JPS5952089B2 - Vacuum packaging method and vacuum packaging equipment - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for filling a bag with a liquid-containing packaged article and vacuum packaging the bag.

For example, when supplying pickles such as Fukujinzuke to the market, it is necessary to package them together with a large amount of seasoning liquid so that the flavor does not change. are generally vacuum packed.

A machine that supplies pickles, for example, to a bag, then supplies a dipping liquid to the bag, and then performs vacuum packaging in a series is commonly referred to as a bagging vacuum packaging machine.
A machine of this type is disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 43485. However, packaging machines of this type are relatively expensive because all operations are automated along rotary tracks. Moreover, if you try to increase the vacuum speed to increase packaging efficiency,
Although the machine is expensive, it cannot be said to be an efficient machine because the seasoning liquid boils inside the bag, causing the packaged items to jump out of the bag and the liquid overflowing. Therefore, many businesses are reluctant to use this type of machine. Therefore, in order to increase the utilization of this type of machine, the conditions imposed on the supplier side are to lower the price of the machine and to increase packaging efficiency. In view of the above points, the present invention fixes the same number of box bodies as the stop positions of the rotor, which is configured to rotate intermittently, to the rotor so that their opening faces face outward, and supports the bags within these box bodies. In addition, two lids are installed at two stopping positions on the rotor between the point where the packaged items are fed into the bag and the point where the bag containing the packaged items is removed from the rotor. After the rotor is installed and the rotor stops, the lids are configured to close and cover the opening surfaces of the two box bodies in order to keep the box bodies airtight until the inside of the box bodies is evacuated. This simplifies the structure of the vacuum packaging machine and improves packaging efficiency.

In order to make the present invention easier to understand, a preliminary explanation of a conventional packaging machine of this type will be given based on FIG. 5 before explaining the embodiments.

That is, this type of packaging machine has a rotor 1 as shown in the drawing.
A large number of vacuum boxes 2, 2, . . . are provided to rotate intermittently. Each of the above vacuum boxes 2...
each consists of a box body 2a and a lid body 2b, and since there are 8 vacuum boxes 2... in the drawing, there are 1 rotor 1.
During rotation, it stops at eight locations A' to H'.
First, at the point A', the bag 3 is fed into the box body 2a, and a pair of chucks 4, 4 provided on the box body 2a catch both sides of the opening of the bag 3. Next. Before and after B', chucks 4 and 4 are brought closer together to widen the mouth of bag 3. Next, the funnel 5 is inserted into the bag at position C', and the article to be packaged is thrown into the bag through the funnel 5. Further D
At the position ', liquid is injected into the bag 3 through the nozzle 6.
Next, give some extra time before and after the position E' so that the movement of the liquid will calm down. In other words, in front of it, the liquid is sent to nozzle 6.
When the liquid is ejected, countless bubbles are generated in the liquid, so allow some time for these bubbles to rise to the surface of the liquid.
Next, in the range from F' to G', the lid body 2b is brought into airtight contact with the box/main body 2a, and the rotary valve 7
The pressure inside the vacuum boxes 2, 2 is reduced through hoses 8, 8 connected to the vacuum boxes 2, 2. Next, at position H', the air cylinder 9 provided on the lid body 2b operates the heating bar to weld the opening of the bag 3, and then the lid body 2b is opened and the chucks 4 and 4 are opened. is opened to release bag 3 out of the box. As explained above, it is essential for this type of packaging machine to have at least the following functions: bag supply, bag expansion, food supply, liquid supply, liquid static, vacuum, heat sealing, and bag release. By the way, as can be clearly seen from FIG. 5, in the conventional packaging machine of this type, each of the eight vacuum boxes 2... is constructed as a set of a box body 2a and a lid 2b. But A'
In the range from to E' and the position H', each lid 2b.
It should be noted that ... is not functioning as intended. Therefore, the present invention provides lids on the outside of the rotor at F' and G' so that the lids cover the box body when the rotor is stopped at these positions, thereby making it possible to eliminate most of the lids. Further, atmospheric pressure is applied from the outside of the bag approximately in the middle of the vacuum process to intermittently perform the vacuum action to accelerate the rate of disappearance of bubbles in the liquid. Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2.

Figure 1 is shown in Figure 5 to make it easier to understand the comparison with Figure 5 above.
It is illustrated under the same conditions as in the figure.

That is, the rotor 11 has eight box bodies 12 on its upper surface,
12..., and each of these box bodies is connected to a rotary valve 14 in the center of the rotor via a hose 13.
is connected to. Furthermore, each of the boxes 12... is provided with l pairs of chucks 15, 15 inside. Third
As shown in the figure, the chucks 15, 15 are connected to a pair of arms 1.
Clip elements are provided at the tips of the arms 6 and 16, respectively, and the both sides of the bag 18 are held between them by the force of the springs 17 and 17, and the two clip elements are connected using the base end shafts of the arms 16 and 16 as fulcrums. Equipped with a function to let go. The rotor 11 is designed to stop at eight positions during one rotation, and one of the stopping positions A is provided with a loading station for the bags 18.

