JP7511906B2 - Bag filling aid - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a bagging assistance device that assists in the packing of items into packaging bags.

Conventionally, a bagging auxiliary device that assists in the bagging operation of packaging bags has been known that includes a packaging bag placing table on which packaging bags can be placed in a stacked state and an upper lid portion provided above the packaging bag placing table (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
In this bag filling auxiliary device, a columnar locking pin for insertion into a locking hole of the packaging bag is provided on a packaging bag placement table.

JP 2019-104538 A (horizontal placement)

The packaging bags to be placed on the bagging auxiliary device described above must have locking holes formed at positions where locking pins erected on the packaging bag placement table can be inserted, so the shapes of packaging bags that can be placed on the bagging auxiliary device are limited.

Therefore, the present invention is intended to solve the problems of the prior art as described above, and the object of the present invention is to provide a bagging auxiliary device that can hold a wide variety of packaging bags by positioning the stacking table at a predetermined position regardless of the stacking table .

The invention of claim 1 is a bagging auxiliary device that assists in the bagging work of packaging items into the packaging bags so that they can be bagged sequentially, comprising an air blowing unit that inflates packaging bags and a stacking table that holds a large number of the packaging bags in a flat stack, the air blowing unit comprises a base frame that is installed in a bagging work area and a blower that blows air toward the packaging bags, the blower has a housing fixed to the base frame and a blower fan fixed to the housing, the housing has an inclined portion for mounting the stacking table, the stacking table is detachably mounted to the housing of the air blowing unit, when the stacking table is mounted on the inclined portion of the air blowing unit, a hanging portion formed at the rear of the stacking table abuts against the rear end of the inclined portion of the air blowing unit, and the stacking table has an engagement protrusion that is accommodated in a gap of the air blowing unit when mounted on the air blowing unit and determines the widthwise position of the air blowing unit relative to the base frame, thereby solving the above-mentioned problem.

The invention of claim 2 further solves the above-mentioned problem by, in addition to the configuration of the bag filling auxiliary device described in claim 1 , the packaging bag has a back surface with a lip portion that protrudes more in the bag opening direction than the front surface, and the air blowing unit has a bag pressing plate that presses the lip portion of the topmost packaging bag placed on the stacking table.

The invention of claim 3 further solves the above-mentioned problem by, in addition to the configuration of the bagging auxiliary device described in claim 2 , the blowing unit having a housing deformation portion that lowers the housing downward.

The invention of claim 4 further solves the above-mentioned problem by, in addition to the configuration of the bag filling auxiliary device described in any one of claims 1 to 3 , the stacking table having a bag deformation protrusion that protrudes toward the packaging bag.

The invention of claim 5 further solves the above-mentioned problem by, in addition to the configuration of the bag filling auxiliary device described in any one of claims 1 to 4 , the blowing unit having a bag shape retaining member that presses the surface of the topmost packaging bag stacked flat on the stacking table.

The invention of claim 6 further solves the above-mentioned problem by, in addition to the configuration of the bag filling auxiliary device described in any one of claims 1 to 5 , the stacking table having a locking protrusion that locks into the locking hole of the bag locking device that bundles the packaging bags.

The bagging auxiliary device of the present invention is equipped with a blower unit for inflating packaging bags and a stacking table for holding a large number of packaging bags in a flat stack, the blower unit having a base frame to be installed in the bagging work area and a blower for blowing air toward the packaging bags, and the blower having a housing fixed to the base frame and a blower fan fixed to the housing, so that it is not only possible to assist in the bagging work of packaging items so that they can be bagged sequentially, but also can achieve remarkable effects based on the device configuration unique to the present invention, as described below.
In other words, the invention of claim 1 has a stacking table that is removably attached to the housing of the blower unit, so that by preparing a stacking table suitable for the packaging bag, the packaging bag can be placed on the bagging auxiliary device regardless of the shape of the packaging bag, and therefore a single bagging auxiliary device can hold a wide variety of packaging bags.
Furthermore, the stacking platform has an engaging protrusion that fits into a gap in the blower unit when attached to the blower unit to determine the widthwise position of the blower unit relative to the base frame, so that the gap in the blower unit and the engaging protrusion with the stacking platform function as a stacking platform positioning means that determines the position of the stacking platform relative to the housing of the blower unit.When the stacking platform is attached to the housing, this stacking platform positioning means fixes the widthwise position of the stacking platform relative to the housing, and the position of the stacking platform relative to the blower fan is a predetermined position regardless of the stacking platform, so that any packaging bag can be inflated by the blower fan.
Furthermore, the housing of the blower unit has an inclined portion for mounting the stacking platform, and when the stacking platform is mounted on the inclined portion of the blower unit, the hanging portion formed at the rear of the stacking platform abuts the rear end of the inclined portion of the blower unit. Therefore, when the stacking platform is mounted on the housing, the longitudinal position of the stacking platform relative to the housing is fixed, and the position of the stacking platform relative to the blower fan is a predetermined position regardless of the stacking platform, so that any packaging bag can be inflated by the blower fan.

