JP7519068B2 - Air Bleeding Device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an air removal device used in a packaging machine.

In a horizontal pillow packaging machine, a continuous supply of strip-shaped packaging film is passed through a bag maker to make a cylindrical bag, the left and right side edges of the packaging film are overlapped, and the overlapped ends are sealed by a center seal device. Meanwhile, upstream of the bag maker, a product conveying and supplying device is arranged to supply products into the bag maker at predetermined intervals. The products supplied to the bag maker are directly supplied into the packaging film that is being made into a cylindrical bag, and are conveyed together with the packaging film while being arranged at equal intervals within the cylindrical packaging film. Then, a top seal device arranged on the discharge side of the horizontal pillow packaging machine seals and cuts the cylindrical packaging film horizontally at predetermined intervals to produce a package containing the product.

Normally, the height of the packaging film when it is made into a cylindrical bag is greater than the height of the product, resulting in a space between the product and the cylindrical packaging film. Therefore, if the product is sealed and cut as is using a top sealing device, the air that was around the product will remain inside the package, causing it to bulge. This is particularly noticeable when the product is filled with an inert gas such as nitrogen gas.

In cases where it is desired to keep the height of the package to the height of the product, for example, a device such as that shown in Patent Document 1 may be used to vent the air inside the leading packaging film after the leading product has passed through the top sealing device and before the packaging film is sealed and cut and connected to the following packaging film.

In such a device, for example, a pressing member capable of biasing the packaging film downward is integrally connected to a top sealer on the upper side of the top sealer, and is configured to rise and fall in conjunction with the rising and falling movement of the top sealer. The pressing member is, for example, a sponge, and as the top sealer moves downward, the pressing member also processes in response, biasing the top surface of the packaging film downward. This lowers the height position of the top surface of the packaging film, and the air inside moves toward the internal space of the cylindrical broadcast film that continues upstream. Then, when the pressing member descends to a position where it indirectly contacts the top surface of the product via the packaging film, and in that state the top sealer seals and cuts the packaging film, the height of the manufactured package corresponds to the height of the product.

For example, as shown in FIG. 4 of Patent Document 1, when the product is flat and its front surface is flat, the lower surface of the pressing member contacts the upper surface of the packaging film over its entire surface, and the entire pressing member presses down on the packaging film and, ultimately, the product.

JP 2004-90939 A

In the above-mentioned air removal device, the pressing member holds down the packaging film and the product until the leading packaging film is sealed and cut horizontally by the top seal device, and then the pressing member separates from the packaging film after the package is produced. When this occurs, as the pressing member separates from the packaging film, the packaging film is pulled by the pressing member of the air removal device and flies up, which can prevent stable transport. This is particularly noticeable when a large number of products are produced per unit time and the product is transported and operated at high speed, or when the product is thin and lightweight, such as a PTP sheet.

The above-mentioned problems are described as being independent of each other, and the present invention does not necessarily have to solve all of the problems described, but it is sufficient if it can solve at least one of the problems. In addition, we intend to obtain rights to the configuration for solving this problem separately through divisional applications, amendments, etc.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the air venting device of the present invention is (1) an air venting device that is disposed downstream of a top sealing device that laterally seals and cuts a packaging film that has been made into a cylindrical bag, and that pushes air from the leading end side of the packaging film to the upstream side before it is sealed and cut by the top sealing device, the air venting device comprising a pressing member that can press down the packaging film containing a product that is positioned on a conveying surface from above the product , and a moving mechanism that moves the pressing member up and down, the pressing member having a contact surface that contacts the packaging film with the lower surface of the pressing member exposed, and a part of the contact surface side that does not have the contact surface and does not contact the packaging film. A non-contact portion is provided, and the non-contact portion is provided with an air passageway connected to the outside, the lower side of the non-contact portion is open, and when the pressing member is lowered to press down the packaging film, the film portion of the packaging film facing the non-contact portion is not directly pressed down, but is pressed down by the surrounding film portions being pressed down by the contact surface of the pressing member, allowing the air to be pushed upstream , and when the pressing member rises while pressing down the packaging film, air flows into the non-contact portion from the outside and gets between the contact surface of the pressing member and the packaging film .

