JPH024617A - Commodity binding method and apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To improve the binding efficiency of a plurality of commodities by folding and deform the central part of a sheet in such manner as the enclose such commodities, thereafter fusion cutting and sealing the folded parts overlapped on the side of the commodities and separating the central sheet part from a continuous length of belt- shaped binding sheet. CONSTITUTION:A plurality of commodities in a bundle and the central part 7a of a continuous length of belt-shaped binding sheet 7 are caused to face and strike one another for relative displacement, whereby the central part 7a of the sheet is folded and deformed in such manner as to enclose the plurality of commodities 1. The central sheet parts folded in facing relation are overlapped on the side of the commodities by being held between an upper and lower regulating body 13 and 14 and such overlapping part is fusion cut and sealed by the end of a heat cutter 23, whereby the central sheet part is separated from the continuous length of binding sheet and, at the same time, a fixing part 27 of an annularly-shaped binding piece 26 composed of the central part thus separated and a continuous fixing part 28 for central separating edge of the binding sheet are formed. The binding sheet 7 is composed of a heat shrinkable resin and the heat shrinkage of a binding piece 26 permits the commodities to be bound with an annularly-shaped binding piece in a tightened condition.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for bundling small items such as razors and ballpoint pens.

[Conventional technology and its issues]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, small items are sometimes sold individually or in small quantities, in which case a plurality of items are stored in packaging boxes or packaging bags and displayed for sale.

However, for low-grade products, boxes and bags account for a relatively high proportion of the product price, and because they are discarded after purchase, they are a waste of resources and uneconomical.

Therefore, when selling small quantities of multiple small items.

It is conceivable to bind a predetermined number of products with a binding tape. In this case, since the binding tape itself can be produced at low cost, it is much more economically advantageous than the boxes and bags mentioned above. However, if a predetermined number of products are collected and bound with binding tape manually, the work efficiency is poor, and considering the labor costs, the overall cost cannot be reduced in the end. If this is done by hand, it is difficult to achieve uniform quality of the bundled portion, and there is also a serious problem in terms of quality control.

[Means to solve the problem]

The present invention provides a product bundling method and device that can solve the above problems.

One of the features of the method of the present invention is to cause a plurality of products in the form of nine bundles to face an intermediate portion of a continuous band-shaped binding sheet, and to cause the plurality of products and the intermediate portion of the sheet to collide and move relative to each other. After bending and deforming the intermediate part of the sheet so as to surround a plurality of products, the folded opposing parts of the intermediate part of the sheet are polymerized on the side parts of the plurality of products, and the overlapping parts are fused and welded to form the intermediate part of the sheet. The fixing part of the annular binding piece constituted by the sheet intermediate part separated by one part from the continuous band-shaped part and the fixing continuous part of the intermediate separated end of the binding sheet are formed. At this time, if the binding sheet is made of a heat-shrinkable resin and the binding pieces are heat-shrinked, the products can be bound in a tight state using the annular binding pieces.

In addition, the apparatus of the present invention is configured as a means: a continuous band-shaped binding sheet disposed on the partition surface between the standby section and the bundling section; a holding device for holding a plurality of products in the standby section;
a regulating body that regulates a product receiving port in the bundling section; a moving device that causes the plurality of products in the waiting section to cross the partition surface and move from the receiving port to the bundling section as the middle portion of the bundling sheet is folded; and an opening/closing device for opening and closing the product receiving port by colliding and separating the regulating body.

and a binding end processing device for fusing and welding the folded opposing portions of the sheet intermediate portions that are polymerized by the regulating body when the product receiving port is closed.

〔Example〕

Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below based on the drawings.

(Configuration of First Embodiment) In FIG. 1, a product 1 is a razor for shaving, and a plurality of products are bundled and transported by a transport device 2 such as a turntable.

A holding device 3 is arranged movably forward and backward with respect to the conveyance device 2 . That is, the holding device 3 includes a plurality of fingers 4 for holding the product.

