JP6032331B2 - Method and apparatus for bending edge of gusset pouch - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a gusset pouch having a gusset portion on a side edge, and more particularly, to a gusset pouch edge bending method and a folding apparatus having a fold portion in which a gusset portion is folded inward.

  A gusset pouch generally has a structure in which a gusset film is sandwiched between two sides of a front film and a rear film, and the side edges of the gusset film are heat sealed to the side edges of the front film and the rear film. Yes.

However, since the four heat-sealed edge portions are left uncut, the edge portions touch the palm of the hand and are difficult to grasp when held by hand.
On the other hand, there has been proposed one in which the heat seal part is provided at one place, the one heat seal part is bent to the gusset part side, and the edge part is a corner of a mountain fold (Patent Document 1). 2).

However, the one described in Patent Document 1 (Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 2-11312) has low rigidity at the corners of the three sides that are not heat-sealed, and has poor shape retention.
On the other hand, the pouch container described in Patent Document 2 (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2007-99364) is heat-sealed at the corners of the three sides to increase rigidity, and the bent portion at the end of the edge portion is made hollow to soften the feel. However, there is a problem that the hard edge portion protrudes from the pouch body, and the protruding heat seal portion becomes an obstacle and is still difficult to grasp.

Japanese Utility Model Publication 2-11312 JP 2007-99364 A

  The present invention has been made in order to solve the above-described conventional problems. The object of the present invention is to provide a gusset pouch having a shape that is rigid in a state where it is inflated into a three-dimensional shape and that has a corner portion that is easy to hold. An object of the present invention is to provide an edge part bending method and a bending apparatus.

In order to achieve the above object, the edge portion bending method of the gusset pouch of the present invention includes:
A method for bending an edge portion of a gusset pouch having a gusset portion provided between both side edges of a front surface portion and a rear surface portion, and having edge portions formed at corner portions of the gusset portion, the front surface portion, and the rear surface portion,
Prepare a gusset pouch intermediate product in the flat form in which the gusset part is folded and the edge part of the front part and rear part overlap,
Bend the overlapping edge part to one side of the front part side or the rear part part, and shift the tip of the overlapping edge part by the difference in thickness between the edge part located inside and the edge part located outside,
By releasing the restraint of the outer edge part, the inner edge part and the outer edge part are separated,
The outer edge is bent to the opposite side.
You may make it isolate | separate an outer edge part, pressing the front-end | tip of the edge part located inside.

Moreover, the edge part bending apparatus of the gusset pouch of the present invention is
A transport mechanism that transports the gusset pouch intermediate product in a planar form in which the gusset portion is folded and the edge portions of the front surface portion and the rear surface portion overlap each other;
For a gusset pouch intermediate product conveyed by the conveyance mechanism, a mold for bending an edge portion of the gusset pouch at a fold line parallel to the conveyance direction of the gusset pouch intermediate product,
A gusset pouch bending apparatus comprising:
The mold has a gap through which at least the edge part of the gusset pouch intermediate product to be conveyed passes,
By being configured so that the position of the gap changes from the upstream side to the downstream side in the transport direction, it is configured to bend the edge part of the gusset pouch intermediate product to be transported,
A folding unit that bends in a state where the edge part is overlapped along the conveying direction, a separation part that releases the constraint on the outer edge part and separates the outer edge part,
And a separate bent portion that bends the separated outer edge portion to the opposite side.

In the separation portion, the outer edge portion may be separated while holding the tip of the bent edge portion located inside.
It is preferable that a heat exchanging mechanism for heating or cooling is provided on the downstream side in the transport direction from the mold while sandwiching the bent portion of the edge portion.
Further, the gusset pouch may be configured such that the surfaces having heat-fusibility face each other, and at least a part of the faces having heat-fusibility facing each other in the vicinity of the fold line of the edge portion may be heat-sealed. .

According to the edge portion bending method of the gusset pouch of the present invention, the overlapping edge portions can be reliably separated and easily folded by a simple process of bending the overlapping edge portions together in the same direction.
Furthermore, according to the gusset pouch edge part bending apparatus of the present invention, it is possible to fold only by passing through a gap in the mold, and productivity is improved.

