JP7502824B2 - Fruit and vegetable packaging equipment - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a packaging device for fruits and vegetables. More specifically, the present invention relates to a packaging device for fruits and vegetables that includes a hopper that guides fruits and vegetables fed from above into a packaging bag attached to the bottom, and an air blower that supplies air toward the bottom of the hopper, the packaging bag having a protruding portion that protrudes from the bag opening and an easy-to-tear portion above the opening, a plurality of packaging bags are joined and bundled at the protruding portions to form a bag bundle, the protruding portion is attached to the outer surface of the hopper, and the bag opening is positioned at the bottom end of the hopper.

The following patent documents 1 and 2 are known as packaging devices for fruits and vegetables. According to the device in patent document 1, as shown in Figures 4 and 9, a pin passes through the locking hole 305 of the holding part 303 to support the bag. Air is then blown in through the opening 302 to inflate the bag, and the product is placed into the bag through the opening 302, which then tears at the perforations 304 to complete the sealing process. Patent document 2 is similar, although it uses two pins.

If the wind is too strong, the bags will bulge out at an angle and the wind will make their movement unstable, making it difficult to load the fruit and vegetables. On the other hand, if the wind is too weak, the bags will not expand sufficiently, and if fruit and vegetables are loaded into the bag when it is not fully expanded, the friction between the bag and the fruit and vegetables will cause the bag to break before the loading is complete. Therefore, to make work more efficient, dedicated machines with fixed hopper apertures and airflow rates are used depending on the type of fruit and vegetables.

In addition, the bag is torn off at the perforations 304, leaving many of the retaining portions 303 as tabs, which makes it difficult for air to enter the opening 302 of the bag, making the above-mentioned inconvenience more likely to occur. As a result, it is not possible to retain a large number of bags, and there is room for improvement in terms of work efficiency.

JP 2011-168280 A JP 2016-88615 A

In view of the current situation, the present invention aims to provide a packaging device for fruits and vegetables that allows the hopper to be replaced with a different diameter to accommodate a variety of fruits and vegetables, while improving the work efficiency of bagging.

To achieve the above object, the packaging device for fruits and vegetables according to the present invention is characterized by having a hopper that guides fruits and vegetables put in from above into a packaging bag attached to the lower part, and a blower that supplies air toward the lower part of the hopper by a blower, the packaging bag has a protruding part that protrudes from the bag opening and has an easy-to-tear part above the bag opening, and a plurality of packaging bags are joined and bundled at the protruding part to form a bag bundle, the protruding part is attached to the outer surface of the hopper, and the bag opening is located at the lower end of the hopper, the hopper is configured to be detachable and replaceable with one having a different opening diameter, the part of the lower part of the hopper on the blower side is inclined closer to the worker side than the part of the lower part of the hopper on the worker side, the hopper has a ventilation notch at the lower end on the blower side that receives the air from the ventilation part, and a hanging part is provided within the hopper to form an air passage from the blower part to the vicinity of the ventilation notch, and a lateral opening is provided near the ventilation notch to discharge the air from the air passage in the lateral direction.

According to this configuration, the hopper is designed to be replaceable with one of different diameters, so a bag according to the diameter is attached. As the bag becomes larger, the diameter of the bag becomes larger and the volume increases, so the air volume is increased to supply air quickly from the opening of the bag. In this invention, a regulator is provided to adjust the air force of the blower, so the regulator can be used to increase or decrease the air volume, allowing the bag to expand quickly but not tear before the fruit and vegetables are completely inserted.

Furthermore, with conventional devices, the number of bags was limited because it became difficult to supply air if many bags had ears remaining. With this invention, however, even if the number of bags is increased and the airflow through the ears is reduced, the air volume can be increased to compensate for this, allowing the bags to inflate. Also, even if the air volume is increased, it takes extra time for the bags to inflate due to the ears blocking the air, so increasing the air volume does not immediately put strain on the perforations, and this provides a composite effect in that fruit and vegetables can be inserted during that time to complete the work. This therefore reduces the number of times bags need to be added, contributing to greater efficiency.

Furthermore, with the conventional structure, a side opening was already formed near the blower, i.e., from the middle of the hopper, and the wind was blown out sideways, making it impossible for the wind to reach the bag inlet efficiently. With this feature, an air passage is formed from the blower to the vicinity of the ventilation notch, and a side opening that also discharges the wind sideways from the air passage is provided near the ventilation notch, so the wind is supplied to the ventilation notch without escaping sideways at the far upper part. As a result, the opening of the bag is close to the ventilation notch from the ventilation notch, allowing it to receive the wind efficiently.

