JPH02180167A - Apparatus for heat-sealing - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To optimize an apparatus for sealing a very small package improving processing capacity of the apparatus by a method wherein a sheet is adhered to the upper end of a package by a heater, then a grid-like cut is formed on the sheet by a cutting part and then the sheet is separated into individual packages by a folding board. CONSTITUTION:A sheet 1 is heat-welded to the upper end of a package charged on a tray 8. After adhesion, the sheet 1 proceeds by one tray and is sent to a cutting part 5. At the cutting part 5, a base 18 for installing a cutter lowers by a cylinder 17. Here, after the fed out sheet 1 is formed with a cut perpendicular to a proceeding direction of the sheet 1 by first cutter blades 24, it is formed with a cut in a direction equal to the proceeding direction by second cutter blades 25 so that a grid-like cut is formed according to arrangement of packages charged in the tray 8. The sheet 1 formed with the grid-like cut is sent to a folding part 6. The sheet 1 end which has been punched out and separated is adhered to the upper end side of the package by engagement of a hole 30a of a folding board 30 with the top of the package.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] [Industrial application fields] The present invention relates to a heat sealing device.

[Prior art] A heat sealing device heat-welds a heat-melting sheet to a container filled with a liquid or solid, and seals the container with the sheet, and is generally used for packaging, cup seals, etc. in the food industry. has been done.

Conventionally, the heat sealing device heat-welds sheets to a plurality of resin containers loaded on a tray, and then separates the sheets from container to container by attaching a separating device to a groove formed on the tray side. It was designed to be punched out with a cutting knife.

Many of these devices are intended for relatively large containers due to the difficulty of processing the trays.

To be more specific, the smallest container on the market has a diameter of about 20n++++,
There are very few examples of devices designed for containers smaller than this.

[Problem to be solved by the invention] With conventional heat sealing equipment, for example, when the container diameter is 6 to 7 m,
If an attempt is made to seal a very small container on the order of m in size, the following problems will occur.

That is, when separating sheets to fit individual containers,
It is difficult to align the tray groove and cutting blade.

In such a case, in order to perform alignment accurately, 1
The number of containers that can be loaded into the tray is limited.

Therefore, the processing capacity of the apparatus is limited, and a large number of containers cannot be sealed in a short period of time.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a heat sealing device that is suitable for sealing extremely small containers and has excellent processing capacity in order to solve the above-mentioned problems.

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides a sheet feeding section that feeds out a heat-melting sheet for sealing a container, a sheet winding section that winds up the fed sheet, and a container. a tray transfer unit that sequentially sends out the trays in which loading holes are formed; a heater unit that heats and welds the sheets to the containers loaded in the trays;
It is equipped with a notch part that forms a notch in the sheet corresponding to the hole in the tray, and a folding part that folds the sheet corresponding to the notch and separates it into individual container units, and with the sheet feeding part side as a reference, The gist is that the heater section, the notch section, and the folding section are arranged in order in the direction in which the sheet travels.

[Function] According to the present invention, the heat-fusible sheet for sealing containers fed out from the sheet feeding section is wound up by the sheet winding section.

On the other hand, trays with containers loaded into the container loading holes are sequentially sent out from the tray transfer section.

Here, the sheet fed out from the sheet feeding section is first heated and welded to the container loaded in the tray by the heater section, so that the sheet and the tray are partially integrated and the container is sealed.

Thereafter, as the tray is transferred by the tray transfer section, the sheet also advances.

Next, a notch is formed by the notch portion to correspond to the hole in the tray.

Finally, it is folded in corresponding to the notch by the folding part,
Separated into individual containers.

In this way, after the individual containers are heat-sealed,
The remaining sheet is wound up by a sheet winding section.

[Example] Hereinafter, an example of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a side view, with some parts omitted, of an embodiment of a heat sealing device according to the present invention.

(1) Entire device First, the entire device will be explained.

The device of the present invention includes a sheet feeding section 2 that feeds out the sheet 1;
A sheet winding section 3 that winds up the sheet 1, a heater section 4 that heats and welds the sheet 1 to a container, a notch section 5 that forms a perforation-like notch 1a in the sheet 1, and a notch in the sheet 1. Eye 1
It is equipped with a folding #6 that breaks apart the a part and separates each container, and a tray transfer section 7 that sequentially transfers the trays 8 in accordance with each process.

