JP3523329B2 - End seal device - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a rotary end seal device used in various packaging machines.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A rotary type end seal device 1 is generally arranged downstream of a packaging device (a horizontal pillow packaging device in the illustrated example) as shown in FIG. The packaging device will be briefly described. The belt-shaped film 2 is continuously drawn from the original film 2a and guided to the bag-making device 3, and the belt-shaped film 2 passes through the bag-making device 3 to form a bag-shaped bag. To be done.

On the other hand, the article 4 to be packaged is pushed by the pushing finger 6 of the supply conveyor 5 arranged on the upstream side of the bag making machine 3.
The film is conveyed at a predetermined pitch and is sequentially supplied into the bag-making device 3, that is, into the tubular film 2'made into a tubular bag. Then, the supplied article to be packaged 4 is transported together with the tubular film 2 ', and the overlapping ends of both side edges of the tubular film 2'are heat-sealed by the center sealer 7 during the transportation, and the end sealing device is further provided. 1, the tubular film 2 ′ between the front and rear objects to be packaged 4 is laterally sealed and cut to manufacture the package 8.

Specifically, as shown in FIG. 1, the end seal device 1 has a top sealer 1b mounted on a rotary shaft 1a which is vertically opposed to each other with a tubular film 2 'interposed therebetween and which rotates in synchronization. , The upper and lower top sealers 1b contact each other with the film sandwiched between them when the rotating shaft 1a rotates once.
When the film is pressed, the film is heated and pressed at the time of contact to be welded, and the film is cut by a built-in cutting blade.

By the way, when the packaging device is stopped, regardless of the existing angular position of the top sealer 1b at the time of the stop, FIG.
Positioned at a reference angle position rotated by 180 degrees from the position indicated by (in the present specification, this angle is 0 degree for convenience hereinafter). This is the position of the pushing finger 6, the position of the band-shaped film 2 (cylindrical film 2 ') (the position of the printing site for printing advertisements or the like at a predetermined position of the package), and the end seal. The angular positions of the top sealers 1b of the device 1 need to have a predetermined relative positional relationship with each other.
Therefore, prior to the start of operation, each position is adjusted to have a desired relationship by rotating each drive motor by a predetermined angle as an initial adjustment. And the end seal device 1
Then, the top sealer is always at the reference position when it is stopped, and is rotated by a predetermined angle from there (when the operation is stopped, the current (when stopped) angular position of the top sealer is detected due to its configuration. Because you can't). Moreover, at the time of starting the next rotation, the operator may perform a predetermined process such as pulling the tubular film 2 ′ to the end seal device 1, and in consideration of the convenience of the work, the reference position is set to the above-mentioned reference position. It is set to 0 degrees.

[0006]

However, the above-mentioned conventional end seal device has the following problems when the top sealer 1b is moved to the reference position after the packaging device is stopped. That is, in the conventional case, as shown in FIG. 2, a protrusion 1c is provided at a predetermined position on the rotary shaft 1a, and when the rotation shaft 1a stops rotating when the proximity sensor 1d detects the protrusion 1c, the top sealer 1b is released. Is set so as to be located at 0 degree (reference position) as indicated by a two-dot chain line in the figure. The rotation direction of the rotary shaft 1a when moving to the reference position is the same as the rotation direction at the normal time (during the seal / cut processing) shown in FIG. 1 (the rotation direction is the same in FIGS. 1 and 2). (Indicated by the arrow).

Therefore, the positions of the tubular film 2'and the object to be packaged 4 when the operation of the packaging device is temporarily stopped are as shown in FIG. 2, and the top sealer 1b is at 90 degrees as shown in the figure. It has become. In this state, when the top sealer 1b is rotated in the direction of the arrow in the figure to move it to the reference position, the upper and lower top sealers 1b bite into the article 4 to be packaged in the middle of the rotation (position of about 180 degrees). The problem arises that

When such a biting occurs, not only the bitten object to be packed becomes unusable, but also the tubular film 2'is once removed, and the film is pulled out and set from the beginning. It has to be redone, and the process is complicated and the workability is poor.

In addition, the top sealer 1b has the tubular film 2 even if it does not bite into the object to be packaged.
When it touches the film, it scratches the film and scratches
Alternatively, the film may be thermally deformed by heating, and in that case, the same problem as described above occurs.

