JP5238318B2 - Pusher in packaging equipment - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a pusher used in a packaging apparatus for obtaining a packaged product by inserting a package body from an opening end of a bag.

A device that uses a pusher to push a package body into a bag having one end portion closed and an opposite end portion open, and then closes the open end to obtain a package. Is well known in the art. For example, in the high-speed packaging machine described in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 61-160002 (Patent Document 1), heat sealing is performed by using a plurality of horizontal sealers and cutting devices for a cylindrical plastic film. A bag having a closed end and an open end opposite the closed end. A pusher is used to push a predetermined number of packages into the bag, and then the opening end is heat-sealed to obtain a package with the bag in close contact with the package. In such a packaging machine, a groove having a V-shaped cross section and an air suction port connected to a vacuum source are formed on both sides of the pusher, and the pusher that has entered the bag while pressing the packaged body is removed from the bag. When exiting, the air inside the bag is sucked from the air suction port, and the opening end of the bag is deformed so as to follow the groove, and then the opening end is heat-sealed to be in a closed state. Known as prior art.
Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 61-160002

  In such a prior art, it is preferable that the pusher front surface portion has a large area so that the object to be packaged can be pushed in a wide area as much as possible. If a uniform pressing force is applied to a large area of the packaged body by doing so, the use of the pusher reduces the damage to the packaged body. However, as the area of the front surface of the pusher increases, the inner surface of the bag becomes more closely attached to the pusher, and it is difficult for the bag to deform so as to follow the groove of the pusher even if the air inside the bag is sucked. Become. In such a state, it becomes difficult to quickly make a well-shaped town in the bag.

  Therefore, the present invention has an object to improve the pusher used in the packaging apparatus so that such a problem in the packaging apparatus can be solved.

  In order to solve the above-described problems, the present invention is directed to a case where a package body is pushed into a bag having a closed end portion and an open end portion which is the opposite end portion from the open end portion, and then the open end portion. It is a pusher for pushing in the said to-be-packaged body used in the packaging apparatus which closes the said opening edge part and forms a package from the said bag and the said to-be-packaged body, forming a town on both sides of a part.

  In such a pusher, the present invention is characterized as follows. The pusher reciprocates between a forward movement in a direction of pushing in the packaged body and a backward movement in the opposite direction, and the bag is pressed against the packaged body while being pressed against the packaged body. And a head portion having a width direction orthogonal to the reciprocating direction and a thickness direction orthogonal to the reciprocating direction and the width direction. The head portion is either divided into a first plate and a second plate that overlap in the thickness direction, or divided into a first plate and a second plate and a third plate sandwiching the first plate. In this state, a groove having a V-shaped cross section is formed on both sides of the first plate in the width direction so as to extend in the reciprocating direction and is used to form the town. Has an opening connected to a vacuum suction source. In the forward movement of the pusher, the second plate and the third plate push the packaged body together with the first plate and enter the bag, and in the backward movement of the pusher, The second plate and the third plate are retracted from the bag when the first plate is in a stationary state after being pushed in, and then the first plate is sucked into the bag by the vacuum suction. The head portion is formed so that it can be retracted while applying a vacuum pressure from a source.

  In one embodiment of the present invention, the front surface portion of any of the first, second, and third plates is configured such that the bag passes through the first plate when the front surface portion is inside the bag. It has an air supply port which can be made into a ventilation state inside and outside.

  In another embodiment of the present invention, the second plate and the third plate are integrated behind the head portion.

  In still another embodiment of the present invention, pressurized air can be supplied into the bag from the air supply port.

  The pusher according to the present invention has a first plate and a second plate whose head portions overlap each other, or a first plate and a second plate and a third plate sandwiching the first plate. After the second plate or the second plate and the third plate are withdrawn from the bag, a town is formed in the bag using only the first plate. Therefore, even when the bag is in close contact with the head portion when the packaged body is pushed in, the bag for forming the town in the first plate is not in close contact with the head portion. Even if the bag is deep, the bag can easily enter the groove and deform so as to follow the shape of the groove, so that a well-shaped town can be obtained quickly.