To explain the arrangement of each part, the heater part 4, the notch part 5, and the folding part 6 are arranged in order in the advancing direction of the sheet 1 with the sheet feeding part 2 side as a reference, and on the back side of the sheet 1,
A tray transfer section 7 is arranged.

Next, each part will be explained.

(2) Sheet feeding section and sheet winding section The sheet feeding section 2 has a feeding roller 1 around which the sheet 1 is wound.
It has 0.

The feed roller 10 is rotated by a feed motor 11,
A scroll-shaped sheet 1 of a fixed length is fed out to a fixed length.

On the other hand, the sheet winding section 3 winds up the sheet 1 fed out from the feeding roller 10, and includes a winding roller 13 rotated by a winding motor 12.

The take-up roller 13 is constantly rotating, and frictional force acts between the winding core and the shaft, so that the unused sheet 1 is wound up while constantly applying tension.

A feeding adjustment section 9 is provided between the sheet feeding section 2 and the sheet winding section 3 to adjust the feeding and tension of the sheet 1.

The feeding adjustment section 9 includes a moving roller 14 that is vertically movable and an upper limit sensor 1 that detects the upper limit position of the moving roller 14.
5, and a lower limit sensor 16 for sensing the lower limit position of the moving roller 14.

The feed motor 11 is controlled by signals from the upper limit sensor 15 and the lower limit sensor 16 of the feed adjustment section 9, and the amount of feed of the sheet 1 is adjusted.

In other words, depending on the vertical position of the moving roller 14, the sheet 1
The amount of feed can be adjusted together with the tension of the sheet l.

The sheet 1 used here may be any material as long as it has heat-melting adhesive properties; for example, an aluminum sheet coated with polyester on the front surface and polyethylene on the back surface can be used.

(3) Heater Section The heater section 4 disposed on the upper surface side of the sheet 1 consists of a cylinder 26 and a heating plate 27 attached to the cylinder 26.

The heating plate 27 is lowered by the cylinder 26 and heats and presses the sheet 1 onto the upper end of the container loaded on the tray 8 for a certain period of time.

Note that the container used is one to be filled with liquid or solid, and in consideration of heat sealing, a container made of resin is suitable.

(4) Notch portion The notch portion 5 arranged on the upper surface side of the sheet 1 is connected to the cylinder 1.
7. Cutting blade mounting base 18, cutting blade 19, sheet pusher 20
A cutting blade mounting base 18 is attached to the cylinder 17, and a cutting blade slider is attached to the cutting blade mounting base 18 via an elastic body such as a spring 22 as shown in FIG. A sheet pusher 20 in which a slit 20a for punching is formed is attached.

The cutting blade mounting base 18 has, as schematically shown in FIG.
A first cutting blade group 24 in which a plurality of cutting blades 19 are held at regular intervals by a spacer 23, and a first cutting blade group 2 whose blades are oriented
4, the second cut blade group 25 perpendicular to the sheet 1 cuts the cuts 1a in a grid pattern in two steps, one in a direction perpendicular to the direction of travel of the sheet 1 and the other in the same direction as the direction of travel of the sheet 1. installed.

In FIG. 3, each cutting blade 19 is comb-shaped and has a sharp tip.
It is formed so that it can easily stick to the sheet 1 and come out easily.

(5) Folding portion The folding portion 6 arranged on the upper surface side of the sheet 1 is connected to the cylinder 2.
8, container holder 29, folding plate 30, folding plate mounting base 31,
A folding plate mounting base 31 is attached to the cylinder 28, and a connecting member 3 is attached to the folding plate mounting base 31.
A folding plate 30 is attached via 2.

When the folding plate 30 is lowered by the cylinder 28, it tears off the sheet 1 by pushing through the grid-like notches 1a of the sheet 1 heat-welded to the container, and separates the sheet 1 into each container. Shape the end of the sheet 1 so that it can be brought into close contact with the side of the container.

As shown in FIG. 4, this folding plate 30 is formed with a hole 30a having a diameter slightly larger than the diameter of the container.

Although not shown, such a hole 30a can also be formed in a tapered shape so that the diameter narrows from the bottom to the top from the opening end.

In this case, the narrow part should be slightly larger than the outer diameter of the container, but if the folding plate 30 is made of an elastic material, it can be equal to or slightly narrower than the outer diameter of the container. It is.

Further, by processing the inner surface of the hole 30a to make it slippery, the container can be easily removed.

