JPH08183507A - Stretch film packaging machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To wind off a film without suspension while a cutter is in action to improve the packaging capacity. CONSTITUTION: A film (e) that is wound off from a film roll 4b is cut by a cutter 7. A cutter carrier moves the cutter 7 at nearly the same speed as the film speed and an action device controls the cutter 7 to make the point of the cutter 7 touch on the surface of the film (e) at right angles as the cutter 7 is moved while the film (e) is wound off.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a stretch film packaging machine, and more particularly to improvement of a cutting mechanism for cutting a film fed from a roll of a stretch film for packaging an object to be packaged into a predetermined length.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a conventional stretch film wrapping machine of this type, a stretch film for wrapping an object to be wrapped is cut by a cutter after feeding the film by a required length and then stopping the feeding. Since the film surface is not flat when cut while moving the film, there is a time difference at the part in contact with the cutter, the cut edge of the film may not be a straight line, and there may be a crack, resulting in This is because there is a concern that the end portion of the film may not be reliably grasped when the film is fed out for the next packaging.

[0003]

Therefore, in the conventional packaging machine described above, after feeding the film by a required length, the feeding is stopped and the film is cut by a cutter, and then the cut film having a predetermined length is tensioned. The center of the wrapping section is moved to the specified position of the wrapping section, and then the object to be wrapped is pushed up from below the film to wrap it.Therefore, the time from the stop of film feeding to the start of the centering movement is the specified position of the wrapping section. Therefore, there is a problem in that the time to stretch the film is prolonged, and the timing of pushing up the product is also delayed, thereby reducing the overall processing capacity.

The present invention has been made in view of the problems of the prior art as described above, and the object thereof is to perform the operation of the cutter without stopping the feeding of the film, and to improve the packaging processing ability. It is to provide a stretch film packaging machine that can be improved.

[0005]

Means for Solving the Problems The technical means taken by the present invention to achieve the above object is to cut a film fed from a film roll, move the film to a predetermined position of a packaging portion, and stretch it. In the stretch film wrapping machine that pushes up the object to be packaged to the film and folds the film end into the bottom of the object to be packaged, if a cutter that cuts the film fed from the film roll can be moved at about the same speed as the film speed. It is characterized in that it is provided with a cutter moving means for squeezing and an operating means for applying the blade edge of the cutter substantially at right angles to the film surface while moving the cutter while the film is being fed.

Further, the above-mentioned cutter is located at a position rearward of the film contact surface at a movable portion for gripping a clamp that grips the trailing edge of the film to be cut and moves the film to a predetermined position of the packaging unit. It is characterized by being provided. In that case, the above-mentioned cutter is configured to hit the film before the clamp at the trailing edge of the film.

Further, the moving mechanism of the cutter can be provided separately from the above-mentioned moving mechanism of the clamp. In that case, the operating means of the cutter is also provided separately from the operating means of the clamp.

Further, a cutter receiving portion which is moved by the cutter moving means may be provided at a position facing the blade edge of the cutter, and a fitting groove into which the blade edge of the cutter is inserted may be provided in the cutter receiving portion. . The member that constitutes the rear clamp 6 may also serve as the cutter receiving portion, or a dedicated cutter receiving portion may be provided separately from the rear clamp.

[0009]

According to the above means, the film gripping means is moved to the side where the film roll is set through the moving means driven by the control means, and the film held in the holding portion of the film holding means is moved. The gripping means grips the front end and moves to pull out the film length required for packaging. Then, when the film is pulled out by a predetermined length, the rear clamp of the film holding means starts moving toward the center at the same speed as the film, and while moving at the position in front of the film holding means, the end portion of the film (drawing of the film) The rear edge) is grasped, and at the same time, the cutter hits the film surface at a right angle to cut the edge of the film. Further, the film gripping means and the rear clamp move to the center side while holding the film under tension, and perform centering for aligning the center of the gripped film with the center of the packaging section.

[0010]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. The stretch film wrapping machine shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 is provided with a product placing section a for placing an article to be packaged on the front surface of the machine frame C, that is, in the front part, and the article placing section a placed on the product placing section a The product is conveyed by the conveyor 1 to the elevator 2 provided inside the machine frame C. A wrapping part b is provided above the elevator 2, and the film roll arranging part 3 and the film rolls 4 set in the arranging part 3 are provided on both left and right sides of the wrapping part b.
A film holding means A for holding the leading end of the film fed from a and 4b is provided. In the film holding means A, a holding portion 5 that holds the leading end of the film fed from the film rolls 4a and 4b, and a holding means B that holds the leading end of the film are moved to pull out the film by a predetermined length. At the time, the rear clamp 6 that clamps the rear portion of the film, and the cutter 7 that cuts into a predetermined length
The rear clamp 6 and the cutter 7 are configured to move integrally. Further, right and left folding plates 8a and 8b and a rear folding plate 9 are arranged above the holding portion 5 in the film holding means A.

