JPH08301239A - Packaging method and packaging device for lunch box - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To provide a packaging device by which packages for a lunch box can be continuously and quickly produced and stably stacked to form multi-layer packages. CONSTITUTION: Lunch boxes 15 are transferred to a supply point X by a feeder 16. Upper and lower belt-form films 22, 23 are also led to the supply point. Although both films are made of a material excellent in the thermal shrinkage property, since inpulse sealing is applied as a cutting device 25, its heating time is short and hence, it is sealed with fusion and no thermal shrinkage arises at other parts except sealed positions. An intermediate package 38 sealed at the four sides, cut by the cutting device 25 and sealed by a side seal device 36 is forced to pass through a shrink tunnel 39 for the shrinkage.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for packaging a lunch box package.

[0002]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION In recent years, a large number of bento boxes are sold at convenience stores, supermarkets, etc., but these bento boxes are usually manufactured at other locations such as centers, and then transported to each shop. . And the said lunch box covers the opening part with a lid, after packing the content in the container main body opened at the upper part. The lid and the container body are fitted by unevenness,
It is temporarily fixed with adhesive tape. A container with a lid filled with such contents is used as an object to be packaged, and a periphery of the container is surrounded by a predetermined film to produce a package, which is transported, displayed and sold in the state of the package. As a result, the container with lid and the film come into close contact with each other, the lid is prevented from coming off the container body, and the lunch box does not pop out of the container body.

The packaging form of the above-mentioned package is as follows.
In general, one stretch film is used, and the stretch film is covered on the upper surface of the lid, and the four sides of the stretch film are pulled outward while being folded and brought into close contact with the bottom surface of the container body.

However, the above conventional package has the following problems. That is, in the packaging form using the above stretch film, first, the stretch film is cut into a predetermined size, the cut film is covered on the lid, and thereafter, the film side edges are bent at least twice (opposite sides are opposite to each other. It is necessary to process at the same time), and the packaging process cannot be performed at high speed.

Further, since the four film side edge portions wrap around the bottom surface side of the package in a state where wrinkles are generated, the bottom surface part bulges and the thickness thereof is partially different. Therefore, the stability is low when the package (bento) is placed at a store or the like. And, in order to efficiently display a large number of packages on a shelf or the like, it is necessary to stack the packages, but since the stability is poor as described above,
It cannot be stacked, or even if it is stacked, it will be about 2 to 3 and a large display space is required.

On the other hand, in the case of a lunch box, in the case of a container with a lid, the lid is not allowed to come off in the package,
After opening the packaging film, it is necessary to remove the lid relatively easily. Therefore, as described above, the lid and the container are normally engaged with each other in a lightly fitted state, and the contraction force of the stretch film in close contact with the container or the like is used to prevent the lid from coming off the container. Therefore, when manufacturing a package that solves the above-mentioned problems, it is necessary to satisfy the condition (the lid does not come off).

Further, the disposable chopsticks are often stored together with the lunch box, and the disposable chopsticks may be longer than the lunch box. In this case, in order to prevent the lid from coming off, it is necessary to bring the packaging film into close contact with both the lunch box and the split chopsticks.

Furthermore, in the case of stretch packaging,
The edges of the film are woven on the bottom side, but since they are adhered to each other by self-adhesive force, even if the edges of the film are opened and opened, the edges of the film can be folded down again and self-adhesive. Will be almost in the original state. Therefore, there is also a problem in that it is difficult to confirm whether or not there has been tampering with foreign matter.

The present invention has been made in view of the above background, and an object of the present invention is to provide a lunch box package.
It can be manufactured continuously at high speed, and many manufactured packages can be stacked in a stable state. At the same time, a packaging film can be placed on the container and lid regardless of whether or not tableware such as chopsticks is stored. An object of the present invention is to provide a method and an apparatus for packaging a lunch box package that can be brought into close contact with each other.

