BAG SUPPLY DEVICE AND BAG CONTINUOUS BAND USED THEREFOR

Abstract

A bag continuous band includes a support portion in a continuous direction and housing portions adjacent to one side of the support portion. The support portion includes a front tubular portion and a back tubular portion that are continuous along an edge of each housing portion on the support portion side. In addition, front and back surface portions include connection portions in the middle in the continuous direction and connected to tubular portions, and a pair of separation portions over both sides of the connection portions. A pair of guide rods of a bag supply device is inserted into openings of the tubular portions at a start end of the bag continuous band, the tubular portions are supported by the pair of guide rods and separated from the front surface portion and the back surface portion, and an opening portion of a leading bag automatically opened.

Claims

1. A bag supply device that supplies a bag from a sheet-shaped bag continuous band in which a portion to be the bag is repeatedly provided in a continuous direction, wherein the bag continuous band includes: a support portion continuous in the continuous direction; and housing portions adjacent to one side of the support portion in a direction orthogonal to the continuous direction and each repeatedly provided in the continuous direction, the housing portion includes: a front surface portion; a back surface portion facing the front surface portion; an opening portion provided at an edge on the support portion side and leading to a housing space between the front surface portion and the back surface portion; an edge of a bottom portion located on a side opposite to an edge of the opening portion; and side edges extending from both ends of the edge of the opening portion to both ends of the edge of the bottom portion, the support portion includes: a front tubular portion continuous along an edge of the front surface portion of each of the housing portions on the support portion side; and a back tubular portion continuous along an edge of the back surface portion on the support portion side, an inner space of the front tubular portion and an inner space of the back tubular portion are each continuous over the entire bag continuous band in the continuous direction, a portion of the front surface portion located at the edge of the opening portion includes: a connection portion located in a middle in the continuous direction and connected to the front tubular portion; and a pair of separation portions separated from or separably connected to the front tubular portion over entire both sides of the connection portion, a portion of the back surface portion located at the edge of the opening portion includes: a connection portion located in the middle in the continuous direction and connected to the back surface tubular portion; and a pair of separation portions separated from or separably connected to the back surface tubular portion over the entire both sides of the connection portion, the adjacent housing portions in the bag continuous band are separably continuous or separated, the front tubular portion and the back tubular portion each are separably continuous at positions corresponding to the pair of separation portions adjacent in the continuous direction, the bag supply device includes a pair of guide rods respectively to be inserted into the front tubular portion and the back tubular portion of the bag continuous band, the pair of guide rods includes: a pair of distal end portions and a pair of main body portions that are portions respectively following the pair of distal end portions and are provided at an interval, and the distal end portion and the main body portion of each of the guide rods are supported only on a side opposite to the distal end portion, and the pair of main body portions respectively include tear portions that tear the front tubular portion and the back tubular portion along a longitudinal direction thereof at positions away from the distal end portions.

2. The bag supply device according to claim 1, wherein the pair of main body portions includes a pair of enlarged portions in which a mutual interval between the enlarged portions increases as a distance from the pair of distal end portions increases.

3. The bag supply device according to claim 1, wherein the pair of main body portions includes: a pair of first portions respectively following the pair of distal end portions and extending at a constant first mutual interval; a pair of enlarged portions respectively following the pair of first portions, in which an interval between the enlarged portions increases from the first mutual interval to a second mutual interval larger than the first mutual interval as a distance from the first portions increases; and a pair of second portions respectively following the pair of enlarged portions and extending at a constant second mutual interval so as to be away from the enlarged portions by 50% or more of a width of one sheet of the bag, and the pair of tear portions are portions respectively following the pair of second portions.

4. The bag supply device according to claim 3, wherein the first portions are portions extending in an up-down direction, and the second portions are portions extending in a lateral direction.

5. The bag supply device according to claim 1, wherein the tear portion is a portion having a cutting blade protruding from an outer peripheral surface of the guide rod.

6. A sheet-shaped bag continuous band in which a portion to be a bag is repeatedly provided in a continuous direction, the bag continuous band comprising: a support portion continuous in the continuous direction; and a housing portion adjacent to one side of the support portion in a direction orthogonal to the continuous direction and repeatedly provided in the continuous direction, wherein the housing portion includes: a front surface portion; a back surface portion facing the front surface portion; an opening portion provided at an edge on the support portion side and leading to a housing space between the front surface portion and the back surface portion; an edge of a bottom portion located on a side opposite to an edge of the opening portion; and side edges extending from both ends of the edge of the opening portion to both ends of the edge of the bottom portion, the support portion includes: a front tubular portion continuous along an edge of the front surface portion of each of the housing portions on the support portion side; and a back tubular portion continuous along an edge of the back surface portion on the support portion side, an inner space of the front tubular portion and an inner space of the back tubular portion are each continuous over the entire bag continuous band in the continuous direction, a portion of the front surface portion located at the edge of the opening portion includes: a connection portion located in a middle in the continuous direction and connected to the front tubular portion; and a pair of separation portions separated from or separably connected to the front tubular portion over entire both sides of the connection portion, a portion of the back surface portion located at the edge of the opening portion includes: a connection portion located in the middle in the continuous direction and connected to the back surface tubular portion; and a pair of separation portions separated from or separably connected to the back surface tubular portion over the entire both sides of the connection portion, the adjacent housing portions in the bag continuous band are separably continuous or separated, and the front tubular portion and the back tubular portion are separably continuous at positions corresponding to the pair of separation portions adjacent in the continuous direction.