According to the bagging auxiliary device of the invention of claim 2 , in addition to the effects achieved by the bagging auxiliary device of the invention of claim 1 , the air blowing unit has a bag pressing plate that presses down the lip portion of the topmost packaging bag placed on the stacking table, so that the bag pressing plate holds down the packaging bag even when the air blowing fan is inflating the packaging bag, thereby preventing the packaging bag from falling off the stacking table due to the wind pressure from the air blowing fan.

According to the bagging auxiliary device of the invention of claim 3 , in addition to the effects achieved by the bagging auxiliary device of the invention of claim 2 , the air blowing unit has a housing deformation portion which lowers the housing downward, so that when the housing is lowered downward by the housing deformation portion, the distance between the bag pressing plate and the housing is increased, making it easier to attach the stacking table to the housing.

According to the bagging auxiliary device of the invention of claim 4 , in addition to the effects achieved by the bagging auxiliary device of the invention of any one of claims 1 to 3 , the stacking table has bag deforming protrusions that protrude toward the packaging bag, so that the packaging bags stacked flat on the stacking table are raised against the stacking table by the bag deforming protrusions, causing the packaging bags to wrinkle, making it easier for the air from the blower fan to enter the inside of the packaging bag.As a result, not only can the packaging bags be easily inflated, but the opening shape of the packaging bag when the packaging bag is inflated against the stacking table by the blower fan is different from the opening shape when the stacking table does not have bag deforming protrusions protruding toward the packaging bag, so that the opening shape of the packaging bag when inflated by the blower fan can be made to be an optimal shape to suit the packaged item.

According to the bagging auxiliary device of the invention of claim 5 , in addition to the effects achieved by the bagging auxiliary device of the invention of any one of claims 1 to 4 , the air blowing unit has a bag shape retaining member that presses down on the surface of the topmost packaging bag stacked flat on the stacking table, making it difficult for the packaging bag to expand due to the air blown from the air blower fan, thereby reducing the opening height of the packaging bag and making it easier to insert wide packaged items into the packaging bag.

According to the bagging auxiliary device of the invention of claim 6 , in addition to the effects achieved by the bagging auxiliary device of the invention of any one of claims 1 to 5 , the stacking table has a locking protrusion that locks into the locking hole of the bag locking device that bundles the packaging bags, so that the packaging bags bundled by the bag locking device are placed on the stacking table simply by locking the locking hole of the bag locking device with the locking protrusion of the stacking table, and a large number of packaging bags can be easily stacked and held flat.

FIG. 2 is a left side view of the bagging assist device according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a left side view of the blower unit shown in FIG. 1 . FIG. 2 is a plan view of the blower unit shown in FIG. 1 . FIG. 2 is a plan view of the stacking table shown in FIG. 1 . Cross-sectional view taken along line IIIB-IIIB of FIG. 3A. FIG. 2 is a plan view of a packaging bag used in the bagging assistant device of FIG. 1 . IVB-IVB cross-sectional view of FIG. 4A. 2 is a plan view of a bag fastener used in the bagging assist device of FIG. 1; 5A is a plan view of the packaging bag of FIG. 4A stacked with the bag fastener of FIG. 5A. VC-VC cross-sectional view of FIG. 5B. 5A to 5C are diagrams showing a procedure for attaching the stacking table 200 to the blower unit. VIIA-VIIA cross-sectional view of FIG. 1 when a wide packaging bag is used. 6 is a view from the direction VIIB of FIG. 1 showing the wide packaging bag inflated. 8 is a cross-sectional view taken along line VIIIA-VIIIA in FIG. 1 when a narrow packaging bag is used. FIG. 8B is a view of the narrow packaging bag inflated state in FIG. 1 . FIG. 5 is a plan view of a bagging assist device according to a second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5 is a left side view of a bagging assist device according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

The present invention is a bagging auxiliary device that assists in the bagging work of packaging items into packaging bags so that the items can be bagged sequentially, and is provided with an air blowing unit that inflates packaging bags and a stacking table that holds a large number of packaging bags in a flat stack, the air blowing unit is provided with a base frame that is installed in the bagging work area and a blower that blows air toward the packaging bags, the blower has a housing fixed to the base frame and a blower fan fixed to the housing , the housing has an inclined portion for mounting the stacking table , the stacking table is detachably mounted to the housing of the air blowing unit, when the stacking table is mounted on the inclined portion of the air blowing unit, a hanging portion formed at the rear of the stacking table abuts against the rear end of the inclined portion of the air blowing unit, the stacking table has an engaging protrusion that is accommodated in a gap in the air blowing unit when mounted on the air blowing unit and determines the widthwise position of the air blowing unit relative to the base frame, and the specific embodiment may be any as long as it is capable of holding a wide variety of packaging bags.

