JPH11348943A - Apparatus for mounting separating sheet for foodstuff container - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To mount a separating sheet on a foodstuff container in a sanitary and speedy manner as compared with the case of manual operation and further efficiently mount the separating sheet on the foodstuff container with good working efficiency and in such a way as to be comformable to the transfer speed of the foodstuff container in the operation of mounting a separating sheet on a foodstuff container. SOLUTION: This apparatus comprises a feed mechanism 5 for feeding a separating sheet 1 in a fixed direction, a pull-out mechanism 15 for holding and pulling out this separating sheet 1, a transfer mechanism 17 for transferring a foodstuff container 4 containing foodstuffs to the underface of the separating sheet 1 pulled out, a cutting mechanism 14 for cutting the separating sheet 1 in a desired size when the foodstuff container 4 is transferred to the underface of the separating sheet 1, and a pusher 20 for pressing the separating sheet 1 thus cut against a desired portion of the foodstuff container 4.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to a box lunch, soba, udon, and so on which are sold in large quantities at station lunches, convenience stores, and the like.
Used in food containers containing prepared dishes, etc., to prevent the drying of food, to separate food from soups, condiments, etc. in small bags to be topped, to prevent the mixing of different types of food, The present invention relates to an apparatus for arranging a separation sheet for a food container for preventing adhesion of food and a lid.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, the surface of a cooked rice portion of a food container filled with foods such as lunch boxes, buckwheat, udon, and side dishes is covered with a separation sheet such as a polypropylene or polyethylene sheet to prevent drying of the cooked rice. It has been practiced to prevent adhesion to the surface. Separation sheets are used for versatile purposes such as separating soups, spices and the like contained in small bags to be topped from foods, and preventing foods of different types from being mixed with each other.

In order to dispose the separation sheet at a target position of a food container filled with food, the sheets cut and stacked in a predetermined size in advance are manually separated one by one, and the separation is performed manually. I was

[0004]

However, the manual arrangement requires a large amount of labor and labor, and is liable to be unsanitary, which is likely to cause a problem in food hygiene. Was. In addition, since the work speed varies significantly depending on the work efficiency of the worker, food containers that are transferred at regular intervals to a transfer mechanism such as a conveyor,
It has been difficult to efficiently arrange the covering sheet, and the workability has been poor.

[0005] The present invention has been made in order to solve the above-mentioned problems.
An automatic machine enables a food container separation sheet to be reliably placed at a predetermined position in a food container at a constant speed. In addition, it is intended to enable efficient and efficient placement of the separation sheet, which is hygienic and largely omitted manual operation.

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides a feeding mechanism for feeding a separation sheet which can be continuously supplied from a supply source in a certain direction, and a separation sheet fed from the feeding mechanism. And a transfer mechanism for transferring a food container containing food to the lower surface of the separation sheet drawn by the drawer mechanism, and a food container supplied by the transfer mechanism is mounted on the lower surface of the separation sheet. It comprises a cutting mechanism for cutting the separation sheet to a target size when transported, and a pusher for pressing the separation sheet released from the drawer mechanism against the target portion of the food container along with the cutting by the cutting mechanism.

Further, the feed mechanism may be formed by a pair of rollers for sandwiching the separation sheet, and at least one of the pair of rollers may be driven.

[0008] The pair of rollers comprises an upper roller and a lower roller. The upper roller has an annular groove formed on the outer periphery thereof, and the tip of a separator is inserted into the groove. The separation sheet may be disposed on the upper surface of the transfer path to prevent the separation sheet from being wound around the upper roller.

[0009]

According to the present invention, the separation sheet is wound in a roll or the like to form a supply source, and the separation sheet is continuously drawn from the supply source. The separation sheet can be pulled out by a feed mechanism including an upper roller and a lower roller. The feed mechanism constituted by the upper roller or the lower roller may be configured such that either one of them is connected to a drive source and driven, and either one of them may be formed as a driven shaft, or both may be connected to the drive source. It may be something.

Then, the separation sheet supplied from the supply source is inserted between the upper roller and the lower roller of the feed mechanism, and the upper or lower roller connected to the driving source is driven to supply the separation sheet. Drawn from sources.

