JPH1111414A - Automatic packaging device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To obtain an automatic packaging device in which the height of an auxiliary delivery part can be automatically changed according to the height of an object to be packaged so that operation efficiencies can be improved, resulting in improved packaging qualities. SOLUTION: In the automatic packaging device 1 in which a tray 17 is packaged using a film F delivered from a film feed part 14, there are provided a carrying-in part, packaging part, delivery part 13, film feed part 14, auxiliary delivery part 3, vertical sensor array, and control device 71. The packaging part 12 includes a front gripper 61, etc. The part 3 includes a supporting part 41, an auxiliary delivery conveyor 42, and a conveyor lifting mechanism 43. The conveyor 42 makes contact with the tray 17 from above to hold the posture of the tray 17 and also helps the gripper 61 to deliver the tray 17. The control device 71 changes the height of the conveyor 42 through the mechanism 43 according to the height of the tray 17 sensed by the vertical sensor array.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an automatic packaging device such as a tray packaging device for automatically packaging a container (tray) containing an article to be packaged, for example, a food, using an extensible film.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A tray packaging apparatus stretches a stretchable transparent film unwound from a film supply unit, for example, in a packaging unit into which a tray containing articles is carried in from a carry-in unit. With respect to the tray, the film is folded and packaged from both sides in the width direction and both sides in the longitudinal direction of the film to the bottom outer surface of the tray, and the tray thus automatically packaged is discharged from the apparatus by the discharging means.

Further, a tray packaging apparatus for packaging various articles to be packaged has a disadvantage in that when the articles to be ejected are discharged by the ejecting means when the center of gravity of the articles to be packaged is relatively high and the bottom area is relatively small, and the stability is poor. In order to prevent overturning, an auxiliary discharge unit is used which assists the discharge unit while keeping the posture of the packaged object so as to be able to freely contact and separate from above the packaged object.

Conventionally, this auxiliary discharge means is mechanically connected to a lever or is configured to be movable in a vertical direction by a driving device such as a motor. The desired height has been changed by inputting the target value.

[0005]

In the conventional automatic packaging apparatus in which the height of the auxiliary discharge section is changed according to the above-mentioned target value by the lever or the external input, every time the height of the article to be packaged changes, an operator is required. It is necessary to operate the lever or input a new target value. For this reason, work efficiency and the like have been reduced.

In addition, there is a possibility that the above-mentioned operation of the lever or input of the target value may be neglected. If these operations are neglected, the object to be packaged may fall down or be deformed when it is discharged from the packaging part. In such a case, the quality of the package to be packaged is reduced, and furthermore, measures are taken to ensure that the product is not discharged, which hinders the work and reduces the work efficiency.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, the problem to be solved by the present invention is to maintain the posture of the packaged object when discharging the packaged object, to improve the efficiency of the work for assisting the discharging means, and to improve the efficiency of the operation. An object of the present invention is to provide an automatic packaging device capable of improving the packaging quality of a package.

[0008]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides a film supply unit and a film feeding unit. A packaging unit having a discharging means for folding the bottom of the package to wrap the package and discharging the packaged product, a detecting unit for detecting the height of the package, and the packaging An auxiliary discharge conveyor that can freely contact and separate from the object from above and operate at the same speed as the discharge speed of the packaged object, and the discharge unit of the discharge unit while maintaining the posture of the packaged object discharged by the conveyor. An auxiliary discharge unit for assisting the discharge, and a control unit for changing the height of the auxiliary discharge conveyor according to the height of the packaged object detected by the detection unit.

In the present invention, the detecting means detects the height of the article to be packaged by the packaging section, and the detected information is supplied to the control means. The control means automatically changes the height of the conveyor of the auxiliary unloading means for the packaged articles based on the detection information. This eliminates the need for the operator to change the height of the auxiliary discharge section each time the height of the packaged object changes.

[0010]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A first embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS.

