JPH09110006A - Transfer device of article in packaging machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To securely hold a stretch film and a container from the side face, with a relatively wide area even in a container with slant side faces and securely and stably guide it for the transfer. SOLUTION: This device is constituted of a pair of holding belts 20 arranged at both sides of the transfer passage of containers 2 respectively. A level difference is provided on the belt surface 20a to protrude the lower side. That is, the first auxiliary holding member 23 is integrally bonded at the upper part of the surface of the thin endless belt 22 and the second thicker auxiliary holding member 24 than that is integrally bonded at the lower part of the surface of the endless belt. Respective auxiliary holding members are constituted of a material having 8 relatively weak elasticity like sponge. In this way, the side face of the container meets both setting members and it has at least two vertical contact positions and it is supported. And further, the auxiliary holding member is elastically deformed and set to contact at a wider area.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an article transporting device in a packaging machine, and more specifically, it moves downwardly on both side edges of a strip-shaped film which is continuously drawn out, so as to move the article (container) to be packaged. The present invention relates to a film for covering both side surfaces and a device for giving a conveying force while sandwiching the side surface of a container.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, many bento boxes have been 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 thereof is surrounded by a predetermined film (stretch film, shrink film, etc.) to produce a package, which is transported / displayed in the state of the package. It is sold. By being packaged in this way, the lidded container and the film are in 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.
Generally, one stretch film is used, and the stretch film is covered on the upper surface of the lid, and the four sides are pulled outward while being folded down, and the end portion thereof is further wound around the bottom surface side of the container main body to separate the films. Contact them and bring them into close contact using their self-adhesive strength. Further, there is also one in which a pair of opposite side film end portions are polymerized and adhered (center seal), and the remaining front and rear end portions are folded to the bottom side. In addition, there is also one with the front and rear ends sealed and cut.

By the way, a structure of a portion for supplying a stretch film to a container in a packaging machine for manufacturing the above-mentioned package and surrounding the stretch film around the container will be described, for example, as shown in FIG. And a first transport device 4 including a plate-shaped transport path 1 that is divided into two parts on the left and right, and a pushing finger 3 that biases the container 2 placed on the transport path 1 from the rear side thereof. A means for supplying the container into the film is constituted by the second transport device 5 including the endless belt 5 provided on the downstream side of the first transport device 4.

The second transfer device 5 is disposed in the bag-making means 8 of the stretch wrapping machine 7 located further downstream in an overlapped state. The bag making means 8 will be briefly described below. The belt-shaped stretch film 11 pulled out from the original roll 10 is used as the plurality of rollers 1.
The bag making means 8 is arranged at the article supply position X so as to be led to the article supply position X.

The bag-making means 8 is arranged on both sides of the container 2 in the traveling direction of the container 2 and holds a pair of upper and lower endless belts 14, 1 for gripping both side edges of the stretch film 11.
5 is provided. And this endless belt 14,
15 are arranged in a state in which they are both inclined downward toward the front in the traveling direction. As a result, the stretch film 11 comes into contact with the container 2 obliquely from above, and the stretch film 11 is stretched by the contact with the container 2 to be in a tension state.

Further, on the downstream side of the endless belts 14 and 15, there are arranged round belts 18 which are provided on the front and rear pulleys 17 and 17 'and rotate horizontally, respectively. Is widened on the rear side in the traveling direction, and its front end portions are close to each other. Further, the horizontal position of the round belt 18 substantially coincides with the conveyance surface of the container 2 (slightly lower position). As a result, both side edges of the stretch film 11 are guided by the round belt 18 and further folded into the bottom surface side of the container 2.

Further, an article conveying device 19 which is the object of the present invention is arranged above the pulleys 17 and 17 'and the round belt 18. The article transporting device 19 includes a pair of upper and lower endless belts 14 and 15 for nipping both side edges of the stretch film 11 and moving downward.
Further, it is arranged on the unloading side of the second conveying device 5, and as shown in an enlarged view in FIG. 6, it is composed of a pair of left and right sandwiching belts arranged on both side edges of the conveying path of the container 2. The belt surface 19a of each holding belt is a vertical flat surface.

