JP6295542B2 - Packaging equipment - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a packaging device.

  2. Description of the Related Art A packaging device that wraps a tray (packaged material) containing products with a stretchable film (packaging material) is widely used in food factories, supermarket backyards, and the like. As this packaging device, the weighing function that measures the mass (weight) of the package, the mass obtained by measuring with the weighing function and the sales price calculated based on the mass and the price per unit mass (unit weight) are displayed. There are provided various functions such as a label printing function for printing a price label or the like to be attached to a product after packaging based on a display function to be performed and a mass or a selling price (see Patent Document 1). ).

  Also, instead of using a tray, the product placed on a sheet-like base material is used as an item to be packaged, and the product is wrapped in a film by thermocompressing the film around the product to the base material using a heat seal mechanism. A packaging device is also provided (see Patent Document 2).

JP 2005-82213 A

JP 2012-46230 A

  In a packaging apparatus that wraps an article to be packaged on a sheet-like base material, for example, the carried article to be loaded is placed on a table, the table is raised, and a heat seal mechanism disposed above The base is held horizontally by stopping at a predetermined height corresponding to the height.

  On the other hand, in the heat seal mechanism, the film as a packaging material is stretched at a position lower than a predetermined height at which the table is raised at the stage before the table is raised, and the film is thermocompression bonded to the base material. When a heater frame (a heater framed in a rectangular shape), which is a heating element, is kept at a higher position than the film, and the base is raised to a predetermined height, the film covers the top of the product and sandwiches the film. The base abuts on the heater frame and heats the heater frame, so that the film is thermocompression bonded to the base around the product.

  In such a packaging device, if the position of placing the loaded package on the table deviates from the standard position, the positional relationship between the heater frame of the heat-seal mechanism and the package is deviated from the standard positional relationship. Due to the change, not only the finish of the package is not good, but when the amount of deviation is large, there is a possibility that the product and the heater frame interfere with each other.

  This invention is made | formed in view of this situation, and it aims at providing the packaging apparatus which can mount the carried-in to-be-packaged object on a stand so that it may not shift | deviate from a reference | standard position very much.

In the present invention, an article to be packaged on which a product is placed on a sheet-like base material is carried and placed on a placing table, and a film is covered from above the product, and the film is covered by a heater around the product. A packaging device for packaging the product with the film by thermocompression bonding to the base material, wherein the heater unit surrounds the mounting table at a position upstream of the center of the mounting table in the loading direction. A friction part is provided inside or outside the range and in the vicinity of the range to generate friction with the back surface of the base material .
Also, the friction part, characterized in that provided at symmetrical positions with respect to a line parallel to the center of the mounting table as carrying direction.

  As described above, according to the present invention, when carrying an article to be packaged, the friction portion acts on the article to be packaged, and the movement of the article to be packaged in the loading direction is braked. It is possible to avoid a situation in which an object greatly deviates from the reference position. Details of the effect will be described later.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a schematic configuration of a packaging device according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of the article carry-in unit 20. FIG. 3 is a schematic configuration diagram for explaining the main part of the configuration of the transport system of the article carry-in unit 20 and the operation thereof. 4A and 4B are schematic views for explaining the positional relationship between the base material of the article F to be packaged placed on the table and the heater frame 32 and the heater portion 33 of the heat seal portion 30. FIG. 4 (c) is an enlarged view of the MM portion in FIG. FIGS. 5A and 5B are schematic cross-sectional views for explaining how the base material is turned up when the film is thermocompression bonded to the base material by the heat seal portion 30, and FIG. FIG. 5 is a schematic plan view for explaining a position where a friction part is provided on the table 11. 6A to 6C are schematic views for explaining another example of the configuration of the friction portion. FIG. 7 is a schematic perspective view showing the main part of a heat seal unit for thermocompression bonding the film K drawn from the film roll 31 around the product W placed on the base material S. FIGS. 8A and 8B are schematic views for explaining the movement of the heater frame in the heat seal unit. FIG. 9 is a block diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of the control unit 200 for controlling the operation of each unit in the packaging device 100. FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating an example of an outline of processing executed by the CPU 201 in the key input unit 60.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
〔Example〕
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a schematic configuration of a packaging device according to an embodiment of the present invention.
In FIG. 1, the packaging device 100 is disposed on the left side when viewed from the front, and is disposed on the right side when viewed from the front and the packaging unit 110 that wraps the package F with a film, and an operator operates the packaging device 100. And a display operation unit 120 to be handled at the time. The display operation unit 120 also has a printing function for printing out priced labels and the like.
The packaging unit 110 and the display operation unit 120 are integrally configured, and constitute the packaging apparatus 100 as a whole.

  The packaging unit 110 includes an article carry-in unit 20 that conveys an article F to be packaged composed of a base material S that is a sheet-shaped packaging member and a product W placed on the base material S to the inside of the elevator unit 10; The article carrying unit 20 has a table (mounting table; which will be described later) on which the article F to be carried is loaded, and the table is lifted and moved to the heat seal unit 30 provided above, and then the heat seal unit 30. The elevator unit 10 that lowers the table on which the article to be packaged F (product) after packaging is placed and sends it to the discharge table 40, and the article W that is placed on the base material S of the article to be packaged F that has been raised by the elevator unit 10 Is covered with a film drawn from the film roll 31 placed on the top, and the edge of the film is thermocompression bonded to the surface of the base material S to wrap the product W with the film, and the elevator unit 10. of Connected to the lowermost part of the inclined part 41 and the inclined part 41 which receives the packaged article F (product) after packaging and slipped off the table by its own weight, and the article F after the inclined part 41 is moved And a discharge table 40 having a horizontal part 42 for retaining the stool.

