Tray manufacturing apparatus

Abstract

To provide a tray manufacturing apparatus having a simple structure and capable of molding a tray-like container from a blank sheet.SOLUTION: A blank sheet B set in a sheet set part 1 is transported to a press part 2 by a sheet transportation part 3, then pushed into a female die 12 by a male mold 11, molded to form a tray-like container T, fallen from the female die 12, and discharged as a tray-like container T from a tray discharge part 4.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a tray manufacturing apparatus, and more particularly to a tray manufacturing apparatus in which a blank sheet made of paper or a material mainly composed of paper is pressed into a female mold by a male mold to form a tray-shaped container. [Background technology]

[0002] The following Patent Document 1 discloses a tray-shaped container in which a blank sheet made of paper or a material mainly composed of paper is pressed into a female mold by a male mold, and side panels are erected on each side of a polygonal bottom panel with adjacent portions of the side panels folded back into a triangular shape. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2023-15693 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] The tray-shaped container described in Patent Document 1 is often used for the purpose of stabilizing the contents, such as food, in a packaging material, and therefore requires packaging material for packaging the contents in addition to the tray-shaped container. From this perspective, there is a demand for tray-shaped containers to be made cheaper, but formed tray-shaped containers tend to be bulky even when stacked, and transportation costs tend to be high. Therefore, it is possible to transport them in the form of blank sheets and form them into tray-shaped containers when the contents are to be packaged. However, Patent Document 1 does not describe a specific manufacturing device for tray-shaped containers.

[0005] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above-mentioned problems, and its object is to provide a tray manufacturing apparatus that has a simple structure and is capable of forming tray-shaped containers from a blank sheet. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, one embodiment of the present invention provides a tray manufacturing apparatus that presses a blank sheet made of paper or a material mainly composed of paper into a female mold using a male mold to form a tray-shaped container having side panels erected on each side of a polygonal bottom plate and adjacent portions of adjacent side panels folded back, and is equipped with a sheet setting section that sets the blank sheet in a predetermined position, a press section that presses the blank sheet into the female mold using the male mold, a sheet conveying section that conveys the blank sheet set in the sheet setting section to the press section, and a tray discharge section that is connected to the inside of the female mold and discharges the formed tray-shaped container that falls from the female mold. Effect of the Invention

[0007] According to the tray manufacturing device of the present invention, a blank sheet set in the sheet setting section is transported to the press section by the sheet transport section, then pushed into a female mold by a male mold to be formed into a tray-shaped container, which falls from the female mold and is discharged by a tray discharge section. Therefore, a tray-shaped container can be formed from a blank sheet with a simple structure, and it is also possible to form the tray-shaped container at the timing when the contents are packaged. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] 1A to 1C are three-view diagrams showing a schematic structure of a first embodiment of a tray manufacturing apparatus. [Diagram 2] FIG. [Diagram 3] FIG. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a schematic configuration of a press unit. [Diagram 5] 13 is a cross-sectional view of adjacent portions of side plate portions in a female mold. FIG. [Figure 6] 13 is a perspective view of an adjacent portion of the side plate portion in a pushing process. FIG. [Figure 7]FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the configuration of an adhesive application section in the press section. [Figure 8] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a press section and a tray discharge section. [Figure 9] FIG. [Figure 10] FIG. 4 is a plan view showing a schematic structure of a second embodiment of a tray manufacturing apparatus. [Figure 11] 4 is an explanatory diagram of a sheet storage section and a sheet cutting section. FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0009] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the tray manufacturing apparatus of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. The embodiments shown below are examples of an apparatus and a method for embodying the technical idea of ​​the present invention, and the technical idea of ​​the present invention does not specify the material, shape, structure, arrangement, etc. of the components to the embodiments described below. In addition, the drawings are schematic. Therefore, it should be noted that the relationship and ratio between the thickness and the planar dimensions are different from the actual ones, and the drawings include parts where the relationship and ratio of the dimensions are different from each other.

