JPH10181703A - Vertical filling and packaging machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reduce the variation of weight of the contents and improve the yield of packages. SOLUTION: A pair of molding plates 33a, 33b are provided between a drawing roller 11 and a heat-sealing mechanism 20. The molding plates 33a, 33b press a cylindrical film 1 with a substance 2 to be filled put in from sides for stabilizing its shape by driving of cylinders 39a, 39b supported by cylinder support plates 32a, 32b. A weight sensor 44 measures the weight of a package and outputs the result to a molding control part 43. The molding plate control part 43 moves the cylinder support plate 32a via a transmission mechanism such as a worm gear 35 by rotating a servo motor 34 according to the measurement results by the weight sensor 44 so as to control the distance between the molding plates 33a, 33b.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a vertical filling and packaging machine for manufacturing a package by charging a liquid or viscous material into a tubular film and heat sealing the tubular film.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A conventional vertical filling and packaging machine for packing a filling such as a liquid or a viscous body comprises a squeeze roller which rotates while crushing a tubular film into which the filling is put from the side,
A heat sealing mechanism disposed below the stiffener roller, wherein the stiffener roller rotates the stiffener roller and feeds the tubular film downward while sandwiching the tubular film, thereby forming an empty filling portion in the tubular film. The filling unit is heat-sealed by a heat-sealing mechanism to manufacture a package.
In this type of vertical filling and packaging machine, in order to stabilize the filling amount, the position of the squeeze roller is moved up and down, or the filling is injected by a metering pump. Due to factors such as variations in film elongation, satisfactory quantitativeness has not been ensured.

In order to improve the quantitativeness of the filling amount, Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. Hei 5-77813 discloses a vertical type in which a molding plate for regulating the swelling of a tubular film is provided between a squeeze roller and a heat sealing mechanism. A filling and packaging machine is disclosed. This molded plate is disposed facing the cylindrical film, and is closed at a predetermined interval. Then, the filler is charged into the tubular film with the molding plate closed, and the filler is separated by sandwiching the tubular film with a squeeze roller. Thereafter, the molding plate is opened and the squeeze roller is rotated to feed the tubular film downward, thereby forming an empty filling portion in the tubular film. When the empty filling section is sent to a position between the heat sealing mechanisms, the empty filling section is heat-sealed and cut by the heat sealing mechanism to obtain a package. In this way, by charging the filler in a state where the swelling of the tubular film is regulated by the molding plate, the shape of the tubular film is stabilized, and as a result, the weight of the filler is also stabilized.

[0004]

However, even in the case of a vertical filling and packaging machine having a molded plate, the performance of the filling pump and the physical properties (viscosity, specific gravity, etc.) of the packing derived from the process of making the packing are not sufficient. Due to various factors such as changes, the accuracy of the filling weight varies by about several percent. This variation is
When the filling weight is small, this does not cause a serious problem, but especially when filling about 10 kg of filling in one bag, the filling weight varies in a width of several hundred g, and the product yield is deteriorated.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a vertical filling and packaging machine which reduces the variation in the filling weight and improves the yield of the package.

[0006]

Means for Solving the Problems To achieve the above object, a vertical filling and packaging machine according to the present invention is arranged so as to be able to move oppositely between tubular films into which a filling material is charged, and to place the tubular film on the side. A squeegee roller that is fed downward while being crushed from the side, a heat seal mechanism that is disposed below the stiffener roller and heat seals and cuts the cylindrical film in a width direction, and the cylinder between the stiffener roller and the heat seal mechanism. A pair of molding plates that are arranged to be able to move opposing each other between the cylindrical films and press the cylindrical film filled with the filler from the side, and the molded plates are cut by the heat sealing mechanism. The interval when the tubular film is pressed is controlled based on the measurement result of the weight of the package obtained by the above.

In the present invention constructed as described above, the squeeze roller is closed in a state where the cylindrical film into which the filler is charged is pressed by the molding plate, and the filler is divided. If the cylindrical film is sent downward by rotating the squeeze roller as it is, an empty filling portion is formed in the cylindrical film,
This portion is heat-sealed and cut by a heat-sealing mechanism to obtain a package. The weight of the obtained package is measured by, for example, a known weight measuring device or the like, and based on the measurement result, the interval between the molded plates when the tubular film is pressed is controlled. As a result, even when the weight of the package changes due to various factors generated during the continuous production, the weight of the package is controlled according to the change.