  A pusher according to the present invention and a packaging apparatus in which the pusher is used will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  FIG. 1 shows a bag 2 to be used by a pusher 1 (see FIGS. 2 and 3) according to the present invention, and an assembly 15 of sanitary napkin individual packaging bodies 3 which are packages to be packaged in the bag 2. FIG. 4 is a view showing the package 14 in a state where the assembly 15 is packaged and the bag 2 is closed. The bag 2 is formed of, for example, a flexible and non-breathable plastic film, and includes a closed end 4 on which a heat seal 2d is formed, and an open end 5 that is the opposite end of the closed end 4. Have Between the closed end portion 4 and the open end portion 5, there is a pair of side surface portions 7 in which a town 6 is formed. The individual wrapping body 3 is obtained by enclosing sanitary napkins (not shown) in individual bags 3a formed of a flexible sheet material such as a plastic film or a nonwoven fabric. The assembly 15 is formed in an orderly arrangement in the machine direction A (see also FIG. 2) and the intersecting direction B perpendicular thereto.

  FIG. 2 is a side view of the packaging device 10 in which the pusher 1 according to the present invention is used. The packaging device 10 includes a first supply step 11 for intermittently supplying the bag 2, a second supply step 12 for intermittently supplying the assembly 15 formed by the individual package 3, the bag 2, And a bagging process 13 for obtaining a package 14 (see also FIG. 1) comprising the assembly 15.

  In the first supply step 11 of FIG. 2, the bag 2 in which the town 6 is formed is intermittently supplied from the left side of the drawing with the open end 5 facing forward. In the bag 2, the upper and lower surfaces 8, 9 (see FIG. 1) of the bag 2 are sucked by the pair of upper and lower expansion suction plates 16, and the opening end 5 is in the expanded state as shown in FIG. 1. The suction plate 16 is moved horizontally in the direction of arrow C to cover the opening end 5 that is in the expanded state on the bucket 21a of the plurality of buckets 21, and then returns to the illustrated position away from the opening end 5. . The bucket 21 maintains the open end 5 in the expanded state, and in the figure, the bag 2 placed on the bucket 21a of the bucket 21 is shown as a virtual line bag 2a. The bucket 21 is also attached to a disk 22 that rotates intermittently clockwise or counterclockwise, and the bag 2a placed on the bucket 21a rotates 180 ° together with the disk 22 so that the upper side of the figure. Move down. In FIG. 2, the bag 2a thus moved is shown as a virtual line bag 2b, and the bucket 21a is shown as a bucket 21b.

  In the second supply step 12 of FIG. 2, the assembly 15 is placed on the transporter 17 and moved in the direction of arrow D, and is transferred to the lifter 18 included in the transporter 17. The lifter 18 moves up and down, and the assembly 15 placed thereon can be moved upward as indicated by an arrow E. In the figure, the aggregate 15 thus moved is shown as an aggregate 15a. In the transporter 17, a plurality of pins 17b are attached to the endless belt 17a that intermittently moves in the direction of the arrow D at regular intervals, and are slidably mounted on a support base (not shown) in the transporter 17. The assembly 17 is pressed by the pins 17b from the right to the left in the drawing, that is, in the direction of the arrow D, and the assembly 15 is moved toward the lifter 18.

