JP7695535B2 - filling packaging equipment - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a filling and packaging device that forms a strip-shaped sheet into a bag, fills it with items, and cuts it.

A cutting bag conveying device is known that forms multiple width seals from a long sheet folded in half, fills and seals the bags with a predetermined amount of powder, cuts them at the width seals, and conveys the bags while holding them before and after separation (Patent Document 1). In this device, clippers are attached alternately to a pair of chains that move in parallel in the horizontal direction to grip the bags before and after cutting, and the chains to which the clippers that grip the bags after cutting are attached are accelerated to increase the bag conveying pitch.

Patent No. 3577488

However, the configuration of Patent Document 1 requires repeated acceleration and deceleration of the chain, which is the power unit, and when transferring the cut bags to a downstream device, it becomes difficult to control the timing.

The objective of the present invention is to provide a filling and packaging device that can change the conveying pitch without accelerating or decelerating the power unit.

A filling and packaging apparatus according to a first aspect of the present invention includes horizontal sealing means for horizontally sealing a belt-shaped sheet folded in half at a predetermined interval in the longitudinal direction, filling means for filling the belt-shaped sheet partitioned by the horizontal seals with contents, upper portion sealing means for sealing the upper portion filled with contents to form a bag, cutting means for cutting the horizontal seals to separate the bag into individual bags, and bag conveying means for gripping the cut bags and conveying them downstream, wherein the bag conveying means includes a plurality of swing levers rotatably provided on a traveling body that travels in a circulating manner, cam followers provided on the plurality of swing levers, and a mechanism for engaging with the cam followers to move the cam followers. The device comprises a cam, a support base connected to the multiple oscillating levers, an openable and closable gripper provided on the support base for gripping a bag, and an opening and closing mechanism for opening and closing the gripper, the support base is attached so as to be movably along the running body, and when gripping a bag before being cut, the oscillating lever is positioned so that the cam follower and the cam shorten the distance between the front and rear grippers, and the front and rear grippers each grip two adjacent bags, and after the bag gripped by the front and rear grippers has been cut, the oscillating lever is oscillated so that the cam follower and the cam widens the distance between the front and rear grippers.

The present invention provides a filling and packaging device that can change the conveying pitch without accelerating or decelerating the power unit.

1 is a plan view showing the arrangement of a filling and packaging device according to a first embodiment of the present invention; 11 is a schematic side view showing the arrangement of a strip sheet from a preheating device to a holding and conveying device, and bags that have been cut and have an expanded conveying pitch. FIG. 4 is a vertical cross-sectional view of a structure around a gripper of the holding and conveying device as viewed in the conveying direction. FIG. FIG. 4 is a bottom view of the link mechanism of the gripper. This is a bottom view showing the shape of the cam groove and the state of the link mechanism near the cutting device, and also shows the belt-shaped sheet before cutting and the relative positions of each bag after cutting.

The following describes an embodiment of the present invention with reference to the drawings. Figure 1 is a plan view showing the layout of a filling and packaging device in a first embodiment of the present invention.

In the filling and packaging device 10, the strip-shaped sheet S is folded in half upwards and fed tangentially to a rotating wheel that rotates in a horizontal plane of the filling machine (filling means) 12, and is then passed around vertical sealers (horizontal sealing means) 12A that are placed at regular intervals along the outer periphery of the rotating wheel. In the filling machine 12, the front and back of the folded strip-shaped sheet S are sealed (horizontally sealed) at specified intervals by the vertical sealer 12A, dividing it into bag-shaped compartments, and items are filled into each bag from above.

The strip S filled with the goods is separated from the rotating wheel of the filling machine 12 and sent to the preheating device 16 via rollers 14, where the top opening of the folded strip S is preheated. The preheated strip S is then sent to the top sealer (top sealing means) 18, where the top opening is sealed and the strip S is sealed into a bag shape.

The strip-shaped sheet S, which has been sealed on three sides and contains the items sealed in each bag B, is held by a gripper 22 provided on a holding and conveying device (bag conveying means) 20, and then the horizontal seals are cut by a cutting device (cutting means) 24 to separate each bag B. The conveying pitch of each separated bag B is expanded from P1 to P0 by the holding and conveying device 20 and sent to a downstream device (described later). Note that FIG. 2 is a schematic side view showing the arrangement of the strip-shaped sheet S from the preheating device 16 to the holding and conveying device 20 and the bags B that have been cut and have an expanded conveying pitch.

