JP2941111B2 - Vacuum packaging equipment - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a vacuum packaging device having a built-in weight detecting mechanism.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a vacuum packaging apparatus stores a package stored in a bag in a chamber, drives a vacuum mechanism in a state in which the chamber is closed, and evacuates the chamber.
Thereafter, the bag was sealed and vacuum packed.

[0003]

Therefore, in order to vacuum-pack and weigh packages, both a vacuum packaging device and a weighing device must be prepared, which increases the installation space of the device and complicates the operation. There was a problem.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a vacuum packaging apparatus capable of reducing the installation space of the apparatus and improving the workability when vacuum-packing and weighing the package. Another object of the present invention is to provide a vacuum packaging apparatus capable of further improving workability. Another object of the present invention is to provide a vacuum packaging apparatus capable of performing vacuum packaging with high accuracy according to the degree of vacuum set for each product.

[0005]

The invention corresponding to claim 1 is:
Openable and closable chamber and built in this chamber
Weight detection mechanism and vacuum mechanism to evacuate the chamber
And the weight detection mechanism when the chamber is open
Weigh the package stored in the bag before opening the chamber.
A means for driving a vacuum mechanism in response to the blockage when closed
When the vacuum operation by the vacuum mechanism is completed, seal the bag.
Means and a seal when the sealing operation by this means is completed.
Means for automatically releasing the vacuum state in the chamber .

According to a second aspect of the present invention, an openable / closable chamber, a weight detecting mechanism built in the chamber, an opening / closing mechanism for the chamber, a vacuum mechanism for evacuating the chamber, and a state in which the chamber is open. When the package contained in the bag is weighed by the weight detection mechanism and a weighing completion signal is output, the opening and closing mechanism is driven to close the chamber, and the vacuum mechanism is closed when the closing of the chamber by the opening and closing mechanism is completed. A means for driving, means for sealing the bag when the vacuum operation by the vacuum mechanism is completed, and means for driving the opening / closing mechanism to open the chamber when the sealing operation by this means is completed are provided.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a vacuum packaging apparatus for storing a package stored in a bag in an openable and closable chamber, and evacuating the chamber to perform vacuum packaging. And a memory that sets the degree of vacuum data for each single package,
The package is weighed by the weight detection mechanism, and vacuum degree data corresponding to the weighed package is read out from the memory, and the chamber is evacuated based on the vacuum degree data.

[0008]

According to the present invention having the above-described structure, the package can be measured and vacuum-packaged by one apparatus.

That is, the package stored in the bag is weighed by the weight detection mechanism when the chamber is open. When the measurement is completed and a measurement completion signal is output, the opening / closing mechanism is driven to close the chamber, and when the chamber is completely closed, the vacuum mechanism is driven to evacuate the chamber. When the vacuum operation is completed, the bag is sealed, and when the sealing operation is completed, the opening / closing mechanism is driven to open the chamber. Further, the degree of vacuum in the chamber is determined based on vacuum degree data corresponding to the package to be measured.

[0010]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the external appearance. An operation panel unit 2 is mounted on the front of a housing 1, and a lower chamber 3 and an upper which can be opened and closed with respect to the lower chamber 3 are mounted on the housing 1. A chamber consisting of chamber 4 is mounted.

The operation panel unit 2 includes a power switch 2a, a hold switch 2b, a jump switch 2c, a gas switch 2d, a weighing keyboard 2e, a vacuum timer 2f, a seal timer 2g, and a gas timer 2.
h, a vacuum gauge 2i, a display 2j, and a label issuing port 2k.

A door 5 is provided on one side of the housing 1. The other side of the housing 1 and the upper chamber 4
An arm 6 that constitutes a part of the opening / closing mechanism of the upper chamber 4 is mounted between them.

As shown in FIG. 2, a load cell type weighing device 7 as a weight detecting mechanism and an air bag 8 are built in the lower chamber 3. A heat seal 10 composed of a heater is mounted on the airbag 8 via a protective member 9. A support member 11 is mounted inside the upper chamber 4 facing the heat seal 10. Further, a detection switch 12 for detecting a closed state of the upper chamber 4 is provided in the lower chamber 3.

An O-ring 13a for holding a secret name is provided inside the front and rear ends of the upper chamber 4.
13b is provided, and a handle 14 is provided outside the distal end portion. An exhaust port 16 is provided at the rear end in the lower chamber 3 via a filter 15. A gas connecting pipe 17 is provided at the bottom end of the lower chamber 3.

