Heating shrinkage apparatus

Abstract

To provide a heating shrinkage apparatus capable of excellently shrinking a packaging member.SOLUTION: A heating shrinkage apparatus comprising: a body 1 capable of discharging a hot wind between a carry-in port 1a and a carry-out port 1b; and a pair of conveyance members 5, 6 on which a package is placed in a straddling manner by conveying the package on which a packaged object X is packaged with a packaging member Y, in a conveyance direction toward the carry-out port 1b from the carry-in port 1a comprises: a wide width part 30 at which an interval between the pair of conveyance members 5, 6 becomes wider, that is constituted so as to shrink the packaging member Y of the package toward the packaged object X, by discharging the hot wind to the package conveyed in a conveyance direction from the carry-in port 1a to the carry-out port 1b; and a narrow width part 31 at which the interval is narrower than that of the wide width part 30.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a heat shrinking device for a heat shrinkable packaging material, which transports a packaged material wrapped in a heat shrinkable packaging material (such as a shrink film) as a package and heat shrinks the packaging material during the transport process. [Background technology]

[0002] Patent Document 1 describes a film heat shrinking device. This film heat shrinking device includes a device main body and a lower endless belt of a lower transport conveyor that transports packaged articles in a received state, and the article loading surface of the lower endless belt is formed in a mesh shape so that the film on the bottom side of the packaged article is also heated when a packaged article wrapped in a heat shrinkable film (packaging material) is loaded and transported. In addition, an upper endless belt is wrapped around the device main body to form an upper belt conveyor, and the packaged article is transported while being sandwiched between the upper and lower endless belts.

[0003] The device body is provided with a heating tunnel for heating the packaged articles wrapped in a heat-shrinkable film and shrinking the film over a required range of the article conveying section from the upstream side to the downstream side of the lower endless belt. Inside this heating tunnel, air heated by a heater is blown out from multiple outlets, and the heated air is forcibly circulated by a fan to heat the sides and bottom of the packaged articles.

[0004] In the film heat shrinking device, the transported packaged article is transported toward the entrance of the heating tunnel, and is pressed by the article clamping surface of the upper endless belt facing the upstream inclined part of the upper belt conveyor, and the packaged article is clamped between the upper and lower conveyors upstream of the entrance of the heating tunnel. Since the top surface of the packaged article transported inside the heating tunnel in this state is covered by the upper belt conveyor, only the sides and bottom are heated by heated air, and the heat shrinkable film in the corresponding areas shrinks and adheres closely to the packaged article. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0005] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 11-001211 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] In the film heat shrinking device of Patent Document 1, a packaged article is conveyed in a state in which it is sandwiched from above and below between an upper endless belt and a lower endless belt.

[0007] However, during the transport of the packaged goods, only the sides and bottom are heated by the heated air, and the heat shrink film in the corresponding areas shrinks and adheres closely to the packaged goods, so the heated air is less likely to reach other areas. In other words, the same parts of the packaged goods are in contact with the upper and lower endless belts. Therefore, even if the heat shrink film shrinks toward the packaged goods, the heat shrink film is likely to have poor shrinkage.

[0008] SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT EMBODIMENT An object of the present invention is to provide a heat shrink device capable of shrinking a packaging material satisfactorily. [Means for solving the problem]

[0009] The present invention is a heat shrink device comprising: a heating device main body having an entrance and an exit and capable of expelling hot air between the entrance and the exit; and a conveying unit that conveys a packaged item in which an object to be packaged is wrapped in a packaging material in a conveying direction from the entrance to the exit, and expelling hot air at the packaged item being conveyed in the conveying direction from the entrance to the exit by the conveying unit, thereby shrinking the packaging material of the packaged item toward the object to be packaged, wherein the conveying unit is a pair of conveying members arranged at a distance in the width direction, and the packaged item to be conveyed is placed across the pair of conveying members, and the pair of conveying members have a wide portion where the distance is wider and a narrow portion where the distance is narrower than the wide portion.