  The bag filling process 13 of FIG. 2 includes the pusher 1, a pair of upper and lower press plates 31, a pair of upper and lower seal plates 32, and an endless belt 33. The pusher 1 has a head portion 36 on the left side in the machine direction A and a rod portion 37 on the right side. The rod portion 37 reciprocates the pusher 1 in the machine direction A between forward movement and backward movement. The pusher 1 is connected to a driving mechanism (not shown) for movement, and the pusher 1 shown is in a retracted position. In the bag filling step 13, the bag 2b, the bucket 21b covered with the bag 2b, the assembly 15a moved upward, and the pusher 1 are aligned in the machine direction A. The pusher 1 advances toward the left in the machine direction A, the head portion 36 presses against the assembly 15a, and pushes the assembly 15a into the bucket 21b. The head portion 36 further advances, pushes the aggregate 15a into the bag 2b, then pushes the bag 2b to the left via the aggregate 15a to remove it from the bucket 21b and put it on the endless belt 33. Since part of the head portion 36 that has been pushed into the assembly 15a has entered the bag 2b together with the assembly 15a, the head portion 36 faces to the right in the machine direction A so as to exit the bag 2b. And retreat. At this time, the pair of presser plates 31 move so as to approach each other in the vertical direction, thereby preventing the bag 2b from moving to the right. When the head portion 36 is completely withdrawn from the bag 2b, the pair of heated seal plates 32 approach in the vertical direction to form the heat seal 2e (see FIG. 3) sandwiching the opening end portion 5 of the bag 2b. Thereafter, when the pair of seal plates 32 returns to the state shown in the drawing, the package 14 in a state where the bag 2b and the assembly 15a are in close contact with each other is obtained. The package 14 is carried to the left by the endless belt 33.

  3 and 4 are perspective views of the pusher 1 shown in the figure and a view taken along the line IV-IV in FIG. In FIG. 4, the bag 2b when the pusher 1 enters, the upper sub-plate 52, and the lower sub-plate 53 are withdrawn, and a town 61 (see FIG. 5) begins to be formed in the bag 2b. The bag 2b 'is shown in phantom lines. In FIG. 3, the head portion 36 of the pusher 1 has a horizontal reciprocating direction that coincides with the machine direction A, a width direction that coincides with the cross direction B perpendicular to the machine direction A, and these reciprocating directions. It has a thickness direction C orthogonal to the width direction. In the thickness direction C, the head portion 36 is divided into a main plate 51 and an upper sub plate 52 and a lower sub plate 53 that sandwich the main plate 51 in a sandwich shape. The main plate 51, the upper sub-plate 52, and the lower sub-plate 53 can independently reciprocate in the machine direction A. The rear end surface 51b of the main plate 51 can be reciprocated. The main rod 37 is attached. A sub rod 38 for reciprocating motion is attached to the side plate 52b of the upper sub plate 52, and a sub rod 39 for reciprocating motion is attached to the side plate 53b of the lower sub plate 53. Yes. Each of the main rod 37 and the sub rods 38 and 39 is connected to a drive source (not shown) such as a piston.

  The main plate 51 and each of the sub-plates 52 and 53 have a main front surface portion 51a and sub-front surface portions 52a and 53a, which integrally form the front surface portion 41 of the pusher 1. The main front surface portion 51a and the sub front surface portions 52a and 53a cooperate with each other when the pusher 1 moves forward, and the pressure at that time is concentrated on the local portion of the assembly 15. In order to prevent this, the shape of the front surface portion 41 of the pusher 1 formed by integrating these front surface portions 51a, 52a, 53a is substantially the same as the shape of the portion 18 of the assembly 15 facing the front surface portion 41. Some or slightly smaller than that. That is, the maximum dimension in the intersecting direction B and the height direction C of the front surface portion 41 is substantially the same as or slightly smaller than the maximum dimension in the intersecting direction B and the height direction C in the portion 18 of the assembly 15. It is getting smaller.

  The pusher 1 also has side portions 42 that are formed symmetrically in the cross direction B. The side surface portion 42 includes a main side surface portion 51c in the main plate 51 and sub side surface portions 52c and 53c in the sub plates 52 and 53. The main side surface portion 51c has a V-shaped cross section extending from the front surface portion 51a in the machine direction A. A groove 56 is formed, and a suction port 57 is formed in the groove 56. The suction port 57 is connected to an air suction source (not shown) such as a vacuum pump. The sub side surfaces 52c and 53c are formed smoothly. An air supply port 58 is formed in the main front surface portion 51a of the front surface portion 41 shown in FIG. The air supply port 58 is connected to an air intake port 59 formed in the main rear surface portion 51b of the main plate 51 and is open to the atmosphere.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram showing details of the bag filling process 13, but the lifter 18 and the disk 22 are not shown. In FIG. 5A, the bucket 21b covered with the bag 2b, the assembly 15a, and the pusher 1 are aligned in the machine direction A, and the portion 18 of the assembly 15a and the front portion of the pusher 1 are arranged. 41 is facing.