A tray packaging apparatus 1 according to a first embodiment as an automatic packaging apparatus shown in the perspective view of FIG. 1 has a frame 2 having a front panel 2a (see FIG. 1) and a rear panel 2b (see FIG. 4). And auxiliary discharge means 3,
As shown in FIGS. 2 to 6, the frame 2 includes a carry-in unit 11 serving as a tray carry-in unit, a wrapping unit 12 serving as a tray wrapping unit, a carry-out unit 13 serving as a tray carry-out unit, and a film supply unit 14. , A horizontal sensor array 31 as a detecting means, a vertical sensor array 32, and a control device 71 as a control means.

[0012] As shown in FIG.
A horizontal carry-in belt conveyer 16 penetrating the front panel 2a back and forth is provided, and a rear portion of the carry-in belt conveyer 16 is disposed between the panels 2a and 2b. Front panel 2a through which the conveyor belt 16 passes
Is formed with a tray entrance 2c.

The carry-in belt conveyor 16 is shown in FIGS.
As shown in FIG. 5, a plurality of endless belts 16a are arranged at intervals in the width direction and are rotated synchronously by the power of the stepping motor 15.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 5, on the upper surface of the front part of the conveyor 16, an article to be packaged in the form of a square box having an open upper surface and containing an article A to be packaged, such as fresh food, is open. Tray 17 is supplied.

A wall provided at one end in the width direction of the loading section 11, for example, a vertical wall 35 on the right side when viewed from the front is a wall serving as a reference when the tray 17 is supplied, and has an inner surface shown in FIGS. Supply switch 36 as a start switch
Is provided.

The switch 36 is a push type switch and has a considerably large area, and the side of the tray 17 is pressed against the switch so that the supply switch 3 is pressed.
6 is turned on. As a result, the motor 15 is driven to start the carrying operation of the carry-in belt conveyor 16, and the tray 17 is carried toward the packaging unit 12.

The two panels 2 behind the loading section 11 and
The packaging part 12 is provided between a and 2b. The tray 17 carried in by the carry-in part 11 is supplied to the packaging part 12.

The wrapping section 12 holds a tray 17 positioned in the wrapping section 12 upward from a rear portion of the loading section 11, and a film supply section 14 provided below a below-described unloading section 13 (FIG. 4). The transparent stretch film F which can be stretched and unwound from the tray 1 is measured.
7, the film F is drawn out according to the size of the film F and expanded in the width direction thereof. It is to be packed.

The wrapping unit 12 for performing the automatic wrapping operation is well known, but will be described with reference to FIGS. 4, 5 and 6.
Between the two panels 2a and 2b of the packaging apparatus 1, the leading edge of the film F is pulled out and the packaged tray 1 is pulled out.
A front gripper 61 also used as a discharging means for discharging the film 7a (see FIG. 4) from the inside of the apparatus 1, and a pair of side grippers 62 for individually gripping the widthwise side edges of the drawn film F and extending the film F. Is provided.

The front gripper 61 is reciprocated along a guide rail 63 (only one is shown in FIG. 4) in a direction of coming and going with respect to the unloading section 13.
A grip rubber (not shown) for preventing the film F from being pulled out when the gripped film F is pulled is provided on the inner surface of the film gripper 61a that opens and closes.

The pair of side grippers 62 includes a driving mechanism 6
4, the film F is moved in a direction perpendicular to the drawing path of the film F toward each other and away from each other. These grippers 62 are provided side by side with a plurality of film grips 62a that open and close.
A grip rubber 65 is provided on at least one inner surface of a to prevent the film F from being pulled out when the sandwiched film F is stretched. 4 and 5, reference numeral 66 denotes a lifter including an elevating body 67, a movable support 68 supported by the elevating body 67, and a driving mechanism 69 for elevating the elevating body 67. And is disposed at the rear of the loading section 11. The movable support 68 maintains a self-standing state by the force of the spring at the normal time,
When it is pushed from the side by the side gripper 62, it tilts down,
The folding operation of the film F by the side gripper 62 is not prevented.

The film F is pulled out by the reciprocating movement of the front gripper 61 so as to be positioned above the movable support 68. Next, after the edges on both sides in the width direction of the film F are sandwiched by a pair of side grippers 62, When the side grippers 61 are retracted, the drawn film F is preliminarily stretched as shown in FIG.

