JP5038846B2 - End seal device - Google Patents

Description

  BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a so-called box motion type end seal device, and more specifically, an end seal device provided with a transition mechanism serving as a transport surface for a packaging film that encloses an object to be packaged that moves in the end seal device. About.

  A pillow packaging machine, which is one form of a packaging machine, has the following configuration. First, the strip-shaped film wound up by the raw fabric roll is continuously supplied to the bag making device, and when the bag making device is passed, the tubular film formed into a tubular shape is formed. In addition, an article transporting and supplying device is arranged on the upstream side of the bag making device, and an object to be packaged conveyed at predetermined intervals from the object to be packaged conveying and supplying device is supplied into the bag making device. Accordingly, when the article to be packaged passes through the bag making machine, the article to be packaged is stored at predetermined intervals in the cylindrical film, and the article to be packaged is conveyed together with the cylindrical film. A center seal device and an end seal device are arranged along the conveying direction. The center seal device seals the film polymerization end of the tubular film. The end seal device seals the tubular film in the lateral direction of travel (portion where the front and rear packages are not present) and cuts the portion of the tubular film in which the front package is stored. Is separated from the subsequent cylindrical film to produce a package.

  As one form of the above end seal device, a pair of top sealers (with built-in cutter blades) arranged one above the other with a tubular film sandwiched between them and the seal surface of the top sealer are kept facing each other. However, there is a drive mechanism that moves the top sealer along a predetermined locus. Then, the upper and lower top sealers move forward together with the tubular film by a certain amount in a state where the predetermined position of the tubular film is sandwiched from above and below. Thereby, while the site | part between which the cylindrical film was pinched is heat-sealed, it is cut. This type of end seal device is also referred to as a box motion type.

  An example of such a box motion type end seal device is disclosed in Patent Document 1. The end seal device disclosed in Patent Document 1 uses a groove cam as a drive mechanism that moves the top sealer along a predetermined locus while maintaining the state in which the seal surfaces of the top sealer face each other. And by providing a part that makes the shape of this groove cam horizontal when sealing, the upper and lower top sealers move forward together with the tubular film by a certain distance while sandwiching the tubular film, thereby increasing the sealing time It has been made.

  By the way, a crossing device is provided before and after the top sealer so that the cylindrical film containing the packaged object can be stably moved between the top sealers. In the case of the box motion type, the top sealer also moves in the front-rear direction, so the conveyor belt frame of the transition device can be moved freely in the horizontal direction, and the conveyor belt frame is linked to the top sealer mounting base. The top sealer moves in the front-rear direction (product flow direction), whereas the conveyor belt frame follows. Thereby, it is suppressed that the space | interval between a top sealer and the conveyance belt hung over the conveyance belt frame opens widely.

  And in the conveyance apparatus in a pillow packaging machine, when conveying food, for example, in order to always keep a conveyance belt clean, the conveyance belt is washed. In the maintenance such as replacement of the conveyor belt parts, the conveyor belt may be removed. The same applies to the conveyor belt in the above-described crossing device.

For example, a device disclosed in Patent Document 2 is not applied to a transfer device for a box motion type end seal device as an improvement in the cleaning performance of the conveyor belt. This apparatus has a structure in which the conveyor belt frame itself can be easily detached from the end seal device in order to remove the conveyor belt. Moreover, there are apparatuses disclosed in Patent Documents 3 and 4 as a transport apparatus having a structure in which the transport belt can be easily removed. These apparatuses have a structure in which the conveyor belt can be removed without removing the conveyor belt frame.
Shokai 58-136405 JP-A-11-91707 JP 2006-335466 A JP2007-106523

  In the case of the transition device provided in the box motion type end seal device targeted by the present invention, as described above, at least a part of the transport belt also horizontally moves in the front-rear direction following the movement of the top sealer in the front-rear direction. For this reason, since the top sealer (sealer mounting base for attaching the top sealer) and the crossing device are connected to each other, it is difficult to remove the entire transport belt frame that spans the transport belt. Therefore, the technique disclosed in Patent Document 2 cannot be applied as it is.

