JPH07251816A - Device for folding small bag - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To easily linearize transfer of a storage box and to improve productivity by providing a means to produce reciprocating actions, at right angles to each other, at the last contact part of a feed unit. CONSTITUTION:At the last contact part for a small bag continuous body in a feed unit 9, reciprocating actions are produced nearly along two axial directions, which are normal to each other, in a horizontal plane. Hence, a small bag continuous body 4 can be stored, in a folded state, fully in a lower storage box 2 which is in a stationary state. Therefore, a reciprocating means for the box 2 is not required on a box mount base 3 for receiving the box 2, when the body 4 is stored. As a result, the degree of freedom in the linearization of transfer of the box 2 can be improved. Further, at the time of taking in and out of the box 2 after the completion of boxing of one box 2, the last contact part in the feed unit 9 can be moved to an initial position at the start of boxing.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a pouch folding device used for accommodating, for example, a pouch continuous body in which pouches attached to instant noodles and the like are connected in a strip shape while being folded and stored in a storage box.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For example, instant noodles and the like are commercially available by storing dried noodles and a small bag containing powdered dashi stock, liquid soup or spice, or food by-products such as dry foods in a cup. ing.

The above-mentioned pouch is usually first produced as a pouch continuum in which the pouches are continuous in a strip shape. At this stage, a filling machine is used that sequentially encloses a predetermined amount of food sub-materials at predetermined intervals in a band-shaped encapsulating material made of, for example, a plastic film. Next, in the production line for cup products, the individual pouches are separated one by one from the pouch continuum by the automatic pouch insertion device, and are sequentially placed in the cups on the line. As a result, the instant noodle cup product described above is produced.

By the way, the production of the above-mentioned continuous sachets,
It is generally done at a different location than the final cup product production. For this reason, it is common practice to pack a continuous body of pouches in a storage box such as a cardboard box and transport the box to the production site of the final product. Further, a pouch folding device is further used for automatically accommodating the continuous pouch according to its shape in the above-mentioned storage box.

A conventional pouch folding device is shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 1A, a device main body 85 including a placing table 82 on which the storage box 81 is placed, and a feeding unit 84 that feeds the continuous sachets 83 downward from above the placing table 82. And are provided. The mounting table 82 is configured as an XY table that reciprocates in the left-right direction (X-axis direction) and the direction orthogonal to the paper surface (Y-axis direction) in FIG. The feeding unit 84 includes
Feed roller 86 and left and right creases 87.8
7, a guide roller 88 and the like are provided.

When the feed roller 86 is driven, the pouch continuum 83 fed downward is attached to the creasing portion 8.
7 and 87, left folds and right folds are alternately provided for each number of pouches according to the length dimension of the storage box 81 in the X-axis direction. And the continuous sachet 8 in the feeding unit 84
From the guide roller 88 on the lower end side, which is the final contact portion with the sheet 3, the continuous body of pouches 83 is sent out substantially vertically downward.

At this time, the mounting table 82 is reciprocated in the X-axis direction in accordance with the feed rate of the continuous pouch body 83 and the size of the storage box 81, and as shown in FIG. By also reciprocating in the direction, the falling position of the continuous pouch body 83 in the storage box 81 is sequentially changed, whereby the continuous pouch body 83 is sequentially folded over almost the entire storage box 81. It is adapted to be stored in the storage box 81.

[0008]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional pouch folding apparatus, the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction are set.
Each reciprocating motion with respect to the axial direction is stored in the storage box 8 on the mounting table 82.
1, that is, the mounting table 82 is set to X.
-Since it is necessary to configure the Y-table, if the automatic loading / unloading function of the storage box 81 on the mounting table 82 is further provided, the entire configuration becomes extremely complicated. As a result, there is a problem in that the degree of freedom when carrying out the transportation of the storage box in a line is greatly restricted.

Further, since the position of the mounting table 82 in the X-axis direction and the position in the Y-axis direction are different at the start and the completion of the packing in the storage box 81, the mounting table 82 is usually different.
Carry out the storage box 81 from above, and a new empty storage box 8
In the case of attempting to carry in 1, it is necessary to return to the initial position, for example, after the completion of the packaging. For this reason,
As a result of the long cycle time, there arises a problem that a sufficiently satisfactory productivity cannot be obtained.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and an object thereof is to make it easy to form a line for carrying a storage box and to improve productivity.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a pouch folding device capable of reducing the size and simplification of the device structure.