By drawing and forming in this way, the end of the sheet 1 is brought into tighter contact with the side of the container, so that the sealed portion can withstand greater internal pressure.

Sealing a container such that it can withstand large internal pressures is particularly effective for sealing containers of the type that have a weakened portion in a portion of the container that can be ruptured by a certain amount of pressure.

Here, when the folding plate 30 returns (raises), the container retainer 29 is used to prevent the container from leaving the folding plate 30 and rising together with the folding plate 30 to prevent the container from falling from the tray 8. It is attached by penetrating through the hole 30a of the folding plate 30 so that the portion can be pressed down.

(6) Tray Transfer Unit The tray transfer unit 7 disposed on the back side of the sheet 1 includes an extrusion cylinder 33 that sequentially extrudes the trays 8 according to the advancing state of the sheet 1, and a tray pusher 34 connected to the extrusion cylinder 33. It consists of

The tray 8 is sequentially transferred by pushing out the rear part of the tray 8 by one tray by the tray transfer section 7. At this time, the alignment between the tray 8 and the sheet 1 in each process is determined by the transfer of the tray 8. Ru.

The tray 8 used here has a large number of mounting holes 8a formed therein.

For example, in FIG. 5, the mounting holes 8a are formed in a matrix of 5 rows and 5 columns in the rectangular tray 8.

In addition to such a tray, although not shown in the drawings, for example, a tray in which device holes 8a having an inner diameter of approximately 6.5 mm may be formed in a matrix of 10 rows and 8 columns in the feeding direction of the tray 8 may be used. .

Each mounting hole 8a has an inner diameter slightly larger than the outer diameter of the container, and its depth is smaller than the axial length of the container.

Although not shown in the drawings, by forming the opening edge of the mounting hole 8a into a tapered edge, the container can be easily mounted.

(7) Description of operation The sheet 1 is fed out from the feeding roller 10, and is wound up by the winding roller 13 at the other end via the moving roller 14 along the way.

The sheet 1 is heated and welded to the upper end of the container loaded on the tray 8 by the heater section 4.

Therefore, the sheet 1 advances as the tray 8 is transported, and positioning in each process is performed by pushing out the tray 8.

Here, the extrusion of the tray 8 is performed by a tray pusher 34 using an extrusion cylinder 33 that operates in accordance with each process.

When the sheet 1 advances due to the pushing out of the tray 8,
On the sheet winding unit 3 side, the sheet 1 has slack, but the slack is taken up by the sheet winding roller 13.

Here, a take-up roller 1 rotated by a take-up motor 12
In No. 3, winding is performed constantly, but at a speed that is sufficient to take up the slack in the sheet 1.

On the other hand, as the sheet 1 moves toward the sheet winding section 3 side together with the tray 8, the moving roller 14 moves on the sheet feeding section 2 side.
moves upward.

When the position of the moving roller 14 reaches the upper limit, the feed motor 11 rotates in response to a signal from the upper limit sensor 15, and the sheet 1 is fed out from the feed roller 10.

When the sheet 1 is fed out and the position of the moving roller 14 reaches the lower limit, the rotation of the feeding motor 11 is stopped in response to a signal from the lower limit sensor 16, and feeding of the sheet 1 is stopped.

The sheet 1 fed out in this way is first moved to the heater section 4.
sent to.

In the heater section 4, a heating plate 27 kept at a predetermined temperature that is lowered by a cylinder 26 presses the sheet 1 against the upper end of the container of the tray 8 and heats it at a constant pressure for a certain period of time.

The heated sheet 1 is adhered to the upper end of the container by melting the molten layer.

After bonding, the sheet 1 advances by one tray with the transport of the tray 8 and is sent to the notch 5.

In the cut portion 5, the cut blade mounting base 18 is mounted by the cylinder 17.
By descending, the sheet pusher 2o comes into contact with the upper surface of the sheet 1, and the sheet 1 is sandwiched between it and the upper end of the container.

Then, the spring 22 contracts, and as shown in FIG. 2, the cutting blade 19 slips through the slit 20a of the sheet pusher 20
Break through sheet 1 and proceed between each container.

In this case, the container placed on the tray 8 serves as a pedestal for the cutting blade 19, and the cutting is performed using the tension of the sheet 1 bonded to the container, so there is little slack in the sheet 1 during cutting. Cutting can be done easily.

