JPH08253207A - Cover film feeder - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To prevent a cover film from cutting off even when a cover film made of only a thermoplastic resin is used, by absorbing the difference between the feeding speed of film by a paying-out roll and the feeding speed of film by a seal roll. CONSTITUTION: A cover film f2 is payed out at a feeding speed Vh by a paying- out roll 34 of a paying out mechanism 3 and supplied to a fixing guide roller 51c side. The cover film f2 is heated up to a temperature necessary for heat- sealing by heat plates 42, 43 and sent to the downstream side at a feeding speed Vs of a seal roll 101 while being stuck with pressure or being heat-sealed with a container film f1 by a sealing device 100. In this time, the excessive cover film f2 generated by the difference between true feeding speed Vh by the paying-out root 34 and toe feeding speed Vs by the seal roll 101 is absorbed by an absorbing device 5 of the speed difference to prevent the cover film f2 from being broken.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a cover film feeder for a blister packaging machine, and more particularly to a cover film feeder suitable for use in a packaging machine using a thermoplastic resin as a cover film.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a blister packaging machine, usually, a long belt-shaped container film made of a thermoplastic resin is overheated and softened by a heater during transportation, and then the container film is continuously moved or intermittently stopped by a molding device. A large number of containers, that is, pockets, are formed, articles are filled in the pockets by a filling device, a cover film is covered from above, and then the container film and the cover film are closely sealed by a sealing device. Then, as shown in FIG. 7, the container film f ₂ is heated by the preheating roll b to a predetermined sealing temperature before being covered with the cover film f ₁ at the position of the sealing device a.

By the way, in a blister packaging which has been generally performed conventionally, a cover film formed by coating a thermoplastic resin on the surface of an aluminum foil as a base is used. Therefore, as described above, the cover film is covered with a preheating roll. The method of heating the film did not cause any particular problem. However, even when using a cover film that does not include aluminum foil at all and is entirely composed of thermoplastic resin, if the cover film is heated to the sealing temperature (welding temperature) with the preheating roll as described above, the cover film There is a problem in that the tensile strength of the film is sharply lowered and the cover film is broken when pressure is applied by a pair of seal rolls of the sealing device, and the cover film does not flow smoothly. It has been found that this is because the preheating rail has a large diameter and a large mass, and the force for turning it exceeds the tensile strength of the cover film.

[0004]

The problem to be solved and used by the present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and is a blister package in which a cover film made of only a thermoplastic resin is used for packaging. An object of the present invention is to provide a cover film supply device suitable for a machine.

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to the present invention, a container formed in a container film is filled with an article, and then the container film is covered with a cover film, and then both films are adhered by a sealing device having a pair of seal rolls. In a cover film supply device for supplying the cover film to the sealing device in a blister packaging machine for sealing, the outlet is arranged in the linear transfer path of the cover film in the vicinity of the pair of seal rolls, and the cover is provided. A heating device for heating a film, the heating device having a pair of flat heat plates separated from each other and heating the cover film between the heat plates, and the cover film fed from a roll of the cover film. A feeding roll that is in contact with the cover film and sends the cover film to the heating device side. A feeding mechanism, and a speed difference absorbing device which is arranged between the feeding roll and the inlet of the heating device and absorbs a difference between the film feeding speed of the feeding roll and the film feeding speed of the pair of seal rolls, It is configured with. In the cover film supply device, the speed difference absorbing device is movable in a vertical direction with respect to the fixed guide roller at a position between the plurality of fixed guide rollers that are rotatable at a fixed position and the fixed guide rollers. And a self-rotating and lightweight moving guide roller. Also,
Further, a pair of thin parallel-arranged guide rods arranged in parallel and extending vertically, sliders movably supported by the guide rods, and a support shaft provided between the sliders are provided, and the moving guide roller is It may be rotatably attached to the support shaft.

[0006]

In the cover film supply device having the above structure,
The cover film pulled out from the film roll contacts the feeding roll of the feeding mechanism and is fed to the speed difference absorbing device side by the rotation of the feeding roll. The cover film that has passed through the speed difference absorbing device is heated while passing between the pair of heat plates of the heating device, and is supplied to the sealing device disposed near the outlet side of the heating device. When the feed speed of the payout roll is higher (faster) than the feed speed of the seal roll of the sealing device, the speed difference absorbing device absorbs the extra cover film caused by the difference between the two speeds. When the amount (length) of the cover film reaches a predetermined amount, the rotation speed of the payout roll is decelerated so that the feed speed becomes lower (slower) than the feed speed of the seal roll.

