JPH048290B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Field of Industrial Application This invention relates to a film wrapping method and device for a cake, and more specifically, when wrapping a cake with a film around the side surface of a cake having a desired shape,
Achieving packaging with a good appearance without overlapping parts at both ends of the film, eliminating the need for manual labor that conventionally required skill, reducing the overall amount of film used, and reducing running costs. This invention relates to a film packaging technology for cakes that can reduce the amount of waste.

Prior art and its problems Short cakes that are triangular in plan and are made by cutting a disk-shaped cake body into multiple pieces at a required center angle, and other square block-shaped cakes, have a sponge part on the side of the cake. In order to prevent food from drying out due to direct exposure to air and causing quality deterioration such as changes in flavor, it is common practice to wrap the vertical sides of the product with a synthetic resin film. Note that the top of the cake is coated with cream, etc., and the bottom is lined with paper, so it is necessary to wrap the film only around the sides of the cake.) Furthermore, wrapping the film is necessary from the standpoint of preventing the product from losing its shape during the distribution process from the manufacturer to the consumer, and also from the standpoint of ensuring hygiene in handling.

Conventionally, the work of wrapping film around the sides of this type of cake has currently relied on manual work by workers, which has not improved work efficiency, and has resulted in significant variations in packaging conditions due to individual differences. ,
In some cases, the appearance of the product was impaired. Therefore, several means for automatically wrapping a film around a cake have been proposed, and for example, the invention disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 74414/1983 is well known. However, in the conventional automatic film winding device, Fig. 10a,
As shown in b, when the film F is wrapped around the side surface of the cake body 12, overlapping portions D are always required at both ends of the film F. For this reason, a separate gluing mechanism is required for bonding the overlapped portions D of the films F, which has the drawback of complicating the overall mechanism. Additionally, since a transparent film is generally used, when a consumer who has purchased a cake tries to remove the film, it is often difficult to see the overlapping part of the film, which makes it difficult to remove the film. There were times when things got complicated.

Furthermore, in the case of conventional products in which the overlapping parts of the film are glued together using an edible glue made of sugar or starch glue, the packaged cake is frozen during the distribution process before being sold to consumers. When stored, there is a problem in that the overlapping portions of the films bonded with the above-mentioned glue peel off, requiring re-gluing.

Purpose of the Invention The present invention was proposed in order to suitably solve the above-mentioned drawbacks inherent in the automatic film wrapping device for cakes, and to automate the wrapping of a film around the side of a cake. With,
An economical film packaging device that eliminates the need for overlapping parts at both ends of the film after winding the film, simplifies the mechanism by omitting the gluing mechanism, and reduces the amount of film used. The purpose is to provide.

Another object of the present invention is to form a fusing seal line clearly visible at both ends of the film wrapped around the cake so that it can be peeled off at that part, and furthermore, to form a V-shaped notch as desired. It is an object of the present invention to provide a means by which the film can be simultaneously formed on the upper part of the fusing seal line, thereby facilitating the removal of the film by the consumer.

Means for Solving the Problems In order to overcome the above-mentioned problems and suitably achieve the intended purpose, the cake packaging method according to the present invention includes the following:
A packaging method in which a film is wrapped around the side of a cake, and the film is drawn out from supply sources provided on both sides of the conveying means on both sides of the conveying means, and is fed in a direction across the conveying means. The cake transported by the transporting means is placed at the stretching position of the film, whose starting end is joined at the center of the article transport in the transporting means and is stretched perpendicular to the transporting surface with tension applied. At the timing when the front end of the cake arrives, the tension on the film is released, and as the front end of the cake comes into contact with the film and is further conveyed, the film is allowed to be freely pulled out from the film supply source, and the cake is After the rear end passes the film tensioning position, the film is vertically melt-sealed at the rear end of the cake, and a brake is applied to the free withdrawal of the film from the supply source in time with the melt-sealing of the film. The film is characterized in that tension is applied to the film by pulling the film back against the drawing direction.

Furthermore, in order to suitably implement the cake packaging method, a cake packaging device according to another invention of the present application includes a supply conveyor for conveying a cake to be film-wrapped; a film supply means for supplying a film that can be freely drawn out from supply sources provided on both sides of the line in a direction across the conveyance line and stretched perpendicularly to the cake conveyance surface; detection means disposed above and detecting the passing of the front end and rear end of the cake conveyed by the supply conveyor; A pair of sealing members movable toward and away from each other are provided, and the film pulled out from the supply source is vertically welded at the rear end of the cake at the timing when the detection means detects the rear end of the cake. a sealing means for sealing; and a conveyor disposed on the downstream side of the supply conveyor, which starts driving in time with the timing when the detection means detects the rear end of the cake and conveys the packaged cake to the downstream side. a conveyor, which is disposed so as to be able to come into contact with and separate from the film supply source, press the supply source in timed timing to fuse and seal the film by the sealing means, and brake the film from being freely drawn out from the film supply source; a braking means for imparting a pressure on the film; and a braking means arranged to be able to bias the film supply source in a direction opposite to the direction of film withdrawal, and actuated in time with the timing for fusing and sealing the film by the sealing means, and The excess film is pulled back to the supply source to apply tension, and the operation is released at the timing when the detection means detects the arrival of the front end of the cake, and the tension of the film stretched by the film supply means is released. and a tension applying means for releasing the tension.

