JP7680247B2 - packaging equipment - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a packaging device that wraps and packages a hexahedral packaged object with a sheet body.

Not only everyday items such as food, miscellaneous goods, and home appliances, but also many industrial materials are boxed or shaped into cubes or rectangular parallelepipeds, forming a hexahedron. These hexahedrons are often packaged in sheets such as craft paper, film, cloth, and nonwoven fabric. For example, when packaging food packaging materials such as beverage cartons and pouches, multiple sheets of food packaging material are bundled together and packaged in a sheet. When packaging food packaging materials, automatic and continuous packaging using packaging equipment is required, rather than manual work, to prevent foreign matter from entering and ensure production volume.

Patent Document 1 discloses a packaging device that covers the entire surface of a hexahedron. This packaging device wraps the packaged item in a sheet-like packaging material, folds in the front and rear flaps of the packaging material that extend out on both sides of the packaged item, and then folds in the top and bottom flaps to package the package.

Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 9-254914

In the packaging device described in Patent Document 1, in the wrapping process shown in FIG. 2 of Patent Document 1, a process of feeding packaged item a onto roller 7 and a process of pushing packaged item forward with pusher 9 so as to push out packaging material b are required as preliminary steps. In addition, a process of lifting folding guide 10 to fold packaging material b up to the back side of packaged item a and a process of moving folding guide 10 in the conveying direction of delivered item a to fold packaging material b over the top surface of packaged item a were required.

In other words, the packaging device described in Patent Document 1 requires two steps using the fold-back guide 10 in the wrapping process, and is not advantageous in terms of shortening packaging time. When considering improving the production volume of packaging devices and production lines that include them, shortening packaging time is a major issue, and further improvements are needed to enable packaging in a shorter time.

The present invention aims to solve the above problems and provide a packaging device that can shorten packaging time and also respond to increased production volume on a production line that includes the packaging device.

In order to achieve the above object, the packaging device of the present invention is a packaging device which covers a hexahedral packaged object with a sheet body, and is provided with a bottom guide which forms a floor surface of a transport passage for the packaged object, an top guide which is arranged opposite the bottom guide and forms a ceiling surface of the transport passage for the packaged object, a width guide which is arranged to sandwich the left and right side surfaces of the packaged object on the bottom guide and has a guide surface which guides the transport of the packaged object, and a folding guide which is arranged in front of the width guide and is arranged to sandwich the left and right side surfaces of the packaged object on the bottom guide and has a guide surface which guides the transport of the packaged object, and the guide surface of the folding guide has an inclined surface which pushes up the sheet body and an inclined surface which pushes down the sheet body, and the front surface of the packaged object is pressed against the sheet body which hangs down from above, thereby transporting the packaged object. When the packaged item enters the space between the bottom guide and the top guide, the portions of the sheet body extending vertically from the front of the packaged item are folded onto the top and bottom sides of the packaged item, and when the packaged item is guided by the width guide, the portions of the sheet body extending left and right from the front of the packaged item are folded onto the left and right side sides of the packaged item, when the packaged item passes through an inclined surface of the folding guide that pushes up the sheet body, the portions of the sheet body extending left and right from the bottom surface of the packaged item are folded onto the side sides of the packaged item, and when the packaged item passes through an inclined surface of the folding guide that pushes down the sheet body, the portions of the sheet body extending left and right from the top surface of the packaged item are folded onto the side sides of the packaged item.

According to the packaging device of the present invention, by simply transporting the packaged object through the space between the bottom guide and the top guide, the sheet body is guided by the bottom guide, top guide, width guide, and folding guide and folded, and as soon as the transport is completed, the five sides of the packaged object, excluding the back side, are covered with the sheet body. In other words, there is no need to stop the packaged object to perform a folding process in order to cover the five sides of the packaged object with the sheet body, and the packaging time can be shortened. In addition, since the packaged object is packaged while being transported through the space surrounded by the bottom guide, top guide, width guide, and folding guide, this is advantageous in preventing the entry of foreign objects.

In the packaging device of the present invention, it is preferable that a back folding means is further provided for folding the portions of the sheet body extending rearward from the side surfaces of the package and the portions of the sheet body extending rearward from the upper and lower surfaces of the package onto the back surface of the package when the package has finished passing through the space between the lower guide and the upper guide. With this configuration, immediately after covering five surfaces of the package with the sheet body, the back surface of the package can be continuously covered with the sheet body.