When the holding device 3 is advanced onto the conveying device 2 by an advance/retreat drive device 5 such as an air cylinder, the seven fingers 4 face the products 1 being conveyed, and a bundle of products I is received and held by the fingers 4. On this occasion.

In order to facilitate the acceptance of products, guides 6 may be provided on both sides of the fingers 4.

When the holding device 3 is moved backward from the conveying device 2 by the advance/retreat drive device 5, the fingers 4 holding the product 1 face the sheet intermediate portion 7a of the continuous band-shaped binding sheet 7. This binding sheet 7 is made of polyethylene, polypropylene,
It is made of a heat-shrinkable film (so-called shrink film) such as vinyl chloride, and as shown in FIG. reach. That is, when the pair of feed rolls II is rotationally driven, the binding sheet 7 is fed in the direction of arrow A while being fed out from the feed roll 8, and the binding sheet 7 is fed in the direction of arrow A between the tension roll This constitutes a seat intermediate portion 7a.

Thus, the sheet intermediate portion 7a forms a standby portion (the portion to the left of the sheet intermediate portion 7a in FIG. 2) and a binding portion (
The holding device 3 moves forward and backward between the standby section and the glue feeding device 2. The binding section is provided with an upper regulating body 13 and a lower regulating body I4 that regulate the product receiving opening 12.

On the same side, the lower regulating body 14 is connected to the opening/closing device 1 such as an air cylinder.
It is connected to 5. That is, the upper and lower regulating bodies 13 and 14 can freely collide with each other and separate from each other, so that the product receiving port 12 can be opened and closed. In the case of the example shown in FIG. This opens and closes the product receiving port 12. Sixteen conveyors are arranged in the product receiving port 12, and eight conveyors 16 are guided into a shrink tunnel 17.

The holding device 3 described above is provided with a protrusion device 18 located behind the finger 4 . This ejecting device 18 is composed of a button 19 for ejecting the plurality of products 1 held by the fingers 4 along the fingers 4, and a driving device 20 such as an air cylinder for driving the pusher 19 forward and backward. In the example in figure 0, the button 1 is inserted through the internal space of the 4-tree finger 4.
9 reaches the front of finger 4 from behind and moves forward and backward.

Further, the above-mentioned upper regulating body 13 has a window hole 21 that opens facing the receiving port 12, and the heat cutter 23 of the terminal processing device 22 is arranged in the window hole 21 so as to be freely insertable. That is, the heat cutter 23 of the terminal processing device 22 constitutes a fusing blade heated by a heater, and is moved forward and backward by a drive source 24 such as an air cylinder.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 25 denotes a temporary guide, which is placed on the side of the conveyor 16 and guides the bundled products 1 to be placed at a predetermined position on the conveyor 16, as will be described later.

(Operation of First Embodiment) An embodiment of the method of the present invention will be described together with an operation of an embodiment related to the above-mentioned apparatus.

As shown in the first figure, the holding device 3 is advanced to a predetermined position on the conveying device 2 consisting of a turntable by the advance/retreat drive device 5, and in a stopped state, a predetermined number of products 1 are placed at a predetermined position on the conveying device 2. Place it in a bundle. When the conveying device 2 is driven to transport the products 1 L, the products 1 enter the fingers 4 via the guides 6 and are held by the fingers 4 in a bundle in parallel. In this state, the forward/backward drive device 5 is driven to move the holding device 3 to the first position while holding the product l in the finger 4.
Retract to the position shown by the chain line in the figure and stop. This retracted position is the position of the above-mentioned standby section, and the fingers 4 are connected to the binding sheet 7.
The middle portion 731 of the two faces each other. In this state, as shown in the third figure, the lower regulating body 14 is lowered and the product receiving opening 12 is lowered.
is opened, and the heat cutter 23 of the terminal processing device 22
is set back from the window hole 21 of the upper regulating body 13.