Effect: In the method invention of the present application, the cake is conveyed across the conveying means toward the film stretched vertically, and the tension on the film is released at the timing when the front end of the cake reaches the film stretching position. and free withdrawal of film from the source is permitted. As a result, the film is smoothly pulled out from the supply source as the cake is transported, and it is possible to prevent the soft cake from losing its shape. Further, the film pulled out as the cake is transported is fused and sealed at the rear end of the cake. Therefore, overlapping portions of the film do not occur, and the amount of film consumed can be reduced.

Next, in the device invention of the present application, on the downstream side of the supply conveyor, the film pulled out from the supply source in a direction transverse to the cake conveyance line is stretched perpendicularly to the cake conveyance surface. The cake is conveyed toward the film. A detection means arranged upstream of the film tensioning position is
Upon detection of the arrival of the cake tip, the tension on the film is released and free withdrawal of the film from the source is allowed.

When the tip of the cake comes into contact with the film and is further conveyed, the film is pulled out from the supply source as the cake is conveyed, and the cake passes through a pair of sealing members provided downstream of the film tensioning position. pass between. Further, the cake being conveyed while the film is being pulled out is transferred from the supply conveyor to the conveyor conveyor, and is subsequently conveyed to the downstream side by the discharge conveyor. When the detection means detects passage of the rear end of the cake, the pair of sealing members move close to each other, and the film facing between the two sealing members is wrapped around the side of the cake, and
Seal and cut at the back end of the cake.

The braking means is activated in time with the timing at which the film is fused and sealed by the sealing member, and a brake is applied to the free drawing of the film from the supply source, thereby preventing excessive drawing of the film. Further, the tension applying means is activated to return the surplus film drawn out from the supply source to the supply source, so that the film crosses the cake conveyance line with the required tension applied, and It is stretched perpendicular to the conveyance surface.

Embodiments Next, the cake packaging method and device thereof according to the present invention will be described below with reference to preferred embodiments and the accompanying drawings.

(About the supply/conveyor conveyor) As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the upper part of the device main body 51 consisting of a box-shaped casing has projecting support surfaces 17 and 1 extending horizontally to the front and back sides.
7 are fixed respectively. Further, a support member 53 extending horizontally is fixed to the upper left side of the main body 51, and a carry-out conveyor and its drive system, which will be described later, are incorporated into this support member 53. On the top surface of the main body 51,
A supply conveyor 10 consisting of an endless belt is disposed so as to be freely movable with its conveyance surface being horizontal. Further, on the upper surface of the support body 53 located on the downstream side of the supply conveyor 10, a discharge conveyor 11 also made of an endless belt is arranged so as to be able to run freely with its conveyance surface being at the same level as the supply conveyor 10. .

The supply conveyor 10 and its traveling drive system will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5. The supply conveyor 10 includes a pair of driven rollers 15, 15 spaced apart from each other at both ends near the top of the main body 51.
, a drive roller 48 located below the drive roller 48 which is actively driven by a drive source, and an endless belt 10a wound around these rollers 15, 15 and 48. As the driving source, a motor 86 with a speed reducer is disposed inside the main body 51, and a sprocket 86a provided on the rotating shaft of the motor 86;
A chain 85 is wound around a sprocket 80 fixed to the rotating shaft of the drive roller 48. In FIG. 4, reference numeral 49 indicates a tension roller for adjusting the tension of the supply conveyor 10.

Further, the carry-out conveyor 11 includes a driven roller 1 which is spaced apart from the top of a horizontally projecting support 53.
6, 16 and a drive roller 57 provided below them.
and an endless belt 11 wrapped around these roller groups.
It is composed of a. As shown in FIG. 5, a chain 84 is wound between a sprocket 87 fixed to the rotating shaft of the drive roller 47 and a sprocket 81 coaxially fixed to the sprocket 80 that drives the supply conveyor 10, and 11 is driven by receiving power from the aforementioned motor 86. However, an electromagnetic clutch 83 is interposed in the sprocket 87, and by controlling this clutch 83 on and off, the discharge conveyor 11
The running and stopping of the vehicle is now controlled. Note that the tension of the carry-out conveyor 11 is adjusted by a tension roller 50.

