JP7793191B2 - Bag-filled package, horizontal bag-making and filling machine, and method of manufacturing bag-filled package - Google Patents

Description

Article 30, paragraph 2 of the Patent Act applies. Exhibition date: February 15th to February 18th, 2022. Exhibition name: Japan Packaging Industry Exhibition "JAPAN PACK 2022" Venue: Tokyo Big Sight West and South Exhibition Halls, 3-11-1 Ariake, Koto-ku, Tokyo

The present invention relates to a bag package in which food is contained in a bag, a horizontal bag form-fill-seal machine for producing the bag package , and a method for producing the bag package .

The bagged food packages displayed and sold at convenience stores and other locations come in a wide variety of styles, including those with packaging material that has a different print on the top (top) for each product, those with the product name already printed on them, and those with a label affixed to the bag with the product name and other information printed on it. Furthermore, the Food Labeling Act requires that the product name, ingredients, shelf life, and other information that differs by variety, such as nutritional information and barcodes, be displayed, and this information is met by printing it on the bottom of the package or by attaching a label with the information printed on it.

Bread and other foods often come in bagged packaging, often in different varieties but the same bag size. Such packaging is produced in small, high-mix production runs, where printed packaging materials are changed for each product type, or labels printed with information specific to the product type are affixed. Packaging produced in small, high-mix production runs like this not only requires the time and effort of changing printed packaging materials each time a product type is changed, but also increases packaging costs due to the need to prepare a wide variety of printed packaging materials. Furthermore, products sold at convenience stores are often improved to address sluggish sales or other diversifying consumer needs. In reality, such product improvements are frequent, occurring several times a year. Such product improvements often involve changes to the product name, ingredients, and other elements. As a result, the previously used printed packaging material becomes unusable, and the remaining packaging material is disposed of, resulting in packaging waste, increased packaging running costs, and environmental impacts. Additionally, it takes a certain amount of time from ordering packaging material for a new product to receiving it from the manufacturer, making it difficult to switch to improved products in a timely manner. Patent Document 1 proposes a device for attaching labels with printed information about each product type to packaging material drawn from a supply source before it is fed to the bag making machine in a horizontal form-fill-seal machine. However, this requires a label separate from the packaging material, and attaching a label made of a different material to the packaging material can detract from the product's appearance.

To address the above-mentioned issues, a packaging device has been proposed that uses an inkjet printer or similar to print letters, pictures, etc. on packaging material before it is fed to the bag making and filling machine by a horizontal bag making and filling machine, and then continuously packages food products in the printed packaging material (see, for example, Patent Document 2).

Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 10-101005 Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-25128

The packaging device in Patent Document 2 solves the problems associated with using labels, but it makes no proposals for reducing the amount of ink consumed by inkjet printers without compromising the appearance of the packaged product, nor for printing that takes into account the visibility of the food contained in the packaged product.

To provide a bag-filled package that does not require changing printed packaging materials or attaching labels for each product type, reduces packaging material loss and running costs, is environmentally friendly, and has a good appearance; a horizontal bag-form-fill machine for manufacturing the bag-filled package ; and a method for manufacturing the bag-filled package .

The invention according to the first aspect of the present application is
A bag-filled package in which food (10) is contained in a bag (14) obtained by a bag-making and filling machine,
Horizontal seals (16) are formed at both ends of the bag (14) at the front and rear of the food (10) contained therein, and vertical seals (18) are formed intersecting the horizontal seals (16),
Product name information (28) that can identify the product name is displayed in a first print area (24) on one side (14a) of the bag package (12, 66) between the horizontal seals (16, 16) formed at the bag end, and quality information including at least the names of ingredients of the food (10) based on the labeling standards stipulated by the Food Labeling Act is displayed in a second print area (26) that continues from the first print area (24) and is on the bottom (14c) of the bag package (12, 66).
The product name information (28) and quality information are printed in the first print area (24) and the second print area (26) by an inkjet printer (20),
the first print area (24) and the second print area (26) are areas that do not reach the horizontal seal portion (16) and the vertical seal portion (18),
The vertical seal portion (18) is characterized by being located on the other side portion (14b) opposite to the one side portion (14a) .
According to the invention of this aspect , there is no need to prepare and replace packaging materials pre-printed for each product type or to affix labels for each product type each time a product type is changed, thereby reducing packaging waste and packaging running costs. Since product name information is printed on the side of the bag package that is handled as a commodity, and various information stipulated by the Food Labeling Act is printed on the bottom, the food contained in the bag printed on the transparent film is easy to see, and the bag package looks good when labeled. Furthermore, since the first and second print areas are provided continuously across the side and bottom of the bag package, corresponding information can be printed in both print areas within the effective print width that can be accommodated by a single inkjet printer. This eliminates the need to install multiple inkjet printers side by side in the film width direction, and also reduces the equipment costs required to obtain printed bag packages.
Furthermore, because there is no vertical seal formed at the bottom of the bagged package, even if the area for displaying quality information, including the names of ingredients and other information, printed as the second print area is enlarged, the printed content will not be obscured by the vertical seal, and a wide display area can be secured without restricting the information displayed in the second print area.

