained.

  When the holder 25 is lowered from this state and the nozzle 41 is extracted from the mouth portion 7, a deaeration phenomenon occurs in which the retained air is ejected from the mouth portion 7 to the outside. With this deaeration, the liquid level of the food rises to the upper end of the bag body 2. The bag body 2 of the package 1 filled with food is formed of a flexible film material as described above. For this reason, the bag body 2 contracts due to a sudden drop in the internal pressure of the bag body 2 due to deaeration, and a gap is prevented from being formed between the filled food and the bag body 2.

  In addition, as shown in FIG. 22, even after deaeration, a space is formed inside the mouth portion 7 itself. Since air exists in this space, if the cap 7 is put on the mouth portion 7 as it is, the filled food may be oxidized due to the air remaining in the mouth portion 7. In order to eliminate this inconvenience, it is preferable to fill the space with nitrogen gas before covering the cap 9 and then cover the cap 9 after that.

  The package filled with food as described above has good squeezability because the bag body is made of a flexible film material. For this reason, the foodstuffs filled so that the residual amount of the foodstuffs which remain | survive in a bag main body can be reduced significantly can be consumed.

  In addition, although what has been described above is an example of a liquid food with high viscosity such as ketchup, mayonnaise or condensed milk, what is to be filled in the package, it is not limited to this, and it is also applicable when filling cosmetics such as milky lotion. Can do. Further, the present invention can be applied not only to a fluid having a high viscosity but also to a fluid having a low viscosity.

The perspective view of the gusset bag with a spout which is one package used for the filling method of this invention. The perspective view of the pouch with a spout which is another package. The front view of the filling apparatus concerning one Embodiment of this invention. The side view of the filling apparatus shown in FIG. Explanatory drawing which shows what looked at the state which hold | maintained the package with the holder from the front of the package. Explanatory drawing which shows what looked at the state which hold | maintained the package with the holder from the side part of the package. The longitudinal cross-sectional view of the food hopper which shows the plunger pump provided in the inside of a food hopper. The schematic diagram of the raising / lowering mechanism which raises / lowers a holder. The schematic diagram of the drive mechanism which moves the cylinder of a plunger pump up and down. The schematic diagram of the drive mechanism which moves the piston of a plunger pump up and down. The time chart which shows the timing of raising / lowering of a holder, movement of a cylinder, and movement of a piston. Explanatory drawing which shows the change of operation | movement of a plunger pump. The flowchart regarding a series of operation | movement performed by the filling apparatus. The figure which shows the state by which the package was set to the holder. The figure which shows the state by which the holder was raised and the nozzle was inserted in the opening part. The enlarged view of a mouth part which shows the state just before a nozzle is inserted in the inside of a mouth part. The enlarged view of the opening | mouth part which shows the state in which the front-end | tip of the nozzle was inserted. The figure which shows the state by which the foodstuff was filled about 50% in the package. The figure which shows the state which finished filling a package with a foodstuff. The figure which shows the state by which the holder was lowered | hung and the nozzle was extracted from the opening part. The enlarged view which shows the vicinity of a mouth part about the state shown in FIG. The enlarged view which shows the vicinity of a mouth part about the state shown in FIG.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1,10 Package 2,11 Bag main body 7,16 Mouth part 20 Filling device 21 Drive box 25 Holder 35 Control panel 40 Food hopper (fluid tank)
41 Nozzle 50 Oscillating lever 51, 52 Rod 53, 54 Rod 60 Plunger pump (pump means)
70 Check Valve 80 Elevating Cam Device 82 Cam 100 Drive Motor 110 Cam 126 Crank

Claims (3)

In a filling method for filling a package with fluid from a cylindrical mouth attached to a bag body,
Insert a nozzle into the mouth, close the mouth with this nozzle,
Then, the bag body is filled with fluid from the nozzle so that the internal pressure of the bag body is higher than the external pressure,
Then, when the liquid level of the fluid to be filled approaches a certain distance with respect to the tip of the nozzle, the nozzle is extracted from the mouth,
The deaeration action of ejecting the residual air accumulated in the space formed above the fluid level inside the bag body by the internal pressure of the bag body from the mouth to the outside of the bag body by extracting the nozzle. Give rise to
The bag body is contracted by this deaeration action, causing the fluid level rising action of the fluid to fill the space formed above the liquid level with the fluid,
The tip of the nozzle is inserted deeply into the mouth by a predetermined dimension with respect to the mouth,
The position of the nozzle is fixed, the package is moved in the axial direction of the nozzle, and the tip of the nozzle is inserted into and removed from the mouth of the package.
The filling method characterized by the above-mentioned. The filling method according to claim 1, wherein the package body is one in which the bag body is configured flexibly by a laminated film . A bag body comprising a laminated film, and a mouth part attached to the bag body to allow the inside and outside of the bag body to communicate with each other, wherein the bag body is filled with fluid;
The inside of the bag body is filled with fluid from the nozzle so that the internal pressure of the bag body is higher than the external pressure,
By the deaeration action that causes the residual air formed in the space inside the bag body, which is formed above the liquid level of the filled fluid, to be ejected from the mouth portion to the outside of the bag body by the internal pressure of the bag body. By shrinking the bag body and causing the fluid level to rise, the space formed above the liquid level is filled with the filled fluid,
A package body filled with a liquid by the filling method according to claim 1.

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