The article to be packaged placed on the elevator 2 as described above is pushed up by the elevator e with respect to the film e stretched on the packaging part b, and the end portion of the film e in a stretched state is The left and right folding plates 8a,
After being folded into the bottom surface of the packaged object by the 8b and the rear folding plate 9, the discharge pusher 10 horizontally pushes the packaged object toward the discharge portion c on the front side of the machine frame C, and the front side of the film e. Fold the edges to fold the film.

Once the film roll to be used is determined,
The length of the film drawn from the roll is determined. The length is determined at the carry-in section by the "length (depth)" of the packaged item.
And "height" are measured, the "width (width)" of the packaged object is measured by a moving sensor, and the "width (width)" measurement value and the previous "height" measurement value are measured. Is added, and the cutting length is determined from a table that is input and set in advance in the RAM based on the added value. Based on this, the movement amount of the film gripping means B is controlled and the drawing amount of the film is controlled. .

The elevator 2 installed so as to be connected to the end portion of the conveyor 1 is made up of five support members 11 standing vertically at a predetermined interval. By arranging the endless belts 12 arranged in parallel so as to be flush with each other and configuring the conveyor 1, the objects to be packaged conveyed by the conveyor 1 are supported by the support members 11 above. It is adapted to be received on the upper surface of the constructed elevator head. Also, the elevator 2 is
By supporting each integrated support member 11 by an elevating mechanism (not shown), it is configured to ascend and descend between the end of the conveyor 1 at the descending position and the packaging unit b at the ascending position. .

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the disposition parts 3 for the film rolls 4a and 4b are provided on both left and right sides of the packaging part b. The stretch film wrapping machine according to this embodiment has two film rolls 4 having different film widths.
a and 4b are divided into left and right and arranged one by one, and the leading ends of the films drawn out from the film rolls 4a and 4b are held by the holding portions 5 of the film holding means A, respectively. The film holding means A on both the left and right sides are constructed in exactly the same manner, and are installed so as to face both the left and right sides inside the machine frame C. Since the holding means A has the same structure, the structure will be described based on the film holding means A on the right side.

As shown in FIG. 3, the film holding means A
The holding portion 5 is composed of two holding plates 13 formed in a substantially comb shape in a plane.
Are mounted and supported horizontally with respect to the machine frame C in a state of being superposed with a slight gap. The film e drawn from the film roll 4b is inserted from the outside between the holding plates 13 by bypassing the guide roller 14 and is held in a state of being drawn to the inner edge of the holding plate 13. Further, two guide shafts 15 are attached and supported in parallel at a level slightly lower than the left and right holding portions 5 with a space slightly larger than the width of the holding portions 5. The guide shaft 15 is slidably supported by inserting both ends of the film gripping means B and the left and right rear clamps 6 so as to slidably support the film gripping means B and the left and right rear clamps 6. ，
Each of the guides 5 guides the film e to slide horizontally in the drawing direction.

The film gripping means B is slidably moved in both left and right directions along the guide shaft 15 by a driving mechanism (not shown) using a timing belt or the like, and either the right side or the left side holding portion 5 is held. The film e held at is selectively gripped and pulled out toward the center. The film gripping means B pivotally supports a support shaft 17 along the lower surface of a connecting member 16 which straddles between the front and rear guide shafts 15, and integrally attaches a holding plate 18 along the support shaft 17. It is swingably supported. That is, the film e is pulled out by the film gripping means B so as to cross the end portion of the conveyor 1. The holding plate 18 is formed by notching the left and right side edges in a comb-tooth shape so that the convex portions of these comb-tooth portions enter the corresponding gaps of the comb-tooth-shaped holding portion 5 as described above. Configured. The gripping plate 18 rotates rightward and leftward like a seesaw around the central support shaft 17 as a fulcrum, and contacts the lower right side surface or the lower left side surface of the connecting member 16 to grip the film e. Further, a non-slip member 18a is attached to each of the upper surfaces of the convex portions of the holding plate 18, and the anti-slip member 18a and the lower surface of the connecting member 16 are connected to each other as the holding plate 18 rotates as described above. The film e is securely held between the two. Further, a rotating arm 17a is attached to one end of the support shaft 17 of the holding plate 18, and a drive cylinder 19 is connected to the tip of the rotating arm 17a. The holding plate 17 and the holding plate 18 are selectively rotated to the right side or the left side.