[0010] In a heat shrink device having the above-described configuration, the package is placed astride the pair of conveying members of the conveying section between the inlet and outlet of the heating device main body, and when the package is conveyed in the conveying direction in this state, the contact position of the packaging members enclosing the packaged item changes between the wide and narrow portions of the pair of conveying members of the conveying section, so that hot air hits the entire packaging material.

[0011] In the present invention, the pair of conveying members may be configured to have at least one of a width expanding portion that gradually widens from the narrow portion to the wide portion from the entrance side to the exit side, and a width reducing portion that gradually narrows from the wide portion to the narrow portion from the entrance side to the exit side.

[0012] In the heat shrinkage device of the above configuration, the pair of conveying members are equipped with at least one of a width expanding section and a width reducing section, so that the position of contact between the packaging material and the pair of conveying members gradually changes while being conveyed by the pair of conveying members, allowing hot air to be applied to the entire packaging material while suppressing sudden changes in posture during transport of the packaged item.

[0013] In the present invention, the pair of conveying members have a conveying surface on which the package is placed, and the package is constructed by wrapping a cylindrical packaged object conveyed with its central axis along the conveying direction in the sheet-like packaging material, and it is also possible for the width expansion portion and the width reduction portion to be configured to abut against the package within an opposing area facing the conveying surface on the outer peripheral surface around the central axis of the package.

[0014] In a heat shrink device having the above-described configuration, the width expanding section and the width reducing section come into contact within the area of ​​the packaging material that faces the conveying surface on the outer peripheral surface around the central axis of the packaged item, so that the packaged item can be firmly supported and conveyed while hot air is applied to the entire packaged item.

[0015] The present invention may also be configured to include a gap difference adjusting means capable of adjusting the gap difference between the gap between the wide portions and the gap between the narrow portions.

[0016] The heat shrink device having the above-described configuration is provided with a gap difference adjustment means capable of adjusting the gap difference between the wide portion and the narrow portion. This makes it possible to adjust the gap difference between the pair of conveying members and to apply hot air to the entire package while firmly supporting and conveying the package in accordance with the shape of the packaging member. Effect of the Invention

[0017] According to the heat shrinkage device of the present invention, the contact position of the packaging material encasing the packaged item changes between the wide and narrow portions of the package, and hot air hits the entire package, thereby preventing poor shrinkage of the packaging material. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0018] [Figure 1] 1 is a schematic side view illustrating an overall configuration of a conveying device according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2] FIG. [Diagram 3] FIG. [Figure 4] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing how packages are supported at the entrance of the main body. [Diagram 5] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a package at an entrance of the main body. [Figure 6] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing how packages are supported at the outlet of the main body. [Figure 7] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a package at the outlet of the main body. [Figure 8] FIG. 2 is an enlarged view showing a region of the film. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0019] Hereinafter, a heat shrinkage apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

[0020] The heat shrinking device of this embodiment is disposed downstream of the packaging device. Here, the packaging device includes a bag former that wraps an object to be packaged (hereinafter referred to as object X as shown in Figs. 1 and 2) in a packaging material (hereinafter referred to as film Y as shown in Figs. 1 and 2), a vertical seal unit that seals the joints of the film Y together while the object X is wrapped in the film Y, and a horizontal seal unit (end seal unit) that is disposed between the vertical seal unit and the heat shrinking device and welds the film Y in the front-rear direction of the object X packaged by the vertical seal unit and cuts the object X. Then, a pillow-packaged package, i.e., a package cut by welding the film Y in the front-rear direction of the object X by the horizontal seal unit, is conveyed to the heat shrinking device.

[0021] In the following description, the film Y and the article X wrapped in the film Y are defined as a package. In the following description, the direction horizontally perpendicular to the conveyance direction is defined as the width direction of the heat shrink device.