Then, the separation sheet pulled out from the upper roller and the lower roller is pulled out to the upper surface of the transfer mechanism of the food container by a pulling mechanism constituted by a robot hand or the like. The pull-out mechanism is configured by a robot hand or the like, and is configured to be able to hold and pull out the sheet fed from the feed mechanism, or to release the grip. In addition, the amount and speed of the draw-out mechanism correspond to the amount and speed of the feed from the feed mechanism.

When the food container is arranged by the feeding mechanism on the lower surface of the separation sheet drawn by the drawing mechanism, this is detected by a sensor such as a photoelectric tube, and the cutting mechanism operates to cut the separation sheet. Simultaneously with this cutting, the holding of the separation sheet by the drawer mechanism is released, and the separation sheet is brought into a free falling state. Simultaneously with this free fall state, the separation sheet is pressed by a pusher arranged on the upper surface of the separation sheet, and the separation sheet is forcibly pressed and arranged at a predetermined position of the food container.

As described above, the separation sheet can be easily arranged at a predetermined position of the food container without manual operation. Further, if the feed mechanism is formed by the upper roller and the lower roller as described above, the mechanism can be simplified. In addition, among the pair of rollers of the feed mechanism, a concave groove is formed in the upper roller in an annular shape, the tip of the separator is disposed in this concave groove, and the lower surface of the separator is disposed on the upper surface of the separation sheet transfer path, Since the separation sheet is forced to move on the lower surface of the separator, it is possible to prevent the separation sheet from being entangled in the upper roller and to reliably feed the separation sheet toward the pulling mechanism.

[0014]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. (1) A separation sheet is made of polyethylene, polypropylene, polyester, or the like, and can be rolled and wound around a roll. Supply source placed on support (2)
(3), so that it can be continuously supplied from this supply source (3).

In order to supply the separation sheet (1) from the supply source (3) to the food container (4), the separation sheet (1) is fed by a feeding mechanism.
This is done by connecting to (5). This feed mechanism
(5) is composed of an upper roller (6) and a lower roller (7) as shown in FIG. 6, and one of the upper roller (6) and the lower roller (7) is connected to a driving source, The other is driven. This drive source is composed of a stepping motor, a servomotor, and the like.

The upper roller (6) and the lower roller
(7) The separation sheet (1) is sandwiched and sent out. The feeding amount is connected to a driving source such as a stepping motor or a servomotor or to upper and lower rollers (6) and (7) of a feeding mechanism (5). This is performed by calculating the pulses sent by the rotary encoder and controlling the number of rotations of the drive source.

As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the upper roller (6) has annular grooves (8) formed on the outer periphery thereof at regular intervals, and a separator (10) is formed in the grooves (8). The separation sheet (1) is formed so that the separation sheet (1) can move on the lower surface of the separator (10). Further, a lower blade (12) for cutting the separation sheet (1) is disposed below the separator (10) via a transfer interval (11) of the separation sheet (1).

An upper cutter (13) is arranged on the upper surface of the lower blade (12), and the upper cutter (13) is formed so as to be movable up and down. (1) cutting is possible. A cutting mechanism (14) is formed by the upper cutter (13) and the lower blade (12).
Is composed.

Further, a cutting mechanism (1) for the separation sheet (1) is provided.
A pull-out mechanism (15) for the separation sheet (1) is arranged facing 4). The draw-out mechanism (15) is constituted by a robot hand or the like, and is formed so that the separation sheet (1) can be gripped from both upper and lower surfaces by gripping claws (16) and the separation sheet (1) can be transferred in the pull-out direction. I have. This draw-out mechanism (15)
It is not a driving force to pull out (1), but a separation sheet (1)
Is sent out by the feed mechanism (5), and the pull-out mechanism (15) moves in the horizontal direction while maintaining the tension of the feed. Therefore, the amount and speed of the pull-out mechanism (15) correspond to the amount and speed of the feed from the feed mechanism (5).