In the rear clamp 6, the film gripping means B grips the leading end of the film e held by the holding part 5 on the right side and horizontally pulls it out, and then the film e pulled out.
Grips the right end (rear part with respect to the moving direction) of the film and cuts the film e at the gripping position, and is provided with a cutter 7 together with the film e gripping mechanism.
The rear clamp 6 supports both front and rear guide shafts 15 through blocks 20a provided at both left and right ends of the connecting member 20 so as to slidably support the guide shafts 15 along with the timing belt. Similar to the film gripping means B, a driving mechanism (not shown) utilizing the above components slides along the guide shaft 15 in both left and right directions. A support shaft 21 that rotates by a drive mechanism similar to the support shaft 17 of the film gripping means B is installed between the left and right blocks 20a described above, and is arranged along the lower surface of the connecting member 20. A base end of a gripping plate 22 bent in a crank shape in cross section is attached to the support shaft 21, and is supported so as to be vertically swingable with the tip side edge of the gripping plate 22 facing the gripping means B. . The gripping plate 22 is provided with an anti-slip member 22a on the upper surface, and is swung up and down with the support shaft 21 at the base end as a fulcrum. The rear end portion of the film e pulled out by sandwiching the film e is gripped. A cutter 7 having a blade position higher than the upper surface of the anti-slip member 22a is provided along the middle portion of the holding plate 22, and the holding plate 22 holds the rear end of the film e as described above. The rear side of the gripping portion of the film e is completely cut by the cutter 7 substantially at the same time as holding.

The cutting of the film e by the cutter 7 is carried out by the film gripping means B.
Is performed during the drawing of the film, and the rear clamp 6 that moves at a speed substantially the same as the drawing speed simultaneously performs the operation of gripping the rear end of the film e, but the cutting is performed by the gripping plate 22 swinging upward. By doing so, the blade edge of the cutter 7 hits the film surface in a tensioned state at a substantially right angle. Although the film e may be cut by the above-described form, as shown in FIG. 11, a groove 23 into which the cutter 7 is fitted is formed in the upper member for holding the film e in the rear clamp 6, that is, the connecting member 20, and this groove is formed. The film may be pressed against the edge of 23 by the operation of the cutter 7, and in that state, the cutter may push the film into the groove to cut it. That is, the rear clamp 6 also serves as a cutter receiving portion. In that case,
Since the relative horizontal positions of the cutter 7, the film e and the groove 23 do not change, the film can be cut linearly along the groove 23 and more reliably.

The rear clamp 6 provided on the film holding means A on the left side has the left end of the film e after the film e held by the holding part 5 on the left side is horizontally pulled out by the film holding means B. And the film e is cut at the gripping position. The film e is cut symmetrically with the rear clamp 6 on the right side and is installed on the left side of the film gripping means B on the guide shaft 15. To be done.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a front clamp 24a and a rear clamp 24b are provided in front and rear portions of the machine frame C at the same height as the left and right rear clamps 6 and 6. The front and rear clamps 24a and 24b are for holding the side ends of the film e held between the film gripping means B and either of the left and right rear clamps 6 and 6 as described above.
Each of the clamps 24a and 24b is composed of a strip-shaped upper plate 25 extending parallel to the guide shaft 15 and an elevating body 26 that abuts against the upper plate 25 from below. It is slidably supported in the front-rear direction by being inserted into a guide shaft (not shown) installed parallel to the conveyor 1.

Therefore, the film e drawn from the left and right film rolls 4a or 4b is gripped at both front and rear ends by the film gripping means B and either the left or right rear clamp 6, and the both front and rear clamps 24a described above. , 24b
Thus, the front end portion and the rear end portion are gripped, and the four side portions are gripped and held horizontally in the packaging portion b.

Above the left and right rear clamps 6 and the front and rear clamps 24a, 24b in the packaging portion b, the end of the film e stretched by pushing up the package is folded to the bottom of the package. Left and right folding plates 8a and 8b and a rear folding plate 9 are installed. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the pair of left and right folding plates 8a and 8b are respectively the upper folding plates 27.
And the lower folding plate 28 are superposed with a small gap therebetween. The lower folding plates 28 of the left and right folding plates 8a, 8b are strip-shaped plates extending in the front-rear direction, and two guide shafts (not shown) mounted and supported in parallel across the left and right side surfaces of the machine frame C at both front and rear ends thereof. ), The two folding plates 8a and 8b are configured to move horizontally from the left and right sides toward the center while maintaining the mutual parallelism.

