JPH0620887B2 - Packing machine pusher mechanism - Google Patents

Description

Description: TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a pusher mechanism of a packaging machine that wraps an article to be wrapped with a stretch film, and in particular, after folding the left and right sides of the film and the bottom of the article to be wrapped, The present invention relates to a pusher mechanism of a packaging machine that pushes a package with a pusher to fold the rear end of the film to the bottom of the package and discharge the package.

[Prior art]

Many years have already passed since commercialization of a packaging machine that puts various items such as food items into a dish-shaped container (hereinafter simply referred to as tray) made of Styrofoam material and wraps the items together with the tray in a transparent stretch film. is doing. During this period, various packaging machines have been proposed (for example, JP-A-50-653).
No. 84, JP-A No. 52-134583, etc.). Moreover, the improvement is made. The same applies to the film folding mechanism of the packaging machine, and the applicant has previously developed and applied for the folding mechanism of the packaging machine (Japanese Patent Application No. 59-182466).

FIGS. 2A to 2D are views for explaining the outline of the structure of the film folding mechanism previously filed by the applicant and the operation thereof. The folding mechanism includes a pair of left and right folding plates 1 and 2 which are arranged facing each other at a predetermined position of the packaging machine and which slide horizontally, and the left and right folding plates 1 and 2.
A front folding plate 3 that slides in a direction orthogonal to the sliding direction of the sheet, a rear folding roller 4 that faces the front folding plate 3 and that is parallel to the sliding direction of the left and right folding plates 1 and 2, and The pusher 6 is configured to push the tray T, which slides in the direction orthogonal to the sliding direction of the folding plates 1 and 2 and stores the articles, to push the tray T toward the rear folding roller 4. The pusher 6 has a shape in which a flat plate is bent at a right angle as shown in the cross section of FIG. 3, and has a shape in which the object to be packaged is pushed out at the front end thereof. To summarize the operation of the film folding mechanism having the above structure, as shown in FIG. 2 (a), first, the tray T containing the articles by the elevator head (not shown) is placed in the left and right folding plates 1, 2 and the front folding plate. 3 and the stretch film F stretched under the opening 5 formed by the rear folding roller 4. Next, as shown in FIG. 4B, the left and right folding plates 1 and 2 are moved straight toward the center of the opening 5, and the left and right ends of the stretch film F are folded under the tray T.
Then, as shown in FIG. 7C, the front folding plate 3 is moved straight toward the center of the opening 5, and the front end of the stretch film F is folded into the lower portion of the tray T. Then pusher 6
And the rear folding roller 4 folds the rear end of the stretch film into the lower part of the tray T.

[Problems to be solved by the invention]

However, in the film folding mechanism having the above structure, when the pusher 6 is pushed out to fold the back of the stretch film, the package contacting surface of the pusher 6 is vertical and flat as described above. Comes into contact with the upper end side of the tray tray T as shown in FIG. As a result, the tray T formed of thin plastic or styrofoam material is distorted or damaged as shown by the dotted line in the figure, resulting in a poor packaging finish.

In addition, since the tray T is distorted, as described later in detail, the tray T pops out forward at the moment when the folding of the trailing end stretch film is completed by its elastic force, and special positioning is performed for label attachment using an automatic labeler. There was a drawback in that it had to provide means.

The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a pusher mechanism of a packaging machine including a pusher that does not distort the tray T as described above when the pusher pushes out a package.

[Means for solving problems]

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides a packaged product in which a film transferred by a film transfer mechanism is stretched over a predetermined portion of a packaging machine, and the film is accommodated in a tray from below the film. After pushing up, the left and right and front end of the film are folded into the tray bottom of the package by the left and right and front folding members, and the package is pushed out by the pusher, and the rear end of the film is packaged by the rear folding member. In a pusher mechanism of a packaging machine that folds into the bottom of an article and discharges the article to be packaged, the pusher is such that the inclination angle of the tray contact surface is 90 degrees or more, which is substantially the same as the inclination angle of the side surface near the bottom of the tray. Bend it to the side opposite to the contact surface side, and place the upper part on the tray contact surface side.
The front folding member and the pusher are independently driven, and the object to be packaged pushed out by the pusher is carried out onto the width-shifting plate, and the product to be packaged is discharged onto the width-shifting plate. Since the label from the label printer is affixed to the predetermined position on the object, it is width-shifted by the width-shifting plate,
A feature of the present invention is that an upper end of the pusher is provided with a pressing plate for rotatably supporting one end thereof to prevent the packaged article from falling when the front end portion of the film is folded by the front folding member.