For example, the material of the packaging bag may be any material, such as paper or plastic film, as long as it is capable of packaging the item to be packaged, but it is preferable for the bag to be made of a flexible and transparent plastic film.
Furthermore, the shape of the packaging bag may be any shape in plan view, so long as it is a bag that is open on only one side.

For example, the items to be packaged can be anything, including vegetables, fruits, bread, stationery, industrial parts, etc.

The bagging assist device 10, which is a first embodiment of the present invention, will be described below with reference to Figures 1 to 7.

First, as shown in FIG. 1, which is a left side view of the bagging auxiliary device 10 according to the first embodiment of the present invention, the bagging auxiliary device 10 according to the first embodiment of the present invention is equipped with an air blowing unit 100 that inflates the packaging bag B, and a stacking table 200 that holds a large number of packaging bags B in a flat stack so that they can be packed sequentially, thereby assisting in the packing of packaged items into the packaging bags B so that they can be packed sequentially.

The specific device configurations of the air blower unit 100 and stacking table 200 that make up the bagging auxiliary device 10 of this embodiment are described in detail below.

<1. Blower unit 100>
The configuration of the blower unit 100 will be described with reference to FIGS. 2A and 2B.
2A is a left side view of the blower unit shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. 2B is a plan view of the blower unit shown in FIG.

As shown in Figures 2A and 2B, the air blowing unit 100 includes a base frame 110 that is placed on a support surface F such as a table, a blower 120 that blows air toward the packaging bag B, and an inclination fixing means 130 that fixes the position of the base frame 110.

<1.1. Base frame>
The base frame 110 has a bottom plate 111 to be placed on the loading surface (bagging work area) F, a base plate 112 to which the blower 120 is attached, a rotating member (axial support member) 113 that connects the bottom plate 111 and the base plate 112, and a hook 114 that can be freely suspended from a guide bar 131 of the inclined fixing means 130 described later.

As shown in FIG. 2B , the bottom plate 111 is a rectangular flat plate, and supports the entire blower unit 100 .
Further, on the bottom plate 111, semi-spherical guides 111a for positioning the inclination fixing means 130 in the left-right direction are mounted at four locations.
Furthermore, a T-shaped bar guide 111b is placed on the bottom plate 111.
The bar guide 111b is formed of a base portion 111b1 extending in the left-right direction and a protrusion portion 111b2 extending forward from the base portion 111b1.

The base plate 112 is a rectangular flat plate, and is narrower in the left-right direction than the bottom plate 111 .
Further, the longitudinal direction of the base plate 112 coincides with the longitudinal direction of the blower unit 100 , and the lateral direction of the base plate 112 coincides with the lateral direction of the blower unit 100 .
A screw hole 112a is formed near the center of the base plate 112 in the front-rear direction.
Further, in front of the screw hole 112a of the base plate 112, a through hole 112b is formed.
The through hole 112b is formed concentrically in a plan view with the screw hole formed in the protruding portion 111b2 of the bar guide 111b.

The rotating member 113 is a member that rotatably connects the front end of the bottom plate 111 and the front end of the base plate 112 and supports the base plate 112 so as to be able to tilt freely relative to the floor plate 111 in the bagging direction.
That is, the base plate 112 is rotatable in the vertical direction relative to the bottom plate 111 .

As shown in FIG. 2A, the hook 114 is formed by bending the rear end of the base plate 112 so as to form an inverted V shape in side view.
By hooking this hook 114 onto the guide bar 131 , the inclination of the base plate 111 relative to the bottom plate 112 of the base frame 110 can be fixed.

<1.2. Blower>
The blower 120 has a housing 121 fixed to the base plate 112 of the base frame 110 , a blower fan 122 for inflating the packaging bag B, and a set screw 123 for fixing the blower fan 122 to the housing 121 .
The blower 120 further has a chute connecting member 124 for attaching and detaching a chute that guides the packaged item toward the topmost packaging bag B placed on the stacking table 200, a housing fixing means 125 for fixing the housing 121 to the base plate 112 of the base frame 110, a pressing plate 126 that abuts the stacking table 200 and the lip portion Bp of the topmost packaging bag B stacked flat on the stacking table 200, and a bag shape retaining member 127 that presses the surface of the topmost packaging bag B stacked flat on the stacking table 200.