  As will be described later, the base material S has two sizes, large and small, in which the dimension of the article carry-in unit 20 in the transport direction is different, and the article carry-in unit 20 detects the size of the base material S in the transport direction. The direction size detection means is provided, and when the conveyance direction size detection means detects a large size, the heat seal unit 30 is a base material corresponding to the maximum range in which a product is placed on the large size base material S (large). For the S (large) portion, the film is controlled to be thermocompression bonded, and when the conveyance direction size detecting means detects a small size, the maximum size for placing the product on the small size base material S (small) is set. The corresponding base material S (small) portion is controlled to be thermocompression-bonded (described later).

  The display operation unit 120 includes a screen display device that displays various information to the operator, and an operation device (such as a touch panel device) for the operator to operate each operation element of the display screen displayed on the screen display device. A display operation unit 50, a key input unit 60 for an operator to input various numerical information, a printer unit 70 for printing out a price label, and a price label printed out by the printer unit 70 And the like.

Next, the article carry-in unit 20 will be described.
2 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a schematic configuration of the article carry-in section 20, FIG. 3 is a schematic configuration diagram for explaining the main part of the configuration of the transport system of the article carry-in section 20 and its operation, and FIG. (B) explains the positional relationship between the base material of the article F to be packaged placed on the table and the heater frame 32 (described later) and the heater section (heater unit) 33 (described later) of the heat seal unit 30. 4 (c) is an enlarged view of the MM portion of FIG. 4 (a), and FIGS. 5 (a) and 5 (b) are diagrams when the film is thermocompression bonded to the base material by the heat seal portion 30. FIG. FIG. 6C is a schematic cross-sectional view for explaining how the base material is turned up. FIG. 6C is a schematic plan view for explaining a position where a friction portion (described later) is provided on the table 11. c) is a schematic diagram for explaining another example of the configuration of the friction portion. The description also refers to FIG.

  The article carry-in section 20 has a box shape having an upper portion and an end on the downstream side in the transport direction as a whole (see FIG. 1), and on the left and right sides of the package F to be transported in the left-right direction. Guide portions 21a and 21b that define the position and guide in the transport direction are standing, and the upstream side (front side) of the transport direction indicates the position of the front side of the article F to be transported in the article loading unit 20 as a reference. A cover portion 22 that also serves as a positioning portion that defines the position is provided. Here, the interval between the guide portion 21a and the guide portion 21b is set to be slightly larger than the dimension in the width direction (direction perpendicular to the transport direction) of the base material S of the package F, thereby When the article carry-in unit 20 conveys the article to be packaged F, the article to be packaged F is guided and conveyed without being shifted in the direction orthogonal to the conveyance direction by the guide parts 21a and 21b.

  The upper ends of the guide portions 21a and 21b are formed in a plane, and the upper end surfaces of the guide portions 21a and 21b and the upper surface of the cover portion 22 cooperate with each other so that an operator who performs the packaging operation can take a work piece before transporting. It also serves as a work table on which the package F is placed. Then, on the upper surface of the guide portion 21a, a guide display for instructing an area (laying range) occupied by the product W placed on the base material S for each of the two types of articles F having a large and small dimension in the transport direction. GS is formed. In the present embodiment, there are two kinds of large and small items to be packaged F as described above, and correspondingly, there are two kinds of large and small base materials S on which the product W is placed.

  A cradle 23 having a flat surface with a wide width, a cradle 24a, 24b having a narrow flat surface provided inside the vicinity of the guide portions 21a and 21b, and a cradle, which is disposed at a substantially central portion of the article carry-in portion 20. The transport belts 25a and 25b provided between the base 23 and the guide portions 21a and 21b form a surface for transporting the article F to be packaged, and the guide portions 21a and 21b protrude upward. The article carry-in part 20 forms a recess. The cradles 23, 24a, and 24b also serve as a weighing table of a weighing unit (weighing means; which will be described later) that measures the mass (weight) of the mounted article F or the like.

  Further, the surfaces of the cradles 23, 24a, and 24b are formed to be smooth so that the frictional force generated between the surfaces of the cradles 23, 24a, and 24b and the back surface of the base material S is reduced. Thereby, the movement of the article to be packaged F when the article to be packaged F placed in the article carry-in unit 20 is conveyed in the conveying direction becomes smooth.

  A slit SL1 through which the detection light of the package size sensor SS1 passes is formed in the cradle 24a on the upstream side in the transport direction, and the slit SL2 through which the detection light of the package size sensor SS2 passes is downstream in the transport direction. It is drilled on the side. Package size sensors SS1 and SS2 are provided below the slits SL1 and SL2, respectively. As these packaged size sensors SS1, SS2, reflection type optical sensors are used.

  In the case of the present embodiment, among the two package size sensors SS1 and SS2, the package size sensor SS1 positioned on the upstream side indicates whether or not the package F is positioned at the reference position in the transport direction. It also has a function of a reference position sensor for detection. And the to-be-packaged object size sensors SS1, SS2 are arranged side by side in the transport direction.

  Note that the slits SL1 and SL2 and the package size sensors SS1 and SS2 may be provided on the cradle 24b side, and substantially at the center in the width direction of the cradle 23 and on the upstream side and the downstream side in the transport direction. May be provided. In that case, since the cradle 23 is positioned at the approximate center in the width direction of the article carry-in section 20, even if the base material S having a narrow width is transported, the base material S using such a base material S is used. When the package F is placed at the reference position of the article carry-in unit 20, the most upstream package size sensor SS1 is always blocked by the base material S, and the package size sensor SS1 is packaged F. Can be reliably detected.