[0010] FIG. 1 is a three-view diagram, specifically a plan view and a front view, showing a schematic configuration of a first embodiment of a tray manufacturing apparatus. The tray manufacturing apparatus of this embodiment is an apparatus for easily forming a tray-shaped container T from a blank sheet B. The blank sheet B for the tray-shaped container T is a flat sheet member (excluding ruled lines and half-cut lines) of about thick paper made of paper or a material mainly composed of paper. FIG. 2 is a plan view of an example of the blank sheet B, and FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the tray-shaped container T in a state in which the blank sheet B of FIG. 2 is folded. The tray-shaped container T formed from this blank sheet B has low side plate parts S standing slightly outward from each side of a polygonal (octagonal) bottom plate part R, and adjacent parts N of adjacent side plate parts S are folded back in a triangular shape and overlapped. The overlapped adjacent parts N may or may not be bonded. Since paper or a material mainly composed of paper has a certain degree of shaping ability, in cases where the side plate portion S does not need to have a fixed shape, that is, the side plate portion S only needs to be raised to a certain degree, there is no need to bond the overlapping adjacent portions N of adjacent side plate portions S. As will be described later, the tray manufacturing apparatus of this embodiment is configured to be able to bond the overlapping adjacent portions N. Please refer to the above-mentioned Patent Document 1 for details on the material, specifications, characteristics, and shape of the tray-shaped container T of the blank sheet B.

[0011] In this tray manufacturing apparatus, a sheet setting section 1 and a press section 2 are arranged on the upper part of a rectangular parallelepiped box-shaped main body 51, a sheet conveying section 3 is provided between the sheet setting section 1 and the press section 2, and a tray discharge section 4 is provided below the press section 2. The sheet setting section 1 is a process of setting a blank sheet B for forming a tray-shaped container T in a predetermined posture, and is, so to speak, a section for carrying the blank sheet B into the tray manufacturing apparatus. The press section 2 is a process of pressing the blank sheet B into a female die (lower die) 12 by a male die (upper die) 11 to form a tray-shaped container T, and the sheet conveying section 3 is a process of conveying the blank sheet B set in the sheet setting section 1 to a predetermined location in the press section 2 in a predetermined posture. In addition, the tray discharge section 4 is a process of communicating with the inside of the female die 12 and discharging the formed tray-shaped container T that falls from the female die 12 to the discharge port 21 on the right side of the center of the front view of FIG. 1. A control panel (control box) 52 is provided inside the main body 51. As with known manufacturing devices, the control panel 52 is an electric circuit that mainly controls the electrical signals of the device, and is constructed with a computer system such as a programmable logic controller. For example, as described below, when a start switch 53 is operated after a blank sheet B is set in the sheet setting unit 1, the process sequence of conveying the blank sheet B into the press unit 2 and pressing the blank sheet B into the female die 12 by the male die 11 to form a tray-shaped container T is programmed in the computer system in the control panel 52.

[0012] FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of a pressing process in which a blank sheet B is pressed into a female die 12 by a male die 11 in the press section 2 of FIG. 1 to form the blank sheet B. The female die 12 is a recessed portion (hole portion in this case) that defines the outer shape of the tray-shaped container T, and the male die 11 has an outer shape slightly smaller than that of the female die 12, and is configured so that the folded blank sheet B, i.e., the formed tray-shaped container T, is sandwiched in the gap formed between the female die 12 and the male die 11. For example, FIG. 5 shows a cross section of the overlapped adjacent portion N of adjacent side plate portions S of the tray-shaped container T, and in this example, the overlapped adjacent portion N is strongly pressed by the gap between the female die 12 and the male die 11. The female die 12 is directly formed as a hole portion (=lower die) in the press section 2, and the male die 11 is set above the female die 12. The male die 11 is attached to the lower end of a rod 55a of an electric cylinder 55, and is pushed into the female die 12 together with the blank sheet B as the rod 55a extends. The upper and all four sides of the press part 2 are covered with a transparent resin cover 57 attached to an aluminum frame 56.