(A) is a plan view perspective view before folding the edge portion of the gusset pouch, (B) is a plan view perspective view of the gusset pouch with the edge portion bent by the method of the present invention of (A), and (C) is (B) It is a perspective view of the form which inflated the gusset pouch of) and made it a solid shape. (A) is an exploded cross-sectional view of the film constituting the gusset pouch in FIG. 1, (B) is a cross-sectional view in plan view before bending the edge portion corresponding to FIG. 1 (A), and (C) is FIG. ) Is a cross-sectional view of a planar form in which the edge portion corresponding to) is bent, (D) is a cross-sectional view corresponding to FIG. 1 (C), (E) is a cross-sectional view showing another film configuration of a gusset pouch, (E) is a cross-sectional view in the case of the film structure, (G) is a cross-sectional view in the case of still another film structure. It is the schematic which shows the process of the edge part bending method of the gusset pouch of this invention. It is the schematic block diagram which looked at the bending apparatus whole which concerns on the Example of this invention from the side surface side. It is the schematic block diagram which looked at the bending apparatus whole which concerns on the Example of this invention from the upper surface side. It is the perspective view which looked at the whole structure of the bending process metal mold | die of the apparatus of FIG. 4 from the upper surface side. It is the perspective view which looked at the bending process metal mold | die of the apparatus of FIG. 4 from the upper surface side. It is the perspective view which looked at the bending process metal mold | die of the apparatus of FIG. 4 from the lower surface side. It is a figure which shows a mode that the edge part of a gusset pouch is bent, when a gusset pouch passes the bending process metal mold | die which concerns on the Example of this invention. It is the elements on larger scale of the isolation | separation part of the bending process metal mold | die of FIG. (A) is the schematic block diagram which looked at a part of heating mechanism based on the Example of this invention in the conveyance direction of a gusset pouch, (B) is the sectional view on the AA line of (A). It is a figure which shows a mode that the bending part of a gusset pouch is clamped by the heating mechanism which concerns on the Example of this invention.

The present invention will be described in detail below based on the embodiments shown in the drawings.
1 and 2 show a gusset pouch to which the edge bending method of the present invention is applied.
That is, this gusset pouch 1 has a gusset portion 13 provided between both side edges of the front surface portion 11 and the rear surface portion 12, and has a predetermined width at the corners of the four sides of the gusset portion 13, front surface portion 11 and rear surface portion 12. A heat-sealed front edge portion 21 and a rear edge portion 22 are formed (see FIGS. 1A and 2B).
In the illustrated example, both end portions in the longitudinal direction of the front surface portion 11 and the rear surface portion 12 are inclined sides whose both side edge portions are inclined in a direction in which the interval gradually decreases, and the gusset portion 13 is also correspondingly inclined. Although it is a side, it does not have to be an inclined side, and may be configured to extend linearly.
The front edge portion 21 of the corner portion on the front surface portion 11 side is bent toward the front surface portion 11 side, and the rear surface edge portion 22 of the corner portion on the rear surface portion 12 side is bent toward the rear surface portion 12 side (FIG. 1B, ( C), see FIGS. 2C and 2D). A bottom seal 23 having a predetermined width is applied to the bottom, and the opening is sealed with the opening seal 24 after the contents are filled.

  In this example, as shown to FIG. 2 (A), it is comprised from the front film F1 which comprises the front part 11, the rear film F2 which forms a rear surface part, and the two gusset films F3 which comprise a gusset part. The gusset film F3 is sandwiched between the front film F1 and the rear film F2, and the front edge portion of the gusset film F3 and the side edge portion of the front film F1 are heat-sealed with a predetermined width, thereby the front edge portion 21. The rear edge of the gusset film F3 and the side edge of the rear film F2 are heat-sealed with a predetermined width to form the rear edge 22 and between the front edges 21, 21 on both sides of the front film F1. This portion constitutes the front surface portion 11, and the portion between the rear surface edge portions 22, 22 on both side edges of the rear film F 2 becomes the rear surface portion 12. Further, a portion between the front edge portion 21 and the rear edge portion 22 of the gusset film F3 constitutes the gusset portion 13.

  Moreover, not only when the front film F1, the rear film F2, and the gusset film F3 have independent film configurations, but as shown in FIGS. 2E, 2F, and 2G, a single film F0 is used. It is good also as a structure which bends and connects in a cylindrical shape in one place, and forms an edge part in a corner | angular part. 2 (E) and 2 (F) show an example in which the connecting portion 25 is heat-sealed at one corner (common to the front edge portion 21 in the illustrated example), and FIG. 2 (G) shows the front portion 11 (or The example which provided the connection part 25 in the approximate center position of the rear surface part 12) is shown (backing type). In addition, the number of films may be two and joined at two locations. In short, the front edge portion 21 and the rear edge portion 22 are provided at the corners of the gusset portion 13, the front surface portion 11, and the rear surface portion 12. Any configuration may be used as long as each edge portion is bent.

