JP7681305B2 - Bag-filling packaging device and bag-filling packaging method - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a bagging packaging device and a bagging packaging method that continuously fills and packages packaged items.

Bag-filling packaging devices and methods are known that continuously fill bags with a specified mass (weight) of packaged materials such as powders and granular materials. In these bag-filling packaging devices and methods, in order to fill the bags with the exact weight of the packaged materials, the rotation speed of the auger (screw) is pulse-controlled by a servo motor when filling with an auger-type filling machine, and the weight of the final package that has been filled and packaged is checked by a weight checker (weight diagnostic device).

When filling a bag, the filling amount (weight of the packaged item) may vary due to fluctuations in the bulk density of the packaged item, such as powder or granular material (for example, fluctuations in the bulk density of the packaged item due to changes in humidity and temperature when filling grains, which become powder or granular material). To ensure an accurate weight even in such cases, a control method (also called trend control) is generally used that corrects the pulse value of a servo motor to match the appropriate filling amount according to the weight detected by a weight checker (trend in weight fluctuation). Such a method is disclosed, for example, in Patent Document 1.

As mentioned above, a weight checker or the like is used to check (diagnose) whether the weight is within the appropriate range, and if there is an error, the error is corrected by trend control. However, in general bagging and packaging devices and methods, after the filling process in which the bag is filled with the packaged material, there are several processes (generally about 4 to 6 processes) before the weighing process in which the packaged material is measured by a weight checker, such as a tapping process in which the packaged material in the bag is dropped to the bottom of the bag, a degassing process in which the air in the filled bag is degassed, a sealing process in which the mouth of the bag is sealed, a cooling process in which the sealed part of the mouth of the bag is cooled, and a conveying process in which the bag is conveyed out of the packaging device. Even if the filling amount of the auger-type filling machine is corrected by trend control, the packaged material passes through several processes before the correction, so if the weight is less than the preset range, an operator must manually refill the packaged material, and if the weight is more than the preset range, a correction work must be performed by manually removing the packaged material to reach the set weight.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 57-60222

In conventional bagging packaging devices and methods that control the filling amount by trend control as described above, packages that exceed the set range slip through before the filling amount of the auger-type filling machine is corrected, making it impossible to correct the filling amount in real time. As such, conventional bagging packaging devices and methods have the problem that the filling amount cannot be corrected for all packaged items, and manual correction work is required.

In addition, with conventional bagging packaging devices and methods, workers had to manually fill bags with the items to be packaged, not only when the weight of the packaged items was too high, but also when the weight was too low, which was inconvenient and time-consuming.

In view of these problems, the present invention aims to provide a bagging packaging device and a bagging packaging method that can adjust the filling amount of the packaged items in real time and improve filling efficiency.

The bagging packaging apparatus of the present invention comprises a rotary bagging packaging machine, a weight checker that checks the weight of the bags filled and packaged by the bagging packaging machine and discharged by an output conveyor, and a control device that controls each component of the bagging packaging apparatus.
In a rotary type bag filling packaging machine, a pair of clamp arms are supported on the periphery of a circular rotor, and a clamp is provided at the tip of each clamp arm to clamp both side edges of the bag.
The circular rotor is provided with a bag supply section where empty bags are supplied by a bag supply device, a filling section where bags are filled with powder or granular material or other packaged material by a filling machine, a weighing section where a weighing device such as a load cell is provided and filled bags are weighed while being transferred between bags, an oversized bag discharge section where bags whose weight exceeds a set range are discharged from the conveying path of the circular rotor, a degassing section where air is removed from within the bags, a sealing section where the openings of the bags are sealed, and a cooling and unloading section where the sealed parts of the bags are cooled and the packed bags are unloaded from the conveying path of the circular rotor to the unloading conveyor.
In the filling section, a filling machine is provided adjacent to the circular rotor, and the filling machine fills the bag with the packaged material using a filling auger pulse-controlled by a servo motor.
In the weighing section, the bag filled with the packaged goods is temporarily transferred from the clamp to a load cell, the bag's weight is measured, and the measured value is output to the control device. The weighing result is also fed back to the filling machine by the control device.
If the weight of the packaged item is greater than the set range, the clamp opens and the bag is discharged from the chute in the oversized bag discharge section and sent out of the system.
Bags with a weight smaller than the set range will not have their mouths sealed in the sealing section, and will not be discharged from the cooling and discharging section to the outside of the system. Instead, they will travel again along the conveying path of the rotary bag filling and packaging machine, and after passing through the conveying path without undergoing the bag supplying operation or bag mouth opening operation in the bag supplying section and bag mouth opening section, they will be filled with the missing amount of packaged items in the filling section.
Bags whose weight falls within the set range undergo the degassing operation in the degassing section, the sealing operation in the sealing section, and the cooling and discharge operation in the cooling and discharge section, and are then transported via a transport conveyor to a weight checker where the final weight is checked.The results of the weight checker's check are sent to a control device for trend control, and the auger of the filling machine is pulse-controlled.