(Regarding the film supply means) Slightly upstream of the rear end of the supply conveyor 10 described above, there is a puller on the supply conveyor 10 in a direction transverse to the conveyor 10 (a direction intersecting the conveyance direction of the cake 12). The film 74 is stretched perpendicularly to the transport surface. That is, as shown in FIG. 3, rotating shafts 19 are rotatably vertically disposed at appropriate positions on respective projecting support surfaces 17 extending horizontally on both sides of the supply conveyor 10. A roll body 20 of a heat-fusible synthetic resin film 74, which is provided and wrapped and packaged around the side surface of the cake, is removably fitted onto the rotating shaft 19. The rotating shaft 19 has a flange 18 and a large-diameter portion 68 integrally formed below it, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 8, and the winding body 20
is placed and fixed. A braking means, which will be described later, acts on the back surface of the flange 18 to apply a brake, and a tension applying means is provided on the large diameter portion 68 to prevent free rotation of the winding body 20 and prevent the film 74 from loosening. The function is described below.

The film 74 of the winding body 20 that is fitted onto the rotating shaft 19 provided on one of the overhanging support surfaces 17 is moved through guide rollers 21 and 22 erected at predetermined positions on the overhang support surface 17. The tip of the film 74 pulled out from the winding body 20 fitted into the rotating shaft 19 provided on the other protruding support surface 17 facing the supply conveyor 10 therebetween is fused and sealed by a sealing means to be described later. By doing so, the fused seal line 77
are being formed and connected. Both films 7 are melt-bonded at each end in this way.
4 and 74 extend perpendicularly to the conveying surface of the conveyor 10, slightly upstream from the rear end of the supply conveyor 10, as shown in FIG.

(Regarding means for detecting the front end and rear end of the cake) As shown in FIG. 3, light projecting and receiving means, such as photoelectric switches, are installed on both sides of the film 74 stretched across the supply conveyor 10, slightly upstream. 23 and 24 are arranged facing each other, thereby making the cake 1
The arrival of the front end of No. 2 and the passage of the rear end of No. 2 can be detected. The light emitting/receiving means 23, 24 are electrically connected to an electric control circuit system (not shown).

(Regarding the sealing means) A pair of sealing members approaches and separates from each other to close the required gap formed between the rear end of the supply conveyor 10 and the front end of the discharge conveyor 11 to the side surface of the cake. It is designed to seal and cut the wound film. Note that in this specification, the seal body 3 is electrically heated as described below.
4 and the seal receiving portion 25 that receives the seal body are considered to mean a pair of seal members.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, a sealing body 34 (for example, an electric heater) that is heated by energization,
The holding member 7 is disposed perpendicularly to the holding member 71.
1 is relationally connected to a parallel linkage as shown in FIG. Further, a seal receiving portion 25 is connected to a holding member 76 at a position opposite to the seal body 34 across the conveyor lines of the conveyors 10 and 11.
This holding member 7
6 is relationally connected to another parallel linkage shown in FIG. By operating these parallel link mechanisms, the seal body 34 and the seal receiver 25 can move toward and away from each other with respect to the conveyance center of the conveyors 10 and 11.

For example, the link mechanism for allowing the seal body 34 to move in parallel while maintaining its vertical position includes link levers 44 and 45 whose lower ends are supported by a swing shaft 88 and a support shaft, respectively, and link levers 44 and 45 whose lower ends are supported by a swing shaft 88 and a support shaft, respectively.
By swinging the swing shaft 88 at a required center angle, a parallel link mechanism is actuated to rotate the seal via the support piece 27. The body 34 can be moved forward and backward in parallel. Further, another link lever 33 is commonly fixed to the swing shaft 88 of the link lever 44, and a connecting rod 55, which will be described later, is attached to one end thereof.

Similarly, the mechanism for driving the seal receiver 25 forward and backward is a pair of bearings 70 and 72 disposed on one side of the main body 51.
It consists of a pair of link levers 44, 45 which are rotatably supported by the levers 44, 45, respectively, and a support piece 27 connected by link to the upper ends of the levers 44, 45, and one end of this support piece 27 has the seal receiver. The section 25 is arranged vertically. Note that this seal receiving part 25
Since this is the receiving side for the sealing body 34, a material such as silicone rubber with high heat resistance is used, and a tape made of, for example, Teflon is pasted on the surface to improve the film removability after fusing. It is attached.

Further, at the lower end of one link lever 44 constituting the parallel link mechanism of the seal receiver 25, another link lever 46 is fixed to a common axis and extends downward. The lower end of this link lever 46 and another link lever 33 fixed in common to the swing shaft 88 of the link lever 44 that drives the seal body 34 in parallel are connected to the connecting rod 55.
are connected via.

