JPH0236449B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a safety device for a packaging device for wrapping an object with a film.

[Prior art]

2. Description of the Related Art Various packaging devices have been developed for wrapping articles stored in trays made of styrofoam or plastic with stretch film. Among these packaging devices, there is one that uses a pusher conveyor as the packaged article delivery mechanism of the packaging machine.

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view showing the packaging machine portion of the packaging device. The packaging machine 100 includes a carry-in mechanism 110 for carrying in an object to be packaged, and an elevator mechanism 12 for pushing up the object to be packaged carried in by the carry-in mechanism 110.
0, a packaging film transfer mechanism 130, a film folding mechanism 140, an unloading mechanism 150 for unpacking the wrapped object, a power unit 160 for driving the packaging machine 100, and the like.

The carry-in mechanism 110 has sprockets 112a, 1
A pusher conveyor 118 has a structure in which pusher plates 111a and 111b are attached to an endless chain 117 stretched over the pusher conveyor 12b, and the pusher conveyor 1
Belt conveyor 113 arranged continuously in 18
It is made up of.

In the central part of the pusher conveyor 118,
A weighing device 114 is provided for weighing the object to be packaged. The weighing device 114 is arranged so that its weighing pan 114a is located on the same plane as the carrying-in surface.

An object to be packaged is placed on the weighing pan 114a of the weighing device 114, a signal is output from the weighing device 114, and when the weighing signal is stabilized, power is obtained from the power unit 160 to move the pusher conveyor 118 and belt conveyor 113.
is started, and the object to be packaged is pushed by the pusher plate 111a of the pusher conveyor 118 and passed onto the belt conveyor 113. The belt conveyor 113 further transports the object to be packaged, and the object to be packaged comes into contact with the stop plate 101 on the elevator head section 121 of the elevator mechanism 120 and stops. Subsequently, when the weighing stability signal from the weighing pan 114 becomes stable by placing the next item to be packaged on the weighing pan 114a, the elevator mechanism 120 rises and the elevator head section 12
The object to be packaged on 1 rises, and the film transfer mechanism 13
0, the film folding mechanism 140
The film is pushed up by a film cut to a predetermined length that is stretched over the bottom of the screen. In the film folding mechanism 140, the film covering the packaged object pushed up by the film is folded into the bottom of the packaged object by the operation of the left and right folding plates 141, the front folding plate 142, and the discharge pusher 143, and at the same time, the film is removed from the packaging machine 100 by the unloading mechanism 150. to be carried out.

Note that drive control of each operating section of the packaging machine 100 is performed based on timing signals generated by a timing disk 161 provided in the power section 160 and rotating in synchronization with a motor 162 and a speed reducer 163. It will be done.

In the packaging machine 100 configured as described above, if an item to be packaged falls on or near the elevator head 121, the operator should insert his/her hand through the loading port 115 of the loading mechanism 110 and remove the tray and its stored items. There is.

[Problem that the invention seeks to solve]

As mentioned above, if an item to be packaged falls on or near the elevator head 121, press a predetermined switch (emergency stop switch) to stop the packaging machine, and then insert your hand through the loading port 115 to remove the tray or the packaging machine. The stored items are removed, but if the operator forgets to press the switch or the packaging machine does not stop due to a malfunction of the switch, part of the operator's clothes or body may fall on the weighing pan 114a. The contact causes the weighing device 114 to generate a weighing signal, and when it is determined that this weighing signal is in a stable state, the pusher conveyor 118 of the carry-in mechanism 110
is activated and starts carrying in the packaged items. As a result, the operator's arm or the like may be drawn into the packaging machine 100 by the pusher conveyor 118 and lifted upward by the elevator head 121, potentially causing an accident.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned points, and when a packaged item falls on or near the elevator head 121, even if the operator forgets to press the emergency stop switch or the switch is malfunctioning, the package cannot be carried in. Mouth 11
An object of the present invention is to provide a safety device for a packaging machine that automatically detects the presence of an object other than an object to be packaged in a packaging machine 100 and prohibits and/or stops the packaging machine 100 from starting.