  As described above, the crossing device and the top sealer (sealer mounting base on which the crossing device is attached) are coupled, and the conveyor belt does not bend even if the conveyor belt moves horizontally in the front-rear direction. Therefore, it is not easy to remove only the conveyor belt because the conveyor belt is folded around the pulley at an appropriate position and is wound around the pulley. Therefore, as disclosed in Patent Document 3 and Patent Document 4, it is not a simple configuration in which an endless belt is only hung on a driving pulley and a driven pulley. Therefore, it is possible to apply the techniques disclosed in both Patent Documents as they are. Can not.

  Therefore, not only is the cleaning of the conveyor belt complicated, but when the conveyor belt is damaged, it is necessary to involve a large disassembly for replacing the conveyor belt, and the packaging machine does not stop for a long time. I didn't.

  It is an object of the present invention to provide an end seal device that can easily remove a belt for maintenance such as cleaning and replacement of parts without requiring a large disassembly work in a conveyor belt that performs sliding. To do.

  In order to achieve the above-described object, an end seal device according to the present invention is (1) a top sealer that is arranged vertically with a packaging film that encloses an object to be packaged, and that seals the packaging film in the lateral direction. A drive mechanism for revolving the top sealer along a predetermined locus while maintaining a state in which the seal surfaces of the top sealer are opposed to each other, a first conveyor belt device disposed upstream of the top sealer, and A second conveyor belt device disposed on the downstream side of the top sealer, and the first conveyor belt device and the second conveyor belt device are arranged such that the top sealer end portion moves in the front-rear direction of the top sealer. An end seal device configured to move in the front-rear direction following the above is assumed. Further, at least one of the first conveyor belt device and the second conveyor belt device includes a support frame disposed at a predetermined interval on the left and right, a plurality of pulleys supported between the support frames, and A conveyor belt that is stretched around a plurality of pulleys. At least two of the plurality of pulleys are configured to contact the outer surface of the conveyor belt, and the other pulleys are configured to contact the inner surface of the conveyor belt. At least one of the pulleys contacting the outer surface is attached to an opening / closing bar that is openably / removably connected to one support frame, and the opening / closing is performed by closing the opening / closing bar and connecting both the support frames. The pulley attached to the bar is configured to contact the conveyor belt and urge toward the inside, and the remaining pulley contacting the outer surface rotates in a notch groove formed on the peripheral edge of the support frame. It was configured to be supported freely.

  In the embodiment, the pulley contacting the outer surface is realized by the return pulley 44 and the holding pulley 48. In the embodiment, one is provided, but a plurality may be provided. In the embodiment, the support frame is realized by the swing frame 51 and the fixed frame 52. In the embodiment, the frame is constituted by a plurality of frames, but it may be one.

  The pulley attached to the opening / closing bar can be made to rebound from the conveyor belt by opening the opening / closing bar. Further, when the pulley supported by the opening / closing bar is separated from the conveyor belt, the conveyor belt is slackened, and the pulley supported by the notch groove can be removed. As a result, since the plurality of pulleys that contact the outer surface of the conveyor belt are all separated from the conveyor belt, the remaining pulleys are only those that contact the inner surface of the conveyor belt, so that the conveyor belt can be easily removed. .

  (2) The cutout groove may be cut out obliquely so that the back side is positioned below the opening. This is preferable because the pulley is stably supported by the notch groove.

  (3) Each of the pair of support frames is linked to a machine frame on which the upper and lower top sealers and the drive mechanism are mounted, and at least one of the pair of support frames is made detachable from the associated bracket. It is good to comprise so that the clearance gap which allows the said conveyance belt to pass between the machine frames may be formed by removing.