FIG. 5 shows a drive source for the biparallel link mechanism. That is, a deceleration motor 97 equipped with a speed reducer is disposed below the device main body 51, and a sprocket 96 is disposed on its rotating shaft. Also, the main body 51
A clutch/brake unit 93 is disposed and fixed to the unit 93, and a chain 9 is connected to a sprocket 94 disposed on the rotating shaft of this unit 93 and the sprocket 96.
5 is hung. As a result, the motor 9
7 is connected to the clutch via the chain 95.
The signal is transmitted to the brake unit 93. The deceleration motor 97 constantly rotates when the device is powered on, and the clutch/brake unit 93 receives its power.
By controlling on/off the parallel link mechanism connected to the unit 93 through a mechanism described later, the parallel link mechanism is driven and stopped.

Rotating shaft 98 of clutch/brake unit 93
A crank rod 92 is pivotally mounted eccentrically on the
The other end of the crank rod 92 is pin-connected to one end of a crank lever 89 fixed to the swing shaft 88 which is pivotally supported by a pair of bearings 70, 70. Therefore, the clutch/brake unit 93
When the clutch of unit 9 is turned on, the brake is turned off, and the rotation of deceleration motor 97 is controlled by unit 9.
3, and its rotation is transmitted to the swing shaft 88 as a swing motion via the above-mentioned crank lock 92 and crank lever 89.

As shown in FIG. 5, the crank lever 8
A detected member 90 is disposed at 9, and a detection means 91 consisting of an optical sensor is disposed on the main body 51 side on the swing locus of this detected member 90. Then, this detected member 90 is detected by the detecting means 9 at the timing when both the seal members come into contact with each other.
1 is activated.

As described above, the swing shaft 88 is biased to swing at the required center angle, thereby operating the biparallel link mechanism shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, thereby causing the seal body 34 and the seal receiving portion 25 The conveyors 10 and 11 repeat a parallel reciprocating movement of moving toward and away from each other at the center of the article conveyance. As shown in FIG. 5, a detected member 99 is disposed on the rotating shaft 98 and rotates around the detection surface of a detection means 100 such as a proximity switch as the rotating shaft 98 rotates, thereby keeping the sealing member in a fixed position. It is now possible to detect when the vehicle has stopped.

(Regarding each retraction mechanism of the seal body and film presser) Returning to FIGS. 1, 6, and 7, it is formed in a horizontal T-shape as a whole, and its vertical portion 7
A film presser 35 is attached to the holding member 71, which has the seal body 34 disposed at the tip end of the holding member 71.
It is arranged so that it can freely move forward and backward in the left and right directions with respect to 1. That is, the film presser 35 is composed of pressing pieces 35a, 35a arranged in parallel at predetermined intervals, and clamping pieces 35b, 35b, which are arranged in the upper and lower ends of the pressing pieces 35a and have an inverted U-shape in a plane. , a groove 35 formed in this film presser 35
The vertical portion 71a of the holding member 71 is slidably inserted into the holding member 71c. In addition, the horizontal portion 7 of the holding member 71
1b extends in the left-right direction in the drawing from between the holding pieces 35b, 35b.

Pressing piece 35a in this film presser 35,
35a are located on both sides in the vertical direction of the seal body 34 disposed on the holding member 71, and the vertical end face on the side facing the seal receiving portion 25 is slightly smaller than the vertical tip of the seal body 34. It is set so as to protrude toward the seal receiving portion 25 side. This is because the vertical edge of the film presser 35 presses the film 74 against the seal receiving part 25 just before the seal body 34 contacts the seal receiving part 25 via the film 74. This is to prevent positional deviation from occurring.

The vertical portion 71a of the holding member 71 has a pair of bolts 36 located above and below the horizontal portion 71b.
36 are provided in parallel, and these bolts 36, 36
is inserted into a through hole (not shown) formed in the holding piece 35b of the film presser 35. The bolt 36 has a compression spring 3 between it and the clamping piece 35b.
7 is inserted, and the seal receiving portion 25 of the film presser 35 is secured by the nut 42 screwed onto the bolt 36.
The pressing force against can be adjusted.

Further, the holding member 71 and the film presser 35 are
The support piece 27 is arranged so as to be retractable to the left by receiving a required pressing force. That is, the connecting member 26 is fixed to one side of the support piece 27, and the support piece 27 and the connecting member 26
The horizontal portion 71b of the holding member 71 is slidably inserted into a through hole (not shown) having a rectangular cross section formed between the holding member 71 and the holding member 71. As shown in FIG. 6, the support piece 27 has an elliptical elongated hole, and a protruding piece 38 protruding from the holding member 71 projects forward through this elongated hole. Further, a bolt 39 disposed on the projecting piece 38 is inserted into a bracket 41 fixed to the support piece 27, and the elastic force of a compression spring 40 elastically inserted into the bolt 39 can be adjusted by a nut 43. There is.

With this configuration, when the parallel link mechanisms operate and the seal members come close to each other, the film presser 35 first seals the seal before the seal body 34 comes into contact with the seal receiver 25. The film presser 35 is brought into contact with the receiving portion 25, and at this time, the film presser 35 can be horizontally retracted slightly to the left against the elasticity of the compression spring 37. In addition, if for some reason both the seal members are caught in a hard member other than the cake, the film presser 35 and the holding member 71 will move back greatly to the left against the elasticity of the compression spring 40. This prevents damage to the film presser 35 and the seal body 34.