The bag-filling and packaging method is a bag-filling and packaging method for a bag-filling and packaging machine including a rotary bag-filling and packaging machine, a weight checker that checks the weight of the bag that is filled and packaged by the bag-filling and packaging machine and discharged by a discharge conveyor, and a control device that controls each component of the bag-filling and packaging machine,
A rotary type bag filling packaging machine includes a bag supply section in which empty bags are supplied by a bag supply device, a filling section in which bags are filled with powder or granular material or other packaged material by a filling machine, a weighing section in which a weighing device such as a load cell is provided and filled bags are weighed while being transferred between bags, an oversized bag discharge section in which bags whose weight exceeds a set range are discharged from the conveying path of the circular rotor, a degassing section in which air is removed from within the bags, a sealing section in which the mouths of the bags are sealed, and a cooling and conveying section in which the sealed portions of the bags are cooled and the packed bags are conveyed from the conveying path to the discharge conveyor.
The control device of the bag filling packaging device controls each component as follows.
Bags with a packaged item weight larger than the set range are discharged from a chute installed in the oversized bag discharge section by opening the clamps of the rotary bag filling and packaging machine, and are sent out of the system.
Bags with a weight smaller than the set range will not have their mouths sealed in the sealing section, and will not be discharged from the cooling and discharging section to the outside of the system. Instead, they will travel again along the conveying path of the rotary bag filling and packaging machine, and after passing through the conveying path without undergoing the bag supplying operation or bag mouth opening operation in the bag supplying section and bag mouth opening section, they will be filled with the missing amount of packaged items in the filling section.
Bags whose weight falls within the set range undergo the degassing operation in the degassing section, the sealing operation in the sealing section, and the cooling and discharge operation in the cooling and discharge section, and are then transported via a transport conveyor to a weight checker where the final weight is checked. The results of the weight checker's check are used for trend control to pulse control the auger of the filling machine.

The bagging packaging device and bagging packaging method of the present invention allow the filling amount to be corrected in real time, making it possible to effectively control the filling weight. In addition, since there is no need to manually re-package the packaged items into bags whose weight is smaller than the set range, compared to conventional bagging packaging devices and methods, this saves time and effort and improves work efficiency.

1 is a plan view of a bagging and packaging device according to the present invention; Front view of the bagging packaging device FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a simplified process (bag-packaging method) performed by a bag-packaging device.

As shown in Figures 1 and 2, the bagging packaging device according to the embodiment of the present invention is a rotary bagging packaging machine 1 that continuously fills and packages a bag with a specified weight of the packaged material, as described below. In addition to the rotary bagging packaging machine 1, this bagging packaging device also includes a weight checker (weight diagnostic device) 2 that checks the weight of the bags filled and packaged by the bagging packaging machine 1, an output conveyor 3 that conveys the bags filled and packaged by the bagging packaging machine 1 to the weight checker 2, and a control device 4 that controls each component of the bagging packaging device.

In the rotary bagging machine 1, eight pairs of clamp arms 12 are supported on the periphery of a circular rotor 11, and clamps 13 are provided at the tip of each clamp arm 12 to clamp both side edges of a bag 14. The rotational driving force of a drive motor (not shown) is transmitted to the central shaft of the circular rotor 11 via an intermittent rotation transmission mechanism (not shown), causing the circular rotor 11 to intermittently rotate clockwise (arrow R1) at a pitch of 45°, which corresponds to the circumferential spacing of the eight clamp arms 12.