[0022] Next, the configuration of the heat shrinking device will be described. As shown in Fig. 1, the heat shrinking device includes a main body 1 as a heat shrinking device main body having an inlet 1a and an outlet 1b for an article X to be packaged with a heat shrinkable film Y, i.e., a package, a conveying section 2 for conveying the package from the inlet 1a to the outlet 1b within the main body 1, heating means 3 (shown in Figs. 1 and 2, but including a heater and a fan, not shown) for heat shrinking the film Y in the package conveyed by the conveying section 2, and a driving means 4 as a driving source for the conveying section 2.

[0023] The main body 1 is provided with a tunnel-shaped transport space 1A for transporting packages so that heat generated by a heater of the heating means 3 is retained inside the main body 1 by a fan.

[0024] As shown in Figures 4 and 6, the conveying section 2 includes a first conveying member 5 and a second conveying member 6. The first conveying member 5 and the second conveying member 6 are arranged in parallel with a predetermined distance d1, d2 between them in a direction perpendicular or substantially perpendicular to the conveying direction of the packages, i.e., in the width direction as shown in Figures 2 and 3, and rotate endlessly at the same or substantially the same speed along the conveying direction of the packages. Such first conveying member 5 and second conveying member 6 correspond to a pair of conveying members in the width direction.

[0025] 3, 4 and 6, the package is placed across the first conveying member 5 and the second conveying member 6 and conveyed. That is, the first conveying member 5 and the second conveying member 6 have a double belt conveying portion, and the first conveying member 5 and the second conveying member 6 arranged side by side and spaced apart form a long conveying path for the package. In addition, in Figs. 1 and 3, the uppermost end surface of the first conveying member 5 is represented as conveying surface 5b, and the uppermost end surface of the second conveying member 6 is represented as conveying surface 6b.

[0026] 1, the conveying section 2 further includes a first support section 7 and a second support section 8. The first support section 7 is configured to support the inner circumferential surface side of the first conveying member 5 so that the first conveying member 5 and the second conveying member 6 rotate endlessly along the conveying direction of the packages. The second support section 8 is configured to support the inner circumferential surface side of the second conveying member 6.

[0027] The first support section 7 includes guide sections 9a, 9b, a first direction changing member 10, and a second direction changing member 11 shown in Fig. 1. As shown in Fig. 4, the guide sections 9a, 9b are arranged along the conveying path for the packages and are held at a constant interval in the width direction to guide the first conveying member 5 along the conveying path. The guide sections 9a, 9b are arranged in pair on one side in the width direction, and the first conveying member 5 is wound around them. A horizontal support member 26 for keeping the first conveying member 5 horizontal is provided between the guide sections 9a, 9b.

[0028] The guide parts 9a and 9b are connected to the upper part of the base part 27. The base part 27 is formed in a plate shape, and both ends in the width direction are fixed to the main body 1. As described later, the base part 27 is formed as a common base part 27 with the guide parts 18a and 18b arranged as a pair on the other side of the second conveying member 6 in the width direction, and therefore the guide parts 9a and 9b and the guide parts 18a and 18b are connected to the upper part of the base part 27. The base part 27 is located below the guide parts 9a and 9b (guide parts 18a and 18b), is arranged in a horizontal state, and is formed larger than the width dimension of the package. The guide parts 9a and 9b and the guide parts 18a and 18b are provided on the base part 27 formed in this way across the inlet 1a and the outlet 1b of the main body 1.

[0029] The first direction changing member 10 (here, a driving pulley) is rotatable about a driving shaft 28, is arranged at the upstream end of the package conveying path, and is configured to receive a driving force from the driving means 4. The second direction changing member 11 (here, a driven pulley) is rotatable about a driven shaft 29, and is arranged at the downstream end of the package conveying path. The first direction changing member 10 and the second direction changing member 11 are configured to be rotatable about an axis that is parallel to the package conveying path and perpendicular to the conveying direction.

[0030] As shown in Fig. 4, the first support portion 7 further includes a restricting portion 12 that restricts the first conveying member 5 from being displaced in a direction substantially perpendicular to the conveying direction of the packages. The restricting portion 12 includes protrusions 13, 13 and grooves 14, 14. The protrusions 13, 13 are provided on the inner circumferential surface side of the first conveying member 5, and two are formed in the width direction. The grooves 14, 14 are provided between the guide portions 9a, 9b of the first support portion 7 and the horizontal support member 26, and two are formed so that the protrusions 13, 13 of the first conveying member 5 can be inserted therein.