[0011]

In order to achieve the above object, a pouch folding device according to claim 1 of the present invention comprises:
An apparatus main body provided with a feeding unit for feeding a continuous pouch continuous from the upper side to the lower side of the pouch in a strip shape, and a box mounting table on which a storage box is placed below the feeding unit are provided. A pouch folding device that stores the pouch continuum in the storage box in a sequentially folded state by sending the pouch continuum while reciprocally moving the final contact part to and the storage box. Each reciprocating motion substantially along the biaxial direction in at least a horizontal plane orthogonal to each other,
First to be generated at the final contact portion of the feed unit
It is characterized in that a second drive means is provided.

A pouch folding device according to a second aspect of the present invention is the device according to the first aspect, wherein the feeding unit includes:
A guide member is provided that extends in the vertical direction and is rotatably supported on the upper end side. The lower end portion of the guide member is brought into contact with the continuous pouch body to form the final contact portion, and the final contact portion is formed. One of the driving means is characterized in that the guide member is swung around a rotation support point on the upper end side so that a reciprocating motion substantially along one axial direction occurs.

[0013]

In the pouch folding device according to the first aspect of the present invention, the final contact portion (hereinafter referred to as the drop starting point position) of the feeding unit to the continuous pouch body is substantially along the biaxial directions orthogonal to each other in the horizontal plane. Since the reciprocating operation is performed, the continuous pouch can be stored in a folded state over the entire inside of the storage box while the lower storage box is stationary.

Therefore, the box mounting table on which the storage box is mounted does not require a reciprocating means for the storage box during the storage operation of the continuous pouch. For this reason, it becomes possible to easily provide a means for carrying in / out the storage box to / from the box mounting table, so that the degree of freedom in line-up of transporting the storage box is improved.

Further, in the above, at the time of carrying out / carrying in the storage box after completion of packing in one storage box, at the same time, the final contact portion in the feeding unit can be moved to the initial position at the start of packing. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the time occupied exclusively for the return to the initial position from occurring, so that the cycle time is shortened and the productivity is improved.

In the pouch folding device according to the second aspect of the invention, the lower end of the guide member which is rockingly driven contacts the pouch continuum so that the starting position of the pouch continuum falls substantially along one axial direction. Move back and forth. The structure required for this purpose is, for example, smaller than the case where a drive shaft or a slide guide shaft for moving the feed unit in parallel to the axial direction is provided over the entire reciprocating range and the space occupied by the whole is smaller. It can be done and the structure becomes simpler. Therefore, the size and simplification of the entire device can be achieved.

[0017]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
The explanation is based on the following.

As shown in FIG. 2, the pouch folding apparatus according to the present embodiment has an apparatus main body 1 which is in an upright state at a substantially central position.
On the front side (front side of the drawing) of the apparatus body 1, a box-shaped storage box 2 (box mounting table) 3 for sending a rectangular parallelepiped storage box 2 made of, for example, a cardboard box from the right side to the left side in the drawing.
Is provided (hereinafter, the direction parallel to the feeding direction of the storage box 2 is referred to as the X-axis direction). Further, on the upstream side (the right side in the drawing) of the box transfer table 3 in the feeding direction, the continuous pouch body 4 described later
A reserve box 5 for temporarily storing the data is provided, and a control panel 6 for controlling the entire apparatus is provided at a position above and downstream of the box transfer table 3 in the feeding direction.

As shown in FIG. 1, the apparatus main body 1 includes a base 7
And a movable support 8 which is movable on the base 7 in the front-rear direction (left-right direction in the figure, hereinafter referred to as Y-axis direction).
And a feed unit 9 slidably supported on the front surface of the movable support 8 in the vertical direction (hereinafter referred to as the Z-axis direction).

On the upper surface of the base 7, as shown in FIG.
A pair of guide rods 11, 11 parallel to the Y-axis direction are provided at both ends. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 4, the movable support 8 is provided at its lower side with a lower frame 12 that surrounds the space between the guide rods 11 from above. Rollers 13, which sandwich the guide rods 11 and 11 from above and below, are attached to both side walls of the lower frame body 12, whereby the movable support body 8 is moved along the Y-axis along the guide rods 11 and 11. It is supported so that it can move in any direction.