[0010]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, in the method for packaging a lunch box package according to the present invention, the upper and lower surfaces of the lunch box transported at a predetermined interval are respectively heat-shrinkable upper strips. Cover with film and lower strip. Then, a predetermined position in the longitudinal direction of both the strip-shaped films is sealed and cut, and separated from the continuous strip-shaped films to form a packaging film surrounding the lunch box. Further, an intermediate packaging body made of a four-sided seal that accommodates the lunch box is manufactured by sealing the opened side edge portion of the packaging film, and then the intermediate packaging body is heated to surround the lunch box. The film was heat-shrinked so as to be in close contact (Claim 1).

Preferably, at least one of the seal performed at a predetermined position in the longitudinal direction of the strip film and the seal performed at the opened side edge portion is an impulse seal (claim 2), or a seal. The vicinity of the film portion to be treated is pressed from above and below to make it immovable, and then the film portion to be sealed is heated in that state (claim 3).

Further, in the packaging apparatus according to the present invention, which is suitable for carrying out the above method, the lunch box which is the object to be packaged is fed to the predetermined feeding point and is fed from the original roll. A heat-shrinkable strip-shaped film is introduced to the supply point, and film supply means for covering the upper surface and the lower surface of the supplied lunch box, respectively, and an upper side which is arranged near the supply point and covers the upper and lower sides of the lunch box. ， Means for sealing and cutting in the direction crossing the traveling direction of the lower strip-shaped film and arranged at the downstream side of the supply point,
A side seal means for sealing a side edge of the strip-shaped film in the traveling direction and a heating device such as a shrink tunnel arranged downstream of the side seal means are provided (claim 4).

As a concrete constitution of the means for sealing the direction crossing the traveling direction of the strip-shaped film and the side sealing means, for example, a heater receiver with an electrode and a heater receiver arranged opposite to the heater receiver are provided. And a heater pedestal, at least one of the heater pedestal and the heater pedestal is movable up and down, and the electrodes generate heat by energizing the electrodes. Yes (Claim 5). As another configuration, a sealer for fusing a film and a film restraining mechanism capable of moving up and down independently of the sealer may be provided together (claim 6).

[0014]

[Operation] Heat-shrinkable strip-shaped films are supplied to the upper and lower sides of the lunch box, and predetermined portions of both films (directions orthogonal to the transport direction) are heated to be heat-sealed and cut at both ends. Surround the lunch box with a tubular film that is open. Further, the side seal device is used to seal and close the above-mentioned opening portion to manufacture an intermediate package. This intermediate package is a so-called four-way seal. Then, by passing the intermediate package through a heating device such as a shrink tunnel, the packaging film is heat-shrinked and brought into close contact with the lunch box, and the package is manufactured.

Since a four-way seal is used in the present invention, the sealing portion at the film polymerization end of the packaging film is
Since it is located on the side surface, only the heat-shrinkable film material is present on the upper surface and the lower surface of the lunch box, so that it becomes a flat surface.

[0016]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A preferred embodiment of a method and apparatus for packaging a lunch box package according to the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. First, before describing the examples of the present invention, an example of the package manufactured by the present invention will be described. As shown in FIG. 1, a package 1 according to the present embodiment has a box body (not shown), which is the content, packed in a flat rectangular container body 2 having an upper opening, and the upper opening is transparent. A plastic lid 3 is attached. By mounting the lid 3 on the container body 2, a lunch box, which is the object to be processed of the present invention, is constructed. In this example, the lid 3 is provided separately from the container body 2 and attached thereto, but it may be integrally formed or may not have the lid.

Then, the entire circumference of the container body 2 and the lid 3 is surrounded by a packaging film 4 having a very good heat shrinkability, and an intermediate package formed by surrounding in a sealed state is passed through the shrink tunnel. It is formed by bringing the packaging film 4 into close contact with the container body 2 and the lid 3 by heating and shrinking by heating. The container body 2
Although the lid 3 and the lid 3 are in a lightly fitted state, the final locking force between them is obtained by the above-mentioned adhesion force (contraction force) of the packaging film 4. Moreover, you may fix with an adhesive tape etc. as needed.

