WO2017154391A1

WO2017154391A1 - Packaging apparatus

Info

Publication number: WO2017154391A1
Application number: PCT/JP2017/002429
Authority: WO
Inventors: 近藤　真史; 市川　誠; 佐藤　良一
Original assignee: 株式会社イシダ
Priority date: 2016-03-07
Filing date: 2017-01-25
Publication date: 2017-09-14
Also published as: JP2017159910A

Abstract

A packaging apparatus (100) that can achieve power-savings is provided with: conveyor belts (4) for conveying a film (TF) while sucking same by means of multiple suction ports (41); a negative pressure chamber (5) disposed on the back surface of the conveyor belts (4) for applying negative pressure on the suction ports (41); a vacuum pump (54) for depressurizing the interior of the negative pressure chamber (5); a detection unit (8) for detecting the conveyance speed of the film (TF); and a control unit (9) for determining deviation of the detected conveyance speed from the speed set for the conveyor belts (4), and stopping the vacuum pump (54) if the deviation is within a permissible range and driving the vacuum pump (54) if the deviation falls outside of the permissible range.

Description

Packaging equipment

The present invention relates to a power saving countermeasure technique for a packaging device provided with a pull-down belt that conveys a belt-shaped film while sucking it.

A so-called suction-type pull-down belt is used for a bag making and packaging apparatus for forming a belt-like film into a bag while forming it into a tube shape. This pull-down belt is transported while sucking the side surface of the tubular film with a perforated belt that goes around the negative pressure chamber.

The negative pressure chamber that applies negative pressure to the perforated belt is connected to a vacuum pump. Since the vacuum pump is always driven while the apparatus is operated, it is difficult to suppress the power consumption. Therefore, the following Patent Document 1 (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2011-46533) detects the degree of vacuum in the negative pressure chamber and controls the rotation speed of the vacuum pump so that the detected degree of vacuum falls within a predetermined range. The technology is disclosed. Patent Document 1 discloses a technique for detecting the film conveyance speed and controlling the degree of vacuum so that the detection speed is within a predetermined range.

JP 2011-46533 A

However, the technique disclosed in Patent Document 1 has a problem that the number of revolutions of the vacuum pump is controlled using an inverter, and therefore, it is more expensive than a normal vacuum pump without an inverter.
Also, even if the number of rotations of the vacuum pump is controlled based on the detected film conveyance speed, the vacuum pump is driven without stopping, so the movable part must be regularly maintained, There is a problem that the running cost increases accordingly.

The present invention has been developed in view of such problems, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a new packaging device that can contribute to power saving by reducing the power consumption and maintenance frequency of the vacuum pump.

The packaging device according to the present invention includes a transport belt that transports a film while sucking a film by a plurality of suction ports, a negative pressure chamber that is disposed on the back side of the transport belt and applies a negative pressure to the suction ports, and the negative pressure chamber. A vacuum pump for reducing the pressure in the pressure chamber, a detection unit for detecting the conveyance speed of the film, and a control unit are provided. The control unit obtains a deviation between the detected conveyance speed of the film and the set speed of the conveyance belt, stops the vacuum pump if the deviation is within an allowable range, and the deviation deviates from the allowable range. The vacuum pump is driven.

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating the configuration of the present invention. In this figure, the outline of the vertical bag making and packaging apparatus is shown, but the packaging apparatus is not limited to this. Further, the packaging device 100 shown in FIGS. 1 to 5 is one example, and does not limit the technical scope of the present invention.
In FIG. 1, a packaging apparatus 100 includes a hopper 1 into which articles are placed from above, a cylinder 2 connected to a lower end opening of the hopper 1, and a periphery of the cylinder 2 so that a belt-like film F is surrounded by a tube. Is disposed on both sides sandwiching the cylinder 2, and is disposed on the back side of the conveyor belt 4, and is transported downward while sucking the film TF formed in a tube shape, A negative pressure chamber 5 for applying a negative pressure to a plurality of suction ports 41 provided in the conveyor belt 4, a vertical seal portion 6 for vertical sealing in a state where both edges of the tubular film TF are overlapped, and a tubular film And a horizontal seal portion 7 that simultaneously horizontal seals two upper and lower portions of the TF and cuts between them.