A vacuum pump 18 and a vacuum breaking valve 19 constituting a vacuum mechanism are housed in the bottom of the housing 1, and a vacuum solenoid valve 2 is provided outside the bottom of the lower chamber 3.
0, a heat sealing electromagnetic valve 21 is attached. The vacuum pump 18 communicates with the vacuum solenoid valve 20 and the heat sealing solenoid valve 21 through a branch pipe 23 on the way through a hose 22. The vacuum break valve 19 and the exhaust port 16 and the vacuum solenoid valve 20 are connected to each other by a hose. Branch pipe 2 on the way by 24
5 are connected. The heat sealing solenoid valve 21 communicates with the airbag 8 via a hose 32.

In addition, as shown in FIG.
The gas solenoid valve 26 is housed therein. The gas solenoid valve 26 communicates with the gas connection pipe 17 via a hose 27 and communicates with a gas intake pipe 29 protruding outside via a hose 28. . A circuit board 30 on which circuit components are arranged is fixed and housed in a board mounting bracket 31 in the housing 1. The circuit components of the circuit board 30 are connected to the load cell of the load cell type weighing device 7, the vacuum pump 18, the components of the operation panel unit 2, and the like by lead wires.

A package 34 accommodated in a plastic bag 33 is placed on the table 7a of the load cell type weighing device 7. And the plastic bag 3
The opening side of 3 is disposed between the heat seal 10 and the support member 11, and the gas connection pipe 17 is inserted into the opening at the tip end.

Further, as shown in FIG.
The label printer unit 35 is housed. The label printer unit 35 prints data on a label paper 37 with a backing sheet sent from a label roll 36 by a printer 38, issues a label 39 from the label issuing port 2k, and winds the backing sheet 40 with a take-up roll 41. To take.

Further, as shown in FIG. 5, a vacuum release valve 42 is fixed to the inner side wall of the housing 1.
Is connected to the vacuum breaking valve 19 via a hose 43 and also to a silencer 45 via a hose 44. The degree of opening of the vacuum release valve 42 can be adjusted by a knob 46 attached to the outside of the housing 1.

The chambers 3 and 4, the vacuum pump 18,
FIG. 6 schematically shows the communication relationship between the valves 19, 20, 21, 26, and 42. The gas solenoid valve 26 is externally connected to a gas cylinder 47. The solid arrows in the drawing indicate the flow of air and gas when the vacuum solenoid valve 20, the heat sealing solenoid valve 21, and the gas solenoid valve 26 are opened, and the dotted arrow in the drawing indicates the vacuum break valve 19.
2 shows the flow of air at the time of opening.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing a circuit configuration.
Denotes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) constituting a control unit main body;
Is a ROM (Read Only Memory) in which program data for the CPU 51 to control each section is stored;
Is a PLU in which unit price, product name, department code, whether or not gas is injected, and PLU data and vacuum data are set for each unit.
A RAM (random access memory) in which an LU file, a print buffer, a display buffer, etc. are set; 54, an A / D converter for digitally converting and taking in an analog weight signal from the load cell type weighing device 7; A display controller for outputting display data to the display 2j to perform display control; 56, a printer controller for controlling the printer 38 to print data on a label 39; 57, a key signal from the weighing keyboard 2e This is a keyboard controller that performs capture.

Reference numeral 58 denotes the various switches 2a to 2d;
An I / O port 59 which is connected to the vacuum gauges 2f to 2h and the vacuum gauge 2i to input switch signals from the various switches 2a to 2d, 2f to 2h and 12 and to output drive signals of the vacuum gauge 2i; Is an I / O port connected to an opening / closing mechanism 60 for driving the arm 6 to open and close the upper chamber 4, 61 is a seal timer for controlling the seal solenoid valve 21, and 62 is for controlling the vacuum pump 18. A pump controller, 63 is a vacuum timer for controlling the vacuum solenoid valve 20, 64 is a vacuum break timer for controlling the vacuum break valve 19, and 65 is a gas timer for controlling the gas solenoid valve 26.

CPU 51, ROM 52, RAM 5
3, A / D converter 54, each controller 55, 56, 5
7, 62, each I / O port 58, 59, each timer 61,
63, 64, 65 are electrically connected by a bus line 66.

The CPU 51 performs the control shown in FIG. 8 based on the program data in the ROM 52. First, various initializations of the RAM 53 and the like are performed, and then a display scan is performed on the display 2j to perform a display check. Subsequently, it is checked whether or not the data taken in from the weighing device 7 falls within the zero point range. Then, if it is within the zero point range, an auto-zero process is performed.

When the above pre-processing is completed, the weighing operation by the weighing device 7 becomes possible. In this state, the A / D converter 5
The weight data is taken in from step 4 and data processing is performed. Further, the statuses of the switches 2a to 2d and 2f to 2h are read. Subsequently, it is checked whether the mode is the setting mode, the registration mode, or another mode. If the mode is the setting mode, the setting process is performed. If the mode is the registration mode, the registration process is performed.