[0013] On the left side of the press section 2 in FIG. 1, a sheet setting section 1 is provided for setting a blank sheet B in a predetermined position. A table 22 for mounting the blank sheet B is provided in the sheet setting section 1, and the outer shape of the blank sheet B is drawn on the upper surface of the table 22 so that an operator can set the blank sheet B in a predetermined position (not shown because it has the same shape as the blank sheet B). The portion on which the blank sheet B is mounted is provided with a seating section 23 having an outer shape smaller than that of the blank sheet B, and is configured so that the blank sheet B can be held in its position by being sucked by the seating section 23. The table 22 is installed on an electric linear motion device 24 arranged to extend laterally above the plan view of FIG. 1, and a linear motion guide device 25 arranged to extend laterally below the plan view. The electric linear motion device 24 is configured to include a servo motor 24a, a linear guide 24b, and a ball screw (not shown). When the ball screw is rotated by the rotational driving force of the servo motor 24a, a ball screw nut screwed into the ball screw moves linearly along the linear guide 24b. The table 22 is connected to the ball screw nut, and is configured so that the sheet setting unit 1 and the press unit 2 can be moved back and forth by an electric linear motion device 24.

[0014] The resin cover 57 covering the press section 2 has an opening at the bottom on the sheet setting section 1 side, and the table 22 and blank sheet B are transported from the sheet setting section 1 into the press section 2 through this opening (not shown). Light curtains 58 are provided on both sides of this opening, and the device is configured to stop when the light curtains 58 are blocked after the blank sheet B is transported into the press section 2. In addition, a start switch 53 that an operator presses with both hands and a stop switch 54 that an operator presses with one hand are provided on the front side (left side in the figure) of the sheet setting section 1. In addition, a wiper 26 is provided at the passage of the blank sheet B in the press section 2 to drop the blank sheet B placed on the table 22 onto the female die 12 in a predetermined position. The wiper 26 is provided at a position where it abuts against the blank sheet B protruding from the seating section 23 on the table 22. 1, but it can rotate counterclockwise in the front view of Fig. 1, i.e., to the right in the figure, but not clockwise, i.e., to the left in the figure. Therefore, when the blank sheet B placed on the table 22 moves from left to right over the wiper 26 to be transported into the press section 2, the wiper 26 rotates, and when the table 22 moves from right to left to return to the sheet setting section 1, the wiper 26 does not rotate, and the blank sheet B placed on the table 22 hits the wiper 26 and is dropped onto the female die 12.

[0015] As described above, the tray manufacturing apparatus of this embodiment is configured to bond adjacent overlapping portions N of adjacent side plate portions S of the tray-shaped container T. FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a state immediately after the blank sheet B is pressed into the female die 12 by the male die 11 in the press section 2. The arrowed portions in the figure indicate the adjacent portions N of the side plate portions S that are to be overlapped with each other, and if adhesive is applied to these arrowed portions, the side plate portions S are pressed in the gap between the female die 12 and the male die 11 as shown in FIG. 5, and the adjacent overlapping portions N are bonded together. Due to the characteristics (such as low extensibility) of the blank sheet B made of paper or a material mainly composed of paper, the side plate portions S rise up immediately when the blank sheet B is pressed into the female die 12 by the male die 11. Since the adjacent portion N of the side plate portion S to be overlapped is a small triangular portion in the development view of FIG. 2, if adhesive is applied to the adjacent portion N immediately before the blank sheet B is pressed into the female mold 12, the adhesive will not adhere to the inside of the female mold 12 or the outer shape of the male mold 11. Among the adhesive application locations shown by arrows in FIG. 6, the arrows pointing inward from the outside of the blank sheet B indicate the bottom surface of the blank sheet B, and the arrows pointing outward from the inside indicate the top surface of the blank sheet B. Therefore, adhesive application units (nozzles) 5 as shown in FIG. 7, for example, may be provided at the corresponding locations, and adhesive may be applied by discharging it from each adhesive application unit 5 in accordance with the movement of the male mold 11. In this case, the adhesive application unit 5 on the upper side of FIG. 7 descends from above as shown by the two-dot chain line in the figure in accordance with the descent of the male mold 11, for example, to apply adhesive to the top surface of the blank sheet B. 7, the adhesive applicator 5 on the lower side of the female mold 12 protrudes upward as shown by the two-dot chain line in the figure in accordance with the descent of the male mold 11, to apply adhesive to the lower surface of the blank sheet B. Even if the adhesive applicator 5 on the lower side protrudes slightly from the upper surface of the female mold 12 as shown by the solid line in the figure, there is no problem, particularly with the blank sheet B being strongly rubbed. In addition, when it is not necessary to bond the adjacent portions N of the adjacent side plate portions S that overlap each other, the discharge of adhesive from the adhesive applicator 5 can be stopped. In addition, an appropriate adhesive can be used in consideration of the adhesive strength, the material of the blank sheet B, the time required for hardening, and the like.