2 and 3 are external perspective views of an embodiment of the conveyor belt 4 and the negative pressure chamber 5. FIG. In particular, FIG. 3 shows a state in which one of the conveyor belts 4 is removed. In these drawings, the conveyor belt 4 is constituted by an endless belt in which suction ports 41 penetrating the belt are provided at equal intervals along the longitudinal direction of the belt. In these drawings, the suction ports 41 are omitted from the upper and

lower pulleys

42 and 43 that circulate the conveyor belt 4, particularly in the U-turn portion of the conveyor belt 4. 41 are provided at equal intervals.

The negative pressure chamber 5 is formed in a box shape having an opening 51 (see FIG. 3) on the side facing the tubular film TF, and the opening 51 is arranged along the back surface of the conveyor belt 4. ing. Therefore, when the suction port 41 of the transport belt 4 overlaps with the opening 51, a negative pressure is applied to the suction port 41 so that the tubular film TF is attracted to the transport belt 4. Thereby, the tubular film TF is transported downward while being adsorbed by the transport belt 4.

As shown in FIG. 3, a pipe socket 52 is attached to the back side of each negative pressure chamber 5, and the pipe socket 52 is connected to the intake pipe 53 of FIG. . Thereby, the negative pressure chamber 5 is depressurized by the vacuum pump 54. In FIG. 1, for convenience of explanation, the piping socket 52 of FIG. 3 is shown arranged on the front side of the apparatus, but is usually provided on the back side.

There are various types of commercially available vacuum pumps 54. In particular, in the type in which the exhaust side of the pump is opened to the atmosphere when the vacuum pump is stopped, as shown in FIG. 1, the intake pipe 53 or the vacuum pump 54 is used. An electromagnetic valve 55 is attached to the exhaust pipe of the cylinder, and the vacuum pump 54 is stopped after the electromagnetic valve 55 is closed. Then, even if the vacuum pump 54 is stopped, the negative pressure chamber 5 is not opened to the atmosphere, so that the negative pressure can be maintained for a long time.

Since the negative pressure chamber 5 is disposed in the circulation path of the transport belt 4, the capacity thereof is considerably limited. Therefore, it is preferable to connect the vacuum auxiliary chamber 56 to the intake pipe 53 to increase the internal volume of the negative pressure chamber. Thus, when the vacuum pump 54 is stopped, the negative pressure state of the negative pressure chamber 5 can be maintained for a longer time.

Referring back to FIG. 1, the detection unit 8 that detects the film transport speed is composed of a rotary encoder that contacts the tubular film TF and rotates as the film travels. Instead of this rotary encoder, an eye mark printed on the film may be detected, and the film conveyance speed may be detected from the detection cycle.

The set speed of the transport belt 4 is calculated based on the operation speed (number of bags / min) set in the packaging device 100 and the transport length for one bag. In FIG. 1, the pair of transport belts 4 are disposed on both sides of the tubular film TF. Instead, for example, only one transport belt 4 is disposed on the opposite side of the vertical seal portion 6. The tubular film TF may be transported by the vertical seal portion 6 and the transport belt 4 with the tubular film TF interposed therebetween.

The control unit 9 is configured by a computer, and by executing a built-in program, the deviation between the conveyance speed detected by the detection unit 8 and the set speed set on the conveyance belt 4 is obtained, and the obtained deviation is obtained. Is within the permissible range, the vacuum pump 54 is stopped, and if it deviates from the permissible range, the vacuum pump 54 is driven. For this reason, the detection speed from the detection section 8 and the set speed of the conveyor belt 4 are input to the control section 9, and control signals are output from the control section 9 to the vacuum pump 54 and the electromagnetic valve 55. It has become.