Next, with the feed roll 11 stopped, the drive device 20 of the ejection device 18 is driven to advance the pusher 19 as shown in the fourth diagram, so that the pusher 19 reaches the product receiving opening 12. Stop moving forward at the position. As the bushing 19 moves forward, the product 1 is pushed out from the fingers 4 and is moved from the above-described waiting section to the binding section. That is, the product 1 is fed from the receiving port 12 to the binding section as the sheet intermediate portion 7a is bent while crossing the sheet intermediate portion 7a, and the first product 1a is positioned on the conveyor 16.

The product stops when the last product 1b reaches a position where it does not interfere with the lower regulating body 14. At this time, the binding sheet 7 is fixed by a feed roll 11.11 stopped below the intermediate portion 7a.

The product 1 is delivered from above the intermediate portion 7a by free rotation of the delivery roll 8, following the movement of the products 1, and is bent so as to surround the plurality of products 1 located at the binding portion.

Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 5, the button 19 is moved back to its original position, and the opening/closing device 15 is activated to move the lower regulating body 14 upward and close the product receiving port 12.

At this time, the upper and lower regulating bodies 13 and 1
4 to mutually polymerize the sheets. In this state, drive the drive source 24 of the three-terminal processing device 22 to cut the heat cutter 2.
3 is inserted into the window hole 21, and the opposing overlapping portions of the sheets are fused and welded using the tip of the heat cutter 23.

As a result of the fusing and welding, as shown in FIG.
is separated from the continuous strip, and the separated ends are welded together. That is, after the sheet intermediate portion 7a is separated, the product l
An annular binding piece 26 is formed by binding the binding pieces 26, and an annular fixing portion 27 of the binding piece 26 is formed. At the same time, 2 rolls 8
The binding sheet 7 extending from the center is formed with a fixing portion 28 that connects the intermediate separated ends in a continuous band shape, and therefore the sheet 7
The continuity from the tension roll 9 to the feed roll 11 is not interrupted.

When the fusing and welding is performed, the products 1 bound by the binding pieces 26 are sent into the shrink tunnel 17 by the conveyor 16, and after the binding pieces 26 are heated and shrunk, they are sent out from the shrink tunnel 17. At this time, as shown in the first diagram.

If there is a part of the product 1 that is not desirable to heat, such as the blade of a razor for close shaving, that part is inserted outside the shrink tunnel 17 and only the binding piece 26 is inside the shrink tunnel 17. is allowed to pass. As a result, a predetermined number of products 1 are tied to the binding piece 2 as shown in Figure 7.
6, a product bound in a tight state is obtained. Incidentally, if a predetermined printed character or pattern is displayed in advance on the sheet intermediate portion 7a of the binding sheet 7, the binding piece 26 can also have the function of displaying a trademark, trade name, etc.

After the above fusing welding step is completed, as shown in FIG. 3 onto the conveyor 2 and repeat the same operation as above. During this time, the feed roll 11
is rotated intermittently and stops after advancing the fixed part 28 of the binding sheet 7 to a position where it is removed from the product receiving opening 12, so that the fixed part 2 is attached to the binding piece 26 formed in the primary process.
8 is never included.

(Other Embodiments) The present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and various design changes and configuration additions may be made.

For example, as shown in FIG. 8, a concave portion 30 may be formed in the conveyance device 2 such as a turntable, and the product 1 may be placed across the concave portion 30. in this case,
The recessed portion 30 extends long in the circumferential direction of the turntable, and the plurality of lower fingers 4a of the fingers 4 of the holding device 3
is placed in the recess 30 and on standby, and the turntable stops rotating while the product 1 is held by the upper and lower fingers 4a, 4b. With this configuration, when the product 1, such as a ballpoint pen or other article, is placed on a flat turntable, there is a gap for inserting a finger between the product 1 and the top surface of the turntable. Even if the recess 30 is not formed naturally, the product can be held by fingers through the recess 30.

