JP7629196B2 - Filling and packaging machine - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a filling and packaging machine.

Patent Document 1 discloses a packaging machine that continuously folds a strip-shaped packaging material made of a laminated film including a plastic film in half, and heat-seals the folded packaging material at a predetermined interval in the conveying direction while conveying it along a circular conveying path, thereby forming a bag section for storing a filler between a sealed section and an adjacent sealed section at a certain interval, and filling each bag section with a filler (e.g., a powder).

JP 2000-355303 A

This type of packaging machine is equipped with a pair of rotary blades that rotate in opposite directions around two parallel axes, and by passing the packaging material between these rotary blades, the packaging material is cut in the sealing area between adjacent bag portions or a perforation is made in the sealing area.

In particular, in packaging machines that cut packaging material transported horizontally or that put perforations in the packaging material, the central axis of the rotary blade is oriented vertically. Furthermore, the height of the rotary blade is usually set to approximately eye level of a user standing in front of the packaging machine. Therefore, although it is desirable to adjust the spacing of the rotary blade as viewed from the direction of its central axis, it has been necessary to adjust the spacing of the rotary blade as viewed from the side. Furthermore, this has required a lot of time to adjust the spacing of the rotary blade.

The present invention aims to provide a packaging machine that is configured so that the spacing between the rotary blades can be adjusted when viewed from the axial direction.

To achieve this object, a packaging machine according to an embodiment of the present invention comprises:
A packaging machine (1) having two rotary blades (20, 21) rotating in opposite directions about two vertically oriented shafts (22, 23), and equipped with a cutting section (18) that cuts a package (105) moving horizontally between the two rotary blades (20, 21) at regular intervals,
A main body frame (10) of the packaging machine (1);
A first frame (43) provided on the front surface of the main body frame (10);
A shaft (81) extending in the horizontal direction along the front surface of the main body frame (10);
a second frame (61) supported swingably relative to the first frame (43) via the shaft (81);
The second frame (61) has two rotary blades (20, 21) that are rotatable in opposite directions about two shafts (22, 23) that are spaced apart from each other in the front-rear direction of the main frame (10),
The second frame (61) is mounted on the first frame (43) so as to be movable between an operating position in which the two shafts (22, 23) are directed upward and an adjustment position in which the two shafts (22, 23) are directed diagonally upward from rear to front in front of the main frame (10).

With a packaging machine having such a configuration, when adjusting the rotary blade, the second frame (61) can be tilted to the adjustment position, allowing the gap (40) between the rotary blades (20, 21) to be precisely adjusted while viewing it from an oblique direction (90) parallel to the axes (22, 23).

FIG. 2 is a partial front view of a continuous bag body produced by a packaging machine according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a front view of a packaging machine according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. FIG. 4 is a side view of the rotary blade support mechanism with the second frame set to the operating position. FIG. 13 is a side view of the rotary blade support mechanism with the second frame set to an adjustment position. FIG.

The following describes a packaging machine according to an embodiment of the present invention, in particular a packaging material cutting device incorporated in the packaging machine, with reference to the attached drawings.

[1. Packaging machine]
As shown in FIG. 1, a packaging machine according to an embodiment of the present invention folds a packaging material 100 (see FIG. 2) made of a strip-shaped film or sheet in half along its longitudinal center line while transporting the material in half in the horizontal direction, bonds the folded packaging material 100 at predetermined intervals in the longitudinal direction to provide vertical seals 101 to form bag portions 102 between adjacent vertical seals 101, fills the bag portions 102 with a filling material 103, bonds the upper end openings of the bag portions 102 to provide a top seal 104 to form a continuous bag body 105, and continuously produces bags containing the filling material 103 by either cutting the continuous bag body 105 along the vertical seals 101 between adjacent bag portions 102 to separate it into individual bags, or by making perforations 106 in the vertical seal 101 without separating the continuous bag body 105.

