JPH0655611B2 - Container filling device - Google Patents

Description

Description: TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a container filling device for automatically filling a packaging container with a liquid filling object such as alcoholic beverages or juice and sealing the opening. .

[Prior Art] In a container filling device for filling alcohol or juice into a multi-layered paper packaging container generally called a paper pack,
A top breaker that temporarily folds the filling opening in the upper part of the packaging container filled with these objects to be filled, a top heater that heats the peripheral edge of this opening, and a heated peripheral edge are brought into close contact with each other, and an opening between the upper portions is formed. And a top press for sealing. The packaging container is sequentially transported to each of these stations by a transport conveyor which is driven intermittently.

Also, since this type of packaging container has flexibility,
In order to prevent the side part from bulging due to the weight of the material to be filled and a large amount of air to be mixed inside, a degassing device that presses the side part of the container to raise the liquid level is provided, and the liquid level is raised. There is also one that closes the upper opening in the closed state. This deaerator normally presses the packaging container at right angles to this side.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] According to the conventional container filling device, the stop time of the packaging container at each station is limited, and is extremely short particularly in the case of a filling device having a high processing capacity. Therefore, the deaeration device suddenly presses the side portion of the packaging container. The packaging container is impacted by the degassing device, and there is a problem that the object to be filled leaks out.

The present invention has been made to solve the above problems,
An object of the present invention is to provide a container filling device capable of efficiently filling and sealing an object to be filled inside without impacting the packaging container.

[Means for Solving the Problems] The container filling device of the present invention is a filling station for filling a predetermined amount of a filling object into a packaging container having a closed bottom and an opened top, and a container for packaging carried from the filling station. It comprises a sealing station for sealing the upper part and at least one deaerating device which is arranged at the sealing station and presses the side of the packaging container inward to expel the air inside. Is a housing that rotates in synchronization with the transportation of the packaging container, a pressing arm that is mounted on this housing and is elastically biased outward in the radial direction, and is mounted on the tip of this pressing arm and is close to the sealing station. And a guide roller that contacts the side surface of the packaging container.

[Operation] According to the container filling device of the present invention, the housing of the deaerator arranged at the sealing station is rotated in synchronization with the packaging container fed to the sealing station.
Therefore, when the packaging container filled with the object to be filled approaches the sealing station, the guide roller attached to the tip of the pressing arm contacts the side surface of the packaging container. When the packaging container further approaches the sealing station, this side surface is gradually pressed inward, and the air inside is discharged. Then, when reaching the sealing station, the upper opening is sealed while the internal air is discharged. Since the pressing arm is elastically biased outward in the radial direction of the housing, the side surface of the packaging container is smoothly pressed inward.

[Embodiment] FIG. 1 shows a filling process of a container filling device according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIGS. 2 to 4 show the entire structure thereof.

As shown in FIG. 1, in the container filling device 10 of this embodiment, the bottom 6 of a hollow prismatic paper packaging container 5 having both open ends is flatly folded and sealed, and then, for example, alcohol or A predetermined amount of an object to be filled such as juice is filled, and finally the upper portion 7 is bent and sealed to complete a packaging container 5 called a Gobel top. Each of these steps is performed in a sterile atmosphere. Further, this packaging container 5, which will be referred to as a carton below, has a small hole 8 formed in the upper portion thereof, and the spout 4 is attached to the small hole 8 before filling the filling object, so that the filling object is poured out. Has an easy structure.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 4, a turret 13 having a plurality of mandrels 12 on which the cartons 5 are mounted is radially arranged at a bottom molding station 11 for sealing the bottom 6 of the cartons 5. . This turret 13
Is rotated intermittently in the direction of the arrow. Around the periphery of the turret 13, a carton supply device 14 for placing a large number of cartons 5 in a folded state in order along the rotation direction of the turret, and a heater 15 for heating the peripheral portion of the opening of the bottom 6 of the carton. And this bottom part 6 along the predetermined bending line
A folding device 16 for bending the sheet and a pressing device 17 for sealing the heated bottom portion 6 folded into a predetermined shape.
And are arranged. Reference numeral 18 in FIG. 4 indicates a control panel of the container filling device 10.

In the bottom molding station 11, when the turret 13 is stopped, the cartons 5 having both ends opened are pulled out one by one from the carton supply device 14, and the upper part 7 is attached to the mudrel 12 first. When the turret 13 rotates and reaches a position aligned with the heater 15, hot air is blown from the heater to a desired position on the bottom of the carton, and the resin layer of the carton is heated. Further rotated,
At the position aligned with the folding device 16, the bottom portion 6 is bent along a predetermined folding line, and further, while being held in this state by a guide rail (not shown), it is rotated to a position aligned with the pre device 17. The bottom 6 of the carton 5 is firmly compressed between the tip of the mandrel 12 and the pressing device 17, and is sealed in a flat shape.

The carton 5 with the bottom 6 sealed is then sent to the filling seal 20 of the container filling device.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, this filling seal portion 20
Then, each carton 5 can be
It is moved intermittently while being aligned in a straight line.