The housings 121 are members formed by bending a single plate, and as shown in FIG. 2B, are placed on the left and right ends of the base plate 112.
As shown in FIG. 2A , the housing 121 is formed from a flat bottom 121a that abuts against the base plate 112 of the base frame 110, a blower fan accommodating section 121b that rises from the rear end of the bottom 121a and is D-shaped when viewed from the right side and contains the blower fan 122, a flat horizontal section 121c that extends forward from the front lower end of the blower fan accommodating section 121b, an inclined section 121d that rises diagonally rearward from the front end of the horizontal section 121c, and a housing deformation section 121e that is L-shaped when viewed from the right side and extends downward from the rear end of the inclined section 121d.

The blower fan 122 is fixed by a set screw 123 to a downwardly extending portion 121b1 on the front side of the blower fan housing portion 121b.
When the housing deformation portion 121e is pressed down, the housing 121 deforms due to its own elasticity, the inclined portion 121d of the housing 121 descends, and the distance d from the bag pressing plate 126 increases.

The blower fan 122 is inserted into a blower fan accommodating portion 121b of the housing 121, and has a power switch 122a for controlling ON/OFF of the blower fan on the right side, and a power cord 122b for supplying power to the blower fan 122.
The blower fan 122 also has an air outlet (not shown) at the front, and blows air toward the opening of the uppermost packaging bag B held on the stacking table 200.

The chute connection member 124 is inserted between the housing 121 and the blower fan 122, and has a hook-and-loop fastener 124a that can be engaged with a hook-and-loop fastener on the chute side, and a base material 124b on which the hook-and-loop fastener 124a is placed.
The width of the hook-and-loop fastener 124a in the left-right direction is approximately equal to the distance Dh between the housings 121 of the blower units 100, as shown in FIG. 2B.

The housing fixing means 125 has a fixing screw 125a inserted through the base plate 112 of the base frame 110 and the horizontal portion 121c of the housing 121, and a fixing nut 125b placed on the horizontal portion 121c of the housing 121 and screwed into the fixing screw 125a.
Therefore, when the fixing screw 125 a is screwed into the fixing nut 125 b , the housing fixing means 125 clamps the base plate 112 of the base frame 110 and the housing 121 , and the housing 121 is fixed to the base plate 112 of the base frame 110 .
Furthermore, the horizontal portion 121c of the housing 121 is fixed, but the inclined portion 121d that rises obliquely rearward from the horizontal portion 121c is free to deform in the vertical direction, so that the inclined portion 121d functions like a leaf spring.

The pressing plate 126 has a metal table pressing plate 126a that presses the stacking table 200, and a resin bag pressing plate 126b that presses the lip portion Bp of the packaging bag B.
The base pressing plate 126 a has a rear end attached to the front side of the blower fan accommodating portion 121 b of the housing 121 .
The bag pressing plate 126b has a rear end attached to the front side of the blower fan accommodating portion 121b of the housing 121 and above the base pressing plate 126a.
As shown in FIG. 2B, the width of the tip of the bag pressing plate 126b in the left-right direction is narrower than the width of the tip of the platform pressing plate 126a in the left-right direction.

The bag-shape retaining member 127 is attached to the blower fan accommodating portion 121 b of the housing 121 and is rotatable in the vertical direction relative to the housing 121 .
In addition, in plan view, the bag shape retaining member 127 arranged on the left side and the bag shape retaining member 127 arranged on the right side are each arranged outside the pressing plate 126, as shown in FIG. 2B.

<1.3. Tilt fixing means>
The inclination fixing means 130 fixes the inclination of the base plate 112 of the base frame 110 relative to the bottom plate 111 of the base frame 110, and is provided on the blower unit 100 as shown in FIG. 2A.
The tilt fixing means 130 includes a guide bar 131 that is movable in the front-rear direction along a guide 111 a of the bottom plate 111, a guide bar fixing screw 132 that fixes the position of the guide bar 131 in a plan view, and a base plate of the base frame 110. 112 and a connecting bolt (connecting member) 133 that connects the guide bar 131 to each other.

The guide bar 131 is a U-shaped member in a plan view that is made by bending a single bar material, and is placed on the bottom plate 111 of the base frame 110.
As shown in FIG. 2A, the guide bar 131 is formed of a horizontal portion 131a that is placed on the bottom plate 111 and extends horizontally, an inclined portion 131b that slopes diagonally upward from the rear end of the horizontal portion 131a, and a connecting portion 131c that is U-shaped when viewed from behind and is connected to the upper end of the inclined portion 131b and extends upward.
As shown in FIG. 2B, the left-right spacing of the horizontal portions 131a is slightly larger than the left-right width of the base portion 111b1 of the bar guide 111b.
The connecting portion 131c has a band-shaped bridging portion 131c1 that bridges in the left-right direction, and this bridging portion c1 has a through hole 131c2 through which the guide bar fixing screw 132 can be freely inserted.