The circular rotor 11 has a bag supply section (1) where empty bags 14 are supplied by a bag supply device 15, a bag opening section (2) where a printing process of printing expiration dates and the like on the bags 14 and a bag opening process of the bags 14 are performed, a filling section (3) where a filling machine 30 fills the bags 14 with packaged materials such as powdered or granular materials, a weighing section (4) where a weighing device 5 such as a load cell is provided and the filled bags 14 are weighed while being transferred, and a weighing section (5) where a weight is measured within a set range (corresponding to the appropriate filling weight between a lower threshold and an upper threshold). The system is equipped with an oversized bag discharge section (5) that discharges bags 14 with a weight larger than the set weight range from the conveying path of the circular rotor 11 (discharges them out of the system), a degassing section (6) that degass the air in the bags 14, a sealing section (7) that seals the openings of the bags 14, and a cooling and carrying-out section (8) that cools the sealed parts of the bags 14 and carries the packaged bags 14 out of the conveying path of the circular rotor 11 to the carrying-out conveyor 3 side. Filling and packaging operations are carried out in these sections (1) to (8). Therefore, the bags 14 supplied to the clamp arm 12 in the bag supply section (1) are intermittently conveyed along the circular orbit conveying path outside the circular rotor 11 at a pitch of 45° toward the cooling and carrying-out section (8) in a suspended state with both side edges of the bags clamped by the clamps 13. In FIG. 1, each of these sections (1) to (8) is indicated by a number written in a circle.

On the other hand, the bag filling packaging device and bag filling packaging method according to the embodiment of the present invention do not have an undersized bag discharge section that discharges bags 14 whose weight is smaller than the set range from the conveying path (discharges them out of the system). That is, in the bag filling packaging device and bag filling packaging method according to the embodiment of the present invention, bags 14 whose weight is smaller than the set range (proper weight range) are not sealed at the mouth of the bag 14 in the sealing section (7), and are not discharged out of the system from the cooling discharge section (8). Instead, they proceed again along the conveying path (the conveying path of the rotary bag filling packaging machine 1), and simply pass through the conveying path without undergoing bag supplying operations or bag opening operations in the bag supply section (1) and bag mouth opening section (2), and are then filled in the filling section (3) to make up for the shortage of the packaged items. Note that if the weight measured in the weighing section (4) is within the set range, they are discharged from the cooling discharge section (8) and conveyed to the weight checker 2 via the discharge conveyor 3.

The bag supply device 15 arranged in correspondence with the bag supply section (1) may be of any type as long as it is structured to supply empty bags 14 to the clamp 13 of the circular rotor 11. For example, as shown in FIG. 1, it may be a type like a bag box 16 that uses a suction cup to suck up a number of stacked bags 14 one by one from the top and supply them to the clamp 13 of the bag supply section (1), or it may be a conveyor magazine type bag supply device (not shown) that places a number of bags 14 sideways on a string belt conveyor, feeds the bags 14 forward, and sucks up the leading bag 14 one by one with a suction cup and supplies it to the clamp 13. In the printing process of the bag opening section (2), the printing device 17 prints, for example, the expiration date and date of manufacture on the surface of the bag 14 at appropriate positions, and in the bag opening section (2), air is sprayed to open the bag mouth, and the front and rear surfaces of the bag 14 are sucked by the suction cup 18 to open the bag mouth halfway.

In the filling section (3), a filling machine 30 is provided adjacently. This filling machine 30 is provided with a filling auger (screw) 32, which is pulse-controlled by a servomotor, below a filling hopper 31, and fills the bag 14 with the packaged material, such as powder or granular material (filling process).
In the weighing section (4), the bag 14 filled with the packaged goods is temporarily transferred from the clamp 13 to a gripping portion of a weighing device 5 such as a load cell, the weight of the filled bag 14 is measured, and the measured value is output to the control device 4 (weighing process). The weighing result of the weighing device 5 is fed back to the filling machine 30 by the control device 4.
Furthermore, bags 14 whose filling amount of the packaged goods exceeds the set range are discharged from a chute 19 provided in the next oversized bag discharge section (5) and sent out of the system (for example, the clamp 13 opens and the bag 14 is discharged out of the system from the chute 19) (oversized bag discharge process).