[Action]

Since the pusher mechanism is configured as described above, since the trailing end film is folded and ejected, even if the object to be packaged is pushed by the pusher, the object contacting surface of the pusher contacts the highly rigid portion of the object bottom of the object to be packaged. Therefore, even if the tray for storing the articles is formed of thin plastic or Styrofoam material, it will not be distorted or damaged as shown by the dotted line in FIG. 4, and a clean finished package can be obtained. can get. Further, since the tray is not distorted, the tray does not pop out as described above due to the elasticity of the material forming the tray, and no special positioning means is used for positioning for label sticking by the label printer. It becomes possible to perform accurate positioning.

〔Example〕

 An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

1 (a) and 1 (b) are views showing the shape of a pusher of a discharging mechanism of a packaging machine according to the present invention, wherein FIG. 1 (a) is a sectional view and FIG. 1 (b) is a partially cutaway front view. It is a figure. As shown in the figure, the pusher 6 bends the plate-like body at least 90 ° or more to form a package contacting surface 6a which is a surface for pushing the tray T containing the articles, and further the package contacting surface 6a. Is a shape in which the article rising prevention surface 6b for preventing the rising of the tray T is formed by bending the upper part of the above into an inverted V shape. The package contacting surface 6a is a surface having an inclination angle substantially the same as the inclination angle of the side surface of the tray T so as to contact the side surface of the tray T. In particular, at least the rigidity of the tray T is large and the distortion of the tray T is small. The position close to the bottom is shaped to have an inclination angle that pushes more strongly than other parts. When the pusher 6 puts the article in the tray T and pushes back the packaged object wrapped with a stretch film, the stretch film is attached to the packaged object contacting surface 6a and returns. Teflon Tf,
A felt or the like is stretched or a stretch film is attached as a separate component to prevent the stretch film from sticking. To prevent the tray T containing the articles from standing up when the object to be packaged is pushed by the pusher 6, the stretchable surface 6b of the object to be packaged is provided with chrome-plated Cr, which is a non-slip stretch film. Providing the article rising prevention surface 6b coated with chrome-plated Cr that prevents the stretch film from slipping helps prevent the tray T from tipping over, especially when the center of gravity of the tray T storing the articles is offset. Take effect.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a schematic structure of a packaging machine including the pusher mechanism. In the same figure, the parts given the same reference numerals as in FIG. 2 indicate the same or corresponding parts. 6 is the first
A pusher having a shape shown in FIGS.
Reference numeral 3 denotes a holding plate that prevents the tray T containing the articles from falling. The holding plate 13 is made of two resin materials arranged in parallel at a predetermined distance from each other, and the end portion of the holding member 16 is fixed to the machine frame 15 of the packaging machine by another hinge mechanism 14. It is rotatably attached to. The other end is projected to the opening 5 side through the notch of the pusher 6. The holding plate 13 maintains its state substantially horizontally. Further, 7 is an elevator mechanism for pushing up the article to be packaged, 8 is a pusher conveyor for carrying in the article to be packaged, 9 is a belt conveyor for conveying the article to be packaged following the pusher conveyor 8, 1
Reference numerals 0 and 10 'are grippers for holding both ends of the stretch film F transferred by a film transfer mechanism (not shown), 12 is a heat belt for fusing the stretch film folded at the bottom of the article to be packaged, 11 Is a belt conveyor for transferring the packaged object to the heat belt 12, 17 is a slider plate for positioning the package extruded on the belt conveyor 11, and 18 is a label for issuing a label to be attached to the package. It is a printer. At the carry-in end of the pusher conveyor 8, a weighing unit 30 for weighing the articles placed in the tray T is arranged.