7. The bag continuous band according to claim 6, wherein a continuous band-shaped flexible sheet is folded in two in an orthogonal direction orthogonal to a continuous direction to form a first fold as the edge of the bottom portion, and end portions on a side opposite to the first fold in a portion on one side and a portion on the other side with the first fold as a boundary are folded back to the first fold side to form second folds and folded-back portions, respectively, the front surface portion and the back surface portion are formed by portions between the first fold and the folded-back portion in the portion on the one side and the portion on the other side, respectively, in the portion on the one side and the portion on the other side, the folded-back portion and a portion facing the folded-back portion are joined to each other with an interval from the second fold to form the front tubular portion and the back tubular portion, respectively, a slit or an easily separable portion is formed at each of positions corresponding to the pair of separation portions of the front surface portion in the portion on the one side and each of positions corresponding to the pair of separation portions of the back surface portion in the portion on the other side, and in the continuous band-shaped flexible sheet in which the first fold, the front tubular portion, and the back tubular portion are formed, a first easily separable portion for separating the front tubular portion and the back tubular portion and a second easily separable portion for separating the housing portion are formed at an interval corresponding to a width of the bag in the continuous direction, and facing surfaces of the portion on one side and the portion on the other side are continuously joined in the orthogonal direction on both sides of the second easily separable portion in the continuous direction.

8. The bag continuous band according to claim 6, wherein a length of the separation portion in the continuous direction is to times a width of one of the housing portions.

9. The bag continuous band according to claim 6, wherein the front tubular portion and the back tubular portion are separably continuous at a position corresponding to the separation portion on a leading side of each housing portion and close to the connection portion.

10. The bag supply device according to claim 2, wherein the tear portion is a portion having a cutting blade protruding from an outer peripheral surface of the guide rod.

11. The bag continuous band according to claim 7, wherein a length of the separation portion in the continuous direction is to times a width of one of the housing portions.

12. The bag continuous band according to claim 7, wherein the front tubular portion and the back tubular portion are separably continuous at a position corresponding to the separation portion on a leading side of each housing portion and close to the connection portion.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0060] FIG. 1 is a front view of a bag continuous band in an unfolded state. Note that a back surface appears symmetrically with a front surface.

[0061] FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view cut along line 2-2 of FIG. 1.

[0062] FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view cut along line 3-3 in FIG. 1.

[0063] FIG. 4 is a front view of a bag.

[0064] FIG. 5 is a front view of a bag continuous band in an unfolded state. Note that a back surface appears symmetrically with a front surface.

[0065] FIG. 6 is a front view of a bag continuous band in an unfolded state. Note that a back surface appears symmetrically with a front surface.

[0066] FIG. 7(a) is a perspective view of a roll-shaped bag continuous band, and FIG. 7(b) is a perspective view of a folded and stacked bag continuous band.

[0067] FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a bag supply device.

[0068] FIG. 9 is a perspective view of the bag supply device illustrating a use state.

[0069] FIG. 10 is a perspective view of a bag supply device.

[0070] FIG. 11 is a front view of the bag supply device illustrating a use state.

[0071] FIG. 12 is a perspective view of a bag supply device.

[0072] FIG. 13 is a perspective view of a bag supply device.

[0073] FIG. 14 is a perspective view of a bag supply device.

[0074] FIG. 15 is a front view of a bag continuous band in an unfolded state. Note that a back surface appears symmetrically with a front surface.

[0075] FIG. 16 is a perspective view of a bag supply device illustrating a use state.

[0076] FIG. 17(a) is a right side view of the bag supply device illustrated in FIGS. 10 and 11, and FIG. 17(b) is a right side view of another bag supply device.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

[0077] Hereinafter, examples of the above-described bag supply device and the above-described bag continuous band used therefor will be described in detail with reference to the attached drawings. Note that joining in the following description can be performed by welding such as heat sealing or ultrasonic sealing, and can also be performed by an adhesive such as a hot melt adhesive. Reference numerals W1 and W2 in the drawings represent welded portions.

Example of Bag Continuous Band

[0078] FIGS. 1 to 4 illustrate an example of a sheet-shaped bag continuous band 10 in which a portion to be a bag 1 is repeatedly provided in a continuous direction D1. The present bag continuous band 10 includes a support portion 91 continuous in the continuous direction D1, and a housing portion 92 adjacent to one side of the support portion 91 in a direction D2 orthogonal to the continuous direction D1 and repeatedly provided in the continuous direction D1. Each housing portion 92 includes a front surface portion 11, a back surface portion 12 facing the front surface portion 11, an opening portion 13 provided at an edge on the support portion 91 side and leading to a housing space 16 between the front surface portion 11 and the back surface portion 12, an edge of a bottom portion 14 located on a side opposite to an edge of the opening portion 13, and side edges 15 extending from both ends of the edge of the opening portion 13 to both ends of the edge of the bottom portion 14. The support portion 91 includes a front tubular portion 21 continuous along an edge of the front surface portion 11 of each housing portion 92 on the support portion 91 side and a back tubular portion 22 continuous along an edge of the back surface portion 12 of each housing portion 92 on the support portion 91 side. As can be seen from this, the edge of the opening portion 13 includes an edge of the front surface portion 11 on the front tubular portion 21 side and an edge of the back surface portion 12 on the back tubular portion 22 side. An inner space 211 of the front tubular portion 21 and an inner space 221 of the back tubular portion 22 are continuous over the entire bag continuous band 10 in the continuous direction D1. In addition, a portion of the front surface portion 11 located at the edge of the opening portion 13 includes a connection portion 32 located in the middle in the continuous direction D1 and connected to the front tubular portion 21, and a pair of separation portions 31 extending over the entire both sides of the connection portion 32 (that is, continuing from both ends of the connection portion 32 in the continuous direction D1 to both side edges 15 as illustrated in the drawing) and separated from the front tubular portion 21. Similarly, a portion of the back surface portion 12 located at the edge of the opening portion 13 includes a connection portion 32 located in the middle in the continuous direction D1 and connected to the back tubular portion 22, and a pair of separation portions 31 extending over the entire both sides of the connection portion 32 (that is, continuing from both ends of the connection portion 32 in the continuous direction D1 to both side edges 15 as illustrated in the drawing) and separated from the back tubular portion 22. Furthermore, in the bag continuous band 10, the adjacent housing portions 92 are continuous so as to be separable, and the front tubular portion 21 and the back tubular portion 22 are continuous so as to be separable at positions corresponding to the pair of separation portions 31 adjacent in the continuous direction D1. The bag continuous band 10 can be formed of a flexible sheet. The flexible sheet is not particularly limited, and in addition to a polyolefin film such as a polyethylene film (HDPE, LDPE, LLPE, or the like) or a polypropylene film (OPP, CPP, or the like), a synthetic resin film such as a polyvinyl chloride (PVC) film can be suitably used, and paper can also be used. The thickness of the flexible sheet is not particularly limited, but can be about 0.01 mm to 0.1 mm in a case of a synthetic resin film.

[0079] The front tubular portion 21 and the back tubular portion 22 may be formed by folding back each of flexible sheets forming the front surface portion 11 and the back surface portion 12 inward (or outward) at an edge of the opening portion 13 and joining lower ends of the folded-back portions to facing surfaces as illustrated in FIG. 2(a), or may be formed by joining lower ends of tubular bodies 21t and 22t manufactured separately from the housing portion 92 along upper edges (edge of the opening portion 13) of the front surface portion 11 and the back surface portion 12 in the housing portion 92 as illustrated in FIG. 2(b). Note that, in the joining illustrated in FIG. 2(a), a welded portion W1 is formed by welding the flexible sheets, but the joining can be changed to joining using an adhesive. Similarly, the joining in the example illustrated in FIG. 2(b) is performed by an adhesive B1, but can also be performed by welding the flexible sheets.

[0080] The inner diameters of the front tubular portion 21 and the back tubular portion 22 are not particularly limited as long as a pair of guide rods 52 of a bag supply device 50 described later can be inserted into the front tubular portion 21 and the back tubular portion 22. However, the pair of guide rods 52 can be preferably inserted with a margin, and for example, an inner size y2 in a flat state can be about 5 to 30 mm.

[0081] The pair of separation portions 31 can be provided by forming a slit 40 (not having a width in the orthogonal direction) along a portion of the front surface portion 11 located at an edge of the opening portion 13 and a portion of the back surface portion 12 located at the edge of the opening portion 13 as illustrated in FIGS. 1, 3, and 4, or by forming an elongated punching hole 41 (having a width in the orthogonal direction) extending along the portions as illustrated in FIG. 5. In these cases, since the slit 40 or the punching hole 41 is located at a boundary between the front surface portion 11 and the front tubular portion 21 and a boundary between the back surface portion 12 and the back tubular portion 22, the edge of the opening portion 13 coincides with an edge on the front surface portion 11 and the back surface portion 12 side out of the pair of edges of the slit 40 or the punching hole 41. In addition, as illustrated in FIG. 2(b), when the tubular bodies 21t and 22t separately manufactured are joined to the front surface portion 11 and the back surface portion 12 to form the front tubular portion 21 and the back tubular portion 22, the tubular bodies 21t and 22t are joined only to a portion to be the connection portion 32 of the front surface portion 11 and the back surface portion 12, and are not joined to a portion to be the separation portion 31, whereby the separation portion 31 and the connection portion 32 can be provided.

[0082] In addition, as illustrated in FIG. 6, the separation portion 31 can be provided by forming an easily separable portion 42 such as perforations or a fragile portion along a portion of the front surface portion 11 located at an edge of the opening portion 13 and a lower edge of a portion of the back surface portion 12 located at the edge of the opening portion 13, and separating the easily separable portion 42 in advance or when the opening portion 13 of the bag 1 is widened. In a case where the tubular bodies 21t and 22t separately manufactured are joined to the front surface portion 11 and the back surface portion 12 to form the front tubular portion 21 and the back tubular portion 22 as illustrated in FIG. 2(b), it is also possible to provide the separation portion 31 by weakly joining only a portion to be the separation portion 31 so as to be peelable (strongly joining other portions so as not to be peelable) at the time of joining and peeling off the weakly joined portion in advance or when the opening portion 13 of the bag 1 is widened.

[0083] A size x2 of the separation portion 31 of the bag continuous band 10 in the continuous direction can be appropriately determined. However, the size x2 of the separation portion 31 defines an opening limit of the bag 1 in the bag supply device described later, and the length of the connection portion 32 affects shape stability of the bag 1 supported by the guide rod.

[0084] In addition, as illustrated in FIG. 9 or the like, the front tubular portion 21 and the back tubular portion 22 torn in the continuous direction D1 remain as portions protruding in a string shape in the individual bag 1 separated from the bag continuous band 10. The length of the portion in the string shape is determined by the length of the separation portion 31, and the portion in the string shape can be used to tie the opening portion 13 of the bag 1 if the portion has a sufficient length. Therefore, it is desirable that the size x2 of the separation portion 31 of the bag continuous band 10 in the continuous direction is about to times a width x1 of one housing portion 92 from these viewpoints.

[0085] The individual bag 1 constituting the bag continuous band 10 can have an appropriate shape as long as the individual bag 1 maintains continuity of the front tubular portion 21 and the back tubular portion 22 and includes the pair of separation portions 31 and the connection portion 32 as described above. However, at least the housing portion 92 (the front surface portion 11 and the back surface portion 12) in a flat state preferably has a square shape or a rectangular shape similarly to what is generally called a plastic bag or a vinyl bag. The overall shape of the individual bags 1 varies depending on whether the position of a first easily separable portion 43a for separating the support portion 91 and the position of a second easily separable portion 43b for separating the housing portion In 92 are aligned or deviated in the continuous direction D1. In the former case, the overall shape of the individual bags 1 is a shape obtained only by extending the housing portion 92 in the orthogonal direction D2 as illustrated in FIG. 4. In the latter case, the overall shape of the individual bags 1 is a shape in which the support portion 91 remaining along the opening portion 13 of the housing portion 92 protrudes to one side in the continuous direction D1 as illustrated in FIG. 16.

[0086] In addition, the structure of each of the housing portions constituting the bag continuous band 10 is not particularly limited, but for example, when a structure called a side seal bag is adopted, the bag continuous band 10 is particularly simple and can be manufactured without waste of material, which is preferable. That is, in the bag continuous band 10 illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 4, the continuous band-shaped flexible sheet is folded in two in an orthogonal direction orthogonal to the continuous direction, and a first fold C1 is formed as an edge of the bottom portion 14 of each bag 1, end portions on a side opposite to the first fold C1 in the portion on one side and the portion on the other side with the first fold C1 as a boundary are folded back to the first fold C1 side to form second folds C2 and folded-back portions FP, respectively, and each of the front surface portion 11 and the back surface portion 12 is formed by a portion between the first fold and the folded-back portion. In addition, out of the portion on one side and the portion on the other side, the folded-back portion FP and a portion facing the folded-back portion FP are welded at an interval from the second fold C2 to form the welded portion W1, the front tubular portion 21, and the back tubular portion 22. Furthermore, slits 40 (or the easily separable portions 42 such as perforations as illustrated in FIG. 6) are formed at positions corresponding to the pair of separation portions 31 of the front surface portion 11 in the portion on one side and at positions corresponding to the pair of separation portions 31 of the back surface portion 12 in the portion on the other side. In addition, in the continuous band-shaped flexible sheet in which the first fold C1, the front tubular portion 21, and the back tubular portion 22 are formed, the first easily separable portion 43a for separating the front tubular portion 21 and the back tubular portion 22 and the second easily separable portion 43b for separating the housing portion 92 are formed at an interval corresponding to the width of the bag 1 in the continuous direction, and facing surfaces of the portion on one side and the portion on the other side are continuously joined (a welded portion W2 is formed in the illustrated example) along the second easily separable portion 43b on both sides of the second easily separable portion 43b in the continuous direction. As can be seen from this description, the above-described bag continuous band 10 can be formed only by adding a step of forming the front tubular portion 21 and the back tubular portion 22 (a folding-back step and a joining step) and a step of forming the slit 40 or the easily separable portion 42 to an existing side seal bag manufacturing technique.

[0087] In the bag continuous band 10, as long as the front tubular portion 21 and the back tubular portion 22 are continuous so as to be separable via the first easily separable portion 43a such as perforations or a fragile portion at positions corresponding to the pair of separation portions 31 adjacent in the continuous direction D1, the housing portion 92 may also be continuous so as to be separable via the second easily separable portion 43b as illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 6, or a part or the whole of the housing portion 92 may be separated in advance by a side edge slit 44 or the like as illustrated in FIG. 5. In order to form the bag continuous band 10 in which the bags 1 having the same size and the same shape are continuous, the size of the housing portion 92 in the continuous direction can be constant, and an interval between the first easily separable portions 43a of the front tubular portion 21 and the back tubular portion 22 can be equal to a size x1 of the housing portion 92 in the continuous direction.

[0088] The position of the first easily separable portion 43a for separating the support portion 92 (the front tubular portion 21 and the back tubular portion 22) may be aligned in the continuous direction with the position of the second easily separable portion 43b for separating the housing portion as illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 9, or may be deviated as illustrated in FIGS. 15 and 16. In the latter case, when the position of the first easily separable portion 43a is a position corresponding to the separation portion 31 on a leading side of each housing portion 92 and a position close to the connection portion 32, portions of the tubular portions 21 and 22 that are not connected to the housing portion 92 do not remain on a leading side of the connection portion 32 or are short even if remaining. Therefore, when the front tubular portion 21 and the back tubular portion 22 are pressed against the tear portion 64 by pulling the housing portion 92 in a bag supply device 50 described later to tear the front tubular portion 21 and the back tubular portion 22, a force can be effectively applied to the front tubular portion 21 and the back tubular portion 22. Therefore, tearing operation is facilitated. The first easily separable portion 43a is particularly preferably located at a position corresponding to the separation portion 31 on a leading side of each housing portion 92 and at an end portion on the connection portion 32 side from this viewpoint.

[0089] Although not illustrated, it is also possible to manufacture a bag continuous band by separably connecting individual bags after manufacturing the bags, and in this case, each of the bags may have a structure called a bottom seal bag, a three-way seal bag, a gusset bag, a stand bag, or the like.

[0090] The bag continuous band 10 may be a roll wound around a tubular core formed of paper or the like as illustrated in FIG. 7(a), or may be a stacked product obtained by alternately folding back the bag continuous band 10 at regular intervals in the continuous direction, for example, at a boundary of adjacent bags 1 as illustrated in FIG. 7(b).

[0091] In order to facilitate tearing of the front tubular portion 21 and the back tubular portion 22 along the longitudinal direction described later or to enable the tearing without a cutting blade described later, as illustrated in FIG. 5, an easily tearable portion 45 such as perforations or a fragile portion along the continuous direction can be formed in each of the front tubular portion 21 and the back tubular portion 22. The easily tearable portion 45 is preferably formed at an edge on a side opposite to the bottom portion 14 of the bag 1 or in the vicinity thereof in the front tubular portion 21 and the back tubular portion 22, but the position is not limited thereto.

Example of Bag Supply Device

[0092] FIG. 8 illustrates an example of a bag supply device 50 that supplies the bag 1 from the above-described bag continuous band 10. The bag supply device 50 includes a pair of guide rods 52 respectively inserted into the front tubular portion 21 and the back tubular portion 22 of the bag continuous band 10. The pair of guide rods 52 includes a pair of distal end portions 65 and a pair of main body portions 60 which are portions respectively following the pair of distal end portions and are provided at an interval. The distal end portion 65 and the main body portion 60 of each of the guide rods 52 are supported only on a side opposite to the distal end portion. The pair of main body portions respectively include tear portions 64 that tear the front tubular portion 21 and the back tubular portion 22 along a longitudinal direction thereof at positions away from the distal end portions.

[0093] In the present bag supply device 50, for example, after the bag continuous band 10 is pulled out and opened as illustrated in FIG. 9, one bag can be separated. That is, as a preparation step, the pair of guide rods 52 is inserted into openings of the front tubular portion 21 and the back tubular portion 22 at a start end of the bag continuous band 10 in order from the distal end portions 65 to the main body portions 60. At this time, the front tubular portion 21 and the back tubular portion 22 are separated from the front surface portion 11 and the back surface portion 12 at the separation portion 31 at least on a start end side (preferably both of the pair of separation portions 31), and are respectively supported by the main body portions 60 of the pair of guide rods 52 provided at an interval, whereby the opening portion 13 of the leading housing portion 92 is automatically opened at least on the start end side. Therefore, in this state, a side portion on the start end side can be pinched by inserting a finger into the opening portion 13 of the leading housing portion 92. Therefore, operation of separating the front surface portion 11 and the back surface portion 12 of the housing portion 92 is unnecessary. Next, when a finger is hooked on the opening portion 13 of the leading housing portion 92 (it is better to pinch a side portion) and the leading housing portion 92 is pulled toward the tear portion 64 side along the pair of guide rods 52 (in a direction indicated by a two-dot chain line arrow in the drawing), the front tubular portion 21 and the back tubular portion 22 are torn along the longitudinal direction at the pair of tear portions 64, whereby the leading housing portion 92 and the front tubular portion 21 and the back tubular portion 22 connected (continuous or joined) to the leading housing portion 92 can be detached from the pair of guide rods 52 in an opened state. On the other hand, when the leading housing portion 92 is pulled toward the tear portion 64 side, at least the support portion 91 (front tubular portion 21 and back tubular portion 22) is continuous, whereby a subsequent housing portion 92 is sequentially and automatically pulled out, the pair of guide rods 52 is automatically inserted into the front tubular portion 21 thereof and the back tubular portion 22 thereof from the distal end portion 65, and preparation of the subsequent housing portion 92 is automatically completed. In order to implement this, the front tubular portion 21 and the back tubular portion 22 are continuous so as to be separable, and the inner space 211 of the front tubular portion 21 and the inner space 221 of the back tubular portion 22 are continuous over the entire bag continuous band 10 in the continuous direction D1. The leading housing portion 92 can be separated from the subsequent housing portion 92 or is separated in advance, and a portion connected to the leading housing portion 92 in the front tubular portion 21 and the back tubular portion 22 can be separated from a portion connected to the subsequent housing portion 92 after the pair of guide rods 52 is inserted into the portion connected to the subsequent housing portion 92 (for example, after the portion connected to the leading housing portion 92 is torn and separated from the pair of guide rods 52). Then, by the separation, it is possible to obtain the bag 1 independent of the bag continuous band 10.

[0094] A cross section of the guide rod 52 is preferably circular, but may have any shape such as a polygon or a star. A cross-sectional area of the guide rod 52 may change such that a certain portion is thicker than other portions. An outer peripheral surface of the guide rod 52 may be smoothed or roughened by surface treatment such as coating, plating, or machining in order to reduce or increase friction with inner peripheral surfaces of the front tubular portion 21 and the back tubular portion 22. A material of the guide rod 52 can be appropriately determined. However, it is desirable that the material is a highly rigid material that is not easily plastically deformed by a force applied by moving operation of the bag continuous band 10 described above, and has a certain degree of elasticity in order to smoothly perform moving operation of the bag continuous band 10 described above.

[0095] The bag supply device 50 preferably includes a storage portion 51 for the bag continuous band 10. The storage portion 51 is not particularly limited as long as it can sequentially unwind the bag continuous band 10 in a continuous direction thereof and can supply the bag continuous band 10 to the distal end portions 65 of the pair of guide rods 52. For example, in a case of a roll in which the bag continuous band 10 is wound around a tubular core as illustrated in FIG. 7(a), the storage portion 51 can be configured to have a rotation supporting shaft 51a inserted into an opening of a tubular core 10c as illustrated in FIG. 9 and the like, and to support the roll rotatably in a circumferential direction by the rotation supporting shaft 51a. A direction of the rotation supporting shaft 51a can be appropriately determined, and can be set to a direction (longitudinal direction in the illustrated example) corresponding to a moving posture of the bag continuous band 10 as illustrated in FIG. 9, or can be set to a direction (lateral direction in the illustrated example) orthogonal to a moving direction of the bag continuous band 10 in order to make the bag supply device 50 compact as illustrated in FIG. 10. In addition, in a case where the bag continuous band 101 is a stacked product as illustrated in FIG. 7(b), the storage portion 51 can include a tray (not illustrated) that stores the stacked product. The rotation supporting shaft and the tray can be formed by extending a rod constituting the pair of guide rods 52. In addition, the storage portion 51 can also be included as a separate part independent of the pair of guide rods 52. In order to make the bag supply device 50 compact, the storage portion 51 is preferably installed below the main body portion 60 and the distal end portions 65 as illustrated in FIG. 10, but the storage portion 51 is not limited thereto.

[0096] As in the example illustrated in FIGS. 8 and 10, when the main body portion 60 includes enlarged portions 62 in which a mutual interval between the enlarged portions 62 increases as a distance from the distal end portions 65 increases, a mutual interval between the front tubular portion 21 and the back tubular portion 22 increases when the front tubular portion 21 and the back tubular portion 22 pass through the enlarged portions, whereby the opening portion 13 of the housing portion 92 connected to the front tubular portion 21 and the back tubular portion 22 can be automatically widened, which is preferable.

[0097] As illustrated in FIGS. 8 and 10, one preferable example of the main body portion 60 includes a pair of first portions 61 respectively following the pair of distal end portions 65 and extending at a constant first mutual interval 61d, a pair of enlarged portions 62 respectively following the pair of first portions, in which an interval between the enlarged portions 62 increases from the first mutual interval 61d to a second mutual interval 63d larger than the first mutual interval 61d as a distance from the first portions 61 increases, and a pair of second portions 63 respectively following the pair of enlarged portions 62 and extending at a constant second mutual interval 63d so as to be away from the enlarged portions 62 by 50% or more of the width of one sheet of the bag 1 (preferably 80% or more, particularly preferably 100% or more), and the tear portions 64 are portions respectively following the pair of second portions 63. In the bag supply device 50, as the front tubular portion 21 and the back tubular portion 22 move in order of the first portions 61, the enlarged portions 62, and the second portions 63, the opening portion 13 of the housing portion 92 is automatically widened, and the housing portion 92 located in the second portions 63 is maintained in a state where the opening portion 13 is widened. In particular, the pair of guide rods 52 are easily inserted into the front tubular portion 21 and the back tubular portion 22 by inclusion of the first portions 61 with a relatively narrow interval. In addition, in the preparation stage, the opening portion 13 of the leading housing portion 92 is largely opened by movement of the leading housing portion 92 to the second portions 63. Therefore, in this state, it is also possible to put a product or the like in the leading housing portion 92 supported by the second portions 63.

[0098] As in the example illustrated in FIG. 8 and the examples illustrated in FIGS. 10 and 17(a), at least a portion from the distal end portions 65 to the tear portions 64 in the pair of guide rods 52 may be plane-symmetric (symmetric with respect to a plane that is a set of points having the same shortest distance to the pair of guide rods 52, that is, a perpendicular plane including a tensile direction at the time of tearing in the illustrated example). However, depending on the position of the support portion 91 of the bag continuous band 10 in the storage portion 51, as illustrated in FIG. 17(b), when the distal end portions 65 are biased to the support portion 91 side, the guide rods 52 can be smoothly inserted into the front tubular portion 21 and the back tubular portion 22, which is preferable. In addition, not limited to this example, in all examples, a length from the distal end portion 65 to the tear portion 64 of one guide rod 52 and a length from the distal end portion 65 to the tear portion 64 of the other guide rod 52 are preferably equal, but may be unequal.

[0099] Note that the fact that the pair of first portions 61 and the pair of second portions 63 extend at a constant mutual interval includes not only the fact that the first portions 61 and the second portions 63 extend linearly like the second portions 63 in the illustrated example, but also the fact that the first portions 61 and the second portions 63 extend in a curved shape such as an arc like portions located on the distal end portion 65 side of the first portions 61 in the illustrated example.

[0100] When the width of the separation portion 31 is represented by , the inner size y2 of each of the front tubular portion 21 and the back tubular portion 22 in a flattened state is represented by , and the diameter of the guide rod 52 in an interval direction of the pair of guide rods 52 is represented by , a mutual interval between the pair of guide rods 52 when each housing portion 92 in the bag continuous band 10 is maximally opened is approximately (2+2)2. Therefore, the mutual interval between the pair of guide rods 52 in the main body portion 60 is preferably smaller than (2+2)2, which applies also to the second mutual interval 63d. In addition, a lower limit of the mutual interval between the pair of guide rods 52 in the main body portion 60 is preferably 2 cm, more preferably 3 cm because it is easy to hook a finger on the opened housing portion 92, and the lower limit is preferably 5 cm because it is easy to put a product or the like in the housing portion 92 supported by the main body portion 60. The lower limit applies also to the second mutual interval 63d.

[0101] The mutual interval between the pair of distal end portions 65 and the first mutual interval 61d only need to be less than the second mutual interval 63d. However, the mutual interval between the pair of distal end portions 65 and the first mutual interval 61d are preferably small in order to easily insert the pair of guide rods 52 into the front tubular portion 21 and the back tubular portion 22 close to each other in the flat bag continuous band 10. The mutual interval between the pair of distal end portions 65 may be equal to or less than the first mutual interval 61d or may be larger than the first mutual interval 61d. In a case where the guide rods 52 have elasticity to such an extent that the pair of distal end portions 65 can be easily separated, the pair of distal end portions 65 may be in contact with each other as in the example illustrated in FIG. 13, and the bag continuous band 10 may be clamped (there may be no interval). As an example, the first mutual interval 61d can be larger than 22 and equal to or less than of the second mutual interval 63d.

[0102] In order to facilitate insertion of the pair of guide rods 52 into the front tubular portion 21 and the back tubular portion 22 or to prevent breakage of the tubular portions 21 and 22, the distal end portion 65 may be formed in a spherical shape or a spindle shape as in the illustrated example, for example, by attaching distal end protection portions such as caps to distal ends of the pair of guide rods 52.

[0103] The main body portion 60 may be formed so as to pass through the same plane as in the example illustrated in FIG. 8, but may be formed such that a part (for example, the first portion 61, the enlarged portion 62, the second portion 63, or the like) passes through a different plane or a curved surface. For example, as illustrated in FIGS. 10 and 11, the first portions 61 are preferably portions extending in an up-down direction, and the second portions 63 are preferably portions extending in a lateral direction because an installation area of the bag supply device 50 can be reduced. In this case, the enlarged portions 62 can be portions extending in the up-down direction or portions extending in the lateral direction (horizontal direction). However, the enlarged portions 62 are preferably portions whose directions change in a curved shape from the up-down direction to the lateral direction as in the illustrated example because a more compact installation area is obtained. Furthermore, in this case, directions of the tear portions 64 are not particularly limited. However, the tear portions 64 are preferably portions extending in the same direction (the lateral direction in the illustrated example) as the second portions 63 as in the illustrated example because operation is easy. In addition, in a case where the second portions 63 extend in the lateral direction, a step is preferably formed such that the second portions 63 are lower than the first portions 61 as in the example illustrated in FIG. 11 because the bag continuous band 10 is less likely to return. Of course, the direction of each portion is not limited to this, and although not illustrated, an appropriate change can be made such that the first portions 61 extend in the lateral direction and the second portions 63 extend in an upward direction, for example.

[0104] As illustrated in FIG. 12, the main body portion 60 may include the first portion 61 and the tear portion 64, and does not have to include the enlarged portion 62 and the second portion 63. In addition, as illustrated in FIG. 13, the main body portion 60 may include the enlarged portion 62 and the tear portion 64, and does not have to include the first portion 61 and the second portion 63. Furthermore, as illustrated in FIG. 14, the main body portion 60 may include the second portion 63 and the tear portion 64, and does not have to include the first portion 61 and the enlarged portion 62.

[0105] A length 61L of the first portion 61 and a length 62L of the enlarged portion 62 can be appropriately determined, but are each preferably 25% or more, more preferably 50% or more, and particularly preferably 80% or more of a width x1 of one housing portion 92.

[0106] When the tear portion 64 is a portion having a cutting blade protruding from an outer peripheral surface of the guide rod 52 as in the illustrated example, the front tubular portion 21 and the back tubular portion 22 can be easily torn, which is preferable. However, the tear portion 64 may be a portion that does not have a cutting blade and breaks the front tubular portion 21 and the back tubular portion 22 with a force. For example, a curved portion in which the continuous direction changes by 90 to 180 degrees may be formed in the main body portion 60 (equivalent to a state where the cutting blade in the illustrated example is omitted), and the front tubular portion 21 and the back tubular portion 22 may be hooked on the curved portion to cut the front tubular portion 21 and the back tubular portion 22.

[0107] A supporting method of the pair of guide rods 52 is not particularly limited as long as the distal end portion 65 and the main body portion 60 are supported only on a side opposite to the distal end portion 65 (that is, as long as the distal end portion 65 and the main body portion 60 are non-fixed free portions and can be inserted into the front tubular portion 21 and the back tubular portion 22 from the distal end portion 65). For example, when the bag supply device 50 is placed on a table or a workbench, the bag supply device 50 can be configured to include a pedestal portion 54 and a support portion 53 extending upward from the pedestal portion 54, to cantilever a portion continuing from the main body portion 60 to a side opposite to the distal end portion 65 by the support portion 53, and to hold the distal end portion 65 and the main body portion 60 of each of the guide rods 52 while the distal end portion 65 and the main body portion 60 are floated above the pedestal portion 54.

[0108] In addition, the bag supply device 50 can also be installed on a wall surface or a side surface of equipment such as furniture. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 12, a configuration can be made such that a wall surface attachment portion 55 having a screw fixing hole 56 is provided in the bag supply device 50, a portion continuing from the main body portion 60 to a side opposite to the distal end portion 65 is cantilevered by the wall surface attachment portion 55, and the distal end portion 65 and the main body portion 60 of each guide rod 52 are held while being floated above a floor surface or a table surface.

[0109] The pedestal portion 54, the support portion 53, the wall surface attachment portion 55, and the storage portion 51 described above may be formed by extending a rod constituting the pair of guide rods 52 from the main body portion 60 to a side opposite to the distal end portion 65 as in the illustrated example, or may be formed by forming the pedestal portion 54, the support portion 53, and the wall surface attachment portion 55 (not illustrated) separately from the guide rods 52, and fixing a portion of the guide rod 52 continuing from the main body portion 60 to the side opposite to the distal end portion 65 to the support portion 53 or the wall surface attachment portion 55.

[0110] In the present bag supply device 50, the width of a passage or a space for movement of the bag continuous band 10 is not particularly limited as long as the above-described movement of the bag continuous band 10 is possible. However, preferably, a passage or a space equal to or longer than the length of the housing portion 92 is ensured on one side of a plane which is a set of line segments connecting the pair of guide rods 52 at the shortest distance, and the passage or the space extends to a distal end of the tear portion 64. More specifically, in a case where the bag continuous band 10 is moved in a state where the housing portion 92 (the front surface portion 11 and the back surface portion 12) is not supported as in the illustrated example, the housing portion 92 takes a posture hanging down by its own weight with the support portion 91 (the tubular portions 21 and 22) as a support. Therefore, in a case where at least the second portion 63 and subsequent portions of the main body portion 60 extend in the lateral direction as in the illustrated example, preferably, a space having a height equal to or larger than the length of the housing portion 92 is ensured below the portion extending in the lateral direction, and a space having the height extends to a distal end of the tear portion 64. In addition, in order to facilitate tearing operation in the tear portion 64, a space extending from the main body portion 60 to the distal end of the tear portion 64 can be preferably ensured by a width equal to or larger than the width of one sheet of the bag 1 in a pulling direction of the bag continuous band 10 from the tear portion 64.

[0111] In the example illustrated in FIGS. 8 and 9, the storage portion 51, the distal end portion 65, the first portion 61, the enlarged portion 62, the second portion 63, and the tear portion 64 are arranged in a row in this order in the lateral direction, and a movement space of the bag continuous band 10 is ensured below a portion from the distal end portion 65 to the tear portion 64 and on a side of the tear portion 64. The bag continuous band 10 pulled out from the storage portion 51 located on a side of the distal end portion 65 is moved from the distal end portion 65 to the tear portion 64 in a state of hanging down from the pair of guide rods 52, and pulled out to the side of the tear portion 64, whereby the tubular portions 21 and 22 are torn.

[0112] On the other hand, in the example illustrated in FIGS. 10 and 11, the storage portion 51 is disposed at a lower portion, the distal end portion 65 and the first portion 61 are disposed at one side, the enlarged portion 62 is disposed at a corner portion extending from the one side to an upper portion, the second portion 63 and the tear portion 64 are disposed at the upper portion, and a portion surrounded by these portions and a side of the tear portion 64 are ensured as a movement space of the bag continuous band 10. The bag continuous band 10 pulled out from the storage portion 51 located at the lower portion rises along the distal end portion 65 and the first portion 61, changes its direction at the enlarged portion 62, then is moved in the lateral direction to the tear portion 64 in a state of hanging down from the second portion 63, and is pulled out to a side of the tear portion 64, whereby the tubular portions 21 and 22 are torn.

[0113] The bag supply device 50 of the illustrated example does not include a housing that covers the guide rods 52, the support portion that supports the guide rods, and the storage portion 51 of the bag continuous band 10 in addition to the guide rods 52, the support portion, and the storage portion 51, but may include such a housing (not illustrated).

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

[0114] The present invention can be used for the bag supply device and the bag continuous band used therefor as in the above example.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST

[0115] 1 Bag [0116] 10 Bag continuous band [0117] 11 Front surface portion [0118] 12 Back surface portion [0119] 13 Opening portion [0120] 14 Bottom portion [0121] 15 Side edge [0122] 16 Housing space [0123] 21 Front tubular portion [0124] 21i, 22i Inner space [0125] 21t, 22t Tubular body [0126] 22 Back tubular portion [0127] 31 Separation portion [0128] 32 Connection portion [0129] 41 Punching hole [0130] 42 Easily separable portion [0131] 43 Bag separating portion [0132] 44 Side edge slit [0133] 45 Easily tearable portion [0134] 50 Bag supply device [0135] 51 Storage portion [0136] 52 Guide rod [0137] 53 Support portion [0138] 54 Pedestal portion [0139] 55 Wall surface attachment portion [0140] 56 Screw fixing hole [0141] 60 Main body portion [0142] 61 First portion [0143] 61d First mutual interval [0144] 62 Enlarged portion [0145] 63d Second mutual interval [0146] 63 Second portion [0147] 64 Tear portion [0148] 65 Distal end portion [0149] 91 Support portion [0150] 92 Housing portion [0151] C1 First fold [0152] C2 Second fold [0153] D1 Continuous direction [0154] FP Folded-back portion