On the other hand, on the upper surface of the base 7, the lower frame 1
A Y-axis drive motor (first drive means) 14 including, for example, a pulse motor is provided in a space inside the drive shaft 2, and a drive shaft 16 rotatably driven by the motor 14 via a timing belt 15 has a bearing 17 It is supported by 17 in parallel with the X-axis direction. Gears 18, 18 are attached to both ends of the drive shaft 16, and racks 19, 19 meshing with the gears 18, 18 are
It is attached to the lower frame 12 in a shape extending in the Y-axis direction (direction orthogonal to the paper surface). As a result, when the Y-axis drive motor 14 is operated, the lower frame 1 is sequentially passed through the timing belt 15, the drive shaft 16, the gear 18, and the rack 19.
2 is driven in the Y-axis direction.

As described above, the lower frame 12 driven by the Y-axis drive motor 14 and the box-shaped upper frame 21 attached to the upper surface of the lower frame 12 constitute the movable support 8
Is configured. A Z-axis drive motor 22 including a pulse motor or the like is provided on the bottom side of the upper frame body 21. Further, a rotary shaft 24 which is rotationally driven by the Z-axis drive motor 22 via a timing belt 23.
Is installed between both side walls in parallel to the X-axis direction.

A pair of left and right timing belt pulleys 25, 25 are further attached to the rotary shaft 24 at positions close to both side walls of the upper frame 21 from the inside. The rotary shafts 26, which are provided with a pair of left and right timing belt pulleys 25 in the same manner as above, are located above the rotary shaft 24, and as shown in FIG. Of the timing belts 27, which are respectively provided at the respective positions of the rotary shafts 24, 26 ...
However, in the upper frame 21, the vehicle travels along a substantially square traveling locus on both left and right sides.

The feed unit 9 is connected by a connecting body 31 to the vertical running portion on the front side of the timing belt 27. This connecting body 31 is
As shown in FIG. 5, a flat plate member 31a, both ends of which are fixed to the timing belts 27, 27 in the upper frame 21,
The flat plate member 31a includes a connecting member 31b having a substantially U-shaped cross section that connects the substantially central portion of the flat plate member 31a and the rear surface of the feeding unit 9. As described above, since the feed unit 9 is connected to the timing belt 27, the feed unit 9 is vertically driven along the front surface of the upper frame body 21 by the Z-axis drive motor 22.

The back surface of the feeding unit 9 and the upper frame 2
In order to guide the movement of the feed unit 9 in the vertical direction, the guide members 32.
2 are provided along the vertical direction. Also,
As shown in FIG. 1, on the front surface side of the side wall of the upper frame 21, upper and lower limit switches 33 are provided at respective upper and lower positions.
a and the lower limit switch 33b is provided,
On the rear side of the side wall of the feeding unit 9, the above-mentioned switches 3 are provided.
Position-adjustable switch operating pieces 34a and 34b for respectively operating 3a and 33b are attached. Similarly, the advance limit switch 35a and the retreat limit switch 35b are provided at the front and rear positions on the upper end of the side surface of the base 7 in the apparatus main body 1, and on the side wall on the lower end side of the movable support body 8, Each of the above switches 35a and 35
Position-adjustable switch operating pieces 36a and 36b for respectively operating b are attached.

The box-shaped feed unit 9 is mounted on the movable support 8 so that the front surface thereof is projected forward of the base 7 and is located above the box transfer table 3, as shown in FIG. Installed. The continuous body of pouches 4 is fed into the front surface of the feeding unit 9 from above. Here, a specific example of the shape of the continuous body of pouches 4 will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 3A, the continuous pouch body 4 is formed by folding a sheet material 4a made of, for example, a plastic film and the like, and inside thereof, contents such as powdered dashi stock, liquid soup / spice or dry foods are contained. 4b is enclosed.