For example, the negative pressure that occurs when the contact surface separates from the packaging film can be reduced by providing an air passage, allowing the pressing member to smoothly separate from the packaging film of the package, preventing the package from floating up.

In addition, the film portion of the packaging film facing the non-contact portion is also held down by the holding member, and the surrounding film portion is held down together with the non-contact portion without lifting up, allowing the air inside to move upstream and be removed.

The movement mechanism may, for example, be connected to the top sealer of the top seal device as in the embodiment and moved integrally therewith, or may be linked to the top sealer while allowing relative lifting and/or forward and backward movement, or may be arranged separately from the top seal device and raise and lower the holding member using an appropriate drive system.

(2) It is preferable to provide a groove on the underside of the pressing member, the both ends of which open to the peripheral surface of the pressing member, and the groove constitutes the non-contact portion and the air passage. In this way, it is possible to realize the non-contact portion and the air passage with a simple structure.

(3) The grooves should be formed to extend parallel to or perpendicular to the conveying direction of the packaging film. This is advantageous because it allows air to flow in more smoothly with a simple structure.

(4) The packaging film formed into a cylindrical bag has a center seal portion on the top side where both ends of the packaging film are overlapped and sealed, and the center seal portion is folded down from its base, and the groove is formed offset from the tip side of the center seal portion in the folded state, and the tip side is preferably held down by the contact surface. In this way, it is possible to prevent the folded center seal portion from getting caught and lifting up when the holding member rises.

(5) The pressing member may be provided with a through hole that penetrates vertically, the lower end of the through hole opening on the contact surface side to form the non-contact portion, and the upper end of the through hole may be configured to be connected to the outside.

The means for realizing the non-contact area and the air passage are not limited to grooves or through holes, but these configurations are preferable because they can be realized with simple configurations. Furthermore, grooves and through holes may be implemented at the same time.

According to the present invention, when the pressing member is separated from the package, it is possible to minimize the lifting up of the pressing member due to the influence of the negative pressure between the pressing member and the packaging film. For example, even if the product is lightweight or flat, and the packaging machine is operated at high speed, the lifting up of the package can be suppressed, and the package can be stably conveyed out.

1 is a front view showing a preferred embodiment of a pillow packaging machine in which an air removal device according to the present invention is mounted. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a preferred embodiment of an air bleeding device. This is a front view. This is a side view. FIG. 11 is a front view showing another preferred embodiment of the air bleeding device. FIG. 13 is a perspective view showing yet another preferred embodiment of the air bleeding device.

The following describes in detail a preferred embodiment of the present invention with reference to the drawings. Note that the present invention is not to be interpreted as being limited to this embodiment, and various changes, modifications, and improvements may be made based on the knowledge of those skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the present invention.

Figure 1 shows a preferred embodiment of a pillow packaging machine in which the air removal device according to the present invention is implemented. The pillow packaging machine 10 comprises a packaging machine main body 11, a film supply device 12 that continuously supplies a strip of packaging film to the packaging machine main body 11, and a product conveying and supplying device 14 that is disposed upstream of the packaging machine main body 11 and supplies products 13 to the packaging machine main body 11 at predetermined intervals. The products 13 in this embodiment are flat and lightweight items, such as PTP sheets.

The film supply device 12 is for continuously supplying the band-shaped packaging film 15 for wrapping the product 13 to the packaging machine main body 11. Since the pillow packaging machine 10 in this embodiment is an inverted pillow packaging machine, the film supply device 12 is disposed below the packaging machine main body 11 and supplies the packaging film 15 to the packaging machine main body 11 from below.

