JP7373333B2 - Vacuum packaging machine and vacuum packaging machine logging system - Google Patents

Description

Article 30, Paragraph 2 of the Patent Act applies Eating out Business Week 2019/14th Ramen Industry Exhibition August 27th to 29th, 2020 [Publications, etc.] SOUZAI JAPAN 2019 September 11th to 13th, 2020

The present invention relates to a vacuum packaging machine and a logging system for a vacuum packaging machine.

Conventionally, in the field of information processing equipment, for example, the operating status of electronic devices is stored as historical information, and when a failure or trouble occurs, that historical information is analyzed to smoothly solve problems. ing.

Additionally, in the food manufacturing field, there are food production information collection and management systems that collect food production information such as temperature history and equipment used throughout food production and processing, automatically record it on a recording medium, and output comprehensive management information. It has been proposed (for example, Patent Document 1).

Furthermore, a food manufacturing history information management method and system has been proposed that includes the hygiene information of workers working in a food factory that has a line that handles multiple ingredients such as boxed lunches and side dishes (for example, Patent Document 2). . Furthermore, even in bread manufacturing operations that are incorporated into the bread manufacturing process, the manufacturing history information in each of the multiple processing steps in each manufacturing process is managed for each processing unit in each processing step to ensure food traceability. It has been proposed to improve the possibility (for example, Patent Document 3).

However, in the field of vacuum packaging machines, since the work involves vacuum packaging a large number of packaging bags, it is not practiced to save historical information regarding vacuum operations for each packaging bag. Therefore, when a problem occurs, we ask the operator (user) what settings he or she performed or what operations he or she performed to understand the actions (details) performed on the vacuum packaging machine. It took a lot of time to resolve the problem.

Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 11-160160 Patent No. 4457621 Patent No. 4346580

The problems to be solved by the present invention are to provide a vacuum packaging machine capable of storing a record including set values and measured values in an internal memory and to an external memory each time a packaging bag is vacuum packaged; Our objective is to provide a logging system for packaging machines.

The vacuum packaging machine of the embodiment is a vacuum packaging machine for vacuum packaging an object to be packaged, and includes an input means for inputting a set value for the vacuum packaging operation, a measured value during the vacuum packaging operation, and a set value for the vacuum packaging operation. an internal memory that stores a plurality of records as one storage file; and a memory connection means for storing the storage file stored in the internal memory in an external memory .