As a result, the need to make delicate adjustments to the airflow from two standpoints -- to prevent the bag from tearing and to reduce the problem of air being blocked by the ears -- has been alleviated, making it easier to adjust the airflow.

The ventilation passage may also include a wide hanging portion that continues from the blower section and forms a cylindrical space together with a part of the hopper, and a narrow hanging portion that continues below the vicinity of the ventilation notch, and a lateral opening may be formed between the narrow hanging portion and the hopper.

According to this feature, the ventilation passage is composed of a hopper and a hanging part, so the structure is simple, and air can be sent into the bag from the side opening, centered on the ventilation notch, along the curved surface of the hopper.

In addition, in some of the multiple hoppers, the worker side portion of the hopper may be substantially vertical, and the upper opening of the hopper may be formed in an inclined shape that descends toward the worker side portion.

According to this feature, even if the hopper diameter is large, the upper opening at the top of the hopper is formed with an incline that descends toward the worker, making it easy to put large fruits and vegetables in from the front. The fruits and vegetables are guided upright and downward along the roughly vertical part on the worker's side, so they can be more reliably put into the bag.

Furthermore, the mounting means for making the hopper removable and replaceable has at least two notches formed on the top and bottom of each of the pair of mounting parts, and fastening means provided in at least four places near the blower, and the notches preferably consist of elongated holes along the top and bottom and horizontal notches leading to the lower part.

According to this feature, the hopper is fastened at a total of at least four points, top, bottom, left and right. At this time, the notch allows for quick installation with a horizontal notch, and the long hole stabilizes it in a state where it will not come loose due to its own weight, so the above-mentioned inclination can be reliably maintained, making it possible to quickly attach, detach and replace the hopper and more reliably perform its functions.

The above-mentioned features of the fruit and vegetable packaging device according to the present invention make it possible to provide a fruit and vegetable packaging device that can improve the work efficiency of bagging while allowing the hopper to be replaced with a different diameter to accommodate a variety of fruit and vegetable.

Other objects, configurations and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments of the invention.

1 is an exploded perspective view of a fruit and vegetable packaging device according to a first embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 2 is a side view of FIG. 1 . 1A is a side view of a small-diameter hopper, FIG. 1B is a rear view, and FIG. 1A is a side view of a large-diameter hopper, FIG. 1B is a rear view, and FIG. 2A and 2B are diagrams showing a packaging bag to be attached to the fruit and vegetable packaging apparatus of FIG. 1, in which (a) is an enlarged plan view of a portion of the packaging bag, (b) is a cross-sectional view of line A-A in (a), and (c) is a view equivalent to (b) in a state in which the packaging bag is opened. 2A is a perspective view of the fruit and vegetable packaging device of FIG. 1 , in which FIG. 2A shows a state in which a packaging bag is hung on a hopper, and FIG. 2B shows a state in which the packaging bag is pressed by a support tool and air is supplied thereto. FIG. 4 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the hopper in the vicinity of a ventilation notch.

Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to FIGS.
2 and 6, the fruit and vegetable packaging device 1 according to the present invention includes a hopper 2 that guides fruit and vegetable V input from an upper portion 21 into a packaging bag 10 attached to a lower portion 22, and an air blowing section 3 that blows air (air current, air) as a gas toward the lower portion 22 of the hopper 2. The air blowing section 3 is internally connected to an apparatus main body 4, and air taken in from an air intake port 6 is supplied and blown by an air blowing means 5 built into the apparatus main body 4. In addition, a support 40 is provided below the air blowing section 3 that presses the packaging bag 10 toward the hopper 2 near the lower end of the hopper 2.

In this embodiment, the fruits and vegetables V to be fed include, for example, long fruits and vegetables such as Chinese chives, green onions, and white onions, and leafy vegetables such as spinach and bok choy. In such cases, the fruit and vegetable packaging device 1 is set at a predetermined height using, for example, a tripod 100A, and is attached to a table or the like using a fixing plate 7.

As shown in FIG. 5, the packaging bag 10 has a protruding portion 11a protruding from the bag opening 10a, and in this embodiment, the first and second films 11 and 12 are welded together at their periphery to form a bag shape. The first film 11 is formed longer than the second film 12, so that the protruding portion 11a protruding from the bag opening 10a is integrally formed with the first film 11. The protruding portion 11a has a pair of through holes 14 through which the mounting pin 25 of the hopper 2 passes, and a perforation 15 as an easy-to-tear portion is formed near the bag opening 10a. The material of the first and second films 11 and 12 is not particularly limited, but in this embodiment, for example, a biaxially oriented polypropylene film is used.