  In FIG. 5 (b), the head portion 36 advances and presses against almost the entire portion 18 of the assembly 15a to push the assembly 15a into the tunnel-like bucket 21b, and then pushes it into the bag 2b. The bag 2b is detached from the bucket 21b. When the assembly 15a is pushed into the bag 2b, a part of the head portion 36 enters the bag 2b.

  In FIG. 5 (c), while the main plate 51 is in a stationary state, the upper sub plate 52 and the lower sub plate 53 are moved back by the sub rod 38 and the sub rod 39, and the open end 5 of the bag 2b. Have left. When the upper sub-plate 52 and the lower sub-plate 53 start to move backward, the pair of presser plates 31 are prevented from moving toward the bag 2b and moving the bag 2b.

  In FIG. 5D, the main plate 51 in FIG. 5C begins to retract so as to retract from the bag 2b, while the pair of presser plates 31 further approach the bag 2b. Further, in the main plate 51, suction at the suction port 57 with respect to the internal air of the bag 2b starts, and the side surface portion 7 of the bag 2b is deformed so as to follow the shape of the groove 56 in the vicinity of the opening end portion 5, whereby the town 61 (See (f) of FIG. 5) is starting to be formed. When the front portion 51a of the main plate 51 is inside the bag 2b, the main plate 51 can ventilate the inside and outside of the bag 2b with the air supply port 58 (see FIG. 4) open to the atmosphere. Therefore, the central portion of the bag 2b can be prevented from being depressurized by the retreating operation of the main plate 51 and the sub plates 52 and 53 or the suction action at the suction port 57 of the main plate 51. Thereby, it is possible to prevent the aggregate 15 pushed into the central portion from being deformed by the suction action. When the sanitary napkin included in the individual package 3 has an elastic compression recovery force, the assembly 15 is in a compressed state when the advanced pusher 1 is in pressure contact, and the volume becomes small. When the pusher 1 is retracted, it is released from the compressed state to increase its volume, and the bag 2b may be in a reduced pressure state. However, the pusher 1 has the air supply port 58 to prevent such a reduced pressure state. be able to.

  In FIG. 5E, a pair of heated seal plates 32 approach each other toward the bag 2b after the main plate 51 has been retracted, and the heat seal 2e (see FIG. 5F). See). Although not shown, the positions of the retracted main plate 51, upper sub-plate 52, and lower plate 53 are automatically adjusted so that the front portions 51a, 52a, 53a are in the state shown in FIG. Become.

  FIG. 5 (f) shows the package 14 obtained in the bagging process 13. A heat seal 2e is formed on the package 14 in addition to the heat seal 2d of FIG. The heat seal 2e is formed substantially at the center of the end surface portion 62 of the package 14 in the vertical direction of the figure. Towns 6 and 61 are formed in the vicinity of the heat seals 2d and 2e on the side surface portion 7 of the bag 2 in the package 14.

  In addition, the state when the town 61 is formed in the vicinity of the opening end 5 in FIG. 5D is also shown in FIG. A suction port 57 is formed in the V-shaped groove 56 of the main plate 51 in the head portion 36, and the bag 2 b indicated by the phantom line is formed with a town 61 by the vacuum pressure acting through the suction port 57. The However, the town 61 is formed in FIG. 5 after the upper sub-plate 52 and the lower sub-plate 53 appearing in FIG. 5 are withdrawn from the bag 2b. In the groove 56 at that time, when the bag 2b is deformed so as to follow the groove 56 due to the vacuum pressure, the upper subplate 52 and the lower subplate 53 are in contact with each other until then and the bag 2b is in a tension state. This acts so that such a deformation of the bag 2b is facilitated. Therefore, in the pusher 1, even if the bag 2b is in close contact with the head portion 36 when the assembly 15 is pushed in, the town 61 can be easily obtained.