The guide bar fixing screws 132 are screwed into the base portion 111b1 of the bar guide 111b of the base frame 110 at positions facing the left and right end faces thereof.
Therefore, the left-right position of the guide bar 131 is regulated by the left or right end face of the base 111b1 of the bar guide 111b and the screw shaft 132a of the guide bar fixing screw 132.
In addition, when the guide bar fixing screw 132 is screwed into the screw hole 111c of the bottom plate 111, the guide bar fixing screw 132 becomes movable up and down, so that the horizontal portion 131a of the guide bar 131 can be clamped between the guide bar fixing screw 132 and the bottom plate 111 from the vertical direction.

The connecting bolt 133 can be screwed into a screw hole formed in the protruding portion 111 b 2 of the bar guide 111 b of the blower unit 100 and into a screw hole 112 a formed in the base plate 112 .
Therefore, the connecting bolt 133 can freely connect the guide bar 131 to the base plate 112 of the base frame 110 , and can also freely connect the floor plate 111 of the base frame 110 to the base plate 112 .

<2. Stacking table>
Next, the stacking table 200 will be described with reference to FIGS. 1, 3A and 3B.
3A is a plan view of the stacking table shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. 3B is a cross-sectional view taken along line IIIB-IIIB of FIG. 3A.

The stacking table 200 is a rectangular member in a plan view that can be attached and detached to the housing 121 of the blower unit 100, and as shown in Figures 3A and 3B, it is equipped with a stacking table main body 210 on which packaging bags B are stacked flat, an engagement protrusion 220 that determines the left-right (width) position of the stacking table 200 relative to the base frame 110 of the blower unit 100, a hemispherical bag deformation protrusion 230 that protrudes toward the packaging bag B, an L-shaped member 240 that determines the front-to-back (longitudinal) position of the stacking table 200 relative to the base frame 110, and a screw (locking protrusion) 250 that locks the locking hole Lo of the bag locking device L described later.

The stacking table main body 210 is formed of a flat portion 211 and a rising portion 212 .
The rising portions 212 extend obliquely upward from the left and right ends of the flat portion 211 in directions moving away from each other.
Because the stacking table main body 210 has this type of shape, when the packaging bag B is placed on the stacking table main body 210, when viewed from the longitudinal direction (front-to-back direction), the shape of the packaging bag B becomes V-shaped, and the height of the opening can be increased when the packaging bag B is inflated.

As shown in FIG. 3B , the engagement protrusion 220 is an L-shaped member when viewed from the side, and is disposed on the lower surface of the flat portion 211 of the stacking table main body 210 .
Further, the outer dimension D of the engagement projection 220 is slightly smaller than the distance Dh (see FIG. 2B) between the housings 121 of the blower unit 100.

Two bag deformation protrusions 230 are arranged on the upper surface of the flat portion 211 of the stacking table main body 210 .
The two bag deformation projections 230 are aligned in the front-rear direction.

The L-shaped member 240 is attached to the rear underside of the stacking table main body 210, and the rear end of the L-shaped member 240 is aligned with the rear end of the stacking table main body 210.

The screw 250 is screwed into the rear side of the stacking table main body 210 and into the hanging portion 241 of the L-shaped member 240, and the screw head 251 is spaced apart from the stacking table main body 210 and the L-shaped member 240.

3. Structure of packaging bag and bag bundle
Next, the packaging bags B stacked flat on the stacking table 200 and the bag bundle BG, which is a collection of the packaging bags B by the bag fasteners L, will be described with reference to Figs. 4A to 5C.

3.1. Structure of packaging bag
First, the structure of the packaging bag will be described with reference to Figs. 4 and 4B.
4A is a plan view of a packaging bag used in the bagging assistant device of FIG. 1, and FIG. 4B is a cross-sectional view taken along line IVB-IVB of FIG. 4A.

The packaging bag B is a bag having a rectangular shape in a plan view, and is formed of a front surface Bf and a back surface Bb as shown in FIG. 4B.
The packaging bag B is sealed except for one side on the rear side, and has one opening Bo.

As shown in Figs. 4A and 4B, the front surface Bf of the packaging bag B is shorter in the front-rear direction than the back surface Bb.
Therefore, the packaging bag B is formed with a lip portion Bp that protrudes from the surface Bf.
Furthermore, two through holes Bh are formed in the left-right direction on the rear side of the surface Bf.

<3.2. Bag bundle>
Next, the bag bundle BG will be described with reference to FIGS. 5A to 5C.
5A is a plan view of a bag fastener used in the bag filling auxiliary device of FIG. 1, FIG. 5B is a plan view of the packaging bag of FIG. 4A stacked with the bag fastener of FIG. 5A, and FIG. 5C is a VC-VC cross-sectional view of FIG. 5B.