[0007]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In FIG. 1, an embodiment of a cover film supply device according to the present invention is shown generally with reference numeral 1 together with a sealing device 100 of a blister packaging machine.
The sealing device 100 includes a first seal roll 101 having a plurality of recesses (not shown) formed on the outer periphery for receiving the container r formed on the container film f ₁ and the first seal roll 101.
A second seal roll 105 biased toward the seal roll of FIG. 1 and cooperating with the first seal roll to press and seal the container film and the cover film. The sealing device has the same structure and function. Therefore, further detailed description of the structure of the sealing device is omitted.

The cover film supply device 1 includes a film roll supporting mechanism 2 for supporting the roll R of the cover film f ₂ , a film feeding mechanism 3, a heating device 4 for heating the cover film, and a speed difference absorbing device 5. They are arranged on a common frame plate 10 as shown in FIG. 1 and at the outlet of the heating device 4 close to the pair of sealing rolls 101 and 105 of the sealing device 100.

In FIGS. 1 and 2, the film roll support mechanism 2 is rotated by a support shaft 21 having one end fixed to the frame plate 10 and supported by the frame plate in a cantilever manner, and a bearing 22 on the support shaft 21. The rotary sleeve 23 is freely attached, and the roll R of the cover film is detachably mounted on the outer circumference of the rotary sleeve 23 by a known method. The film roll support mechanism 2 further includes an arcuate brake arm 2 whose one end is rotatably supported by a column 24 fixed to the frame plate 10.
5, a rod-shaped spring bearing 26 movably inserted into a hole at the other end of the brake arm 25, one end of the spring bearing 26 (left end in FIG. 1), and a pin 2 fixed to the frame plate 10.
7 and a tension spring 28 that is stretched between The brake arm 25 is provided with a brake shoe 25a that comes into contact with the outer periphery of a flange 23a integrally formed at one end (the end on the frame plate side) of the rotary sleeve 23 to give a rotary resistance to the rotary sleeve. A male screw 26a is formed on the outer periphery of the spring receiver 26, and an adjusting nut 26b having a female screw is screwed into the male screw 26a. By rotating the adjusting nut 26b, the brake arm 2
It is possible to adjust the position of the spring bearing 26 with respect to 5, thereby adjusting the braking force applied to the rotary sleeve 23.

In FIGS. 1 and 3, the film feeding mechanism 3 includes a hollow cylinder 31 fixed to the frame plate 10.
And the bearing 32 inserted through the hollow cylinder 31.
And a rotating shaft 33 rotatably supported by the rotating shaft 33.
1 (on the left side of the hollow cylinder 31 in FIG. 1) and has a feeding motor 34 fixed to the frame plate 10 and a pay-out roll 34 connected at its end to the rotating shaft 33 by a plate 33a. One end (the right end in FIG. 1) of the shaft 33 is connected to the drive shaft 35a of the drive motor 35 by a joint 36, and the rotation of the drive shaft 35a is controlled by the rotary shaft 3.
It is designed to be directly transmitted to 3. Drive motor 35
Is such that the feeding speed, that is, the peripheral speed, of the feeding roll 34 becomes a speed Vh faster than the frame feed speed Vs by the pair of seal rolls 101 and 105 of the sealing device 100 and a speed Vl slower than the feed speed V (including zero). In addition, the rotation axis can be selectively rotated. Layer 34a of material such as not to cause slipping between the outer circumference of the feed roll 34 and the cover film f ₂ is formed.

In FIGS. 1, 3 and 4, the heating device 4
Is a first heat plate 42 fixed to a pair of support bars 41 fixed to the frame plate 10 in parallel with each other.
And a second heat plate 43 arranged to face the first heat plate 42. The first heat plate 42 and the second heat plate 43 have a pair of hinges 44 attached to one end (the right end in FIG. 3) of them.
It is connected so that it can be opened and closed (separated and approachable).
The heat plates 42 and 43 are held in a closed position in which they are parallel to each other by a stopper 45 (FIG. 1) provided at the other ends of the heat plates 42 and 43. A gap g is formed between them so that the cover film can move freely.
Therefore, the cover film f ₂ is attached to both heat plates 42.
It is designed to be heated while freely moving through the gap between the and 43. Each heat plate has a built-in electric heater having a known structure.