As shown in FIG. 2 (b), the sheet material 4a has a band shape as a whole, and the horizontal seal portions 4c ... Which are orthogonal to the length direction are heated at predetermined intervals (pouch pitch), for example. The vertical seal portion 4d is formed in the length direction along one side edge while being formed by pressure bonding. Each of the pouches 4 is divided and sealed by these seal portions 4c ...
A predetermined amount of the contents 4b is enclosed in each e.

As shown in FIG. 2, the continuous body 4 of pouches is provided with a first guide roller 37 provided above the upstream end of the box transfer table 3 from the reserve box 5 and an upper end portion of the feeding unit 9. It is sequentially wound around the second guide roller 38 provided on the front side of the feeding unit 9 and is fed into the feeding unit 9 from above in the substantial center thereof.

As shown in FIG. 7, on the front side of the feeding unit 9, the continuous body 4 of pouches from the above-mentioned second guide roller 38 is vertically downward at substantially the center of the feeding unit 9 as shown in FIG. A third guide roller 41 for guiding the vehicle to travel is provided, and further below the third guide roller 41, sequentially,
A thickness detector 42, a feed roller 43, and a swing duct (guide member) 44 are provided.

The thickness detector 42 detects the difference in thickness between the portion of the pouch 4e and the portion of the lateral seal portion 4c in the continuous pouch body 4, and based on this detection signal, the continuous pouch 4 is detected. The delivery speed is adjusted. This thickness detector 42 includes a fixed roller 42 whose rotation center position is fixed.
A movable roller 42c attached to one end of the L-shaped arm 42b is biased in a direction in a pressure contact direction.
When the continuous pouch body 4 passes between the rollers 42a and 42c, the movable side roller 42c moves in the contacting / separating direction with respect to the fixed side roller 42a depending on the difference in thickness between the pouch 4e portion and the lateral seal portion 4c. Is pushed. A change in the position of the other end of the L-shaped arm 42b caused by this is detected by a photodetector 42d including a photocoupler. As a result, a signal corresponding to the boundary between the pouch 4e and the horizontal seal portion 4c is generated.

The feed roller 43 comprises a pair of rollers 43a and 43b pressed against each other, and one roller 43a is directly connected to the drive shaft of the feed motor 45. The vertical seal portion 4d of the continuous pouch body 4 is sandwiched between the rollers 43a and 43b, and the feed motor 45 is driven in this state so that the continuous pouch body 4 travels along the above-described travel route.

The oscillating duct 44 is formed in a tubular shape having a rectangular cross section having an inverted eight-shaped expanding portion at the upper end.
The upper end side of the swing duct 44 is fixed to a substantially disc-shaped mounting plate 46, and the mounting plate 46 is provided in the feeding unit 9 and includes an X-axis drive motor (second drive motor) including a servomotor or the like. The driving means) 47 (see FIG. 1) is directly connected to the driving shaft. Further, as shown in FIG. 7, a pair of left and right deflection angle detection switches 48L and 48R each composed of a proximity switch are provided on both sides of the mounting plate 46, and a protrusion made of, for example, a metal, is provided on the outer peripheral surface of the mounting plate 46. The detected objects 49L and 49R having the parts are the switches 48L and 48R described above.
Corresponding to the above, the position of each is adjustable.

When the X-axis drive motor 47 is driven to rotate the mounting plate 46 clockwise, for example, in the figure, the object to be detected 49L on the left side reaches a position directly facing the left deflection angle detection switch 48L, and this switch is turned on. When 48L is turned on, the X-axis drive motor 47 is controlled so as to reverse its rotation direction. Then, after reversing, when the rotation shifts counterclockwise, the rotation direction is reversed again when the right swing angle detection switch 48R is turned on. By repeating such switching control of the rotation direction of the X-axis drive motor 47, the swing duct 44 swings right and left around the rotation center of the mounting plate 46 within a predetermined angle range. This swing angle range is adjusted within a range of 30 degrees to the left and right, for example. Within this swing range, 400 mm at the lower end of the swing duct 44
The length from the mounting position of the swing duct 44 to the mounting plate 46 to the lower end portion is set so that a displacement amount along the horizontal direction (X-axis direction) is generated.