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the structure of a vacuum packaging machine according to an embodiment. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a detailed structure of a memory connection member according to an embodiment. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the configuration of a control block that implements a logging function according to the first embodiment. 5 is a flowchart showing the operation of storing various data in the SRAM of the vacuum packaging machine according to the embodiment. 5 is a flowchart showing an operation of outputting various data stored in SRAM to an external memory (SD memory card) according to the embodiment. FIG. 4 is a timing chart of a saving operation to an external memory (SD memory card) and a saving operation of accumulated files in device settings according to the embodiment. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a first operation screen when outputting logging data accumulated in the SRAM to an external memory (SD memory card) according to the embodiment. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a second operation screen when outputting logging accumulated in the SRAM to an external memory (SD memory card) according to the embodiment. The figure which shows an example of the logging data of the hot pack based on embodiment. The figure which shows an example of the logging data of the hot pack based on embodiment. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing the configuration of a control block that implements a logging function according to the second embodiment.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below based on the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the structure of a vacuum packaging machine according to an embodiment. The vacuum packaging machine 10 includes a main body 20, a touch panel 30, a memory connection member 40, and an external memory (SD memory card) 50. The touch panel 30 is provided on the front of the main body 20 and is used by an operator (user) to select an operation menu and input setting values for various data. The memory connection member 40 is provided on the front side of the main body 20, and an external memory (SD memory card) 50 is inserted into and removed from the memory connection member 40. The external memory (SD memory card) 50 stores set value data accumulated and stored in the internal memory (non-volatile memory, e.g. SRAM) of the vacuum packaging machine 10, and various measured value data (e.g. temperature, pressure) during vacuum packaging operation. , time) as logging data (also called records). Here, an example is shown in which an SD memory card is used as the external memory 50, but other memory (for example, a USB memory) may be used. Note that in the following description, the internal memory will be referred to as SRAM, and the external memory will be referred to as SD memory card.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a detailed structure of the memory connection member 40 according to the embodiment. Note that FIG. 2A shows an assembled view of the memory connection member 40, and FIG. 2B shows an exploded view of the memory connection member 40. The memory connection member 40 includes a connector portion 410, attachment and holding portions 420, 430, buffer members 440, 450, screws 460, and a connection cable 470. The connector section 410 has a built-in connector into which the SD memory card 50 is inserted and removed. The connector portion 410 is held by two screws 460 while being sandwiched between attachment and holding portions 420 and 430 from both sides via buffer members 440 and 450. Connector section 410 is connected to touch panel 30 by connection cable 470. The memory connection member 40 is fixed to the main body 20 by the flange parts 420a and 430a of the attachment holding parts 420 and 430.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the configuration of a control block 600 that implements the logging function of the first embodiment. The control block 600 includes a control device 620 in which a processor 610 is mounted, an SRAM 630 that accumulates and stores logging data, and the like. The control device 620 is composed of a CPU board and the like, and is connected to a timer (clock) 640, a pressure sensor 650, a temperature sensor 660, and a touch panel 30 (same as the touch panel in FIG. 1) mounted on the main body 20. These timer (clock) 640, pressure sensor 650, and temperature sensor 660 are storage target devices. The processor 610 implements the logging function by executing a "log acquisition & output program" stored in the ROM 680. The SRAM 630 is provided with a logging recording area 630a that accumulates and stores logging data. The ROM 680 stores programs for controlling the operation of the vacuum packaging machine, but since they are not directly related to the present invention, their explanation will be omitted. Although the touch panel 30 and the SRAM 630 are shown separated from each other in FIG. 3, the SRAM 630 is mounted on the back side of the substrate of the touch panel 30 so that setting values input from the touch panel 30 can be easily stored.

In the embodiment, 16 types of accumulation files 1 to 16 can be set in the logging recording area 630a of the SRAM 630. Furthermore, the number of accumulated records in accumulated files 1 to 16 is 64 records. If the logging data exceeds the set number of files, it is configured to overwrite the oldest file. In this way, since the logging data can be stored separately in a large number of accumulated files, it is possible to easily identify the logging data to be checked in the event of a failure. In addition, as will be described later, the internal memory stores the measured value during vacuum packaging operation of the vacuum packaging machine to which the setting value has been input and the setting value as one record, so when troubleshooting is necessary, Error checking can be easily performed.

In order to accumulate logging data and create a file, set the following items in advance.
(1) Setting timer (time) (2) Setting storage device information (3) Setting timing for storing logging data (4) Setting number of records to be stored in file (5) Number of data to be stored at the same timing (6) Number of accumulated files created

Among these, as the timing for accumulating logging data in the SRAM 630, a fixed period, time setting, and condition setting are prepared. Fixed period is used when you want to accumulate data at fixed time intervals. The time setting is used to accumulate data for a fixed period of the day. Condition settings are used to store data when a condition is met. Further, the number of data points to be accumulated at the same timing can be set to a maximum of 128 points. The data that can be stored can be either instantaneous values or differential values. As for the instantaneous value, the current value is recorded every accumulation cycle. As the difference value, a value obtained by subtracting the previous value is recorded for each accumulation cycle.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an operation of storing set value data and various measured value data during vacuum packaging operation in the SRAM 630 as logging data according to the embodiment. The logging function implemented in the vacuum packaging machine collects and stores device values from various sensors connected to the control device 620 in the SRAM 630 at a certain period or when a condition is satisfied. The data accumulated in the SRAM 630 can be saved in the SD memory card 50 attached to the memory connection member 40 provided in the main body 20, for example, in CSV format. This logging function is configured to not operate unless the timer (clock) 640 of the main body 20 is set correctly. Note that a backup battery (not shown) is connected to the timer (clock) 640 so that it can operate at all times.