In this state, the movable support 6
The tray 17 carried on the tray 8 is raised by the lifting operation of the lifter 66, and is pushed up while further extending the film F being drawn.

Next, the pair of side grippers 62 approach each other and enter the lower side of the bottom outer surface of the tray 17,
After the film F is folded into the bottom outer surface of the tray 17 from both sides in the width direction, the grip of the film F is released, and the film F is retracted away from each other and returned to the initial position.

Thereafter, the front gripper 61 is moved to the unloading section 1
The film F is moved in three directions and enters the lower side of the bottom outer surface of the tray 17 to transfer the film F from one side in the longitudinal direction to the tray 1.
After being folded into the bottom outer surface of the bottom 7 and pushing the tray 17 so as to ride on the carry-out section 13 and discharging it from the apparatus 1, the grip of the film F is released, and the film F is retracted and returned to the initial position.

As a result, the film F is folded in the carry-out section 13 below the outer surface of the bottom of the tray 17 on which the film F rides. Thus, the film F is folded into the bottom outer surface of the tray 17 from both sides in the longitudinal direction, and the packaging is completed by the automatic packaging operation described above. In this way, the film F pushes up the tray 17, and the packaging unit 12 folds the film F on the outer surface of the bottom of the tray 17 to package the tray 17.

As shown in FIG.
A lever 20 supporting one end of a reel 18 on which a stretch film F is wound and a guide roller 19 for guiding the film F unreeled from the reel 18 and having the other end pivotally supported and rotatable; And a film guide mechanism 21 disposed above. The film guide mechanism 21 is rotatably supported between the panels 2a and 2b and is a pair of rollers 2 which are parallel and closely contacted with each other.
7 a and a cutter 22.

Film F pulled out from reel 18
Is the film guide mechanism 2 via the guide roller 19
It is set so as to be inserted between one pair of rollers 27a, and is pulled out onto the lifter 66 of the packaging unit 12 by the movement of the front gripper 61 of the packaging unit 12. Immediately after the completion of the packaging, the cutter 2
The film F pulled out so as to cover the wrapping portion 12 by the ascending operation of 2 is cut.

The tray unloading section 13 includes the two panels 2a, 2b.
The packing unit 1 is disposed at a position higher than the tray carrying-in unit 11 and is located at a position higher than the tray carrying-in unit 11 as shown in FIG.
It is provided continuously to the packaging part 12 so as to be continuous at right angles through the two.

The unloading section 13 includes a pair of support frames 25 parallel to each other, an unloading conveyer 26 rotatably supported between the pair of support frames 25, and a pair of support frames 25 positioned on the side of the packaging section 12 of the conveyor 26. , A plurality of unloading rollers 27 rotatably supported by the motor, a motor 28 for rotating the unloading conveyor 26 and the unloading rollers 27, and a flat electric heater 29.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the carry-out conveyor 26 is provided at a drive roller 26a provided at an intermediate position of the support frame 25 and at an end of the support frame 25 furthest from the packaging section 12. An output shaft 28a of a motor 28 is connected to the driven roller 26b and a heat-resistant endless carrying-out belt 26c stretched over both the rollers 26a and 26b.

The output shaft 28a and each of the unloading rollers 27 are connected via a chain transmission mechanism 30, respectively. Therefore, the belt-type carry-out conveyor 26 and each carry-out roller 27 are driven synchronously. The unloading section 13 positions the unloading roller 27 inside the packaging device 1,
The horizontal belt type carry-out conveyor 26 is provided so as to protrude outside the packaging apparatus 1.

As the motor 28, a stepping motor is used.
6, the operation is temporarily interrupted when the sheet is conveyed to the central portion or the unloading end side, and the operation is resumed after a certain period of time.