A discharge pusher 10 is provided on the rear folding plate 9. The discharge pusher 10 is the rear folding plate 9
Is configured to move horizontally from the rear side to the front side on the upper side, and the wrapping part b has finished the folding of the left and right end portions and the rear end portion of the film e. Push it horizontally toward c. In addition, in the stretch film packaging machine configured as described above, the conveyor 1, the elevator 2,
The film holding means A, the film gripping means B, the left and right rear clamps 6a and 6b, the front and rear clamps 24a and 24b, the left and right folding plates 8a and 8b, the rear folding plate 9, and the discharge pusher 10 are operated by a microcomputer or the like. It is controlled by a control means (not shown), for example, as shown in FIG.
As shown in the time chart of No. 2, by operating each of the above-mentioned drive parts at a predetermined timing, the mounting part a
The article to be packaged placed on is packaged along a predetermined operation stroke.

Next, the operation of the above stretch film wrapping machine will be described with reference to the wrapping process shown in FIGS. 1 and 4 to 12. The object to be packaged f shown in this embodiment is a tray in which foods and the like are placed. The operator places the article to be packaged f on the placing portion a protruding to the front of the packaging machine.
The article to be packaged f placed on the receiving member that constitutes the placing part a is pushed later by a pushing piece attached to the endless belt 12 of the operating conveyor 1 and pushed out horizontally, so that the endless belt 12 And is transported to above the elevator 2. As described above, when the article f to be packaged is conveyed on the conveyor 1,
The vertical, horizontal and height sizes of the packaged object f are measured by the optical sensors provided on one side and the upper part of the conveyor 1, and the detection signal is output to the control means (not shown). Also,
The control means selects a film roll having a film width most suitable for packaging from the film rolls set in the left and right film roll arranging portions 3 based on the dimension information of the packaged object f by the optical sensor, that is, the film size. Select. Here, which film width roll is set in the left and right film roll placement units 3 is automatically detected by a detection sensor provided in the placement units, and the data is input to the control means. Or, when the film roll is set, it is manually input to the control means.

At the same time that the film roll to be used is selected, the moving direction of the film gripping means B is determined, and the film gripping means B grips the leading edge of the selected film e, so that the holding portion 5 is moved to the holding portion 5. Move toward (Fig. 4). Although the left-side film e is selected in this description, when the right-side film e is selected, the film gripping means B moves toward the right-side holding portion 5 as shown in FIG. Become. The film gripping means B moved to the left end grips the end portion of the film e held by the holding portion 5 (FIG. 6) and pulls it toward the center (FIG. 7).
The rear clamp 6 holds the end portion of the film e held by the holding portion 5 by the film holding means B when the film holding means B holds the end portion of the film e.
It stands by behind the holding unit 5 so as not to interfere with its operation. Then, when the leading end of the film e is pulled out to the center by the film gripping means B, the left rear clamp 6 starts moving toward the center along the guide shaft 15 at the same speed as the film and holds the left side. Move to the front of section 5 (Fig. 8). The left rear clamp 6 that has moved to the front of the holding portion 5 moves horizontally while the film e is pulled out horizontally.
Clamp the left edge of. At approximately the same time as the clamping by the rear clamp 6 on the left side (strictly speaking, the cutting of the film e is performed slightly before), the cutter 7 enters substantially perpendicularly to the film surface and the left end of the film e is cut. (Fig. 9).