The article transporting device 19 is a device for giving a transporting force for allowing the container 2 carried out from the second transporting device 5 and covered with the stretch film 11 to move forward in a stable state. The belt surface 19a is parallel to the traveling direction and stands upright. The distance between the opposing belt surfaces 19a of the pair of holding belts provided on the left and right is substantially equal to the distance between the containers 2. This allows
The side surface of the container 2 is sandwiched between the belt surfaces 19a together with the stretch film, and the container 2 is conveyed by rotating the sandwiching belt in that state.

The stretch wrapping machine 7 has a construction in which the overlapped end of the stretch film 11 is sandwiched between the pulleys 17 and 17 located further forward, and the overlapped end is center-sealed (not shown), and the stretch film The front and rear end sides are sealed, or the film on the front and rear end sides of the container is cut while leaving it relatively long, and then the film portions on the front and rear end sides are folded into the bottom surface side.

[0011]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional device, when the side surface of the container 2 is inclined downward like a lunch box, the contact portion between the belt surface 19a and the container 2 becomes small. Therefore, only the upper edge of the container 2 is provided, and the clamping force is weakened. As a result, it is securely clamped to give a conveying force,
It was not possible to stably convey the container 2 with the stretch film 11 covered.

In particular, when the shape of the container is relatively high or the inclination angle is large, there are many portions that are not in contact with the belt surface 19a, and the above problem becomes remarkable. Furthermore, in the case where the shape of the container is a substantially circular shape or an elliptical shape such as a bowl shape, the contact portion with the belt surface 19a on the side surface of the container protrudes to the outermost side of the upper edge of the container. It becomes a part of the contact and becomes a point contact state. for that reason,
The gripping force becomes smaller and stable conveyance becomes difficult.

Further, in the case of a bento box, split chopsticks may be attached to the side surface of the bento box.
1 is sandwiched between the upper end portion of the container 2 and the belt surface 19a, and the film portion facing the lower portion of the side surface of the container 2 may be in a free state and a predetermined space may be formed. Since the disposable chopsticks are present in the space formed by the side surface of the container 2 and the stretch film 11, the disposable chopsticks must be fixed in advance to the container side surface with an adhesive tape or the like so that the disposable chopsticks will collapse in the space. Sisters,
If you continue the packaging process, the split chopsticks will be in a protruding state.

Then, a state in which both side edges of the stretch film targeted by the present invention are moved downward to cover both side surfaces of the container (a stretch film and a container before the packaging process is completed to form a package). However, in a device that is mounted at a position where the film and the container are in a free state, there is a high possibility that the film and the container will move relative to each other and the positional relationship between them will shift, which poses a greater problem.

The present invention has been made in view of the above background, and an object of the present invention is to ensure that a film and a container are relatively large in area from the side even if the side is inclined. It can be clamped, and it can be transported reliably in a stable state. Even if small items such as chopsticks are attached to the side of the container and supplied into the film, the small items can also be clamped. An object of the present invention is to provide an article conveying device in a packaging machine, which is capable of applying a force and maintaining a desired state.

[0016]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, in the article transporting device in the packaging machine according to the present invention, the both side edges of the strip-shaped film which is used in the packaging machine and which is continuously drawn out is used as a container. An article transporting device that is disposed on the downstream side of the means that covers the side surface of the container by moving it relatively downward with respect to the side surface of the container and transports the film together with the film. A pair of left and right sandwiching belts having belt surfaces arranged upright on the left and right sides are provided, and a predetermined portion in the vertical direction of the belt surface is projected more than other portions (claim 1).

As the protruding portion, for example, the lower portion of the belt surface may be made to protrude more than the upper portion (claim 2). This is particularly suitable for a container having a side surface (the bottom surface is smaller than the top surface) inclined downward as in a lunch box.