The invention according to the second aspect of the present application is
a horizontal form-fill-seal machine for producing bag-filled packages (12, 66) in which food products (10) are packed in bags by supplying food products (10) at predetermined intervals to a tubular packaging material (42a) formed by overlapping both longitudinal edge portions of a strip-shaped packaging material (42) drawn from a supply source (38), forming vertical seals (18) along the overlapping edge portions of the tubular packaging material (42a) in the conveying direction of the strip-shaped packaging material (42), and forming horizontal seals (16) at the front and rear of the food products (10) supplied to the tubular packaging material (42a) and intersecting the vertical seals (18),
a mark sensor for detecting a registration mark attached to the strip packaging material (42) along a withdrawal path of the strip packaging material (42);
and an inkjet printer (20) that prints various information within an effective print width in both print areas (24, 26) of a first print area (24) facing one side (14a) of the bag-filled package (12, 66) between the horizontal seal areas (16) based on a detection signal of the registration mark detected by the mark sensor, the print areas (24, 26 being preset to be positions away from the formation positions of the vertical seal area (18) and the horizontal seal area (16) for each package length of the transported strip-shaped packaging material (42) along a drawing path from a supply source (38) of the strip-shaped packaging material (42), and the second print area (26) adjacent to the first print area (24) and facing the bottom (14c) of the bag-filled package (12, 66),
the inkjet printer (20) is configured to be positioned at a predetermined position in the width direction of the strip packaging material (42) so as to be able to print on the print areas (24, 26) for each packaging type;
The control unit is configured to read, for each packaging variety, product name information (28) capable of identifying the product name stored as display information to be displayed in the first print area (24), and data relating to quality information including at least the names of ingredients of the food (10) based on the labeling standards established by the Food (10) Labeling Act stored as display information to be displayed in the second print area (26), and to print the display information together on the first print area (24) and the second print area (26) of the strip-shaped packaging material (42) by the inkjet printer (20) .

The invention according to the third aspect of the present application is
A method for producing a bagged package (12, 66) in which food (10) is packed into a bag by supplying food (10) at predetermined intervals to a tubular packaging material (42a) formed by overlapping both longitudinal edge portions of a strip-shaped packaging material (42) drawn from a supply source (38), forming vertical seals (18) along the overlapping edge portions of the tubular packaging material (42a) in the conveying direction of the strip-shaped packaging material (42), and forming horizontal seals (16) at the front and rear of the food (10) supplied to the tubular packaging material (42a) and intersecting the vertical seals (18),
An inkjet printer (20) provided on the withdrawal path of the strip-shaped packaging material (42) is positioned at a predetermined position in the width direction of the strip-shaped packaging material (42) so that various information can be printed within an effective print width in both print areas: a first print area (24) facing one side (14a) of the bag-filled package (12, 66) between the horizontal seal areas (16) so as to be preset as print areas that are positioned away from the formation positions of the vertical seal area (18) and the horizontal seal area (16) for each package length of the transported strip-shaped packaging material (42); and a second print area (26) facing the bottom (14c) of the bag-filled package (12, 66) adjacent to and continuing from the first print area (24).
The printer is characterized in that, for each packaging variety, product name information (28) capable of identifying the product name stored as display information to be displayed in the first print area (24) and data relating to quality information including at least the names of ingredients of the food (10) based on the labeling standards set forth in the Food (10) Labeling Act stored as display information to be displayed in the second print area (26) are read out, and the product name information (28) in the first print area (24) and the quality information in the second print area (26) are printed together on the strip-shaped packaging material (42) by the inkjet printer (20) .

According to the second and third aspects of the invention, there is no need to change to dedicated packaging materials or labels for each product type each time a package type is changed, which reduces packaging waste and packaging running costs, and allows for the production of high-quality bagged packages without compromising the product's appearance. Product name information is printed as a first print area on the side of the bagged package, which is handled as a product, and various information required by the Food Labeling Act is printed as a second print area on the bottom of the bagged package. This makes it easy to see the food contained in the bag printed on the transparent film, and allows for the production of bagged packages that look good when labeled. Furthermore, because the first and second print areas are adjacent to each other and extend across the side and bottom of the bagged package, it is possible to print the corresponding information in both print areas within the effective print width that can be accommodated by a single inkjet printer, eliminating the need to install multiple inkjet printers side-by-side in the film width direction and reducing the equipment costs required to produce printed bagged packages.
Furthermore, there is no need to change to dedicated packaging materials or labels for each type of packaging every time the type of packaging is changed, which reduces packaging material waste and running costs, and also makes it possible to obtain a good bagged package without compromising the appearance of the product.