Then, the film gripping means B for gripping the front and rear ends of the cut film e and the left rear clamp 6 continue to move further to the right, and the center of the gripped film e and the packaging part b are kept. Match with the center (Fig. 10). This time,
The film gripping means B and the left rear clamp 6 are stopped with a wider space than when the film e was first gripped, and thereby the film e gripped is pulled in the front-back direction to give an appropriate tension. . As described above, when the film gripping means B starts to pull out the film e, it moves without stopping until the center of the film e is aligned with the center of the packaging part b, so that the film can be stretched in a short time. Further, both front and rear clamps 24a and 24b are actuated to clamp the side ends of the film e described above. After that, the front and rear clamps 24a and 24b move in a direction in which they are separated from each other. As a result, the cutting film e is clamped on all four sides and is given a proper tension. Then, the elevator 2 on which the object to be packaged f is placed rises and is pushed up toward the film e stretched in the packaging section b, and then the left and right folding plates 8a and 8b are actuated to cover the front and rear end portions of the film e. The side end portion of the film e folded in the bottom surface of the package f and further actuated by the rear folding plate 9 is folded backward from the front side to the front side. After the rear folding plate 9 has moved to the front ends of the left and right folding plates 8a and 8b, the discharge pusher
10 is actuated to horizontally push the object to be packaged f on the left and right folding plates 8a and 8b toward the front discharge portion c, and the side edge of the film e held by the front clamp 24a in the middle thereof. Open the department. As a result, the film e is formed on the bottom surface of the packaged object f.
The front and rear end portions and side end portions of the sheet are folded back 180 ° and attached to the bottom surface of the object to be packaged f. The worker picks up the packaged object f that has been folded and placed in the discharge section c, and presses the bottom surface part against the heat seal section d to heat and bond it. The cutter 7 or the cutter receiving portion having the cutter fitting groove 23 may be separately provided without using the moving mechanism and the operating mechanism of the rear clamp 6.

[0027]

According to the stretch film packaging machine of the present invention, it is not necessary to stop the feeding of the film when the cutter is operated. Therefore, the operation of feeding the film to cut it into a predetermined length and the cutting thereof are performed. Since the centering operation for aligning the center of the film having the predetermined length with the center of the packaging portion can be continuously performed, the packaging processing capability can be enhanced. Moreover, since the cutter moves at a substantially right angle to the film surface while moving, the film can be cut linearly, and the operation of gripping the edge of the film in the next feeding of the film can be surely performed. It is possible to prevent accidental troubles due to uneven cutting. Further, in the case of the configuration described in claim 2 and claim 3, since the movement and cutting operations of the cutter use the moving mechanism and the grasping mechanism of the clamp that grasps the end portion of the film, the structure of the entire apparatus is improved. Is simple, compact, and inexpensive to manufacture.
Further, according to the structure described in claim 4, the film can be cut linearly and reliably.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a vertical sectional side view showing a stretch film packaging machine embodying the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line II-II in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing left and right folding plates and a rear folding plate of the packaging unit.

FIG. 4 is a vertical sectional front view showing a left holding portion.

FIG. 5 is a vertical sectional front view showing a right holding portion.

FIG. 6 is a vertical cross-sectional front view of the left side holding portion showing a state where the film edge portion is held by the film holding means.

FIG. 7 is a vertical cross-sectional front view of a holding portion showing a state in which a film end portion is pulled out.

FIG. 8 is a vertical cross-sectional front view showing a state in which the film is pulled out to the packaging unit by the film gripping means.

FIG. 9 is a vertical sectional front view showing a state in which the left end of the film is cut by a cutter.

FIG. 10 is a vertical cross-sectional front view showing a state in which the film held by the film holding means and the rear clamp is centered in the packaging unit.

FIG. 11 is a sectional view showing another embodiment of the rear clamp.

FIG. 12 is a time chart showing one stroke of each operation unit.

[Explanation of symbols]

A ... Film holding means B ... Film gripping means C ... Machine frame a ... Placement part b ... Packaging part c ... Discharge part e ... Film 1 ... Conveyor 2 ... Elevator 3 ... Film roll arranging part 4a, 4b ... Film roll 5 ... Holding part 6 ... Rear clamp 7 ... Cutter

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A stretch in which a film fed from a film roll is cut, moved to a predetermined position in a packaging unit, and stretched by pushing up an object to be packaged to the film stretched and folding an end of the film into a bottom of the object to be packaged. In a film packaging machine, a cutter for cutting a film fed from a film roll, a cutter moving means for moving the cutter at approximately the same speed as the film speed, and a blade edge of the cutter while moving the cutter during film feeding. A stretch film wrapping machine, comprising: an actuating means for applying the surface substantially at right angles. 2. The cutter is a movable part for grasping a trailing edge of the film to be cut, and a clamp for moving the film to a predetermined position of the wrapping portion, which is located rearward of the film contact surface. The stretch film packaging machine according to claim 1, wherein the stretch film packaging machine is provided. 3. The stretch film packaging machine according to claim 2, wherein the cutter hits the film before the clamp at the trailing edge of the film. 4. A position facing the cutting edge of the cutter,
4. The stretch film packaging machine according to claim 1, wherein a cutter receiving portion that is moved by the cutter moving means is provided, and a fitting groove into which the blade edge of the cutter is inserted is provided in the cutter receiving portion.