The present invention has been made in view of the above background, and an object of the present invention is to solve the above problems, and to rotate the top sealer to return it to the reference position when the operation is stopped and / or stopped. In doing so, smooth movement can be performed without biting of the packaged object, damage or deformation of the film, and as a result, the operating efficiency of the entire packaging device / bag making device is also increased (with biting etc. It is an object of the present invention to provide an end seal device that does not require a resetting process and requires only one detecting means.

[0011]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, in the end seal device according to the present invention, a pair of rotating shafts are arranged on the downstream side of the packaging device or the bag-making device and are arranged in parallel to each other. Assuming an end seal device that laterally seals and cuts a predetermined position of the film by pressing a heat-fusible film from both sides between a pair of top sealers that rotate in synchronization with each other. A rotary drive means for rotating the rotary shaft in the forward and reverse directions is provided,
Further, a detection plate having a non-detection region within a predetermined angle range is provided directly or indirectly on the at least one rotation shaft so that the axes thereof coincide with each other, and the non-detection is performed at a predetermined position facing the detection plate. A detection means is provided which changes the output state depending on whether it faces the area. Then, one end of the non-detection region is set to coincide with the installation position of the top sealer, and the other end of the non-detection region is set to face the detection means when the top sealer comes to a position where a seal cut is made. . Then, a control means for determining the rotation direction when the top sealer is rotationally moved to the reference position based on the output state of the detection means and controlling the rotation drive means based on the determination is provided.

[0012] Preferably, the control means further detects that the output state of the detection means has changed while rotating the top sealer in the determined rotation direction, and moves the top sealer in a predetermined direction. This is to add a function of rotating a predetermined angle. Further, instead of such a function, when the top sealer is rotated in the determined rotation direction, it may be detected that the output state of the detection means has changed and the rotation may be stopped.

[0013]

When the operation is stopped or started, it may be necessary to rotationally move the top sealer to a predetermined reference position. In this case, the control means first receives the output state detected by the detection means and determines the position of the top sealer, that is, the positional relationship between the top sealer and the object to be packaged, the film or the like.

If the non-detection area faces the detection means, the normal rotation direction of the top sealer (the rotation direction during the end seal process) is considered.
The top sealer means that it exists between the article to be packaged and the detection means. On the contrary, in the case where the detection plate faces the detection means, considering the direction of reverse rotation of the top sealer, it is possible to detect that there is an object to be packaged between the top sealer and the detection means. means. That is, it is possible to uniquely determine the position of the top sealer (relative position to the object to be packaged, etc.) based on the detected output state.

Therefore, the top sealer reaches the detection means before the other end, that is, one end (the installation position of the top sealer) of the existence range of the non-detection region reaches the detection means. Rotate in the direction. Then, even if the top sealer rotates, there is no object to be packaged or the like on the movement path (up to the detection means), so that the top sealer does not bite into the object to be packaged or the like.

Further, when the top sealer reaches the position of the detecting means by rotating and moving in the rotating direction determined as described above, the output state of the detecting means changes. As a result, the accurate angular position of the top sealer (equal to the installation position of the detection means) is detected. Then, when the position is the reference position, the rotation is stopped at that position, so that the returning process to the reference position is completed without contacting the object to be packaged (claim 3). If the angle is not the reference position, the angle difference between the angle position of the detection means and the reference position is known, and therefore the angle difference is rotated in the direction in which the object is not contacted. As a result, the returning process to the reference position is completed without contacting the object to be packaged or the like (claim 2).

[0017]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Preferred embodiments of the end seal device according to the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. 3 and 4 show a preferred embodiment of the end seal device according to the present invention. The end seal device 10 in this embodiment also has a basic configuration similar to that of the conventional device shown in FIG. 1, and is arranged on the downstream side of a desired packaging device.

The basic structure will be briefly described. A pair of upper and lower rotary shafts 12 and 13 are rotatably arranged in parallel so as to be hung on both side wall portions of the machine frame 11. Gears 14 and 15 are respectively fixed to one ends (left end portions in the drawing) of the two rotary shafts 12 and 13, and both gears 14 and 15 are adjusted so as to mesh with each other.