The film supply device 12 links the output of a drive motor (a speed-controllable motor such as a servo motor) (not shown) to the original roll 16, which is a roll of strip-shaped packaging film 15, and supplies the original roll 16 to the packaging machine body 11 at a constant speed while appropriately controlling the rotation speed of the original roll 16. In addition, various rollers 9 (only one representative is shown in the figure) are arranged at predetermined positions from the original roll 16 to the packaging machine body 11, and the packaging film 15 sent out from the original roll 16 is passed over the rollers 9 and guided to the packaging machine body 11 through a predetermined path. The rollers 9 include a drive roller that applies drive to the strip-shaped packaging film 15, a tension roller that applies tension, and a free roller that changes the conveying direction of the strip-shaped packaging film 15 or guides the conveying. In the present invention, it is not necessary to link a drive motor to the original roll 16, and a feed roller may be provided on the conveying path of the packaging film to draw it out.

The product conveying and supplying device 14 conveys flat products 13 in a flat state back and forth at a predetermined interval, and sequentially supplies the products 13 to the packaging machine body 11. This product conveying and supplying device 14 is composed of, for example, sprockets 8 arranged at the front and rear (only the front in the traveling direction is shown in the figure), an endless chain 17 stretched across the multiple sprockets 8, and multiple pushing fingers 18 attached at predetermined pitches to the endless chain 17. As a result, when the pushing fingers 18 hit the rear surface of the product 13, the product 13 also moves forward as the pushing fingers 18 move.

The packaging machine body 11 includes a bag maker 19 that makes cylindrical bags from the supplied packaging film 15, a belt conveyor 26 that is arranged downstream of the bag maker 19 and transports the cylindrically made packaging film 15, a center seal device 20 that is arranged above the belt conveyor 26, a top seal device 30 that is arranged downstream of the belt conveyor 26, an output conveyor 28 that is arranged downstream of the top seal device 30, and a restraining belt 29 that is arranged above the belt conveyor 26 and just before the top seal device 30.

The bag maker 19 passes the strip-shaped packaging film 15, which is continuously supplied from the film supply device 12, so that both side edge portions 15a of the packaging film 15 come into contact (polymerize) with each other and form a cylindrical bag. The bag maker 19 in this embodiment is open at the top and is set so that both side edge portions 15a of the packaging film 15 are located at the top.

The products 13 supplied sequentially from the product conveying/supplying device 14 to the packaging machine main body 11 are inserted into the bag maker 19. As a result, the products 13 supplied to the bag maker 19 are arranged at predetermined intervals inside the cylindrically formed packaging film 15. As the products 13 are thus enclosed inside the cylindrical packaging film 15, the belt conveyor 26 conveys the packaging film 15 containing the products 13. Although not shown, side guide members are arranged on both the left and right sides above the conveying surface of the belt conveyor 26 to prevent lateral shifting of the products 13.

The center seal device 20 heat seals both side edge portions 15a of the polymerized packaging film 15 by pinching and heating them from both sides. In the illustrated example, the center seal device 20 includes a pair of left and right bar sealers 23 that heat both side edge portions 15a of the packaging film 15, a pair of left and right first pinch rollers 21 arranged upstream of the bar sealers 23, and a pair of left and right second pinch rollers 22 arranged downstream of the bar sealers 23. The pair of bar sealers 23 are configured to open and close so that the opposing heating surfaces move closer to and away from each other.

The first pinch roller 21 and the second pinch roller 22 pinch both side edge portions 15a of the packaging film 15 that have come into contact with each other through the bag making machine 19 with a predetermined pressure, and by rotating in sync, apply a conveying force to both side edge portions 15a and thus to the packaging film 15.

The second pinch roller 22 also functions as a pressure roller that pressurizes and cools both side edge portions 15a of the packaging film 15 heated by the bar sealer 23 to fuse and seal them. This sealed film portion becomes the center seal portion 34 of the package 33. This center seal portion 34 is formed by laminating at the central portion in the width direction of the upper surface of the cylindrical packaging film 15. The center seal portion 34 is then folded from its base portion and transported in a tilted state to the left or right. Therefore, the base portion of the center seal portion 34 is configured to be located at the center in the width direction.