As shown in Figure 2, the packaging machine 1 has a main body frame 10. The main body frame 10 is fixed to a floor of a building or the like. A packaging material supply section 13 that supplies packaging material 100 is arranged on the front side of the main body frame 10 (the side shown in Figure 2 that the operator faces). The main body frame 10 has a packaging material folding section 14 that guides the packaging material 100 supplied from the packaging material supply section 13 in an approximately horizontal direction and folds the packaging material 100 into an approximately V-shape with the longitudinal center line of the packaging material 100 as a fulcrum. The main frame 10 supports a filler filling section 15 that heat-bonds the left and right pieces of packaging material folded up by the packaging material folding section 14 at a predetermined interval in the longitudinal direction to continuously form vertical seals 101 and bag sections 102 located between adjacent vertical seals 101 and fills each bag section 102 with a filler, a filler supply section 16 that supplies filler to the filler filling section 15, a top seal section 17 that heat-bonds the upper ends of each bag section 102 filled with filler to form a top seal 104, and a cutting section 18 that cuts the continuous bag body 105 along the vertical seal 101 between adjacent bag sections or puts perforations 106 in the vertical seal 101.

[2. Cutting section]
As shown in Fig. 3, the cutting section 18 has a pair of rotary blades 20, 21 arranged to face each other across the packaging material conveying path 19 when the packaging machine 1 is viewed from above. The rotary blades 20, 21 have shaft portions 24, 25 extending along shafts 22, 23. The shaft portions 24, 25 have blade support portions 26, 27 arranged at 90 degree intervals around the shafts 22, 23. The blade support portions 26, 27 have blade support surfaces 28, 29 on planes extending parallel to the shafts 22, 23, and support plate blades 30, 31 for cutting or perforating on the blade support surfaces 28, 29. The plate blades 30, 31 are formed with a plurality of through holes 32, 33 at predetermined intervals in the direction of the shafts 22, 23, and are fixed to the blade support surfaces 28, 29 by screwing bolts 36, 37 into screw holes 34, 35 formed in the blade support surfaces 28, 29 through the through holes 32, 33. In order to adjust the gap 40 between the cutting edge 38 of one rotary blade 20 and the cutting edge 39 of the opposing other rotary blade 21, the through holes 32, 33 are made slightly larger than the outer diameter of the bolts 36, 37.

[Guide rail]
The rotary blades 20, 21 are supported by a rotary blade support mechanism 41 shown in Figures 3 and 4. The rotary blade support mechanism 41 has a pair of left and right guide rails 42 fixed to the front surface of the main frame 10. The guide rails 42 are arranged in the vertical direction and are fixed at regular intervals in the horizontal direction (hereinafter, this direction will be referred to as the "lateral direction") along the front surface of the main frame 10.

[First Frame]
The guide rail 42 supports the first frame 43 so that it can be raised and lowered. The first frame 43 has a pair of frame parts (right frame part and left frame part) 44 that appear in a square or rectangular shape when viewed from the side. The left and right frame parts 44 each have an upper horizontal member 45 and a lower horizontal member 46 that extend forward from the guide rail 42 with a gap in the vertical direction (hereinafter, the direction parallel to this direction is referred to as the "front-rear direction"), and a front vertical member 47 and a rear vertical member 48 that connect the upper horizontal member 45 and the lower horizontal member 46 to each other at both ends (the distal end away from the main body frame and the proximal end close to the main body frame). The left and right frame parts 44 are connected by a lower connecting member 48 that connects the left and right lower horizontal members 46 to each other, a front connecting member 49 that connects the left and right front vertical members 47 to each other, and an upper connecting member 50 that connects the left and right upper horizontal members 45 to each other at the proximal end side of the left and right upper horizontal members 45. An upper sliding portion (slider) 51 and a lower sliding portion (slider) 52 are fixed to the upper and lower portions of the proximal ends of the left and right frame portions 44. The upper and lower sliding portions 51, 52 are connected to the guide rail 42 so as to be movable up and down.