As shown in FIG.
By selectively forming a V-shaped bent portion 34a bent in a direction opposite to the conveyance direction of the cake 12 at a position corresponding to the upper end of the film 74, the wrapping and packaging of the film 74 can be performed. At the top of the fusing seal line 77 on the front end side of the film of the cake 12,
A V-shaped notch 75 can be formed. In this case, there is an advantage that the V-shaped notch 75 can be visually recognized and it can be easily torn at that part, as will be described later in relation to the effect.

(Regarding the auxiliary guide roller and the cake guide plate) A support member 28 is arranged and fixed to the connecting members 26 respectively arranged on the support pieces 27, and an auxiliary member is vertically attached to the end of the support member 28 facing the supply conveyor side. A guide roller 29 is rotatably supported. As a result, when the front end of the cake 12 comes into contact with the stretched film 74 and the film is pulled out forward, the film 74 is moved toward the auxiliary guide roller 29.
The drawer is assisted by coming into contact with the drawer. Further, an adjustment plate 30 extending toward the carry-out conveyor 11 side is fixed to the support member 28 via adjustment bolts 73, and a guide plate 32 is disposed at the tip of this adjustment plate 30 via a connecting rod 31. There is. Both guide plates 32, 32 are
In either case, by rotating the adjustment bolt 73,
The facing angle between the two seal members can be freely adjusted, and when the film 74 is fused and sealed by both seal members, the cake 12 is moved to the center position between the two seal members, and the side surface of the cake 12 is It also acts to slowly press the film 74 into contact.

As shown in FIG. 3, adjusting plates 13 equipped with guide rods 14 are arranged on both sides of the upper part of the apparatus main body 5 so as to be freely adjustable via adjustment screws 52, and the guide rods 14 are positioned upstream of the supply conveyor 10. I have it by my side. This allows the opposing angles of the guide rods 14, 14 to be adjusted so that the cake 12 can be placed on the feed conveyor 10 in alignment with the center line. Note that this guide rod 14 is not necessary when cake is intermittently fed to the feeding conveyor 10 by an automatic cake feeding device.

(Regarding Tension Applying Means and Film Braking Means) Next, the free rotation of the winding body 20 inserted into the freely rotating rotating shaft 19 is always braked to apply tension to the film 74. The means and the braking means for preventing the film 74 from being excessively fed out due to the rotational inertia of the winding body 20 when the film 74 is fed out by the cake 12 will be explained. Note that since the same tensioning means and braking means are provided on the respective rotating shafts 19, 19 disposed on both sides of the supply conveyor 10, only the rotating shaft 19 disposed on the rear side will be described. .

As mentioned above in connection with FIGS. 8 and 5,
Large diameter portion 68 integrally formed at the lower end of the rotating shaft 19
Then, the reversing roller 69 is pressed into contact with the rotating shaft 19 so that the film 74 is pulled out and rotated in the direction of the arrow as the cake 12 is conveyed, and a rotational force in the opposite direction is applied to the rotating shaft 19. ing.
That is, in FIG. 5, a large diameter pulley 79 is fixed coaxially to a sprocket 80 which is rotationally driven by a deceleration motor 86 via a chain 85. Further, two-stage pulleys 66 and 65 are rotatably disposed on the back side of the overhanging support surface 17, and a belt 78 is wound around the large-diameter pulley 79 and pulley 66 to transmit rotation. It will be done. Note that the tension pulley 82 is connected to the belt 7.
8 is given the required tension. Furthermore, pulley 66
and a pulley 66 (see FIG. 4) disposed on the opposite side of the supply conveyor 10 .
Both pulleys 66, 66 arranged symmetrically across 0
synchronous rotation is performed.

A support plate 61 is located on the back side of the overhanging support surface 17 and below the large diameter portion 68, and a support plate 61 is provided on the pivot shaft 6
The pulleys 59 and 60 are pivotally supported near both ends on the back surface of the support plate 61, with their centers of rotation perpendicular to each other. A belt 63 is wrapped around both pulleys 59 and 60, and a belt 64 is wrapped between one of the pulleys 60 and the pulley 65, so that the rotation of the large diameter pulley 79 can be transmitted to the pulley 59. It's summery. Here, since a reversing roller 69 protruding above the overhanging support surface 17 is coaxially disposed on the pulley 59, the reversing roller 69 is also rotationally driven in the same manner as the pulley 59. Note that the support plate 6
A pin 54 is provided protruding from the support plate 61, a tension spring 58 is stretched between the bolt 57 screwed into a bracket provided on the overhanging support surface 17, and the pin 54, and a reversing roller provided on the support plate 61. 69 is always biased in a direction in which it comes into pressure contact with the large diameter portion 68.