Furthermore, the rotation speed of the second pinch roller 22 (the speed of the outer peripheral surface in contact with the film) at the front in the traveling direction should be the same as or slightly faster than the rotation speed of the first pinch roller 21 (the speed of the outer peripheral surface in contact with the film). In this way, the film can pass through the bar sealer 23 with both side edge portions 15a overlapping and in a taut state. The pair of first pinch rollers 21 and second pinch rollers 22 are configured to be able to approach and separate (open and close), and when separated (open), both side edge portions 15a of the packaging film 15 pass through the gap between the rollers, and in this state, the rollers approach each other (close) to hold both side edge portions 15a in place. The center seal device 20 should also be configured so that the entire device can be raised and lowered, and its vertical position can be adjusted according to the height of the product 13.

The top sealing device 30 seals and cuts the cylindrical packaging film 15 that contains the product 13 in a direction perpendicular to the conveying direction and parallel to the conveying surface, that is, in a direction that crosses the cylindrical packaging film 15 on a horizontal plane. The film portion that is sealed and cut is a predetermined position between the front and rear products 13. This top sealing device 30 has an upper top sealer 31 and a lower top sealer 32 above and below the packaging film 15. The upper top sealer 31 and the lower top sealer 32 have built-in heaters, and the sealing surfaces at the tips of each are heated to a predetermined temperature. Furthermore, for example, a cutter blade is built into the center of the sealing surface 31a of the upper top sealer 31 in the front-to-rear direction. In addition, the sealing surface 32a of the lower top sealer 32 has a cutter groove in the center of the front-to-rear direction.

In this embodiment, the upper top sealer 31 and the lower top sealer 32 move along a predetermined trajectory while the sealing surfaces 31a, 32a face each other, approaching and separating from each other. When approaching each other, the upper and lower sealing surfaces 31a, 32a sandwich and heat the packaging film 15 from above and below, and the cutter blade enters the cutter groove to cut it. Thus, the top seal device 30 seals and cuts a predetermined position (part where no product exists) of the center-sealed packaging film 15 in the horizontal direction, forming a top seal part 35 that extends in the horizontal direction. As a result, the leading end part of the packaging film 15 (the part containing the leading product 13) is separated from the following packaging film 15, and the package 33 is produced.

Here, the air venting device 40 for a packaging machine according to the present invention is disposed near the downstream side of the top seal device 30. As shown enlarged in Figs. 2 to 4, the device is provided with a pressing member 41 that presses down the cylindrical packaging film 15 and packaging body 33 that contain the product 13 from above. The pressing member 41 is made of an elastic material such as sponge, and contacts and presses the upper surfaces of the packaging film 15 and packaging body 33 while elastically deforming. Furthermore, in this embodiment, the width of the pressing member 41 in a direction perpendicular to the conveying direction is equal to the width of the cylindrical packaging film 15 and packaging body 33. Furthermore, the lower surface 41a of the pressing member 41 is a flat surface. As a result, when the lower surface 41a of the pressing member 41 moves downward while in contact with the upper surface of the packaging film 15, almost the entire upper surface of the packaging film in the width direction comes into contact with the pressing member 41 and is pressed downward. As a result, for example, if a space exists between the packaging film 15 and the upper side of the enclosed product 13, the packaging film 15 will descend and come into contact with or close to the top surface of the product 13, crushing the space, and the air and other materials that were present in the space will move upstream, etc.

The holding member 41 is attached to the underside of the flat base plate 42 and is integrated with it. Two support rods 43 are connected to the upper surface of the base plate 42, and the upper ends of the support rods 43 are linked to the upper top sealer 31 by a linking mechanism (not shown), and move up and down in sync with the movement of the upper top sealer 31. As a result, the upper top sealer 31 and the holding member 41 are integrated, and when the upper top sealer 31 moves down, the holding member 41 also moves down, and when the upper top sealer 31 moves up, the holding member 41 also moves up. Furthermore, since the top seal device 30 is a box motion type, the upper top sealer 31 also moves forward and backward, and the holding member 41 also moves forward and backward in sync with this.