  By adopting such a configuration, the conveyor belt can be easily attached and detached, and in the normal state with the conveyor belt set, the bracket can be attached to firmly connect the support plate, so that the conveyance during the packaging operation can be performed stably. .

  In the present invention, since the conveyor belt can be easily removed, maintenance such as cleaning of the conveyor belt and replacement of parts can be performed in a short time.

  As shown in FIG. 1, a pillow packaging machine 10 on which the end seal device of the present embodiment is mounted is a film that continuously supplies a packaging machine body 11 and a belt-like packaging film to the packaging machine body 11. A supply device 12 is provided on the upstream side of the packaging machine main body 11, and a packaged article transport and supply apparatus 14 that supplies the packaged article 13 to the packaging machine main body 11 at predetermined intervals.

  The film supply device 12 links the output of a drive motor (not shown) (speed-controllable motor such as a servo motor) to the original roll 16 obtained by winding the belt-like film 15 into a roll. Supplying to the packaging machine body 11 at a constant speed while appropriately controlling the rotation speed. Although not shown, various rollers are arranged at predetermined positions from the original fabric roll 16 to the packaging machine body 11, and the belt-like film 15 fed out from the original fabric roll 16 is passed over the rollers. Then, it is guided to the packaging machine body 11 through a predetermined path. Of course, in the present invention, it is not always necessary to link the drive motor to the raw roll 16, and a feed roller may be provided on the transport path of the packaging film and pulled out.

  The package transporting and supplying device 14 includes a sprocket 17 (only the front in the traveling direction is shown in the figure) arranged at the front and rear, an endless chain 18 spanned over the plurality of sprockets 17, and a predetermined pitch on the endless chain 18. It is comprised by the several pushing finger | toe 19 attached for every. Thereby, when the pushing finger 19 hits the rear surface of the article 13 to be packaged, the article 13 also moves forward with the movement of the pushing finger 19.

  The packaging machine main body 11 includes a bag making device 20 that sets the supplied belt-like film 15 into a cylindrical film 21, a center seal device 24 disposed on the downstream side of the bag making device 20, and the center seal device 24. A belt conveyor 23 that conveys the tubular film 21, an upper restraining belt 25 that is disposed above the belt conveyor 23, an end seal device 30 that is disposed on the downstream side of the belt conveyor 23, And an unloading conveyor 26 disposed on the downstream side of the end seal device 30.

  The bag-making device 20 allows the side film edges 15a of the belt-like film 15 to contact (polymerize) with each other by passing the belt-like film 15 continuously supplied from the film feeding device 12, and the tube that has become cylindrical. The bag is placed on the film 21. In addition, the articles to be packaged 13 that are sequentially supplied from the article to be packaged supply apparatus 14 to the packaging machine body 11 are inserted into the bag making machine 20. Thereby, the article 13 to be packaged supplied to the bag making machine 20 is arranged in the cylindrical film 21 at predetermined intervals.

  The center seal device 24 seals both side edge portions 15a of the polymerized belt-like film 15. The center seal device 24 sandwiches both side edge portions 15a of the belt-like film 15 from both sides and performs heat sealing.

  The upper restraining belt 25 is arranged in the immediate vicinity of the upstream side of the end seal device 30 and suppresses the article 13 in the tubular film 21 from being lifted upward so that it can be conveyed while maintaining a horizontal state. ing.

  The end seal device 30 seals and cuts the tubular film 21 in a direction orthogonal to the traveling direction, that is, in a transverse direction. The film part to be sealed / cut is a predetermined position between the front and back objects 13 to be packaged. Thereby, the head part of the cylindrical film 21 is isolate | separated from the subsequent by passing the end seal apparatus 30, and the package body 27 is manufactured.

  Hereinafter, the end seal device 30 will be described. The end seal device 30 includes top sealers 31a and 31b that are vertically opposed to each other with the tubular film 21 interposed therebetween, and maintains a state in which the seal surfaces of the top sealers 31a and 31b are opposed to each other with a predetermined trajectory. It is designed to revolve around.

