JP7526463B2 - Packaging Machine - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a packaging machine that packages different products.

Generally, the surface of the package is provided with a display area that displays information related to the contents. Such a display area may be, for example, a packaging film that has been printed in advance, or a label with predetermined information printed on it. For example, if the products continuously supplied to the packaging machine body are all different, such as agricultural products such as fruit, homemade bread, or mail-order products, it is not possible to switch the printing on the printed film individually.

In such cases, for example, the product being supplied to the packaging machine body is detected, information corresponding to the product is shifted in sync with the feeding of the product in the packaging machine body, a labeler is operated at a timing synchronized with the number of shifts, and a label with the information printed thereon is affixed to the package or packaging film. The information printed on the label may be information identifying the product, such as the product variety or materials. In the case of mail-order products, the information printed on the label may be information identifying the delivery destination (address, name, phone number, etc.). An example of this type of packaging system is the technology disclosed in Patent Document 1.

Special table 2018-514474 publication

There is no problem if each product is packaged correctly and in the correct order. However, if manual work is required due to a problem, for example, the products on the conveyor line may be swapped or some products may be left out, causing the product shift managed by the system to differ from the actual product position, and a label with information printed on it corresponding to a different product may be affixed. If such an event occurs, for example, if the product name is displayed on the label, and the packaging is made of transparent film, the packaged product can be checked in the post-packaging process, that is, the consistency of the contents and the label can be checked. On the other hand, in recent years, due to growing environmental awareness, there has been an increasing demand to use paper as a packaging material. In the case of paper packaging, it is difficult to visually check the packaged product because the packaging material is opaque. Therefore, even if the contents displayed on the label do not match the corresponding product, it is not possible to check this mismatch in the case of paper packaging.

In the unlikely event that the product information on the label and the product inside the package are different, it will result in a serious complaint and it is necessary to prevent such an occurrence. This is therefore an obstacle to automating packaging. Therefore, when packaging products of an infinite variety of sizes and types, as in existing mail-order packaging, workers manually check the products and place them in boxes or bags, then operate a hand labeler to attach address labels. Manual packaging by workers like this makes it difficult to work for long periods of time.

The above-mentioned problems are described as being independent of each other, and the present invention does not necessarily need to solve all of the problems described, but it is sufficient if it can solve at least one of the problems. In addition, we intend to obtain rights to the configuration for solving this problem separately through divisional applications, amendments, etc.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a packaging machine of the present invention (1) comprises a packaging machine main body that packages different products that are supplied sequentially with packaging material, and a packaging material supply device that supplies the packaging material in a strip shape to the packaging machine main body, the packaging machine main body comprising a bag maker that makes a tubular bag from the supplied packaging material, and a center seal device that is arranged downstream of the bag maker and overlaps both side edges of the packaging material to seal it, a pasting device is arranged in the installation area of the bag maker or at a predetermined position between the bag maker and the center seal device, which prints content corresponding to the product and pastes the printed matter onto the packaging material , the product is confirmed at the position where the printed matter is pasted, and it is confirmed whether the content printed on the printed matter matches the product placed at the location where the printed matter is pasted, and if they do not match, abnormality processing is performed.

In this way, the printed material can be attached at a position where the product can be confirmed. For example, if the attachment device is located immediately after the bag making machine, this position is before the center seal is made and the packaging material is closed, and since this is a position where the product can be confirmed, the product can be confirmed as the printed material is being attached. In this embodiment, the attachment device corresponds to a labeler. In this embodiment, the printed material corresponds to a label.

For example, if an item has individual information (e.g., an order slip, destination information, etc.) added to it, the product is the whole with that individual information added, and if no such individual information is added, the product is, for example, the item itself. Different products are distinguished based on whether they are different, including the information, in the case of items with individual information (e.g., an order slip, destination information, etc.) added, such as mail-order items. For example, the same item or combination of items are considered different products if the destinations are different. Also, for items that do not have such individual information, items that can be distinguished from other items according to specified selection criteria, such as type, weight, size, etc., are considered different products. For example, items with different content printed on the printed matter may be considered different products.

By providing a function for checking whether the contents printed on the printed matter match the product placed at the location where the printed matter is attached and for carrying out abnormality processing if they do not match, the product can be directly checked when the printed matter is attached, and it can be simultaneously confirmed that the printed contents of the printed matter match the product , and abnormality processing can be carried out if they do not match.