[0031] The first conveying member 5 has a plurality of openings formed in a central portion 5a in the width direction so as to allow the passage of hot air from the heating means 3. Specifically, the central portion 5a in the width direction of the first conveying member 5 is formed in a mesh shape so as to allow the passage of hot air from the heating means 3, which is blown out from the central portion in the width direction of the guide portions 9a, 9b of the long first support portion 7 extending in the conveying direction. More specifically, the first conveying member 5 is formed by processing a mesh belt so as to reinforce both ends in the width direction.

[0032] The first conveying member 5 rotates by receiving the driving force of the driving means 4 from the first direction changing member 10 of the first support portion 7. Specifically, the first conveying member 5 is pressed by a transmission member (not shown) provided on the first direction changing member 10 of the first support portion 7 to transmit the force. The transmission member is made of a material (rubber in this example) that has a frictional force such that the contact portion with the first conveying member 5 is not displaced.

[0033] The second conveying member 6 has a basic configuration similar to that of the first conveying member 5, and further, the second support portion 8 has a basic configuration similar to that of the first support portion .

[0034] The second support section 8 includes guide sections 18a and 18b shown in Fig. 4, a first direction changing member 19 shown in Fig. 1, and a second direction changing member 20. As shown in Fig. 4, the guide sections 18a and 18b are arranged along the conveying path for the packages and are held at a constant interval in the width direction, and are configured to guide the second conveying member 6 along the conveying path. The second conveying member 6 is wound around the guide sections 18a and 18b. A horizontal support member 26 for keeping the second conveying member 6 horizontal is provided between the guide sections 18a and 18b.

[0035] The second support portion 8 further includes a regulating portion 21 that regulates the displacement of the second conveying member 6 in a direction perpendicular or substantially perpendicular to the conveying direction of the packages. The regulating portion 21 includes protrusions 22, 22 and grooves 23, 23. The protrusions 22, 22 are provided on the inner peripheral surface side of the second conveying member 6, and two are formed in the width direction. The grooves 23, 23 are provided on the guide portions 18a, 18b of the second support portion 8 and the horizontal support member 26, and two are formed so that the protrusions 22, 22 of the second conveying member 6 can be inserted therein.

[0036] The second conveying member 6 has a plurality of openings formed in its widthwise central portion 6a so that hot air from the heating means 3 can pass through. The second conveying member 6 rotates by receiving the driving force of the driving means 4 from the first direction changing member 19 of the second support portion 8. Specifically, the second conveying member 6 is pressed by a transmission member (not shown) provided on the first direction changing member 19 of the second support portion 8 to transmit the driving force.

[0037] Furthermore, the first direction changing members 10, 19 of the first support section 7 and the second support section 8 are members arranged in the horizontal direction, but as described below, the first conveying member 5 and the second conveying member 6 spread from the inlet 1a to the outlet 1b of the main body 1, and therefore are considered to be different members. However, the first direction changing members 10, 19 are configured to be rotatable in synchronization with each other by the driving means 4. Specifically, the first direction changing members 10, 19 are arranged at a slight incline with respect to the conveying direction of the packages so that the first conveying member 5 and the second conveying member 6 spread from the inlet 1a to the outlet 1b of the main body 1.

[0038] Further, the second direction changing members 11, 20 of the first support portion 7 and the second support portion 8 are members arranged in the horizontal direction, but as described later, the first conveying member 5 and the second conveying member 6 spread from the inlet 1a to the outlet 1b of the main body 1, and therefore are different members. However, the second direction changing members 11, 20 are configured to be rotatable in synchronization with each other. Specifically, the second direction changing members 11, 20 are arranged at a slight incline with respect to the conveying direction of the package so that the first conveying member 5 and the second conveying member 6 spread from the inlet 1a to the outlet 1b of the main body 1.