According to the present invention, there is no need to change packaging materials or attach labels for each product type each time the product type is changed, which reduces packaging material waste and packaging running costs. In addition, it is possible to provide a bag-filled package that does not detract from the appearance of packages using conventional printed film, as well as a horizontal bag-form-fill machine and a method for manufacturing a bag-filled package that can satisfactorily produce such a bag-filled package .

FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view of the bag-filled package as viewed from below. FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view of the bag-filled package as viewed from above. FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a bag-filled package. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a horizontal bag making and filling machine. FIG. 10 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a bag-filled package according to another embodiment.

Next, preferred embodiments of the bag packaging and horizontal form-fill-seal machine according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

As shown in Figures 1 to 3, the bag-filled package of the embodiment is a package 12 in which food 10 is packaged in film packaging material by a horizontal form-fill-seal machine (form-fill-seal machine) and handled as a commodity. The bag 14 containing the food 10 has horizontal seals 16 formed on both sides of the food 10, and a vertical seal 18 formed on the bottom side that intersects with the horizontal seals 16. Furthermore, on the exterior surface of the bag 14, various types of information are continuously printed by an inkjet printer 20 at positions away from the horizontal seals 16 and vertical seals 18 while the strip of film 42 is being transported by the form-fill-seal machine. Furthermore, at both ends of the bag where the horizontal seals 16 of the package 12 are formed, gussets 22 are formed by pushing the film on both side edges 14a, 14b of the bag 14 inward. Examples of food 10 include hamburgers, hot dogs, and other cooked breads, which are made by sandwiching ingredients such as sausage or ham inside a slit in the side of a roll or bread roll, as well as various sweet breads such as bean paste buns, cream buns, melon buns, and other types of food, and various other foods are packaged or stored in the bag.

As shown in Figures 1 to 3, the bag 14 has a predetermined range from one side 14a of the package 12 in the width direction (the side facing the side of the food 10 between the horizontal seals 16, 16) to the bottom 14c, where various display information is printed. Areas 24, 26 are printed with a solid white or other light background color. In the first print area 24 set on one side 14a of the bag 14, product name information 28 is printed in bold, stylized letters, product logos, or other prominent display information that allows the product name of the contained food 10 and other contents to be identified at a glance. The beginning and end of the first print area 24 between the horizontal seals 16, 16 do not reach the gusset 22, and is positioned so that the tubular film 42a is not pushed in by the gusset 22, reducing the visibility of the product name information 28. In addition, in a second print area 26 that extends from the first print area 24 around to the bottom 14c of the bag 14, product information 30 is printed, such as quality information of the contained food 10, such as the names of ingredients and content volume, package information including the name of the food 10, expiration date, and manufacturer name in addition to the quality information, and other product information such as nutritional information and barcodes that vary for each product type, based on the labeling standards stipulated by the Food Labeling Act (Food Labeling Act). In this embodiment, the vertical seal 18 formed on the bottom 14c of the package 12 is biased toward the other side 14b, opposite the side 14a where the first print area 24 is provided, from the center in the width direction, thereby ensuring a wide second print area 26 on the bottom 14c. In this embodiment, price information 32 indicating the selling price is printed in the first print area 24 together with product name information 28. The first print area 24 and second print area 26 are set as areas that do not extend beyond the horizontal seals 16, 16 or the vertical seal 18, so that the printed content displayed in these areas 24, 26 will not be obscured by the horizontal seals 16, 16 or the vertical seal 18. The product name information 28 and product information 30 are both printed in the first print area 24 and second print area 26 by the inkjet printer 20. In this example, the background color of the printing areas 24, 26 is pre-printed in white within the areas enclosed by the dashed lines in the figure.

As shown in FIG. 2 , the bag 14 includes a non-printed area 34 between at least the first printed area 24 and the top surface 14d of the bag 14 facing above the food 10, allowing the food 10 inside the bag 14 to be seen when viewed diagonally from above while the package 12 is displayed for sale. The non-printed area 34 is a transparent area not printed with any display information, allowing the food 10 inside to be seen through the non-printed area 34. In this embodiment, the non-printed area 34 is a portion of the area between the upper limit of the first printed area 24 and the top of one side portion 14a that wraps around to the top surface 14d. For example, if the food 10 inside is a cooked bread with slits made in the side of the bread to hold ingredients, it is preferable to provide the non-printed area 34 between the top surface 14d and the top surface 14d so that the ingredients can be seen at least in the sandwiched area. Additionally, common display information (display information) 36a or common display information (display information) 36b, such as a design or other text information common to multiple types of products or a manufacturer's logo, may be pre-printed on a transparent film (packaging material) on the outer surface of the bag 14 to an extent that does not interfere with the visibility of the food 10 inside the bag from the outside. In the illustrated example, first common display information 36a is printed on the top surface 14d at a position offset toward the other side portion 14b from the center in the width direction, extending over substantially the entire length of the top surface 14d in the front-to-back direction, with a predetermined width, and second common display information 36b is printed in an area smaller than the first common display information 36a at a position offset toward one of the horizontal seal portions 16 from the center in the front-to-back direction.