In this way, the front edge 21 and the rear edge 22 formed at the four corners of the gusset pouch 1 are bent so that the fingers can be held at the tips of the front edge 21 and the rear edge 22 when held by the hand. Without touching, and will come into contact with the smooth bent portions 21a, 22a, and the touch will be much better than conventional pouches. Moreover, since the rigidity of the corner | angular part of the gusset pouch 1 is ensured by bending the front edge part 21 and the rear edge part 22, it can hold firmly in a hand. Furthermore, even if the contents are reduced, the shape of the corner is easily maintained and is not easily deformed.

Next, a method for bending the edge portion of the gusset pouch according to the present invention will be described.
First, FIGS. 3A and 3B show the heat seal state of the edge portion. As shown in the figure, the gusset film F3 is folded between the front film F1 and the rear film F2 and heat-sealed with a predetermined width. In this state, the front edge portion 21 and the rear edge portion 22 are welded simultaneously, The edge 21 and the rear edge 22 are strongly overlapped and are not easily separated.

Therefore, as shown in FIG. 3C, the overlapped front edge portion 21 and rear surface edge portion 22 are placed on one side of the front surface portion 11 side or the rear surface portion 12 side in the overlapped state, in the illustrated example, on the front surface portion 11 side. Bend it. The folding position is preferably a portion that is not heat-sealed in the vicinity of the inner edges of the front edge portion 21 and the rear edge portion 22.
In this fold-up stage, the overlapping surface slides due to the difference in thickness between the front edge portion 21 and the rear edge portion 22, and the front edge of the front edge portion 21 where the front edge of the rear edge portion 22 positioned outside when folded is positioned inside. Therefore, it shifts outward by a predetermined amount.
Next, as shown in FIG. 3 (D), when the outer rear edge 22 is released, the rear edge 22 is slightly lifted from the folded state, but the rear edge 22 located on the outer side is more bent. Since it is weak, it is separated from the front edge portion 21 by the spring back and is naturally separated. At this time, if the front end of the front edge portion 21 located on the inner side is pressed, the separation becomes more reliable.
Thereafter, as shown in FIGS. 3E and 3F, the separated rear edge 22 is folded back to the opposite rear surface, the front edge 21 is on the front 11 side, and the rear edge 22 is the rear 12. Bend to the side.

(Example)
Next, the gusset pouch edge bending apparatus will be described with reference to FIGS. The gusset pouch is folded at two locations on the left and right sides, with a total of four heat-sealed edge portions as folding lines.
This folding apparatus performs the above-described folding method, and transports a gusset pouch intermediate product P (hereinafter simply referred to as an intermediate product) before folding, while the front edge portion 21 and the rear edge portion 22 on which the intermediate products overlap each other. Are separated and folded to the front surface portion 11 side and the rear surface portion 12 side by a fold line parallel to the conveying direction. That is, a mold 210 having a gap whose position changes from the upstream side to the downstream side in the transport direction is installed in the transport path of the intermediate product P, and the front edge portion on which the intermediate product P overlaps The intermediate product P is conveyed so that the rear edge portion passes through the gap of the bending mold, and the front edge portion 21 and the rear edge portion 22 are separated and bent as the gap position changes.

<Bending device>
First, with reference to FIG.4 and FIG.5, the structure of the whole edge part bending apparatus of the gusset pouch which concerns on the Example of this invention is demonstrated. 4 and 5 are schematic configuration diagrams of the entire gusset pouch folding apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a diagram viewed from the side surface, and FIG. 5 is a diagram viewed from the upper surface side. However, in FIG. 5, the pouch feeder 100 described later is omitted.
Note that the gusset pouch has a form in which both end portions are inclined in FIG.

The folding apparatus is configured such that a plurality of intermediate products P of gusset pouches after heat sealing are stacked, and the intermediate product P is sent out one by one, and the pouch feeder 100 serving as the starting end of the transport mechanism overlaps both sides of the intermediate product P. And a heating mechanism 300 (heat exchange mechanism) for heating while sandwiching a bent portion P1 applied to the intermediate product P, and a bending mechanism 200 having a mold 210 that performs bending so that the edge portions are folded in opposite directions. ).
In FIG. 5, a pouch intermediate product P about to be sent out by the pouch feeder 100 is shown at a position where the pouch feeder 100 is provided. A dotted line in the intermediate product P indicates a position to be a folding line.