The support rod 43 is linked to the linking mechanism so as to be movable up and down relative to the linking mechanism, and a coil spring 44 is arranged concentrically around the outer periphery of the support rod 43. When the base plate 42 and the support rod 43 move upward relative to the linking mechanism, for example, the coil spring 44 is compressed and elastically deformed, and the base plate 42 and thus the pressing member 41 are urged downward by the elastic restoring force. This urging force urges the packaging film 15 toward the upper surface of the product 13, for example, pressing the packaging film 15 against the product 13 containing it.
As a result, the height of the cylindrical packaging film 15 is lowered to correspond to the height of the product 13, and any air or other substances present in the space of the leading packaging film 15 move into the continuous upstream packaging film 15, thereby removing the air.

The pressing member 41 of this embodiment has a groove 45 extending in the conveying direction near the center of the width of its underside 41a. The front and rear ends of this groove 45 open to the front and rear faces of the pressing member 41, respectively, and are formed to penetrate from front to rear. Furthermore, the ceiling side of the groove 45 reaches the base plate 42, exposing the underside of the base plate 42. In other words, the pressing member 41 has two block bodies 41b arranged side by side, and the space formed between the two block bodies 41b becomes the groove 45.

In this way, the groove 45 provides an air passage between the contact surface of the lower surface 41a of the pressing member 41 with the packaging film 15 and the outside/surroundings of the pressing member 41. When the pressing member 41 moves upward after the air is removed and separates from the packaging body 33, air flows into the groove 45 from the outside, and air enters between the contact surface of the lower surface 41a of the pressing member 41 and the packaging body 33 from not only the outer periphery of the pressing member 41 but also the groove 45 side, helping the two to separate, allowing the pressing member 41 to move upward smoothly, and at that time, the film on the upper surface of the packaging body 33 is pulled by the pressing member 41 and prevented from flying up as much as possible. Therefore, even if the packaging body 33 is manufactured at high speed, it is transported by the discharge conveyor 28 in a flat position.

In the case of a conventional configuration in which the entire surface of the holding member is flat and does not have a groove, and holds down the entire package, the package is pulled and lifted up when the holding member rises. However, the test results confirmed that by using a holding member 41 with a groove 45 and keeping other operating conditions the same (e.g. number of manufactured items, conveying speed, etc.), the package 33 can be conveyed out without being lifted up.

Furthermore, in this embodiment, the center seal portion 34 is located on the upper surface side of the tubular packaging film 15 and packaging body 33 in the inverted pillow packaging machine, and the center seal portion 34 is folded from its base portion and laid down. Therefore, in this embodiment, the position of the groove 45 is set so that the tip side 34a (opposite the base) of the laid down center seal portion 34 is held down by the underside 41a of the holding member 41. As a result, when the holding member 41 moves upward, the tip side 34a of the center seal portion 34 is not caught and forced in the lifting direction, and the packaging body 33 is smoothly transported in the attitude and shape as manufactured.

In addition, by providing the groove 45, the part of the film facing the groove 45 is not in contact with the holding member 41, but the film is held down by contact on both sides of the groove, so air can be removed from within the packaging film without only the groove expanding, and the product can be held down.

In the embodiment described above, the groove 45 is formed over the entire height of the packaging body 33, with its ceiling reaching the base plate 42, but the present invention is not limited to this, and it may be formed partway up the height. However, forming the groove over the entire height as in this embodiment is preferable because it is only necessary to attach two block bodies.

The number of grooves can also be arbitrary, and multiple grooves may be provided. However, if there are too many, the effect of holding the packaging film down will decrease, so it is best to have one as in this embodiment.

Furthermore, the layout of the grooves is not limited to extending in the front-rear direction along the conveying direction as described above, and for example, grooves 45 extending in the horizontal direction perpendicular to the conveying direction as shown in FIG. 5 may be provided. Furthermore, they may be inclined at a predetermined angle, or may take various forms such as non-linear or broken lines. However, forming them in a straight line perpendicular or parallel to the conveying direction as in each of the above-mentioned embodiments is preferable because it makes manufacturing easier.