For ease of explanation, the illustrations show the sides 14a, 14b, bottom 14c, and top 14d of the packaging body 12 as flat surfaces, but the actual product has irregular bumps and grooves. Also, for ease of explanation, the boundaries between the sides 14a, 14b and the bottom 14c, and between the sides 14a, 14b and the top 14d, are shown as straight corners in the illustrations, but this is not always the case in the actual product, and there may be no clear boundaries. Note that the boundaries between the sides 14a, 14b and the bottom 14c or top 14d may not be clear on the actual product, but when the package 12 is displayed for sale, the back side of the package (product) 12 is the bottom 14c, and the front side is the top 14d and sides 14a, 14b. Furthermore, using the food 10 contained in the bag 14 as a reference, the portion below the food 10 can be roughly defined as the bottom 14c, the portions to the sides of the food 10 as the sides 14a, 14b, and the portion above the food 10 as the top 14d.

As shown in Figure 4, the horizontal form-fill-seal machine includes a bag-making means 44 that forms a tubular film (tubular packaging material) 42a by folding both longitudinal edges of a strip of film (strip-shaped packaging material) 42 pulled out by a pull-out means 40 from a raw material roll (supply source) 38, a supply conveyor 46 that supplies food products 10 toward the tubular film 42a at predetermined intervals, a vertical sealing means 48 that forms a vertical seal 18 in the film transport direction at the folded portion of the folded tubular film 42a, a film transport means 50 that clamps the folded portion of the tubular film 42a and transports the tubular film 42a toward the vertical sealing means 48, and a horizontal sealing means 52 that clamps the tubular film 42a at the front and rear of the food products 10 supplied into the tubular film 42a at predetermined intervals, forming horizontal seals 16 that intersect with the vertical seals 18 and cut the tubular film 42a. The strip film 42 formed into a cylindrical shape by the bag-making means 44 is guided so that both longitudinal edge portions thereof are overlapped downward in a palm-like manner, forming the vertical seal portion 18. With the vertical seal portion 18 folded over the bottom surface of the tubular film 42a, the horizontal seal means 52 clamps the tubular film 42a, horizontally sealing and cutting the tubular film 42a, forming horizontal seal portions 16 that intersect with the vertical seal portion 18 before and after sandwiching the food 10. The bag-making means 44 and vertical seal means 48 are configured so that the vertical seal portion 18 clamps the overlapped portion of the palm-like overlapped tubular film 42a at a position biased toward one side (the side that will become the other side 14b of the package 12) from the center in the width direction on the bottom side of the tubular film 42a, forming the vertical seal portion 18.

As shown in Figure 4, the horizontal sealing means 52 includes a pair of sealing bodies 54a, 54b facing each other across the transport path of the tubular film 42a. The pair of sealing bodies 54a, 54b move in the transport direction from an initial position where they are spaced apart across the transport path of the tubular film 42a, approaching each other, then change direction of movement in the transport direction and approach each other again to clamp the tubular film 42a. In this clamped state, they move horizontally downstream a predetermined distance, then move away from each other and move downstream before returning upstream to their initial position. This is a so-called box-motion sealing means. One of the sealing bodies 54a is equipped with a knife that cuts the tubular film 42a when it is clamped between the pair of sealing bodies 54a, 54b. The horizontal sealing means 52 is also provided with gusset forming means 56 that, in conjunction with the movement of the sealing bodies 54a, 54b toward and away from each other, pushes the side portions 14a, 14b inward outside the first print area 24 of the tubular film 42a at positions before and after the sealing bodies 54a, 54b to form a gusset 22.

Upstream and downstream of the position where the tubular film 42a is clamped by the sealing bodies 54a, 54b, are provided an inlet conveyor 58 and an outlet conveyor 60, each consisting of a conveying belt, to support the food 10 supplied to the tubular film 42a from below and deliver it to a position beyond the sealing bodies 54a, 54b in conjunction with the act of clamping the tubular film 42a between the sealing bodies 54a, 54b. The opposing ends downstream of the inlet conveyor 58 and upstream of the outlet conveyor 60 move away from each other when the pair of sealing bodies 54a, 54b approach each other, allowing the lower sealing body 54b to pass as it rises, and move toward each other when the pair of sealing bodies 54a, 54b move away from each other, allowing the food 10 in the tubular film to be delivered smoothly between the conveyors 58, 60. The resulting package 12, which has been sealed and cut by the horizontal sealing means 52, is then placed on the discharge conveyor 60 and transported away.