  As described above, according to the head portion 36, the effect of facilitating the work of making the town 61 by deforming the bag 2 like a virtual line along the groove 56 without damaging the assembly 15a is obtained. It is done. Such a head portion 36 has an excellent effect when it is desired to make the opening angle α of the groove 56 in the main plate 61 particularly small so that the depth in the intersecting direction B of the town 61 formed by the main plate 51 is as deep as possible. Can be raised.

  In the pusher 1 according to the present invention, even if the suction action for forming the town 61 in the bag 2 starts, the central portion of the bag 2 is opened to the atmosphere via the air supply port 58 in the head portion 36. Since it is in the state of being, it does not become a decompression state. Therefore, the individual wrapping body 3 forming the aggregate 15 is not squeezed by a bag in a decompressed state and is not distorted in shape. In addition, since the packaging body 14 itself is not distorted, it is easy to stack the packaging bodies 14 when packaging or displaying them. The air intake port 59 for the air supply port 58 that functions as described above is provided in the rear surface portion 51b of the main plate 51 as illustrated in FIG. 3, and is also provided between the main front surface portion 51a and the main rear surface portion 51b. It can also be provided further rearward than the rear surface portion 51b. The air intake port 59 may be connected to a pressurized air supply source such as a compressor and used to supply pressurized air to the bag 2b. In the pusher 1, the start and end timing of air suction through the suction port 57 and the start and end timing of pressurized air supply through the air supply port 58 are controlled by a control mechanism for those timings. This is possible by installing (not shown) in the packaging device 10. In the pusher 1, the groove 56 in the illustrated example can be replaced with a U-shaped groove or other concave groove.

  In the pusher 1, the upper sub-plate 52 and the lower sub-plate 53 are also provided with an air supply port for the bag 2b to prevent the bag 2b from being in a decompressed state when the sub-plates 52 and 53 are retracted. it can. Such an air supply port is not necessarily provided in the main plate 51 as in the illustrated example, and the main plate 51 and the upper sub-port are taken into consideration in consideration of the size of the bag 2b and the assembly 15 and the head portion 36. It can be provided on either the plate 52 or the lower sub-plate 53.

  In the present invention, the head portion 36 of the pusher 1 is preferably divided into three parts as shown in the figure, and has three plates 51, 52, 53 in the thickness direction C. The upper sub-plate 52 and the lower sub-plate 53 are replaced with each other as shown in the drawing, and are integrated with each other at the rear of the head portion 36 so that both the sub-plates 52 and 53 are at the same time. You can also move forward and backward. Further, in the present invention, the head divided into two in the thickness direction using one main plate 51 and one subplate 52 or 53 without using one of the upper subplate 52 and the lower subplate 53. It is possible to replace the portion 36.

  Fig. 6 is a view similar to Fig. 5 (a) showing an example of a usage mode of the pusher 1 according to the present invention. In the bag 2b of FIG. 6, the open end 5 covers the bucket 21b, while the closed end 4 enters the bucket 21b from the left in the machine direction A. The closed end 4 is in a state where its inner surface is exposed and faces the aggregate 15a. When the assembly 15a is pushed by the pusher 1 and enters the bucket 21b, the assembly 15a contacts the inner surface of the closed end 4 of the bag 2b. As the pusher 1 moves forward, the assembly 15a enters the bag 2b and eventually becomes in the state shown in FIG. In order to bring the bag 2b into the state shown in FIG. 6, the open end 5 is put on the bucket 21b and then pressurized air is sprayed from the outside of the closed end 4 toward the bag 2b to place the closed end 4 in the bucket. What is necessary is just to enter 21b from the left side of a figure.

  In the embodiment of FIG. 6, when the pusher 1 is used to enter the assembly 15 a into the bag 2 b, air is not trapped in the bag 2 b in front of the assembly 15 a, and the compact package 14 is formed. Can be obtained.