The effects of the present invention are as described above. By simply transporting the packaged object through the space between the bottom guide and the top guide, the sheet body is guided by the bottom guide, top guide, width guide, and folding guide and is folded, and as soon as the transport is completed, the five sides of the packaged object, excluding the back side, are covered with the sheet body. In other words, there is no need to stop the packaged object to perform a folding process in order to cover the five sides of the packaged object with the sheet body, and the packaging time can be shortened. In addition, since the packaged object is packaged while being transported through the space surrounded by the bottom guide, top guide, width guide, and folding guide, this is advantageous in preventing the entry of foreign matter.

1 is a perspective view showing a main part of a packaging device according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 13 is a perspective view showing a process of receiving the packaged object onto a conveying table in one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a structure on a lower surface guide according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a state at the start of packaging in one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a main portion near an object to be packaged at the start of packaging in one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the state immediately after transport of the packaged object in one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a main part near the packaged object immediately after transportation in one embodiment of the present invention. 13 is a diagram showing a state in which a packaged object has entered the position of a width guide in one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the main parts near the packaged object when the packaged object enters the position of the width guide in one embodiment of the present invention. 13 is a diagram showing the state in which the front surface of the packaged object has passed through the folding guide in one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a main part near the packaged object when the front surface of the packaged object reaches the position of the upper folding guide in one embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a main part near the packaged object when the front surface of the packaged object has passed through a folding guide in one embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a packaging device according to an embodiment of the present invention when an object to be packaged is placed on a placement table. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing the state after the rear side folding blade has been slid in one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the state when packaging is completed in one embodiment of the present invention.

One embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the main parts of a packaging device 1 according to one embodiment of the present invention. This figure shows a schematic diagram of the main parts of the packaging device 1. An object 10 to be packaged is placed on a conveying table 2. The object 10 is a hexahedron, and the contents inside are, for example, daily necessities (food, miscellaneous goods, home appliances, etc.) and industrial materials. As will be described in detail later, the object 10 is packaged in a sheet body 20 by the packaging device 1. The sheet body 20 is, for example, craft paper, film, cloth, or nonwoven fabric.

Figure 2 is a perspective view showing the process of receiving the packaged object 10 on the conveying table 2. In Figure 2, the conveying table 2 is lowered and receives the packaged object 10 conveyed on the conveying path 3 (in the direction of arrow a). By raising the conveying table 2 from this state to the height of the lower guide 7 (in the direction of arrow b), the position of the packaged object 10 becomes the position shown in Figure 1. Figure 2 shows one example, and the packaged object may be placed on the conveying table 2 in other ways.

First, an overview of the packaging device 1 will be described with reference to Figures 1 and 3. In Figure 1, the packaged object 10 on the conveyor table 2 is positioned by a pressure plate 6. In this state, the pusher 5 pushes the back surface of the packaged object 10, and the packaged object 10 is transferred forward. As a result, the packaged object 10 is transported together with the sheet body 20 into the space between the lower surface guide 7 and the upper surface guide 8. In this embodiment, the destination of the packaged object 10 is referred to as the front, forward, or front side, and the surface of the packaged object 10 at the leading edge during transport is referred to as the front surface, and the opposite side is referred to as the back surface.

The bottom guide 7 forms the floor of the passageway for the packaged items 10 being transported. The top guide 8 is disposed opposite the bottom guide 7 and forms the top of the passageway for the packaged items 10. The width of the top guide 8 is large enough to cover the top surface of the packaged items 10, and is the same width as or slightly wider than the top surface of the packaged items 10. In this embodiment, the direction perpendicular to the transport direction of the packaged items 10 is the width direction or left-right direction.

Figure 3 is a perspective view showing the structure on the bottom guide 7. A width guide 11 is disposed on the bottom guide 7. The width guide 11 is attached and fixed to the bottom guide 7 or the top guide 8 (Figure 1), but the attachment structure is not shown. The guide surfaces 12 of the pair of width guides 11 face each other in the width direction of the bottom guide 7. The distance between the guide surfaces 12 is a distance that can guide the transport of the packaged item 10, and is the same as the width of the packaged item 10 or a slightly wider distance.

As shown in FIG. 4(b), which will be described in detail later, a gap 18 is formed between the bottom guide 7 and the lower width guide 11, and a gap 19 is formed between the top guide 8 and the upper width guide 11. The sheet body 20 that protrudes to the left and right from the bottom surface of the packaged item 10 passes through the gap 18, and the sheet body 20 that protrudes to the left and right from the top surface of the packaged item 10 passes through the gap 19.