As shown in FIG. 4, an inkjet printer 20 is disposed along the film strip 42's withdrawal path, from whence it is guided by multiple guide rollers until it is formed into a cylindrical shape by the bag-making means 44. As the film strip 42 is conveyed, the inkjet printer 20 moves to a predetermined position across the width of the film strip 42, corresponding to the predefined print areas 24, 26, which are offset from the vertical seal 18 and horizontal seals 16, 16 for each type of packaging. The inkjet printer 20 prints various display information 28, 30, 32 at predetermined positions on the film strip 42 corresponding to the first print area 24 and second print area 26 of the bag 14. A mark sensor is disposed along the film strip 42 withdrawal path to detect registration marks affixed to the film. The registration mark detection signal from the mark sensor and pulses transmitted from an encoder disposed in the film pull-out means 40 enable the control unit of the packaging machine to determine the position of the film strip 42 for one package conveyed in one packaging cycle. This allows the feed position of the strip film 42 to be determined relative to the registration mark position, and allows the inkjet printer 20 to print various display information 28, 30, 32 corresponding to the print areas 24, 26 (pre-set print areas 24, 26 for each package length of the strip film 42) along the transport length of the strip film 42. The ink used in the inkjet printer 20 is preferably a water-based ink, which is low-odor, highly safe, and suitable for food packaging. Water-based ink is an ink in which a pigment or dye colorant is dissolved in a solvent primarily composed of water. The colorant is fixed and printed as the water evaporates from the ink sprayed onto the film.

The control unit of the packaging machine is configured to be able to register and store the display information 28, 30, 32 to be printed in the first print area 24 and the second print area 26 for each variety during the variety setting operation. The data related to the display information 28, 30, 32 stored for each variety of food 10 is read out during the variety switching operation, and the inkjet printer 20 is configured to print, on the transported strip film 42, product name information 28 that can identify the product name in the first print area 24, and product information 30 based on the labeling standards set forth in the Food Labeling Act, such as the names of the ingredients and content volume of the contained food 10, package information including the name of the food 10, expiration date, manufacturer name, etc. in addition to the quality information, and other variety information that varies for each variety, such as nutritional information and barcodes, in the second print area 26. Furthermore, the display information data can be changed by, for example, reading out product name information 28, product information 30, and price information 32 all at once or individually, and changing each piece of information 28, 30, and 32 individually, or by reading out and changing the corresponding information 28, 32 or information 30 for each print area 24, 26 separately.

As shown in Figure 4, a drying device 62 for heating and drying ink at printed portions on the film strip 42 is provided in the film feed path downstream of the inkjet printer 20. The drying device 62 comprises a hot air generator 61, consisting of a fan 61a that blows hot air toward the printed surface of the film strip 42 and a sheathed heater 61b, and a heater plate 63 that heats the film strip 42 from behind the printed surface on the opposite side of the film strip 42 from the hot air generator 61. Note that various heaters, such as a ceramic heater, can be used for the hot air generator 61 instead of the sheathed heater 61b. The film strip 42 passing through the drying device 62 is supported and guided by a pair of rollers 64a, 64b, spaced apart in the width direction at a position off the printed portion of the film strip 42, and guide rollers 64, 64, spaced apart upstream and downstream of the drying device 62 in the film feed direction. A guide member 65 for stretching and guiding the strip film 42 so that it expands in an arc between guide rollers 64, 64 is disposed in combination with the heater plate 63, and the strip film 42 expanding in an arc and passing through the drying means 62 is configured so that its back surface and printed surface are heated and dried by the drying means 62.

Next, we will explain the operation of producing bag-filled packages using the packaging machine of this embodiment. In the packaging machine, as shown in Figure 4, a strip of film 42 drawn from a raw roll 38 is formed into a tubular shape by a bag-making means 44. Food items 10 supplied by a supply conveyor 46 are placed into the tubular film 42a at predetermined intervals. As the food items 10 contained in the tubular film 42a are transported downstream, the longitudinal edges of the strip of film 42 are overlapped, and a vertical seal 18 is formed at the overlapping portion by a vertical sealing means 48. The vertical seal 18 is continuously formed along the bottom of the food items 10 in the transport direction, at a position offset toward one side from the center in the width direction. Furthermore, the inkjet printer 20 prints product name information 28 and price information 32 on the strip of film 42 continuously pulled out from the original roll 38 in a position corresponding to the first print area 24 of the package 12, and also prints product information 30 in a position corresponding to the second print area 26 adjacent to and continuing from the first print area 24. In other words, the product name information 28, price information 32, and product information 30 are all printed on the strip of film 42 in positions corresponding to the first print area 24 and second print area 26 of the package 12.