With this configuration, while the supply conveyor 10 and the discharge conveyor 11 are being driven, the reversing roller 69 is always rotated in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 8 and pressed against the large diameter portion 68. Therefore, the rotating shaft 19 is always urged to rotate so that the film 74 has tension. A plunger 62a provided on a first solenoid 62 fixed to the protruding support surface 17 is connected to the support plate 61, and by electromagnetically biasing the first solenoid 62, it resists the elasticity of the tension spring 58. The support plate 61 supports the reverse rotation roller 6.
9 can be rotated in a direction to separate it from the large diameter portion 68, and thereby the tension applied to the film 74 can be released. Note that this first solenoid 6
The on/off control of No. 2 will be described later.

Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 8, a second solenoid 56 is vertically arranged and fixed on the overhanging support surface 17 below the flange 18, and a plunger 56a provided on the second solenoid 56 is normally located at its tip. The portion is spaced apart from the flange 18. When the second solenoid 56 is electromagnetically energized, the plunger 56a rises and comes into contact with the flange 18, thereby applying a brake to the free rotation of the rotating shaft 19. The timing of on/off control of the second solenoid 56 will also be described later. It should be noted that the first solenoid 62 and the second solenoid 56 described above are examples of driving sources for tension applying means and braking means. It can be adopted as appropriate.

Effects of the Embodiment Next, the actual use of the cake film wrapping apparatus according to this embodiment will be described below in relation to the cake packaging method. When the apparatus is turned on and enters a packaging standby state, the deceleration motor 97 rotates and transmits its power to the clutch/brake unit 93. However, in this packaging standby state, the clutch
The clutch of the brake unit 93 is disengaged, the brake is in operation, and both seal members are
As shown in FIG. 1, they are stopped at positions as far apart as possible from each other and are waiting for the sealing operation. The deceleration motor 86 also rotates, causing the supply conveyor 10 and the discharge conveyor 11 to run in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 1 (the clutch 83 inserted in the running drive system of the discharge conveyor 11 is turned on).

As shown in FIG. 3, winding bodies 20 are fitted into both rotating shafts 19, 19, which are disposed oppositely on both sides of the supply conveyor 10, and the tip of the film 74 of each of these winding bodies 20 is , by activating both of the sealing members in advance to melt and bond them (this bonded portion is shown by a fused seal line 77). That is, as shown in FIG. 3, both films 74, 74 are pulled out to the rear end side of the supply conveyor 10 via guide rollers 21, 22, respectively, and the welded joint is performed at the center of the supply conveyor 10. It is attached to the conveyor 15, crosses the conveyor 15 (crosses the conveying direction of the cake 12), and is stretched perpendicularly to the conveying surface.

At this time, the reversing roller 69 is in pressure contact with the large-diameter portion 68 of the rotating shaft 19 into which the winding body 20 is inserted, and is slip-rotating, so that a required tension is applied to the film 74. Note that the second solenoid 56 is in the off state, and the plunger 5
6a is separated from the flange 18 to release the brake. Also, the seal body 34 starts to be energized and is ready for fusing and sealing.

A case in which the film 74 is wrapped around the side surface of the triangular cake 12 shown in FIG. 1 will be explained.
The opposing angles of the guide rods 14, 14 are adjusted, and the triangular cake 12 is placed at the center of conveyance of the conveyor 10.
is set with its pointed part facing toward the rear.

When the cake 12 placed on the supply conveyor 10 is conveyed on the conveyor and its front end passes the detection section of the light emitting/receiving means 23 and 24, an electric control circuit (not shown) is activated and the first solenoid is activated. The energizing command is sent to 62. That is, the first solenoid 62 is turned on to move the plunger 62a backward, thereby separating the reversing roller 69 that was in pressure contact with the large diameter portion 68. As a result, the rotation restriction imposed on the rotating shaft 19 is released, and the film 74 can be freely drawn out from the winding body 20.

As the film 74 is further conveyed with the front end of the cake 12 holding the film 74, the film 74 is pulled out from the roll 20. When the rear end of the cake 12 is detected by the light emitting/receiving means 23, 24, a timer provided in the electric control circuit starts a timer operation, and when the timer times up, the clutch shown in FIG. Brake unit 9
3, a clutch on command and a brake off command are issued. At the same time, an off command is also issued to the clutch 83 on the discharge conveyor 11.

When the clutch of this clutch/brake unit 93 is turned on, the rotation of the deceleration motor 97 is as follows.
The signal is transmitted to the crank mechanism composed of the crank rod 92 and the crank lever 89, and the swing shaft 8
8 at the required center angle. Therefore, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, both parallel crank mechanisms operate, and both seal members approach each other.