[0039] The driving means 4 is configured to rotate the first conveying member 5 and also rotate the second conveying member 6. Specifically, as shown in Fig. 1, the driving means 4 is configured so that a driving force from a driving source 4a (here, a motor) is transmitted via a transmission member 4b to a common rotation shaft to which the first direction changing members 10, 19 of the first support portion 7 and the second support portion 8 are attached.

[0040] Moreover, the driving means 4 is configured to be able to adjust the rotation speed of the first conveying member 5 and the second conveying member 6. Specifically, the driving means 4 includes a speed adjusting means 4c (here, an inverter) that changes the rotation speed of a drive shaft of a motor that is the driving source 4a, and a drive control unit (not shown) that controls the speed adjusting means 4c.

[0041] As described above, the first conveying member 5 and the second conveying member 6 are arranged in parallel with a predetermined distance d1, d2 in the direction substantially perpendicular to the conveying direction of the package, i.e., in the width direction (see FIG. 3). The predetermined distances d1, d2 will be described. That is, the first conveying member 5 and the second conveying member 6 are relatively widened in the width direction from the entrance 1a to the exit 1b of the main body 1. Specifically, by widening the guide portions 9a, 9b and the guide portions 18a, 18b with respect to the platform portion 27, the distance between the first conveying member 5 and the second conveying member 6 is widened from the start end on the entrance 1a side to the end on the exit 1b side.

[0042] In other words, the guides 9a, 9b and horizontal support member 26, and the guides 18a, 18b and horizontal support member 26 are provided on the platform 27 so as to relatively widen from the inlet 1a of the main body 1 toward the outlet 1b, whereby the first conveying member 5 and the second conveying member 6 widen from the inlet 1a toward the outlet 1b. In this case, the first conveying member 5 and the second conveying member 6 widen in the width direction at a constant inclination with respect to the center of the width direction of the main body 1. In other words, the pair of the first conveying member 5 and the second conveying member 6 includes a wide portion 30 having a predetermined distance wider than the wide portion 30, and a narrow portion 31 having a predetermined distance narrower than the wide portion 30, as shown in FIG.

[0043] Specifically, assuming that the length in the conveying direction from the entrance 1a to the exit 1b of the main body 1 is 2400 mm, the narrow portion 31 is 40 mm (spacing d1), and the wide portion 30 is 50 mm (spacing d2), so that the width is expanded by 10 mm from the entrance 1a to the exit 1b of the main body 1. Note that the 10 mm dimension from the entrance 1a to the exit 1b is in the conveying direction length from the entrance 1a to the exit 1b of the main body 1, and since the distance between the second direction changing member 11,20 and the first direction changing member 10,19 is formed longer than the conveying direction length of the main body 1 as shown in FIG. 1, the distance between the second direction changing member 11,20 and the first direction changing member 10,19 is set slightly wider than the 10 mm dimension capacity.

[0044] In this way, the pair of first conveying members 5 and second conveying members 6 are composed of width expanding portions 32, 32 which gradually widen from a narrow portion 31 to a wide portion 30 from the entrance 1a side of the main body 1 toward the exit 1b side, as shown in Figure 3.

[0045] The configuration of the heat-shrinking device for a heat-shrinkable packaging material according to the present embodiment has been described above. Next, the operation of the heat-shrinking device for a heat-shrinkable packaging material according to the present embodiment will be described.

[0046] Here, as shown in Figs. 1 to 5, a case will be described where the article X has a conical columnar shape (for example, a cup container for instant noodles) whose diameter gradually decreases. That is, as shown in Fig. 8, the article X is conveyed with its central axis P aligned along the conveying direction. Figs. 5, 7, and 8 show a state in which the article X has a conical columnar shape whose diameter gradually decreases and is wrapped in a film Y (shrink film), i.e., a package. In the film Y in Fig. 5, Ya is a vertical seal formed by the vertical seal portion, and Yb is a horizontal seal formed by the horizontal seal portion. Note that the article X does not have to be conical columnar, and the heat shrinking device according to this embodiment can be used even if the article X has a cylindrical shape (for example, a dry cell or an article formed by bundling dry cells).