Furthermore, the air passage is not limited to the above-mentioned groove, and may be a through hole 46 that passes through from top to bottom, as shown in FIG. 6. In this case, if the retaining member 41 is attached to the base plate 42, a through hole 47 may be provided in the portion of the base plate 42 that faces the through hole 46, for example, to ensure an air passage that passes through to the outside.

In the above embodiment, the width of the holding member 41 is the same as the width of the packaging body 33, but the width of the holding member 41 may be wider. In this case, if a groove is used as an air passage, it is preferable to arrange it so that it extends in the front-rear direction.

In the above embodiment, an example was shown in which the tubular packaging film was applied to an inverted pillow packaging machine in which both side edges were positioned on the upper side and a center seal was formed on the upper side of the packaging film being conveyed, but it may also be used in a pillow packaging machine in which the seal is formed on the lower side, or in one in which the center seal is located on the side.

Although various aspects of the present invention have been described above using embodiments and modifications, it should be noted that these embodiments and descriptions are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention, but are provided to aid in the understanding of the present invention. The scope of the present invention is not limited to the configurations and manufacturing methods explicitly described in the specification, but includes combinations of the various aspects of the present invention disclosed herein. Although the configurations of the present invention that are sought to be patented are specified in the appended claims, it is hereby reiterated that configurations disclosed in this specification that are not currently specified in the claims may be claimed in the future.

10: Pillow packaging machine 11: Packaging machine main body 12: Film supply device 13: Product 14: Product conveying and supplying device 15: Packaging film 19: Bag making machine 20: Center seal device 30: Top seal device 31: Upper top sealer 32: Lower top sealer 33: Packaging body 34: Center seal section 35: Top seal section 40: Air vent device 41: Retaining member 41a: Lower surface 41b: Block body 42: Base plate 45: Groove 46: Through hole 47: Through hole

Claims (5)

An air venting device is disposed downstream of a top sealing device that laterally seals and cuts a packaging film that has been made into a cylindrical bag, and pushes air from the leading end of the packaging film upstream before the packaging film is sealed and cut by the top sealing device,
The packaging film is provided with a pressing member capable of pressing down the packaging film containing the product located on the conveying surface from above the product, and a moving mechanism for moving the pressing member up and down,
the pressing member has a contact surface that contacts the packaging film when the lower surface of the pressing member is exposed, and a non-contact portion that does not have the contact surface and does not contact the packaging film is provided on a part of the contact surface side, and the non-contact portion is provided with an air passage that leads to the outside,
a contact surface of the pressing member that is disposed below the non-contact portion of the packaging film is pressed down by the pressing member, and the contact surface of the pressing member is disposed below the non-contact portion of the packaging film . The ...
This air venting device is characterized in that, when the pressing member rises while pressing down on the packaging film, air flows into the non-contact portion from the outside and enters between the contact surface of the pressing member and the packaging film . A groove is provided on the lower surface of the pressing member, the both ends of which open on the peripheral surface of the pressing member,
2. The air vent device according to claim 1, wherein the recessed groove constitutes a passage for the air together with the non-contact portion. The air venting device according to claim 2, characterized in that the groove is formed to extend in a direction parallel or perpendicular to the conveying direction of the packaging film. The cylindrically formed packaging film has a center seal portion on the upper surface side where both ends of the packaging film are overlapped and sealed, and the center seal portion is folded down from its base portion,
4. The air bleeding device according to claim 2, wherein the recessed groove is formed offset from the tip side of the center seal portion in the fallen state, and the tip side is held down by the contact surface. The pressing member is provided with a through hole extending vertically therethrough,
5. The air bleeding device according to claim 1, wherein a lower end of the through hole is open to the contact surface side to form the non-contact portion, and an upper end of the through hole is connected to the outside.

Images