  A conveyor belt 25a is provided between the cradle 23 and the cradle 24a, and a conveyor belt 25b is provided between the cradle 23 and the cradle 24b. On these conveyor belts 25a and 25b, pusher members 26aa and 26ba for pushing the front end (upstream side in the transport direction) of the article F to be packaged placed on the article carry-in section 20 are provided with L-shaped metal fittings 27aa and 27aa, respectively. It is attached in such a manner that it rises from the conveyor belts 25a and 25b via 27ba, respectively. Although not shown in FIG. 2, as will be described later, on the opposite side (lower side) of the conveyor belts 25a and 25b, pusher members 26ab and 26bb are L-shaped metal fittings at positions corresponding to the pusher members 26aa and 26ba. Are attached through each.

  In addition, for example, when pressing the package F, the base material S may be rolled up by the weight of the product W placed on the base material S. Even in such a case, the package F is reliably conveyed. An engagement portion (not shown) that engages with the end portion of the base material S is provided on the surface of the pusher member 26aa, 26ab, 26ba, 26bb facing the packaged object F so as to move in the direction. Good. By providing the engaging portions on the pusher members 26aa, 26ab, 26ba, and 26bb as described above, the base material S is turned up when the pusher members 26aa, 26ab, 26ba, and 26bb press the package F. In this case, since the engaging portion is engaged with the end portion of the base material S, the force that the pusher members 26aa, 26ab, 26ba, and 26bb push in the transport direction is reliably transmitted to the base material S, and thereby the transport belt. With the movement of 25a and 25b, the packaged article F can be reliably moved in the transport direction.

  The transport belt 25a and the transport belt 25b are interlocked and driven by the same drive source. In FIG. 2, the positions of the pusher members 26aa and 26ba when the conveyor belts 25a and 25b are located at home positions (described later) are shown. In this way, when the conveyor belts 25a and 25b are positioned at the home position, the conveyor belts 26aa and 26ba are positioned upstream of the front end of the package F in the conveyance direction. The mounting positions of the pusher members 26aa and 26ba at 25a and 25b are determined.

  A table (mounting table) 11 of the elevator unit 10 is located on the downstream side in the conveyance direction of the article carry-in unit 20. As described above, the table 11 of the elevator unit 10 is a position for receiving the article to be packaged F from the article carrying-in part 20 (in-table position), and a position for pushing the article to be packaged F to the heat seal part 30 for packaging (table top position). And it positions in the height direction in any of three positions (table bottom position) which sends the packaged article F after packaging to the discharge table 40, and its inclination is determined. FIG. 2 shows a state in which the table 11 is positioned at the middle position of the table. In this case, the height of the table 11 is slightly lower than the cradles 23, 24a, 24b and the conveyor belts 25a, 25b so as not to be an obstacle when receiving the article F to be packaged. It is positioned with an inclination so that the upstream side becomes lower.

  In this way, the inclination of the table 11 at the position in the table does not have to be an obstacle to the conveyance of the article F to be packed in the article carry-in unit 20 and can be set to a certain range. Further, when the table 11 is raised to the middle position of the table, a small amount of the object to be packaged F is protruded in the direction of the table 11 in advance, so that the movement when the object to be packaged F is fed to the table 11 becomes smooth. ing.

  Further, the table 11 is provided with a discharge sensor (not shown) for checking whether or not the packaged article F after packaging is sent from the table 11 to the discharge table 40 in the vicinity of the end on the upstream side in the transport direction. A detection hole 11a for transmitting the detection light is formed. And the friction part 11c is attached to this detection hole 11a via the bracket 11b.

  The friction part 11c comes into contact with the back surface of the base material S of the package F when the product F is sent out to the table 11, thereby generating friction between the friction part 11c and the back surface of the base material S. The movement of the article to be packaged F fed to the table 11 is braked by the frictional force due to the friction. As shown in FIGS. 4A, 4B, and 4C, the friction portion 11c includes a heater portion 33 provided on a heater frame 32 used as a heat generating portion for thermocompression bonding the film to the base material S. Since it is located in the vicinity, it is preferable to use a rubber material resistant to heat, such as styrene butadiene rubber, for example. Moreover, as a material of the surface of the table 11, a flame-retardant glass cloth sheet is used, and fine unevenness is preferably formed on the surface in order to prevent the article to be packaged F from sticking. In addition, as a material other than that of the surface of the table 11, what has a flame retardance and non-adhesiveness (release property), for example, a fluororesin etc. can also be used.

  Here, in this embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 4A, 4B, and 4C, the end portion on the upstream side in the transport direction of the table 11 is defined as the reference position of the package F, On the premise that the article to be packaged F is placed at the reference position, a range for thermocompression bonding by the heater unit 33 is set. Therefore, the attachment position of the friction portion 11c is determined inside the range surrounded by the heater portion 33 and at a position upstream of the center portion of the table 11 in the transport direction. The attachment position of the friction part 11c is preferably a position that does not interfere with the heater part 33 and is as close to the heater part 33 as possible (described later).