At the next stopping point B, a pair of vacuum suction cups 19, 19 are installed to widen the mouth of the bag 18. A funnel 20 is provided at the next stopping point C. Further, a liquid supply nozzle 21 is provided at the next stopping point D. Furthermore, the next stop point F beyond the next stop point E and the next stop point G are provided with lids 22 and 23, respectively. These lids 22 and 23 are supported on a vertical shaft 25 via arms 24 and 24, respectively, and rotated as shown by the arrows with the shaft 25 as a fulcrum. Furthermore, a pair of heat seal bars 26 and 27 are installed at the next stopping point H. The illustrated embodiment is constructed as described above, and its operation will be explained below.

The rotor 11 supporting eight boxes 12, 12... rotates clockwise intermittently at one-eighth increments, but when the rotor rotates, the two lids 22, 23 mechanically close the boxes. 12,1
separated from 2.

First, at point A, bag 18 is connected to a pair of chucks 15, 15
These chucks catch both sides of the bag. Next, at point B, the chucks 15, 15 on both sides are brought close to each other, while the mouth of the bag 18 is opened using a pair of vacuum suction cups 19, 19. Next, at point C, the article to be packaged is put into the bag via funnel 20. Next, at point D, liquid is supplied into the bag through the nozzle 21. Next, around point E, a margin of time is given for the liquid in the bag to stabilize. Next, at point F, the box body 12 is covered with the lid 22 and at the same time receives the suction action of the vacuum pump via the hose 13.
This pressure reduction time is set by a timer, and when the set pressure reduction time is reached, the atmosphere flows into the box body 12 through the hose 13, and at the same time, the lid 22 is mechanically opened. Next, the box body moves to point G, where the lid body 2 is moved again.
3 is covered and simultaneously subjected to vacuum depressurization. After the pressure reducing action at point G reaches the set time of the timer and the lid 23 is opened, the box body moves to point H. Furthermore, this
In this case, it may be considered to temporarily seal the bag opening inside the box at the point G. Then, at the point H, the peak of the bag 8 is sealed by a pair of heat seal bars 26 and 27. As described above, during one revolution of the rotor 11, the bag is first subjected to the primary vacuum action at point F, and then again subjected to the secondary vacuum action at point G.

Therefore, once the bag is evacuated, it will inevitably be affected by the atmosphere between points F and G. Therefore, it is inevitable that the bag stays in the vacuum environment for a shorter time than the conventional product shown in FIG. A concrete example of the time difference between the two is shown in FIG. In the figure, α and α″ are the angles from the middle of the two front stopping points to the middle of the two rear stopping points, as shown in Figures 1 and 5. are both equal. Assuming that the stopping time of the box body at each of the eight stopping points j is 5 seconds, and the time required for the rotor to make one-eighth rotation is 1 second, then the box body will move α. The time required for this is 6 seconds.

Then, in the present invention shown in Fig. 1, the actual vacuum lasts for a total of 10 seconds, including the stop time at point F, that is, the primary vacuum action of 4 for 5 seconds, and the stop time at point G, that is, the secondary vacuum action for 5 seconds. It's time. On the other hand, the conventional product shown in Figure 5 is F
Since there is no need to open the lid between point ``point'' and point ``G'', the actual vacuum duration is 12 seconds, which is 2 seconds longer than the product of the present invention.
Vacuum duration can be as long as seconds. Therefore, theoretically, it is thought that the vacuum effect inside the bag is better in the conventional product than in the present invention, but this is not necessarily the case. The reason is as follows. That is, when the inside of the box body 12 and the lid body 22 are subjected to a depressurizing action at point F in FIG. 1, the air bubbles 30 contained in the liquid in the bag 18 expand and flourish as shown in FIG. It then rises towards the water surface and disappears. However, some of the air bubbles 30 rise to near the water surface, but the packaged objects 30, such as Fukujinzuke and shredded beni seikan,
Due to obstacles, they cannot rise to the surface and hide near the surface. After that, before introducing the atmosphere into the box body, the mouth of the bag 18 is pulled in both directions by the chucks 15, 15 as shown in Fig. 3, and then when the atmosphere is applied inside the box body, the bag is brought to atmospheric pressure. As a result, it becomes flat and crushed, but the impact at this time causes the bubbles that are caught on the packaged item near the water surface to be thrown out onto the water surface and burst. and bag 1
8 is moved to point G while being stretched in both directions by chucks 15, 15 as shown in FIG. In this case bag] 8 is completely exposed to air, but the tension at the mouth part is 3.
2, the bag opening is placed in the same state as if it had been temporarily sealed, thereby preventing air from entering. Even if air were to flow into the bag 18, it would not mix into the liquid as air bubbles,
Also, it is immediately removed from the bag by the secondary vacuum action at point G. At the same time, the air that is forced out near the mouth of the bag by the atmospheric pressure shock after the primary vacuum and bursts is removed by the secondary vacuum. On the other hand, in the case of Fig. 5, the vacuum duration is simply a little longer than that of Fig. 1, and some of the air bubbles caught on the packaged object near the water surface are not effectively removed. One might think that the same result would be obtained with the one in Figure 5 because the atmosphere is finally introduced at point G'',
At point G'', the mouth of the bag is sealed before air is introduced, resulting in air remaining in the bag due to the bursting of air bubbles.A packaged product in which the packaged object and liquid are packaged together. The commercial value of is determined by the presence or absence of air bubbles in the bag, i.e.
In the distribution process of this type of product, the vacuum level of the product can only be determined by the presence or absence of air bubbles in the bag, so if air bubbles remain in the bag even after a long vacuum time, the result will be The value of the product will be halved. Moreover, the longer the vacuum time, the longer the water will be affected by the evaporation pressure.
Air bubbles are generated one after another in the liquid due to the evaporation of water, and the air existing between the fibrous materials of the crushed material is forcibly sucked out, which may result in a large amount of air bubbles remaining. . Therefore, what makes a good product with this type of release machine is not just the long vacuum duration;
It depends on the means to effectively eliminate air bubbles. As mentioned above, the first aspect of the present invention is to start sucking the air inside the sealed box that houses the bag filled with the packaged object and liquid until the air is introduced into the box. In the middle of the vacuum action time, air is temporarily introduced into the box to apply an impact to the bag, and the primary vacuum induces air bubbles in the liquid toward the water surface, and also closes the bag near the water surface. The remaining air bubbles are ruptured by the impact of the atmosphere, and the air remaining in the bag due to the bursting action is discharged out of the bag by a secondary vacuum action. .