In the flow of FIG. 4, the operator uses the touch panel 30 to set the setting conditions for vacuum packaging according to the object to be packaged, and then sets the vacuum packaging bag in the chamber of the main body 20 (S100). Then, the operator presses the start button on the touch panel 30 to start vacuum packaging (S110). Then, the processor 110 stores in the logging recording area 630a of the SRAM 630 logging data including the set values operated on the panel and data (measured values) read from various sensors according to the flow of the vacuum packaging operation of the vacuum packaging machine. (S120). That is, in the internal memory, the measured value during the vacuum packaging operation of the vacuum packaging machine to which the set value has been input and the set value are stored as one record in file units (logging data). The address in which each piece of logging data is stored in the logging recording area 630a is determined in advance. Therefore, each time the vacuum packaging operation is repeated (Yes in S130), the processor 610 executes steps S100 to S120 to build up an accumulation file by sequentially accumulating and storing the measured values at the same measurement point at the same address in the SRAM 630. be done. When 64 records or more are accumulated in the SRAM 630, a temporary file is generated for the SD memory card. The temporary file accumulates data until the set number of records is reached, and when the set condition is reached, a CSV format file is generated.

FIG. 5 shows a flowchart showing the operation of outputting the logging data accumulated and stored in the SRAM 630 to the SD memory card 50 according to the embodiment. This operation is performed by an authorized person (maintenance or sales service person, authorized owner). In the flow shown in FIG. 5, the service person attaches the SD memory card 50 to the memory connection member 40 of the main body 20, and presses the "log disclosure button" displayed on the touch panel 30 (S200). The processor 610 receiving the signal (command) outputs the logging data accumulated and stored in the SRAM 630 to the SD memory card 50 (S210). This operation is repeated until the logging data is stored in the SD memory card 50. When the storage of all the logging data is completed (Yes in S220), the processor 610 deletes the logging data stored in the SRAM 630 (S230), and ends the process. Note that while the logging data is being saved in the SD memory card 50, a message "Saving Logging File" is displayed on the touch panel 30.

FIG. 6(a) shows a timing diagram of the saving operation to the SD memory card 50 according to the embodiment, and FIG. 6(b) shows a timing diagram of the saving operation of the accumulated file in the device settings. When saving to the SD memory card 50 in FIG. 6A, the data set in the output during writing is turned ON in the settings of the SD memory card 50. Therefore, while the processor 610 is storing data in the SD memory card 50, the writing bit is ON. During the ON period, a storage operation to the SD memory card 50 is executed, and when the storage operation is completed, the switch is turned OFF. By lighting up the lamp for this writing output, you can confirm that the writing is in progress or completed.