As shown in FIG. 5A , the bag fastener L is formed from a single resin plate and includes an insertion portion Li to be inserted into a through hole Bh of the packaging bag B, a return portion Lb provided at the rear end side of the insertion portion Li to prevent the packaging bag B inserted from the insertion portion Li from slipping out toward the insertion portion Li, and a head portion Lh provided at the rear end side of the return portion Lb to prevent the packaging bag B from slipping out toward the rear.
A flap Lf that can be bent in the thickness direction is formed near the center of the head portion Lh in a plan view, and a locking hole Lo is formed by folding this flap Lf in the thickness direction.

To hold the packaging bag B on the stacking table 200, a bag bundle BG is formed as shown in Figures 5B and 5C, and then the screw head 251 of the screw 250 of the stacking table 200 is inserted into the locking hole Lo of the bag locking device L to lock the bag locking device L to the stacking table 200.

As shown in FIG. 5C, the bag bundle BG is formed by inserting the insertion portion Li of the bag fastener L into the through hole Bh from the back surface Bb side of the packaging bag B.
<4. How to use the bagging aid>

Next, a method of using the bagging assisting device 10 configured as described above will be described with reference to Figs. 1 and 6 to 8B.
Figure 6 is a diagram showing the procedure for attaching the stacking table 200 to the blowing unit, Figure 7A is a cross-sectional view taken along line VIIA-VIIA of Figure 1 when a wide packaging bag is used, Figure 7B is a view from line VIIB of Figure 1 when the wide packaging bag is inflated, Figure 8A is a cross-sectional view taken along line VIIIA-VIIIA of Figure 1 when a narrow packaging bag is used, and Figure 8B is a view from line VIIIB of Figure 1 when the narrow packaging bag is inflated.

<4.1. When using wide packaging bags>
First, a case where a packaging bag having a wide width in the left-right direction is used will be described with reference to Figs. 1, 6, 7A and 7B.
<4.1.1. Installation of stacking platform>
With the base plate 112 held approximately parallel to the support surface F as shown in FIG. 6, the floor plate 111 and the base plate 112 of the base frame 110 of the blower unit 100 are integrated by screwing the connecting bolt 133 through the through hole 112b of the base plate 112 into a screw hole formed in the protrusion 112b2 of the bar guide 111b of the floor plate 111.
By connecting the floor plate 111 and the base plate 112 with a connecting bolt 133, the base plate 112 does not rotate relative to the floor plate 111, and when the base plate 112 is placed horizontally with the loading surface F to perform bagging work, the base plate 112 can be prevented from bouncing up relative to the floor plate 111.

In this state, as shown in FIG. 6, first, the bag shape maintaining member 127 is rotated until it is positioned above the pressing plate 126 .
When the housing deformation portion 121e is pressed down, the inclined portion 121d of the housing 121 is deformed and lowered due to its own elasticity, and the distance d between the inclined portion 121d and the pressing plate 126 becomes larger.
With the inclined portion 121d lowered in this manner, the stacking table 200 is attached to the inclined portion 121d of the housing 121d so that the engagement protrusion 220 of the stacking table 200 is placed in the gap 121f between the housings 121 of the blower unit 100 and the L-shaped member 240 of the stacking table 200 abuts the rear end of the inclined portion 121d.
In other words, since the blower unit 100 in this embodiment has a housing deformation portion 121e that lowers the housing 121 downward, when the housing 121 is lowered downward by the housing deformation portion 121e, the distance between the pressure plate 126 and the housing 121 is increased, making it easier to attach the stacking table 200 to the housing 121.

After the stacking table 200 is attached to the blowing unit 100, the bag shape retaining member 127 is lowered and brought into contact with the uppermost packaging bag B in the bag bundle BG, whereby the bagging auxiliary apparatus 10 assumes the state shown in FIG.
Therefore, the engagement projections 220 of the stacking table 200 and the gaps 121 f between the housings 121 of the blower units 100 function as a stacking table positioning means for determining the position of the stacking table 200 relative to the housings 121 of the blower units 100 .

At this time, as shown in FIG. 7A, a portion of the bag bundle BG is raised upward by the bag deformation protrusion 230 of the stacking table 200, and is pressed downward by the bag shape retaining member 127 of the air blowing unit 100.