On the other hand, on both the left and right side walls of the swing duct 44, the air cylinders 5 are directed downwards toward the upper side.
1L and 51R are attached. The rocking duct 44 is provided on the lower side of each of the air cylinders 51L and 51R.
Crease member 5 extending downward along both left and right side walls of the
2L / 52R has each air cylinder 51L /
The cylinder rods of 51R are connected to each other.

These creasing members 52L and 52R are
The lower end of the swing duct 44 is provided with a length substantially matching the lower end of the swing duct 44. When the air cylinders 51L and 51R are operated, the lower end of the lower end of the swing duct 44 projects downward. Is pushed in the direction. The crease members 52L and 52R are designed to be guided by the guide rollers 53L and 53R attached to the left and right sidewalls of the swing duct 44 in the middle thereof.

Next, the box feeding mechanism provided on the box transfer table 3 will be described. As shown in FIG. 1, the box transfer base 3 is provided with rail-shaped mounting plates 61, 61 on both left and right sides on the upper surface thereof, and the storage box 2 is upwardly arranged so as to straddle these mounting plates 61, 61. Placed from. On the other hand, inside the box transfer table 3, on the bottom side thereof, a pair of guide rods 62, 62 extending in the feeding direction of the storage box 2 orthogonal to the paper surface (direction orthogonal to the paper surface) are provided on the left and right sides, and Rollers 63.6 rolling on the guide rods 62
A movable table 64 equipped with 3 on the left and right is provided with both guide rods 62.6.
It is provided between two.

On the upper side of the moving table 64, a pair of pusher plate mounting rods 65.6 are provided on both left and right sides of the center.
5 are provided, and these pusher plate mounting rods 65.6 are provided.
Pushing plates 66, 66 extending upward between the mounting plates 61, 61 are attached to the axial end portions of 5, respectively.

The moving table 64 is, as shown in FIG. 8, an air cylinder 67 provided on the bottom side of the box transfer table 3.
Is connected to the cylinder rod. On the other hand, the pushing plate mounting rod 65 is rotatably supported by bearings 69 ... Standing on the intermediate plate 68 of the moving base 64, and each pushing plate mounting rod 65 has a box feeding direction. The push plates 66, 66 are attached to the respective front and rear ends of the. The distance between the push plates 66 is set to be slightly larger than the length of the storage box 2.

When the air cylinder 67 is operated and the cylinder rod is advanced, the moving table 64 moves to a position near the upstream end of the box transfer table 3 as shown by the chain double-dashed line in the figure. At this time, the pair of air cylinders 71, 71 further provided on the intermediate plate 68 of the moving base 64 are simultaneously operated. The cylinder rods of these air cylinders 71, 71 are connected to the pusher plate mounting rods 65, 65 via connecting arms 72, 72, respectively.

When the air cylinders 71, 71 are operated,
As shown in FIG. 9, on the lower end side of the connecting arm 72, an operation of rotating the pushing plate mounting rod 65 by about 90 degrees occurs, which causes the pushing plate mounting rod 65 to rotate, thereby pushing the pushing plate mounting rod 65. The moving plates 66, 66 are in a substantially laid-down state, as indicated by the chain double-dashed line in the figure. In this state, the pushing plate 6
6 and 66 are located below the mounting plates 61 and 61, and in this state without touching the storage box 2 on the mounting plates 61 and 61,
The moving table 64 moves to the upstream side.

After moving the moving table 64 to the upstream side, the operation of the air cylinders 71, 71 is stopped, so that the pushing plate 66 on the front end side is moved to the box transfer table 3 as shown in FIG. At a position slightly upstream of the storage box 2 placed at the storage box carry-in position A on the upstream end side in the above, the upright state is restored. At the same time, the pushing plate 66 on the rear end side is returned to the upright state at a position between the storage box carry-in position A and the storage position B that faces the apparatus body 1.

After that, by moving the cylinder rod of the air cylinder 67 backward, the moving base 64 moves from the position shown by the chain double-dashed line in the figure to the position shown by the solid line in the figure.
Along with this, the push plates 66, 66 come into contact with the storage boxes 2, 2 from the upstream side, whereby the storage box 2 on the storage box carry-in position A is pushed to the downstream side and moved to the storage position B. Storage box 2 that was placed and was previously in storage position B
Is pushed to the stock position C on its left.

Next, the operation of the pouch folding device having the above structure will be described.