The specific form of the packaging body in this embodiment uses two upper and lower films 4a and 4b, the upper film 4a is covered on the lid 3, and the lower film 4b is placed on the container body 2. Under the bottom of the. Before the heat shrinkage, both films 4a and 4b have a size sufficiently larger than the planar shape of the container body 2 and the lid 3, and the peripheral edges on four sides thereof are projected sufficiently from the container body 2 and the lid 3. , Are overlapped with each other at their periphery. Then, the overlapping end is heat-sealed to form a seal portion, and the package is closed. Further, in this embodiment, the chopsticks 6 as well as the container body 2 and the lid 3 are stored in the packaging film 4.

Next, an embodiment of the packaging apparatus according to the present invention for producing the package having the above structure will be described with reference to FIGS. As shown in the figure, the lunch box 15 is conveyed at a predetermined interval by the article supply device 16 including a belt conveyor, and is sequentially supplied to the supply point X. Further, a chopstick feeding device 17 is arranged in parallel above the object-to-be-wrapped feeding device 16 to feed the disposable chopsticks 6 to the feeding point X. The chopstick feeding device 17 is composed of a conveyor in which step portions 17a are formed on the surface (conveying surface) of an endless belt at predetermined intervals, and the chopsticks 6 are conveyed at predetermined intervals by the step portions 17a and are conveyed to the tip portion. If it falls, it will fall downward (not shown, but supply point X
A guideway is installed so that it can move stably until). And this chopstick feeding device 17
Then, the package supply device 16 is driven in synchronization, and the disposable chopsticks 6 and the lunch box 15 are supplied to the supply point X almost at the same time.

Above and below the supply point X, upper and lower raw fabric rolls 20 and 21 are respectively arranged, and the upper and lower strip-shaped films 22 and 23 are continuously provided from the respective raw fabric rolls 20 and 21. Are drawn out and guided to the supply point X via a plurality of rollers 24. In this example, a film material that is heat-shrinkable and has a large shrinkage rate is used as the band-shaped film. Then, the tips of the strip films 22 and 23 are polymerized at the supply point X,
The film seal cutting device 25 is heat-sealed and integrated.

As shown in an enlarged view in FIG. 3, this film seal cutting device 25 uses an impulse sealing device in this embodiment, a heater pedestal 26 is disposed below the lower strip 23, and an upper side is provided. A heater receiver 27 that moves up and down is provided above the strip film 22 so as to be movable up and down. An electrode 28 is attached to the lower surface of the heater receiver 27, and the lower surface of the heater receiver 27 is covered with a heat protection member 29 made of glass cloth so as to cover the electrode 28. Then, when the electrode 28 is energized, the electrode generates heat, and when the energization is completed, the electrode 28 is cooled. Therefore, the heater receiver 27 descends from the state shown in the figure, the strip-shaped films 22 and 23 are sandwiched between the heater support 27, and the electrode 28 is energized and heated in this state, whereby the strip-shaped films 22 and 23 are A tubular film 35 in which 23 is heat-sealed and melted and separated from the strip-shaped film, and the lunch box 15 and the disposable chopsticks 6 are included therein.
To form.

Further, a conveying means (not shown) is arranged downstream of the supply point X where the film seal cutting device 25 is arranged, and the tubular film 35 cut by the film seal cutting device 25 advances. Open on both sides in the direction 3
It is adapted to be carried on the carrying means in the posture of 5a.

Side seal devices 36 are installed on both sides of the conveying means, and an opening 35a of the tubular film 35 is formed.
It is designed to be heat-sealed. The side seal device 36 is also composed of an impulse seal device that performs a fusion-sealing, like the seal cut device 25 described above. As a result, the intermediate packaging body 38 in which the lunch box 15 is surrounded by the packaging film is manufactured.