1, FIG. 3, FIG. 5, and FIG. 6, a plurality of speed difference absorbing devices 5 are arranged and fixed on the frame plate 10 at predetermined intervals (in this embodiment, 3), as shown in FIG. Fixed guide rollers 51 (51a, 51b and 5)
1c) and a movable guide roller 61 that is vertically movable between the fixed guide rollers 51a and 51b.
It has and. Each fixed guide roller 51 has a support shaft 52 fixed to the frame plate 10 and a bearing 5 mounted on the support shaft 52.
Roller sleeve 5 rotatably mounted via 3
4. The fixed guide rollers, those rollers sleeve 54 in this specification is called the fixed guide rollers in that guides rotatably supported by the cover film f ₂ have the support shaft at a predetermined position, the roller sleeve itself It does not mean that it is fixed without any movement.

The speed difference absorbing device 5 further includes a pair of horizontally extending support rods 62 fixed to the frame plate 10 in parallel with each other, as shown in FIGS. 1, 5 and 6.
And a pair of vertically extending guide rods 63 arranged in parallel with each other between the support rods, and sliders 64 movably supported by the respective guide rods 63.
And a support shaft 65 passed between sliders supported by a pair of guide rods, and a moving guide roller 61 is rotatably supported by the support shaft 65 via a pair of bearings 66. The movement guide roller 61 is composed of a thin-walled sleeve so as to reduce the mass and reduce the tension applied to the cover film by gravity. The slider 64 is also made to have the minimum necessary mass. Slider 64, support shaft 65, bearing 66
The total mass of the moving guide rollers 61 is, for example, about 2
Limited to 00g. Further, the frictional resistance between the slider 64 and the guide rod 63 is also suppressed to be small so that unnecessary tension is not applied to the cover film due to the frictional resistance between them.

A stand 67 is arranged and fixed in parallel with the guide rod 63 between the pair of support rods 62 in the vicinity of the frame plate 10. The stand 67 has a plurality of sensors 68.
(68a, 68b and 68c) are vertically separated. The sensor 68, which in this embodiment has a light emitting portion and a light receiving portion, is shielded from light when the shield plate 641 attached to one (closer to the stand) slider 64 enters the groove 681 to prevent the presence of the shield plate. Although it is an optical sensor that optically detects, it may be a magnetic sensor. The sensor 68a is a sensor that detects the upper limit position of the movement guide roller 61,
The sensor 68b is a sensor that detects the lower limit position of the guide roller, and the sensor 68c is a sensor that detects a film shortage.

Next, the operation of the cover film supply device will be described. As shown in FIG. 1, the cover film f ₂ drawn out from the film roll R comes into contact with the outer peripheries of the three feeding rolls 34 of the film feeding mechanism, and then sequentially comes into contact with the outer perimeters of the fixed guide rollers 51c and 51b. After contacting the outer periphery of the moving guide roller 61, it contacts the fixed guide roller 51a, and then is passed between the pair of heat plates 42 and 43 of the heating device 4 and between the pair of seal rolls 101 and 105 of the sealing device 100. Through the container film f ₁ .

The cover film f ₂ is initially fed at the feeding speed Vh by the feeding roll 34 of the feeding mechanism 3 and supplied to the fixed guide roller 51c side. The cover film f ₂ thus supplied is sealed by the sealing device 10 by the pair of heat plates 42 and 43 of the heating device.
Heated to the desired temperature required for heat sealing with 0,
While being pressure-bonded or heat-sealed together with the container film f ₁ by the sealing device 100, the container film f ₁ is sent to the downstream side at the feed speed Vs of the seal roll 101. Since the feed speed Vh by the payout roll 34 is higher (faster) than the feed speed Vs by the seal roll, it is compared with the amount of the cover film supplied from the film payout mechanism 3 to the speed difference absorbing device 5 per unit time. The amount of cover film drawn from the sealing device 100 to the sealing device 5 per unit time is small, and the length of the cover film f ₂ between the sealing device 100 and the film feeding mechanism 3 is long. Therefore, the moving guide roller 61 starts to descend along with the slider 64 along the guide rod 62. When the slider 64 and the movement guide roller 61 descend and the shielding plate 631 attached to the slider 63 enters into the groove 681 of the sensor 68b, the sensor 68b detects that the movement guide roller has reached the lower limit position and detects the detection. The signal is output to a control device of the supply device or a control device (neither is shown) that controls the overall operation of the blister packaging machine. Then, the control device reduces the rotation speed of the drive motor 35 of the film feeding mechanism 3 to reduce the feeding speed of the feeding roll 34, that is, the feeding speed to Vl (Vl may include zero). Therefore, the amount of cover film drawn from the speed difference absorbing device to the sealing device is larger than the amount of cover film supplied from the film feeding mechanism 3 to the speed difference absorbing device, and the film feeding mechanism and the sealing device are separated from each other. The length of the cover film between them becomes shorter. Therefore, the moving guide roller 61 and the slider 64 together with the guide rod 6
Start climbing along 2.