On the bottom guide 7, a folding guide 13 is disposed in front of the width guide 11. The folding guide 13 is composed of a lower folding guide 14 and an upper folding guide 15. The folding guide 13 is attached and fixed to the bottom guide 7 or the upper guide 8 (Figure 1), but the attachment structure is not shown. In the width direction of the bottom guide 7, the guide surfaces 16 of the pair of lower folding guides 14 face each other. Similarly, the guide surfaces 17 of the pair of upper folding guides 15 face each other.

The guide surface 16 of the lower folding guide 14 has an inclined surface 16a and a vertical surface 16b, and the guide surface 17 of the upper folding guide 17 has an inclined surface 17a and a vertical surface 17b. As will be described in detail later, the inclined surface 16a is an inclined surface that pushes up the sheet body 20, and the sheet body 20 is folded upward by the inclined surface 16a and the vertical surface 16b. The inclined surface 17a is an inclined surface that pushes down the sheet body 20, and the sheet body 20 is folded downward by the inclined surface 17a and the vertical surface 17b. Both the inclined surface 16a and the inclined surface 17a are inclined surfaces that are inclined so that the distance between the pair of inclined surfaces 16a (inclined surfaces 17a) becomes narrower as they move from the rear to the front. It is preferable to arrange the inclined surface 16a and the inclined surface 17a so that one of them is in the front (rear), and since it is easier to arrange the packaging state by folding the sheet body 20 upward and then folding the sheet body 20 downward, the inclined surface 17a is arranged in front of the inclined surface 16a.

In FIG. 1, the distance between the bottom guide 7 and the top guide 8 can be adjusted according to the height of the packaged item 10. In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3, the width guide 11 is separated in the vertical direction, and the folding guide 13 is separated into a lower folding guide 14 and an upper folding guide 15. This makes it possible to adjust the positions of the width guide 11 and the folding guide 13 by adjusting the distance between the bottom guide 7 and the top guide 8.

Below, the process of packaging the packaged object 10 with the sheet body 20 will be described in order of steps. Figure 4 shows the state at the start of packaging. Figure 4(a) is a perspective view of the packaged object 10 and the sheet body 20 at the start of packaging, and Figure 4(b) shows a side view of the packaging device 1 at the start of packaging. Figure 5 is a perspective view showing the main parts near the packaged object 10 at the start of packaging. As shown in Figures 4(a), 4(b), and 5, at the start of packaging, the sheet body 20 and the front surface of the packaged object 10 face each other.

From the state shown in FIG. 4(b), the pusher 5 pushes the back surface of the packaged object 10, and the packaged object 10 is transported forward (arrow c). As a result, the packaged object 10, together with the sheet body 20, is transported into the space between the bottom guide 7 and the top guide 8. In FIG. 5, in the width direction of the packaged object 10, the packaged object 10 is transported between the guide surfaces 12 of the pair of width guides 11. Thereafter, the packaged object 10 is guided in the height direction by the bottom guide 7 and the top guide 8, and in the width direction by the guide surface 12 of the width guide 11 while being transported (arrow d).

In FIG. 4(b), the sheet body 20 is unwound from a sheet body roll (not shown) via a guide roller or the like (not shown), and hangs down from above, with the end of the sheet body 20 fixed at the bottom. As the sheet body 20 is unwound sequentially from the sheet body roll, a new sheet body 20 faces a new packaged object 10. In FIG. 4(a), the sheet body 20 has extensions 20a extending above and below the packaged object 10. The upper extension 20a is cut by a cutter (not shown) at a cutting line 21 extending in the width direction of the sheet body 20, and the sheet body 20 is cut out to the size required for packaging the packaged object 10. After this, the end of the sheet body 20 is released, and the sheet body 20 is transported together with the packaged object 10.

Figure 6 shows the state of the packaged object 10 immediately after it has been transferred. Figure 6(a) is a perspective view of the packaged object 10 and the sheet body 20 immediately after it has been transferred, and Figure 6(b) is a side view of the packaging device 1 immediately after it has been transferred. Figure 7 is a perspective view showing the main parts near the packaged object 10 immediately after it has been transferred. As shown in Figure 6(b), the packaged object 10 has entered the space between the lower guide 7 and the upper guide 8. As a result, as shown in Figures 6(a) and 7, the upper and lower extensions 20a of the sheet body 20, which extended upward and downward in Figure 4(a), are folded toward the upper and lower sides of the packaged object 10.

Figure 8 shows the state in which the packaged object 10 has entered the position of the width guide 11. Figure 8(a) is a perspective view of the packaged object 10 and the sheet body 20 when the packaged object 10 enters the position of the width guide 11, and Figure 8(b) is a side view of the packaging device 1 at the same time. Figure 9 is a perspective view showing the main parts near the packaged object 10 at the same time. In Figure 6(a), the sheet body 20 has front left and right extensions 20b that extend to the left and right from the front of the packaged object 10. In Figure 8(a), the front left and right extensions 20b are folded toward the side of the packaged object 10. This is because the packaged object 10 has entered the position of the width guide 11, as shown in Figure 8(b).