  That is, the upper and lower top sealers 31a and 31b are respectively attached to the upper sealer mounting base 32a and the lower sealer mounting base 32b. A guide rail 33 extending downward is attached to the rear surface in the traveling direction of the upper sealer mounting base 32a, and a slider 34 linked to the guide rail 33 is attached to the rear surface in the traveling direction of the lower sealer mounting base 32b. The slider 34 can reciprocate along the guide rail 33, whereby the upper sealer mounting base 32a and the lower sealer mounting base 32b are integrated, and the upper and lower top sealers 31a and 31b attached thereto are opposed to each other. In this state, they will approach and separate.

  The upper sealer mounting base 32 a and the lower sealer mounting base 32 b are supported by providing support pins (not shown) so as to protrude from both side surfaces, and the support pins are linked to the rotary arm 36. The upper sealer mount 32a and the lower sealer mount 32b rotate with the rotation. That is, the rotating arm 36 is provided with a cam floor (not shown) on the outer side (opposite side of the lower sealer mounting base 32 b), and the cam floor is provided on the cam plate 37 attached to the side surface of the machine frame 40. The cam groove 38 is linked. Thus, when the rotating arm 36 rotates, the cam floor also moves along the cam groove 38 and revolves while moving away from the center of rotation according to the pattern of the cam groove 38, so that the upper and lower sealer mounting bases 32a and 32b are moved. As a result, the upper and lower top sealers 31a and 31b revolve around a predetermined locus. The rotating arm 36 is linked to a gear 39 arranged outside the machine casing 40, and the gear is linked to a drive motor (not shown), so that the rotating arm 36 rotates in response to the rotational force of the drive motor.

  The mechanism for revolving and moving the upper and lower top sealers 31a and 31b is not limited to that of the present embodiment shown in the figure, and various types other than those shown in Patent Document 1 can be used.

  And in this embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 2-4, the transition apparatus 70 for moving the cylindrical film 21 (packaged material to include) stably between the upper and lower top sealers 31a and 31b is provided. ing. The crossing device 70 includes conveying belt devices provided on the upstream side and the downstream side of the upper and lower top sealers 31a and 31b, respectively, and both conveying belt devices have a lower sealer mounting base 36b to which the lower top sealer 31b is attached. So that the gap in the front-rear direction between the conveyor belt device and the top sealer 31b is kept below a certain distance by following the front-rear movement of the lower sealer mount 36b. It has become. 2 to 4 show only the downstream conveyor belt device 41, the conveyor belt device is also arranged on the upstream side.

  The conveyor belt device 41 includes a swing frame 51 that is movably disposed in the front-rear direction at the rear end in the traveling direction (on the side of the top sealers 31 a and 31 b), and a fixed frame 52 that is disposed from the lower side of the swing frame 51 to the front. And the pulley is instructed to rotate freely at appropriate positions of both the frames 51 and 52, and the conveyor belt 46 is stretched over the pulley.

  A pair of left and right swing frames 51 are arranged at predetermined intervals. Each of the swing frames 51 is linked to the lower sealer mounting base 32b by a cooperation member (not shown) and follows the movement of the lower sealer mounting base 32b in the front-rear direction. Move back and forth. Further, a small pulley 42 is rotatably supported at the upper end of the pair of swing frames 51, and the small pulley 42 is disposed in proximity to the lower top sealer 31b. A driven pulley 43 is rotatably supported at the lower end of the swing frame 51. The small pulley 42 and the driven pulley 43 are allowed to rotate by being inserted into through holes (bearing portions) provided at predetermined positions of the swing frame 51, but are easily detached from the swing frame 51. It is suppressed to do. Further, the small pulley 42 and the driven pulley 43 are in contact with the inner surface side of the conveyor belt 46.