[0018] Preferably, a sandwiching assisting member having a predetermined shape, which is made of a material elastically deformable by a reaction force when abutting against the container, is attached to a predetermined position of the endless belt so that the protruding belt surface is It is to be configured (Claim 3).

When the shape of the side surface of the container is inclined downward, it is configured as in claim 2. Then, the film is supplied between the holding belts in a state in which the upper surface of the container and both side surfaces in the traveling direction are covered with the film. At this time, since the lower part of the belt surface of the holding belt is projected, the upper part is made to substantially match the width of the container, and the lower part is made to match the width of the side surface of the container at a predetermined position in the height direction, At least two positions in the vertical direction on the side surface of the container are in contact with the belt surface via the film and are clamped. Therefore, even if the side surface of the container is inclined, the container is stably held and conveyed in a predetermined posture. Further, when focusing on the film, the film is reliably sandwiched between the container and the belt surface, and therefore does not move with respect to the container.

If the shape of the side surface of the container is not a vertical surface, a predetermined portion of the belt surface is projected according to the unevenness (claim 1). That is, for example, when the belt surface has a side surface that is inclined upward, contrary to the above, the belt surface is also made to project the upper portion accordingly.
Then, according to the same principle as the above, the side surface of the container abuts at at least two positions in the vertical direction, and is reliably nipped and conveyed.

Further, according to the third aspect of the invention, since the holding assisting member elastically deforms and comes into close contact with the side surface of the container, the container and the belt surface come into contact with each other in a wider area, so that the container
The film is pinched.

Even when a small article is attached to the side surface of the container and enclosed, the small article is surely suppressed by the holding assisting member, and even if the small article is not fixed to the container, The small article does not move relative to the inside of the film and does not lose its desired posture.

[0023]

1 and 2 show an example of an embodiment of an article conveying apparatus according to the present invention. In this example, a stretch wrapping machine is used as the wrapping machine, and the mounting position of the product of the present invention (article conveying device) in the stretch wrapping machine is the same as in the conventional example described above, and both side edges of the stretch film are bent downward. From a pair of sandwiching belts (also referred to as “side belts”) 20 arranged at predetermined positions after covering at least both side surfaces of the container in the traveling direction, and basically arranged on both sides of the conveyance path of the container 2. Composed.

The sandwiching belt 20 is provided between pulleys 21 arranged at a predetermined distance in the front-rear direction, and both sandwiching belts 20 are synchronously driven to rotate at the same speed. The pulley 21 has a rotation axis in the vertical direction. As a result, the belt surface 20a stands parallel to the traveling direction of the container 2. The distance d between the opposing belt surfaces 20a of the holding belt 20 is made substantially equal to the width of the container 2. This basic configuration is the same as the conventional one.

In the present invention, the belt surface 20a is not a flat surface as in the prior art, but a step is provided so that the lower side of the belt surface 20a is projected. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 2, the first sandwiching assist member 23 is bonded and integrated above the surface of the thin endless belt 22, and the second sandwiching assist member 24 is bonded and integrated below the surface of the endless belt 22. Turn into. Each of the sandwiching assisting members 23 and 24 is made of a material having elasticity such that it is elastically deformed by a relatively weak force such as sponge, and the surface of each member is a flat surface. Then, the thicknesses of the sandwiching assisting members 23 and 24 are made different, and the thickness of the second sandwiching assisting member 24 located below is made thicker. Thereby, as shown in the figure, a step is formed in which the lower part of the belt surface 20a projects.

Then, as described above, the distance d between the surfaces of the first holding assisting member 23 is made equal to the width of the upper end of the container 2, and the distance d1 between the second holding assisting members 24 is set to be larger than d. The width of the side surface 2a of the container 2 is set to be short, and the width of the side surface 2a of the container 2 is made to coincide with the predetermined height position.

Further, in the present example, each of the sandwiching assisting members 23, 2
Since 4 is made of a material having elasticity, as shown in FIG. 2, when the width of the container is wider than the distances d and d1, the corresponding holding assist members 23 and 24 are elastically deformed and compressed. (In the illustrated example, the second sandwiching assisting member 24 abuts on the disposable chopsticks 25 arranged parallel to the side surface 2a of the container 2 and is elastically deformed).