The film K (see FIGS. 5A and 5B) is thermocompression bonded to the base material S by the heater portion 33 in a stretched state (see FIG. 5A), and the heater portion 33 and the base material. When the contact with S is released (see FIG. 5B), the film K has a force to pull upward according to the shape of the product W of the packaged article F in the thickness direction (hereinafter, “ (Referred to as an arrow in FIG. 5B). Then, when the table 11 is lowered and the article to be packaged F is separated from the heater portion 33, the above-described pulling force of the film K acts on the pressure-bonding portion with the base material S. Since the base material S is made of a paper material such as thin water-resistant paper, the base material S is easily deformed when the pulling force of the film K acts on the pressure-bonding portion, whereby the peripheral portion of the base material S is rolled up in the central direction.
For example, when the packaged item F has a large size, as shown in FIG. 5B, the surroundings HA and HB of the base material S are deformed so as to be largely turned up by the pulling force of the film K.

  At this time, in the deformed base material S, the portion where the peripheral HA on the upstream side in the conveyance direction is in contact with the surface of the table 11 is located on the downstream side in the conveyance direction with respect to the friction portion 11c, or at least a part of the portion is the friction portion. It is preferable to determine the attachment position of the friction portion 11c so that the positional relationship is in contact with 11c.

  By having such a positional relationship, the table 11 on which the packaged article F after packaging is placed is moved to the lower position, and the table 11 is inclined so as to be moved toward the discharge table 40, so When the article to be packaged F is sent out to the discharge table 40 by its own weight, the curved portion turned up on the back surface of the base material S hits the friction portion 11c, so that the contact resistance is reduced, and the The frictional force exerted by the friction portion 11c on the back surface of the base material S is reduced to a very small value by eliminating the static friction force, and avoiding the back surface of the base material S being caught by the friction portion 11c. Thus, the article to be packaged F can be smoothly delivered from the table 11 to the discharge table 40.

  In addition, as described above, the position and shape of the friction portion 11c may be any appropriate place as long as the portion where the base material S is rolled up and the back surface is curved contacts the friction portion 11c. It can be provided in an appropriate shape. For example, as indicated by reference numeral 11 c-1 in FIG. 5C, a line parallel to the carrying-in direction through the center of the table 11 outside the range where the heater unit 33 thermocompresses the film K to the base material S. Is provided in the vicinity of the heater portion 33 in a symmetric elongated shape, or inside the range where the heater portion 33 thermocompresses the film K to the base material S as indicated by reference numerals 11c-2a and 11c-2b. Provided in an elongated shape along the transport direction at symmetrical positions, or as indicated by reference numerals 11c-3a and 11c-3b, the heater section 33 is located inside and outside the range where the film K is thermocompression bonded to the base material S. It can be provided at a symmetrical position with respect to a line passing through the center of the table 11 and parallel to the loading direction.

Here, the position where the friction part 11c is provided will be described based on the circumstances when the packaged article F is discharged.
If the position of the friction part 11c is determined as much as possible outside the range in which the base material S is placed on the table 11, the outer peripheral edge of the back surface of the base material S that has been rolled up does not come into contact with the friction part 11c. When the object to be packaged F is inclined and discharged, the outer peripheral end of the back surface of the base material S does not receive a frictional force (static frictional force) in a stationary state.

  Therefore, the frictional force acting between the back surface of the base material S of the packaged material F to be discharged and the friction part 11c is only the dynamic friction force generated after the packaged product F starts moving. Since the dynamic friction force is much smaller than the static friction force, from the viewpoint of the magnitude of the friction force acting when the package F is discharged, the position of the friction portion 11c is determined so that the base material S is placed on the table 11. It is preferable to determine as much as possible outside the mounting range.

  On the other hand, when the film K is thermocompression-bonded around the upper surface of the base material S by the heater unit 33, the portion of the ear KK (see FIG. 4C) that is not covered with the film K on the upper surface of the base material S cannot be as much as possible. The direction of the packaging finish of the article F is better. In addition, since the product is not located in the ear KK, it does not contribute to packaging at all. By reducing the portion of the ear KK and reducing the portion of the base material S that does not contribute to packaging, the size of the base material S used when packaging the product W of the same size can be further reduced. it can.

  Therefore, since the store using this packaging apparatus 100 can make the base material S used when packaging the same product W smaller and reduce the cost, packaging is possible from the viewpoint of cost reduction. It is preferable to make the ear KK portion that sometimes occurs as small as possible.

  Thus, in order to make the ear KK portion as small as possible, the range surrounded by the heater portion 33 is set so that the film K is thermocompression bonded to the base material S at a position near the limit of the outer edge portion of the base material S. Thus, the film K may be heat-sealed at the outer edge of the base material S.

  However, if there is a projection such as the friction part 11c on the table 11, the base material S of the article F to be packaged placed on the table 11 swells up at that portion and is not flat. If the non-flat portion is generated, a gap is formed between the film K and the base material S when the heater unit 33 presses the film K against the base material S, so that the film K cannot be thermocompression bonded to the base material S.

  Therefore, as described above, in order to make the portion of the ear KK as small as possible, the range surrounded by the heater portion 33 is set so that the film K is thermocompression bonded to the base material S at a position near the limit of the outer edge portion of the base material S. Then, the place which provides the friction part 11c in the table 11 cannot be ensured, and the friction part 11c cannot be provided in the table 11.

  Therefore, in order to make the ear KK portion as small as possible, when setting the range surrounded by the heater portion 33 so that the film K is thermocompression bonded to the base material S at a position near the limit of the outer edge portion of the base material S, The place where the friction part 11 c is provided is limited to the inside of the range surrounded by the heater part 33.

  At this time, if the friction part 11c is provided at a position close to the center of the table 11, the entire friction part 11c is located on the back surface of the base material S. Therefore, when the table 11 is tilted when the package F is discharged. The static friction force acting between the back surface of the base material S and the friction part 11c becomes the maximum state, and there is a possibility that the packaged article F cannot be discharged smoothly.