The bending mechanism 200 includes a plurality of transport rollers 220 that constitute a transport mechanism for transporting the intermediate product P, and a mold 210 for bending the intermediate product P.
The heating mechanism 300 also includes a pair of rotating mechanisms 300a and 300b that convey the intermediate product P folded on both sides by the bending mechanism 200 while holding the bent portion P1.

<Mold>
Next, with reference to FIGS. 6-10, the metal mold | die 210 which concerns on the Example of this invention is demonstrated in detail.
FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the entire mold as viewed obliquely from above. FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the state where the upper frame 211 to which the mold main body is assembled and the upper frame 211 in the lower frame are removed as viewed from above. FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the upper frame to which the mold main body is assembled and the lower frame 212 from which the lower frame 212 is removed as viewed obliquely from below. FIG. 10 is a partially enlarged view of the separation unit.

  The mold 210 according to this embodiment includes an upper frame 211 and a lower frame 212. In a state where the upper frame 211 and the lower frame 212 are assembled, a gap through which the intermediate product P to be conveyed can pass is formed between the upper frame 211 and the lower frame 212. In addition, four space portions K are formed at the center in the width direction along the conveyance direction of the intermediate product P (the arrow X direction in FIGS. 6 and 7). Each of these four space portions K is a portion into which the pair of transport rollers 220 enters. Thus, the intermediate product P can be transported so as to pass through the gap between the upper frame 211 and the lower frame 212 by the pair of transport rollers 220 entering the space portions K at four locations.

A first outer mold 213, a first inner mold 214, a separation mold 219, and a second outer mold constituting a mold body for bending are formed near both sides of the frame constituted by the upper frame 211 and the lower frame 212. A mold 218 and a second inner mold 215 are respectively attached.
Between these molds, a gap is formed through which an end in the width direction (direction orthogonal to the conveying direction X) subjected to the bending process of the intermediate product P passes, and A in FIGS. Both end portions of P indicate entrances that enter the gap between the first outer mold 213 and the first inner mold 214. This gap is configured such that its position (shape) changes from the upstream side to the downstream side in the conveyance direction X of the intermediate product P. Thereby, the part which passes the said clearance gap of the edge part of the intermediate product P is bent according to the change of the position (shape) of a clearance gap as it moves to the downstream side from an upstream.

  Further, even if the intermediate product P to be transported is bent from the vicinity of the center in the transport direction X toward the downstream side, the transport posture of the intermediate product P is prevented from being caught by the upper frame 211. A conveyance guide 216 is provided for holding the sheet. Further, the bent portion of the intermediate product P is heated further outside the mold body (the first outer mold 213, the first inner mold 214, the second outer mold 218, and the second inner mold 215) in the upper frame 211. For this purpose, a heater 217 for heating the mold body is provided. The heater 217 is provided along the transport direction X.

  The upper frame 211 and the lower frame 212 are provided with a plurality of heat radiation holes 211a and 212a for releasing heat in order to suppress heating of the intermediate product P other than the bent portion. Thus, by suppressing the heating of the intermediate product P other than the bent portion, it is possible to suppress the generation of wrinkles and poor conveyance. In addition, although not shown, the first inner mold 214 and the second inner mold 215 are also provided with a plurality of holes as appropriate in order to suppress heat transfer to a portion where it is desired to avoid heating the intermediate product P. .

Next, how the end portion of the intermediate product P is bent by the mold 210 will be described in detail with reference to FIG. FIG. 9 shows in a stepwise manner how the end portions of the intermediate product P are bent when the end portions of the front edge portion 21 and the rear edge portion 22 pass through the gap of the mold body. is there.
In FIG. 9, dotted lines indicate the positions of the inner wall surfaces of the first outer mold 213 and the second outer mold 218, and alternate long and short dash lines indicate the positions of the inner wall surfaces of the first inner mold 214 and the second inner mold 215.

In FIG. 9, the description will be given from the upstream side in the conveyance direction X of the intermediate product P. In the region from (1) to (2), the first outer mold 213 and the first inner mold 214 are arranged on the front edge portion 21 and the rear edge. The overlapping portions of the edge portions 22 are arranged so as to pass through each other, and the overlapping edge portions are bent to one side (front surface portion side) along a folding line parallel to the transport direction X. The first outer mold 213 is provided on the outer side in the bending direction, and the first inner mold 214 is provided on the inner side. The first outer mold 213 is bent at approximately 180 ° until reaching the end of the first outer mold 213 (2). This region corresponds to the overlapping fold.
The region from (3) to (4) in the transport direction X corresponds to the separation portion, and after passing through the end of the first outer mold 213, the outer edge portion (rear surface edge portion 22) folded and overlapped is restrained. A predetermined interval in which there is no mold to be formed is formed (see FIG. 7).
The restraint of the rear edge portion 22 is released at the interval between the molds, and the portion bent inward by the spring back of the rear edge portion 22 is slightly opened outward.
During this time, the tip of the inner edge portion (front edge portion 21) is held by the separation die 219 following the end of the first outer die 213, and is in a restrained state.
A second inner mold 215 is provided along the outer edge of the fold line of the rear surface edge portion 22 to prevent the mold from being deformed when the rear surface edge portion 22 springs back.