Further, a sprocket 16 is formed further outside the gear 15 attached to the lower rotary shaft 13, and a power transmission chain 17 hung on the sprocket 16 cooperates with a drive motor 18. . As a result, when the drive motor 18 rotates, the rotational force is transmitted to the lower rotary shaft 13 and rotates. At this time, gear 1
The rotation force is transmitted to the upper rotation shaft 12 by the meshing of the rotation shafts 4 and 15, so that both rotation shafts 12 and 13 rotate in synchronization with each other at the same speed. Then, both rotary shafts 12,
An upper top sealer 20 and a lower top sealer 21 are attached to 13 respectively. The top sealers 20 and 21 have a rotation angle of 180 degrees as shown in FIG.
At the time of rotation, the tips thereof come into contact with each other, and the tubular film passing between the two is pinched, heat-sealed and cut. That is, although not shown in the drawings, a heater and a cutting blade are built in the upper top sealer 20, and a receiving blade is formed at the tip of the lower top sealer 21. Since the above-mentioned respective configurations are conventionally known, detailed description of each unit will be omitted.

Here, in the present invention, first, as the drive motor 18, a motor that can rotate in forward and reverse directions and can be rotated by an arbitrary angle is used. Specifically, a servo motor is used. Further, the detection plate 25 is integrally attached to one end of one of the rotary shafts (the upper rotary shaft 12 in this example) so that their axes coincide. This detection plate 25 is
As shown in FIG. 4, the disk-shaped main body is cut into a fan shape (center angle of 90 degrees in this example) at a predetermined position, and the main body portion serves as the detection region 25a, and the fanned portion is not detected. It becomes the area 25b. Then, in the present example, the rotary shaft 12 is arranged so that the top sealer 20 is positioned at one end of the non-detection region 25b (the rear side in the traveling (rotation) direction when rotating in the forward direction).
The detection plate 25 is attached by adjusting the angle.

Then, the proximity sensor 26 is arranged at a predetermined position near the side surface of the detection plate 25, that is, at a position of 270 degrees in this example. At this time, the installation position of the proximity sensor 26 is adjusted so that it is turned on when the proximity sensor 26 faces the detection area 25a, and turned off when it is facing the non-detection area 25b.

The output of the proximity sensor 26 (ON /
OFF) is connected to the control device 27, and the control device 27 sends a predetermined control signal to rotate the drive motor 18 in a predetermined direction based on the given detection result. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 5, the detection signal given from the proximity sensor 26 when the operation is stopped is OF
The drive motor 18, which is a rotation driving means, is controlled so as to rotate the rotary shafts 12 and 13 in the forward direction (rotational direction when the end seal is operating) when F, and rotate in the reverse direction when ON (ST1 to ST3). ).

Next, by rotating the drive motor 18 in the predetermined direction determined above, the rotary shafts 12, 13 or the top sealers 20, 21 also rotate in the predetermined directions, respectively. Therefore, the proximity sensor 26 is always operated during the rotation. Monitor the detection signal sent. Then, until the output state obtained in step 1 changes (ON → OFF, OFF → ON), it continues to rotate in the same direction as the rotation direction determined in steps 2 and 3 (ST4, ST5).

On the other hand, if the detection output is reversed in the determination in step 4, it means that the top sealer 20 has come to the position of 270 degrees, that is, the installation position of the proximity sensor 26.
Therefore, when the drive motor 18 is rotated in the forward direction and the top sealers 20, 21 are rotated by 45 degrees in the forward direction, the rotation of the drive motor 18 is stopped. As a result, the top sealers 20 and 21 are located at the reference position (the tip of the upper top sealer 20 faces upward and the tip of the lower top sealer 21 faces downward).

The specific rotation angle (rotation amount) of the drive motor 18 is determined by the rotation axis 12 and the rotation angle of the motor.
Although it varies depending on the ratio of the rotation angles of 13, the ratio is fixed and known in advance in any case, and the drive motor 18
The rotation angle of the top sealer 2 can be accurately determined by the encoder attached to its output shaft.
It is possible to rotate 0 and 21 exactly 45 degrees (if the rotation ratio of both is 1: 1, the output shaft of the drive motor 18 may be rotated 45 degrees in the positive direction).