Further, a shrink tunnel 39 is arranged on the downstream side of the side seal device 36, and the intermediate package 38 passes through the shrink tunnel 39 so that the film is heat-shrinked. Further, a carry-out conveyor 42 is arranged on the carry-out side of the shrink tunnel 39, and the package after passing through the shrink tunnel 39 is carried to a predetermined location.

Next, an embodiment of the packaging method according to the present invention will be described using the above-mentioned apparatus. First, the lunch box 15 and the disposable chopsticks 6 are transferred onto the object-to-be-packaged supply device 16 and the chopstick supply device 17 so as to be conveyed at predetermined intervals, respectively, and in synchronization with the drive of the respective supply devices 16 and 17. It is transported and supplied to the supply point X.

On the other hand, the lower strip-shaped film 23 is continuously withdrawn from the lower original roll 21 and is also guided to the supply point X. Further, the upper strip-shaped film 22 is continuously pulled out from the upper original roll 20 and guided to the supply point X.

As a result, at the supply point X, the respective tips of the upper strip film 22 and the lower strip film 23 are located,
The tip portion is heat-sealed and cut (fused) by the film seal cutting device 25. Therefore, as shown in the drawing, the tips of both films 22 and 23 are heat-sealed to be integrated. Then, the two films 22 and 23 thus integrated together block the path of the lunch box 15.

The fusing step will be described in detail. First, the heater receiver 27 descends. Along with this, the electrode 28 and the protection member 29 integrated with the heater receiver 27 also descend, and sandwich the two strip-shaped films 22 and 23 with a predetermined pressure between the electrode holder 28 and the heater holder 26 below. At this time, the electrode 28 is not energized and is not heated.

The electrode 28 is held while holding this sandwiched state.
Energize. Then, the electrode 28 is heated, and the film portion facing the electrode 28 is melted and melted. afterwards,
When the energization is stopped, the electrode 28 is cooled, the melted portion is solidified, and the strip films 22 and 23 are completely integrated. And, the heating time is instantaneous and very small, and since it is not heated before contacting the film,
Even if a film material having a very high heat shrinkage rate is used, the film around the sealing portion does not significantly shrink due to heat at the time of sealing.

When the lunch box 15 and the disposable chopsticks 6 are further moved forward from the state shown in FIG. 2, both films 22, 2 are moved.
3 is also drawn out following the movement and covers the top and bottom of the lunch box 15 and the like. When the back side of the lunch box 15 in the traveling direction passes through the film seal cutting device 25, the heater receiver 27 of the film seal cutting device 25 moves toward the film side (downward) in the same manner as described above, and both films 22, 23 are moved. By fusing at a predetermined position in the width direction, the preceding film portion is cut and separated to form the tubular film 35 that covers the periphery of the lunch box 15 and the like.

As a result, the continuous strip-shaped films 2
The upper film 4a and the lower film 4b are located above and below the lunch box 15, respectively. The tubular film 35 has openings 35a on both sides in the traveling direction.

When transported in this state, the side seal device 36 heat-seals and closes the opening 35a. At this time, since the side seal device 36 also uses the impulse seal device, the film is heated in a short time, so only the opening is instantaneously heated and melted, and the other film parts do not shrink. As a result, the intermediate package 38 as shown in FIG. 4 is formed. In addition, the periphery of the film is a fusion-sealed seal portion 38a.

In this state, the intermediate package 38 is passed through the shrink tunnel 39. Then, when it passes, it is heated and, as shown in FIG. 1, the upper and lower films 4a, 4
b is heat-shrinked and adheres around the lunch box 15 and the disposable chopsticks 6. Further, since the film material having a large heat shrinkability is used, even when the disposable chopsticks 6 project outwardly longer than the lunch box 15 as shown in the figure, the packaging film 4 is used as the disposable chopsticks 6 and the lunchbox. The lid 3 is closely attached to the periphery of the box 15 to prevent the lid 3 from coming off the container body 2.