To save the accumulated file in the device settings of FIG. 6(b), the processor 610 turns on the bit of the file creation device (device=accumulated data) and saves the data accumulated in the SRAM 630 to the SD memory card. While the file creation device is turned on and the processor 610 is executing storage on the SD memory card 50, the storage file creation status is turned on and the storage file is stored in csv. Generate to file. And csv. It turns OFF when the file is completed. The storage operation to the SD memory card 50 is executed while the storage file creation is ON. If the setting is made to display saving while the storage file creation is turned on, the storage file number will be displayed on the touch panel 30. You can check the storage status for each item.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing the first operation screen of the touch panel 30 when outputting the logging data accumulated in the SRAM 630 to the SD memory card 50 according to the embodiment. This screen operation is a screen operated by a maintenance or sales service person. A maintenance or sales service person attaches the SD memory card 50 to the memory connection member 40 of the main body 20, and operates the "No SD card" button 300 on the screen (a) of FIG. 7 displayed on the touch panel 30. , when switching to "SD card included" 300 on screen (b), a log collection screen shown in screen (c) is displayed. When the service person or the owner presses the "log data collection" button 350 on the screen (c) displayed on the touch panel 30 for one second, the logging data stored in the SRAM 630 is recorded in the SD memory card 50. Screens (a) and (b) in FIG. 7 are screens that can only be operated by service personnel, and improve the preservation of recorded information.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a second operation screen of the touch panel 30 when outputting 630 pieces of logging data accumulated in the SRAM to the SD memory card 50 according to the embodiment. This second operation screen is used when logging data is recorded on the SD memory card 50 by the authorized owner's own operation without the intervention of a service person. The owner attaches the SD memory card 50 to the memory connection member 40 of the main body 20, operates the "No SD card" button 400 on the screen (a) of FIG. 8 displayed on the touch panel 30, and displays the screen (b). When switching to "SD card included" 400, a "log data collection" button 450 is automatically displayed. When the owner presses the "log data collection" button 450 for one second, the logging data stored in the SRAM 630 is recorded in the SD memory card 50. In this way, saving to the SD memory card 50 can be easily achieved by button operations from the touch panel 30.

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example of logging data of the hot pack according to the embodiment. Hot packs are vacuum packed items that contain liquids that are hotter than room temperature, such as water, soup, curry, boiled foods containing broth, and foods that have been soaked in heated oil. First, hot, juicy food is placed in a plastic packaging bag or the like and vacuum packaged. Regarding the operation of the vacuum packaging machine for hot packs, please refer to Japanese Patent No. 5575827 owned by the applicant.

In FIG. 9, each row shows set values and measured values when vacuum packaging one hot pack for each working time (year, month, day, hour, minute, and second). As mentioned earlier, one accumulation file has 64 records recorded therein. The settings for a vacuum packaging machine for hot packs include the following elements: In the SRAM 630 that stores these data, a fixed address is set for each element, and the stored data in row units (one record) is directly output to the SD memory card 50 as logging data.
2 Application 3 Course 10 Vacuum stability seconds 11 Overflow prevention seconds 12 Vacuum pressure fine adjustment value (cold: vacuum level)
13 Number of defoaming steps (cold: vacuum time)
14 Seal seconds 15 Seal cooling seconds

Measured values for vacuum packaging machines for hot packs include the following elements: Similarly, in the SRAM 630, a fixed address is set for each element, and the accumulated data in row units (one record) is output as is to the SD memory card 50 as logging data.
4 Pressure when the lid switch (SW) is turned on 5 Bag mouth closing pressure in the defoaming process 6 Bag mouth opening pressure in the defoaming process 7 Pressure during sealing 8 Temperature (before the defoaming process)
9 Temperature (at the time of re-measurement)

FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of logging data for items other than hot packs (vacuum packaging of liquids or solids at room temperature) according to the embodiment. In FIG. 10, each row shows set values and measured values when performing vacuum packaging of one room-temperature solid material for each working time (year, month, day, hour, minute, and second). Similarly, one accumulation file has 64 records recorded therein. Regarding the operation of a vacuum packaging machine for liquids or solids at room temperature, please refer to FIG. 14 and paragraphs [0060] to [0071] of JP-A-2019-206382 .

The settings for a vacuum packaging machine for liquids or solids at room temperature include the following factors: Similarly, in the SRAM 630, a fixed address is set for each element, and the accumulated data in row units (one record) is output as is to the SD memory card 50 as logging data.
2 Course No.
3 Icon [Kana characters]
4 Vacuum setting 5 Vacuum stabilization time 6 Gas setting 7 Gas setting time 8 Special operation 9 Special parameter 1
10 Special parameters 2
11 Special number of times 12 Seal time 13 Seal cooling time 14 Soft opening time