Figure 3 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the structure around the gripper 22 of the holding and conveying device 20 as seen in the conveying direction, and Figure 4 is a view of the link mechanism of the gripper 22 as seen from below.

As shown in Figures 1 and 3, the holding and conveying device 20 is equipped with a chain (running body) 28 that is looped around a pair of sprockets 26 and circulates in a horizontal plane, and each gripper 22 is attached to the chain 28. The chain 28 is composed of a pair of upper and lower endless chains. The upper and lower chains 28A, 28B are respectively held by a pair of upper and lower guides 32A, 32B that are held by a vertical frame 30A, and run along an elliptical orbit.

The upper and lower chains 28A, 28B are attached to a block member 34, and a swing lever 36 is attached to the upper end of the block member 34 so that it can rotate freely. The swing lever 36 is bent in a V-shape, and a cam follower 36A is attached to the end located on the vertical frame 30A side, and one end of a link plate 38 is attached to the other end via a pivot 36B. The cam follower 36A is engaged with a cam groove 40A of a pitch change cam 40 laid on the underside of the base side of the upper frame 30B that extends outward from the upper end of the vertical frame 30A, and travels within the cam groove 40A as the chain 28 travels. The swing lever 36 is supported by a vertical swing shaft 36C at a bent part that is approximately at the center, and is rotated around the swing shaft 36C.

Meanwhile, the link plate 38 connected to the swing lever 36 via the pivot 36B is positioned approximately along the track of the chain 28, and the end opposite the pivot 36B is journalled to a support base 42 that supports the gripper 22 via a pivot 38A. The support base 42 is attached to a slider 46 that engages with a rail 44 laid parallel to the track of the chain 28 on the underside of the tip side of the upper frame 30B. The gripper 22 consists of a fixed gripper piece 22A fixed to the support base 42, and a movable gripper piece 22B journalled to be freely swingable around an axis 22C relative to the fixed gripper piece 22A.

The fixed gripper piece 22A extends vertically downward from the support base 42, and the movable gripper piece 22B is supported by the fixed gripper piece 22A at approximately half the height of the fixed gripper piece 22A by a shaft 22C along the gripper transport direction (chain track). The base side of the movable gripper piece 22B extends inward from the position where the shaft 22C is provided toward the chain 28, and a cam follower 22D is provided at its tip. The cam follower 22D engages with the cam surface of the opening/closing cam 48 provided in the opening sections A1 and A2 that open the movable gripper piece 22B along the rail 44 (see Figure 1). The opening/closing cam 48 is supported by the lower frame 30C that extends horizontally outward from the lower end of the vertical frame 30A.

The open section A1 is provided at a position where the gripper 22 grips the strip sheet, and is provided over a certain section from when the gripper 22 starts to run parallel to the strip sheet S from a position slightly upstream. The open section A2 is provided corresponding to a position where the gripper 22 releases the bag B gripped by the gripper 22 and transfers it to a downstream processing device or collection box. The position where the bag B is transferred to a downstream processing device or collection box may be provided in the section A3 or section A4 shown by the dashed line, and a movable opening/closing cam 48 that can be raised and lowered may be provided in multiple sections to make it possible to switch the transfer position.

When the cam follower 22D is pushed downward by the opening/closing cam 48, the movable gripper piece 22B is rotated around the shaft 22C, and its tip separates from the fixed gripper piece 22A and is lifted outward, opening the gripper 22. In addition, the movable gripper piece 22B is biased in the direction of closing the gripper 22 by a biasing member (not shown), and when it is not pressed against the cam surface of the opening/closing cam 48, the cam follower 22D also rises and the gripper 22 is in a closed state.

On the other hand, the pitch change cam 40 changes the pitch between the grippers 22 through the link mechanism. As shown in FIG. 4, when the cam follower 36A is moved toward the gripper 22 side (outside) by the pitch change cam 40, the swing lever 36 is rotated counterclockwise around the swing shaft 36C in FIG. 4, for example, to the position shown by the broken line. As a result, the link plate 38 connected to the other end of the swing lever 36 is moved relatively in the running direction of the cam follower 36A, and the support base 42 supporting the gripper 22 is advanced along the rail 44. Conversely, when the cam follower 36A is returned to the opposite side (inside) of the gripper 22 by the pitch change cam 40, the swing lever 36 is rotated clockwise around the swing shaft 36C, and the link plate 38 is moved relatively in the opposite direction to the running direction of the cam follower 36A. As a result, the support base 42 supporting the gripper 22 is retreated along the rail 44.