The tubular film 42a with the vertical seal 18 formed is sandwiched between sealing bodies 54a, 54b of the horizontal sealing means 52 at front and rear positions within the tubular film 42a that sandwich the food product 10 downstream of the film, and is horizontally sealed and cut in a direction intersecting the conveyance direction of the tubular film 42a. This forms horizontal seals 16 at the front and rear ends of the bag 14, intersecting with the vertical seal 18. Furthermore, when forming the horizontal seals 16, the film on both sides of the width of the tubular film 42a, outside the first print area 24, is pushed inward by the gusset forming means 56. In this state, the film is sandwiched between sealing bodies 54a, 54b and horizontally sealed. In this manner, the packaging body 12 of this embodiment can be efficiently manufactured using a horizontal form-fill-seal machine.

In the packaging body 12 of the embodiment, product name information 28, price information 32, and product information 30 are printed by an inkjet printer 20 in a first print area 24 on one side 14a and a second print area 26 on the bottom 14c of the bag 14 containing the product. That is, the product name information 28 and price information 32 are printed on one side 14a of the packaging body 12, and product information 30, consisting of various information stipulated by the Food Labeling Act, is printed on the bottom 14c. Therefore, the printed information 28, 32, and 30 do not impede visibility of the enclosed food 10 from outside the bag, allowing the condition of the food 10 inside the bag to be confirmed. Furthermore, the packaging body 12 has a better appearance than a form in which information is displayed by attaching a label.

In the embodiment, the packaging 12 has various information 28, 32, and 30 printed directly onto the strip film 42 as it is conveyed by the inkjet printer 20 installed in the horizontal form-fill-seal machine. This eliminates the need to store film or labels with different designs or product names printed for each product type. Instead, the inkjet printer 20 stores the information for each product type, and the product name information 28, price information 32, and product information 30 for each product type can be read and printed by switching the product type on the packaging machine. This eliminates the need to secure multiple types of printed film and labels to accommodate a wide variety of products, and the time and effort required to change printed film or labels when switching between products, thereby improving the efficiency of manufacturing the packaging 12. Furthermore, because different printed film and labels are not used for each product type, packaging waste and running costs are reduced, resulting in resource-saving and environmentally friendly packaging. Furthermore, because the first and second print areas 24, 26 are areas that extend from one side 14a of the package 12 to the bottom 14c, it is possible to print the necessary print information 28, 32, 30 in both print areas 24, 26 using a single inkjet printer 20, thereby reducing the equipment costs required to obtain such a package 12.

The packaging body 12 of the embodiment includes a non-printed area 34 extending from the upper edge of the first printed area 24 to a portion of the top surface 14d of the bag 14, allowing the food 10 inside the bag to be viewed. This allows the surface condition of the food 10 to be confirmed from outside the bag, preventing complaints from customers that the food is not what they expected after opening the bag. Furthermore, the first printed area 24 and the second printed area 26 are located outside the horizontal seal 16 and the vertical seal 18, respectively, so the visibility of the information 28, 32, and 30 printed in the two printed areas 24 and 26 is not reduced. Furthermore, the vertical seal 18 is positioned toward the other side 14b of the bottom 14c, opposite the side 14a where the first printed area 24 is located. This allows a larger area of the bottom 14c to be used as the second printed area 26, allowing for a greater amount of product information 30 to be printed. Furthermore, the gusset 22 helps the package 12 retain its shape, improving its appearance when displayed for sale. Moreover, because the first print area 24 is located outside the gusset 22, the visibility of the product name information 28 printed in the first print area 24 is not reduced by the gusset 22.

In the packaging body 12 of the embodiment, the bags 14 are formed from film printed with common display information 36a, 36b that is common to multiple product types. This means that product types can be changed without having to replace the film, further reducing packaging waste and running costs. Furthermore, because the common display information 36a, 36b does not need to be printed using the inkjet printer 20, ink usage can be reduced, and the running costs of the inkjet printer 20 can also be reduced.

The packaging machine of the embodiment can efficiently produce packages 12 that achieve the various effects described above. Furthermore, product type changes can be accommodated by changing the print information data of the inkjet printer 20, eliminating the need for cumbersome tasks such as changing printed film and labels, thereby improving work efficiency.