  7 and 8 are a partial cross-sectional view similar to FIG. 4 showing an example of the head portion 36 in the pusher 1 according to the present invention, and a perspective view of the package 14 obtained by using the head portion 36. The head portion 36 in FIG. 7 is divided into a main plate 51 and an upper sub plate 52. Also in the head portion 36, after the upper sub plate 52 has been withdrawn from the bag 2 b, a town 61 is formed in the bag 2 b using the groove 56 formed in the main plate 51. The bag 2b indicated by the phantom line in FIG. 7 shows a state when the upper sub-plate 52 enters the bag 2b, and the bag 2b ′ indicated by the phantom line indicates that the upper sub-plate 52 has exited. The state where the formation of the town 61 has started is shown. In the package 14 obtained by using the head portion 36, as shown in FIG. 8, the heat seal 2 e formed on the end surface portion 62 of the bag 2 is formed on the end surface portion 62 in the vertical direction of FIG. 8. Not in the center but in a position biased downward. Such an end face portion 62 may be used when printing a large symbol or character that is not preferably divided into two by the heat seal 2e.

  The pusher 1 and the packaging device 10 including the pusher 1 according to the present invention are suitable for packaging flexible and easily deformable articles such as sanitary napkins and disposable diapers, but can be used for articles that are difficult to deform. Needless to say, it can be done.

The perspective view of a bag and a to-be-packaged body. The side view of the packaging apparatus which uses a pusher. The perspective view of a pusher. The figure which shows the IV-IV line | wire cut surface of FIG. The figure which shows the detail of a bagging process by (a)-(f). The figure which shows an example of the usage condition of a pusher. The figure similar to FIG. 4 which shows an example of a head part. The perspective view of the package obtained using the head part of FIG.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Pusher 2, 2a, 2b Bag 4 Closed end part 5 Open end part 10 Packaging apparatus 14 Packaging body 15,15a Package body 36 Head part 41 Front surface part 51 1st plate (main plate)
52 Second plate (upper sub-plate)
53 Third plate (lower sub-plate)
56 groove 57 opening (suction port)
58 Air supply port 61 Town A Reciprocating direction (machine direction)
B width direction (cross direction)
C Height direction

Claims (4)

After the package body is pushed into the bag having the closed end portion and the open end portion which is the opposite end portion from the open end portion, the open end portion is closed while forming towns on both sides of the open end portion. A pusher for pressing the packaged body used in a packaging device for obtaining a packaged body from the bag and the packaged body,
The pusher reciprocates between a forward movement in the direction of pushing in the packaged body and a backward movement in the opposite direction. The pusher is pressed against the package while being pressed against the packaged body. A head portion having a front portion to enter, a width direction orthogonal to the reciprocating direction, and a thickness direction orthogonal to the reciprocating direction and the width direction;
One of the state in which the head portion is divided into two parts, a first plate and a second plate that overlap in the thickness direction, and the state in which the head part is divided into three parts into a first plate and a second plate and a third plate sandwiching the first plate In the state, a groove having a V-shaped cross section is formed on both sides of the first plate in the width direction so as to extend in the reciprocating direction and is used to form the town. Has an opening connected to the vacuum suction source,
In the forward movement of the pusher, the second plate and the third plate push the packaged body together with the first plate and enter the bag, and in the backward movement of the pusher, The second plate and the third plate are retracted from the bag when the first plate is in a stationary state after being pushed in, and then the first plate is sucked into the bag by the vacuum suction. The pusher according to claim 1, wherein the head portion is formed so that the head portion can be retracted while applying a vacuum pressure from a source.   The front portion of one of the first, second, and third plates allows the inside and outside of the bag to be in a vented state through the first plate when the front portion is inside the bag. The pusher according to claim 1, wherein the pusher has an air supply port.   The pusher according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the second plate and the third plate are integrated behind the head portion. The pusher according to claim 2 , wherein pressurized air can be supplied into the bag from the air supply port .

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