In the transport direction X, the region from (4) to (5) is separated from the rear edge 22 on the opposite side (rear side) by the gap between the second outer mold 218 and the second inner mold 215. This is a region that is folded back and corresponds to a separated folded portion.
The start end of the second outer mold 218 is provided so as to enter between the front edge portion 21 and the rear edge portion 22, and the second outer mold 218 overlaps the rear edge portion 22 near the upstream (4). The second inner mold 215 is located on the inner side (the inner side of the gusset portion) in the folding direction when bent. As it goes downstream, the shape of the gap changes so as to open a fold outward in the width direction, and further changes so as to bend toward the rear side (see also FIGS. 7 and 8). That is, near the downstream (5), the second outer mold 218 is positioned on the outer side in the rear surface side bending direction of the rear edge 22 and the second inner mold 215 is positioned on the inner side.

If the front edge portion 21 is sufficiently bent and bent when it passes through the end of the first outer mold 213 (position (2) in FIG. 9), then it is necessary to be restrained by the mold thereafter. However, from the viewpoint of molding stability, it is desirable to maintain the shape until the rear side bending process is completed.
In this example, following the end of the separation mold 219, a part of the second outer mold 218 is located outside the front edge portion 21 in the bending direction. Further, the first inner mold 214 is extended to (5) inside the bending direction.

  The region from (5) to (6) is a region where the bent portion is further bent. In (5), the end of the first inner mold 214 and the second inner mold 215 is passed, and the bent portion of the intermediate product P is sandwiched from the front and rear surfaces only by the second outer mold 218. At the position (6), the interval between the processing surfaces of the second outer mold 218 is narrowed, and the bending of the front edge portion 21 and the rear edge portion 22 is further strongly applied, and the bending processing is completed.

Next, the separation unit will be described in detail.
FIG. 10 schematically shows the overlapping state of the front edge portion 21 and the rear edge portion 22 with the first outer mold 213 and the first inner mold 214 omitted in the separation portion.
As shown in the figure, the separation mold 219 includes a front edge portion presser 219a that presses only the front edge portion 21 in correspondence with a shift portion d between the front edge portion 21 and the rear edge portion 22 that are folded and overlapped. Adjacent to the side of the edge retainer 219a and having a shovel-shaped rear edge guide 219b that scoops up the rear edge 22 and assists separation, and is connected to the second outer mold 218 on the downstream side in the conveying direction.
The front edge portion presser 219 a holds the front edge of the front edge portion 21, releases the restraint of the rear edge portion 22, lifts the rear edge portion 22, and is guided to the gap between the second outer mold 218 and the second inner mold 215. .
As described above, in the process of passing through the mold 210, the intermediate product P is overlapped and folded by the first outer mold 213 and the first inner mold 214, and separated and folded by the second outer mold 218 and the second inner mold 215. Processing is performed in stages.

<Heating mechanism (heat exchange mechanism)>
Next, the heating mechanism 300 will be described in more detail with reference to FIGS. 4, 5, and 11. FIG. 11A is a schematic configuration diagram of a part of the heating mechanism according to the embodiment of the present invention when viewed in the conveyance direction X of the gusset pouch, and FIG. 11B is A- in FIG. It is A sectional view. FIG. 11A is a schematic configuration diagram in which a part of the heating mechanism is viewed in the direction of arrow V in FIG.

  As described above, the heating mechanism 300 includes the pair of rotation mechanisms 300a and 300b. The rotation mechanism 300a and the rotation mechanism 300b have the same configuration, a driven sprocket 311 provided on the upstream side in the conveyance direction X of the intermediate product P, a drive sprocket 312 provided on the downstream side, and the driven sprocket 311 and the drive. An endless chain 320 that rotates in the direction of arrow R in FIG.