More specifically, when the packaged object 10 is moved toward the width guide 11 from the state shown in FIG. 7 (in the direction of arrow e), the sheet body 20 is also moved toward the width guide 11. When the packaged object 10 enters the position of the width guide 11, the width at which the packaged object 10 can enter is restricted by the guide surface 12 of the width guide 11. For this reason, the front left and right extensions 20b of the packaged object 10 are folded toward the side faces of the packaged object 10. When the packaged object 10 has entered between the left and right width guides 11 as shown in FIG. 9, the left and right extensions 20b are folded toward the side faces of the packaged object 10 as shown in FIG. 8(a).

Figure 10 is a diagram showing the state where the front surface of the packaged object 10 has passed through the folding guide 13. Figure 10(a) is a perspective view of the packaged object 10 and the sheet body 20 when the front surface of the packaged object 10 passes through the folding guide 13. Figure 10(b) shows a side view of the packaging device 1 when the front surface of the packaged object 10 passes through the folding guide 13. Figure 11 is a perspective view showing the main parts near the packaged object 10 when the front surface of the packaged object 10 reaches the position of the upper folding guide 15. Figure 12 is a perspective view showing the main parts near the packaged object 10 when the front surface of the packaged object 10 has passed through the folding guide 13.

In the state shown in FIG. 8(a), the sheet body 20 has an upper side extension portion 20c and a lower side extension portion 20d that extend from the left and right sides of the packaged object 10. In FIG. 10(a), both the upper side extension portion 20c and the lower side extension portion 20d are folded toward the side of the packaged object 10.

Specifically, as shown in FIG. 11, when the front surface of the packaged item 10 reaches the position of the upper folding guide 15, the lower side extension 20d is pushed up by the inclined surface 16a of the lower folding guide 14. Then, the lower side extension 20d is folded vertically by the vertical surface 16b.

When the packaged item 10 moves forward from the state shown in Fig. 11, the upper side extension 20c is pushed down by the inclined surface 17a of the upper folding guide 15, and then folded vertically by the vertical surface 17b. This state is shown in Fig. 12, where the upper side extension 20c is folded so as to overlap the lower side extension 20d, as shown in Fig. 10(a).

The packaged object 10 is further moved from the state shown in FIG. 12 and placed on the placement table 24. FIG. 13 shows a perspective view of the packaging device 1 when the packaged object 10 is placed on the placement table 24. In FIG. 13, the packaged object 10 is positioned on the placement table 24 by a fixed plate 25. In this state, the packaged object 10 is packaged by the sheet body 20 as shown in FIG. 10(a). In FIG. 10(a), the sheet body 20 has rear side extensions 20e extending rearward from both side surfaces of the packaged object 10, a rear upper surface extension 20f extending rearward from the upper surface of the packaged object 10, and a rear lower surface extension 20g extending rearward from the lower surface of the packaged object 10.

From the state shown in FIG. 13, the pair of rear side folding blades 22 are slid closer to each other, so that the rear side extension 20e is folded toward the rear side of the packaged object 10. FIG. 14 shows the state after the rear side folding blades 22 have been slid. FIG. 14(a) is a perspective view of the packaged object 10 and the sheet body 20 after the rear side folding blades 22 have been slid. FIG. 14(b) shows a side view of the packaging device 1 after the sliding. As shown in FIG. 14(a), the rear side extension 20e is folded toward the rear side of the packaged object 10. In this state, the sheet body 20 has a rear upper extension 20f extending rearward from the upper surface of the packaged object 10, and a rear lower extension 20g extending rearward from the lower surface of the packaged object 10.

In FIG. 14(b), the pair of rear folding blades 23 slide vertically toward each other, so that the rear upper extension 20f and rear lower extension 20g of the sheet body 20 are folded toward the rear side of the packaged object 10. In the state of FIG. 14(b), the pusher 5 is retracted to the rear of the conveying table 2. From this state, the conveying table 2 can be lowered to receive a new packaged object 10 on the conveying table 2, as shown in FIG. 2. In other words, while a packaged object 10 is being packaged on the loading table 24, preparations for packaging a new packaged object 10 can be made, enabling efficient continuous packaging.