(2) The product can be confirmed based on information obtained by reading code information provided on the product or a part attached to the product. Information about the product can be easily obtained. There are various types of codes, such as bar codes, two-dimensional codes, and other image-based codes, as well as digital codes such as RF tags.

(3) The product may be identified based on information obtained by image recognition of the product. In this way, even products that do not have code information can be identified.

(4) The content printed on the printed matter may be identified based on information output from the pasting device, making it possible to easily and quickly obtain the printed content.

(5) The contents printed on the printed matter may be identified by reading the printed contents. In this way, the actual printed contents can be known, and a highly accurate confirmation process can be performed. The contents can be read in a variety of ways, such as by reading code information such as a barcode, or by reading image data through image recognition processing, etc.

(6) The packaging material may be made of an opaque material. Even if the packaging material is opaque, it is possible to check whether the product and the markings match without directly visually inspecting the product contained in the package.

(7) The packaging material supply device supplies the packaging material to the packaging machine body from below, the bag maker raises both the left and right sides of the packaging material supplied from below to make a cylindrical bag, and the product is checked from above the position where the printed matter is attached, with the product exposed between the side edges of the packaging material. In this way, the product is easily checked from above, since it is exposed between the side edges of the packaging material.

According to the present invention, even in cases where the contents of a package cannot be directly visually confirmed, such as when random products are automatically packaged, or where the product cannot be identified by image, it is possible to confirm that the relationship between the contained product and the printed matter affixed to the package matches.

1 is a front view showing a preferred embodiment of a packaging machine according to the present invention; FIG. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a package to be manufactured.

The following describes in detail a preferred embodiment of the present invention with reference to the drawings. Note that the present invention should not be interpreted as being limited to this embodiment, and various changes, modifications, and improvements may be made based on the knowledge of those skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the present invention.

Figures 1 and 2 show a preferred embodiment of a pillow packaging machine, which is one form of packaging machine according to the present invention. The pillow packaging machine 10 of this embodiment continuously pillow packages products 13 of different types, weights, etc., which are randomly supplied from the upstream side. In this embodiment, paper is used as the packaging material for encasing the products 13.

As shown in the figure, the pillow packaging machine 10 of this embodiment includes a packaging machine main body 11, a paper packaging material supplying device 12 that continuously supplies a strip-shaped paper packaging material 15 to the packaging machine main body 11, and a product conveying and supplying device 14 that is disposed upstream of the packaging machine main body 11 and supplies products 13 to the packaging machine main body 11 at predetermined intervals. The products 13 of this embodiment are individually different, such as mail-order products, and have a barcode on their surface that indicates information corresponding to the mail-order product, such as information identifying the delivery destination (address, name, telephone number, etc.).

The paper packaging material supply device 12 is for continuously supplying the ribbon-shaped paper packaging material 15 for wrapping the product 13 to the packaging machine main body 11. Since the pillow packaging machine 10 in this embodiment is an inverted pillow packaging machine, the paper packaging material supply device 12 is disposed below the packaging machine main body 11 and the product conveying and supplying device 14, and supplies the paper packaging material 15 to the packaging machine main body 11 from below.

The paper packaging material supply device 12 links the output of a drive motor (a speed-controllable motor such as a servo motor) (not shown) to a roll of raw paper 16 wound up in a roll shape of strip-shaped paper packaging material 15, and supplies the roll of raw paper 16 to the packaging machine body 11 at a constant speed while appropriately controlling the rotation speed of the roll of raw paper 16. In addition, various rollers 17 are arranged at predetermined positions from the roll of raw paper 16 to the packaging machine body 11, and the paper packaging material 15 sent out from the roll of raw paper 16 is passed over the rollers 17 and guided to the packaging machine body 11 through a predetermined path. The rollers 17 include a drive roller that applies drive to the strip-shaped paper packaging material 15, a tension roller that applies tension, and a free roller that changes the conveying direction of the strip-shaped paper packaging material 15 or guides the conveying. In the present invention, it is not necessary to link a drive motor to the roll of raw paper 16, and a feed roller may be provided on the conveying path of the paper packaging material to draw it out.