As described above, in this embodiment, the container 2 can be clamped at least at two positions of the first and second clamping assisting members 23 and 24, and the clamping assisting members 23 and 24 are in contact with the container 2. Since the contact area becomes wider by being crushed by pressing, the side surface 2a of the container 2 is inclined, or a small article (in the embodiment, chopsticks 25) is attached to the side surface 2a.
Even when the stretched film 11 is stretched, it is possible to surely sandwich them together with the stretch film 11. Therefore, the possibility that the relative positional relationship between the stretch film 11 and the container 2 is displaced or the disposable chopsticks 25 fall over in the stretch film 11 is minimized.

Further, as in this example, since the belt surface 20 is provided with a step and the lower portion is projected, as shown in FIG. 4, in the case of the container 2 having a substantially circular plane, such as a bowl. However, at least the upper side portion of the container 2 is in contact with the first holding auxiliary member 23, and the lower side portion of the container 2 is in contact with the second holding auxiliary member 24.
The contact area at each point is widened by being held in place and elastically deformed by both clamping assisting members, so that it is possible to reliably clamp and convey.

In the above-mentioned embodiment, two sandwiching assisting members 23, 24 having different wall thicknesses are used, but three or more sandwiching assisting members may be used, or only one sandwiching assisting member (for example, as shown in FIG. The second sandwiching assisting member 24 shown only by 2) may be used. Also, each auxiliary member has a rectangular cross section and a vertical plane, but this is due to manufacturing requirements. Therefore, the auxiliary member may have an inclined surface as shown in FIG. Can be taken.

Further, in the example of FIG. 1, the tip of the article conveying device 20 is located up to the installation position of the pulley 17, but this is for convenience of illustration, and it is of course possible to extend it further to the downstream side. Furthermore, the form of the stretch wrapping machine to be mounted is not limited to the one shown in FIG. 5 and the type described in the prior art, and it goes without saying that it can be applied to various configurations and is not limited to the stretch wrapping machine. Absent.

[0032]

As described above, in the article transporting device for the packaging machine according to the present invention, the belt surface is projected at a predetermined position in the vertical direction (for example, the lower portion is projected as compared with the upper portion), so that at least the side surface of the container is formed. Since they are in contact with each other at two points in the vertical direction of the belt surface via the film, even a container whose side surface is inclined can be sandwiched and reliably conveyed in a stable state.

Further, even when a small article such as chopsticks is attached to the side surface of the container and supplied into the film, a clamping force can be applied to the small article to maintain a desired state.

According to the third aspect of the invention, since the belt surfaces are in surface contact with each other in a wider area, the above effect becomes more remarkable.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an example of an embodiment of an article conveying device in a packaging machine according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a front view thereof.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a modified example.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a state where a container having another shape is being conveyed.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a part of a conventional stretch wrapping machine.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing an example of a conventional article transport device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 2 container 11 stretch film 20 article conveying device 20a belt surface 23 first holding auxiliary member 24 second holding auxiliary member 25 disposable chopsticks (small article)

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A downstream side of a means for covering a side surface of a container by moving both side edges of a strip-shaped film that is continuously drawn out relative to the container, which is used in a packaging machine, An article transporting device for sandwiching and transporting a side surface of the container together with the film, comprising a pair of left and right sandwiching belts having belt surfaces arranged on both left and right sides along a transport path of the container, An article transporting device in a packaging machine, wherein a predetermined part of the surface in the vertical direction is projected more than other parts. 2. The article conveying device in a packaging machine according to claim 1, wherein a lower portion of the belt surface is projected more than an upper portion. 3. The protruding belt surface is formed by attaching a sandwiching assisting member having a predetermined shape, which is made of a material elastically deformable by a reaction force when it comes into contact with the container, to a predetermined position of the endless belt. The article conveying device in the packaging machine according to claim 1 or 2.