In the packaging machine having the above configuration, when the tray T containing the articles is placed on the weighing unit 30, the tray T is carried by the pusher 8a of the pusher conveyor 8 and is carried to the upper part of the elevator head 7a by the belt conveyor 9 following the pusher conveyor 8. The tray T is moved by the elevator head 7a.
The grippers 10 and 10 'push up the stretched film F, which is held at both ends, and the left and right folding plates (not shown) forming the film folding mechanism fold the left and right ends of the stretch film into the bottom of the tray T. Next, the front folding plate 3 is moved forward to fold the front end of the stretch film to the bottom of the tray T, and then the pusher 6 is moved forward to fold the rear end of the stretch film to the bottom of the tray T by the rear folding rollers 4, and then the belt conveyor. Push out onto the slide plate 17 on 11. The article to be wrapped in which the extruded article and the tray T are wrapped with a stretch film is
As will be described later in detail, a label issued by an automatic labeler is positioned for sticking it to a predetermined position of the packaged object, and after the label is stuck, it is transferred to a heat belt 12 by a belt conveyor 11 and the heat is applied. The stretch film folded under the tray T while being transported by the belt 12 is fusion-bonded to complete the packaging and is carried out of the packaging machine.

6 (a) and 6 (b) show the belt conveyor 11 of FIG.
It is the figure which looked at the part of the slide plate 17 from above. A side plate 19 is arranged on the side of the belt conveyor 11, and the side plate 1
Slide plate 1 that can move freely from 9 to the belt conveyor 11
7 is provided. As shown in FIG. 7A, the packaged object M wrapped with a stretch film together with the tray T extruded on the slide plate 17 on the belt conveyor by the pusher 6.
Is moved in the same direction by pulling the slide plate 17 in a direction orthogonal to the belt conveyor 11 to move the side plate 1
Movement is blocked by 9 and the object to be packaged M is placed at the position of the side plate 19.
One side (the side of the tray T) is positioned. Therefore,
The two sides of the article to be packaged M are positioned by the pusher 6 and the side plate 19. In this state, the article M to be packaged is automatically attached with a label issued from a label issuing port (not shown) of the label printer 18 at a predetermined position.
Transferred to 2.

Here, as shown in FIG. 3, the conventional pusher 6 has a vertical and flat contact surface for the object to be packaged. Therefore, when the object to be packaged is pushed, as shown by the dotted line in FIG. The upper portion of the side surface is distorted, and at the moment when the gripper 10 'opens the rear end of the stretch film, the tray T pops forward due to its elasticity, and the slide plate 1 is moved as shown by the dotted line in FIG.
It is placed on 7 in a biased manner. In this state, slide 17
Even if is pulled, as shown by the dotted line in FIG. To correct this position as shown by the solid line, further correction means is required, but in the pusher 6 of the present embodiment, the package contacting surface 6a is near the bottom of the tray T of the package M. Since it is inclined so as to push the portion having high rigidity, the side surface of the tray T is not distorted as in the conventional case, and the tray T is placed on the slide plate 17 from the beginning as shown by the solid line in FIG. Since the side portions are placed parallel to the side plate 19, the slide plate 17
When the tray is pulled, the side portion of the tray T comes to be in contact with the side plate 19 as shown by the solid line in the same figure (b), so that there is no need for special correction means for positioning as in the conventional case. Positioning means having a simple structure including the pusher 6, the slide plate 17, and the side plate 19 enables positioning of the packaged object.

FIGS. 7A to 7E are diagrams showing the flow of operation of the pusher mechanism of the packaging machine. As shown in FIG. 3A, the tray T in which the articles pushed up from below by the elevator head (not shown) are stored in the stretch film F is first stored in the stretch film F by the left and right folding plates (not shown). Fold the left and right ends into the bottom of the tray T.

Next, as shown in FIG. 3B, the front folding plate 3 is advanced to fold the front end of the stretch film F into the bottom of the tray T. At this time, the gripper 10 opens the front end portion of the stretch film F at an appropriate timing so that the stretch film F is appropriately tensioned. At this time, as shown in the drawing, the tray T jumps upward,
Due to the weight of the pressing plate 13, the tray T can be prevented from falling when the weight is light.

Then, as shown in FIG. 3C, the pusher 6 is moved forward so that the package contacting surface 6 a of the pusher 6 contacts the side surface of the tray T. In this case, it is ideal that the package contacting surface 6a of the pusher 6 contacts the entire side surface of the tray T, but the shape is such that it can contact at least the vicinity of the bottom of the tray T having high rigidity, as described above. is there.

