PACKAGING MACHINE WITH BOTTOM-SUPPORTING DEVICE

Abstract

A packaging machine with a bottom-supporting device, which intermittently moves a packaging bag to each one of packaging stations where each packaging process is performed, fills the packaging bag with an object to be packaged, and seals a bag mouth. The bottom-supporting device capable of supporting a bottom of the packaging bag is configured to be present in all the packaging stations. The bottom-supporting device includes a bottom support which supports the bottom of the packaging bag, an elevator that raises and lowers the bottom of the packaging bag, and a pneumatic drive unit which controls the raising and lowering of the bottom support by the elevator and vibration of the bottom support.

Claims

1. A packaging machine with a bottom-supporting device, which intermittently moves a packaging bag to each one of packaging stations where each packaging process is performed, fills the packaging bag with an object to be packaged, and seals a bag mouth, wherein the bottom-supporting device capable of supporting a bottom of the packaging bag is provided so as to be present in all the packaging stations, the bottom-supporting device comprising: a bottom support which supports the bottom of the packaging bag; an elevator that raises and lowers the bottom of the packaging bag; and a pneumatic drive unit which controls the raising and lowering of the bottom support by the elevator and vibration of the bottom support.

2. The packaging machine according to claim 1, wherein the bottom-supporting device is configured to be sequentially intermittently moved through the packaging stations in synchronization with the intermittent movement of the packaging bag.

3. The packaging machine according to claim 1, wherein the packaging stations include an object filling station where the bottom-supporting device is controlled so that the bottom of the packaging bag is supported by the bottom support after the packaging bag has been filled with the object.

4. The packaging machine according to claim 1, wherein the packaging stations include a gas filling station where the bottom-supporting device is controlled so that vibration is applied to the bottom of the packaging bag by the bottom support.

5. The packaging machine according to claim 1, wherein the packaging stations include a sealing station where the bottom-supporting device is controlled so that the bottom of the packaging bag is lifted by the bottom support.

6. The packaging machine according to claim 1, wherein the packaging stations include a product discharge station where the bottom-supporting device is controlled so that the bottom support is lowered to release the bottom of the packaging bag from a supported state.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0011] In the accompanying drawings:

[0012] FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view of one example of the packaging machine with the bottom-supporting device;

[0013] FIG. 2 is a schematic right side view of the bottom-supporting device shown in FIG. 1;

[0014] FIGS. 3A and 3B are explanatory diagrams for explaining a packaging process performed by the packaging machine with the bottom-supporting device shown in FIG. 1;

[0015] FIGS. 4A and 4B are explanatory diagrams for explaining the packaging process performed by the packaging machine with the bottom-supporting device shown in FIG. 1;

[0016] FIGS. 5A and 5B are explanatory diagrams for explaining the packaging process performed by the packaging machine shown in FIG. 1;

[0017] FIGS. 6A and 6B are explanatory diagrams for explaining the packaging process performed by the packaging machine shown in FIG. 1;

[0018] FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the bottom-supporting device of the packaging machine shown in FIG. 1;

[0019] FIG. 8 is a partially enlarged left side view for explaining the bottom-supporting device of the packaging machine shown in FIG. 1; and

[0020] FIG. 9 is a partially enlarged plan view for explaining the bottom-supporting device of the packaging machine shown in FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0021] The present disclosure realizes a packaging machine with a bottom-supporting device 11, which intermittently moves a packaging bag a to each one of packaging stations 1 to 10 where respective packaging processes are performed, fills the packaging bag with an object to be packaged, and seals a bag mouth. In the packaging machine, the bottom-supporting device 11 capable of supporting a bottom of the packaging bag a is provided so as to be present in all the packaging stations 1 to 10 and includes a bottom-support 12 which supports the bottom of the packaging bag a, an elevator 13 that raises and lowers the bottom of the packaging bag a, and a pneumatic drive unit 14 which controls the raising and lowering of the bottom-support 12 by the elevator 13 and vibration of the bottom-support 12, with the result that each packaging process can be assisted by adjusting the vibration conditions and height in any process according to the product.

[0022] The packaging machine provided with the bottom-supporting device of the present disclosure will be described with reference to an embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 to 9.

[0023] The packaging machine P with the bottom-supporting device of the embodiment intermittently moves a packaging bag a to each one of packaging stations 1 to 10 where respective packaging processes are performed, fills the packaging bag a with an object to be packaged, and seals a bag mouth. In the packaging machine P, the bottom-supporting device 11 capable of supporting a bottom of the packaging bag a is provided so as to be present in all the packaging stations 1 to 10 and includes a bottom support 12 which supports the bottom of the packaging bag a, an elevator 13 that raises and lowers the bottom of the packaging bag a, and a pneumatic drive unit 14 which controls the raising and lowering of the bottom support 12 by the elevator 13 and vibration of the bottom support 12. Each configuration will hereinafter be described in detail in order.

[0024] As shown in FIG. 1 or 2, the packaging machine P with the bottom-supporting device of this embodiment moves a moving body 20 having a plurality of grips pairs g while intermittently stopping the moving body 20 at each of a plurality of processes, fills the packaging bag a suspended from the grip pair g with an object to be packaged, and seals the bag mouth.