  Therefore, as shown in FIGS. 4A, 4 </ b> B, and 4 </ b> C, inside the range surrounded by the heater unit 33, at a position near the limit on the downstream side in the discharge direction (upstream side in the transport direction), By providing the friction part 11c, the heater part 33 does not become an obstacle when the film K is thermocompression-bonded to the base material S, and is less susceptible to the influence of static frictional force when discharging the package F. Thus, the packaged item F can be discharged smoothly.

  However, in the case of adopting a packaging form that allows the ear KK to be formed, the ear KK is formed outside the range surrounded by the heater portion 33, so that there is room for providing the friction portion 11c in the portion, and the heater portion 33 is provided. However, it does not become an obstacle when the film K is thermocompression-bonded to the base material S, and does not receive a static frictional force when the package F is discharged. Therefore, when the form of packaging that allows the ear KK to be adopted, the friction portion 11c may be provided outside the range surrounded by the heater portion 33.

  In addition, as another aspect which provides the friction part 11c (11c-1, 11c-2a, 11c-2b, 11c-3a, 11c-3b) in the table 11, as shown to Fig.6 (a), for example, a table 11 is attached or bonded to the surface of the table 11, or a recess is provided on the surface of the table 11 as shown in FIG. 5B, or the table 11 is embedded in the recess, as shown in FIG. It is possible to employ a surface treatment that increases the frictional force on the surface of 11.

  By the way, the dimensions in the transport direction of the cradle 23 and the transport belts 25a and 25b are so positioned as to be close to the front end of the table 11 so that the article F can be smoothly moved to the table 11 during transport. The dimensions of the cradle 24a, 24b in the transport direction are such that when the large-size package F is placed, the end of the package F does not protrude from the end of the cradle 24a, 24b. It is determined to the extent.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 2, when the table 11 is located at the middle position of the table, the end on the downstream side in the conveyance direction of the conveyance belts 25 a and 25 b is located at the nearest position on the near side of the table 11. When the transport belts 25a and 25b are further driven in the transport direction after the article to be packaged F is moved to the table 11, the pusher members 26aa and 26ba and the end of the table 11 interfere with each other. Therefore, it is preferable to drive the conveyor belts 25a and 25b during a period during which the table 11 is moved from the mid-table position to the on-table position. For example, an operation sequence of “moving the article to be packaged F to the table 11” → “raising the table 11” → “resuming driving of the conveyor belts 25a and 25b” can be employed.

  Next, the drive system of the conveyance belt 25b will be described. The drive system for the transport belt 25a is basically the same as the drive system for the transport belt 25b, and illustration and description thereof are omitted. However, differences from the conveyor belt 25b will be described each time.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the conveyor belt 25b has a configuration in which an endless timing belt is spanned between the sprockets SP1 and SP2. The teeth of the timing belt mesh with the teeth formed on the outer peripheral surfaces of the sprockets SP1 and SP2, and the rotational force of the sprockets SP1 and SP2 is transmitted to the conveyor belt 25b, so that the conveyor belt 25b moves. . A driving force is transmitted to the sprocket SP1 from a transport motor (not shown) through a transmission mechanism (not shown).

  Here, as the transport motor, a motor that can rotate in each of the normal rotation direction and the reverse rotation direction, for example, a stepping motor that can rotate in the normal and reverse directions may be used. When the transport motor is driven in the forward direction, the transport belts 25a and 25b move in the forward transport direction (direction along the transport direction), and when the transport motor is driven in the reverse direction, the transport belts 25a and 25b are moved in the reverse transport direction (in the transport direction). Move in the opposite direction).

  The conveyor belt 25a also has the same drive system as the conveyor belt 25b, but a sprocket SP1 ′ (not shown) corresponding to the sprocket SP1 is connected to the axis CC of the sprocket SP1, and the sprocket SP1 ′ is connected via the axis CC. The conveying belt 25a is driven by the driving force transmitted to the. That is, the conveyor belt 25a is driven by the same movement as that of the conveyor belt 25b.

  As described above, the pusher member 26ba is attached to the transport belt 25b via the L-shaped metal fitting 27ba. When the pusher member 26ba is located at the home position set on the upper side of the sprocket SP1, the pusher member 26ba is placed on the lower side of the sprocket SP2. The pusher member 26bb is attached to the conveyor belt 25b via the L-shaped metal fitting 27bb so as to be positioned. As described above, the positional relationship between the mounting position of the pusher member 26ba and the mounting position of the pusher member 26bb is determined to be a relationship separated by a half of the circumferential length of the endless transport belt 25b.

  Therefore, by driving the conveying belt 25b in the conveying direction by a half of the length, the operation of conveying the package F toward the table 11 by the pusher member 26ba or the pusher member 26bb can be performed. Therefore, the means for controlling the driving of the transport belts 25a and 25b does not recognize which of the pusher member 26ba and the pusher member 26bb is transporting the package F and drives the transport belts 25a and 25b. Can be controlled.

  And in order to control the conveyance operation of the to-be-packaged goods F, the operation | movement of the conveyance belt 25b is controlled. In this case, basically, as shown by the solid line in FIG. 3, the pusher member 26ba is moved from the home position to the position where the tip of the package F protrudes a predetermined amount to the table 11 and waits. When the table 11 moves to the middle position, it is continuously driven until the pusher member 26ba moves to the limit position for pushing the package F to the table 11, as indicated by a two-dot chain line in FIG. The pusher member 26ba is stopped at the limit position.