The lower connecting member 48 has a through hole 53 that penetrates the upper and lower surfaces of the lower connecting member 48, and an internally threaded member (nut) 54 is fixed to the through hole 53. As shown in the figure, the central axis of the internally threaded member 54 is oriented in the vertical direction.

An externally threaded member (screw shaft) 55 is screwed into the internally threaded member 54. The lower part of the externally threaded member 55 is formed with a cylindrical portion 56 without an external thread, and the cylindrical portion 56 is rotatably supported by the main body frame 10 via a bracket 57. The lower end of the cylindrical portion 56 extends below the bracket 57, to which a worm wheel 58 is fixed. As shown in FIG. 6, the worm wheel 58 is engaged with a worm 60 that is driven and connected to a motor (forward and reverse rotation motor) 59 fixed to the main body frame 10. Therefore, when the motor 59 is rotated forward and backward, the rotation is transmitted to the worm 60, the worm wheel 58, and the externally threaded member 55, and the internally threaded member 54 and the first frame 43 that holds it move between the raised position (FIG. 4) and the lowered position (FIG. 5).

[2nd Frame]
The first frame 43 supports a second frame 61. The second frame 61 has a horizontal member 62 extending in the front-rear direction in the operating state (state during manufacture of the bag) shown in Fig. 3, and vertical members 63, 64 extending upward from both ends (the distal end far from the main body frame and the proximal end close to the main body frame) of the horizontal member 62.

The front and rear vertical members 63, 64 are connected at approximately the middle section by a connecting member 65. Arms 66, 67 extending toward the other vertical members 64, 63 are fixed to the upper ends of the vertical members 63, 64.

The connecting member 65 and the arms 66, 67 are formed with upper and lower through holes 68, 69, 70, 71 along the two shafts 22, 23 that extend vertically and are spaced apart in the front-to-rear direction as shown in FIG. 3. The shaft 72 of one rotary blade 20 is rotatably inserted through the through holes 68, 70, and the shaft 73 of the other rotary blade 21 is rotatably inserted through the through holes 69, 71.

The horizontal member 62 has a through hole 74 formed on the extension of the axis 23, and a shaft 73 is inserted through the through hole 74. The horizontal member 62 also supports a motor 75, which is drivably connected to the shaft 73.

External gears 76, 77 are fixed to the shafts 70, 71 of the rotary blades 20, 21, and the external gears 76, 77 mesh with each other.

Although not shown, the first frame 43 and the second frame 61 are equipped with a locking mechanism that fixes the second frame 61 in the operating state shown in FIG. 3.

Therefore, during operation (when manufacturing bags), the first frame 43 and the second frame 61 are held in the raised position shown in Figure 4. In this state, when the motor 75 is driven, its rotation is transmitted to the external gears 77 and 76 via the shaft 73, causing the rotary blades 20 and 21 to rotate in the opposite direction, cutting the continuous bag 105 conveyed along the conveying path 19 (see Figure 3) at the vertical seal 101 or making perforations 106 in the vertical seal 101.

[3. Rotary blade adjustment mechanism]
As described above, the interval between the rotary blades 20, 21 must be adjusted with high precision in order for the cutting section 18 to accurately cut the packaging material made of a thin film or sheet at the vertical seal 101 or to uniformly make perforations therein. In order to accurately adjust the interval between the rotary blades 20, 21, it is preferable that the gap between the rotary blades 20, 21 can be confirmed from a direction parallel to the shafts 22, 23 during adjustment. For this purpose, the packaging machine 1 of the embodiment is configured so that the second frame 61 can move between an operating position in which the shafts 22, 23 of the rotary blades 20, 21 are oriented vertically as shown in FIG. 4 and an adjustment position in which the shafts 22, 23 of the rotary blades 20, 21 are inclined obliquely upward from the rear to the front as shown in FIG. 5.