[0008] The molding plate may be driven by a cylinder fixed to a cylinder support plate movably provided in parallel with the moving direction to control the position of the cylinder support plate. Thus, instead of controlling the amount of movement of the molded plate, by controlling its support position,
The distance between the molding plates is controlled.

[0009]

Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a side view showing a schematic configuration of an embodiment of a vertical filling and packaging machine of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a plan view of a molding mechanism of the vertical filling and packaging machine shown in FIG.
A part is shown in cross section.

In FIG. 1, a tubular film 1 is formed by forming a sheet-like film into a tubular shape with a bag-making guide (not shown), and heat-sealing the mating surface with a vertical sealing machine (not shown). A charging pipe 10 for charging the filler 2 is disposed in the hollow portion. FIG. 1 shows a state where the lower end of the tubular film 1 is heat-sealed in advance by a heat sealing mechanism 20 described later.

Below the input pipe 10, a pair of squeeze rollers 11, which move oppositely to crush the cylindrical film 1 as shown by an arrow A, are arranged to face each other with the cylindrical film 1 interposed therebetween. Further, the squeeze roller 11 is rotatably provided, and rotates the tubular film 1 in a crushed state, thereby feeding the tubular film 1 downward and forming an empty filling portion 1 a in the tubular film 1. A film feed roller (not shown) that rotates in synchronization with the squeeze roller 11 and feeds the cylindrical film 1 is also disposed above the squeeze roller 11. The tubular film 1 is sent by the film feed roller when the stiffener roller 11 is open, and is sent by the film feed roller and the stiffener roller 11 when the stiffener roller 11 is closed.

Below the squeegee roller 11, a heat sealing mechanism 2 for heat sealing and cutting the tubular film 1 in the width direction.
0 is arranged at a predetermined interval from the squeeze roller 11. The heat sealing mechanism 20 has a heater bar 21 and a receiving member 22 which are arranged to face each other with the cylindrical film 1 therebetween, and each of which is driven by driving means (not shown).
Are moved in a direction perpendicular to the feeding direction, that is, in the horizontal direction.

The heater bar 21 has a built-in heating means (not shown) such as an electric heater, and the receiving member 22 has a built-in cutter 23 provided to be able to advance and retreat with respect to the heater bar 21. Silicone rubber is adhered to the surface of the receiving member 22 facing the heater bar 21 in order to prevent the cylindrical film 1 in a semi-molten state by the driving of the heating means from adhering to the receiving member 22. A portion of the heater bar 21 facing the cutter 23 is provided with a cutter 23.
There is formed a groove into which the cutter 23 enters when is advanced.

By pressing the tubular film 1 between the heater bar 21 and the receiving member 22 and driving the heating means, the tubular film 1 is heat-sealed in its width direction. Thereafter, by moving the cutter 23 forward, the heat-sealed portion is cut.

Between the squeeze roller 11 and the heat sealing mechanism 20, a molding mechanism 30 for regulating the swelling of the cylindrical film 1 into which the filler 2 has been charged is arranged. The molding mechanism 30 includes a pair of molding plates 3 arranged to face each other with the cylindrical film 1 interposed therebetween so as to sandwich the cylindrical film 1 from the side.
3a and 33b and various members for adjusting the drive and position of the molded plates 33a and 33b.

Hereinafter, the molding mechanism 30 will be described with reference to FIGS.

The frame 31 is a member for supporting the entire molding mechanism 30, and is installed on a floor or the like. Two support plate guides 41 arranged parallel to each other in a horizontal plane are fixed to the frame 31, and two cylinder support plates 32a and 32b are slidably supported by these support plate guides 41.

Cylinders 39a and 39b are fixed to the cylinder support plates 32a and 32b, respectively, with their rods facing each other. Molded plates 33a and 33b are connected to the rods of the cylinders 39a and 39b via connecting members. Fixed. Each of the molding plates 33a and 33b is a plate-like member arranged in parallel with the tubular film 1 therebetween. 2
By simultaneously driving the three cylinders 39a and 39b, the molding plates 33a and 33b move forward to sandwich the tubular film 1 from the side, whereby the swelling of the tubular film 1 is regulated.