The product conveying and supplying device 14 conveys the products 13 back and forth at a predetermined interval, and sequentially supplies the products 13 to the packaging machine main body 11. This product conveying and supplying device 14 is composed of, for example, sprockets 18 arranged at the front and rear (only the front in the traveling direction is shown in the figure), an endless chain 19 stretched across the multiple sprockets 18, and multiple pushing fingers 20 attached at predetermined pitches to the endless chain 19. As a result, when the pushing fingers 20 hit the rear surface of the product 13, the product 13 also moves forward as the pushing fingers 20 move.

The packaging machine body 11 includes a bag maker 24 that makes cylindrical bags from the supplied paper packaging material 15, a belt conveyor 25 that is arranged downstream of the bag maker 24 and transports the cylindrically made paper packaging material 15, a center seal device 26 that is arranged above the belt conveyor 25, a top seal device 30 that is arranged downstream of the belt conveyor 25, an output conveyor 28 that is arranged downstream of the top seal device 30, and a restraining belt 29 that is arranged above the belt conveyor 25 and immediately before the top seal device 30.

The bag maker 24 passes the strip-shaped paper packaging material 15, which is continuously supplied from the paper packaging material supply device 12, so that both side edge portions 15a of the paper packaging material 15 come into contact (overlap) with each other and form a cylindrical bag. In this embodiment, the bag maker 24 is open at the top and is set so that both side edge portions 15a of the paper packaging material 15 are located at the top.

The products 13 supplied sequentially from the product conveying and supplying device 14 to the packaging machine main body 11 are inserted into the bag maker 24. As a result, the products 13 supplied to the bag maker 24 are arranged at predetermined intervals inside the paper packaging material 15 that has been made into a cylindrical bag. As the products 13 are thus enclosed inside the cylindrical paper packaging material 15, the belt conveyor 25 transports the paper packaging material 15 with the products 13 enclosed inside.

The center seal device 26 heat seals both side edge portions 15a of the polymerized paper packaging material 15 by pinching and heating them from both sides. In the illustrated example, the center seal device 26 includes a pair of left and right bar sealers 23 that heat both side edge portions 15a of the paper packaging material 15, a pair of left and right first pinch rollers 21 arranged upstream of the bar sealers 23, and a pair of left and right second pinch rollers 22 arranged downstream of the bar sealers 23. The pair of bar sealers 23 are configured to open and close so that the opposing heating surfaces move closer to and away from each other.

The first pinch roller 21 and the second pinch roller 22 pinch both side edge portions 15a of the paper packaging material 15 that have come into contact with each other through the bag making machine 24 with a predetermined pressure, and by rotating in sync, apply a conveying force to both side edge portions 15a and thus to the paper packaging material 15.

The second pinch roller 22 also functions as a pressure roller that pressurizes and cools both side edge portions 15a of the paper packaging material 15 heated by the bar sealer 23 to fuse and seal them. This sealed area becomes the center seal portion 34 of the package 33. This center seal portion 34 is formed by laminating the central portion in the width direction of the upper surface of the cylindrical paper packaging material 15.

The top seal device 30 seals and cuts the cylindrical paper packaging material 15 containing the product 13 in a direction perpendicular to the conveying direction and parallel to the conveying surface, that is, in a direction that crosses the cylindrical paper packaging material 15 on a horizontal plane. The sealing and cutting portion is a predetermined position between the front and rear products 13. This top seal device 30 has an upper top sealer 31 and a lower top sealer 32 above and below the paper packaging material 15. The upper top sealer 31 and the lower top sealer 32 have built-in heaters, and the sealing surfaces at the tips of each are heated to a predetermined temperature. Furthermore, for example, a cutter blade is built into the center of the sealing surface 31a of the upper top sealer 31 in the front-to-rear direction. In addition, the sealing surface 32a of the lower top sealer 32 has a cutter groove in the center of the front-to-rear direction.

In this embodiment, the upper top sealer 31 and the lower top sealer 32 move along a predetermined trajectory while the sealing surfaces 31a, 32a face each other, approaching and separating from each other. When approaching each other, the upper and lower sealing surfaces 31a, 32a sandwich and heat the paper packaging material 15 from above and below, and the cutter blade enters the cutter groove to cut it. Thus, the top seal device 30 seals and cuts a predetermined position (part where no product is present) of the center-sealed paper packaging material 15 in the horizontal direction, forming a top seal portion 35 that extends in the horizontal direction. As a result, the tip portion of the paper packaging material 15 (the portion containing the leading product 13) is separated from the following paper packaging material 15, and the package 33 is produced.