[0025] The packaging bag a may include a gazette bag having folds on both side edges, a self-supporting bag with a fold at the bottom, and a zippered or flat bag with zippers on these bags. Furthermore, examples of the object to be packed in the packaging bag a may include pet food, fertilizer, rice, and sugar.

[0026] Although the packaging machine P with the bottom-supporting device of this embodiment is a rotary packaging machine, the packaging machine P should not be limited to this type and may be, for example, a known linearly moving packaging machine or a track-moving packaging machine that horizontally moves on an annular passage including two straight parts and semi-circular parts at both ends.

[0027] In the packaging machine P with the bottom-supporting device, as shown in FIG. 1, 20 pairs of grips g for gripping or releasing the packaging bag a are arranged at equal intervals on the moving body 20 so as to project in a radial direction. The moving body 20 has a circular shape as viewed in a plan view.

[0028] The packaging machine with the bottom-supporting device of this embodiment fills the packaging bags a with the objects and sealing the packaging bags a through a bag feeding process (a first process), a process of chuck opening/printing an expiration date and/or the like (a first half of a second process), a printing quality inspecting process (a second half of the second process), a process of nozzle opening/bag opening/bag inflating/inserting a funnel for filling packaging bags with articles to be packaged (a third process), a process of filling packaging bags with articles (a fourth process), a gas filling/bottom vibrating process (a fifth process), (a sixth process) or (a seventh process), a top sealing process (an eighth process), a seal cooling/product discharging step (a ninth process), and a defective/empty bag discharging process (a tenth process), thereby mass-producing the products.

[0029] In the bag feeding process (1), as shown in FIG. 1 or FIG. 3A, a bag feeding device (bag feeding means) 30 arranged in a bag feeding station 1 intermittently moves the packaging bags a in a vertical position, that are stacked on a transport conveyor 31 to be sequentially transported, and passes the packaging bags a to the grips g. More specifically, the packaging machine is configured so that a large number of packaging bags a stacked on the conveyor 31 are rolled up one by one by a suction cup 32 that can be moved upward and downward by a servomotor (not shown), and are lifted up to a predetermined height by a rotating arm (not shown) to be sequentially passed to the grips g. Since the packaging machine P with the bottom-supporting device of this embodiment performs each packaging process on two packaging bags a at the same time in each packaging process, two pairs of grips g are attached to the moving body 20 so as to be intermittently moved to each one of the packaging stations 1 to 10.

[0030] In the chuck opening/printing process (2-1), as shown in FIG. 3B, the chuck opening process is carried out in which the chuck provided on the inner surface near the bag mouth b of the packaging bag a is opened, and the printing process is carried out in which the expiration date and/or the like is printed on the packaging bag a. More specifically, the packaging machine P is configured so that in the chuck opening/printing station 2, the vicinity of the bag mouth of the packaging bag a, in which the upper ends of both ends are gripped by the pair of grips g and supported in a hanging manner, is suctioned at the front and back outer surfaces by suction cups 33 to be opened, and so that the chuck provided on the inner surface of the bag mouth of the packaging bag a is opened by moving the packaging bag a outward with a sandwiching member 34 sandwiching the front and back surfaces. The packaging machine P is further configured to print the expiration date and/or the like on the packaging bag a by printing and stamping 35 as printing of the expiration date and/or the like.

[0031] In the printing quality inspection process (2-2), as shown in FIG. 4A, it is inspected whether or not the printing printed in the printing process (2-1) such as the expiration date is properly performed. This process is performed by using a camera 36 for the packaging bag a moved between the chuck opening/printing station 2 and the opening/funnel insertion station 3.

[0032] In the nozzle opening process (3), as shown in FIG. 4B, the packaging bag a is inflated by opening the bag mouth b of the packaging bag a by the suction cup 37, and a gas nozzle 38 is inserted into the packaging bag a and a funnel 50 for filling the packaging bag a is inserted through the bag mouth b.

[0033] In the packaging bag filling process (4), as shown in FIG. 5A, the packaging bag a is filled with a set amount of object c to be packaged discharged from the discharge port 51 of the packaging bag filling funnel 50 inserted through the bag mouth b in the packaging bag filling station 4. More specifically, an object supply funnel 80 is lowered, and a set amount of the object c to fill one packaging bag a is supplied into the funnel 50 for filling the packaging bag a with the object to be packaged.

[0034] In the gas filling/bottom vibrating processes (5, 6 and 7), an inert gas (nitrogen gas in this embodiment) is ejected from the gas nozzle 38 at the gas filling stations 5, 6 and 7 to be replaced with air. As the active gas is replaced, the bottom of the packaging bag a is vibrated by the bottom support 12 of the bottom-supporting device 11.

[0035] In the top sealing process (8), the vicinity of the bag mouth b of the packaging bag a is horizontally sealed by a seal bar 39 in the sealing station 8 as shown in FIG. 5B.