  In order to control the movement stop operation of the conveyor belt 25b, a home position sensor SHP is provided at a position where the other pusher member 26bb is detected while the pusher member 26ba is located at the home position. A limit position detection sensor SST is provided at a position where the other pusher member 26bb is detected in a state where 26ba has moved to the limit position.

  Since the home position sensor SHP and the limit position detection sensor SST are provided in such a positional relationship, the home position sensor SHP detects the pusher member 26ba when the opposite pusher member 26bb is located at the home position. In a state where the pusher member 26bb is moved to the limit position, the limit position detection sensor SST detects the pusher member 26ba.

  In addition, when moving to the stand-by position which the front-end | tip of the to-be-packaged object F protrudes to the table 11 by a predetermined amount, according to the size of the base material S detected by the to-be-packaged object size sensor SS1, SS2, it moves from a home position to a stand-by position. Set the amount of movement.

  In this way, by these home position sensor SHP and limit position detection sensor SST, whether the pusher member (either pusher member 26ba or 26bb) on the side that conveys the article F is positioned at the home position, Alternatively, it is detected whether it is located at the limit position.

  Here, as the home position sensor SHP and the limit position detection sensor SST, for example, inexpensive sensors such as a reflection type optical sensor, a transmission type optical sensor, or a microswitch sensor having a filler can be used. Further, the surfaces of the pusher members 26ba and 26bb may be processed so that the home position sensor SHP and the limit position detection sensor SST can reliably detect the pusher members 26ba and 26bb. For example, when a reflection type optical sensor is used as the home position sensor SHP and the limit position detection sensor SST, the reflection type optical sensor has a material (material) and shape that can accurately reflect the detection light used by the reflection type optical sensor. It is preferable to form the surfaces of the pusher members 26ba and 26bb irradiated with the detection light.

As described above, the conveyor belt 25a is driven by being driven by the conveyor belt 25b. Therefore, sensors corresponding to the home position sensor SHP and the limit position detection sensor SST are provided on the conveyor belt 25a side. Absent.
It is also possible to drive the conveyor belt 25a independently of the conveyor belt 25b and perform the operations of the drive belts 25a and 25b in synchronization. In that case, sensors corresponding to the home position sensor SHP and the limit position detection sensor SST are also provided on the drive belt 25a side, and a transport motor (stepping motor) for driving only the drive belt 25a is provided only for the transport belt 25b. Drive control may be performed in synchronism with the transport motor that drives.

  Next, the heat seal unit of the heat seal part 30 will be described. This heat seal unit is located slightly above the upper position of the table 11, and the film K drawn out from the film roll 31 and stretched is positioned directly below the heat seal unit. Therefore, by moving the table 11 to the upper position, the film K is pressed from above on the package F placed on the table 11, and the film K is heated around the product W placed on the base material S. The object F is packed by the film K by pressure bonding.

  FIG. 7 is a schematic perspective view showing a main part of a heat seal unit for thermocompression bonding the film K drawn from the film roll 31 around the product W placed on the base material S. FIG. b) is a schematic diagram for explaining the movement of the heater frame in the heat seal unit.

In FIG. 7, the heater frame 32 includes a fixed frame member 32a, fixed frame members 32b and 32c provided at both ends of the fixed frame member 32a so as to be perpendicular to the fixed frame member 32a, and fixed frame members 32a and 32b. , 32c and a movable frame member 32d provided inside the space surrounding the fixed frame members 32b, 32c so as to be movable in the longitudinal direction.
The fixed frame members 32a, 32b, 32c and the movable frame member 32d are each made of a thin and thin plate-like member, and the fixed frame member 32a and the movable frame member 32d are arranged in a direction orthogonal to the conveyance direction of the packaged article F. In addition, the fixed frame members 32b and 32c are arranged in a direction parallel to the conveyance direction of the article F to be packaged.

  The movable frame member 32d is provided so as to be movable in the front-rear direction in the conveyance direction of the packaged article F within the frame body closed in the three directions formed by the fixed frame members 32a, 32b, and 32c. Therefore, when packaging a small package F with a small size in the transport direction, the movable frame member 32d is moved to the upstream side in the transport direction within the frame and positioned at a position corresponding to the small package F. When packaging a large package F with a large dimension in the transport direction, the movable frame member 32d is moved downstream in the transport direction within the frame and positioned at a position corresponding to the large package F. Good. As described above, the heater frame 32 is controlled to be an opening corresponding to the size of the packaged object F by positioning the movable frame member 32d in the frame body in the front-rear direction in the transport direction according to the size of the packaged object F. it can.

  The lower end portions of the fixed frame members 32a, 32b, 32c and the movable frame member 32d are portions facing the table 11. When the table 11 is moved to the upper position, the fixed frame members 32a, 32b, 32c and the movable frame member 32d The lower end part comes into contact with the surface of the table 11. Then, thin plate-like heaters 33a, 33b, 33c, and 33d of the heater section 33 are provided at the lower ends of the fixed frame members 32a, 32b, and 32c and the movable frame member 32d of the heater frame 32, respectively.

  As the heaters 33a, 33b, 33c, and 33d, heating elements molded according to the shapes of the lower end portions of the fixed frame members 32a, 32b, and 32c and the movable frame member 32d are used. As the heating element, a heating element that can apply a sufficient amount of heat to the film K for thermocompression bonding to the base material S may be used. For example, a heating element such as a nichrome wire is applied to a resin having high heat resistance and high thermal conductivity. Embedded ones can be used.