[Means for solving problems]

A carry-in mechanism for carrying objects to be packaged into the packaging machine by a carry-in conveyor such as a pusher conveyor, a carry-in port formed in the insertion portion of the carry-in mechanism into the packaging machine, and a predetermined portion of the carry-in conveyor of the carry-in mechanism. When the weighing of the packaged items placed on the weighing unit becomes stable, a carry-in mechanism is activated, and the packaged items placed on the weighing unit are transferred to the packaging machine by the carry-in conveyor of the carry-in mechanism. A packaging apparatus comprising: a control means for transporting the packaging into the packaging machine from the transport entrance; a sensor provided at or near the transport entrance to detect an object entering the transport entrance; and a sensor placed on the weighing section. a storage means for storing the time from when the carry-in conveyor is started until the sensor starts to detect an object having the maximum vertical width that can be wrapped by the machine;
The present invention is configured to include an operation prohibiting means for prohibiting the operation of the carrying-in conveyor (including prohibition of starting and stopping of operation) when the sensor detects an object within the time stored in the storage means.

[Effect]

With the above configuration, if there is an object other than the packaged item at the loading entrance, the control means prohibits the activation of the loading mechanism and/or stops the operation, so if you forget to press the emergency stop switch, your arm, etc. Even if the device enters through the entrance, accidents such as an arm being pulled in by the pusher conveyor can be prevented.

〔Example〕

Hereinafter, one embodiment of the present invention will be described based on the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a system configuration of a control section of a packaging apparatus according to the present invention. In the figure, 11 is a central processing unit, 12 is a ROM (read only memory) that stores various programs, etc., 13 is a RAM (random access memory) that stores control data, etc., and 14 is the emergency stop switch and various operation switches. 15 is a display unit that displays various information such as the status of the packaging device and the name of the item to be packaged, and 16 is a display unit that displays various information such as the status of the packaging device and the name of the item to be packaged. A buzzer that issues an alarm; 17 is a buzzer control unit that controls the buzzer 16; 19 is an input/output control circuit (I/O); 20 is an article detection sensor at the loading port provided at or near the loading port 115 of the packaging machine 100. It is. The input/output control circuit 19 also includes a timing disk 161.
The input/output control circuit 19 inputs a timing signal from the input device and a weighing signal from the weighing device 114, and further inputs control signals from the input/output control circuit 19 to the signal line _l1 that controls the loading mechanism 110 and to each drive control unit of the packaging device (not shown). The signal line l ₂ .... _lo that transmits is connected.

The inlet article detection sensor 20 is a transmission type object detection sensor composed of a light emitting element 20a and a light receiving element 20b, and as shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. Loading entrance 1
15, and light is emitted from the light emitting part toward the light receiving part across the entrance 115,
This sensor has a structure that detects the presence of an object by blocking the light with the object.

In the control unit of the packaging apparatus configured as described above, when the inlet article detection sensor 20 detects the presence of an object at the inlet 115 and sends the detection signal to the central processing unit 11 through the input/output control circuit 19, the central processing The device 11 determines whether the object is an object to be packaged or not by a method described later, and if it is other than an object to be packaged, it stops the operation of each operating section via the input/output control circuit 19, and also stops the operation of the buzzer control section. 17, and the buzzer 16 issues an alarm.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the relationship between the position of the pusher plate 111a in the carry-in mechanism 110 of the packaging machine 100, the time t at that time, and the rotation angle α of the timing disc 161. In this figure, parts given the same reference numerals as in FIGS. 1 and 2 indicate the same or equivalent parts. 111a-1, 111a-2, 111a
-3,111a-4 is the packaging machine 10 shown in FIG.
The pusher plate 111a of the pusher conveyor 118 that constitutes the carry-in mechanism 110 of 0 is the timing disk 1.
61 shows the states when rotated by 0°, 80°, 100°, and 240°, respectively, and L shows the vertical width of the packaged object Tl having the maximum vertical width that can be wrapped. As can be seen from this figure, the time t after the packaging machine starts operating and the pusher conveyor 118 is started is t ₂ < t < t ₃ (that is, the rotation angle α of the timing disc 161 is 100° < α < 240° period), there is a possibility that the packaged object Tl crosses the inlet article detection sensor 20. Therefore,
If something crossing the detection sensor 20 is detected outside this period, it can be determined that it is something other than the object to be packaged.

Therefore, the first embodiment of the present invention has a configuration that satisfies the following requirements.

When the weighing signal is stabilized and the packaging machine 100 starts operating, if the inlet article detection sensor 20 detects an object, the packaging machine 100 is prohibited from starting. Even after 118 is activated and starts carrying in the packaged items, the time t from the start of operation is 0≦t≦
If the inlet article detection sensor 20 detects an object during the period t ₁ (period in which the rotation angle of the timing disk 161 is 0≦α≦80°), the packaging machine 100
The operation of the pusher conveyor 118 is stopped.