Therefore, compared to a vacuum cleaner with a longer vacuum duration, the rate of bubble disappearance is better and the commercial value of the packaged product is improved, while at the same time it is possible to increase the operating speed of the machine, which improves packaging efficiency. There is. Furthermore, the impact generation effect is not pure mechanical force, but atmospheric pressure, so the structure is simple. The second invention is
A plurality of box bodies 12, 1 at the rear of the packaged object supply mechanism
A plurality of lid bodies 22,
23, these lids are placed over the box bodies when the box bodies are stopped, and the vacuum is applied only to the box bodies that are sealed by the lids 22 and 23. In this type of rotary vacuum packaging machine, which has a box body and a lid as a set, most of the lid can be omitted, and the price of the packaging machine can be reduced accordingly.

Moreover, since the impact that inevitably acts on the bag between the plurality of lids 22 and 23 increases the effect of eliminating air bubbles within the bag, the conventional box body and lid are combined into a complete set. Compared to octopus-type packaging machines, it has the effect of not reducing packaging efficiency.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a plan view showing an embodiment of the present invention, Fig. 2 is a sectional view of the bag, Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the bag being held, Fig. 4 is a comparative illustration of the operation, and Fig. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the bag. It is an explanatory view in plan view of a conventional example. 11... Rotor, 12... Box body, 1
4... Rotary pulp, 18... Bag,
22, 23... Lid body, 26, 27...
Heat sealer.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A bag integrally filled with an object to be packaged and a liquid with an open mouth is placed in a sealed pressure-resistant box with the mouth facing upward, and In a vacuum packaging apparatus that sucks the air inside the box to reduce the pressure inside the bag, and after welding the inside of the bag, the air inside the box is introduced into the box. In the middle of the vacuum action time from when the bag starts to be sucked to when the opening is melt-sealed and air is introduced into the box, air is temporarily introduced into the box and a shock is applied to the bag, and then the air is applied again. A vacuum packaging method characterized by sealing a box and applying a vacuum. 2. A bag supported with the opening facing upward is carried by a rotor in a circular orbit, and the movement of the rotor is controlled so that the bag stops at multiple locations during one rotation of the rotor, and Supplying the object to be packaged into the bag at a stop position, melt-sealing the opening of the bag at another stop position, and ejecting the bag containing the object to be packaged out of the rotor at another stop position, Furthermore, in the packaging device configured to supply new bags to the rotor at another stop position, the same number of box bodies as the stop positions during one rotation of the rotor are arranged so that the opening surfaces thereof face outward and the box bodies The bag is fixed to the rotor so as to be able to support the bag therein, and is between a point where the object to be packaged is supplied into the bag and a point where the bag containing the object to be packaged is removed from the rotor. Two rotor stop positions are formed in the rotor, and the two lids of the box body are installed at these two stop positions so as to face the opening surface of the box body, and a vacuum is created inside the box body after the rotor stops. The vacuum packaging apparatus is configured such that both lids close to and cover the opening surfaces of the two box bodies in order to keep the box bodies airtight until the pressure is reduced.