Multiple pieces of each packaging bag 10 are fused together at the protruding portion 11a to form a packaging bag bundle 10x. When the bag bundle 10x is torn at the perforation 15, the protruding portion 11a is stacked and remains as an ear portion 11ax, which prevents wind B from passing through the bag opening 10a. The present invention aims to solve this problem.

As shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the blower 3 takes in air from the intake port 6 and releases air B downward from the outlet 31 by the blower 5a of the blowing means 5, and is provided with a communication section 32 that connects the outlet 31 to the device main body 4. The regulator 5b of the blowing means 5 is a variable resistor connected to the motor of the blower 5a, etc., and adjusts the amount of air blown by the blower 5a by changing the resistance value by rotating the knob 5b1. A screw hole 33 is formed on the side surface 32a of the communication section 32 into which the fixing means 24a described below is screwed. The blower 3 is also provided with a plate-shaped hanging part 34 that hangs down along the vertical direction Z.

As shown in Figures 2 and 3, the hopper 2 has a cylindrical shape that gradually narrows from the upper portion 21 to the lower portion 22. The upper portion 21 has an approximately rectangular cutout portion 23 formed by cutting out the upper opening 21a and a portion of the outer circumferential surface 20, and a pair of plate-shaped mounting portions 24 are provided on both sides in the width direction. The mounting portions 24 are attached to the side surface 32a of the blower 3 by fixing means 24a such as screws or bolts, and the air B blown from the blower 3 is supplied to the packaging bag 10 through the cutout portions 23. In addition, a pair of mounting pins 25 for attaching the packaging bag 10 are provided on the outer circumferential surface 20 of the hopper 2.

Hopper 2 is available in different diameters that can be easily replaced and selected. The small diameter hopper 2A is used for long fruits and vegetables, while the large diameter hopper 2B is used for leafy vegetables, and the bag size can be changed to match the diameter.

In the hopper 2 (2A, 2B), the blower side portion 22a of the lower part of the hopper is inclined toward the side closer to the worker side portion 22b than the worker side portion 22b of the lower part of the hopper, and has a ventilation notch 28 at the lower end of the blower side portion 22a which receives air from the blower 3. In addition, the outer surface on the same side has two mounting pins for penetrating and supporting the ears of the bag bundle. The ears 11ax are fitted to the curve of the blower side portion 22a and are attached by being pressed down with a support tool described later.

The ventilation passage W, which guides the wind B from the discharge port 31 of the blowing means 5 to the ventilation notch 28, is composed of the ventilation section side portion 20a of the hopper 2 and the hanging portions 34a and 34b. The wide hanging portion 34a cooperates with the ventilation section side portion 20a of the hopper 2 to form a cylindrical ventilation passage, and further includes a narrow hanging portion 34b near the ventilation notch 28. A horizontal opening 34c is formed between the narrow hanging portion 34b and the ventilation section side portion 20a of the hopper 2. The horizontal opening 34c supplies wind downward and simultaneously supplies wind in the horizontal direction, supplying wind B to the entire hopper. Conventionally, the range L1 in FIG. 3 is the wide hanging portion, and the range L2 below it is the narrow hanging portion, and the circumferential wind in the horizontal direction is generated near the discharge port 31, and the wind does not reach the ventilation notch 28 sufficiently. In this application, the range L3 in FIG. 3 is the wide hanging portion 34a, and the range L2 below that is the narrow hanging portion 34b, and the wind is directed horizontally near the ventilation notch 28, so the wind can reach the ventilation notch 28 sufficiently.

As shown in Figs. 1 to 3 and 6, the support 40 is provided with an upper support 41 and a lower support 42 on a rod-shaped portion 43, one end of which is rotatably fixed to the device main body 4 via an elastic member or the like. The upper support 41 has pressing portions 41a, 41a at the bent corners of the bifurcated ends, bypassing the outer circumferential surface 20 of the hopper 2. These two pressing portions 41a, 41a press two points P, P near the lateral end of the ear 11ax near the perforation 15, thereby achieving adhesion of the ear 11ax. The tip of the lower support 42 is also provided with a pressing portion 42a that is aligned with the inclination direction of the bag 10, and the pressing portion 42a lightly presses the outside of the arc of the bag 10, thereby assisting in adhesion of the ear 11ax.

The mounting means that allows the hopper to be detached and replaced has at least two notches 24b formed on the top and bottom of each of the pair of mounting parts 24, and fixing means 24a such as screws or bolts that are screwed into screw holes 33 provided in four places near the blower. The notches 24b consist of elongated holes 24b1 that run along the top and bottom, and horizontal notches 24b2 that lead to the lower part.