Specifically, in the embodiment, the first frame 43 and the second frame 61 are connected by a pair of left and right brackets 80 (one of which is not shown) fixed to the front connecting member 49 of the first frame 43 with a horizontal gap therebetween, a horizontal shaft 81 extending laterally and rotatably supported by the pair of brackets 80, and an arm 82 connecting the horizontal shaft 81 and the horizontal member 62 of the second frame 61. In addition, the second frame 61 is configured such that a part of it (e.g., the lower end of the horizontal member 62 or the proximal vertical member 65) is supported by the upper connecting member 50 of the first frame 43 in the operating position. Therefore, the front and rear parts of the second frame 61 are supported by the first frame 43 in the operating position.

The second frame 61 is positioned at the adjustment position by a positioning mechanism 85. The positioning mechanism 85 has a support portion 86 that protrudes forward from the front connecting member 49 of the first frame 43, and a supported portion 87 provided on the horizontal member 62 of the second frame 61. In the embodiment, in order to adjust the tilt angle of the second frame 61, a screw hole 88 is formed in the vertical direction at the location (part of the support portion 86) where the supported portion 87 faces at the adjustment position, and a screw (bolt) 89 is screwed into the screw hole 88, so that the head of the screw 89 supports the supported portion 87 of the second frame 61.

[4. Rotary blade adjustment]
According to the cutting unit 18 having the above configuration, when adjusting the rotary blades 20, 21, the motor 59 is driven to move the first frame 43 and the second frame 61 from the raised position (FIG. 4) to the lowered position (FIG. 5). Next, the lock mechanism is released to rotatably release the second frame 61 from the first frame 43, and the second frame 61 is held and tilted from the operating position to the adjustment position. The tilt angle of the second frame 61 can be adjusted by manipulating the height of the screw 89 according to the physique of the operator and the working environment.

Therefore, as shown in FIG. 5, the operator OP can accurately adjust the spacing between the plate blades 30, 31 (particularly the cutting edges 38, 39 or the blade faces) of the rotary blades 20, 21 while viewing the gap 40 between the rotary blades 20, 21 from an obliquely upward direction 90 parallel to the axes 22, 23.

In the above explanation, the term "horizontal direction" is used, but this term should be understood to include not only a completely horizontal direction, but also a direction that is slightly tilted from the completely horizontal direction. Similarly, the term "vertical direction" should be understood to include not only a completely vertical direction (the direction of gravity), but also a direction that is slightly tilted from the direction of gravity.

18: cutting section 20, 21: rotary blades 22, 23: shaft 41: rotary blade support mechanism 43: first frame 61: second frame 85: positioning mechanism

Claims (3)

A packaging machine (1) having two rotary blades (20, 21) rotating in opposite directions about two vertically oriented shafts (22, 23), and equipped with a cutting section (18) for cutting a package (105) moving horizontally between the two rotary blades (20, 21) with the two rotary blades (20, 21),
A main body frame (10) of the packaging machine (1);
A first frame (43) provided on the front surface of the main body frame (10);
A shaft (81) extending in the horizontal direction along the front surface of the main body frame (10);
a second frame (61) supported swingably relative to the first frame (43) via the shaft (81);
The second frame (61) has two rotary blades (20, 21) that are rotatable in opposite directions about two shafts (22, 23) that are spaced apart from each other in the front-rear direction of the main frame (10),
the second frame (61) is provided on the first frame (43) so as to be movable between an operating position in which the two shafts (22, 23) are directed upward and an adjustment position in which the two shafts (22, 23) are directed obliquely upward from rear to front in front of the main body frame (10). The packaging machine according to claim 1, further comprising a mechanism (42, 51, 52, 59) for raising and lowering the first frame (43). The packaging machine of claim 1 or 2, which has a mechanism (85) for adjusting the inclination angle of the second frame (61) at the adjustment position.

Images