Next, the operation of the above-described embodiment will be described with reference to specific examples. First, as shown in FIG. 6 (A), the top sealer 20 when the operation is stopped is 180 degrees to 27 degrees.
When it is between 0 degrees, the non-detection area 25 of the detection plate 25
Since b is opposed to the proximity sensor 26, its detection output is O
It becomes FF. Therefore, in accordance with the processing of step 2, it is rotated in the forward direction as shown by the arrow in the figure.

Then, as shown in FIG. 2B, when the top sealer 20 is at the position of 270 degrees, the detection area 25a of the detection plate 25 enters the detection area of the proximity sensor 26, and therefore the detection output thereof. Turns on. That is, the state of the sensor output changes from OFF to ON. Then, the process proceeds to step 6, and the top sealer 20 is further rotated by 45 degrees in the forward direction.

As a result, the top sealer 20 reaches the reference position (0 degree) as shown in FIG. During the rotational movement to the reference position, the top sealer 20
Does not come into contact with the article to be packaged 4 or the tubular film 2 '(especially, the article to be packaged 4 is not bitten).

Further, as shown in FIG. 7 (A), when the top sealer 20 at the time of operation stop is between 0 degree and 180 degrees or between 270 degrees and 360 degrees, the detection area 25a of the detection plate 25 is Since it faces the proximity sensor 26, its detection output is turned on. Therefore, in accordance with the processing of step 3, it is rotated in the opposite direction as indicated by the arrow in the figure. That is, if it always rotates in the forward direction as in the conventional case, the object to be packaged 4 is bitten in the case shown in the figure, but in the present example, the position where the top sealer 20 is present is detected, and the top sealer 20 is rotated in the opposite direction. Since the tip of 20 reaches the position of the proximity sensor 26 (270 degrees) through the upper space where the object to be packaged 4 does not exist, the object to be packaged 4 or the like is not caught during its rotational movement.

Then, as shown in FIG. 3B, once the top sealer 20 has moved past the 0 degree position and reached the 270 degree position, the detection area 25a of the detection plate 25 deviates from the detection area of the proximity sensor 26. Therefore, the detection output is turned off. That is, the sensor output state changes from ON to OFF. Then, the process proceeds to step 6, and in this case, the rotation direction of the drive motor is reversed and the top sealer 20 is rotated.
Is rotated 45 degrees in the positive direction. As a result, the figure (C)
As shown in, the top sealer 20 has a reference position (0 degree).
Reach As described above, the top sealer 20 does not come into contact with the article to be packaged 4 or the tubular film 2 '(particularly, biting the article to be packaged 4) during the rotational movement to the reference position.

In the above description of the operation, the sensor output is turned ON when the top sealer comes to the position of 270 degrees in FIG. 6 for convenience of explanation, and the top sealer is 27 in FIG.
Although it has been described that the sensor output is turned off when the position of 0 degrees is reached, the output at 270 degrees is either ON or OFF when viewed from a microscopic point of view. Therefore, more precisely, one of FIG. 6 and FIG. 7 exceeds 270 degrees (one step of the drive motor controlled by the encoder).
Since the output state changes from time to time, the amount of rotation of the motor is increased / decreased by at least one step based on the above microscopic difference even when rotating in the forward direction by 45 degrees in step 6.

As described above, in this example, when the height of the object to be packaged 4 is 360 degrees or the distance from the tip of the object to be packaged to the seal portion sealed by the end sealer is extremely short, , The top sealer is "180 degrees ±
If the operation is stopped when it is in the α position, there is a slight risk that it will come into contact with the leading or trailing end of the packaged item during the rotation regardless of whether it is rotated in the forward or reverse direction. Even if it is involved, even if it is involved, it can be returned to the reference position without contact with the tubular film or the like over the entire 360 degrees, which is much better than the conventional one. The effect of is obtained.

Further, in the above embodiment, the non-detection area 2
It is formed by cutting 5b in a fan shape, but if it is not detected by the sensor, the shape of cutting is arbitrary, and a hole with a bottom may be used.