First, at the start of the operation, the dimensions of the storage box 2, the pouch pitch in the pouch continuum 4, etc. are input to the control panel 6. At this time, the left and right deflection angles of the swing duct 44, the upper limit position and the lower limit position of the feed unit 9 in the Z axis direction, and the advance limit position and the retract limit position of the movable support body 8 in the Y axis direction are as described above. It is confirmed whether or not the dimensions match each dimension, and if they do not match, the detected objects 49L and 49R on the outer periphery of the mounting plate 46 to which the swing duct 44 is fixed, the feed unit 9 and the movable support member. 8 attached switch operation pieces 34a, 34b, 36
The positions of a and 36b are adjusted.

Next, the continuous body of pouches 4 is set in the apparatus main body 1. As shown in FIG. 2, the leading end side of the continuous body of pouches 4 is successively wound from the reserve box 5 to the first and second guide rollers 37 and 38 and the third guide roller 41 of the feeding unit 9. After the thickness detector 42.
This is carried out by sequentially passing the feed roller 43 and the swing duct 44 so that the tip end portion is slightly visible from the lower end of the swing duct 44.

Thereafter, when an empty storage box 2 is placed on the storage box carry-in position A of the box transfer table 3 and a start switch (not shown) is operated, each air cylinder 67 in the box transfer table 3 is operated. 71. The operation of 71 is started. As a result, the movable table 64 moves to the lower side of the storage box carry-in position A, and then returns to the storage position B below the feeding unit 9, and accordingly, as described above, the storage box carry-in position. The storage box 2 on A is transferred to the storage position B.

At this time, at the same time, control for initializing the apparatus main body 1 side is performed. That is, first, the Z-axis drive motor 22 is operated to move the feeding unit 9 to the upper limit position so as not to hinder the movement of the storage box 2 from the storage box carry-in position A to the storage position B. As a result, the lower end of the swing duct 44 is located at a height position above the upper surface of the storage box 2. Then, the Y-axis drive motor 1
4 is operated, and the movable support 8 is moved to the advance limit position, for example.

Thereafter, when a signal indicating that the movement of the storage box 2 to the storage position B is completed is generated on the side of the box transfer table 3, the storage operation of the continuous pouch 4 is started. First, the feed unit 9 is lowered to the lower limit position. As a result, the lower end side of the swing duct 44 is inserted into the storage box 2 so that the lower end portion of the swing duct 44 is located near the bottom surface of the storage box 2. In this state, the X-axis drive motor 47 The operation is started. When the swing operation of the swing duct 44 by this is started in the clockwise direction, for example, when the left swing angle reaches the set angle detected by the left swing angle detection switch 48L, the X-axis drive motor 47 rotates. At the same time as the direction is switched,
The drive of the feed roller 43 in the feeding unit 9 is started.

As a result, the continuous body of pouches 4 is fed into the storage box 2, and first, as the counterclockwise swing motion of the swing duct 44 occurs, as shown in FIG. So that the pouches 4e are lined up in the X-axis direction along the front wall,
The pouch continuum 4 is fed. Then, the swing duct 44
When the right swing angle of No. reaches a set angle detected by the right swing angle detection switch 48R, that is, when the lower end of the swing duct 44 reaches a position near the right side wall of the storage box 2,
The rotation direction of the X-axis drive motor 47 is switched again. At this time, the left air cylinder 51L provided on the wall surface of the swing duct 44 is actuated, whereby the left crease member 52L is projected and the tip thereof is a pouch continuous body, as shown by the solid line in the figure. Abut 4. As a result, a fold line is given to the continuous pouch body 4.

Immediately thereafter, the operation of the air cylinder 51L is stopped, the scoring member 52L is retracted, and the swing duct 44 is swung clockwise, so that the continuous pouch body 4 is folded back and stored in the storage box 2. Will be stored in. After that, when the left deflection angle of the swing duct 44 reaches the set angle, the lower end portion of the swing duct 44 is positioned rearward by the width dimension of the continuous pouch body 4 from the start of storage. When swinging clockwise, the Y-axis drive motor 14 is also operated and the movable support 8 is moved backward. Further, when the left deflection angle of the swing duct 44 reaches the set angle, the air cylinder 51R on the right side of the swing duct 44 is operated, and as shown by the chain double-dashed line in FIG. A fold line is given to the continuous pouch body 4.