During the close movement of both seal members by the parallel crank mechanisms, the film presser 35 and the other seal receiving portion 25 each move the film 74 onto the winding body 20.
to draw from. Therefore, rotational inertia is generated in the rotating shaft 19 into which the winding body 20 is inserted, and if left unchecked, the film 74 will be pulled out excessively, so this problem is dealt with by a braking means, which will be described later.

When the two parallel crank mechanisms move the two seal members closer together, the film presser 35 first comes into contact with the other seal receiver 25 on the rear end side of the cake 12 with the film 74 interposed therebetween, and both films 74, 74 in place.
Further, the film presser 35 moves back slightly to the left against the elasticity of the compression spring 37, and as a result, the vertical end of the seal body 34 extends from the film presser 35 and comes into pressure contact with the seal receiving portion 25, thereby pressing both films together. 74,
74 is sealed and cut to form a fused seal line 77. At this time, the unloading conveyor 11
As mentioned above, since the clutch 83 is turned off and its movement is stopped, the cake 12
A vertical weld seal can be reliably applied to the rear end. The stopping time of the clutch 83 can be easily adjusted depending on the length of the cake 12 by adjusting a timer built into the electric control circuit.

In order to prevent excessive pulling out of the film 74 due to the rotational inertia of the rotating shaft 19 described above, the detection means 90 (fifth ) activates the detection means 91.
This electromagnetically energizes the second solenoid 56 shown in FIG.
The film 74 is brought into contact with the flange 18 of the film 74 to apply a brake to its rotation to prevent the film 74 from being pulled out excessively. However, at this point, it goes without saying that the amount of film 74 necessary for wrapping around the side surface of cake 12 has been drawn out. Note that the second solenoid 56
The electromagnetic energization time is set by another timer incorporated in an electric control circuit (not shown), and after the required time has elapsed, the excitation of the solenoid 56 is released and the braking of the rotating shaft 19 is released.

As shown in FIG. 1, since the seal body 34 is formed with a V-shaped bent portion 34a, when the two seal members are separated again, the upper end portion of the fusing seal line 77 formed on the film 74 V-shaped notch 7
5 is formed. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 2, when the film 74 is wrapped around the cake 12, a V-shaped notch is formed at the front end of the cake 12.

Furthermore, as described above, the detected means 90 operates the detecting means 91 at a timing immediately before the two seal members come into contact with each other. The electromagnetic bias is also released. As a result, under the elastic return action of the tension spring 58, the normally rotating reversing roller 69 comes into contact with the large diameter portion 68 of the rotating shaft 19 again, causing the rotating shaft 19 to rotate in the opposite direction to the feeding direction of the film 74. By applying force, a certain tension is again applied to the film 74. Furthermore, the detected member 9 described above in connection with FIG.
9 and the detection means 100, the detection means 100 detects that both seal members have reached the home position.
is detected, the clutch of the aforementioned clutch/brake unit 93 is turned off again, and the brake is turned on again, thereby stopping the operation of both seal members in one cycle.

In addition, in the example, with the cake stopped,
Although a case has been described in which a fusing seal is applied to the film wrapped around the side surface of the cake, the present application is not limited to this. For example, a pair of seal members,
By applying a motion that combines the motion of moving the cake in the conveying direction and the motion of moving it toward the center of conveyance, it is possible to fuse and seal the film while the cake is being conveyed.

Further, in the embodiment, a means for fusing and sealing the film at the rear end of the cake was provided between the supply conveyor and the discharge conveyor, but the present application is not limited to this. For example, the film may be stretched over the upper surface of the conveyor, and sealing means may be provided downstream of the stretched position. Furthermore, it is also possible to provide both the film tensioning position and the sealing means on the supply conveyor side.

Effects of the Invention According to the film wrapping method and device for a cake according to the present invention, it is possible to automatically wrap a film around the side of a cake, which had previously been done manually and required skill, and the wrapping of the film around the side of the cake can be done automatically. This eliminates variations in the packaging state due to differences, significantly improving work efficiency, and providing a packaging shape that is extremely good in appearance. Furthermore, the cake packaged according to the present invention has no overlapping portions at both ends of the film, and therefore the amount of film used as a whole can be reduced, making it possible to lower costs. In the example, an example was explained in which a triangular cake was wrapped in a film, but by adjusting the facing angle of each guide member, it is also suitable for wrapping a film around the sides of a square shaped cake or other confectionery pieces. can be used.