The electric heater 29 is provided with a driving roller 26a.
, And is disposed between the driven roller 26b and releases heat to heat the upper surface side of the carry-out belt 26c. As a result, the film F wrapping the tray 17 is heated by the electric heater 29 while the packaged tray 17a that has been automatically packaged and carried out via the carry-out roller 27 of the carry-out unit 13 is placed on the carry-out conveyor 26. Upon heating, the film portion folded into the bottom outer surface of the tray 17 is brought into close contact with the tray 17 so that an appropriate packaging state is completed.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a door 6 for opening and closing the tray entrance 2c is attached to the tray entrance 2c for dust prevention and safety. The door 6 has a pivot 7 whose upper end is rotated by the power of a stepping motor (not shown).
It is supported by. The door 6 is connected to the supply switch 3
The power of the stepping motor that is driven by turning on of the motor 6 from the hanging posture shown by the solid line in FIG.
The tray carrying entrance 2c is opened by being rotationally displaced to the rear panel 2b side indicated by a dashed line, and is kept closed for a certain period of time before being closed.

The carry-in section 11 includes, for example, a closed door 6.
The sensor arrays 31 and 32 for detecting the tray 17 to be carried in and located near the rear side are provided.

The horizontal sensor array 31 is used as detecting means for detecting the width and depth of the tray 17 from below the tray 17 and detecting the number of trays to be packed. The sensor array 31 is formed by arranging a plurality of reflection sensors 31a (only one is shown) each of which includes a light emitting element and a light receiving element as a set at a predetermined interval in the width direction. Is arranged so as to cross the carrying-in portion 11 in the width direction thereof.

Each sensor 31a is connected to the carry-in belt conveyor 1.
6 between the belts 16a.
a so as to be able to face the bottom surface of the tray 17 without being interrupted by a. A light emitting diode is used for each light emitting element, and a phototransistor is used for each light receiving element.

Vertical sensor array 32 forming a transmission type sensor
Is connected to the control device 71, and detects the height of the tray 17 (including the protruding height when the internal article A protrudes from the opening of the tray 17), and sends it to the control device 71. Although only one of them is shown in FIG. 2, it is provided vertically at both ends in the width direction of the carry-in portion 11.

On one vertical sensor array 32, a plurality of light emitting elements 32a are provided at regular intervals in the vertical direction. A plurality of light receiving elements for receiving light emitted horizontally from the light emitting elements 32a are provided at regular intervals in the vertical direction in the other vertical sensor array (not shown) facing the vertical sensor array 32. A light emitting diode is used for each light emitting element 32a, and a phototransistor is used for each light receiving element.

As described above, these sensor arrays 3
Based on the size of the tray 17 detected in steps 1 and 32, the length of the film F required for packaging the tray 17 and the like are determined, and the film F is drawn from the film supply unit 14.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 4, the auxiliary discharge means 3 is provided above the packaging section 12 and includes a support section 41, an auxiliary discharge conveyor 42, and a conveyor elevating mechanism 43. I have.

The support portion 41 is formed in a rod shape, and the lower end is fixed to the frame 2 and the upper end is the device 1.
, And comprises four pillar members 44 extending in parallel to each other. These pillar members 44
When the auxiliary discharge conveyor 42 is slidably supported along the longitudinal direction, the auxiliary discharge conveyor 42
2 is provided so as to face the discharge roller 27 of the discharge section 13.

The auxiliary discharge conveyor 42 includes a pair of frame members 45, 45 parallel to each other,
The frame member 45 is provided rotatably between the frame members 45 and 45.
And a drive roller 46 installed at an intermediate position between the frame members 45 and 45, and installed at an end of the frame member 45 located above the carry-out portion 13 when supported by the column member 44. Driven roller 47 and a heat-resistant endless discharge belt 48 stretched over both rollers 46, 47.

A motor is provided inside the drive roller 46 so as to rotate the endless discharge belt 48 along the direction of transport of the unloading conveyor 26 of the unloading section 13. Further, ends of the frame members 45, 45 farthest from the carry-out portion 13 are connected to each other by a connecting member 49. The endless discharge belt 48 is made of a soft sponge or the like, and has irregularities on the conveying surface.