Here, as shown in FIG. 3, the sheet 1 that has been fed out is first cut 1a in a direction orthogonal to the traveling direction of the sheet 1 by the first cutting blade group 24, and then cut into one tray. After being fed, the second cutting blade group 25 forms the cuts 1a in the same direction as the traveling direction, and the grid-like cuts 1a are formed in accordance with the arrangement of the containers loaded on the tray 8. It turns out.

In this way, when dividing the cutting blade 19 into the first cutting blade group 24 and the second cutting blade group 25, the grid-shaped cuts 1a are made at -degrees.
Compared to the case where the cutting blade 19 is formed, an excessive force is not applied to the sheet 1 at once, and the cutting blade 19 can be easily removed from the sheet 1, so that the operation speed can be increased.

The sheet 1 in which the grid-like notches 1a are formed is folded into the folded part 6.
sent to.

In the folding part 6, the folding plate mounting base 31 is mounted by the cylinder 28.
When the folding plate 30 is lowered, the folding plate 30 attached to the folding plate mounting base 31 via the connecting member 32 also lowers and comes into contact with the surface of the sheet 1.

Further, when the folding plate 30 is lowered, the hole 30a of the folding plate 30 corresponds to the container loaded in the tray 8, as shown in FIG. The sheet 1 is torn apart by the plate 30 into individual containers.

Therefore, each square portion of the grid-like incisions 1a in the sheet 1 is punched out while being adhered to the upper end of each container.

In addition, the separated sheet 1 end is inserted into the hole 30 of the folding plate 3°.
When a and the container head are engaged, they are bonded to the upper side of the container.

As described above, each container loaded on the tray 8 is closed by the sheet 1 to become a closed container.

After that, the folding plate 30 rises, but each container is held down by the container presser 2.
9 to prevent it from being removed from the tray 8.

For example, the airtight container obtained in this way becomes an aqueous capsule when the container is filled with water, and when an aqueous capsule using a container with a fragile part is incorporated into a cigarette filter. By pressing with a finger to cause elastic deformation, the fragile portion breaks and the aqueous liquid inside can be easily impregnated into the filter.

In addition, since the cutting is done after sealing, there is no need to consider misalignment between the cut and the container if the connection is made before sealing.
Sheet replacement and connection work can be easily performed.

According to the device of the present invention, a very small container with a diameter of 6 mm can be
When 80 containers were loaded into a tray, 800 containers could be sealed in one minute.

[Effects of the Invention] As explained above, the heat sealing device of the present invention first adheres the sheet to the upper end of the container using the heater section, then forms lattice-like cuts in the sheet using the cut section, and then attaches the sheet to the folded plate. Since the sheets are separated into individual containers, and the positioning in these steps is performed by transporting the tray, the following effects can be obtained.

That is, alignment can be easily performed and the operation speed can be increased.

Furthermore, since delicate positioning is possible, mounting holes for containers can be formed in the tray in close proximity to the next container.

Therefore, in addition to being suitable for sealing very small containers, the processing capacity of the device is improved and a large number of containers can be sealed in a short time.

Furthermore, if the sheet is separated into individual containers after making cuts in the sheet after heat sealing, there is no need to pay special attention to alignment during heat sealing, and the containers are tightly sealed. It can be done visually.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 7 A partially omitted side view of an embodiment of the heat sealing device of the present invention Fig. 2: A partially omitted vertical sectional view of the notch in operation Fig. 3: One of the notches Fig. 4: A partially omitted vertical cross-sectional view of the folding part during operation Fig. 5: A perspective view of an embodiment of Nidorei 1... Sheet 1a... Notches 2... ... Sheet feeding section 3... Sheet winding section 4... Heater section 5... Notch section 6... Folding section 7.
...Tray transfer section 8...Tray 8a...
Tray mounting hole 9...Feeding adjustment section Patent applicant: Japan Tobacco Inc.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A sheet feeding section that feeds out a thermofusible sheet for sealing containers, a sheet winding section that winds up the fed sheet, and a tray that sequentially feeds out trays having holes for loading containers. a transfer section; a heater section that heats and welds the sheet to a container loaded on the tray; a notch section that forms cuts in the sheet that correspond to the holes in the tray; A heat sealing device, comprising: a folding section that separates into container units, and a heater section, a notch section, and a folding section are arranged in sequence in the sheet traveling direction with the sheet feeding section side as a reference.