Next, referring to Figure 5, the operation of changing the conveying pitch of the gripper 22 (i.e., bag B) using the above-mentioned pitch change cam 40 and a link mechanism including the cam follower 36A, swing lever 36, and link plate 38 will be described. Figure 5 shows the shape of the cam groove 40A and the state of the link mechanism seen from below near the cutting device 24, and also shows the positional relationship of the strip sheet S before cutting and each bag B after cutting. Note that in Figure 5, the position of each pivot 38A corresponds to the position of the gripper 22.

The cam groove 40A of the pitch change cam 40 is located on the inside except near the cutting position A of the strip sheet S by the cutting device 24, and each gripper 22 is retracted, with the transport pitch between the grippers 22 maintained at P0. On the other hand, the bag B of the strip sheet S before cutting is formed with a pitch P1 (<P0). Therefore, the cam groove 40A draws a trajectory that protrudes outward in an arch shape in the section from just before the cutting position A to just after the cutting position A has passed, and is returned to the original inside position after the cutting position A has passed.

When the cam follower 36A of the leading gripper 22 is positioned outside the cam follower 36A of the rear gripper 22, the distance between the grippers 22 (transport pitch) is increased from the transport pitch P0. On the other hand, when the cam follower 36A of the leading gripper 22 is positioned inside the cam follower 36A of the rear gripper 22, the distance between the grippers 22 (transport pitch) is decreased from the transport pitch P0.

As shown in FIG. 5, the cam groove 40A, which has been maintained at the inner position and maintains the conveying pitch P0 of the gripper 22, extends from the inside to the outside just before the cutting position A. In this section, the conveying pitch of the front and rear grippers 22 is enlarged from P0. After that, the cam groove 40A is returned from the outside to the inside in the vicinity of the front and rear of the cutting position A. In this section, the conveying pitch of the front and rear grippers 22 is reduced to the pitch P1 of the bag B of the strip-shaped sheet S before cutting. In addition, each gripper 22 is closed by the gripper opening and closing mechanism consisting of the cam follower 22D and the opening and closing cam 48 shown in FIG. 3 just before the cutting position A in the section where the cam groove 40A is returned from the outside to the inside, and each bag B of the strip-shaped sheet S before cutting is gripped by the gripper 22 in sequence. That is, the front and rear bags B at the cutting position A are each gripped by the gripper 22 with the conveying pitch P1.

When the cam groove 40A passes the cutting position A and returns to its original inside position, the cam groove 40A is maintained in the inside position, and the conveying pitch of the front and rear grippers 22 is returned to P0 again. Each gripper 22 conveys the cut bag B downstream while still holding it, and is opened by the gripper opening and closing mechanism at a predetermined position in the opening and closing section A2, and the bag B is handed over to the downstream device.

As described above, the filling and packaging device of this embodiment makes it possible to change the gripper's conveying pitch without accelerating or decelerating the chain, which is the power unit for moving the gripper. This allows the cut items (bags) separated from the strip sheet to be delivered to the downstream device at a fixed timing.

10 Filling and packaging device 12 Filling machine (filling means)
12A Vertical sealer (horizontal sealing means)
18 Top sealer (upper sealing means)
20 Holding and conveying device (bag conveying means)
22 Gripper 24 Cutting device (cutting means)
36 Swing lever 42 Support base A Cutting position B Bag P0, P1 Conveying pitch S Strip-shaped sheet

Claims (1)

a transverse sealing means for transversely sealing the folded strip-shaped sheet at a predetermined interval in the longitudinal direction;
A filling means for filling the contents into the belt-shaped sheet partitioned by the horizontal seal;
an upper sealing means for sealing the upper part filled with the contents to form a bag;
A cutting means for cutting the transverse seal portion to separate the bag into individual bags;
a bag conveying means for gripping the cut bag and conveying it downstream,
The bag conveying means is
A plurality of swing levers rotatably provided on the traveling body that travels in a circular motion;
Cam followers provided on the plurality of swing levers;
a cam that engages with the cam follower to move the cam follower;
a support base connected to the plurality of rocking levers;
a gripper provided on the support base and adapted to grip a bag;
an opening and closing mechanism for opening and closing the gripper ,
The support base is attached so as to be movable along the running body,
When gripping a bag before being cut, the swing lever is positioned so that the distance between the front and rear grippers is reduced by the cam follower and the cam , and the front and rear grippers each grip two adjacent bags,
A filling and packaging device characterized in that after bags held by the front and rear grippers have been cut, the swing lever is swung by the cam follower and the cam so as to widen the gap between the front and rear grippers .

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