  Further, a strip-shaped notch groove 51a is provided at a predetermined lower position on the front side in the traveling direction of the swing frame 51, and the return pulley 44 is rotatably supported by the notch groove 51a. Since this notch groove 51a is formed so as to extend obliquely downward from above, when the rotation shaft of the return pulley 44 is inserted into the notch groove 51a, the notch groove 51a moves to the back side (downward) by its own weight. Never do. Further, the return pulley 44 contacts the outer surface side of the transport belt 46. That is, the conveyor belt 46 is looped around the return pulley 44 so as to reach the driven pulley 43 and the small pulley 42. In this way, the return pulley 44 is mounted in the notch groove 51a that opens to the front side in the traveling direction, and the return pulley 44 is in contact with the outer surface side of the conveyor belt 46. Therefore, as shown in FIG. The conveyor belt 46 is present in the direction in which the pulley 44 is detached from the notch groove 51a (right direction in the figure), and the separation thereof is suppressed.

  On the other hand, the fixed frame 52 is fixed to the lower side of the back plate 40 a of the machine casing 40 of the end seal device 30. That is, the belt-like plate 53 is fixed below the back plate 40 a, and the belt-like plate 53 and the fixed frame 52 are connected by the bracket 54. A protrusion 54 a extending in the vertical direction is provided at the center of the contact surface side of the bracket 54. Thereby, a gap S ′ corresponding to the width of the protrusion 54 a is formed between the belt-like plate 53 and the fixed frame 52.

  A driven pulley 43 is rotatably supported at an appropriate position of the fixed frame 52. A drive pulley 45 is rotatably supported below the fixed frame 52. The driven pulley 43 and the driving pulley 45 are in contact with the inner surface side of the conveyor belt 46. Further, the drive pulley 45 receives a rotational force in cooperation with a drive motor (not shown). This rotational force is transmitted to the conveyor belt 46, and the conveyor belt 46 rotates.

  A holding pulley 48 is attached to a predetermined position on the front side in the traveling direction of the fixed frame 52. The restraining pulley 48 is in contact with the outer surface side of the conveyor belt 46 and applies tension toward the inside. In other words, the holding pulley 48 is rotatably connected to the open / close bar 56 that is cantilever-supported by a hinge or the like with respect to one fixed frame 52. A fixing bolt 57 is attached to the free end side of the opening / closing bar 56. When the opening / closing bar 56 is closed, the front end of the fixing bolt 57 is placed on a receiving member 58 provided on the fixing frame 52 facing the fixing bolt 56. And fix by tightening. Then, the restraining pulley 48 comes into contact with the outer surface side of the conveyor belt 46 and biases it inward. Further, by removing the fixing bolt 57, the opening / closing bar 56 can be made free, and the pulley 48 can be separated from the conveying belt 46 by opening and closing it.

  Next, the operation of the above embodiment will be described. In a state where the open / close bar 56 is closed, the conveyor belt 46 is largely folded back at the portion of the return pulley 44 that contacts the outer surface of the conveyor belt 46, and is given a certain tension by the restraining pulley 48, and is tightly tensioned. And it rotates with the rotation of the drive pulley 45, and performs a conveyance process.

  On the other hand, when cleaning the transport belt 46 and performing other maintenance, the bracket 54 connected to one fixed frame 52 is removed. As a result, the conveyor belt device 40 is cantilevered on the back plate 40 a of the machine frame 40 by the bracket 54 connected to the other fixed frame 52. On the side where the bracket 54 is removed, a gap S ′ is formed between the machine frame 40 (back plate 40 a) and the fixed frame 52. This gap S ′ is set wider than at least the thickness of the conveyor belt 46. Further, the linkage between the slide frame 51 on the side from which the bracket 54 is removed and the lower sealer mounting base 32b is also released so that the transport belt 46 can pass therethrough.