2 and 3, the conveyor belt 4 is driven by a pulley 43 directly connected to a motor 44. For this reason, the transport belt 4 travels at the set speed, but the tube-shaped film TF that travels while being sucked by the transport belt 4 cannot follow the transport belt 4 if the suction force of the negative pressure chamber 5 is weakened, causing a delay. Therefore, if the speed deviation between the two is within the allowable range, the vacuum pump 54 is stopped, and if the speed deviation is outside the allowable range, the vacuum pump 54 is driven to recover the suction force of the negative pressure chamber 5. The control unit 9 controls. In this case, the allowable range can be obtained from an error range recognized for the feed length for one bag, for example. The allowable range varies depending on the bag size. For example, if the feed length for one bag is shifted by 1 mm, it is treated as a defective product, and the speed deviation corresponding to the amount of shift becomes the limit, and the speed deviation within the limit is allowed. Set as a range. Further, when the vacuum pump 54 is stopped, the suction force of the negative pressure chamber 5 gradually weakens. Therefore, the speed deviation is detected by the detector (rotary encoder) 8 disposed in the immediate vicinity of the conveyor belt 4, and based on that, the vacuum pump 54 is turned on / off. Thereby, the operation time of the vacuum pump 54 can be reduced while minimizing the film transport error.

The strip film F is formed into a tube shape by a former 3 surrounding the cylinder 2. The conveyor belt 4 conveys the tubular film TF while pressing it against the cylinder 2. Therefore, when the frictional resistance between the cylinder 2 and the tube-shaped film TF is large, the suction force of the conveying belt 4 is slightly reduced and slip occurs between the two, whereby the on / off control of the vacuum pump 54 is repeated. It will be.

Therefore, in the packaging device 100 including the former 3 that forms a strip-like film into a tube shape and guides it to the outer periphery of the cylinder 2, the cylinder 2, the film, It is preferable to provide a duct 10 for supplying gas between them.

4 and 5 show the schematic configuration. In FIG. 4, a duct 10 is disposed on the outer peripheral surface of the cylinder 2 with which the conveyor belt 4 contacts, and a plurality of exhaust ports 11 are provided on the outer surface of the duct 10, and gas 12 is ejected from the exhaust ports 11 at a predetermined pressure. I am doing so. In FIG. 5, a plurality of holes 11 are formed at locations where the conveyance belt 4 of the cylinder 2 contacts, and the holes 11 communicate with the duct 10 disposed on the inner peripheral surface of the cylinder 2. The gas 12 having a predetermined pressure is ejected from the air.

The gas 12 used here is air or an inert gas such as nitrogen or argon. In the case of processed foods that use oil, the bags are generally filled with an inert gas. In this case, a part of the gas can be pressurized and supplied to the duct 10 to float the tubular film TF from the outer peripheral surface of the cylinder 2. Thereby, the frictional resistance generated between the tubular film TF and the cylinder 2 can be reduced, and the number of on / off operations of the vacuum pump 54 can be reduced.

According to the present invention, since the vacuum pump is stopped while there is no delay in the film conveyance speed, the operation time of the vacuum pump can be reduced to reduce the power consumption, and the maintenance frequency can be reduced. Can be reduced. Therefore, the life of the vacuum pump can be extended and the running cost of the packaging device can be reduced.

In addition, when gas is supplied between the traveling film and the cylinder to reduce the frictional resistance generated between them, the film can be transported without causing slip even if the suction force of the transport belt is weakened. Can be sustained. Therefore, the number of times the vacuum pump is turned on / off can be further reduced.

In addition, when a vacuum auxiliary chamber is provided in the suction pipe of the vacuum pump to maintain the suction force of the negative pressure chamber, the operation time of the vacuum pump can be further reduced.

Structure explanatory drawing of the packaging apparatus which concerns on this invention. The external appearance perspective view of one Embodiment of a conveyance belt and a negative pressure chamber. FIG. 3 is an external perspective view in a state where one of the conveyance belts of FIG. 2 is removed. Structure explanatory drawing which arrange | positions a duct in the outer peripheral surface of a cylinder. Configuration explanatory drawing which arrange | positions a duct in the internal peripheral surface of a cylinder. The external appearance perspective view of the principal part of the packaging apparatus which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. The partial cross-section perspective view which shows the structure of a conveyance belt. The block diagram of the control system of the packaging apparatus which concerns on embodiment.