In the setting process, as shown in FIG. 9, it is checked whether or not the mode is the PLU setting mode. If the mode is not the PLU setting mode, another setting process is performed. In the PLU setting mode, whether or not there is a key input from the weighing keyboard 2e is checked. If the key input is a PLU data key input, the PLU data is set. That is, the product name, unit price, department code, presence / absence of gas injection, and the like are set for each PLU file in the RAM 53. Then, the set data is displayed on the display 2j each time. If the key input is a key input of vacuum degree data, vacuum degree data is set. That is, the data of the degree of vacuum for each unit is set in the PLU file in the RAM 53. Then, the set data is displayed on the display 2j each time.

In the registration process, as shown in FIG. 10, first, it is checked whether or not there is a key input from the weighing keyboard 2e. If the key input is a PLU designation key, the PLU data and vacuum Read the degree data. Subsequently, it is checked whether or not the weight data has been captured. If the weight data has been captured, the system waits until the weight data is stabilized, and then calculates the price by weight × unit price. Then, display data such as weight, unit price, price, product name, department code and the like are set in the display buffer and also in the print buffer. Then, the printer unit 35 is driven, the data is printed on the label 39 by the printer 38, the label is issued, and a weighing completion signal is generated.

When the metering completion signal is generated, the opening / closing mechanism 60 is driven through the I / O port 59 to close the upper chamber 4. Then, based on a switch signal of the detection switch 12, it is checked whether or not the upper chamber 4 is closed. When the upper chamber 4 is closed, the vacuum controller 18 is driven by controlling the pump controller 62 and the vacuum solenoid valve 20 is opened by the vacuum timer 63.

Then, the degree of vacuum in the chamber is compared with the degree of vacuum data read from the PLU file. When the degree of vacuum in the chamber matches the degree of vacuum data, the vacuum pump 18 is stopped and controlled. Subsequently, the presence or absence of gas injection is checked. If there is gas injection, the gas solenoid valve 26 is opened for a certain time by the gas timer 65 and the inert gas of the gas cylinder 47 is supplied into the plastic bag 33 through the gas connection pipe 17. I do. Subsequently, the seal solenoid valve 21 is operated by the seal timer 61.
Is opened to supply external air to the airbag 8. As a result, the air bag 8 expands and the heat seal 10 rises, and the plastic bag 33 is
, And the plastic bag 33 is heated and welded to be sealed. When the time of the seal timer 61 expires, the seal solenoid valve 21 is closed and at the same time, the vacuum solenoid valve 2 is closed.
0 is closed, and the vacuum break valve 19 is opened to supply air into the chamber. The sound of the air suction at this time is suppressed by the silencer 45.

Finally, the opening / closing mechanism 60 is operated via the I / O port 59, and the upper chamber 4 is opened. The vacuum release valve 42 is connected to the upper chamber 4
The opening / closing operation is adjusted by the knob 46, that is, the speed of returning the vacuum in the chamber to the atmospheric pressure.

When the inside of the chamber is vacuum-controlled by the vacuum pump 18, the holding switch 2
When b is operated, the inside of the chamber is held at the degree of vacuum at that time. When the hold switch 2b is operated again in this state, the vacuum control by the vacuum pump 18 is continued.

When the inside of the chamber is vacuum-controlled by the vacuum pump 18, the jump switch 2c
Is operated, the vacuum process is immediately terminated, and the process jumps to the next process, that is, to the gas injection process when there is gas injection, and to the sealing process when there is no gas injection.

In the embodiment having such a configuration, the package 34 is first stored in the plastic bag 33 and placed on the measuring device 7 with the upper chamber 4 opened. Then, the user operates the weighing keyboard 2e to specify the PLU corresponding to the package 34. As a result, the product name, unit price, department code, presence / absence of gas injection, and vacuum degree data corresponding to the package 34 are read from the PLU file. Then, the price is calculated by weight × unit price. Thus, the weight, the product name, the unit price, and the section code are displayed on the display 2j. The weight, the product name, the unit price, and the department code are printed on the label 39 by the printer 38, and the label is issued.

When the above-described label issuing operation is completed, a weighing completion signal is generated, whereby the opening / closing mechanism 60 operates to close the upper chamber 4. When the detection switch 12 confirms that the upper chamber 4 is closed, the vacuum pump 18 is operated by the pump controller 62 and the vacuum solenoid valve 20 is operated by the vacuum timer 63.
Is released. In this way, the air in the chamber is evacuated and the degree of vacuum is increased. When the degree of vacuum in the chamber matches the read degree of vacuum data, the operation of the vacuum pump 18 is stopped.