  The chain 320 is configured by connecting a plurality of chain components 321 in an endless manner. A heating block 330 is attached to each chain component 321. As shown in FIG. 11A, the heating block 330 is provided with a pair of lateral blur prevention guides 331. These lateral blurring prevention guides 331 are provided on the inner wall surfaces of both side walls of a magnetic repulsion rail 350 described later. As a result, the lateral movement of the chain 320 is prevented. Moreover, the heating block 330 is comprised by the substantially rectangular parallelepiped member, and the surface which contact | connects the intermediate product P is comprised by the plane.

  Thus, the heating block 330 is attached to each of the plurality of chain components 321, whereby the plurality of heating blocks 330 are provided on the outer peripheral surface side of the chain 320. 4 and 5, only a part of the plurality of heating blocks 330 is shown for convenience.

In addition, the rotation mechanisms 300a and 300b are provided with a heater 340 for heating the heating block 330 from the outside of the chain 320. Thereby, in the process in which the chain 320 rotates in the direction of arrow R in FIG. 4, each heating block 330 is heated by the heater 340, then comes into contact with the intermediate product P, and after heating the bent portion P <b> 1 of the intermediate product P, Again, it is heated by the heater 340.

  Further, the rotation mechanisms 300a and 300b are also provided with a magnetic repulsion rail 350 for generating a pressing force that presses the heating block 330 toward the intermediate product P side inside the chain 320. This magnetic repulsion rail 350 is provided with magnets 351 on both sides thereof (see FIG. 11A). The heating block 330 is provided with magnets 332 at positions facing the pair of magnets 351 provided on the magnetic repulsion rail 350 when the heating block 330 comes to a position in contact with the intermediate product P. The magnet 351 and the pair of magnets 332 are arranged so that the same poles face each other. Therefore, the heating block 330 is given a force in a direction away from the magnetic repulsion rail 350.

With the above configuration, the intermediate product P, which is folded on both sides by the bending mechanism 200, is formed by the plurality of heating blocks 330 on the rotating mechanism 300a side and the plurality of heating blocks 330 on the rotating mechanism 300b side. The bent portion P1 is conveyed while being sandwiched and heated. FIG. 12 schematically shows a state where the bent portion P1 of the intermediate product P is sandwiched between the heating block 330 on the rotating mechanism 300a side and the heating block 330 on the rotating mechanism 300b side. As shown in this figure, the heating block 330 is preferably provided with a notch 333 so that a portion of the intermediate product P other than the bent portion P1 (folded region) is not heated by being loaded.
In addition, after passing through the heating mechanism 300, the intermediate product P is accumulated in a pouch stacker (not shown) that is a terminal end of the transport mechanism.

<Excellent points of folding apparatus and folding method according to this embodiment>
According to the present embodiment, an intermediate product P of a gusset pouch that can be manufactured by an existing bag making apparatus is a processing target, and the intermediate product P can be bent while the intermediate product P of the pouch is conveyed. Therefore, productivity is high. Further, the end of the intermediate product P is placed in a gap provided in the mold 210 (a gap provided in the mold body (first outer mold 213, second outer mold 218, first inner mold 214, and second inner mold 215)). Bending can be performed simply by passing the part, and the configuration of the apparatus can be simplified.

  In the present embodiment, both sides of the intermediate product P are overlapped by the first outer mold 213 and the first inner mold 214 and separated and bent by the second outer mold 218 and the second inner mold 215. It is applied in stages. In particular, after the rear edge portion 22 of the front edge portion 21 and the rear edge portion 22 of the intermediate product P overlapped by the separation die 219 in the separation portion is temporarily not restricted by the die, the second outer Since the mold 218 and the second inner mold 215 are bent, the front edge portion 21 and the rear edge portion 22 can be reliably separated.

In the present embodiment, a configuration in which the mold 210 is provided with a heater 217 that heats the bent front edge portion 21 and the rear edge portion 22 of the intermediate product P is employed.
Thereby, it can soften by heating the front edge part 21 and the rear edge part 22 of the intermediate product P, and can bend more reliably. Further, since the heater 217 is provided in the mold 210, for example, compared with the case where heating is performed in the pre-bending process, the entire apparatus is reduced in size (the total length in the transport direction of the intermediate product P is shortened). And the number of processing steps can be reduced.

  Further, in the present embodiment, a heating mechanism 300 that heats while holding a bent portion applied to the intermediate product P is provided downstream of the mold 210 (the bending mechanism 200) in the transport direction X. The configuration is adopted.

  As a method of heating while conveying the pouch, there are known methods such as intermittently conveying and pinching with a heating mold, passing between a pair of heating rollers, conveying along the peripheral surface of the heating roller, etc. These methods can also be adopted in the present application. However, when it is desired to lengthen the heating time and increase the processing speed, there is a risk of increasing the size and complexity of the equipment, such as arranging heating dies and heating rollers in multiple stages.