As described above, in this embodiment, different products 13 are sequentially supplied to the packaging machine main body 11 and packaged. Therefore, a product information reading device (not shown) is placed upstream of the packaging machine main body 11, for example, at a predetermined position above the product conveying and supplying device 14. This product information reading device is a device that reads information that identifies the product 13 moving on the product conveying and supplying device 14. In this embodiment, since the product 13 has a barcode indicating predetermined information such as a slip, the product information reading device is configured with a barcode reader for reading the barcode. For example, if an RF tag is attached to the product, the product information reading device may be a radio frequency identification reader. Also, when product information such as the type of product, rather than the address, is printed on the label 42, for products without a barcode, the product information reading device may be configured with, for example, an image recognition device equipped with a camera, which identifies the type of product by image recognition and outputs the information of the identified product.

Since the pillow packaging machine 10 of this embodiment is an inverted pillow type, as shown in FIG. 2, the top of the bag maker 24 is open, so the product 13 passing through the bag maker 24 can be checked by eye or the like from above. Furthermore, the left and right side edge portions 15a of the paper packaging material 15 gradually approach each other after passing through the bag maker 24, overlap at an appropriate position in the conveying direction, and reach the center seal device 26, where the overlapped both side edge portions 15a are sealed by the center seal device 26 as described above. Then, in a predetermined section immediately after passing through the bag maker 24, the left and right side edge portions 15a are separated, leaving a space, and the paper packaging material is in an open upward state, so that the product 13 stored in the paper packaging material 15 is exposed between the side edge portions 15a, and can be visually checked from above.

Therefore, in this embodiment, the labeler 40 is placed below a predetermined position on the conveying path from the bag maker 24 where the product 13 is visible to the center seal device 26. This labeler 40 produces a label 42 with predetermined information printed on it according to instructions from the product information management system that receives the output from the product information reading device, and attaches the produced label 42 to the bottom surface of the paper packaging material 15 during conveying. The product information management system sends the above instructions in accordance with the timing when the product corresponding to the information received from the product information reading device reaches the installation position of the labeler 40. As a result, a label 42 with the upper part corresponding to the product 13 placed on the bottom surface, for example, the addressee's name in the case of a mail-order product, is printed on the bottom surface of the paper packaging material 15 after passing through the bag maker 24. The product 13 is supplied into the bag maker 24, and the label 42 is attached relatively early after passing through, so there is a low possibility that the front and rear of the product will be swapped or fall off during the process, and it is less likely that the product and the label will not match. To avoid mismatches between products and labels, the product information reader should be placed near the bag making machine 24, preferably above the bag making machine 24.

Furthermore, in this embodiment, a product confirmation device 41 is placed inside the bag maker 24 or downstream of the bag maker 24 above the position where the label 42 is affixed, and when the label 42 is affixed to the paper packaging material 15, information on the product 13 located above it is acquired. In this embodiment, this product confirmation device 41 is a barcode reader that reads the barcode attached to the product 13. The pillow packaging machine 10 then has a function for determining from the read barcode whether the contents printed on the product 13 and the affixed label 42, such as destination information, match. If the determination result is a mismatch, it is advisable to perform abnormality processing, such as stopping the operation of the packaging machine.

Information about the contents printed on the label 42 may be obtained, for example, from the output of the labeler 40, or from instructions given to the labeler 40 by the product information management system. Furthermore, a camera, barcode reader, etc. may be placed immediately after the labeler 40 to read the contents displayed on the label that is actually affixed. Reading the contents displayed on the label that is actually affixed is particularly advantageous because it allows for a more accurate confirmation of the consistency between the product and the label. Furthermore, when the contents are read, printing a barcode on the label for judgment allows for more instantaneous information to be obtained and confirmation of whether the product and label match or not is made.

In addition, when the heights of the products to be packaged differ, the height position of the product wrapped in the paper packaging material may differ. For example, when a short product is placed between two taller products, the distance between the top surface of the short product and the paper packaging material placed above it may be large. In such a case, the label is attached to the underside of the paper packaging material as in this embodiment, so the height position at which the label is attached is constant regardless of the height of the product, and the label can be attached neatly by the labeler 40. In contrast, when attempting to attach a label to the top side of the paper packaging material in regular pillow packaging, for example, the height position at which the label is attached changes as the height changes, and the paper packaging material becomes unstable because it cannot be supported by the product below, making it difficult for the labeler to attach the label.