A roller conveyor and a roller conveyor are provided on the lower surface of the separation sheet (1) drawn by the drawing mechanism (15).
A transfer mechanism (17) such as a belt conveyor is arranged.
The food container (4) filled with food is transferred on the transfer mechanism (17). The food container (4) is continuously supplied at regular intervals, and the supply is supplied to a sensor such as a photoelectric tube sensor provided on both sides of a separation mechanism (17) at a lower end of a separation sheet (1).
It senses by (18).

Then, the food container (4) is connected to the sensor (1).
8) and a food container on the lower surface of the separation sheet (1)
When (4) is placed, the separation sheet (1) is cut by the cutting mechanism (14). At the same time as this cutting, the pull-out mechanism (1)
By releasing the gripping of the separation sheet (1) of 5), the separation sheet (1) is in a free falling state.

If the separation sheet (1) in the free falling state is left as it is, the separation sheet (1) may move in an unexpected direction due to air resistance or the like. Therefore, a pusher (20) for pushing down the separation sheet (1) cut by the cutting mechanism (14) to the food container (4) is disposed on the upper surface of the separation sheet (1). This pusher (20)
Pressing plate (23) at the tip of rod (22) of cylinder (21)
Is connected, and the cut separation sheet (1) is forcibly pushed down to the target portion of the food container (4) by the pressing plate (23). Also, the pressing plate (2) of the pusher (20)
3), a suction nozzle (24) is formed, and the suction nozzle (2) is formed.
If the separation sheet (1) is adsorbed to the food container (4) and is configured to be pressed and moved on the food in the food container (4), the separation sheet (1) is more stably arranged on the target portion of the food container (4). You can do it.

After disposing the separation sheet (1) in the food container (4), the upper roller (6) or the lower roller (7) of the feeding mechanism (5) is driven again to remove the separation sheet (1). Send out. Then, the sent separation sheet (1) is
In the same manner as described above, the drawing mechanism (15) pulls out the upper surface of the transfer mechanism (17), and the same cutting and placing work in the food container (4) as described above is repeated.

[0024]

As described above, the present invention is constructed as described above, so that the arrangement of the separation sheet in the food container can be more hygienic and quicker than the manual operation. And In addition, since the work efficiency is good and the separation sheet can be arranged in accordance with the transfer speed of the food container, the separation sheet can be efficiently arranged on the food container.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the device of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side view showing a state immediately before a pull-out mechanism holds a separation sheet.

FIG. 3 is a side view showing a state in which a pull-out mechanism has pulled out a separation sheet.

FIG. 4 is a side view of a state in which the separation sheet is cut and the separation sheet is arranged on the food container by a pusher.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged perspective view of a delivery mechanism portion.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along line AA of FIG. 5;

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Separation sheet 3 Supply source 4 Food container 5 Feeding mechanism 6 Upper roller 7 Lower roller 8 Depression groove 10 Separator 14 Cutting mechanism 15 Pull-out mechanism 17 Transfer mechanism 20 Pusher

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A feed mechanism that feeds a separation sheet that can be continuously supplied from a supply source in a fixed direction, a drawer mechanism that holds and pulls out the separation sheet sent from the feed mechanism, and a separation mechanism that is drawn out by the drawer mechanism. On the lower surface of the sheet, a transfer mechanism for transferring a food container containing food, and a cutting mechanism for cutting the separation sheet to a desired size when the food container supplied by the transfer mechanism is transferred to the lower surface of the separation sheet, An apparatus for arranging a separation sheet for a food container, comprising: a pusher for pressing the separation sheet released from the pull-out mechanism with the target portion of the food container while being cut by the cutting mechanism. 2. The arrangement of the food container separation sheet according to claim 1, wherein the feed mechanism is formed by a pair of rollers for sandwiching the separation sheet, and at least one of the pair of rollers can be driven. apparatus. 3. The pair of rollers includes an upper roller and a lower roller. The upper roller has an annular groove formed on an outer periphery thereof, and a tip of a separator is inserted into the groove.
3. The apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the lower surface of the separator is arranged on the upper surface of the separation sheet transfer path so as to prevent the separation sheet from being wound around the upper roller.