Further, as shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, the fingers 4 can be configured to perform a chucking operation. In the example shown in FIG. A spring 31 is interposed between both fingers so that both fingers are normally expanded, and a cam surface 32 is formed at the tail end of each finger. A cam 33 connected to an air cylinder or the like is movable forward and backward between the opposing cam surfaces 32 and 32. By entering the cam 33 between the cam surfaces 32 and 32, the upper and lower fingers 4
a and 4b grip the product l.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As a result of the present invention configured as described above, it becomes possible to automate the bundling work of multiple products.

Work efficiency can be improved.

In particular, ejecting multiple products using an ejecting device.

Since the product can be surrounded by the middle part of the binding sheet by simply crossing the middle part of the binding sheet and entering the product receiving opening, the structure of the device is simple and there is no malfunction. Binding can be done.

In addition, when processing the ends of the bundle, the opposing folded portions of the intermediate portions of the folded sheets are overlapped by the regulating body and then fused and welded, so the fusion and welding work can be performed accurately and reliably. In addition to forming the annular fixing part of the binding piece and separating the binding piece from the band-shaped binding sheet, at the same time, the intermediate separation end of the band-shaped binding sheet is continuously fixed without being separated. This makes it possible to continue the subsequent binding work quickly, which is also excellent in terms of productivity.

Furthermore, if the binding pieces are heat-shrinkable, the products can be bound in a tight state, and the product value can be sufficiently maintained.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing a first embodiment of the present invention. Figure 2 is a side view of the main parts, Figures 3 to 6 are side views showing the bundling process in order, Figure 7 is an enlarged plan view showing the product after binding, and Figure 8 is the addition of turntables. FIG. 9 is a side view showing an additional embodiment of the finger;
Figure 0 is a side view of the same operating state. 1... Product, 2... Conveying device, 3... Holding device,
4... Finger, 5... Advance/retreat drive device, 7... Binding sheet t-, 7a... Sheet intermediate portion, 11... Feeding roll. 12...Product receiving port, 13. l=1...Regulatory body, 1
5... Opening/closing device, 16... Conveyor, 17... Shrink tunnel, 18... Ejection device, 19...
button, 21... window hole, 22... terminal processing device,
23... Heat cutter, 26... Binding piece, 27.2
8...Fixed part. Patent applicant Yamagata Gravure Co., Ltd. Figure 1 Figure 2 Figure 4 Figure 6 Figure 3 Figure 6

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A method for enclosing a plurality of products by bringing a plurality of products in the form of a bundle and an intermediate portion of a continuous band-like binding sheet to face each other, and causing the plurality of products and the intermediate portion of the sheet to collide and move relative to each other. After bending and deforming the middle part of the sheet, the folded opposing parts of the middle part of the sheet are polymerized on the sides of multiple products, and the overlapped part is fused and welded to separate the middle part of the sheet from the continuous band-shaped part. At the same time, a method for bundling products is characterized in that a fixed part of the annular binding piece constituted by the intermediate part of the separated sheets and a continuous fixed part of the intermediate separated end of the bundling sheet are formed. 2. A product binding method according to claim 1, wherein the binding sheet is made of a heat-shrinkable resin, and the annular binding piece is heat-shrinked. 3. A continuous band-shaped binding sheet (7) placed on the partition surface between the waiting section and the binding section, a holding device (3) for holding multiple products in the waiting section, and a product receiving opening (1) in the binding section.
regulating bodies (13) and (14) for regulating 2); the plurality of products in the standby section are made to cross the partition surface and bundled from the receiving port (12) as the middle part (7a) of the binding sheet is folded; a moving device (18) for moving the sheet to the section, an opening/closing device (15) for opening and closing the product receiving port (12) by colliding and separating the regulating body, and the sheet superimposed by the regulating body when the product receiving port is closed. A product binding device comprising: a binding end processing device (22) for fusing and welding the bent opposing portion of the intermediate portion (7a).