Hereinafter, a packaging device according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In addition, embodiment shown below does not limit the technical scope of this invention. Moreover, the same code | symbol is used for the thing of the same structure as each part shown in FIG.

FIG. 6 is an external perspective view of the main part of the packaging device according to one embodiment of the present invention. In this figure, a packaging device 100 includes a cylinder 2 connected to a lower opening of a hopper 1, a former 3 that is disposed on the outer periphery of the cylinder 2, and forms a strip film F into a tube shape, and is wound around the cylinder 2. A pair of left and right transport belts 4 for sucking the tube-shaped film TF conveyed downward, a vertical seal portion 6 for welding both side edges of the tube-shaped film TF wound around the cylinder 2, and a lower portion thereof And a pair of front and rear horizontal seal portions 70 arranged. The packaging device 100 is provided with an operation box 30 for setting various operation conditions such as an operation speed and a bag size.

The film roll FR is mounted on the delivery unit 20 of FIG. 8 and is controlled to rotate so that the delivery speed of the film F becomes a constant speed. The belt-like film F fed out in this way is guided to the former 3 via a plurality of guide rollers GR, where it is formed into a tube shape and wound around the cylinder 2. The wound tubular film TF is overlapped on both sides at the front side of the cylinder 2, and the vertical seal portion 6 is pressurized and heated from above, whereby the seam is vertically sealed (see symbol S in FIG. 6). Is done.

The vertical seal portion 6 is continuously heat-welded while pressing both side edges of the tubular film TF wound around the cylinder 2 against the cylinder 2 by the metal belt 62 rotating around the heater 61 in the vertical direction. It is like that. However, in the case of butt-seam sealing / palm-folding sealing / hand-clasping sealing, the mechanism is replaced with a mechanism that seals both sides of the film with both sides sandwiched from the left and right.

The horizontal seal 70 is of a rotary type that rotates in opposite directions. The horizontal seal portion 70 applies horizontal horizontal seal to the tubular film TF while rotating a pair of

seal jaws

71, 71 arranged at the front and back, so that the upper portion of the lower end bag and the lower portion of the subsequent bag are simultaneously applied. After sealing, cut the boundary and separate. In this embodiment, the horizontal seal portion 70 is configured such that the

seal jaws

71 and 71 draw a circular motion or a D-shaped motion trajectory, but instead, for example, the

seal jaws

71 and 71 are in the horizontal direction. A box motion type that sequentially circulates in the vertical direction and a reciprocating type that moves close to and away from each other in a horizontal plane can also be adopted.

The transport belt 4 is composed of an endless belt as shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, and its specific structure is shown in FIG. In FIG. 7, the back side of the conveyor belt 4 is shown facing upward. In this figure, the conveyor belt 4 is formed in a U-shaped cross section, and the hill portions 45 on both sides thereof are formed as a bladed belt that meshes with the timing pulleys 42 and 43 in FIG. Further, suction ports 41 are formed in the flat belt portion 46 sandwiched between the hill portions 45 on both sides at equal intervals along the longitudinal direction of the belt. The suction port 41 is formed as a two-stage suction port having a small diameter on the side facing the opening 51 of the negative pressure chamber 5 and a large diameter on the side in contact with the tubular film TF. And the opening part 51 of the negative pressure chamber 5 of FIG. 3 fits between the hill part 45 of these both sides, and makes a negative pressure act on the suction opening 41. FIG.

FIG. 8 shows a block diagram of a control system of the packaging apparatus 100 according to this embodiment. In this figure, the control part 9 is comprised with a computer, and controls the whole packaging apparatus 100 by running the program set there. For this reason, an operation box 30 is connected to the control unit 9, and operation conditions such as an operation speed (bag / minute) and a bag size can be set therefrom. Further, the detection speed of the tubular film is input from the detection unit 8 to the control unit 9. The control unit 9 obtains a speed deviation by comparing the detected speed with the set speed of the conveyor belt 4 obtained from the operating conditions. Then, based on the obtained deviation, the control unit 9 outputs an on / off control signal to the vacuum pump 54 and the electromagnetic valve 55.