In the large-diameter hopper 2B shown in Figure 4, the upper opening 21a of the hopper upper part 21 is formed in an inclined shape that slopes downward toward the operator side part 22b. The small-diameter hopper 2A shown in Figure 3 handles long fruits and vegetables such as green onions, so there is no problem with loading them in even if the upper opening 21a is almost horizontal. The large-diameter hopper 2B handles large leafy vegetables such as spinach, so the inclination of the upper opening 21a makes loading easier, and since the operator side part 22b and its upper part are almost vertical, it is easy to drop the loaded items upright.

Each hopper 2 has one large flap 71 and two small flaps 72 for guiding the fruit or vegetable V from the hopper 2 to the bag 10. The hopper 2 has one first slit 26 and two second slits 27, and the large flap 71 and the small flap 72 are inserted into the slits 26, 27, respectively. The large flap 71 has a stepped neck 71c between the body 71a and the weight 71b. The small flap 72 has a partially narrowed notch 72c between the body 72a and the weight 72b. Both the bodies 71a, 72a are constantly held up by the weights 71b, 72b, but swing down when they come into contact with the fruit or vegetable V, forming a bridge between the bag and the body. The neck 71c and the notch 72c prevent both flaps 71, 72 from falling out of the slits 26, 27.

The packaging process for fruit or vegetable V will now be described with reference to FIGS.
First, as shown in FIG. 6(a), in a state where the support tool 40 is separated from the hopper 2, a bundle of multiple packaging bags 10x is attached by being hung on the mounting pins 25 of the hopper 2 via the through holes 14 of the protruding portion 11a. At this time, the packaging bag 10 is suspended in the vertical direction Z by the first film 11, and the bag opening 10a is located directly below the lower opening of the hopper 2. Here, the packaging bag 10 is inclined so as to be in close contact with and along the blower side portion 22a of the outer peripheral surface 20 of the hopper 2, and the support tool 40 is rotated toward the hopper 2 as shown in FIG. 6(b). As a result, the upper support 41 presses the previous pressing portions 41a, 41a against the blower side portion 22a to hold the portions P, P of the bundle of packaging bags 10x near the ends of the ears 11ax at the lower portion 22 of the hopper 2. A pressing portion may also be provided on the inside between P, P.

Next, the fruit and vegetable packaging device 1 is turned on, and wind B is supplied to the blower 3 by the blower 5a of the blowing means 5, and is discharged from the discharge port 31 toward the lower part 22 of the hopper 2. The relationship between the lower part 22 of the hopper, the ears 11ax, the bag opening 10a, and the perforations 15 is as shown in Figure 7. The ventilation notch 28 is provided, and the ventilation path includes a wide hanging part 34a that continues from the discharge port 31 of the blower 3 and cooperates with a part of the hopper to form a cylindrical space, and a narrow hanging part 34b that continues below the vicinity of the ventilation notch 28, and a horizontal opening 34c is formed between the narrow hanging part 34b and the hopper 2. Therefore, as shown in Figure 7, wind B easily blows into the bag opening 10a, and the packaging bag 10 inflates at an angle.

As shown in Figures 2 and 6(b), when an operator inserts (drops) fruit or vegetable V from the top 21 of the hopper 2, the fruit or vegetable V is guided in the vertical direction Z by the hopper 2. The bag opening 10a is opened by wind B directly below the bottom 22 of the hopper 2, and the fruit or vegetable V is guided by the two flaps 71, 72, allowing the fruit or vegetable V to be smoothly packed into the packaging bag 10. The weight of the fruit or vegetable V causes the packaging bag 10 to be cut at the perforation 15, and the next packaging bag 10 is opened by wind B. In this way, when an operator inserts fruit or vegetable V from the top 21 of the hopper 2, the inserted fruit or vegetable V is almost automatically inserted into the packaging bag 10, completing the packaging.

As shown in FIG. 7, when many packaging bags 10 are set and then removed, the ears 11ax become larger, making it difficult for wind B to blow into the bag opening 10a. In this case, the adjuster 5b can be used to increase the air volume of the blower 5a. However, since the ventilation notch 28 is provided and the previous side opening 34c is close to the ventilation notch 28, wind can more easily enter the bag opening 10a, eliminating the need for delicate adjustments. Also, once the packaging bag 10 begins to expand, the wind force maintains the slanted position and the tight fit of the ears 11ax is maintained.