[0016] FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram of the forming process of the tray-shaped container T in the press section 2 and the discharging process of the tray-shaped container T by the tray discharging section 4. As described above, the tray discharging section 4 communicates from the discharge port 21 of the tray-shaped container T to the inside of the female mold 12. In this embodiment, below the recessed portion (hole portion) of the female mold 12, a sloping portion (sloping plate) 6 that slopes further downward is provided, and this sloping portion 6 communicates with the discharge port 21 of the tray-shaped container T. FIG. 8a is a cross-sectional view of a state in which the blank sheet B is placed on the female mold 12 with nothing inside the female mold 12, and FIG. 8b is a cross-sectional view of a state in which the male mold 11 is lowered from that state and the blank sheet B is pushed into the female mold 12 by the male mold 11 to form the tray-shaped container T. As described above, in this embodiment, the tray-shaped container T is sandwiched in the gap between the female mold 12 and the male mold 11, so that even if the male mold 11 is raised from inside the female mold 12 as shown in FIG. 8c, the tray-shaped container T remains inside the female mold 12 due to the frictional force between the female mold 12 and the molded tray-shaped container T. Therefore, when a new blank sheet B is placed on the female mold 12 again as shown in FIG. 8c, and then the male mold 11 is lowered again as shown in FIG. 8d to push the next blank sheet B into the female mold 12, the tray-shaped container T remaining inside the female mold 12 is pushed out and falls. The tray-shaped container T that has fallen from inside the female mold 12 slides down by its own weight to the discharge outlet 21 through the inclined portion 6 provided below the recessed portion of the female mold 12. The tray-shaped container T discharged to the discharge outlet 21 is transported to the next process by, for example, an operator.

[0017] 9 shows a modified example in which a tray storage section 7 for storing a plurality (a predetermined number) of formed tray-shaped containers T is provided between the press section 2 and the tray discharge section 4 in FIG. 8. The tray-shaped containers T formed from a blank sheet B made of paper or a material mainly composed of paper are lightweight, and therefore have a function of storing the tray-shaped containers T, for example, if they have an inner shape equivalent to that of the female mold 12 and the tray-shaped containers T do not fall due to frictional force when the inner surface of the tray-shaped containers T abuts against the outer shape of the tray-shaped containers T. In this embodiment, storage members 27 having a cross-sectional shape equivalent to that of the concave portion of the female mold 12 that continues in the vertical direction are continuously arranged below the concave portion of the female mold 12, and the tray storage section 7 is constructed as a structure in which the tray-shaped containers T pushed downward from the inside of the female mold 12 are stored therein one after another. 8, a tray discharge section 4 is provided below this tray storage section 7, and the tray-shaped container T that falls downward from the tray storage section 7 slides down the inclined section 6 under its own weight and is discharged to the discharge port 21. The time for which the tray-shaped container T is stored (held) in the female mold 12 also has the effect of stabilizing the shape of the tray-shaped container T and causing the adhesive to harden.