In addition, the measured values include the following elements. Similarly, in the SRAM 630, a fixed address is set for each element, and the accumulated data in row units (one record) is output as is to the SD memory card 50 as logging data.
15 Pressure when lid is closed 16 Pressure before sealing

In "3 Icon [Kana characters]" in FIG. 10, the circled numbers 4-7 indicate a course arbitrarily selected by the owner from the prepared icon screen. Further, for "9 special parameter 1", "10 special parameter 2", and "special number of times", the parameters shown in [Table 1] are set corresponding to the special operation.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing the configuration of a control block that implements the logging function according to the second embodiment. In FIGS. 1 and 2, the SD memory card 50 is connected to the SRAM 30 of the touch panel board via the connection cable 470, but in the second embodiment, the connection cable 470 is replaced with a short-range wireless communication device ( For example, a configuration is shown in which download is performed to a mobile terminal 800 using BLUETOOTH (registered trademark) 700. Therefore, when an operation to download the data stored in SRAM 630 from the touch panel 30 to the built-in memory of mobile terminal 800 is selected, processor 610 transmits the data stored in SRAM 630 to mobile terminal 800 via short-range wireless communication device 700. . Mobile terminal 800 records logging data in built-in memory. It goes without saying that the technology described in the first embodiment is applied to the second embodiment, except for the elements related to the connection of the SD memory card 50. According to the second embodiment, the logging data can be immediately displayed and confirmed on the screen of the mobile terminal 800, so that the operability is further improved. Note that as the mobile terminal 800, a commercially available smartphone may be used, or a dedicated terminal may be used.

As described above, according to the embodiment, in the vacuum packaging machine, setting value data during vacuum packaging and various measurement value data during vacuum packaging operation can be collected and stored in the SRAM as logging data. . The data stored in the SRAM can be stored in, for example, a CSV format on an SD memory card attached to a memory connection member provided on the main body. This can significantly improve maintenance response when a failure or trouble occurs in the vacuum packaging machine. Furthermore, saving to the SD memory card can be easily achieved by operating buttons on the touch panel. Since logging data can be stored separately in a large number of accumulated files, it is possible to easily identify the logging data that is the target of a failure.

The embodiments of the invention are presented by way of example and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. These novel embodiments can be implemented in various other forms, and various omissions, substitutions, and changes can be made without departing from the gist of the invention. These embodiments and their modifications are included within the scope and gist of the invention, as well as within the scope of the invention described in the claims and its equivalents.

10... Vacuum packaging machine, 20... Main body, 30... Touch panel, 40... Memory connection member,
50...External memory (SD memory card), 410...Connector section,
420, 430...Mounting holding part, 420a, 430a...Brim part,
440, 450...buffer member, 460...screw 460, 470...connection cable,
600...control block, 610...processor, 620...control device,
630...Internal memory (SRAM), 630a...Logging recording area,
640...Timer (clock), 650...Pressure sensor, 660...Temperature sensor,
700...Communication device, 800...Mobile terminal

Claims (4)

A vacuum packaging machine that vacuum-packs items to be packaged,
input means for inputting set values for the vacuum packaging operation;
an internal memory that stores a plurality of records including measured values during vacuum packaging operation and the set values as one accumulation file;
memory connection means for storing the accumulated file stored in the internal memory in an external memory;
A vacuum packaging machine equipped with A vacuum packaging machine that vacuum-packs items to be packaged,
input means for inputting set values for the vacuum packaging operation;
an internal memory that stores a plurality of records including measured values during vacuum packaging operation and the set values as one accumulation file;
wireless communication means for outputting the accumulated file stored in the internal memory to an external mobile terminal by wireless communication;
A vacuum packaging machine equipped with The input means is composed of a touch panel,
The vacuum packaging machine according to claim 1, wherein the touch panel displays a switch for instructing an operation to save the accumulated file in the external memory. The input means is composed of a touch panel,
The vacuum packaging machine according to claim 2, wherein the touch panel displays a switch for instructing an operation to output the accumulated file to the mobile terminal.