When the film pulled out from the supply source as the cake is transported is fused and sealed, by applying a brake to the free withdrawal of the film from the supply source, it is possible to prevent the film from being pulled out excessively. Also, depending on the timing when the cake conveyed by the supply conveyor arrives at the film stretching position,
In addition to releasing the tension on the film,
Since the cake can be freely pulled out from the supply source, when the cake comes into contact with the film, the film can be smoothly pulled out from the supply source, which has the advantage of effectively preventing the soft cake from losing its shape. have

Furthermore, since the cake after film wrapping has a vertical fused seal line created by fusing the film, it is easy to visually confirm the fused line when eating the cake. Therefore, the film can be easily peeled off.
In addition, a V-shaped notch can be formed as desired at the upper end of the front end of the cake that corresponds to the melt-cut seal line. In this case, it is easier to visually recognize the V-shaped notch and to tear it at that part. There are some advantages. Moreover, since the ends of the film wrapped around the sides of the cake are fused and sealed, the wrapped film will not peel off when the cake is frozen and stored at a distribution point.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is a schematic perspective view showing the state immediately before sealing when carrying out the cake packaging method according to the present invention, and Fig. 2 shows the state after the rear end is sealed following the state shown in Fig. 1. A schematic perspective view, FIG. 3 is a plan view of the packaging device for carrying out the method according to the present invention, FIG. 4 is a front view of the packaging device shown in FIG. 3, and FIG. 5 is a rear view of the packaging device shown in FIG. The rear view observed from the side, FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along the line A-A in FIG.
Fig. 7 shows the state before the seal member is activated.
In the mechanism shown in the figure, a schematic configuration diagram showing the state immediately after the sealing member is activated. Figure 8 shows one of the film supply means disposed on both sides of the supply conveyor, observed from below. The perspective view and FIG. 9 are time charts showing the sequence of operations of the cake film wrapping device according to the present invention over time, and FIGS. FIG. 3 is a schematic perspective view showing a state in which 10... supply conveyor, 11... discharge conveyor, 12... cake, 20... winding body, 23...
Light emitting means, 24... Light receiving means, 25... Seal receiver, 34... Seal body, 74... Film.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A packaging method for wrapping a cake by wrapping a film around the side thereof, the film being pulled out from supply sources provided on both sides of the conveying means, and conveying the cake onto a conveying means for conveying the cake. The film is supplied in a direction transverse to the conveying means, and the starting end thereof is joined at the center of article conveyance in the conveying means, and the film is stretched perpendicularly to the conveying surface with tension applied thereto. At the timing when the front end of the cake conveyed by the conveying means arrives, the tension on the film is released, and as the front end of the cake comes into contact with the film and is further conveyed, the film is freely drawn out from the film supply source. After the rear end of the cake passes through the film tensioning position, the film is vertically melt-sealed at the rear end of the cake, and the film supply source is timed to the timing of melt-sealing the film. 1. A method for wrapping a cake in a film, characterized in that the film is braked when it is freely drawn out from the film, and tension is applied to the film by pulling the film back against the drawing direction. 2. A supply conveyor for conveying a cake to be film-wrapped, and a film that can be freely drawn and supplied from supply sources provided on both sides of the cake conveyance line on the downstream side of the supply conveyor in a direction transverse to the conveyance line. a film supply means for supplying a film to the film and stretching the cake perpendicularly to the cake conveying surface; a detection means for detecting the cake; and a pair of seal members disposed downstream of the supply conveyor and movable toward and away from each other with respect to the conveyance center of the conveyor, the detection means detecting the rear end of the cake. sealing means for perpendicularly welding and sealing the film pulled out from the supply source at the rear end of the cake in synchronization with the detected timing; a transport conveyor that starts driving at the timing when the film is detected and transports the packaged cake to the downstream side; a braking means for applying pressure to a supply source in timed timing for fusing and sealing the film to apply a brake to free drawing of the film from the film supply source, and capable of biasing the film supply source in a direction opposite to the film drawing direction. The film is actuated in synchronization with the timing when the film is cut and sealed by the sealing means, and the excess film fed out after the sealing is pulled back to the supply source to apply tension, and the detection means detects the arrival of the front end of the cake. 1. A cake film packaging apparatus comprising: a tension applying means that is deactivated at the detected timing and releases the tension of the film stretched by the film supply means. 3. The film supply sources are respectively disposed on both sides of the supply conveyor or the transport conveyor, and the starting ends of the films from each supply source are melt-welded to each other at the center of article conveyance on the conveyor. A cake film packaging device according to claim 2, characterized in that: 4. A sealing body is vertically disposed on one of the sealing members, and a bent part is formed in the sealing body at a position corresponding to the upper end of the film to be bent in a direction opposite to the conveying direction of the cake. A cake film according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that a notch is formed at an upper end portion corresponding to a melt seal line when the film is melt sealed by the sealing body. packaging equipment. 5. A support member that moves integrally with the seal member is disposed at a position facing the upstream side of each of the seal members, and at an end of each support member facing the supply conveyor side,
A cake film packaging device according to any one of claims 2, 3, and 4, characterized in that a guide roller that assists in drawing out the film is rotatably supported vertically. . 6. On the downstream side of the pair of sealing members, a pair of guide plates are angularly adjusted to bring the cake closer to the conveyance center and to press the film along the side surface of the cake when applying a fusing seal with the sealing member. A cake film packaging device according to any one of claims 2, 3, 4, and 5, characterized in that the film packaging device is freely disposed.