The auxiliary discharge conveyor 42 is provided with
When the front gripper 61 pushes out the packaged tray 17a toward the unloading section 13, the front gripper 6
The rotation speed of the endless discharging belt 48 is synchronized with the moving speed of 1 (the discharging speed of the packaged tray 17a).

Each of the frame members 45, 45 is provided with a pair of rollers 50 at two locations on the outside thereof. The pair of rollers 50, 50 are rotatably mounted on the frame member 45, respectively, and sandwich the column member 44 from both sides to form the auxiliary discharge conveyor 42.
Are slidable in the vertical direction of the device 1.

As shown in FIG. 4, the conveyor lifting / lowering mechanism 43 includes a motor 51, a drive shaft 52, and a screwing member 53. The drive shaft 52 is a lead screw having a thread groove 54 on its peripheral surface, and its lower end is connected to the output shaft of the motor 51.
And is extended above the device 1 in parallel with. The screwing member 53 is connected to the connecting member 4 of the auxiliary discharge conveyor 42.
9 and a screw hole 55 for screwing with the drive shaft 52 is formed.

The motor 51 is connected to the control device 71, and rotates the drive shaft 52 according to an output signal from the control device 71. The rotation of the drive shaft 52 causes the auxiliary discharge conveyor 42 to be parallel in the vertical direction from the position shown by the two-dot chain line Q1 (top dead center) to the position shown by the two-dot chain line Q2 (bottom dead center) in the drawing. Will be moved. The motor 51 allows the auxiliary discharge conveyor 42 to freely contact and separate from above the packaged tray 17a packaged in the packaging unit 12 from above.

The control unit 71 includes a known CPU, RO
M and an arithmetic unit having a RAM, etc.
1, the wrapping unit 12, the unloading unit 13, the film supply unit 14, and the like are connected to control the operation of the wrapping unit 12, thereby controlling the entire wrapping apparatus 1.

The controller 71 controls the vertical sensor array 3
2 according to the height of the tray 17 detected by the motor 2.
1 and the auxiliary discharge conveyor 42
The height of the auxiliary discharge conveyor 42 is automatically controlled so as to be in contact with the auxiliary discharge conveyor 42.

Further, the control device 71 controls one tray 17
Is completed, and before the next tray 17 is conveyed from the tray entrance 2c to the packaging section 12, the auxiliary discharge conveyor 42 is set to an initial position such as the top dead center Q1 or the bottom dead center Q2. The motor 51 is controlled.

According to the configuration described above, the article A such as a food
When packing the tray 17 containing the trays, first, the operator places the tray 17 on the carry-in belt conveyor 16 of the carry-in section 11. Then, the supply switch 36 drives the motor 15 to start the carry-in belt conveyor 16 and starts the carrying operation.
c is opened and the tray 17 is conveyed toward the packaging unit 12.

At this time, the vertical sensor array 32 provided at the tray carry-in entrance 2c moves the height of the tray 17 (article A).
Is detected from the upper end of the tray 17 (including the protruding height of the article A), and is output to the control device 71. Then, the control device 71 drives the motor 51 to change the height of the auxiliary discharge conveyor 42 so that the auxiliary discharge conveyor 42 contacts the tray 17 from above.

Then, the tray 17 is automatically packaged with the film F in the packaging section 12 as described above.
The front gripper 61 pushes the wrapped tray 17a from the wrapping section 12 toward the unloading section 13.

At this time, in synchronization with the front gripper 61 pushing the tray 17a, the auxiliary discharge conveyor 4
The second drive roller 46 is driven. Auxiliary discharge conveyor 42
Abuts the packaged tray 17a from above, and the auxiliary discharge conveyor 42 and the front gripper 61 push the packaged tray 17a in synchronization with each other. And assist the front gripper 61. For this reason, even if the packed tray 17a is unstable as in the case where the center of gravity of the tray 17 and the article to be packaged such as the article A are relatively high and the bottom area is relatively small, the packed tray 17a falls over. It can be reliably discharged to the unloading section 13 without performing.

After the discharge of the packed tray 17a is completed, the control device 71 sets the auxiliary discharge conveyor 42 to the top dead center Q1.
Or, it is returned to the initial position such as the bottom dead center Q2.