The frame 31 has a support plate guide 4
1 and a screw shaft 37 having a screw thread formed in a portion inside the frame 31 is attached to each cylinder support plate 3.
Two shafts are supported rotatably corresponding to 2a and 32b. The thread portion of each screw shaft 37 is screwed into a floating nut 38 provided on each of the cylinder support plates 32a and 32b.

Rotation shafts 36a and 36b are supported on both sides of the frame 31, respectively.
The rotation of 6a, 36b is transmitted to the screw shaft 37 via the worm gear 35. Rotating shafts 36a, 3
When the screw shaft 37 is rotated by rotating 6b, the cylinder support plates 32a and 32b are moved along the support plate guide 41, and the distance between the molding plates 33a and 33b can be adjusted. By adjusting this interval, the thickness of the tubular film 1 when the tubular film 1 filled with the filler 2 is sandwiched between the molding plates 33a and 33b is adjusted, and as a result, the filling weight of the filler 2 Is adjusted.

One of the rotating shafts 36a has a molded plate controller 4
Servo motor 3 rotated by a pulse signal from 3
4, the position of one molding plate 33a can be adjusted by rotating the servomotor 34. The weight measuring device 44 measures the weight of the package obtained by being heat-sealed and cut by the heat-sealing mechanism 20, and according to the difference between the measurement result and a predetermined weight (reference weight). The molded plate control unit 43 outputs a pulse signal to the servomotor 34 based on the output from the weight measuring device 44, and rotates the servomotor 34 by a predetermined number of rotations. The position of the molding plate 33a is controlled. The weighing device 44 may be a commercially available weighing device for controlling the tendency of the filling and packaging machine.

A handle 42 is fixed to the other rotating shaft 36b, and the position of the other molding plate 33b can be manually adjusted by rotating the handle 42.

Next, the operation of the vertical filling and packaging machine of the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.

First, as shown in FIG. 3A, the squeeze roller 11, the molding plates 33a and 33b, and the heat sealing mechanism 2
0 with the tubular film 1
Charge 2 is charged into the container.

When the charging of the filling 2 is completed, FIG.
As shown in FIG. 3, the molding plates 33a and 33b are advanced to sandwich the tubular film 1 from the side, and in this state, the squeeze roller 11 is closed to close the tubular film 1 as shown in FIG.
Crush from the side. As a result, the filling 2 is divided. At this time, since the lateral bulge of the cylindrical fill 1 is regulated by the molding plates 33a and 33b, the shape of the cylindrical film 1 is substantially constant, and as a result, Then, the amount of the filler 2 to be divided becomes substantially constant.

Next, as shown in FIG.
Open 3a and 33b. Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 4 (e), the squeeze roller 11 is rotated to feed the tubular film 1 downward, thereby forming an empty filling portion 1a in the tubular film 1.

When the lower end of the empty filling portion 1a reaches the space between the heat sealing mechanisms 20, the heat sealing mechanism 20 is closed to heat seal and cut the tubular film 1 as shown in FIG. Then, as shown in FIG. 4G, the squeeze roller 11 and the heat sealing mechanism 20 are opened. By repeating the above series of operations, the package 5 is continuously produced.

As described above, while the tubular film 1 is sandwiched between the molding plates 33a and 33b, the filler 2 is divided by the squeeze roller 11, whereby the shape of the tubular film 1 is stabilized, and as a result, the package The weight of 5 stabilizes. However, actually, the physical properties such as the viscosity and specific gravity of the filler 2 to be charged are not always constant, and the state of charging into the tubular film 1 fluctuates during continuous production. In addition, the state of charging into the tubular film 1 varies depending on the performance of a pump for charging the filling 2. If the state of loading into the tubular film 1 fluctuates, the elongation of the tubular film 1 in a portion that is not regulated by the molding plates 33a and 33b at the time of loading of the filler 2 varies, causing a change in the weight of the package 5. Becomes Also,
When the specific gravity of the filler 2 fluctuates, the weight of the package 5 fluctuates even if the shape of the tubular film 1 is constant.