In the degassing section (6), a degassing device 20 provided corresponding to this degassing section (6) exhausts the air from inside the bag 14 and degasses it, for example, with a pair of sponge bodies 21 moving toward and away from each other sandwiching the bag 14 from both sides (degassing process).
In the sealing section (7), the mouths of the bags 14 that have been flattened by removing air in the deaeration section (6) are sealed by a sealing device 22 (sealing process).
In addition, the sealed portion of the bag 14, which has been warmed and softened by the sealing, is cooled by the seal cooling device 23 provided in the cooling and discharging section (8) (cooling step).
When the sealed portion is cooled by the seal cooling device 23, the clamp 13 opens and the bag 14 is transported out of the conveying path of the rotary bag filling packaging machine 1 (discharge process), and is transported by the discharge conveyor 3 to the weight checker 2 side outside the system (checker transport process).

However, as briefly mentioned above, the degassing operation in the degassing section (6), the sealing operation in the sealing section (7), and the cooling and discharging operation in the cooling and discharging section (8) are only performed on bags 14 whose weight measured in the weighing section (4) is within a set range. Bags 14 whose weight is within the set range are discharged from the cooling and discharging section (8) and transported to the weight checker 2 via the transport conveyor 3, where the final weight is checked (examined). The results of the weight checker check are sent to the control device 4 for trend control as in the conventional case, and the auger (screw) 32 of the filling machine 30 is pulse-controlled.

On the other hand, for bags 14 weighed in the weighing section (4) that are smaller than the set range, the control device 4 controls the bag 14 so that the deaeration, sealing, and cooling/discharge operations are not carried out, and the bag 14 passes through the conveying paths of the deaeration section (6), sealing section (7), and cooling/discharge section (8) while remaining open, and then passes through the conveying paths of the bag supply section (1) and bag mouth opening section (2) without bag supply operation or printing/bag mouth opening operation (the air injection operation in the bag mouth opening section (2) is not carried out if there is a risk of powder or granular material flying up from the bag mouth), and then the missing amount of packaged material is filled in the filling section (3). After this, the bag 14 filled with the packaged material up to the set range undergoes the deaeration operation in the deaeration section (6), the sealing operation in the sealing section (7), and the cooling/discharge operation in the cooling/discharge section (8), and is then conveyed to the weight checker 2 via the discharge conveyor 3, where the final weight is checked.
The process (bag-packaging method) by this bag-packaging device is shown in a simplified flow chart in Fig. 3. That is, if the filled bag 14 is a proper product whose weight is within a predetermined range, it is sealed and conveyed to the weight checker 2 side, but if the filled bag 14 is an excessively heavy product whose weight is greater than the predetermined range, it is discharged outside the route (outside the system). On the other hand, if the filled bag 14 is an underweight product whose weight is less than the predetermined range, it is returned to the route again (indicated as "recycle" in Fig. 3) and refilled with the packaged product.

As a result, bags 14 whose weight is smaller than the set range are not discharged outside the system, but are transported again to the filling section (3) where the missing packaged contents are filled, eliminating the need to manually re-package the packages into bags 14 whose weight is smaller than the set range and that have been discharged outside the system, as is the case with conventional bagging packaging devices and methods. This saves time and effort and improves production efficiency compared to conventional bagging packaging devices and methods. Another advantage of using a rotary bagging packaging machine 1 is that the packages can be circulated again to the filling section (3) for rapid transport.

In addition, since there is no process in the circular rotor 11 to discharge bags 14 with packaged contents that are smaller than the set range out of the system, the time from filling to checking with the weight checker 2 can be shortened, and the filling amount can be corrected in a short time. As a result, it is possible to improve filling efficiency compared to conventional bagging packaging devices and methods.

In this embodiment, the bag filling packaging apparatus is described as being equipped with a rotary bag filling packaging machine 1. This configuration and method are particularly suitable because bags 14 whose weight is smaller than the set range can be circulated and filled again by proceeding along the conveying path of the rotary bag filling packaging machine 1.
However, this is not limited to the above. Even if each process section (1) to (8), such as the bag supply section where the bag supply process is performed, the bag filling section where the bag filling process is performed, the weighing section where the weighing process is performed, and the sealing section where the sealing process is performed, is arranged in a straight line, a return conveying path may be provided downstream of the weighing section (4) to return bags 14 whose weight is smaller than the set range back to the filling section (3) for refilling.

The present invention is useful in various bagging and packaging devices and methods that continuously fill and package items, including rotary bagging and packaging devices.