In addition, in the above, the period t' (i.e., t ₁ <t'< t ₂ )
is a margin provided in consideration of the case where the posture of the packaged object Tl having the maximum vertical width L to be carried in by the pusher plate 111a is inclined with respect to the carrying direction.

Further, in the second embodiment of the present invention, the following requirements are added to the above requirements.

After the packaging machine 100 starts operating and the pusher conveyor 118 starts, a time t elapses from the start of the operation.
However, even if the inlet article detection sensor 20 detects an object during the period t≧ (the period when the rotation angle α of the timing disk 161 is α≧240°), the packaging machine 1
Stop the operation of 00 and move the pusher conveyor 118.
to stop it.

Note that in the first embodiment, time t≧
The reason why the packaging machine 100 is not configured to stop the operation of the packaging machine 100 even if the loading port article detection sensor 20 detects an object in the case of t ₃ is because the pusher plate 111a has already passed through the loading port 115, for example. Loading entrance 11
Even if you insert your arm into the pusher plate 111a, there is no need to worry about your arm being pulled in by the pusher plate 111a.Also, starting the next packaging machine 100 is prohibited if your arm is inserted into the box, so do not try to operate the packaging machine 100. This is because there is no need to stop it. The following will explain using the control flowchart of the above embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing control that satisfies the above requirements. Measuring pan 114 of measuring instrument 114
When the object to be packaged is placed on a and the weighing signal from the weighing device 114 becomes stable, the above-mentioned process is started (step ST1). First, it is determined whether or not the inlet article detection sensor 20 has detected an object (step ST2), and if it has detected an object, there is an object other than the article to be packaged at or near the inlet 115. A signal is sent to the buzzer control section 17 to issue an alarm with the buzzer 16 without activating the carry-in mechanism 110 consisting of the pusher conveyor 118 and the belt conveyor 113 (step ST4), and the process returns to the main processing routine (step ST5). Said step
In ST2, if the carry-in entrance article detection sensor 20 does not detect an object, the carry-in mechanism 110 is activated (step ST3), and the process returns to the main processing routine (step ST5). FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing control that satisfies the above requirements.
In the figure, the process is started when the carry-in port article detection sensor 20 detects an object while the carry-in mechanism 110 is activated (step ST10). First, it is determined whether or not the rotation angle α of the timing disc 161 is within 0°≦α≦80° (step ST11). If YES, the article detection sensor 20 at the loading entrance detects an object other than the packaged item. Since it has been detected, the carrying mechanism 110 is stopped (step ST12), and a signal is sent to the buzzer control unit 17 to issue an alarm with the buzzer 16 (step ST13), after which the process returns to the main processing routine (step ST14). . Also, if the answer is NO in step ST11, the process returns to the main processing routine without doing anything (step ST11).
ST14).

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing control when processing is performed with the above requirements added.
In the figure, the process is started when the carry-in port article detection sensor 20 detects an object while the carry-in mechanism 110 is activated (step ST20). First, it is determined whether or not the rotation angle α of the timing disc 161 is within 0°≦α≦80° (step ST21). If YES, the article detection sensor 20 at the loading entrance detects an object other than the packaged item. Since it has been detected, the carry-in mechanism 110
(step ST122), sends a signal to the buzzer control unit 17, and issues an alarm with the buzzer 16 (step ST23), and then returns to the main processing routine (step ST24).

In step ST21, if the rotation angle α of the timing disk 161 is not 0°≦α≦80°,
Next, the rotation angle α of the timing disk 161 is 240°≦α
It is determined whether or not this is the case (step ST25), and if YES, this means that the article detection sensor 20 at the loading entrance has detected an object other than the packaged item, so the process shifts to stopping the loading mechanism 110 in the same way as described above. (Step ST22). If the answer is no, the process returns to the main processing routine without doing anything (step ST24).

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing the overall structure of the packaging device, in which FIG. 7A is a plan view, FIG. 7B is a front view, and FIG. 7C is a side view. A labeler 210 is arranged above the carrying-out mechanism 150 of the packaging machine 100, and a carrying-in conveyor 201 is arranged at the tip of the carrying-out mechanism 150, and the carrying-in conveyor 201 reverses the transported packaged articles in the right angle direction. A roller conveyor 202 is disposed at the tip of the roller conveyor 202, and a transfer conveyor 203 inclined at a predetermined angle is disposed at the tip of the roller conveyor 202 to allow the transported packaged articles to fall naturally. The labeler 210 prints the product name, unit price, weight, price, etc. of the packaged item on a blank label, and attaches the printed label to the top surface of the packaged item by spraying or the like.