Further, since the sealing portion is located on the side surface of the container body 2, there is no sealing portion on the top and bottom surfaces, and the film is not wound on the bottom surface as in the conventional case, and only a flat film exists. To do. Therefore, a plurality of such packages 1 can be stably stacked.

FIG. 5 shows the essential parts of the second embodiment of the present invention. In the present embodiment, unlike the above-described first embodiment,
Film seal cutting device 25 and side sealing device 2
6 is configured by using a heat sealing device that constantly heats the film (only the film seal cutting device 25 is shown in the drawing, but the side sealing device 26 has substantially the same structure).

That is, the sealer 41 and the sealer receiver 42 are arranged above and below so as to sandwich both films. Then, the sealer 41 is moved up and down by a driving means (not shown), and the sealing surface 41a at the tip thereof is tapered and has a narrow width. Then, the heater 41b is provided in the sealer 41.
Is buried and is constantly heated during operation. The pair of members 41, 42 is the structure of a general heat seal device.

Here, in the present invention, a film holding mechanism is provided in addition to the above apparatus. That is, the lower sealer receiver 42 is integrally formed with a receiving member 43 having a flat upper surface,
A film restraining member 44 is provided above the receiving member 43.
It is arranged so that it can move up and down independently of the sealer 41.

In the embodiment of the packaging method using the apparatus of this embodiment, first, the film restraining member 44 descends from the state shown in the drawing, and the strip-shaped film films 22, 23 are formed between the film restraining member 44 and the receiving member 43. Hold it. Then sealer 4
1 moves down and sandwiches both band-shaped films 22 and 23 with a sealer receiver 42 at a predetermined pressure while heating them. As a result, both films that are in contact with the sealer 41 are fused. At this time, in this embodiment, since the sealer 41 is constantly heated, the film is heated by the heat transmitted through the ambient air before the sealing surface 41a comes into contact with the film, and the heat shrinks accordingly. However, since both films 22 and 23 are held by the film restraining member 44 (because of the high shrinkage rate), the film on the lunch box 15 side of the film restraining member 44 is not thermally shrunk. Therefore, when the film comes into contact with the sealer 41 thereafter, both films 22 and 23 are reliably heat-sealed. In this embodiment, since the tip surface of the sealer 41 has a narrow width, the film is melt-cut in the same manner as in the first embodiment, but it may be cut by incorporating a cutter separately. Further, other configurations and effects are the same as those of the above-described first embodiment, and therefore detailed description thereof will be omitted.

One of the film seal cutting device 25 and the side sealing device 36 may be the impulse sealing device of the first embodiment, and the other may be the heat sealing device of the second embodiment. Further, the structure of each of the various sealing devices described above is one of the best embodiments, but the present invention is not limited to this, and various sealing devices can be used. In both cases, when the heat shrinkage rate of the film material used for the packaging film is low, there is no problem described in the above-mentioned examples, so that there is no problem even if a normal sealing device is used.

Although the chopsticks are enclosed together with the lunch box in the above embodiment, the present invention is not limited to this, and chopsticks and other dishes (spoons, etc.) may not be mounted, and the length of the enclosed chopsticks may be long. It may be shorter than the lunch box. In such a case, the packaging film can be adhered to the periphery of the container body or the like even if a film material having a heat shrinkage rate that is not so large is used.

In each of the above-mentioned embodiments, the strip films 22 and 23 supplied to the upper and lower portions of the lunch box are drawn from different original rolls 20 and 21, respectively. Of course, without limitation, the strip-shaped film drawn from one original roll may be divided into two during the drawing to produce upper and lower strip-shaped films, which may be supplied above and below the lunch box.