[0018] FIG. 10 is a plan view showing a schematic configuration of a second embodiment of the tray manufacturing device. In this embodiment, the tray-shaped container T shown in FIG. 3 is used as a tray for contents, for example, food, and the contents are further packaged in a packaging material such as a bag while the contents are placed on the tray. In this embodiment, the tray manufacturing device is disposed on the upstream side (left side of the figure) of a packaging device 28 that packages the contents while the contents are placed on the tray. The downstream side (right side of the figure) of the packaging device 28 is a package discharge port 30 of the package in which the contents are packaged. In addition, a content conveying device 29 that conveys the contents, i.e., food, into the packaging device 28 is connected above the upstream part of the packaging device 28. In this embodiment, in order to improve the packaging efficiency of the contents, the contents are packaged in two rows. Therefore, the formation (pressing section 2) of the tray-shaped container T is also performed in two rows, the blank sheets B are also set in two rows, and the sheet setting section 1 is also provided in two rows. Upstream of these two rows of sheet setting sections 1, two rows of sheet cutting sections 9 are provided which simultaneously remove blank sheets B to the sheet setting sections 1, and upstream of these, two rows of sheet storage sections 8 are provided which store the stacked blank sheets B.

[0019] The main configuration of the tray manufacturing device is almost the same as that of the first embodiment. The tray-shaped container T formed by the press section 2 is directly discharged into the packaging device 28, so the tray discharge section 4 is not shown. The sheet storage section 8 and the sheet cut-out section 9 added in this embodiment will be described. In the sheet storage section 8, the blank sheets B stacked in the horizontal direction are loaded on a chute 30 that inclines downward toward the sheet set section 1, and the lowest blank sheet B on the chute 30, i.e., the blank sheet B closest to the sheet set section 1 (hereinafter, the blank sheet B on the sheet set section 1 side), is taken out one by one by the sheet cut-out section 9 and set on the table 22 (seat section 23) of the sheet set section 1. The sheet cut-out section 9 is configured to include an adsorption section 13 that adsorbs the blank sheet B on the sheet set section 1 side to the side of the sheet set section 1, and a stopper 14 that prevents the second (and subsequent) blank sheets B from the sheet set section 1 side from falling to the sheet set section 1 side. The suction portion 13 and the stopper 14 are arranged so as to be shifted from each other in the horizontal direction within a plane perpendicular to the plane of the paper in Fig. 11. The suction portion 13 and the stopper 14 are driven individually by driving sources (not shown).

[0020] In this sheet cutting section 9, as shown in Fig. 11a, first, the suction section 13 is suctioned slightly toward the lower part of the blank sheet B on the sheet setting section 1 side while the stopper 14 is moved below the chute 30. From this state, as shown in Fig. 11b, the suction section 13 is moved to rotate counterclockwise so that the upper end of the blank sheet B on the sheet setting section 1 side does not move away from the upper end of the second blank sheet B from the sheet setting section 1 side, thereby forming a gap between the lower end of the blank sheet B on the sheet setting section 1 side and the lower end of the second blank sheet B from the sheet setting section 1 side, and in this state, the stopper 14 is raised from below the chute 30 between the blank sheet B on the sheet setting section 1 side and the second blank sheet B from the sheet setting section 1 side. If the upper end of the stopper 14 is positioned at or above (approximately) the height of the center of gravity of the second blank sheet B from the sheet setting section 1 side, the second (and subsequent) blank sheets B from the sheet setting section 1 side will not fall from the chute 30. Once the blank sheet B on the sheet setting unit 1 side has been cut out in this manner, the suction unit 13 is further rotated and moved counterclockwise as shown in Fig. 11c, and the blank sheet B is gradually moved onto the table 22 (seat 23). Once the blank sheet B on the sheet setting unit 1 side has been moved onto the table 22 (seat 23) in this manner, the suction unit 13 releases the suction of the blank sheet B, and the suction unit 13 is raised to place the blank sheet B on the sheet setting unit 1 side on the table 22 (seat 23) in a specified position.

[0021] Thus, according to the tray manufacturing apparatus of this embodiment, the blank sheet B set in the sheet setting unit 1 is transported to the press unit 2 by the sheet transport unit 3, and then pushed into the female die 12 by the male die 11 to be formed into a tray-shaped container T, which then falls from the female die 12 and is discharged by the tray discharge unit 4. Therefore, the tray-shaped container T can be formed from the blank sheet B with a simple structure.