<4.1.2. Blowing air into the bag>
In this state, when air is blown against the uppermost packaging bag B in the bag bundle BG, the packaging bag B expands.
At this time, the uppermost packaging bag B swells in a triangular shape near the opening Bo and in an elliptical shape on the rear end side, as shown in FIG. 7B.
Furthermore, since the bag shape retaining member 127 abuts against the topmost packaging bag B, the opening height is reduced and the opening width is wider compared to the topmost packaging bag B (shown by the dotted line) when the bag shape retaining member 127 is not abutting against the topmost packaging bag B.
In other words, since the air blowing unit 100 has a bag shape retaining member 127 that presses down on the surface of the topmost packaging bag B stacked flat on the stacking table 200, the packaging bag B is less likely to expand due to the air blown from the air blowing fan 122, so that the opening height of the packaging bag B is reduced and it is easier to insert wide packaged items into the packaging bag B.

<4.2. When using narrow packaging bags>
Next, a case where a narrow packaging bag having a width narrower than the left-right distance between the bag shape retaining members 127 will be described with reference to Figs. 1, 6, 8A and 8B.
<4.2.1. Installation of stacking platform>
Even when narrow packaging bags are used, the stacking table 200 can be attached to the blower unit 100 in the same manner as in <4.1.1.>, but since the bag shape retaining member 127 cannot hold down the packaging bag B, there is no need to rotate the bag shape retaining member 127.

When narrow packaging bags are used, the bag bundle BG has a portion thereof raised upward by the bag deformation projection 230 of the stacking table 200, as shown in FIG. 8A.
<4.2.2. Blowing air into the bag>
In this state, when air is blown against the uppermost packaging bag B in the bag bundle BG, the packaging bag B expands.
At this time, the uppermost packaging bag B expands into an egg shape near the opening Bo and into a circular shape on the rear end side, as shown in FIG. 8B.

<4.3. Summary>
According to the bagging auxiliary device 10 which is the first embodiment of the present invention described above, the stacking table 200 is removably attached to the housing 121 of the blower unit 100. Therefore, by preparing a stacking table 200 suitable for the packaging bag B, the packaging bag B can be placed on the bagging auxiliary device regardless of the shape of the packaging bag B, and therefore a single bagging auxiliary device 10 can hold a wide variety of packaging bags B.

In addition, by providing a stacking table positioning means (gap 121f, engagement protrusion 220) that determines the position of the stacking table 200 relative to the housing 121 of the blower unit 100, the position of the stacking table 200 relative to the housing 121 is fixed when the stacking table 200 is attached to the housing 121, and the position of the stacking table 200 relative to the blower fan 122 is a predetermined position regardless of the stacking table 200, so that any packaging bag B can be inflated by the blower fan 122.

In addition, since the air blowing unit 100 has a bag pressing plate 126b that presses down the lip portion Bp of the topmost packaging bag B placed on the stacking table 200, the bag pressing plate 126b holds down the packaging bag B even when the air blowing fan 122 is inflating the packaging bag B, so that the packaging bag B can be prevented from falling off the stacking table 200 due to the wind pressure from the air blowing fan 122.

In addition, since the stacking table 200 has the bag deformation protrusions 230 protruding toward the packaging bag B, the packaging bag B stacked flat on the stacking table 200 is raised against the stacking table 200 by the bag deformation protrusions 230, causing the packaging bag B to wrinkle, and the air from the blower fan 122 can easily enter the inside of the packaging bag B. This not only makes it easier to inflate the packaging bag B, but also makes it possible to make the opening shape of the packaging bag B when the packaging bag B is inflated by the blower fan 122 against the stacking table 200 different from the opening shape when the stacking table 200 does not have the bag deformation protrusions 230 protruding toward the packaging bag B, so that the opening shape of the packaging bag B when inflated by the blower fan 122 can be made to be an optimal shape to match the packaged item.

5. Modifications
Although the bagging assisting apparatus 10 according to the first embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the bagging assisting apparatus of the present invention is not limited to the bagging assisting apparatus 10 according to the above-described embodiment.

For example, in the bagging auxiliary device 10 described above, the bottom plate 111 is placed directly on the placement surface, but feet may be attached to the bottom surface of the bottom plate 111 so that the feet come into contact with the placement surface.

For example, a member such as a rubber cap that prevents slippage between the packaging bag B and the bag shape retaining member 127 of the bagging auxiliary device 10 described above may be attached to the tip of the bag shape retaining member 127.

For example, in the bagging auxiliary device 10 described above, the housing 121 of the blower 120 is a member formed by bending a single plate, but it may be formed by dividing it into multiple plate materials.

For example, in the bagging assist device 10 described above, a spacer made of an elastic material such as rubber may be provided between the floor plate 111 and the base plate 112 to prevent the floor plate 111 and the base plate 112 from coming into contact with each other.

For example, in the bag filling auxiliary device 10 described above, two bag deformation protrusions 230 are provided on the stacking table 200, but the number and position of the bag deformation protrusions 230 may be any number and may be any position as long as they protrude toward the packaging bag.