In the filling and sealing section 20, a spigot mounting station 21 for mounting the spigot 4 in the small hole 8 of the carton and a welding station 22 for welding the spigot 4 to the carton 5 are sequentially installed along the transfer path of the carton 5. And are arranged. Further, on the downstream side of the transport path, a cleaning station 23 for removing foreign matters in the carton 5, a first temporary folding station 24 for folding the upper part 7 of the carton into a roof shape, and a filling station for injecting a predetermined amount of filling object. 25, a second temporary folding station 26 for temporarily folding the upper portion 7 again, a heating station 27 for heating a predetermined portion of the upper portion 7, and a sealing station 28 for sealing the upper portion 7, which are completed from the discharging station 29. The carton 5 is discharged.

At the spout mounting station 21, a spout supply rail 30 that sequentially supplies the spouts 4 is arranged. When the carton 5 is stopped, the spout 4 to be sent is attached to the small hole 8 from the inside of the carton by an appropriate means, and is welded to the carton 5 at the welding station 22.

A normal ultrasonic welding device is arranged at the welding station 22. The ultrasonic vibrating horn 31 is fitted to the stopper 4 attached to the carton 5 and vibrates the stopper 4.
The frictional heat generated at that time adheres the spout 4 and the carton 5 in a liquid-tight manner.

Since the spigot 4 vibrates at the welding station 22, foreign matter such as chips may enter the carton 5. In order to remove this foreign matter, the cleaning station 2
3 are arranged.

The cleaning station 22 includes a cleaning pipe 32 having a double pipe structure.
Is connected to a sterile compressed air source in the inner passage 32a, and the outer passage 32b is connected to a vacuum source. The cleaning pipe 32 is vertically moved by a drive shaft of a turret in the bottom molding station 11 via an appropriate cam or the like.

When the carton 5 stops at the cleaning station 22, the cleaning pipe 32 is inserted into the carton 5 while ejecting aseptic air from its peripheral portion. Therefore, the foreign matter attached to the inner peripheral surface of the carton 5 floats up from the inner peripheral surface, and the outer passage 3
It is discharged from 2b. The carton 5 from which the foreign matter inside has been removed can be folded at the first temporary folding station 24 into a roof shape.

The temporary folding device 3 arranged in the first temporary folding station 24
Reference numeral 4 has a frame 35 and a block 36 connected to the frame and moved up and down by an appropriate driving means such as an air cylinder. At the lower end of the frame 35, a pair of triangular folding plates 37 for folding inward the side surface adjacent to the spout of the carton 5 are pivotally mounted. The folding plate 37 is connected to the block 36 via an appropriate link 36a.
Is connected to the block 36 and the frame 35.
When it is lowered, it falls inward and the upper part of the carton 5 is temporarily folded into a roof shape.

The carton 5 whose upper portion is temporarily folded is moved to the filling station 25 while gradually returning to its original shape due to its elasticity.

The filling station 25 has a tank 3 for containing the object to be filled.
7 is arranged, and a filling pipe 37a is extended from this tank. In the present embodiment, two filling pipes are extended from the tank 37, and by sequentially filling the filling pipes, a desired amount of the filling object can be injected into the carton 5 even in a short stop time. Also, one filling pipe 37a
Can be used to fill small capacity cartons.

The carton filled with the required amount of the object to be filled is sent to the sealing station 28 via the second temporary folding station 26 and the heating station 27.

In the second temporary folding station 26, a folding device 38 having a frame 39, a block 40, a folding plate 41, and a link 40a similar to the folding device in the first temporary folding station is arranged. This folding device 3
The upper part of the carton 5 is temporarily folded again by 8. Also,
The heating device 42 arranged in the heating station 27 is inserted into the inside of the carton 5 and has a heating part 42 a for ejecting hot air from the peripheral part thereof to heat the resin layer of the carton 5.

At the sealing station 28, a sealing device 43 for sealing the upper part of the carton 5 to the roof is arranged. The sealing device 43 includes a pair of clamp plates 44 that press-contact the upper end of the carton 5 and a pair of claw members 45 that press inwardly the side surfaces of the carton adjacent to the stoppers. When the claw member 45 is pushed down, the claw member 45 presses the side wall of the upper part of the carton inwardly, and at the same time, the clamp plate 44 firmly presses the upper end portions thereof against each other. Therefore, the upper part of the carton 5 is temporarily folded into a roof shape, and the heated carton 5 is completely sealed at the sealing station 28, and the filling object is completely enclosed inside the carton 5.
It is carried out from the discharge station 29.

The sealing station 28 is further provided with a deaerator 50 for discharging the air inside the carton 5.

As shown in detail in FIG. 5, the deaerator 50 has a carton 5
, Which are arranged on both sides of the transport path, presses the side surfaces of the carton 5 transported to the sealing station inward to raise the liquid level inside, thereby minimizing the air in the carton 5. Each of these degassing devices 50 is driven in the opposite direction in synchronization with each other by a normal transport chain 48 arranged on both sides of the carton transport path in the filling seal part. These transport chains 48 are rotated in opposite directions on both sides of the transport path, and intermittently transport each carton 5 from the spout mounting station 21 to the discharge station 29.