Further, in the above-mentioned embodiment, the existence area of the non-detection area 25b is set to the range of 45 degrees, but this is because the sensor is installed at the position of 270 degrees (the position has a spatial margin, and This is because it has been installed because it can be installed horizontally because it can be easily angled, and it can be changed appropriately according to the installation position of the sensor (see FIG. 8 and the like). Then, as shown in FIG. 8 (A), when the installation position of the sensor 26 is set at a position of 0 degree, the process of step 6 in the above-described embodiment becomes unnecessary, and when the output state changes in the determination of step 4, Since it can be determined that the reference position has been reached, the return processing to the reference position can be completed there, and the return distance is completed in a shorter time. Further, as shown in FIG. 6B, when the sensor 26 is installed at a position of 0 to 180 degrees, the rotation directions in each step shown in FIG. 6 are all reversed.

Further, as shown in FIG. 9, the end seal device is a multi-head type (a plurality of top sealers 20 'on one rotary shaft).
Are arranged), the non-detection area 2 is accordingly
This can be dealt with by appropriately changing the number of 5b and the installation position. In addition, as shown in the figure, the two top sealers 20 '
In the case of the system including, the reference position is when both top sealers 20 'are horizontal, so if the rotation direction is determined by the state of the sensor output when the operation is stopped, the sensor output changes next. Sometimes it can be set to the reference position by simply stopping.

The device in which the end seal device according to the present invention is incorporated is not limited to the horizontal pillow packaging device as shown in FIG. 1, but may be a vertical pillow packaging device or other various packaging devices. Therefore, it can also be applied to a bag manufacturing apparatus that manufactures only a bag body that does not include the object to be packaged.

[0037]

As described above, in the end seal device according to the present invention, the position of the top sealer when the operation is stopped is determined by the output state from the detecting means, and the top sealer is set as the reference position. Since the direction of rotation at the time of rotational movement is determined and executed, it is possible to suppress the top sealer from biting the object to be packaged or scratching the film during the rotational movement. As a result, there is no need for resetting processing due to biting or the like, and the operating efficiency of the packaging device / bag making device as a whole is improved.

According to the second and third aspects of the invention, it is possible to perform the returning process to the reference position with only one detecting means used for detecting the rotation direction, which reduces the number of parts and simplifies the configuration. Be converted.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a packaging device to which an end seal device is applied.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a conventional end seal device.

FIG. 3 is a front view showing a preferred embodiment of the end seal device according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a side view showing a preferred embodiment of the end seal device according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating the function of the control device.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an operation.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an operation.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a modified example.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a modified example.

[Explanation of symbols]

12,13 rotation axis 18 Drive motor (rotation drive means) 20,21 Top sealer 25 rotating plate 25a detection area 25b non-detection area 26 Proximity sensor (detection means) 27 Control device

Continuation of front page (58) Fields surveyed (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) B65B 51/10 B65B 9/06 B65B 57/00 B65B 61/08

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] 1. A heat-fusible film is provided between a pair of top sealers that are arranged on the downstream side of a packaging device or a bag-making device and that rotate in synchronism with a pair of rotating shafts that face each other in parallel. An end-seal device that laterally seals and cuts a predetermined position of the film by press-contacting from both sides, wherein a rotation driving unit that allows the rotation shaft to rotate in forward and reverse directions is provided, and the at least one rotation A detection plate having a non-detection region within a predetermined angle range is provided directly or indirectly on the shaft so that the axes of the detection plates coincide with each other, and the detection plate is opposed to the non-detection region at a predetermined position facing the detection plate. A detection means is provided whose output state changes depending on whether or not the one end of the non-detection region coincides with the installation position of the top sealer, and the other end of the non-detection region comes to the position where the top sealer cuts the seal. The rotation direction when the top sealer is rotationally moved to the reference position is determined based on the output state of the detection means, and the rotation drive means is set based on the determination. An end seal device equipped with a control means for controlling. 2. The control means detects that the output state of the detecting means has changed while the top sealer is rotating in the determined rotation direction, and moves the top sealer by a predetermined angle in a predetermined direction. The end seal device according to claim 1, wherein the rotation driving means is controlled so as to rotate. 3. The control means detects that the output state of the detecting means has changed while the top sealer is rotating in the determined rotation direction, and stops the rotation. The end seal device according to 1.