When the slider 64 and the movement guide roller 61 rise and the shielding plate 631 attached to the slider 64 enters the groove 681 of the sensor 68a, the sensor 68b detects that the movement guide roller has reached the upper limit position. And outputs the detection signal to the control device. Then, the controller increases the rotation speed of the drive motor 35 of the film feeding mechanism 3 to increase the feeding speed of the feeding roll 34, that is, the feeding speed to Vh higher than Vs. Therefore, the amount of cover film drawn from the speed difference absorbing device to the sealing device is smaller than the amount of cover film supplied from the film feeding mechanism 3 to the speed difference absorbing device, and the film feeding mechanism and the sealing device are separated from each other. The length of the cover film in between starts to increase, and the moving guide roller 61
Starts to descend along with the slider 63 along the guide rod 62. Hereinafter, the same operation is repeated and the sealing device 10
0 to supply the cover film. When the cover film is cut off, the force to support the movement guide roller is lost, so
The moving guide roller and the slider 64 are further lowered from the lower limit position, and when the shield plate enters the groove 681 of the sensor 68c, this is detected and the operation of the entire device is stopped.

[0018]

According to the present invention, even if a film made of a material having a small thermal resistance such as a thermoplastic resin is used as the cover film, the cover film can be stably supplied at high speed.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view of a cover film supply device according to the present invention.

2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA of FIG.
It is a figure which shows the detail of a film roll support mechanism.

3 is a view taken along line BB in FIG. 1, showing a cross section of the film feeding mechanism and one fixed guide roller, and a front view of the heating device.

FIG. 4 is a view taken along line C-C of FIG. 3.

5 is a view taken along line D-D in FIG. 1, showing a slider and a movement guide roller in section.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along line EE of FIG.

FIG. 7 is a schematic explanatory view of a conventional cover film supply device.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Cover Film Supply Device 2 Film Roll Support Mechanism 21 Support Shaft 23 Rotating Sleeve 3 Film Feeding Mechanism 33 Rotating Shaft 34 Feeding Roll 35 Drive Motor 4 Heating Devices 42, 43 Heat Plate 5 Speed Difference Absorbing Device 51 Fixed Guide Roller 61 Moving Guide Roller 63 Guide rod 64 Slider 65 Support shaft

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A container film formed in a container film is filled with an article, and then the container film is covered with a cover film,
After that, in a blister packaging machine that closely seals both films with a sealing device having a pair of sealing rolls, in a cover film supply device for supplying the cover film to the sealing device, the outlet is close to the pair of sealing rolls. A heating device for heating the cover film, which is arranged in a linear transfer path of the cover film, and has a pair of flat heat plates separated from each other, and heats by heating the cover film between the heat plates. An apparatus and a feeding mechanism having a feeding roll adapted to come into contact with the cover film fed from a roll of the cover film and feed the cover film to the heating device side; and a feeding roll and an inlet of the heating device. It is arranged between the film feeding speed by the feeding roll and the pair. Cover film supply apparatus having a speed difference absorbing device for absorbing the difference between the film feeding speed by the seal rolls, the. 2. The cover film feeding device according to claim 1, wherein the speed difference absorbing device is provided with a plurality of fixed guide rollers which are rotatable at a fixed position, and a position between the fixed guide rollers. A cover film feeding device which is vertically movable with respect to a fixed guide roller, and is equipped with a movable guide roller which is self-rotating and lightweight. 3. The cover film supply device according to claim 2, wherein the speed difference absorbing device further comprises a pair of parallel thin guide rods arranged in parallel and extending vertically.
A cover film supply device comprising a slider movably supported by each guide rod, and a support shaft provided between the sliders, and the moving guide roller being rotatably attached to the support shaft.