When the pusher 6 is further advanced as shown in FIG. 3D, the rear end of the stretch film F is folded into the bottom of the tray T. At this time, the gripper 10 'opens the rear end portion of the stretch film F at an appropriate timing so that the stretch film F is appropriately tensioned.

Finally, as shown in FIG. 6E, the pusher 6 is advanced to the final end to wrap the articles stored in the tray T with the stretch film F together with the tray T, and on the slide plate 17 on the belt conveyor 11. Then, after positioning the packaged object M packaged with the tray T together with the article by the stretch film F as described above, a label is affixed to the packaged object M and transferred to the heat belt 12. In the heat belt 12, the stretch film F folded under the tray T as described above is fused and the packaging of the packaged object is completed.

After the side surface of the tray T abuts against the package contacting surface 6a of the pusher 6 in the packaging process of the packaged object, the packager tries to stand up together with the tray T when the pusher 6 is further advanced. To prevent rising of packaged object 6
Since b is chrome-plated in order to prevent the stretch film F from slipping, the article to be packaged does not stand up any further. Further, even if the pusher 6 is pulled after the packaging is finished, the stretch film F is stretched on the abutting surface 6a of the pusher 6 for preventing the sticking of the stretch film F as described above.
Will not stick to the object contact surface 6a of the pusher 6 and the object will not be returned.

In the above configuration, the holding plate 13 is made of a resin material, is rotatably attached to the machine frame 15 of the packaging machine, and presses the object to be packaged by its own weight. As a matter of course, the elastic force may be used for biasing.

FIG. 8 is a side view showing the shape of another pusher of the pusher mechanism according to the present invention. As shown in the figure, the pusher 6 is a member 6 formed by bending a plate-shaped body by 90 ° or more.
1 and a member 62 bent in an inverted V shape, and an upper end portion of the member 61 and a lower end portion of the member 62 are integrally joined by a joining member 63. The connecting member 63 has its adjusting screw 6
By loosening 3a, the structure is such that the interval 1 between the bending point of the member 61 and the bending point of the member 62 can be freely adjusted.
By adjusting the distance l, trays T having different heights can be dealt with freely. 1 (a), the point that the abutting surface 61a of the article to be packaged is formed on the front surface of the bent portion of the member 61, and the front surface 62a of the article to be packaged is formed on the front surface of the bent portion of the member 62. It is similar to the pusher 6 shown in (b).

FIG. 9 is a side view showing the shape of another pusher of the pusher mechanism according to the present invention. As shown in the figure, the pusher 6 is a member 7 formed by bending a plate-shaped body by 90 ° or more.
1 and a flat member 72, and the upper end of the member 71 and the lower end of the member 72 are connected by a hinge mechanism 74 such as a hinge. The tip of the member 75 is pivotally attached to the back of the member 72 by a pin 77, and the rear end of the member 75 is connected to a supporting member 73 fixed to the member 71 by a connecting member 76. By loosening the adjusting screw of the connecting member 76 and sliding the member 75 left and right, the angle Θ formed by the members 71 and 72 can be adjusted freely. Thereby, the inclination of the article rising prevention surface 71b of the pusher 6 can be freely adjusted.

The shape of the pusher is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and for example, the structure is such that the inclination degree α (see FIG. 1) of the package contacting surface is changed according to the side surface inclination angle of the tray T. Also good. Further, when the pusher is extruded by using a material having elasticity as a material of the pusher, particularly, a portion forming the abutting surface of the object to be packaged, the shape where the abutting surface of the object of the pusher abuts the side surface of the tray T as a whole. Is also good.

Further, the application of the pusher mechanism of the packaging machine having the above-described structure is as shown in FIG. 2, as in the packaging machine previously filed by the applicant, the left and right folding plates 1 and 2, the front folding plate 3 and the rear folding plate 3 The present invention is not limited to the packaging machine having the film folding mechanism composed of the folding rollers 4 and the like, and can be applied to, for example, the packaging apparatus described in JP-A-50-65384.