Therefore, in the present embodiment, the weight of the produced package 5 is measured, and based on the measurement result, the servo motor 34 is controlled so that the weight of the package 5 becomes the reference weight, and the molding is performed. By changing the position of the plate 33a, the stability of the weight of the package 5 is improved. Hereinafter, an example of a control procedure of the servo motor 34 will be described.

Prior to the packaging operation, a reference weight W0 and an upper limit value W in product specifications are provided to the weight measuring device 44 as shown in FIG.
1U, lower limit W1L in product specification, upper limit W of allowable error
2U and the lower limit value W2L of the allowable error are set in advance. The permissible error is a value used as a criterion for determining whether or not to drive the servo motor 34. The permissible error range between the upper limit value W2U and the lower limit value W2L of the permissible error is defined by the product specification. It is included in an error range in product specifications, which is a range between the upper limit value W1U and the lower limit value W1L.

When the weight of the package 5 is measured, the weight measuring device 44 obtains the average value of the weights for a predetermined number of times in the past.
The predetermined number of times may be set in the weight measuring device 44 in advance, or may be set by an operator. When the average value of the weight is obtained, the average value is subtracted from the reference weight W0. If the subtraction value falls within the allowable error range, the weight measuring device 44 does not output anything to the molded plate control unit 43. Therefore, the servomotor 34 is not driven, and the above-described packaging operation is performed while the positional relationship between the molding plates 33a and 33b is maintained.

If the subtraction value is out of the allowable error range, the weight measuring device 44 outputs a pulse signal to the molded plate control unit 43, and the molded plate control unit 43 outputs a pulse signal to the servo motor based on the pulse signal. 34 to control the position of one cylinder support plate 32a. At this time, when the subtraction value is a positive value, that is, when the average value is larger than the reference weight W0, the weight measuring device 44 controls the servo in the direction in which the cylinder support plate 32a is advanced with respect to the other cylinder support plate 32b. A signal for rotating the motor 34 is output. Thereby, when the molding plates 33a and 33b are closed, the distance between them is reduced, and the weight of the package 5 obtained in the next packaging operation is reduced. Conversely, when the subtraction value is a negative value, that is, when the average value is smaller than the reference weight W0, the weight measuring device 44 controls the servo in the direction of moving the cylinder support plate 32a backward with respect to the other cylinder support plate 32b. A signal for rotating the motor 34 is output. As a result, when the molding plates 33a and 33b are closed, the distance between them is increased, and the weight of the package 5 obtained in the next packaging operation is increased.

The amount of movement of the cylinder support plate 32a with respect to the number of rotations of the servo motor 34
And the amount of change in the weight of the package 5 with respect to the amount of movement of the cylinder support plate 32a is determined by the molding plate 33a and the cylindrical film 1a.
And the specific gravity of the filler 2 can be roughly determined. From these relationships, the approximate change amount of the weight of the package 5 per unit number of rotations of the servomotor 34 can be known. Therefore, if the rate of change in the weight of the package 5 with respect to the rotation speed of the servomotor 34 is set in the molding plate control unit 43, the rotation speed of the servomotor 34 can be determined based on the above subtraction value. Alternatively, the number of rotations of the servo motor 34 in one control may be determined in advance, and only the 34 rotation direction of the servo motor may be controlled according to the sign of the subtraction value.

By performing the above-described processing every time one package 5 is produced, the position of the molding plate 33a is controlled such that the weight of the package 5 always falls within the allowable error range. Even when the specific gravity of the filler 2 fluctuates or the elongation of the tubular film 1 occurs during continuous production of the package 5, the variation in the weight of the package 5 can be further reduced. .

The cylinder 3 is used to drive the molding plate 33a.
9a, and by controlling the position of the cylinder support plate 32a that supports the cylinder 39a,
a, 33b, so that the molding plates 33a, 33b
The control of the interval of 33b can be performed independently of the control of the opening and closing operation of the molding plates 33a and 33b. Accordingly, the molding plate control unit 43 does not control the moving amount of the molding plate 33a for each one packaging operation, but only controls the position of the cylinder support plate 32a as necessary, so that the cylindrical film 1 can be moved. The distance between the molded plates 33a and 33b when sandwiched can be easily controlled.