For example, in the bag filling auxiliary device 10 described above, the locking protrusions on the stacking table 200 were screws, but the locking protrusions can be anything that can engage with the locking holes of the bag locking device, and are not limited to screws.

Next, a bagging auxiliary apparatus 10A according to a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to Figs. 9A and 9B.
FIG. 9A is a plan view of a bagging assisting device according to a second embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 9B is a left side view of the bagging assisting device according to the second embodiment of the present invention.
In addition, the bagging auxiliary device of the second embodiment has a modified shape of the pressure plate 126 of the bagging auxiliary device 10 of the first embodiment, and many of the elements are common to the bagging auxiliary device 10 of the first embodiment, so detailed explanations of the common points will be omitted.

The bag pressing plate 126A of the blower unit 100A of the second embodiment has a metal base material 126A1 attached to the front side of the blower fan accommodating section 121b of the housing 121, a roller 126A2 arranged at the tip of this base material 126A1 for pressing the packaging bag B, and a pin 126A3 connecting the base material 126A1 and the roller 126A2.
The pin 126A3 passes through the base material 126A1 and the roller 126A2, and is fixed to the base material 126A1.
The roller 126A2 is rotatable about the pin 126A3.

By configuring the bag pressing plate 126A in this manner, when the packaging bag B is inflated by the air blown from the blower 120, the roller 126A2 comes into contact with the lip portion Bp of the packaging bag B, suppressing flapping of the lip portion Bp of the packaging bag B caused by the air blown. In addition, when the packaging bag B is pushed forward, the roller 126A2 allows the packaging bag B to swing freely in the front-to-back direction, reducing the frictional force generated between the bag pressing plate 126A and the packaging bag B.

10: bagging auxiliary device 100, 100A: air blowing unit 110: base frame 111: bottom plate 112: base plate 113: rotating member (axial support member)
114: Hook 120: Blower 121: Housing 121a: Bottom 121b: Blower fan accommodating section 121c: Horizontal section 121d: Inclined section 121e: Housing deformation section 121f: Gap (stacking table positioning means)
122: Blower fan 123: Set screw 124: Shooter connecting member 125: Housing fixing means 126: Pressing plate 126a: Base pressing plate 126b, 126A: Bag pressing plate
126A1 ... Base material
126A2 ... roller
126A3: Pin 127: Bag shape retaining member 128: Guide member 130: Tilt fixing means

200: stacking table 210: stacking table main body 211: flat portion 212: raised portion 220: engagement protrusion (stacking table positioning means)
230: Bag deformation projection 240: L-shaped member 241: Hanging portion 250: Screw (locking projection)
251 ... screw head

F: Placement surface (bagging work area)

B: Packaging bag Bf: Surface Bb: Back Bo: Opening Bp: Lip Bh: Through hole BG: Bag bundle

L: bag fastener Li: insertion part Lb: turn-up part Lh: head part Lf: flap Lo: fastening hole

C: Packaged item H: Hands

Claims (6)

A bagging assistant device that is provided with an air blowing unit that inflates a packaging bag and a stacking table that holds a large number of the packaging bags in a flat stack, and that assists in the bagging of packaged items into the packaging bags in a sequential manner,
The air blowing unit includes a base frame that is installed in the bagging work area and an air blower that blows air toward the packaging bags,
The blower includes a housing fixed to the base frame and a blower fan fixed to the housing,
the housing has a sloped portion for mounting the stacking platform;
The stacking platform is detachably attached to the housing of the blower unit,
When the stacking platform is attached to the inclined portion of the blowing unit, a hanging portion formed at the rear of the stacking platform abuts against a rear end of the inclined portion of the blowing unit,
A bag filling auxiliary device characterized in that the stacking table has an engagement protrusion that is fitted into a gap in the blowing unit when attached to the blowing unit and determines the widthwise position of the blowing unit relative to the base frame. The packaging bag has a back surface with a lip portion protruding in a bag opening direction from the front surface,
2. The bag filling auxiliary device according to claim 1 , wherein the air blowing unit has a bag pressing plate for pressing down the lip portion of the uppermost packaging bag placed on the stacking table. 3. The bagging device according to claim 2 , wherein the blower unit has a housing deformation portion for lowering the housing. 4. The bag filling auxiliary device according to claim 1, wherein the stacking table has a bag deformation projection that projects toward the packaging bag. 5. The bag filling auxiliary device according to claim 1, wherein the air blowing unit has a bag shape retaining member for pressing down a surface of the uppermost packaging bag stacked flat on the stacking table. 6. The bag filling auxiliary device according to claim 1, wherein the stacking table has a locking projection for locking a locking hole of a bag locking device for bundling the packaging bags.