By configuring the pusher mechanism of the packaging machine as described above, for example, the packaging machine disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 52-134583 does not require a large-scale easing / unloading device, and a clean package and packaged product with a finished packaging are obtained. Since it can be carried out, the cost of the packaging machine can be kept low. Also,
Since only the pusher 6 and the pressing plate 13 having a simple structure are provided and no device or the like is arranged on the upper part of the packaging portion of the packaging machine,
It is possible to check the abnormality of the tray T containing the articles to be packaged on the upper surface of the elevator head, the defect of the stretched film that has been fed out, and the removal of the stretched film F at that time, and thus the operation of the packaging machine is facilitated.

〔The invention's effect〕

As described above, according to the present invention, the following excellent effects can be obtained.

Because the trailing edge film is folded and discharged, even if the object to be packaged is pushed by the pusher, the contact surface of the object to be packaged of the pusher abuts the highly rigid portion of the bottom of the object to be packaged, so that the tray for storing the object to be packaged Even if it is made of thin plastic or Styrofoam, it will not be distorted or damaged. For this reason, the product value is increased, and the contents can be prevented from leaking due to breakage, and the finished packaging can be obtained cleanly.

Also, since the tray is not distorted, there is no popping out of the tray after packaging due to the elasticity of the material that forms the tray. Since it is possible to position accurately, it is possible to attach a label to a predetermined position on the package, and use a special positioning means such as a position detector for positioning for labeling by an automatic labeler. It is possible to position without.

The front folding member and pusher are driven independently,
In addition, since the pressing plate that prevents the packaged item from falling over when the front end of the film is folded by the front folding member is provided separately from the pusher, the range of trays that can be wrapped with appropriate tensile strength is wide. At the same time, accurate positioning can always be performed with the rear end as a reference, regardless of whether the tray is large or small.

[Brief description of drawings]

1 (a) and 1 (b) are views showing the shape of a pusher of a packaging machine according to the present invention, wherein FIG. 1 (a) is a sectional view and FIG. 1 (b).
Is a partially cutaway front view, FIGS. 2 (a) to 2 (d) are views for explaining the outline and structure of the film folding mechanism previously filed by the present applicant, and FIG. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing the shape of a pusher, FIG. 4 is a view showing how a tray is pushed out by a conventional pusher, FIG. 5 is a view showing a schematic structure of a packaging machine having a pusher mechanism according to the present invention, and FIG. (a) and (b) are views showing the state of the belt conveyor 11 and the slide plate 17 of FIG. 5 as seen from above, and FIGS. 7 (a) to (e) show the operation flow of the pusher mechanism of the packaging machine. FIG. 8, FIG. 8 and FIG. 9 are side views showing the shape of the pusher of another packaging machine according to the present invention. In the figure, 1, 2 ... left and right folding plate, 3 ... front folding plate, 4 ... rear folding roller, 5 ... opening, 6 ... pusher, 7 ... elevator mechanism, 8 ... pusher conveyor, 9 ...... Belt conveyor, 10,10 ′ …… Gripper, 11 …… Belt and bear, 12 …… Heat belt, 13 …… Presser plate, 14 …… Hinge mechanism, 15 …… Machine frame.

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A film transferred by a film transfer mechanism is stretched on a predetermined portion of a packaging machine, and an article to be packaged in a tray is pushed up from the lower side of the film to push up the left and right sides of the film. After folding the front end part to the tray bottom of the package by the left and right and front folding members, push the package back with the pusher to fold the rear end of the film to the bottom of the package by the rear folding member. At the same time, in the pusher mechanism of the packaging machine for discharging the object to be packaged, the pusher has a contact surface such that the inclination angle of the tray contact surface is approximately 90 degrees or more which is substantially the same as the inclination angle of the side surface near the bottom of the tray. The front folding member and the pusher are driven independently of each other, and the upper portion thereof is bent toward the tray contact surface side by 90 degrees or less. The object to be packed pushed out by the pusher is carried out on the width-shifting plate, and the object to be packed on the width-shifting plate is pasted with a label from the label printer at a predetermined position. The packaging is characterized in that the presser plate is rotatably supported at one end on the upper part of the pusher to prevent the packaged article from falling when the front end portion of the film is folded by the front folding member. Machine pusher mechanism. 2. The pusher mechanism for a packaging machine according to claim 1, wherein at least the tray contact surface of the pusher is plated with chrome.