By repeating the above operation until the movable support 8 reaches the retracted limit position in the Y-axis direction, the continuous pouch body 4 is folded back near the left and right side wall surfaces of the storage box 2 while being stored. It is spread over almost the entire bottom surface of.

Thereafter, the Z-axis drive motor 22 is driven,
The feed unit 9 is raised by an amount corresponding to the thickness of the continuous pouch body 4, and the movable support 8 is moved from the backward limit position to the forward limit position in the Y-axis direction while swinging the swing duct 44 in the same manner as described above. Move to. Then, this operation is repeated until the amount by which the feed unit 9 is lifted by the Z-axis drive motor 22 reaches an amount corresponding to the height dimension of the storage box 2, whereby the continuous pouch body 4 is put into one storage box 2. The storage operation is completed.

Thereafter, similarly to the above, on the apparatus main body 1 side, first, the feeding unit 9 is moved to the upper limit position in order to set the initial state. At this time, in the vicinity of the lower end of the swing duct 44, the continuous pouch body 4 is cut by a cutting device (not shown) at the position of the horizontal seal portion 4c. Next, the movable support 8 is moved to the advance limit position.

In parallel with such a returning operation to the initial state of the apparatus main body 1 side, each air cylinder 6 in the box transfer table 3
7, 71, 71 are operated, and the storage box 2 in which the continuous sachets 4 have been packed in the storage position B is pushed out to the stock position C and is also placed on the storage box carry-in position A. The empty storage box 2 is transferred to the storage position B.
When the switching of the storage boxes 2 is completed in this way, the operation of storing the continuous pouch body 4 in the new empty storage box 2 is restarted in the same manner as described above.

As described above, in the above-described embodiment, the lower end portion of the swing duct 44, which is the final contact portion with the continuous pouch body 4 in the feeding unit 9, is in the X-axis direction (in the case of the present embodiment). Is configured to reciprocate in the swinging direction of the swing duct 44) and in the Y-axis direction. Therefore, while the storage box 2 is kept stationary, the entire pouch continuous inside the storage box 2. The body 4 can be stored in a folded state. Thereby, the box transfer table 3 on which the storage box 2 is placed
If the storage box 2 has only a positioning function when the storage box 2 is loaded, the storage box 2 can be transferred freely, for example, according to the box transport line connected before and after the storage box 2. , The degree of freedom in line conversion is improved.

Further, in the above-mentioned embodiment, when a new packing operation is restarted after the packing in one storage box 2 is completed, the apparatus main body 1 side is simultaneously initialized at the time of loading / unloading the storage box 2. Can be restored. Therefore, since there is no time dedicated to the return to the initial state,
Cycle time is shortened and productivity is improved.

Further, in the above embodiment, the swing duct 44 is swung to reciprocate the position of the drop start point of the continuous pouch body 4 in the X-axis direction. Since the entire configuration for causing the above-mentioned problem can be simplified and the exclusive space can be further reduced, it is possible to achieve downsizing and simplification of the entire device.

Further, in the above, the creasing members 52L and 52R provided along the side wall of the swing duct 44 are provided.
With the configuration in which the swing duct 44 is projected at the time of switching between left and right swings, it is possible to make a crease in the continuous pouch body 4. In this case, for example, the air cylinder 51L
Since it is possible to have a simple structure in which the creasing members 52L and 52R are connected to the 51R, the size and simplification of the entire apparatus can be achieved also by this.

The above embodiment is not intended to limit the present invention. For example, in the above, the swing duct 44 is configured to reciprocate in the X-axis direction. It is also possible to configure both the axial direction and the Y-axis direction by using a driving mechanism such as a rack mechanism, an air cylinder, or a ball screw. Further, in the above description, an example in which the creasing members 52L and 52R are provided along the side wall of the swing duct 44 has been described. However, for example, a pressing member having a pointed shape and a receiving member having a concave portion for receiving the pressing member are provided. A crease forming mechanism configured to make a crease by sandwiching the continuous pouch body 4 between the member and the member is provided with another structure such as being provided between the feed roller 43 and the swing duct 44 in the feeding unit 9. be able to. When such a creasing mechanism is provided, the reciprocating operation in the X-Y axis direction is switched with respect to the feed amount of the continuous pouch body 4 according to the change in the stacking height of the continuous pouch body 4 in the storage box 2. By electrically correcting the timing,
The feed unit 9 may be fixed in the vertical direction (Z-axis direction).