  Further, a thin plate-like heat is formed so as to fill a gap between the heaters 33a and the heaters 33b and 33c and a portion where the heaters 33b and 33c and the heater 33d are connected to each other. A conductor may be provided. Thereby, when the heater part 33 thermocompression-bonds the film K to the base material S, the circumference | surroundings of the goods W can be sealed without gap.

  A wall member 32da is fixed to the upper end portion of the movable frame member 32d so as to extend the movable frame member 32d upward. One side end portion of the nut members 34aa, 34ba of the ball screw mechanisms 34a, 34b is fixed to the wall member 32da. Here, the ball screw mechanisms 34a and 34b are used as a mechanism for moving the movable frame member 32d in the front-rear direction of the transport direction.

  One end of screws 34ab and 34bb, which are other elements of the ball screw mechanisms 34a and 34b and pass through the nut members 34aa and 34ba, are fixed to a fixing plate 37 fixed to a case of a heat seal unit (not shown). Sprockets 34ae and 34be are attached through the provided bearings 34ac and 34bc. Also, bearings 34af and 34bf fixed to the case of the heat seal unit are attached to the other ends of the screws 34ab and 34bb.

  A packaging size changing motor 38 for generating a driving force acting on the ball screw mechanisms 34a and 34b is attached to the fixed plate 37, and a sprocket 38b is attached to a shaft 38a of the packaging size changing motor 38. Yes. Here, as the packaging size changing motor 38, a stepping motor capable of forward and reverse rotation is used.

  An endless timing belt 39 is stretched over the sprockets 34ae, 34be and the sprocket 38b, and the teeth of the timing belt 39 mesh with the teeth formed on the outer periphery of the sprockets 34ae, 34be, 38b. .

  The rotational force of the shaft 38a of the packaging size changing motor 38 is transmitted from the sprocket 38b to the timing belt 39, and when the timing belt 39 moves, the sprockets 34ae and 34be rotate and the screws 34ab and 34bb of the ball screw mechanisms 34a and 34b rotate. Is transmitted to. Then, when the screws 34ab and 34bb are rotated, the nut members 34aa and 34ba are moved in the transport direction, and the wall member 32da is moved accordingly. Therefore, the movable frame member 32d is moved in the transport direction.

As described above, the packaging size changing motor 38 can rotate forward and backward. For example, when the packaging size changing motor 38 is driven in the forward rotation direction, the screws 34ab and 34bb of the ball screw mechanisms 34a and 34b rotate in the corresponding directions. Thereby, for example, the nut members 34aa and 34ba move to the upstream side in the transport direction, and the movable frame member 32d moves to the upstream side in the transport direction.
Further, when the packaging size changing motor 38 is driven in the reverse rotation direction, the screws 34ab and 34bb of the ball screw mechanisms 34a and 34b rotate in the corresponding directions, so that, for example, the nut members 34aa and 34ba move to the downstream side in the transport direction. Then, the movable frame member 32d moves to the downstream side in the transport direction.
Thus, by controlling the driving direction of the packaging size changing motor 38, the moving direction of the movable frame member 32d can be controlled to either the upstream side in the transport direction or the downstream side in the transport direction.

Next, detection of the position of the movable frame member 32d in the conveyance direction will be described.
In this position detection, the packaging size sensors SS3 and SS4, which are two photo interrupters provided at the lower end of the fixed plate 37, and the shutter SH1 provided on the wall surface of the wall member 32da opposite to the mounting side of the nut members 34aa and 34ba. , SH2.

  The shutters SH1 and SH2 are fixed to the arms BKa and BKb of the bracket BK bent so as to project two arms, and the shutter SH1 attached to the arm BKa has a movable frame member 32d having a small size. The packaging size sensor SS3 is shielded from light in a state of being positioned at a position corresponding to the object F (see FIG. 8A), and the shutter SH2 attached to the arm BKb has a movable frame member 32d having a large size. The package size sensor SS4 is shielded from light in a state of being positioned at a position corresponding to F (see FIG. 8B).

  Therefore, the signals of the packaging size sensors SS3 and SS4 are monitored, and when the packaging size sensor SS3 is in a light-shielding state (off state), the movable frame member 32d is at a position corresponding to the small packaged item F. When the package size sensor SS4 is in a light-shielding state (off state), the movable frame member 32d is positioned at a position corresponding to the large-size packaged object F. Can be determined.

Although not shown, the heat seal unit is configured to press the heat seal unit so as to softly land on the table 11, and to adjust the tension of the film K by drawing the film K from the film roll 31. A film stretching mechanism, a film cutting mechanism for cutting the film K at an appropriate position, and the like are attached. Since each of these mechanisms is not directly related to the present invention, description thereof is omitted.
In the above-described example, the ball screw mechanisms 35 and 36 and the packaging size changing motor 38 are used to configure the means for moving the movable frame member 32d of the heater frame 32 in the front-rear direction of the transport direction. The means is not limited to this configuration, and other configurations can be employed. For example, a linear motor that directly moves the movable frame member 32d in the front-rear direction of the transport direction can be used.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of the control unit 200 for controlling the operation of each unit in the packaging device 100.
In FIG. 9, a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 201 performs processing for controlling various control operations performed by the control unit 200 and operations of each unit of the control unit 200. A RAM (Random Access Memory) 202 is used. Is used to configure a work area necessary for the execution operation of the CPU 201 or to hold temporary data. A ROM (Read Only Memory) 202 stores data of various programs executed by the CPU 201. This is for storing various constant values to be referred to when the CPU 201 executes processing.