The deaerator 50 has a housing 52 that is rotatably supported by upright columns 51. A sprocket 53 that meshes with the transport chain 48 is provided on the peripheral portion of the housing 52, and a pair of pressing arms 54 are attached to the upper portion by a mounting plate 55. The pressing arms 54 are mounted in opposite directions with their base ends facing each other, and are biased outward by a pressing spring 56 interposed between the pressing arms 54 and 54. A guide roller 57 that contacts the side surface of the carton 5 is attached to the tip of each pressing arm 54 by a pin 58. Code 5
Reference numeral 4a is a stopper that regulates the amount of protrusion of the pressing arm.

Deaeration device 5 with reference to FIGS. 6A, 6B and 6C
The differential of 0 will be described.

As shown in FIG. 6A, the housing 52 of the deaerator 50.
Is driven by the transport chain 48 via the sprocket 53, so that the pressing arm 54 is rotated in synchronization with the carton 5. Therefore, when the carton 5 approaches the sealing station, the guide roller 57 contacts the side surface of the carton 5. Since the pressing arm 54 is biased by the pressing spring 56, the impact of the contact between the carton 5 and the Ennai roller 57 is absorbed by the rotation of the guide roller 57 and the buffering action of the pressing spring 56.

When the carton 5 is further moved, the pressing arm 57 is swung following the guide roller 57 while keeping the guide roller 57 in contact with the side surface of the carton. The side surface of the carton 5 is gradually pressed inward by the urging force of the pressing spring 56, and the liquid level of the object to be filled stored inside rises. Then, when it reaches the sealing station as shown in FIG. 6B, the liquid level is adjacent to the uppermost position, and at this time, the upper end of the carton 5 is sealed by the sealing device 43 as described above.

When the carton 5 is further moved toward the discharge station as shown in FIG. 6C, the pressing arm 54 is also swung, and the guide roller 57 is separated from the side surface of the carton 5. Then, when the next carton 5 approaches the sealing station, the pressing arm 54 on the opposite side abuts against the side surface of the carton 5 and presses it inward.

Therefore, since the deaerator 50 is driven by the carton carrier chain 48 in the filling and sealing section 20, the entire structure of the container filling device 10 is simplified and its control is facilitated. Further, the pressing arm 54 of the deaerator smoothly contacts the side surface of the carton 5 via the guide roller 57 at the tip and is elastically pressed by the pressing spring 56, so that no unreasonable force acts. Therefore, the filling object stored in the carton 5 does not spill or wrinkles are formed on the side surface of the carton 5.

[Effects of the Invention] As apparent from the above, according to the container filling device of the present invention,
With the deaerator having a simple structure provided in the sealing station, it is possible to manufacture a packaging container in which air is discharged very efficiently without causing leakage of the object to be filled and damage to the packaging container.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of a packaging and filling apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a front view showing the entire structure thereof, FIG. 3 is a plan view taken along line III-III of FIG. Figure 4 is IV of Figure 2
A view along line IV, FIG. 5 is a partial cross-sectional view of the deaerator in the packing and filling apparatus of FIG. 1, 6A, 6B and 6
FIG. C is an operation explanatory view of the deaerator. 5 ... Carton, 6 ... Bottom, 7 ... Top, 8 ... Small hole, 10 ... Packaging and filling device, 11 ... Bottom molding station, 20 ... Filling and sealing section, 21 ... Filling station, 28 ... … Sealing station, 50… Deaerator,
52 ... Housing, 53 ... Sprocket, 54 ...
Pressure arm, 56 ... Pressure spring, 57 ... Guide roller.

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A filling station for filling a predetermined amount of an object to be filled in a packaging container having a closed bottom and an opened top, a sealing station for sealing the upper part of the packaging container conveyed from the filling station, and a sealing station for the sealing station. And at least one deaerator arranged to press the side of the packaging container inward to expel the air therein, the deaerator being rotated in synchronism with the transport of the packaging container. A housing, a pressing arm that is mounted on the housing and is elastically biased outward in the radial direction, and a guide roller that is mounted on the tip of the pressing arm and is in contact with the side surface of the packaging container near the sealing station. Container filling device equipped. 2. The housing has a drive sprocket formed on the outer periphery thereof, and the drive sprocket is driven by a transport chain that intermittently moves the packaging container from the filling station toward the sealing station. Item 1. The container filling device according to item 1. 3. The container filling device according to claim 2, wherein a pair of the deaeration devices are arranged facing each other on both sides of the conveying path of the packaging container, and the respective housings are rotated in opposite directions in synchronization with each other. 4. The container filling device according to claim 3, wherein a pair of the pressing arms are arranged in opposite directions to each other, and are biased in opposite directions by springs arranged between the pressing arms.