[0047] The heat shrinking device places the object X, which has been transported from a previous process facility (packaging device) located upstream, in a packaged state wrapped in film Y, across a first transport member 5 and a second transport member 6 that are arranged side by side and spaced apart in a direction substantially perpendicular to the transport direction. Specifically, the first transport member 5 and the second transport member 6 hold (hang) the package, which has a circular cross section, at their opposing ends 5c, 6c, and the package is partially fitted between the first transport member 5 and the second transport member 6 depending on the weight of the object X.

[0048] Therefore, even if the package attempts to swing widthwise, part of the package is fitted between the first conveying member 5 and the second conveying member 6, and therefore the first conveying member 5 and the second conveying member 6, at the position holding the package, prevent the package from swinging left and right relative to the conveying direction.

[0049] The packaged item is heated by heating means 3 (including a heater and a fan) while being transported by first transport member 5 and second transport member 6 from entrance 1a to exit 1b, whereby film Y is thermally shrunk toward article X, so that film Y assumes a shape conforming to that of article X.

[0050] Here, the positions of the first conveying member 5 and the second conveying member 6 for holding the package will be described. As shown in FIG. 8, in the package in the main body 1, the lower region of the article X, that is, the region of the film Y facing the lower region of the outer peripheral surface around the central axis P of the article X, is the facing region 33, the region of the film Y facing the upper region of the outer peripheral surface around the central axis P of the article X is the upward region 34, and the left and right regions disposed between the facing region 33 and the upward region 34 are the widthwise regions 35. In this embodiment, the facing region 33 is set at θ45° from the central axis P of the article X to the outer peripheral surface in the left-right direction. This facing region 33 is the region that comes into contact with the first conveying member 5 and the second conveying member 6.

[0051] The first conveying member 5 and the second conveying member 6 are expanded in the width direction at a constant incline from the inlet 1a of the main body 1 as shown in Figures 3 and 4 to the outlet 1b as shown in Figures 3 and 6. The first conveying member 5 and the second conveying member 6 are also configured with width expanding portions 32, 32.

[0052] According to this configuration, as the package is transported from the entrance 1a to the exit 1b, the holding position of the package in its fitted state is gradually changed by the width expansion sections 32, 32, but the positions at which the package is held in the first conveying member 5 and the second conveying member 6 are the ends 5c, 6c of the first conveying member 5 and the second conveying member 6 that face each other.

[0053] The positions of the ends 5c and 6c, when associated with the package, are within the region of the film Y facing the conveying surface on the outer circumferential surface around the central axis P of the article X, that is, the facing region 33 of the film Y. In other words, the package is conveyed within the facing region 33 corresponding to the ends 5c and 6c.

[0054] As the package moves in the conveying direction, the state in which the film Y is embedded gradually changes due to the weight of the article X, the embedding amount gradually increases, and the hot air from the fan of the heating means 3 hits the package more evenly as the embedding amount increases.

[0055] For this reason, as shown in FIG. 7, the film Y of the package can be shrunk well while the package is firmly supported and transported, so that the film Y forms a package having a shape that conforms to the object X, and the object X wrapped in the film Y, i.e., the package, has a good appearance.

[0056] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications are possible without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.

[0057] In the above embodiment, the pair of first conveying member 5 and second conveying member 6 are configured with width expanding portions 32, 32 that gradually become wider from narrow to wide from the entrance 1a side to the exit 1b side of the main body 1. However, it is also possible to have a width reducing portion that gradually becomes narrower from wide to narrow from the entrance 1a side to the exit 1b side. Even with this configuration, the hot air from the fan by the heating means 3 narrows the position where it hits the package (the position where it hits changes), contrary to the above embodiment, and the hot air hits even the original position, so that the hot air hits the package (film Y) evenly.