According to the heating mechanism 300 of the present embodiment, the intermediate product P that is a gusset pouch can be sandwiched and continuously conveyed to the heat treatment process as it is, so that it can be reliably heated with simple equipment and the speed can be increased. be able to.
Thereby, it can heat-process while conveying in the state which folded the edge part (both sides) of the intermediate product P, and can fully relieve the residual stress of the folded part. Therefore, the end of the intermediate product P can be folded more reliably. Further, when heated after being bent by the apparatus and method according to the present embodiment (for example, in the case of a retort pouch), if heated by the heating mechanism 300 at a temperature higher than the heating temperature, Even if heated later, the folded portion can be prevented from returning to its original state.

  In particular, if the inner surface in the vicinity of the bent portion is heated to such an extent that it is heat-sealed, the folded state is more reliably maintained. This point will be described in more detail with reference to FIG. In the intermediate product P of the gusset pouch according to the present embodiment, the front edge portion 21 and the rear edge portion 22 on both sides are heat sealed in advance. As described above, the folding apparatus according to this embodiment is configured to bend the portions inside the front edge portion 21 and the rear edge portion 22 as folding lines. Thus, after performing a bending process, it becomes possible to heat-seal with respect to the bending part P1 vicinity by heating at the temperature higher than melting | fusing point in the inner surface (surface which has heat-fusion property) of a film. . In FIG. 12, by applying a heat seal around the area P3 shown in a mesh shape, the crease becomes difficult to return, and it becomes possible to bend (fold) more reliably.

  The purpose of heat sealing after the folding process is to make it difficult for the bent part to return to its original state, and it is sufficient to apply only the vicinity of the folding line. However, heat sealing may be performed in the entire region between the folding line and the front edge portion 21 and the rear edge portion 22 or in a region sandwiched between the bent front edge portion 21 and the rear edge portion 22. In addition, even if heat sealing is not performed in the vicinity of the fold line and heat sealing is performed in a region inside it, the effect of suppressing the folding portion from returning to a certain extent is effective. is there. Further, even when the front edge portion 21 and the rear edge portion 22 are folded, it is possible to prevent the folded portion from returning to its original state by heating again at a temperature higher than the melting point of the film inner surface. There is an effect to do.

Moreover, in the conveyance direction of the intermediate product P, the region to be heat-sealed does not have to be the entire region, and even when the heat-sealing is partially performed, the bent portion can be prevented from returning to the original state. .
In addition, the heating mechanism 300 in the present embodiment employs a configuration in which the bent portions P1 and P1 of the intermediate product P are heated while being sandwiched by a heating block 330 having a flat surface in contact with the bent portion P1. doing. Thereby, since the folded part of the front edge part 21 and the rear edge part 22 of the intermediate product P is planarly clamped and heated, it becomes a more stable shape. Further, the intermediate product P is transported without sliding between the heating block 330 and the intermediate product P.

The heating block 330 according to the present embodiment receives a repulsive force from the magnetic repulsion rail 350 to obtain a pressing force for clamping the bent portions 21b and 22b of the intermediate product P. There is no member that contacts and slides mechanically with 320, and wear and deformation of the chain 320 can be suppressed.

  Since the heating block 330 is heated by the heater 340 in a section away from the section for transporting the intermediate product P on the endless track of the chain 320, it is not necessary to have a complicated structure in which the heater is incorporated in each heating block.

  In the above-described embodiment, the case where the bending process is performed in one stage has been described as an example. However, the bending may be performed in two stages (two-stage folding process using two folding lines), and may be performed in three or more stages. You may make it perform the bending process (bending process in three or more bending lines) in multiple steps.

  In the mold structure of the example, the separate bending process is performed in one set of the second outer mold and the second inner mold. However, the mold structure may be divided at an appropriate stage of bending.

  In the above embodiment, the case where the heater 210 is provided (incorporated) in the mold 210 has been described. However, instead of heating the mold 210, the pouch is formed at a stage before the bending process by the mold 210. The intermediate product P (or other gusset pouch) may be heated. In this case, the same configuration as that of the heating mechanism 300 may be arranged on the upstream side of the mold 210 and implemented. Further, it is possible to employ a configuration in which the mold 210 is also heated after the preliminary heating.

  In addition, when the bent portion P1 is heated by the heating mechanism 300 while being held, in order to stabilize the state of the bent portion P1, it is more effective to cool it while holding the bent portion P1 after heating. It is.