  The weighing unit 210 is for measuring the mass (weight) of the article F to be packaged placed in the article carry-in unit 20 using a load cell or the like provided in the article carry-in unit 20, and the motor drive control unit 211 is The various motors provided in the packaging device 100 are driven and controlled. The object controlled by the motor drive control unit 211 is used to pull out the film K from the packaging size changing motor 38 for controlling the opening size of the heater frame 32 of the heat seal unit and the film roll 31 of the heat seal unit 30. A film feed motor 212, a transport motor 213 used to drive the transport belts 25a and 25b of the article carry-in section 20, and a table vertical motor 214 used as a mechanism for moving the table 11 up and down in the elevator section 10. is there.

  The sensor drive control unit 215 drives a sensor group including various types of sensors provided in various places of the packaging device 100, and inputs sensor signals from each sensor constituting the sensor group. is there. The sensor drive controller 215 drives the sensor group to input a sensor signal. The home position sensor SHP of the article carry-in unit 20, the limit position sensor, the package size sensors SS1, SS2, the package size sensors SS3, SS4, In addition, a discharge sensor 216 including a reflective optical sensor that irradiates the detection light through the detection hole 11a of the table 11 positioned at the lower position and receives the detection light reflected by the non-detection object is included.

  On the bus 220 of the CPU 201, there are a RAM 202, a ROM 203, a display operation unit 50, a key input unit 60, a printer unit 70, a weighing unit 210, a heat seal unit 30, a motor drive control unit 211, and a sensor drive control unit 215. The exchange of data between these elements connected to the bus 220 and the exchange of data between these elements and the CPU 201 are mainly performed via the bus 220.

  The bus 220 may have an appropriate system bus configuration instead of a simple common signal line. For example, a signal or data form, a signal level, a signal waveform change mode, a signal meaning, etc. However, those having a signal conversion function and a signal control function for mutually transmitting various signals can be used. Note that the configuration of the bus 220 is not directly related to the present invention, and a description thereof will be omitted.

  FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing an example of an outline of processing executed by the CPU 201 in the key input unit 60.

  In FIG. 10, the CPU 201 first positions the table 11 at the lower position which is the initial position (step S101). In this state, it is monitored that the display operation unit 50 is operated to start the packaging and the delivery of the article F to be packaged by the article carry-in unit 20 is started (step S102 NO loop).

  When the delivery of the article to be packaged F is started and the result of step S102 is YES, the CPU 201 moves the article to be packaged F to the standby position by the article delivery unit 20 as described above (step S103). In this state, the table 11 is moved to the middle position (step S104). Then, the article F is sent out to the table 11 (step S105), and the table 11 on which the article F is placed is moved to the upper position (step S106).

  Next, as described above, the CPU 201 wraps the article F to be packaged placed on the table 11 with the film K by the heat seal unit 30 (step S107). And in order to discharge | emit the to-be-packaged goods F after packaging, the table 11 is moved to a lower position (step S108).

  Here, the CPU 201 determines whether or not the article F to be packaged placed on the table 11 has moved to the discharge table 40 based on the signal from the discharge sensor 216 (step S109). When the article F to be packaged placed on the table 11 moves to the discharge table 40 and the result of step S109 is YES, this process is terminated.

  On the other hand, when the article to be packaged F placed on the table 11 has not moved to the discharge table 40 and the result of step S109 is NO, the display operation unit 50 displays, for example, “discharge package”. An error message or the like indicating “It was not possible” is displayed, a discharge error of the package F is informed (step S110), and the process is terminated.

  In this way, the process performed by the CPU 201 moves the table 11 from the lower position to the middle position, places the article F to be placed on the table 11, and then moves the table 11 to the upper position. The film K is thermocompression-bonded to the base material S of the packaged object F by the unit 30, the packaged object F is packaged by the film K, the table 11 is moved to the lower position, and is placed on the table 11. The article F to be packaged is discharged to the discharge table 40. Thus, a series of operation | movement until the packaging apparatus 100 packages and wraps the to-be-packaged object F is performed.

  The control program data executed by the CPU 201 can be, for example, a storage device built in the CPU 201 or stored in the ROM 203. In addition, for example, the control unit 200 includes a communication unit, The control program data obtained by downloading from a server or the like on the network using a communication means and storing it in the RAM 202 or an external storage device using a storage medium is provided, and the RAM 202 is read from the storage medium of the external storage device. You may make it use the data of the control program acquired by preserve | saving to.

  In addition, the configurations and modifications of the embodiments described above can be applied in appropriate combinations within a consistent range.

  The present invention can be applied to any type of packaging device as long as it is a packaging device that transports an article to be packaged on a sheet-like base material and carries it into a packaging mechanism. .

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Elevator part 11c, 11c-1, 11c-2a, 11c-2b, 11c-3a, 11c-3b Friction part 20 Article carry-in part 30 Heat seal part 33 Heater part (heater unit)
40 Discharge stand 100 Packaging equipment F Package S S Base material W Product

Claims (2)

An article to be packaged on which a product is placed on a sheet-like base material is loaded and placed on a mounting table, and a film is placed over the product, and the film is applied to the base material by a heater around the product. A packaging device for packaging the product with the film by thermocompression bonding,
In the mounting table, at a position upstream of the center of the mounting table in the loading direction , inside or outside the range surrounded by the heater unit, between the back surface of the base material in the vicinity of the range A packaging device comprising a friction portion for generating friction. The packaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the friction portion is provided at a position symmetrical to a line passing through the center of the mounting table and parallel to the loading direction .

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