  Also, before and after the removal work of the bracket 54, the open / close bar 56 is opened, and the holding pulley 48 is separated from the conveying belt 46. As a result, the urging force toward the inward direction from the restraining pulley 48 is released, and the conveyor belt 46 sags. Then, the part of the conveyor belt 46 in the folded portion of the return pulley 44 is also loosened, so that the return pulley 44 can be easily removed from the notch groove 51a (see FIG. 2). Then, since the small pulley 42, the driven pulley 43, and the driving pulley 45 that are in contact with the conveyor belt 46 are all in contact with the inner surface of the conveyor belt 46, the conveyor belt 46 can be easily detached from each pulley and removed. Further, the removed transport belt 46 can be removed from the frames 51 and 52 to the front side through the gap S ′ and the like.

  The transport belt removed as described above can be easily cleaned, and can be easily replaced with another transport belt. In addition, attachment of the conveyor belt 46 to the conveyor belt device 41 is performed in the reverse order of the above.

  Moreover, although the example applied to the downstream side conveyor belt device 41 has been shown in the above-described embodiment, it may be applied only to the upstream side conveyor belt side, or on the upstream side and downstream side. Of course, it may be applied to both of the conveyor belt devices.

  In the embodiment described above, the case where all are applied to a pillow packaging machine is shown, but the present invention is not limited to this, and can be applied to a four-side seal packaging machine, a deep-drawing packaging machine, and other various packaging machines.

It is a figure which shows an example of the packaging machine with which the end seal apparatus of this invention is mounted. It is a perspective view showing one embodiment of an end seal device concerning the present invention. It is a front view showing one embodiment of the end seal device concerning the present invention. It is a top view showing one embodiment of the end seal device concerning the present invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Pillow packaging machine 11 Packaging machine main body 12 Film supply apparatus 13 Packaged article 14 Packaged article conveyance supply apparatus 21 Cylindrical film 24 Center seal apparatus 30 End seal apparatus 31a Upper top sealer 31b Lower top sealer 41 Conveyor belt apparatus 44 Return pulley 46 Conveying belt 51 Swing frame 51a Notch groove 52 Fixed frame

Claims (3)

A top sealer that is placed up and down across a packaging film that encloses an article to be packaged and that seals in the lateral direction of the packaging film;
A drive mechanism that revolves the top sealer along a predetermined path while maintaining the state where the seal surfaces of the top sealer are opposed to each other;
A first conveyor belt device disposed upstream of the top sealer;
A second conveyor belt device disposed downstream of the top sealer;
With
The first conveyor belt device and the second conveyor belt device are end seal devices configured such that a tip portion on a top sealer side thereof moves in the front-rear direction following the front-rear direction movement of the top sealer. And
At least one of the first transport belt device and the second transport belt device is
A support frame arranged at a predetermined interval on the left and right;
A plurality of pulleys supported between the support frames;
A conveyor belt that spans the plurality of pulleys,
At least two of the plurality of pulleys are configured to contact an outer surface of the conveyor belt, and the other pulleys are configured to contact an inner surface of the conveyor belt;
At least one of the pulleys in contact with the outer surface is attached to an opening / closing bar that is openably / removably connected to one support frame, and the opening / closing bar is connected by closing the opening / closing bar and connecting both the support frames. An attached pulley contacts the conveyor belt and is configured to urge inward,
An end seal device, wherein the remaining pulley contacting the outer surface is rotatably supported by a notch groove formed in a peripheral edge of the support frame.   2. The end seal device according to claim 1, wherein the cutout groove is cut obliquely so that a depth side of the cutout groove is located below the opening. The pair of support frames are respectively linked to a machine frame on which the upper and lower top sealers and the driving mechanism are mounted,
At least one of the pair of support frames is configured such that a linkage bracket is made detachable and the bracket is removed to form a gap through which the conveyance belt passes between the machine frame and the support frame. The end seal device according to claim 1 or 2.

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