[0036] In the seal cooling/product discharge process (9), the packaging bag a determined to be a non-defective product is cooled near the bag mouth b of the packaging bag a by a cooling bar 40 from both sides thereof in the product discharge station 9, and gripping claws (not shown) of the paired grips g are opened to release the packaging bag a from the gripped state, so that the product is discharged from the machine by a product discharge conveyor 41, as shown in FIG. 6A.

[0037] In the defective/empty bag discharge process (10), when the packaging bag a is determined to be a defective product or an empty bag, the gripping claws of the paired grips g are opened to release the packaging bag a from the gripped state in the defective product discharge station 10, so that the packaging bag a is discharged outside the machine by a defective product discharge chute 42, as shown in FIG. 6(2).

[0038] As described above, the packaging machine 1 with the bottom-supporting device of this embodiment performs the aforementioned packaging processes in the respective packaging stations 1 to 10 for the intermittently moved packaging bag a, thereby sequentially mass-producing the products.

[0039] One of the features of the packaging machine 1 resides in that, as shown in FIG. 7, all the packaging stations 1 to 10 are configured so that the bottom-supporting device 11 capable of holding the bottom of the packaging bag a (has the same number of bottom-supporting devices 11 capable of holding the bottom of the bag a as the number of packaging stations, and since the number of packaging stations is 10 in this embodiment, ten bottom-supporting devices 11 capable of holding the bottom of the packaging bag a are provided). This results in that each packaging process can be assisted by adjusting the vibration conditions, height adjustment, etc. according to the products. Configurations of the bottom-supporting device 11 will hereinafter be described.

[0040] The bottom support 12 of the bottom-supporting device 11 is adapted to support the bottom of the packaging bag a and has two rod-shaped members 12a and 12b extending toward the outside of the moving body 20 as shown in FIG. 9. However, the bottom support 12 may include three or more rod-shaped members, and the form of the bottom support 12 should not be limited to two rod-shaped members 12a and 12b. For example, the bottom support 12 may have any form as long as it can abut against the bottom of the packaging bag a to support the packaging bag a, such as a plate-shaped member.

[0041] The elevator 13 raises and lowers the bottom support 12 and includes an elevating rail along which a proximal end 12c of the bottom support 12 is movable upward and downward.

[0042] The pneumatic drive unit 14 (pneumatic servo) controls the elevating of the bottom support 12 and the vibration of the bottom support 12 in the elevator 13. It should be noted that the bottom support 12 and the pneumatic drive unit 14 each appearing twice in FIG. 8 represent operations of moving upward and moving downward, but actually exist in the form of only one of the operations.

[0043] Furthermore, the bottom-supporting device 11 is of a synchronization type ad is configured to be sequentially intermittently moved through the packaging stations 1 to 10 in synchronization with the intermittent movement of the packaging bag a. As a result, the bottom-supporting device 11 can provide necessary assistance to the packaging bag a during the intermittent movement thereof, and provides continuous and smoother assistance to each packaging bag a over a plurality of packaging processes. More specifically, as shown in FIG. 9, a proximal end 11a of the bottom-supporting device 11 is configured to be movable along an annular passage 15 provided concentrically with the moving body 20, and the bottom-supporting device 11 is controlled to be sequentially intermittently moved in synchronization with the intermittent movement of the packaging bag a.

[0044] In this embodiment, the bottom-supporting device 11 is controlled so that the bottom support 12 is moved upward to raise and support the bottom of the packaging bag a in the packaging bag filling station 4 after the packaging bag a has been filled with the object c. This can reduce the swing of the packaging bag a after the packaging bag a has been filled with the object c.

[0045] Furthermore, the bottom-supporting device 11 is controlled so that the bottom support 12 is moved upward and downward to vibrate the bottom of the packaging bag a in the gas filling stations 5, 6 and 7. This can prompt the dropping of the object c into the packaging bag a.

[0046] Furthermore, the bottom-supporting device 11 is controlled so that the bottom support 12 is moved upward and the bottom of the packaging bag a is lifted by the bottom support 12 at the sealing station 5. As a result, the packaging bag a can be deflated before being sealed.

[0047] Furthermore, the bottom-supporting device 11 is controlled so that the bottom support 12 is lowered in the product discharge station 9 in order that the bottom of the packaging bag a may be released from the held state. As a result, the packaging bags a can be sequentially placed on the product discharge conveyor 41. The bottom support 12 passes through the groove 41a extending in the transport direction of the product discharge conveyor 41 as shown in FIG. 6B to be lowered below the product discharge conveyor 41 as shown in FIG. 8. FIG. 6A shows the packaging bag a in a falling state.

[0048] As described above, in the packaging machine P provided with the bottom-supporting device of this embodiment includes the package filling station 4, the bottom-supporting device 12 is used in the gas filling stations 5, 6 and 7, the sealing station 8 and the product discharge station 9 and during the movement of the packaging bag a between these stations. However, the present disclosure should not be limited to these stations, and the present disclosure involves in its scope the use of the bottom-supporting device in other packaging stations according to the products.

[0049] The foregoing description and drawings are merely illustrative of the present disclosure and are not to be construed in a limiting sense. Various changes and modifications will become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art. All such changes and modifications are seen to fall within the scope of the appended claims.