Subsequently, the presence or absence of gas injection is checked, and if injection of gas is set, the gas solenoid valve 26 is opened for a predetermined time by the gas timer 65 and the inert gas is discharged from the gas cylinder 47 into the plastic bag 33. Supplied within.

Thereafter, one side of the seal solenoid valve 21 is opened by the seal timer 61 and the outside air is released from the air bag 8.
Supplied to the plastic bag 3 by the heat seal 10.
3 is sealed. Then, when the time of the seal timer 61 expires, the seal electromagnetic valve 21 is closed, the vacuum electromagnetic valve 20 is also closed, and the vacuum break valve 19 is opened to supply air into the chamber. Finally, the upper chamber 4 is opened by the opening / closing mechanism 60. When the vacuum-packed package is taken out of the chamber and a label 39 issued outside is attached, the vacuum packaging operation for one product is completed.

By integrating the weighing device 7 in the chamber as described above, the entire device can be compactly assembled in one device, the required installation space of the device can be reduced, the working time can be reduced, and the working time can be reduced. And the workability can be improved.

When the weighing by the weighing device 7 is completed,
When the label is issued, the upper chamber 4 is automatically closed and the vacuum packaging operation is started. When the vacuum packaging is completed, the upper chamber 4 is automatically opened, so that the operation is extremely simple and the workability is further improved. it can. In addition, since vacuum degree data is set in advance for each unit in the PLU file and vacuum packaging can be performed at a vacuum degree based on the vacuum degree data, highly accurate vacuum packaging can be performed.

Further, when the hold switch 2b is operated while the inside of the chamber is vacuum-controlled by the vacuum pump 18, the inside of the chamber can be held at the vacuum degree at that time, and the inside of the chamber is vacuum-controlled by the vacuum pump 18. If the jump switch 2c is operated while the robot is in operation, the vacuum process is immediately terminated and the process can jump to the next process, so that control other than the set control can be easily performed, and the degree of freedom of control can be improved.

[0041]

As described above in detail, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide a vacuum packaging apparatus capable of reducing the installation space of the apparatus and improving the workability when vacuum-packing and weighing the package. is there. Further, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide a vacuum packaging device capable of further improving workability. Further, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide a vacuum packaging device capable of performing vacuum packaging with high accuracy according to the degree of vacuum set for each single product.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the appearance of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing the internal configuration of the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view showing the internal configuration of the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view showing the internal configuration of the embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a partially sectional front view showing the configuration of the embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a diagram schematically showing a communication relationship among a chamber, a vacuum pump, and each valve of the embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing a circuit configuration of the embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing main processing by the CPU of the embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing a setting process in FIG. 8;

FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing a registration process in FIG. 8;

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Housing, 3 ... Lower chamber, 4 ... Upper chamber, 2e ... Keyboard for weighing, 7 ... Load cell type weighing device, 10 ... Heat seal, 12 ... Detection switch, 18 ...
Vacuum pump, 20: Solenoid valve for vacuum, 21: Solenoid valve for sealing, 33: Plastic bag, 34: Packaging, 35: Printer unit, 51: CPU (central processing unit), 60:
Opening and closing mechanism.

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on front page (58) Field surveyed (Int.Cl. ⁶ , DB name) B65B 31/00-31/10

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] 1. An openable and closable chamber, and the chamber.
-The weight detection mechanism built in the chamber and the inside of the chamber
Vacuum mechanism for applying vacuum and opening of the chamber
Of the package stored in the bag by the weight detection mechanism.
When the chamber is closed after the volume has been
Means for responsively driving the vacuum mechanism; and the vacuum mechanism.
Means for sealing the bag upon completion of the vacuum operation by
When the sealing operation by this means is completed,
Means for automatically canceling the vacuum state in the bar . 2. An openable and closable chamber, a weight detection mechanism built in the chamber, an open / close mechanism for the chamber, and a vacuum mechanism for evacuating the chamber,
Means for closing the chamber by driving the open / close mechanism when the package contained in the bag is weighed by the weight detection mechanism and a weighing completion signal is output in the open state of the chamber; Means for driving the vacuum mechanism when the closing of the chamber is completed, means for sealing the bag when the vacuum operation by the vacuum mechanism is completed, and driving the opening and closing mechanism when the sealing operation by this means is completed. Means for opening a chamber. 3. A vacuum packaging apparatus for storing a package stored in a bag in an openable and closable chamber, and vacuum-packing the chamber by evacuating the chamber, wherein a weight detection mechanism is built in the chamber and the packaging is performed. A memory in which vacuum degree data is set for each single article is provided, and the package is weighed by its weight detection mechanism, and the vacuum degree data corresponding to the weighed package is read out from the memory, and the vacuum degree data is read. A vacuum packaging apparatus, wherein the inside of the chamber is evacuated based on the pressure.