To explain the normal operation of the packaging apparatus having the above configuration, when an object to be packaged is placed on a weighing pan 114a arranged in the article loading section of the packaging machine 100, the scale 114 generates a weighing signal, When this weighing signal becomes stable, the carry-in mechanism 110 consisting of the pusher conveyor 118 and the belt conveyor 113 is started, and the article to be packaged is carried onto the elevator head section 121 as described above. Next, the object to be packaged is placed on the weighing pan 114a, and when the weighing signal becomes stable, the elevator mechanism 120 pushes up the object, and the film folding mechanism 140 folds the film into the bottom of the object. The packaged article wrapped with a film is transferred to the lower part of the labeler 210 by a carry-out mechanism 150 or the like. Here, it is positioned at a predetermined position with a width board (not shown), and a label on which the above-mentioned product name, unit price, weight, price, etc. are printed is pasted by a labeler 210, and then carried out onto a conveyor 201. . The conveyor 2
01 is arranged in a direction perpendicular to the direction in which the packaged articles are carried out, and the packaged articles carried out onto the conveyor 201 are conveyed in that direction and carried out onto the roller conveyor 202. Roller conveyor 202
In order to transfer the packaged article to the transfer conveyor 203 disposed perpendicularly to the conveyor 201, the packaged article is reversed by 90 degrees and transferred onto the transfer conveyor 203. As a result, the packaged articles naturally fall on the transfer conveyor 203 and descend to the packaging machine 1.
00 to the vicinity of the article to be packaged carry-in portion.
At the tip of the transfer conveyor 203, a container or the like for accommodating the packaged article is arranged, and the packaged article is housed in the container.

In addition, 170 in the figure is an operation section of the packaging machine 100;
Reference numeral 20 denotes an operating section of the weight value marking machine (FIG. 1 includes an operating section 170 and an operating section 220). The operation section 17
0 is provided with an emergency button switch 221 that stops the operation of the packaging machine 100 in case of an emergency, and the operation section 220 is equipped with a push button switch for inputting various data such as product name, unit price, packaging, weighing, and pricing. etc. are arranged.

In the above-mentioned packaging device, an operator is located near point A in FIG.
A series of tasks such as packaging and pricing can be performed by a single operator, resulting in significant labor savings in packaging, weighing, and pricing. When an item to be packaged falls on or near the elevator head 121 or when packaging fails, the operator usually presses the emergency button switch 221 on the operation section 170 of the packaging machine 100 to shut down each operating section of the packaging device. Operation has stopped and the tray and its contents have been removed. In this case, for some reason, the operator forgets to press the emergency button switch 221 and does not stop the operation of each operating part of the packaging machine (because there is only one operator, in such a case, the operator forgets to press the emergency button switch 221). 221), insert your hand through the loading port 115, and then press the scale 11.
If 4 is pressed by the operator's body, etc., the measuring instrument 11
4 generates a weighing signal, and when it is determined that the weighing signal is stable, the loading mechanism 110 consisting of a pusher conveyor 118 and a belt conveyor 113
starts. When the pusher conveyor 118 is activated, the pusher plate 111a or 111b may pull the operator's arm near the entrance 115, causing an accident such as injury. However, in the above embodiment, the loading port article detection sensor 20 is arranged near the loading port 115 as described above, and the output signal from the loading port article detection sensor 20 is processed by the central processing unit 11. If an object exists near the loading port 115, the above-mentioned accident can be prevented by prohibiting the loading mechanism 110 from starting and/or stopping its operation.
In the above embodiment, the article detection sensor 20 at the loading port is arranged near both sides of the loading port 115, as shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. Although the sensor has a structure in which light is emitted across 115 and the presence of an object is detected by the object blocking the light, the loading port article detection sensor 20 is not limited to this. The arrangement may be such that the light emitted from the section diagonally crosses the entrance 115 and reaches the light receiving section. Further, the sensor is not limited to an optical sensor consisting of a light receiving section and a light receiving section, and any sensor having any structure may be used as long as it can detect an object present near the entrance 115. In addition, in the case of the above embodiment, since the packaging machine 100 was a weighing, packaging, and pricing machine configured in combination with a weighing and value marking machine, the packaging machine 100 was started when the weighing signal became stable. However, the present invention is not limited to such a configuration, and the activation of the packaging machine 100 may be triggered by a detection signal from a microswitch that detects that an item to be packaged is placed on the carry-in mechanism 110. It goes without saying that it is good even if it is done in a timely manner.