  Therefore, a cooling mechanism (heat exchange mechanism) may be provided downstream of the heating mechanism 300 in the transport direction X. As the cooling mechanism, for example, in the heating mechanism 300 described above, instead of the heater 340, a cooler that flows a cooling medium such as cooling water or a cooling gas, or a cooling unit such as a cooling fan is equivalent to the heating block 330. The one configured to cool the (heat exchange block) can be employed. However, the cooling mechanism is not limited to this configuration as long as the cooling mechanism can be cooled in a state where the bent portion P1 of the intermediate product P is sandwiched.

  In addition, when the gusset pouch that is not heated, such as a retort sterilization treatment, such as a pouch containing a detergent or the like, is not subjected to heating, the heating mechanism 300 may be omitted. Even in this case, when bending is performed by preheating or heating with a mold, it is preferable to dispose a cooling mechanism on the downstream side.

The starting end side of the transport mechanism is not limited to the pouch feeder 100, and an operator may manually insert the intermediate product P, or directly receives the intermediate product P from a bag making apparatus (manufacturing a pouch from a long film). May be.
Further, the end side of the transport mechanism may be simply discharged to a packaging cardboard box or the like, or the folded pouch may be transferred to an appropriate subsequent process such as printing, label sticking, or filling.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Gusset pouch 11 Front surface part 12 Rear surface part 13 Machi part 21 Front edge part 22 Rear surface edge part F1 Front film F2 Rear film F3 Machi film 100 Pouch feeder 200 Bending mechanism 210 Mold 211 Upper frame 212 Lower frame 211a, 212a Heat radiation hole 213 First outer mold 214 First inner mold 215 Second inner mold 216 Conveying guide 217 Heater 218 Second outer mold 219 Separating mold 220 Conveying roller 300 Heating mechanism (heat exchange mechanism)
300a, 300b Rotating mechanism 311 Driven sprocket 312 Drive sprocket 320 Chain 321 Chain component 330 Heating block (heat exchange block)
331 Horizontal blur prevention guide 332 Magnet 333 Notch 340 Heater 350 Magnetic repulsion rail 351 Magnet K Space P Intermediate product

Claims (6)

A gusset pouch bending method in which an edge portion is formed at a corner portion of the gusset portion and the front surface portion and the rear surface portion.
Prepare a gusset pouch intermediate product in the flat form in which the gusset part is folded and the edge part of the front part and rear part overlap,
Bend the overlapping edge part to one side of the front part side or the rear part part, and shift the tip of the overlapping edge part by the difference in thickness between the edge part located inside and the edge part located outside,
By releasing the restraint of the outer edge part, the inner edge part and the outer edge part are separated,
A method for bending an edge portion of a gusset pouch, wherein the outer edge portion is bent to the opposite side.   2. The method of bending an edge portion of a gusset pouch according to claim 1, wherein the outer edge portion is separated while pressing the tip of the edge portion located on the inner side. A transport mechanism that transports the gusset pouch intermediate product in a planar form in which the gusset portion is folded and the edge portions of the front surface portion and the rear surface portion overlap each other;
For a gusset pouch intermediate product conveyed by the conveyance mechanism, a mold for bending an edge portion of the gusset pouch at a fold line parallel to the conveyance direction of the gusset pouch intermediate product,
A gusset pouch bending apparatus comprising:
The mold has a gap through which at least the edge part of the gusset pouch intermediate product to be conveyed passes,
By being configured so that the position of the gap changes from the upstream side to the downstream side in the transport direction, it is configured to bend the edge part of the gusset pouch intermediate product to be transported,
A folding unit that bends in a state where the edge part is overlapped along the conveying direction, a separation part that releases the constraint on the outer edge part and separates the outer edge part,
An apparatus for bending an edge portion of a gusset pouch, comprising: a separation bending portion that bends the separated outer edge portion to the opposite side.   The edge part bending apparatus for a gusset pouch according to claim 3, wherein the separation part separates the outer edge part while holding the tip of the edge part located inside the folded part.   4. The gusset pouch according to claim 3, further comprising a heat exchange mechanism that heats or cools the bent portion of the edge portion while holding the bent portion of the edge portion downstream of the mold in the transport direction. Edge bending device.   The gusset pouch is configured so that surfaces having heat-fusibility face each other, and at least a part of the faces having heat-fusibility facing each other in the vicinity of a fold line of the edge portion is heat-sealed. Item 6. An apparatus for bending an edge portion of a gusset pouch according to any one of Items 3 to 5.

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