[0022] In addition, the tray discharge section 4 is configured to discharge the molded tray-shaped container T to the discharge outlet 21 (outside) through the inclined section 6 that slopes downward from below the female mold 12, thereby simplifying the structure for discharging the molded tray-shaped container T from the press section 2. In addition, since the press unit 2 is provided with an adhesive application unit 5 that applies adhesive to triangular adjacent portions N of adjacent side plate portions S of the tray-shaped container T, it is possible to bond the overlapping adjacent portions N of adjacent side plate portions S to stabilize the shape of the tray-shaped container T. In addition, in the adhesive application unit 5, adhesive is discharged before (just before) the blank sheet B is pressed into the female mold 12 by the male mold 11, thereby preventing the adhesive from adhering to both the female mold 12 and the male mold 11.

[0023] In addition, by providing a tray storage section 7 between the press section 2 and the tray discharge section 4, which stores a predetermined number of tray-shaped containers T molded in the female mold 12, it is possible, for example, to allow time for the adhesive applied to the adjacent portions N of the adjacent side panel sections S to harden. In addition, by providing a sheet storage section 8 that stores blank sheets B in a stacked state and a sheet cutting section 9 that takes out blank sheets B one by one from the stacked blank sheets B and sets them in a predetermined position in the sheet setting section 1, it is possible to automate the transport of blank sheets B to the tray manufacturing device.

[0024] Although the tray manufacturing apparatus according to the embodiment has been described above, the present invention is not limited to the configuration described in the above embodiment, and various modifications are possible within the scope of the gist of the present invention. For example, in the above first embodiment, the blank sheet B is transported to the press section 2 by the electric linear motion device 24, but the sheet transport section 3 can be configured to transport the blank sheet B mechanically, or to transport the blank sheet B by gripping it with a robot arm, or the like.

[0025] In addition, in the above embodiment, the shape of the bottom plate portion R of the tray-shaped container T is an octagon close to a square, but the shape of the tray-shaped container T is not limited to this, and can be appropriately set depending on the application and specifications, for example, the shape of the bottom plate portion R of the tray-shaped container T can be an octagon close to a rectangle. [Explanation of symbols]

[0026] 1 Sheet setting section 2 Press Department 3 Sheet transport section 4 Tray discharge section 5. Adhesive application section 6 Slope 7 Tray storage section 8 Sheet storage section 9 Sheet cutting section 11 Male type 12 Female mold B Blank sheet T Tray-shaped container R Bottom plate part S side plate N adjacent part

Claims

1. A tray manufacturing apparatus in which a blank sheet made of paper or a material mainly composed of paper is pressed into a female mold by a male mold to form a tray-shaped container having side panels erected on each side of a polygonal bottom panel with adjacent portions of adjacent side panels folded back, the tray manufacturing apparatus comprising: a sheet setting section which sets the blank sheet in a predetermined position; a press section which presses the blank sheet into the female mold by the male mold; a sheet conveying section which conveys the blank sheet set in the sheet setting section to the press section; and a tray discharge section which is connected to the inside of the female mold and discharges the formed tray-shaped container which drops from the female mold.

2. The tray manufacturing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the tray discharge section discharges the molded tray-shaped container to the outside through an inclined portion that inclines downward from below the female mold.

3. 2. The tray manufacturing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the press section has an adhesive application section that applies adhesive to the triangular adjacent portions before the blank sheet is pressed into the female mold by the male mold.

4. 2. The tray manufacturing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a tray storage section between said pressing section and said tray discharge section, said tray storage section storing a predetermined number of said tray-shaped containers formed in said female mold.

5. The tray manufacturing apparatus of claim 1, further comprising: a sheet storage section that stores the blank sheets in a stacked state; and a sheet cutting section that removes blank sheets one by one from the stacked blank sheets and sets them in a predetermined position in the sheet setting section.

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