As described above, in this embodiment, the bag maker and center seal device are spaced apart compared to normal packaging machines, making it possible to check the packaged product from above while the paper packaging material is raised by the bag maker and the center is sealed. After the bag maker 24, the product 13 can be checked at the same location as the location for checking the attachment of the label 42. In this way, the packaged product 13 and the label 42 can be checked at the same location at the same time, improving the reliability of checking whether they match.

In addition, after passing through the labeler 40, the product and label are in the correct relationship, so even if a problem occurs with the packaging machine and manual labor is required during the subsequent packaging process, it is possible to prevent defects such as the wrong label being affixed.

In the above embodiment, the supplied product is checked by the product checking device 41 to confirm whether the product matches the label, but the present invention is not limited to this, and visual check by a person may also be used. In this case, the content of the affixed label can be checked at the same time by, for example, positioning the display unit of the labeler 40 so that it is within the field of view of the inspector when visually checking the product. In particular, when the content displayed on the label is related to the product content, such as the product name, it is preferable that the actual product and the content printed on the label displayed on the display unit can be easily checked by visual check.

In the above embodiment, an example was described in which the packaging machine is applied to a pillow packaging machine that performs reverse pillow packaging, but the present invention is not limited to this, and can be applied to various types of machines, such as a pillow packaging machine that performs normal pillow packaging in which packaging material is supplied from the upper side of a bag maker and both side edges are overlapped with the lower side of a tubular packaging material, or a three-sided packaging machine that overlaps both side edges of the packaging material on the lateral sides in the conveying direction. However, a reverse pillow packaging machine has a section where the product is exposed between the both side edges of the packaging material, which is advantageous because it is easy to check.

The packaging material is not limited to paper packaging material, and various opaque materials can be used. Furthermore, a transparent film may be used as in the past. Even if a transparent film is used, by applying the present invention, the consistency between the contents of the package and the display content of the display unit can be automatically confirmed without visual confirmation, which is advantageous.

Although various aspects of the present invention have been described above using embodiments and modifications, it should be noted that these embodiments and descriptions are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention, but are provided to aid in the understanding of the present invention. The scope of the present invention is not limited to the configurations and manufacturing methods explicitly described in the specification, but includes combinations of the various aspects of the present invention disclosed herein. Although the configurations of the present invention that are sought to be patented are specified in the appended claims, it is hereby reiterated that configurations disclosed in this specification that are not currently specified in the claims may be claimed in the future.

10: Pillow packaging machine 11: Packaging machine main body 12: Paper packaging material supply device 13: Product 14: Product conveying and supplying device 15: Paper packaging material 15a: Side edge portion 24: Bag making machine 26: Center sealing device 33: Package 40: Labeller 41: Product checking device 42: Label

Claims (7)

A packaging machine body that packages different products that are sequentially supplied with packaging materials;
a packaging material supply device for supplying the belt-shaped packaging material to the packaging machine body,
The packaging machine body includes a bag former that forms a cylindrical bag from the supplied packaging material, and a center seal device that is disposed downstream of the bag former and overlaps and seals both side edge portions of the packaging material,
a bonding device is disposed in a section where the bag making device is installed or in a predetermined position between the bag making device and the center seal device, the bonding device printing contents corresponding to the product and bonding the printed matter to the packaging material;
The product is checked at the position where the printed matter is to be attached ,
The packaging machine checks whether the contents printed on the printed matter match the product placed at the location where the printed matter is attached, and performs abnormality processing when they do not match . The packaging machine according to claim 1, wherein the product is identified based on information read from a code provided on the product or a component attached to the product. The packaging machine according to claim 1, in which the product is identified based on information obtained by image recognition of the product. The packaging machine according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the content printed on the printed matter is identified based on information output from the pasting device. The packaging machine according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the content printed on the printed matter is identified by reading the printed content. The packaging machine according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the packaging material is made of an opaque material. The packaging material supply device supplies the packaging material to the packaging machine body from below,
The bag former stands up both the left and right sides of the packaging material supplied from below to form a cylindrical bag,
7. The packaging machine according to claim 1, wherein the product is inspected from above a position where the printed matter is attached, with the product exposed between the side edges of the packaging material.

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