[0042]

As described above, in the method and apparatus for packaging a lunch box package according to the present invention, a lunch box package can be continuously and rapidly manufactured. Since the packaging film is contracted and brought into close contact with the lunch box, the lid does not come off from the container in the case of a container with a lid before opening the package, and even if the package does not have a lid, the film remains in the container. The contents (bento) do not scatter because they are in close contact.

Further, it is heat-shrinked to be taut, and since the entire circumference is sealed and hermetically sealed, it is easy to confirm the presence or absence of opening (tampering) and dust is hard to enter, which is hygienic.

Further, since the sealing portion is located on the side surface of the lunch box, the top and bottom surfaces are made flat by only the shrunk film material. Therefore, a large number of such packages can be stacked in a stable state, and the space required for display can be reduced.

Further, according to the second, third, fifth, and sixth aspects, since the packaging process can be performed using the film material having a large shrinkage rate, even if tableware such as chopsticks longer than the container is accommodated at the same time. The packaging film can be closely attached to the lunch box.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a package manufactured by the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a first packaging device for a lunch box package according to the present invention.
It is a figure showing an example.

FIG. 3 is a view showing the film seal cutting device.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of an intermediate package manufactured by this example.

FIG. 5 is a second packaging device for a lunch box packaging body according to the present invention.
It is a figure which shows the film seal cutting apparatus which is the principal part of an Example.

[Explanation of symbols]

 15 Lunch Box 16 Packaged Material Supply Device 20, 21 Original Roll 22 Upper Band Film 23 Lower Band Film 25 Film Seal Cut Device 36 Side Seal Device 38 Intermediate Package 39 Shrink Tunnel

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A lunch box is conveyed at a predetermined interval, the upper and lower surfaces of the lunch box are covered with a heat-shrinkable upper strip film and a lower strip film, respectively, and a predetermined position in the longitudinal direction of both strip films is sealed. It is cut with and separated from both continuous strips of film to form a packaging film that surrounds the lunch box, and a four-sided seal that houses the lunch box by sealing the open side edge portion of the packaging film. A method for packaging a lunch box package, which comprises producing a package, and then heating the intermediate package to heat-shrink the packaging film surrounding the lunch box so that the packaging film is closely attached. 2. The impulse seal is at least one of a seal performed at a predetermined position in the longitudinal direction of the strip film and a seal performed at the opened side edge portion. A method of packaging the package for a lunch box described. 3. At least one of a seal performed at a predetermined position in the longitudinal direction of the strip-shaped film and a seal performed at the opened side edge portion moves while pressing the vicinity of the film portion to be sealed from above and below. The packaging method for a lunch box package according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the film portion to be sealed is heated in that state. 4. A supply means for conveying a lunch box, which is an object to be packaged, to a predetermined supply point, and a heat-shrinkable strip-shaped film drawn from a raw roll, to the supply point, and supplying the same. And a film supply means for covering the upper and lower surfaces of the bento box, respectively, which are arranged in the vicinity of the supply point and which seals and cuts the upper and lower sides of the bento box that cross the traveling direction of the upper and lower strip films. Means, a side seal means arranged downstream of the supply point for sealing the side edge of the strip film in the traveling direction, and a heating device such as a shrink tunnel arranged downstream of the side seal means. Packing equipment for packed lunch boxes. 5. A means for sealing at least one of the side sealing means and a means for sealing a direction transverse to the traveling direction of the strip-shaped film, and a heater receiver having an electrode, and a heater receiver arranged to face the heater receiver. 5. An impulse seal device having a base, at least one of the heater support and the heater support being movable up and down, and heating the electrodes by energizing the electrodes.
A packaging device for a packed body for a lunch box according to. 6. A sealer for sealing a direction transverse to the traveling direction of the strip-shaped film and at least one of the side seal means, a sealer for fusing the film, and a film holder capable of moving up and down independently of the sealer. The packaging device for a lunch box package according to claim 4, wherein a mechanism is provided side by side.