1. Bag-filling packaging machine 2. Weight checker (weight diagnostic device)
3: discharge conveyor 4: control device 5: weighing device 11: circular rotor 12: clamp arm 13: clamp 14: bag 15: bag supply device 16: bag box 17: printing device 18: suction cup 19: shooter 20: deaeration device 21: sponge body 22: sealing device 23: seal cooling device 30: filling machine 31: filling hopper 32: auger (screw)

Claims (2)

The bagging packaging device includes a rotary bagging packaging machine, a weight checker that checks the weight of the bags filled and packaged by the bagging packaging machine and discharged by the discharge conveyor, and a control device that controls each component of the bagging packaging device.
In a rotary type bag filling packaging machine, a pair of clamp arms are supported on the periphery of a circular rotor, and a clamp is provided at the tip of each clamp arm to clamp both side edges of the bag.
The circular rotor is provided with a bag supply section where empty bags are supplied by a bag supply device, a filling section where bags are filled with powder or granular material or other packaged material by a filling machine, a weighing section where a weighing device such as a load cell is provided and filled bags are weighed while being transferred between bags, an oversized bag discharge section where bags whose weight exceeds a set range are discharged from the conveying path of the circular rotor, a degassing section where air is removed from within the bags, a sealing section where the openings of the bags are sealed, and a cooling and unloading section where the sealed parts of the bags are cooled and the packed bags are unloaded from the conveying path of the circular rotor to the unloading conveyor.
In the filling section, a filling machine is provided adjacent to the circular rotor, and the filling machine fills the bag with the packaged material using a filling auger pulse-controlled by a servo motor.
In the weighing section, the bag filled with the packaged goods is temporarily transferred from the clamp to a load cell, the bag's weight is measured, and the measured value is output to the control device. The weighing result is also fed back to the filling machine by the control device.
If the weight of the packaged item is greater than the set range, the clamp opens and the bag is discharged from the chute in the oversized bag discharge section and sent out of the system.
Bags with a weight smaller than the set range will not have their mouths sealed in the sealing section, and will not be discharged from the cooling and discharging section to the outside of the system. Instead, they will travel again along the conveying path of the rotary bag filling and packaging machine, and after passing through the conveying path without undergoing the bag supplying operation or bag mouth opening operation in the bag supplying section and bag mouth opening section, they will be filled with the missing amount of packaged items in the filling section.
Bags whose weight falls within the set range undergo the degassing operation in the degassing section, the sealing operation in the sealing section, and the cooling and discharging operation in the cooling and discharging section. The bags are then transported to the weight checker via the transport conveyor, where the final weight is checked. The results of the weight checker check are sent to the control device for trend control, and the auger of the filling machine is pulse-controlled.
A bagging packaging device characterized by the above. A bagging and packaging method for a bagging and packaging machine including a rotary bagging and packaging machine, a weight checker that checks the weight of a bag that has been filled and packaged by the bagging and packaging machine and discharged by a discharge conveyor, and a control device that controls each component of the bagging and packaging machine, comprising:
A rotary type bag filling packaging machine includes a bag supply section in which empty bags are supplied by a bag supply device, a filling section in which bags are filled with powder or granular material or other packaged material by a filling machine, a weighing section in which a weighing device such as a load cell is provided and filled bags are weighed while being transferred between bags, an oversized bag discharge section in which bags whose weight exceeds a set range are discharged from the conveying path of the circular rotor, a degassing section in which air is removed from within the bags, a sealing section in which the mouths of the bags are sealed, and a cooling and conveying section in which the sealed portions of the bags are cooled and the packed bags are conveyed from the conveying path to the discharge conveyor.
The control device of the bag filling packaging device controls each component as follows.
Bags with a packaged item weight larger than the set range are discharged from a chute installed in the oversized bag discharge section by opening the clamps of the rotary bag filling and packaging machine, and are sent out of the system.
Bags with a weight smaller than the set range will not have their mouths sealed in the sealing section, and will not be discharged from the cooling and discharging section to the outside of the system. Instead, they will travel again along the conveying path of the rotary bag filling and packaging machine, and after passing through the conveying path without undergoing the bag supplying operation or bag mouth opening operation in the bag supplying section and bag mouth opening section, they will be filled with the missing amount of packaged items in the filling section.
Bags whose weight falls within the set range undergo the degassing operation in the degassing section, the sealing operation in the sealing section, and the cooling and discharging operation in the cooling and discharging section. The bags are then transported to the weight checker via the transport conveyor, where the final weight is checked. The results of the weight checker check are used for trend control, and the auger of the filling machine is pulse-controlled.
A bag packaging method characterized by the above.