Then, the worker removes the wrapped tray 17a from the unloading conveyor 26 of the unloading section 13, and the door 6 is rotated so that the next tray 17 is supplied from the tray inlet 2c. By repeating the above-described steps, the packaging apparatus 1 can pack the trays 17 having different heights even if the operator does not input the lever operation and the target height value when packaging the trays 17 having different heights. You can do it.

According to the present embodiment, the front gripper 6
When 1 pushes out the packaged tray 17a toward the unloading section 13, the auxiliary discharge conveyor 42 abuts on the tray 17a and pushes out toward the unloading section 13 in synchronization with the front gripper 61. The attitude of the tray 17a is maintained and the front gripper 61 is assisted. Therefore, even when the center of gravity of the tray 17 and the article A is relatively high and the bottom area of the tray 17 is relatively small, the tray 17 can be reliably discharged without falling down.

Further, the controller 71 automatically changes the height of the auxiliary discharge conveyor 42 according to the height of the tray 17 and the article A detected by the vertical sensor array 32.
There is no need for the operator to perform a manual operation to change the height of the auxiliary discharge conveyor 42.

Note that the vertical sensor array 32 is
7 is used for packaging, there is no need to provide a sensor for adjusting the height of the auxiliary conveyor 42.

Therefore, each time the operator changes the height of the tray 17 or the like, there is no need to perform a lever operation or input a height target value, so that work efficiency is improved and the above-described lever operation is performed. There is no reduction in packaging quality such as falling of the tray 17 or deformation of the tray 17 that occurs when neglected.

The present invention is not limited to the first embodiment, but can be applied to, for example, a packaging apparatus for automatically packaging objects to be packaged other than the tray 17. Also,
In the first embodiment, the height of the tray 17 is detected by using the sensors 31 and 32 provided at the tray entrance 2c. However, another sensor provided at the packaging unit 12 or the like may be used instead. Alternatively, the height of the tray 17 may be detected.

The endless discharge belt 48 has been described as being driven by a motor.
The endless belt 48 may be moved in accordance with the movement of the tray 17 moved to 1 and the unloading section 13.

[0065]

According to the present invention, the height of the auxiliary discharge conveyor of the auxiliary discharge means is automatically changed by the control means in accordance with the height of the package to be detected by the detection means. However, there is no need to change the height of the auxiliary discharge portion every time the height of the packaged object changes.

Therefore, the work efficiency can be improved, and the deformation of the packaged object caused by neglecting the operation of changing the height can be eliminated, and the packaging quality of the packaged object can be improved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a configuration of an entire tray packaging apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a configuration of a carry-in section of the tray packaging device according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a plan view showing a positional relationship among a carry-in unit, a packing unit, and a carry-out unit of the tray packaging device according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a positional relationship among a packaging unit, a carry-out unit, a film supply unit, and an auxiliary discharge unit of the tray packaging device according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view showing a configuration of a packaging unit of the tray packaging device according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a plan view showing a state in which the film is stretched in the packaging section of the tray packaging apparatus according to the first embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Tray packaging apparatus (automatic packaging apparatus), 3 ... Auxiliary discharge means, 12 ... Packing part, 14 ... Film supply part, F ... Film, 17 ... Tray (object to be packaged), 32 ... Vertical sensor array (Detecting means) , 42: auxiliary discharge conveyor, 61: front gripper (discharge means), 71: control device (control means).

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A film supply unit, and a film fed from the supply unit pushes up an object to be packaged, folds the film into an outer bottom surface of the object to be packaged, and packages and wraps the object to be packaged. A packaging unit having a discharge unit for discharging the packaged object, a detection unit for detecting the height of the packaged object, and a discharge speed of the packaged object that can be freely moved toward and away from the packaged object from above. An auxiliary discharge conveyor that operates at the same speed as the auxiliary discharge unit that assists discharge of the discharge unit while maintaining the posture of the package object discharged by the conveyor; and a package that is detected by the detection unit. Control means for changing the height of the auxiliary discharge conveyor in accordance with the height of an object.