When replacing the hopper 2, loosen the fixing means 24a shown in Figure 1 and remove the small-diameter hopper 2A. Then, push the entire hopper 2 close to the fixing means 24a from the horizontal notch 24b2 of the cutout portion 24b of the large-diameter hopper 2B, slide it under its own weight to the top of the long hole 24b1 along the top and bottom, and tighten the fixing means 24a to quickly complete the replacement. After that, adjust the regulator 5b to adjust the air volume to suit the diameter of the large-diameter hopper 2B.

Next, reference will be made to other possible embodiments of the present invention.
In the above embodiment, the two pressing portions 41a, 41a press the two locations P, P near the lateral end of the ear 11ax above the perforation 15. However, the packaging bag bundle 10x may be pressed at two locations near the lateral end below the perforation 15 as long as the cutting of the perforation 15 is not affected in the vicinity of the perforation 15.
In the above embodiment, the fixing means 24a is configured by a screw or a bolt, but the same may be configured by a spring mechanism.
In addition, the elements of the present invention can be modified in various ways without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

In addition to being used as a packaging device for fruits and vegetables, the present invention can also be used to package long objects, leafy objects, chunks, and other objects other than fruits and vegetables.

1, 1': Fruit and vegetable packaging device, 2: Hopper, 2A: Small diameter hopper, 2B: Large diameter hopper, 3: Air blowing section, 4: Device main body, 5: Air blowing means, 5a: Blower, 5b: Regulator, 5b1: Knob, 6: Air intake, 7: Fixing plate, 10, 10': Packaging bag, 10x: Packaging bag bundle, 10a: Bag opening, 10b: Inner surface, 11: First film, 11a: Protruding portion, 11ax: Ear portion, 12: Second Film, 14: through hole, 15: perforation, 20: outer circumferential surface, 21: upper portion, 21a: upper opening, 22: lower portion, 22a: blower side portion, 22b: operator side portion, 23: notch, 24: mounting portion, 24a: fixing means (screw, bolt), 24b: notch, 25: mounting pin, 26: first slit, 27: second slit, 28: ventilation notch, 31: discharge port, 32: communication portion, 32a: side surface, 33: screw hole, 34: hanging portion, 34a: wide hanging portion, 34b: narrow hanging portion, 34c: side opening, 34': protrusion, 40: support, 41: upper support, 41a: pressing portion, 42: lower support, 42a: pressing portion, 43: rod-shaped portion, 50: bag holding member, 51: placement portion, 51a: protrusion, 51b: notch, 51z: straight side portion, 52: clamping portion, 52a: notch, 52b: mounting portion, 5 2c: fixing means, 52z: straight side, 53: connecting part, 60: dispersion member, 60a: opening, 61: main body, 62: bent part, 63: slope, 64: gap, 71: large flap, 71a: main body, 71b: weight, 71c: neck, 72: small flap, 72a: main body, 72b: weight, 72c: notch, B: wind (air flow), V: fruit and vegetables, W: ventilation channel, X: horizontal direction, Z: vertical direction

Claims (4)

A packaging device for fruits and vegetables, comprising: a hopper that guides fruits and vegetables put in from above into a packaging bag attached to a lower portion; and an air blowing section that supplies air toward a lower portion of the hopper by a blower, the packaging bag having a protruding portion that protrudes from a bag opening and has an easy-to-tear portion above the bag opening, a plurality of packaging bags are joined and bundled at the protruding portions to form a bag bundle, the protruding portion being attached to an outer surface of the hopper so that the bag opening is located at a lower end of the hopper,
The hopper is configured to be detachably replaceable with one having a different diameter,
a blower side portion of the lower part of the hopper is inclined toward a side closer to the worker side portion than a worker side portion of the lower part of the hopper,
The hopper has an air vent notch at its lower end on the side facing the air blowing section that receives air from the air blowing section, and a hanging portion is provided within the hopper to form an air passage from the air blowing section to the vicinity of the air vent notch, and a lateral opening is provided near the air vent notch to discharge air laterally from the air passage. The fruit and vegetable packaging device according to claim 1, wherein the ventilation passage comprises a wide hanging portion that continues from the blower and forms a cylindrical space together with a part of the hopper, and a narrow hanging portion that continues below the vicinity of the ventilation notch, and a lateral opening is formed between the narrow hanging portion and the hopper. The fruit and vegetable packaging device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein in some of the multiple hoppers, the worker side portion of the hopper is substantially vertical, and the upper opening of the hopper top is formed in an inclined shape that descends toward the worker side portion. The packaging device for fruits and vegetables according to any one of claims 1 to 3, in which the mounting means for detachably replacing the hopper has at least two notches formed on the top and bottom of each of the pair of mounting parts, and fixing means provided in at least four places near the air blower, and the notches consist of elongated holes along the top and bottom and horizontal notches leading to the bottom of the notches.

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