In this embodiment, one cylinder support plate 3
Although the example in which the molding mechanism 30 is configured so that the position of the cylinder support plate 2a is controllable is shown, the position of both the cylinder support plates 32a and 32b may be configured to be controllable. Also, the cylinders 39a, 3
When the stroke of 9b can be controlled, the cylinder support plates 32a and 32b are fixed and the cylinders 39a and 3b are fixed.
The stroke 9b itself may be controlled.

[0038]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below.

In this embodiment, the liquid filling material was filled and packaged by using the vertical filling and packaging machine shown in FIGS.
The reference weight W0 of the package 5 is 16200 g, the lower limit W1L in the product specification is 16130 g, and the upper limit W1U.
To 16380 g. Also, a weight (permissible error) as a reference for determining whether to move the position of the cylinder support plate 32a.
Is 16170 g for the lower limit W2L and 16 for the upper limit W2U.
250 g. The width of the molded plates 33a and 33b is 400.
mm and a height of 230 mm.
When 33b sandwiches the tubular film 1, the molded plate 33a,
Assuming that the entire surface of 33b is in contact with the tubular film 1,
The ratio of the change in the weight of the package 5 to the number of rotations of the servomotor 34 was set in the molded plate control unit 43.

According to the above conditions, while controlling the servomotor 34 based on the average value of the past 10 weights,
Fifteen packages 5 were manufactured. As a result, the average value of the weight of all the packages 5 was 16202.5 g, and the standard deviation was 5
It became 3.3 g. In the present embodiment, since the lower limit of the specification with respect to the reference weight W0 is as small as 70 g, there were five weights smaller than the lower limit of the specification, but the variation of the weight was within ± 1%. It was suppressed and satisfactory results were obtained.

[0041]

As described above, according to the present invention, by controlling the interval between the molded plates based on the measurement result of the weight of the package, the physical properties of the filling and the input state during the continuous production of the package are controlled. Even if there is a fluctuation, a package having a small variation in weight can be produced, and the yield of the package can be improved.

A cylinder is used to drive the molded plate.
By controlling the distance between the molded plates by controlling the position of the cylinder support plate that supports the cylinder, the control of the distance between the molded plates is independent of the control of the opening and closing operations of the molded plates.
It can be done easily.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view showing a schematic configuration of an embodiment of a vertical filling and packaging machine of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the vertical filling and packaging machine shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a view for explaining the operation of the vertical filling and packaging machine shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a view for explaining the operation of the vertical filling and packaging machine shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a relationship between an error range and an allowable error range in product specifications with respect to a reference weight of a package.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Cylindrical film 1a Empty filling part 2 Filling material 5 Package 10 Feeding pipe 11 Stiffener 20 Heat sealing mechanism 30 Molding mechanism 31 Frame 32a, 32b Cylinder support plate 33a, 33b Mold plate 34 Servo motor 35 Worm gear 36a, 36b Rotating shaft 37 Screw shaft 38 Floating nut 39a, 39b Cylinder 41 Support plate guide 44 Weight measuring device 45 Molding plate controller 46 Molding plate guide

Claims (2)

[Claims] A squeegee roller that is disposed so as to be able to move between the cylindrical films into which the filler is charged, and that squeezes the cylindrical film from the side and sends the squeeze roller downward; A heat sealing mechanism that heat seals and cuts the cylindrical film in the width direction; and a cylinder in which the filler is inserted between the stiffener roller and the heat sealing mechanism so that the cylindrical film can move in opposition therebetween. And a pair of molding plates for pressing the tubular film from the side, wherein the molded plate is formed by cutting the tubular film based on the measurement result of the weight of the package obtained by being cut by the heat sealing mechanism. A vertical filling and packaging machine in which the interval when pressing is controlled. 2. The molding plate is driven by a cylinder, and the cylinder is fixed to a cylinder supporting plate movably provided in parallel with a moving direction of the molding plate, and by controlling a position of the cylinder supporting plate. The vertical filling and packaging machine according to claim 1, wherein an interval between the molding plates is controlled.