Figure 15 shows the state when packaging is complete. Figure 15(a) is an external perspective view of the packaged object 10 when packaging is complete, and Figure 15(b) shows a side view of the packaging device 1 when packaging is complete. As shown in Figure 15(a), the rear upper extension 20f and rear lower extension 20g of the sheet body 20 are folded toward the back side of the packaged object 10. In Figure 15(b), the packaged object 10 after packaging is complete is placed on the placement table 24, and at this point, a new packaged object 10 is placed on the conveying table 2, and a new sheet body 20 is being unrolled.

The above describes an embodiment of the present invention. According to the present invention, by simply transporting the packaged object 10 through the space between the bottom guide 7 and the top guide 8, the sheet body 20 is guided by the bottom guide 7, top guide 8, width guide 11, and folding guide 13 and folded, and as soon as the transport is completed, the five sides of the packaged object 10, excluding the back side, are covered with the sheet body 20. In other words, there is no need to stop the packaged object 10 to perform a folding process in order to cover the five sides of the packaged object 10 with the sheet body 20, and the packaging time can be shortened. In addition, the packaged object 10 is packaged while being transported through the space surrounded by the bottom guide 7, top guide 8, width guide 11, and folding guide 13, which is advantageous in preventing the inclusion of foreign matter.

The above embodiment is an example, and the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and may be modified as appropriate. In addition, it is preferable that the sides and back of the packaged body after packaging are fixed with an adhesive or the like. Examples of adhesives include liquid adhesives, hot melt, adhesive tape, and double-sided tape. For example, when fixing with hot melt, it is preferable to apply the hot melt to the sheet body 20 before starting packaging, and it is sufficient to apply it in advance on the supply device for the sheet body 20.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 Packaging device 2 Conveyor table 7 Lower guide 8 Upper guide 10 Packaged object 11 Width guide 12 Guide surface of width guide 13 Folding guide 14 Lower folding guide 15 Upper folding guide 16 Guide surface of lower folding guide 16a Sloping surface of lower folding guide 17 Guide surface of upper folding guide 17a Sloping surface of upper folding guide 20 Sheet body 20a Top and bottom extensions of sheet body 20b Front left and right extensions of sheet body 20c Top side extensions of sheet body 20d Bottom side extensions of sheet body 20e Rear side extensions of sheet body 20f Rear upper extensions of sheet body 20g Rear lower extensions of sheet body 22 Rear side folding blade (rear folding means)
23 Rear upper and lower folding blades (rear folding means)

Claims (2)

A packaging device that covers a hexahedral packaged object with a sheet body,
A lower surface guide that constitutes a floor surface of a transport passage of the packaged object;
an upper surface guide disposed opposite the lower surface guide and constituting a top surface of a transport passage for the packaged object;
a width guide disposed so as to sandwich the left and right side surfaces of the package on the lower surface guide and having a guide surface for guiding the transport of the package;
and a folding guide disposed in front of the width guide, disposed so as to sandwich the left and right side surfaces of the packaged object on the bottom guide, and having a guide surface for guiding the transport of the packaged object,
A space is formed between the lower surface guide, the upper surface guide, the width guide and the folding guide, and in which the packaged object can be transported without stopping or changing direction,
The guide surface of the folding guide has an inclined surface that pushes up the sheet body and an inclined surface that pushes down the sheet body,
In the process of pressing the front surface of the package against the sheet hanging down from above and transferring the package,
Immediately after being transferred together with the sheet body, the package enters the space between the lower surface guide and the upper surface guide,
When the object to be packaged enters the space between the lower surface guide and the upper surface guide, the portions of the sheet body that extend vertically from the front surface of the object to be packaged are folded toward the upper surface and the lower surface of the object to be packaged,
When the package is guided by the width guide, the portions of the sheet extending to the left and right from the front surface of the package are folded toward the left and right side surfaces of the package,
When the package passes through an inclined surface of the folding guide that pushes up the sheet body, the portions of the sheet body that extend to the left and right from the bottom surface of the package are folded toward the side surfaces of the package,
When the package passes through an inclined surface of the folding guide that presses down the sheet body, the portions of the sheet body that extend to the left and right from the top surface of the package are folded toward the side surfaces of the package,
This packaging device is characterized in that immediately after the packaged object is transported together with the sheet body, by simply transporting the packaged object within the space, five sides of the packaged object, excluding the back surface, are covered with the sheet body without the packaged object stopping within the space or changing its orientation. 2. The packaging device according to claim 1, further comprising a rear folding means for folding the portions of the sheet body extending rearward from the sides of the packaged object and the portions extending rearward from the top and bottom surfaces of the packaged object onto the rear side of the packaged object when the packaged object has finished passing through the space between the bottom guide and the top guide.

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