[0058] In the above embodiment, the interval between the wide portions 30 and the narrow portions 31 is constant. However, a gap difference adjustment means capable of adjusting the gap difference between the wide portions 30 and the narrow portions 31 may be provided. For example, the first direction change members 10, 19 may be configured to be relatively movable toward and away from each other in the horizontal direction. The second direction change members 11, 20 may be configured to be relatively movable toward and away from each other in the horizontal direction. Alternatively, the first direction change members 10, 19 and the second direction change members 11, 20 may be configured to be relatively movable toward and away from each other in the horizontal direction.

[0059] Furthermore, it is also possible to make the wide portion 30 wider or narrower than the narrow portion 31. Conversely, it is also possible to make the narrow portion 31 wider or narrower than the wide portion 30.

[0060] According to a heat shrink device equipped with this gap difference adjustment means, the gap difference can be adjusted, so that when the package is conveyed by the first conveying member 5 and the second conveying member 6, the state in which the package is fitted changes, and hot air can be applied evenly to the package in accordance with its shape.

[0061] In the above embodiment, an example has been given in which the first conveying member 5 and the second conveying member 6 expand in the width direction at a constant inclination with respect to the width direction center of the main body 1. However, either the first conveying member 5 or the second conveying member 6 may be inclined.

[0062] In the above embodiment, an example was given in which the first and second conveying members 5 and 6 have a double belt conveying portion and are arranged side by side at a distance from each other to form a long conveying path for packages. However, the first and second conveying members 5 and 6 can also be formed in this order from a wide portion to a narrow portion and from the narrow portion to a wide portion from the entrance 1a to the exit 1b. In this case, the portion from the wide portion to the narrow portion is the reduced width portion, and the portion from the narrow portion to the wide portion is the expanded width portion.

[0063] Furthermore, the first conveying member 5 and the second conveying member 6 may be parallel members having only a narrow portion and only a wide portion, and the narrow and wide portions therebetween may be connected by an expanded or contracted portion. [Explanation of symbols]

[0064] 1...main body, 1A...transport space, 1a...inlet, 1b...outlet, 2...transport section, 3...heating means, 4...driving means, 5...first transport member, 5b...transport surface, 6...second transport member, 6a...central section, 6b...transport surface, 9a, 9b...guide section, 18a, 18b...guide section, 27...base section, 30...wide section, 31...narrow section, 32, 32...widening section, 33...opposing area, P...central axis, X...article, Y...film, d1, d2...predetermined interval

Claims

1. The heating device includes a heating device main body having an entrance and an exit and capable of discharging hot air between the entrance and the exit, and a conveying unit that conveys a packaged product in which an object to be packaged is wrapped in a packaging material in a conveying direction from the entrance to the exit, A heat shrinking device that blows hot air onto the package conveyed by the conveying unit in a conveying direction from the carry-in entrance to the carry-out exit, thereby shrinking the packaging material of the package toward the packaged object, The conveying section includes a pair of conveying members that are arranged at an interval in the width direction, and the package to be conveyed is placed across the pair of conveying members, The heat shrinking device, wherein the pair of conveying members has a wide portion where the gap is wider and a narrow portion where the gap is narrower than that of the wide portion.

2. 2. The heat shrinkage device according to claim 1, wherein the pair of conveying members include at least one of an expanding width portion that gradually widens from the narrow width portion to the wide width portion from the inlet side to the outlet side, and a reducing width portion that gradually narrows from the wide width portion to the narrow width portion from the inlet side to the outlet side.

3. The pair of conveying members each have a conveying surface on which the package is placed, The package is configured by wrapping the cylindrical packaged object, which is transported with its central axis aligned along a transport direction, in the sheet-like packaging material, 3. The heat shrink device according to claim 2, wherein the width expanding portion and the width reducing portion contact the package within an opposing region that faces the conveying surface on an outer peripheral surface of the package around the central axis.

4. 4. The heat shrinking apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a gap difference adjusting means for adjusting a gap difference between the wide portion and the narrow portion.

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