Further, when the speed is set based on the operating conditions, the control unit 9 sets it for each drive motor of the conveyor belt 4, the vertical seal unit 6, and the delivery unit 20. Thereby, the conveyance belt 4 travels at a set speed (set speed), the vertical seal portion 6 travels the metal belt 62 at the same speed, and the delivery unit 20 delivers the film F at the same speed. Accordingly, the belt-like film F is always conveyed at the same speed in the upstream and downstream. Further, the control unit 9 controls the rotation of the horizontal seal unit 70 at the set operation speed.

When a power switch (not shown) is operated, the heater units of the vertical seal portion 6 and the horizontal seal portion 70 are first heated, and the vacuum pump 54 is also driven to depressurize the negative pressure chamber 5. At this time, the electromagnetic valve 55 is in an opened state.

When the start button displayed on the operation box 30 is operated from this standby state, the control unit 9 operates the delivery unit 20, the conveyor belt 4, the vertical seal unit 6 and the horizontal seal unit 70 all at once to form a tube shape. Bags are continuously created from film TF.

While performing such an operation, the control unit 9 periodically inputs the detection signal of the detection unit 8 and obtains a deviation between the detected speed (detected conveyance speed) and the set speed set on the conveyance belt 4. . If the deviation is within the allowable range, the control unit 9 stops the vacuum pump 54 and interrupts the energization of the electromagnetic valve 55. Then, the electromagnetic valve 55 is closed, and the pressure inside the negative pressure chamber 5 is maintained for a while. Thereafter, the control unit 9 periodically inputs the detection signal of the detection unit 8 while repeating the operation control for each unit. If the speed deviation is out of the allowable range, the controller 9 drives the vacuum pump 54 and energizes the electromagnetic valve 55 to open it. Thereby, the negative pressure chamber 5 returns to the original reduced pressure state. The controller 9 continuously creates bags while repeating the above operation.

As mentioned above, although one Embodiment of this invention was described, this invention is not limited to this, Other structures are employable.
For example, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, a duct 10 that ejects an inert gas may be provided at a location where the tubular film TF is pressed against the outer periphery of the cylinder 2 by the transport belt 4.
Further, instead of the duct 10, a plurality of rollers may be provided on the outer periphery of the cylinder 2, and the transport belt 4 may transport the tubular film by pressing the tubular film TF against the roller. In this case, the number of on / off control times of the negative pressure chamber 5 can be further reduced.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 2 Cylinder 3 Former 4 Conveyor belt 5 Negative pressure chamber 6 Vertical seal part 7 Horizontal seal part 8 Detection part 9 Control part 10 Duct 12 Gas 41 Suction port 54 Vacuum pump 55 Electromagnetic valve 56 Vacuum auxiliary chamber 100 Packaging apparatus TF Tubular film ( the film)

Claims

A transport belt that transports the film while sucking it through a plurality of suction ports;
A negative pressure chamber disposed on the back side of the conveyor belt and applying a negative pressure to the suction port;
A vacuum pump for reducing the pressure in the negative pressure chamber;
A detection unit for detecting the conveyance speed of the film;
The deviation between the detected conveyance speed of the film and the set speed of the conveyance belt is obtained, and if the deviation is within an allowable range, the vacuum pump is stopped, and if the deviation deviates from the allowable range, the vacuum pump is A control unit for driving;
Packaging equipment with
A vacuum auxiliary chamber connected to the negative pressure chamber;
The packaging device according to claim 1, further comprising:
A former for forming the film into a tube shape and guiding it to the outer periphery of the cylinder;
A duct for supplying gas between the cylinder and the film at a location where at least the film of the cylinder is pressed by the conveyor belt;
The packaging device according to claim 1, further comprising: