Bag filling and sealing apparatus and method

Abstract

This invention provides a bag filling and sealing device and method, comprising parallel linear first bag filling and sealing production lines and linear second bag filling and sealing production lines. The workstations of the first and second bag filling and sealing production lines are arranged in opposite directions. The beginning and end of the first and second bag filling and sealing production lines are connected by an arc conveying section, forming a loop of bag clamping mechanism. The bag clamping mechanism running forward on the first and second bag filling and sealing production lines not only undertakes the bag conveying task in its own production line, but also serves as the return bag clamping mechanism for the bag clamping mechanism of the other production line. This invention enables bag clamping circulation through two opposing linear production lines connected by an arc, eliminating the need for sequential handover of bags between adjacent workstations, thus reducing equipment footprint and increasing production efficiency.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of packaging machinery, and more particularly to bag filling and sealing equipment and methods. Background Technology

[0002] Most bag filling and sealing equipment uses reciprocating motion production lines. Bags are clamped and moved back and forth between adjacent workstations, sequentially transferring bags through different workstations to complete opening, filling, and sealing. This type of equipment requires bags to be continuously transferred and conveyed forward, resulting in relatively low efficiency.

[0003] Currently, there are bag filling and sealing devices that use a circular disc for circulation. Bags can be conveyed forward directly on the same bag clamp without being handed over. However, this is only suitable for arranging only one station actuator in the circumferential direction at the same workstation. The output cannot keep up. If multiple station actuators are set up to solve this problem, the diameter needs to be increased, resulting in a large equipment size. Overall, it occupies a large area and increases the cost. Summary of the Invention

[0004] The purpose of this invention is to provide a bag filling and sealing device and method that can reduce the footprint of the device while increasing its production efficiency.

[0005] To achieve the above objectives, according to a first aspect of the present invention, the present invention adopts the following technical solution:

[0006] A bag filling and sealing device is characterized by comprising a parallel linear first bag filling and sealing production line and a linear second bag filling and sealing production line. The workstations of the first bag filling and sealing production line and the second bag filling and sealing production line are arranged in opposite directions. The beginning and end of the first bag filling and sealing production line and the second bag filling and sealing production line are connected by an arc conveying section to form a loop of bag clamping mechanism. The bag clamping mechanism running forward on the first bag filling and sealing production line and the second bag filling and sealing production line not only undertakes the bag conveying task in its own production line, but also serves as the loop return bag clamping mechanism of the bag clamping mechanism of the other production line.

[0007] Based on the above technical solutions, the present invention may also employ the following further technical solutions, or combine these further technical solutions:

[0008] A bag-out station for sealed packaging bags is set up in the arc conveyor section, and a bag-loading station is set up at the starting point in the linear first bag filling and sealing production line, along with a bag-loading device.

[0009] The bag filling and sealing equipment is equipped with a bag exit conveyor line, which is parallel to the first bag filling and sealing production line and the linear second bag filling and sealing production line and is located between the first bag filling and sealing production line and the second bag filling and sealing production line, passing below the bag exit station of two arc conveyor sections.

[0010] Both the first bag filling and sealing production line and the linear second bag filling and sealing production line have multiple station actuators set along the bag conveying direction, allowing multiple bags to be processed at the same station simultaneously.

[0011] The bag filling and sealing device has a rotatable dispenser located in the middle of the circulation loop. The dispenser is connected to the circulation loop via a transmission mechanism and rotates synchronously with the circulation loop.

[0012] The distributor includes an electric distributor, the central shaft of which is a hollow shaft, and a compressed air delivery structure is arranged inside the hollow shaft.

[0013] The circulation loop uses a circulating chain as a conveying device. The mounting base of the bag clamping mechanism is connected to the chain, and a guide rail is set along the circulation route of the bag clamping mechanism. The mounting base is equipped with rollers that cooperate with the guide rail.

[0014] The bag clamp mechanism includes a mounting base, a variable-distance bag clamp, and an independent control box. The variable-distance bag clamp and the independent control box are mounted on the mounting base. The variable-distance bag clamp is equipped with a variable-distance drive motor. The opening and closing of the bag clamp is driven by compressed air. The control box controls the variable-distance drive motor and the air circuit switch that controls the opening and closing of the bag clamp.

[0015] The first bag filling and sealing production line and the second bag filling and sealing production line are respectively equipped with bag making machines. The bag filling and sealing equipment is equipped with bag loading devices at the bag loading station of the first bag filling and sealing production line and the second bag filling and sealing production line. The bag loading device is equipped with an inward and outward translation structure. The bag outlet of the bag making machine is located outside the bag loading station.

[0016] The bag-making machines of the first bag filling and sealing production line and the second bag filling and sealing production line are located on the outer side, respectively, which partially overlap with the first bag filling and sealing production line and the second bag filling and sealing production line.

[0017] The conveying direction of the bag-making machine production line is the same as that of its first bag filling and sealing production line or second bag filling and sealing production line.

[0018] The bag-loading device includes multiple mounting frames, which are connected to a lateral moving mechanism and a longitudinal moving mechanism, allowing adjustment of the spacing between different mounting frames during movement. Rotary arms on the left and right sides are rotatably connected to the mounting frames, and bag grippers are provided at the ends of the rotating arms. The rotating arms are connected to cylinders, enabling them to rotate.

[0019] To achieve the above objectives, according to a second aspect of the present invention, the present invention adopts the following technical solution:

[0020] The bag filling and sealing method is characterized by using two parallel straight bag filling and sealing production lines to simultaneously perform bag filling and sealing operations. The workstations of the first and second bag filling and sealing production lines are arranged in opposite directions. The beginning and end of the first and second bag filling and sealing production lines are connected by an arc conveying section to form a loop of bag clamping mechanism. The bag clamping mechanism running forward on the first and second bag filling and sealing production lines not only undertakes the bag conveying task in its own production line, but also serves as the return bag clamping mechanism for the bag clamping mechanism of the other production line. The bag is directly processed from the starting bag loading station through various workstations on the straight bag filling and sealing production line without bag clamp exchange, and then exits at the bag exiting station located in the arc section.

[0021] Furthermore, the workstation devices of the first bag filling and sealing production line and the second bag filling and sealing production line are both set with multiple workstation actuators along the bag conveying direction, so that multiple bags can be processed at the same workstation at the same time.

[0022] Furthermore, the first bag filling and sealing production line and the second bag filling and sealing production line are respectively equipped with bag making machines. The bag outlet of the bag making machine is located outside the bag loading station, and the bag is moved from the bag making machine into the bag filling and sealing production line by the bag loading device.

[0023] Furthermore, the production lines of the bag-making machines in the first bag filling and sealing production line and the second bag filling and sealing production line each have a section overlapping and located outside the first bag filling and sealing production line and the second bag filling and sealing production line, respectively.

[0024] By employing the technical solution of this invention, the invention enables the circulation of bag clamps through two opposing linear production lines connected by an arc. Bags do not need to be sequentially transferred between adjacent workstations. In the linear section, multiple workstation devices can be arranged along the conveying direction at each workstation, improving efficiency. The distance between the two opposing linear production lines can be shortened by the connection arc diameter without being limited by circumferential motion. Furthermore, the bag clamps are used alternately on the two production lines without any idle rotation. The arc section can also be set as the bag exit station, improving production efficiency, increasing production per unit area, and reducing equipment footprint. Attached Figure Description

[0025] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of Embodiment 1 of the bag filling and sealing equipment of the present invention, which includes a bag making machine.

[0026] Figure 2 for Figure 1 A schematic diagram of the planar layout of the embodiment shown.

[0027] Figure 3 for Figure 1 A schematic diagram of a bag filling and sealing device according to the embodiment shown.

[0028] Figure 4 This is a schematic plan view of Embodiment 2 of the bag filling and sealing equipment of the present invention, which includes a bag making machine.

[0029] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of the transmission mechanism for the circulation of the bag clamp mechanism and the rotation of the distributor in an embodiment of the present invention.

[0030] Figure 6 This is a cross-sectional view of the transmission mechanism for the circulation of the bag clamp mechanism and the rotation of the distributor in an embodiment of the present invention.

[0031] Figure 7 This is a schematic diagram of the bag clamping mechanism in an embodiment of the present invention.

[0032] Figure 8 This is a schematic diagram of the bag-upper mechanism in an embodiment of the present invention.

[0033] Figure 9 This is a schematic diagram illustrating the cooperation between the bag-loading mechanism and the bag-making machine in an embodiment of the present invention.

[0034] Figure 10 This is a schematic diagram illustrating the cooperation between the bag-loading mechanism and the bag clamp in an embodiment of the present invention. Implementation

[0035] Referring to the accompanying drawings, the bag filling and sealing equipment provided by this invention includes parallel linear first bag filling and sealing production line 101 and linear second bag filling and sealing production line 102. The workstations of the first bag filling and sealing production line 101 and the second bag filling and sealing production line 102 are arranged in opposite directions. The beginning and end of the first bag filling and sealing production line 101 and the second bag filling and sealing production line 102 are connected by arc conveying sections 103 and 104, forming a loop of bag clamping mechanism. The bag clamping mechanism running forward on the first bag filling and sealing production line 101 and the second bag filling and sealing production line 102 not only undertakes the bag conveying task in its own production line, but also serves as the loop return bag clamping mechanism of the bag clamping mechanism of the other production line. After exiting the bag in the arc section, it enters the other production line and becomes the bag clamping mechanism of the linear bag filling and sealing production line to undertake the bag conveying task, thus achieving continuous forward conveying without idle stroke. At the same time, multiple workstation execution mechanisms can be freely set in one workstation as needed in the linear section, which can process multiple bags at the same time, while the requirement for the diameter of the arc section changes little; making full use of space and highly efficient.

[0036] The actuators at each station in the first bag filling and sealing production line 101 and the second bag filling and sealing production line 102 are matched according to the spacing between two adjacent bags clamped on the circulation loop, and the working rhythm of the first bag filling and sealing production line 101 and the second bag filling and sealing production line 102 is consistent. The stations in the first bag filling and sealing production line 101 and the second bag filling and sealing production line 102 can be the same; they can also be different (such as the number of stations or the tasks of the stations) to be applied to different bags or to filling different objects.

[0037] In this embodiment, each production line is sequentially equipped with a bag loading station S1, a bag opening station S2, a bag opening / inspection station S3, a filling station S4, and a sealing station S5. Each station can be equipped with two or more station actuators along the bag conveying direction. In this embodiment, each station is equipped with two station actuators, which can process two bags at the same time, achieving a total processing capacity of 4 or more station actuators, thus meeting the requirements of high efficiency.

[0038] A bag-feeding device C1 can be installed at the bag-feeding station S1, a bag-opening device C2 can be installed at the bag-opening station, a bag-inserting mechanism C3 and corresponding sensors can be installed at the bag-supporting / detection station S3, a liquid or solid feeding device C4 can be installed at the filling station S4, and a bag-mouth heat-sealing mechanism C5 can be installed at the sealing station S5.

[0039] In the bag opening device C2, the station actuator can use suction cups on both sides to hold the middle of the bag, and use power to drive the suction cups to open and close to complete the bag opening action. It can be used in conjunction with bag clamps, and the distance between the left and right clamps can be set to be variable. The variable distance between the left and right clamps can be used to better open the bag.

[0040] The feeding device C4 can be a hopper, or other existing material feeding structure or filling mechanism.

[0041] The bag opening heat sealing mechanism C5 can be driven by power (such as a cylinder or motor) to open and close the heat sealing structure on both sides for heat sealing.

[0042] The sealed packaging bags are exited at a station S6 in the arc conveyor sections 103 and 104. The bag filling and sealing equipment is equipped with an exit conveyor line 105, which is parallel to the first bag filling and sealing production line 101 and the second bag filling and sealing production line 102 and is located between the first bag filling and sealing production line 101 and the straight second bag filling and sealing production line 102, and passes below the exit stations S6 in the two arc conveyor sections.

[0043] At the bag exit station S6, the filled and sealed bags are dropped onto the bag exit conveyor line 105 by directly opening the bag clamps, thus completing the bag exit process. Station devices can also be installed at the bag exit station S6, such as a bag mouth cooling mechanism (which can use water cooling and / or air cooling) to shape the bag mouth and improve its appearance quality, or a punching mechanism (which uses a cutting tool of the required shape to punch out the hanging holes on the bag, and the cut waste can be promptly removed through a suction recovery channel). If both a bag mouth cooling mechanism and a bag mouth punching mechanism are installed, the punching mechanism is located below, and the bag mouth cooling mechanism is located above.

[0044] In this embodiment, all bag clamps in the bag clamping mechanism are independently controllable. The bag filling and sealing device has a rotatable distributor located in the middle of the circulation loop. The distributor is connected to the circulation loop through a transmission mechanism and rotates in the same direction and synchronously with the circulation loop. The distributor supplies power and air to the cyclically rotating bag clamping mechanism through the synchronously moving distributor.

[0045] For the bag clamping mechanism, in this embodiment, an electric drive is used to adjust the distance between the left and right clamps in the bag clamp, and air is used to control the opening and closing of the left and right clamps. The distributor includes an electric distributor 11, which can adopt an electric slip ring structure. The central shaft of the distributor is a hollow shaft, and a compressed air conveying structure is set inside the hollow shaft. This conveying structure includes an air pipe 12 fixedly installed through the hollow shaft and a rotary joint 13 at the upper end of the air pipe 12. The wiring of the electric distributor 11 can also run through the hollow shaft. The bearing of the distributor is set in a fixed seat 202 fixed on the top mounting plate 201 of the bag filling and sealing equipment.

[0046] The circulating loop uses a continuously running chain 100 as a conveying device. Two straight links of the chain form the conveying lines for the first bag filling and sealing production line 101 and the second bag filling and sealing production line 102, while the two curved links at both ends form curved conveying sections 103 and 104. The driving sprocket 106 of the chain 100 is connected to the drive mechanism 113, and the driven sprocket 107 of the chain 100 is coaxially connected to the transmission sprocket 108 of the transmission mechanism. The transmission sprocket 108 drives the transmission sprocket 111 on the distributor to rotate via the chain 110, causing the distributor 1 to rotate in the same direction and synchronously with the circulating loop. Alternatively, the transmission mechanism can also be a belt drive mechanism or other similar transmission mechanism. Reference numeral 109 indicates the tensioning wheel of the chain 110. The drive mechanism 113 is fixed to the top fixing plate 201.

[0047] The bag clamp mechanism includes a mounting base 21, a variable-pitch bag clamp 22, and an independent control box 23. The variable-pitch bag clamp 22 and the independent control box 23 are mounted on the mounting base 21. The variable-pitch bag clamp 22 is equipped with a variable-pitch drive motor, which drives two opposite screw and nut pairs to change the distance between the left and right clamps. The opening and closing of the bag clamp is driven by compressed air. The control box 23 controls the variable-pitch drive motor and the air circuit switch that controls the opening and closing of the bag clamp.

[0048] The mounting base 21 of the bag clamping mechanism is connected to the chain 100. Reference numeral 204 is a mounting component fixed on the chain 100. A guide rail 203 is set along the circulation route of the bag clamping mechanism. The mounting base 21 is provided with rollers 24 that cooperate with the guide rail. Tracks are set on both sides of the guide rail 203 and respectively engage the rollers 24.

[0049] The first bag filling and sealing production line 101 and the second bag filling and sealing production line 102 are respectively equipped with bag making machines 301 and 302. The bag feeding device C1 is equipped with an inward and outward translation structure, and the bag outlet of the bag making machine is located outside the bag feeding station S1.

[0050] The bag-making machines 301 and 302 of the first bag filling and sealing production line 301 and the second bag filling and sealing production line 302 partially overlap and are located outside the first bag filling and sealing production line 101 and the second bag filling and sealing production line 102.

[0051] like Figure 4 As shown, the conveying direction of the bag-making machine's production line is the same as that of its first bag filling and sealing production line and second bag filling and sealing production line, which saves space. Figure 2As shown, depending on the characteristics of the site, one bag-making machine production line can have its conveying direction in the same direction as its bag filling and sealing production line, while the other line can have its direction in the opposite direction. The film roll racks are all on the same side, making it convenient to replace and add film rolls.

[0052] As mentioned above, the bag-feeding device C1 can have multiple station actuators, and in this embodiment, there are two. Each station actuator includes a mounting frame 31, which is connected to a lateral moving mechanism 32. The lateral moving mechanism 32 is connected to a longitudinal moving mechanism 33, and the spacing between different mounting frames 31 can be adjusted during inward movement (increasing the spacing between adjacent station actuators of the bag-feeding device, so that adjacent bags cut in the bag-making machine can be spaced apart to match the spacing between adjacent bag clamps), thereby facilitating the setup of the bag-making machine and saving bag-making materials. As shown in the figure, where reference numeral 303 is the outlet position of the bag-making machine, corresponding to this embodiment where two bags are produced simultaneously, two sets of vertical cutters 304 are set at the outlet 303. The bags 400 are vertically clamped by the various station actuators of the bag-feeding device C1 and moved from the outside (longitudinal) to the bag clamps on the inner bag-feeding station S1. Both the lateral moving mechanism 32 and the longitudinal moving mechanism 33 can be equipped with cylinders and guide rails, or they can adopt a nut and screw mechanism with guide rails, where the screw is driven by a motor to rotate and drive the nut to move.

[0053] The working station actuator of the bag-loading device C1 is equipped with left and right rotating arms 34 and 35 rotatably connected to the mounting frame. Bag grippers 36 are provided at the ends of the rotating arms 34 and 35. The rotating arms 34 and 35 are connected to a cylinder 37, which, when the cylinder drives the piston to lift, can drive the rotating arms 34 and 35 to rotate in the clamping direction. Figures 8 to 9 Conversely, opening jaw 36 (see) Figure 10 The grippers can open to 180° and move from above the bag during the picking and dropping process without affecting other structures.

[0054] Figure 10 In the process, the actuator of the bag feeding device C1 feeds the bag 400 into the bag clamp 22 on the bag feeding station S1, and completes the spacing matching of the bag clamps during the process. At this time, the left and right clamps of the bag clamp 22 are in the open state. After the bag is fed in, the bag clamp 21 clamps the bag, the piston of the cylinder 37 presses down, the gripper 36 opens, and then moves horizontally to the bag making machine outlet 303 on the outside. During the process, the spacing between the two station actuators is reset to the spacing for picking up the bag, and then the next set of bags is clamped, and the cycle continues.

[0055] If the bag making machine is not used for online bag making, a bag sheet (the bag is in sheet form when it is not opened) storage mechanism can be set on the outside of the bag feeding station S1 for the bag feeding device to extract the sheets one by one.

[0056] Unless otherwise specified, in this invention, terms such as "upper," "lower," "vertical," "horizontal," "top," "bottom," "inner," "outer," and "axial" indicate the orientation or positional relationship based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the accompanying drawings. These terms are used only for the convenience of describing this invention and simplifying the description, and do not indicate or imply that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, or be constructed and operated in a specific orientation. Therefore, the terms used to describe orientation or positional relationships in this invention are for illustrative purposes only and should not be construed as limiting this patent. For those skilled in the art, the specific meaning of the above terms can be understood in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and according to the specific circumstances.

[0057] Unless otherwise explicitly specified and limited, the terms "set," "clamped," and "connected" in this invention should be interpreted broadly. For example, they can refer to a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integral connection; they can refer to a direct connection or an indirect connection through an intermediate medium; and they can refer to the internal connection of two components. Those skilled in the art can understand the specific meaning of the above terms in this invention based on the specific circumstances.

[0058] The above description is only a specific embodiment of the present invention, but the structural features of the present invention are not limited thereto. Any changes or modifications made by those skilled in the art within the scope of the present invention are covered by the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A bag filling and sealing device, characterized in that... The system includes parallel linear first bag filling and sealing production lines and linear second bag filling and sealing production lines. The workstations of the first and second bag filling and sealing production lines are arranged in opposite directions. Each production line is sequentially equipped with a bag loading station S1, a bag opening station S2, a bag supporting / inspection station S3, a filling station S4, and a sealing station S5. The first and second bag filling and sealing production lines are connected end to end by an arc conveyor section to form a loop of bag clamping mechanism. A bag exit station for sealed packaging bags is set in the arc conveyor section. The bag clamping mechanism running forward on the first and second bag filling and sealing production lines not only undertakes the bag conveying task in its own production line, but also serves as a loop return bag clamping mechanism for the bag clamping mechanism of the other production line. A starting bag-loading station is set up on the linear first bag filling and sealing production line, and a bag-loading device is installed. The bag filling and sealing device has a rotatable dispenser located in the middle of the circulation loop. The dispenser is connected to the circulation loop via a transmission mechanism and rotates synchronously with the circulation loop.

2. The bag filling and sealing device as described in claim 1, characterized in that... The bag filling and sealing equipment is equipped with a bag exit conveyor line, which is parallel to the first bag filling and sealing production line and the linear second bag filling and sealing production line and is located between the first bag filling and sealing production line and the second bag filling and sealing production line, passing below the bag exit station of two arc conveyor sections.

3. The bag filling and sealing device as described in claim 1, characterized in that... Both the first bag filling and sealing production line and the linear second bag filling and sealing production line have multiple station actuators set along the bag conveying direction, allowing multiple bags to be processed at the same station simultaneously.

4. The bag filling and sealing device as described in claim 1, characterized in that... The distributor includes an electric distributor, the central shaft of which is a hollow shaft, and a compressed air delivery structure is arranged inside the hollow shaft.

5. The bag filling and sealing device as described in claim 1, characterized in that... The circulation loop uses a circulating chain as a conveying device. The mounting base of the bag clamping mechanism is connected to the chain, and a guide rail is set along the circulation route of the bag clamping mechanism. The mounting base is equipped with rollers that cooperate with the guide rail.

6. The bag filling and sealing device as described in claim 1, characterized in that... The bag clamp mechanism includes a mounting base, a variable-distance bag clamp, and an independent control box. The variable-distance bag clamp and the independent control box are mounted on the mounting base. The variable-distance bag clamp is equipped with a variable-distance drive motor. The opening and closing of the bag clamp is driven by compressed air. The control box controls the variable-distance drive motor and the air circuit switch that controls the opening and closing of the bag clamp.

7. The bag filling and sealing device as described in claim 1, characterized in that... The first bag filling and sealing production line and the second bag filling and sealing production line are respectively equipped with bag making machines. The bag filling and sealing equipment is equipped with bag loading devices at the bag loading station of the first bag filling and sealing production line and the second bag filling and sealing production line. The bag loading device is equipped with an inward and outward translation structure. The bag outlet of the bag making machine is located outside the bag loading station.

8. The bag filling and sealing device as described in claim 7, characterized in that... The bag-making machines of the first bag filling and sealing production line and the second bag filling and sealing production line are located on the outer side, respectively, partially overlapping with the first bag filling and sealing production line and the second bag filling and sealing production line.

9. The bag filling and sealing device as described in claim 8, characterized in that... The conveying direction of the bag-making machine production line is the same as that of its first bag filling and sealing production line or second bag filling and sealing production line.

10. The bag filling and sealing device as described in claim 7, characterized in that... The bag-loading device includes multiple mounting frames, which are connected to a lateral moving mechanism and a longitudinal moving mechanism, allowing adjustment of the spacing between different mounting frames during movement. Rotary arms on the left and right sides are rotatably connected to the mounting frames, and bag grippers are provided at the ends of the rotating arms. The rotating arms are connected to cylinders, enabling them to rotate.

11. The bag filling and sealing method of the bag filling and sealing device as described in claim 1, characterized in that... Two parallel straight-line bag filling and sealing production lines are used to simultaneously fill and seal bags. The bags are processed directly from the starting bag loading station through various stations on the straight-line bag filling and sealing production line without bag clamp exchange, and then exit the bag at the bag exit station located in the arc section.

12. The bag filling and sealing method as described in claim 11, characterized in that... The first and second bag filling and sealing production lines are equipped with multiple workstations along the bag conveying direction, allowing multiple bags to be processed at the same workstation simultaneously.

13. The bag filling and sealing method as described in claim 11, characterized in that... The first bag filling and sealing production line and the second bag filling and sealing production line are respectively equipped with bag making machines. The bag outlet of the bag making machine is located outside the bag loading station, and the bag is moved from the bag making machine into the bag filling and sealing production line by the bag loading device.

14. The bag filling and sealing method as described in claim 13, characterized in that... The production lines of the bag-making machines in the first bag filling and sealing production line and the second bag filling and sealing production line each have a section that overlaps with the outer side of the first bag filling and sealing production line and the second bag filling and sealing production line, respectively.

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