In addition to the above-mentioned embodiment, it is also possible to add a configuration having the following functions to further complete safety measures by using the inlet article detection sensor 20.

(b) The state when the packaging machine 100 is started, that is, the weighing pan 1
When the article to be packaged is placed on 14a and the weighing signal is stable and operation can be started, if the article detection sensor 20 at the loading entrance detects an object, the buzzer 16 issues an alarm at the time of detection.

(b) Furthermore, the packaging machine 100 is usually provided with various abnormality detection sensors, and the apparatus is configured to automatically stop when an abnormality is detected by these sensors. In order to cancel this abnormal state, it is necessary to insert your arm through the loading port 115 to handle the abnormal state (for example, a double tray when two items to be packaged are detected on the elevator head 121, or a film that is normal). (e.g., when the device is not used for packaging items), if the device stops, the article detection sensor 20 at the entrance
If the packaging machine 100 does not detect an object at least once, the packaging machine 100 is prohibited from returning to an operating state even if the emergency stop is canceled, and a buzzer 16 is activated to warn the packaging machine 100. This can prevent the device from being restarted without the cause of the abnormality being removed.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As explained above, according to the present invention, there is provided a sensor provided at or near the loading port to detect an object entering the loading port, and a packaged object having the maximum vertical width that can be wrapped by the packaging machine placed on the weighing section. a storage means for storing the time from when the carry-in conveyor starts to when the object starts to be detected by the sensor; and when the sensor detects the object within the time stored in the storage means, the operation of the carry-in conveyor is activated. Since the structure is equipped with a means for inhibiting the operation, if an object enters the entrance, the sensor will detect the object, and the packaging machine will also be able to determine whether or not the object is the object to be packaged. This has an excellent effect in that the operation of the packaging machine can be prohibited only when the object is not an object to be packaged.

In this way, the operation of the packaging machine can be prohibited if the object that enters the loading port is not the item to be packaged, so even if you forget to press the emergency stop switch and your arm or other object enters the loading port, the pusher conveyor will Accidents where your arm gets pulled in can be prevented.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the system configuration of the control unit of the packaging device according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view showing the packaging machine portion of the packaging device, FIGS. 3, 4, 5, and 6. The figure is a flowchart for explaining the control in the embodiment, and Figure 7 is a diagram showing the overall structure of the packaging device, in which figure a is a plan view, figure b is a front view, and figure c is a side view. . In the figure, 11... central processing unit, 12...
ROM, 13...RAM, 14...Operation unit, 15
...display unit, 16...buzzer, 17...buzzer control section, 19...input/output control circuit, 20...inlet article detection sensor, 100...packaging machine, 110...
Carrying mechanism, 114...Measuring instrument, 115... Carrying inlet, 118... Pusher conveyor, 120... Elevator mechanism, 130... Film transfer mechanism, 1
40... Film folding mechanism, 150... Unloading mechanism, 160... Power unit, 161... Timing disc, 210... Labeler, 220... Operating unit.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A carry-in mechanism for carrying objects to be packaged into the packaging machine by a carry-in conveyor, a carry-in port formed at an insertion portion of the carry-in mechanism into the packaging machine, and a carry-in mechanism for carrying the carry-in mechanism into the packaging machine. A measuring section provided at a predetermined part of the conveyor;
When the weighing of the packaged items placed on the weighing section is stabilized, the carry-in mechanism is activated and the packaged items placed on the weighing section are transported from the carry-in port of the packaging machine to the inside of the packaging machine by the carry-in conveyor of the carry-in mechanism. A packaging device comprising: a sensor installed at or near the loading port to detect an object entering the loading port; storage means for storing the time from when the carry-in conveyor starts until the sensor starts detecting the object of the width; and when the sensor detects the object within the time stored in the storage means, the 1. A safety device for a packaging device, comprising an operation prohibition means for prohibiting operation of a carry-in conveyor. 2. The storage means stores the time from the start of the carry-in conveyor until the sensor starts to detect the maximum vertical width of the packaged item that can be packaged by the packaging machine placed on the measuring unit, and the time until the detection ends. In addition to memorizing the time, the activation inhibiting means stores the sensor during the time from when the carry-in conveyor starts to when the sensor starts detecting the packaged object and after the time when the sensor finishes detecting the packaged object. 2. A safety device for a packaging device according to claim 1, wherein said safety device is configured to prohibit the operation of said carry-in conveyor when an object is detected.