The inkjet printer 20 uses water-based ink to print various display information directly onto the film strip 42. This eliminates the need for thermal transfer ribbons and labels, compared to a configuration in which labels with information printed on them using a thermal transfer method are attached to the film strip 42. This not only reduces packaging costs, but also contributes to reducing environmental impacts such as the disposal of used thermal transfer ribbons. Furthermore, the film strip 42 on which various display information is printed is dried using the drying means 62. This prevents the ink from fading or disappearing during film transport, even when various display information is printed directly onto the film strip 42. This allows for the production of high-quality packages 12 without compromising the printed information, even under high-capacity packaging conditions. Furthermore, the drying means 62 stretches and guides the film strip 42 so that it expands in an arc, heating it with radiant heat from below and drying it with warm air from above. This effectively dries the display information while applying appropriate tension to the film strip 42.

(Another Example)
FIG. 5 shows another embodiment of the bag-filled package. Only the parts that differ from the above-described embodiment will be explained, and the same reference numerals will be used to denote the same parts.

In another embodiment of the packaging body 66, the vertical seal portion 18 is formed on the other side 14b of the packaging body 66, opposite the one side 14a where the first print area 24 is provided. In this embodiment of the packaging body 66, the other side 14b, which is the side of the food 10 fed at predetermined intervals into a tubular film 42a obtained by forming a strip film 42 into a tubular shape, is provided with a vertical seal means 48, which includes a sealing roller that sandwiches and conveys the overlapped edge portion, which is folded in a folded shape at the center of the height of the tubular film 42a, on one side of the conveyance path of the tubular film 42a. The tubular film 42a is sandwiched by the vertical seal means 48 as it is conveyed downstream, and the vertical seal portion 18 extending laterally is folded downward to form the horizontal seal portion 16. Furthermore, in addition to the effects achieved with the packaging 12 of the embodiment, the packaging 66 of this alternative embodiment allows the second print area 26 to be set over a larger area on the bottom 14c of the packaging 66, thereby increasing the amount of product information 30 that can be printed.

(Example of change)
The present invention is not limited to the configurations of the examples and other examples, and can be modified as follows, for example. Furthermore, the configurations described in the examples and the like are not limited to the following modifications, and various embodiments can be adopted within the scope of the gist of the present invention.
(1) The product name information 28 may be a symbol or other design that characterizes the product name, as long as it is in a form that allows the product name to be identified.
(2) The price information 32 indicating the selling price is preferably printed in the first print area 24, but may be printed in the second print area 26.
(3) The information printed in the second print area 26 need only be quality information including the names of ingredients and content volume of the contained food 10 based on at least the labeling standards set forth in the Food Labeling Act, and variety information that differs for each variety, such as the name of the food 10, shelf life, manufacturer's name, nutritional information, and barcode, may be printed in a separate area. Alternatively, package information including the quality information and the name of the food 10, shelf life, manufacturer's name, and other information, such as nutritional information and barcode, may be printed in the second print area 26, and variety information, such as nutritional information and barcode, may be printed in a separate area.
(4) During the process of drawing out the strip film 42 in the packaging machine, a configuration can be adopted in which a background color and a registration mark are printed by the inkjet printer 20 prior to printing the product name information 28 and the like.
(5) When packaging is performed at high speed, it is preferable to dry the areas printed by the inkjet printer 20 using the drying means 62. However, depending on other conditions, such as when the withdrawal path for the printed strip film 42 to reach the bag making means 44 is set long or when the packaging capacity is low, the process of speeding up the drying of the ink using the drying means 62 may be omitted.
(6) In the examples, the horizontal sealing means 52 is a system in which a pair of sealing bodies 54a, 54b are moved in a box motion to perform horizontal sealing, but a rotation system in which a pair of sealing bodies 54a, 54b are rotated to perform horizontal sealing can also be adopted.

10 Food, 12 Package (Bagged Package), 14 Bag, 14a One Side, 14b Other Side, 14c Bottom, 14d Top, 16 Horizontal Seal, 18 Vertical Seal, 20 Inkjet Printer, 22 Gusset, 24 First Printed Area, 26 Second Printed Area, 28 Product Name Information, 34 Non-Printed Area, 36a First Common Display Information (Display Information), 36b Second Common Display Information (Display Information)
38 Raw roll (supply source), 42 Strip film (strip packaging material)
42a Cylindrical film (cylindrical packaging material), 66 Packaging body (bag-packaging body)

Claims (9)