[0060]

As described above, in the pouch folding device according to the first aspect of the present invention, the device main body provided with the feeding unit for feeding the continuous pouch continuous body in which the pouches are continuous in the form of a strip, and the bottom of the feeding unit. A box placing table on which the storage box is placed is provided, and the storage box is sent by relatively reciprocating the final contact portion of the feeding unit with the continuous bag and the storage box. A pouch folding device for accommodating a continuous pouch in a state of being sequentially folded therein, each reciprocating motion substantially along the biaxial direction at least in a horizontal plane orthogonal to each other, respectively to the final contact portion of the feeding unit. This is a configuration in which first and second driving means for generating are provided.

As a result, the box mounting table on which the storage box is mounted does not require the means for reciprocating the storage box during the storage operation of the continuous pouch, and the loading and unloading of the storage box to and from the box mounting table. Since the means can be easily provided, the degree of freedom in forming a line for transporting the storage box is improved. In addition, it is possible to move the final contact part of the feeding unit to the initial position at the start of packing at the same time when carrying out and carrying in the packing box after packing in one packing box is completed. Since it is possible to prevent the time exclusively used for the recovery from being generated, the cycle time can be shortened and the productivity can be improved.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the pouch folding apparatus, the feeding unit is provided with a guide member extending in the vertical direction and rotatably supported at the upper end side, and the lower end portion of the guide member is made into a continuous pouch body. The final contact portion is formed by making contact with each other, and the guide member is oscillated around the upper rotation support point by one driving means so that the final contact portion can reciprocate substantially along one axial direction. It is configured to be moved.

As a result, the space occupied by the whole can be made smaller, as compared with the case where a drive shaft or a slide guide shaft for moving the feed unit is provided in parallel to one axial direction. Since the structure is simpler, the entire device can be downsized and simplified.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a partially cutaway side view showing a configuration of a pouch folding device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a front view of the device.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the device.

FIG. 4 is a partially cutaway front view showing a configuration of a movable support body in the apparatus.

5 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line I-I in FIG.

6A and 6B show a continuous pouch, wherein FIG. 6A is a sectional view of a pouch portion and FIG. 6B is a front view of the continuous pouch.

FIG. 7 is an enlarged front view showing a portion of a feeding unit in the apparatus.

FIG. 8 is an enlarged front view showing a box transfer table in the above apparatus.

9 is a sectional view taken along the line II-II in FIG.

FIG. 10 is an explanatory view of a process of accommodating a continuous body of pouches in a storage box in the above device.

11A and 11B show a conventional pouch folding device, wherein FIG. 11A is a front view and FIG. 11B is a side view.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Device Main Body 2 Storage Box 3 Box Transfer Table (Box Setting Table) 4 Pouch Continuum 4e Pouch 9 Feed Unit 14 Y-Axis Drive Motor (First Drive Means) 44 Swing Duct (Guide Member) 47 X-Axis Drive Motor (No. 1) 2 drive means)

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A device main body comprising a feeding unit for feeding a continuous body of pouches, in which the pouches are continuous in a belt shape, from the upper side to the lower side, and a box mounting table on which a storage box is placed below the feeding unit. Folding the sachets in the storage box by sequentially reciprocating the final contact part of the sachet continuum in the unit and the storage box to feed the continuation of the sachets. The device is provided with first and second driving means for causing reciprocating motions substantially along the biaxial directions at least in horizontal planes orthogonal to each other at the final contact portion of the feeding unit, respectively. A pouch folding device. 2. The feeding unit is provided with a guide member extending in the vertical direction and rotatably supported on the upper end side, and the lower end portion of the guide member is brought into contact with the continuous pouch body to form the final contact portion. While being formed, the guide member is swung around a rotation support point on the upper end side by one driving means so that a reciprocating motion substantially along one axial direction occurs in the final contact portion. The pouch folding device according to claim 1.