A bag-filled package in which food is contained in a bag obtained by a bag-making and filling machine,
At both ends of the bag, horizontal seals are formed at the front and rear of the enclosed food, and vertical seals are formed that intersect with the horizontal seals,
Product name information that can identify the product name is displayed in a first print area on one side of the bag package between the horizontal seals formed at the bag end, and quality information including at least the names of the ingredients of the food based on the labeling standards stipulated by the Food Labeling Act is displayed in a second print area that is the bottom of the bag package and continues from the first print area.
the product name information and quality information are printed in the first print area and the second print area by an inkjet printer;
the first print area and the second print area are areas that do not reach the horizontal seal area and the vertical seal area,
The vertical seal portion is located on the other side opposite to the one side portion.
A bag-packaged body characterized by the above. A horizontal form-fill-seal machine for producing bagged packages in which food is packed into a bag by supplying food at predetermined intervals to a tubular packaging material formed by overlapping both longitudinal end edges of a strip -shaped packaging material pulled out from a supply source, forming vertical seals along the overlapping end edges of the tubular packaging material in the conveying direction of the strip-shaped packaging material, and forming horizontal seals that intersect the vertical seals at front and rear positions of the food supplied to the tubular packaging material ,
a mark sensor that detects a registration mark attached to the strip packaging material along a withdrawal path of the strip packaging material;
an inkjet printer that prints various information within an effective print width in both print areas, a first print area facing one side of the bag-filled package between the horizontal seal areas and a second print area adjacent to the first print area facing the bottom of the bag-filled package, and a print area that is preset to be positioned away from the formation positions of the vertical seal areas and the horizontal seal areas for each package length of the transported strip-shaped packaging material in a pull-out path from a supply source of the strip-shaped packaging material based on a detection signal of the registration mark detected by the mark sensor;
the inkjet printer is configured to be positioned at a predetermined position in the width direction of the strip-shaped packaging material so as to be able to print on the print area for each packaging type;
a control unit that reads out, for each packaging type, product name information that can identify the product name stored as display information to be displayed in the first print area, and data regarding quality information that includes at least the names of food ingredients based on the labeling standards set forth in the Food Labeling Act stored as display information to be displayed in the second print area, and that is configured to print the display information together on the first print area and the second print area of the strip-shaped packaging material using the inkjet printer . 3. The horizontal form-fill-seal machine according to claim 2, wherein the first print area and the second print area are defined and printed by the inkjet printer so that a non-print area is provided between the upper limit of the first print area and the top of the one side portion that wraps around to the top surface of the bag package, allowing the food contained in the bag package to be seen from outside the bag . 4. The horizontal form-fill-seal machine according to claim 2 or 3, wherein a product type setting operation is performed to store the data for each of the display information to be printed in the first print area and the second print area in association with each packaging product type, and the stored data for each of the display information can be read out and changed collectively or individually, or the data for each of the display information corresponding to each of the first and second print areas can be read out and changed, and the display information data corresponding to the packaging product type is read out and printed collectively by the inkjet printer as the display information on the conveyed strip-shaped packaging material. The horizontal form-fill-seal machine according to any one of claims 2 to 4, characterized in that the strip-shaped packaging material is formed from a packaging material that allows the food contained in the bag-filled package to be visible from the outside of the bag, and the first print area and the second print area are printed with a solid white background color that forms the background of the display information printed by the inkjet printer . 6. The horizontal form-fill-seal machine according to claim 2, wherein the ink used in the inkjet printer is a water-based ink . A method for manufacturing a bagged package comprising: supplying food at predetermined intervals to a tubular packaging material formed by overlapping both longitudinal end edges of a strip-shaped packaging material drawn from a supply source; forming vertical seals along the overlapping end edges of the tubular packaging material in the conveying direction of the strip-shaped packaging material; and forming horizontal seals at the front and rear of the food supplied to the tubular packaging material, the method comprising:
An inkjet printer provided on a withdrawal path for the strip packaging material is positioned at a predetermined position in the width direction of the strip packaging material so that various information can be printed within an effective print width in both print areas, a first print area facing one side of the bag-filled package between the horizontal seal areas and a second print area facing the bottom of the bag-filled package adjacent to the first print area, as print areas that are preset to be positions away from the formation positions of the vertical seal areas and the horizontal seal areas for each package length of the transported strip packaging material, and
For each package type, product name information capable of identifying the product name stored as display information to be displayed in the first print area and data relating to quality information including at least the names of ingredients of the food based on the labeling standards set forth in the Food Labeling Law stored as display information to be displayed in the second print area are read out, and the product name information in the first print area and the quality information in the second print area are printed together on the strip-shaped packaging material by the inkjet printer.
A method for manufacturing a bag-filled package. The method for manufacturing a bag-filled package according to claim 7, characterized in that the package is formed using the strip-shaped packaging material on which, in addition to the product name information in the first print area and the quality information in the second print area, display information common to multiple product types is pre-printed . A method for manufacturing a bag-filled packaging body as described in claim 7 or 8, characterized in that the tubular packaging material is pushed inward at the front and rear positions of the horizontal seal portion to form a gusset, and the area not reaching the gusset formation position is printed as the first printing area .