Manufacturing method for packaging article and packaging device

Abstract

To provide a manufacturing method and a packaging device which are capable of automatically packaging a packaging article in which an article is wrapped in a protective state using packaging material with a low environmental impact.SOLUTION: An article 11 is conveyed by a separation conveyor 10 toward cushioning sheets 12A and 12B that are pulled out from above and below the separation conveyor 10, with their pulled end parts pressed and extending in a vertical direction, and a compressed overlapping part of the cushioning sheets 12A and 12B is clamped by a chuck 15a and pulled out downstream so as not to apply excessive tension to the cushioning sheets 12A and 12B that would cause them to lose a cushioning function. The article 11 is covered from above and below with the cushioning sheets 12A and 12B which are pulled out by the chuck 15a. The cushioning sheets 12A and 12B covering the article 11 are clamped and cut by pressure-bonding and cutting means 14 behind the article 11 in a conveying direction, and the cushioning sheets 12A and 12B are pressed and cut.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a manufacturing method and a packaging apparatus that can be automatically packaged to obtain a package in which an article is covered with a cushioning material, for example, for temporarily storing articles handled in mail order or the like, or for protecting articles during delivery of articles by mail or courier service.

Background Art

[0002] With the expansion of Internet shopping, the logistics form of delivering articles consisting of various products by mail or courier service has increased dramatically. A cushioning material packaging apparatus that manufactures a packaging product having a cushioning function to protect articles from damage during the distribution process has been proposed, for example, as Patent Document 1. Patent Document 1 discloses a cushioning material packaging method and a cushioning material packaging apparatus for automatically packaging a product using a sheet-like air bubble cushioning material, a foamed sheet, or the like.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] Recently, as part of measures against environmental problems such as marine pollution and global warming caused by plastic waste, regulations for reducing plastic waste have been strengthened, and the momentum for plastic reduction initiatives has been increasing. However, the packaging products manufactured by the above-mentioned cushioning material packaging apparatus have a large environmental impact because an air bubble cushioning material made of a plastic material is used. By reducing the amount and volume of such packaging plastic materials, or by replacing plastic packaging materials with packaging materials with a small environmental impact such as paper, environmentally friendly packaging products have come to be adopted.

[0005] An object of the present invention is to provide a method for manufacturing a package that can be automatically packaged and a packaging apparatus, which are packages in which an article is protected and packaged with a packaging material having a small environmental load.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] To solve the above problems and achieve the intended purpose, the first means is A paper upper cushioning material sheet (12A) and a lower cushioning material sheet (12B) that are expanded in a three-dimensional mesh shape are pulled out to a crossing position (M1) that crosses the article conveyance path of the supply conveyor (10) vertically, and the pulled-out ends of each other are overlapped in a palm-like manner and crimped while cutting the cushioning material sheets (12A, 12B) outside the crimping position. The crimped overlapping portion (13) of the upper and lower cushioning material sheets (12A, 12B) is clamped and pulled downstream. When pulling the overlapping portion (13) downstream, an article (11) is placed on the lower cushioning material sheet (12B) supported and conveyed by the feed conveyor (16) and conveyed, and the upper and lower cushioning material sheets (12A, 12B) that are pulled out cover the upper and lower sides of the article (11). The upper and lower cushioning material sheets (12A, 12B) are supplied to the crimping position without being subjected to excessive tension that would cause the loss of the cushioning function, the lower cushioning material sheet (12B) is pulled out by a length corresponding to the longitudinal length of the article (11), and the upper cushioning material sheet (12A) is covered in a non-expanded state on the upper side of the article (11) placed on the lower cushioning material sheet (12B). At the rear of the article (11) covered up and down, the overlapping portion (13) of the upper and lower cushioning material sheets (12A, 12B) is clamped and crimped. According to this, it is possible to automatically package a package in a packaging form having a cushioning function by covering an article with a paper cushioning material sheet having a three-dimensional mesh shape in a basket-wrapping manner. In addition, by using a packaging material that does not contain a plastic material, an environmentally friendly package can be manufactured.

[0007] The second means clamps the overlapping portion (13) of the cushioning material sheets (12A, 12B) positioned at a height equivalent to the article conveying surface of the supply conveyor (10) and pulls it downstream. In the feed conveyor (16), the gist is that the lower cushioning material sheet (12B) is laid flat on the lower surface of the article (11) and conveyed, and the upper cushioning material sheet (12A) is covered over the article (11) in a non-expanded state. According to this, it is possible to satisfactorily package the article as a packaged product with the upper and lower sides of the article covered with the cushioning material sheets while being conveyed by the feed conveyor.

[0008] In order to solve the above problems and achieve the intended purpose, the third means is as follows. Cushioning material supply means (17, 18) for pulling out and guiding the expanded paper upper cushioning material sheet (12A) and lower cushioning material sheet (12B) to a transverse position (M1) that transversely crosses vertically at the conveyance end of the supply conveyor (10). Crimping cutting means (14) that crimps the drawn ends of the upper and lower cushioning material sheets (12A, 12B) drawn out by the cushioning material supply means (17, 18) in a state of being overlapped and clamped in a clasped shape, and cuts the cushioning material sheets (12A, 12B) outside the crimping position. The supply conveyor (10) for placing and conveying the article (11) toward the transverse position (M1). Chucks (15a, 15a) for clamping the overlapping portion (13) of the upper and lower cushioning material sheets (12A, 12B) crimped by the crimping cutting means (14). Pulling-out means (15) for pulling the overlapping portion (13) clamped by the chucks (15a, 15a) downstream corresponding to the longitudinal length of the article (11). When the overlapping portion (13) is pulled downstream by the pulling-out means (15), a feed conveyor (16) for conveying the article (11) fed from the supply conveyor (10) beyond the transverse position (M1) while placed on the lower cushioning material sheet (12B). It is provided with When the buffer material supply means (17, 18) clamps the overlapping portion (13) with the chucks (15a, 15a) and pulls it downstream, the upper buffer material sheet (12A) and the lower buffer material sheet (12B) are drawn out and guided so that excessive tension that would cause the upper and lower buffer material sheets (12A, 12B) to lose their buffer function does not act. The upper buffer material sheet (12A) is drawn out by an amount obtained by adding the height of the article (11) to the draw length of the lower buffer material sheet (12B) and covers the upper side of the article (11) in a non-expanded state. According to this configuration, a paper buffer material sheet expanded in a three-dimensional mesh shape can be used to automatically manufacture a packaged product in which the upper and lower sides of an article are covered in a buffer state without change and formed into a basket-wrapped shape. That is, it can be a new packaging device for manufacturing a packaged product with a packaging form that has a low environmental impact. In addition, a packaging product that is environmentally friendly and does not use a plastic material for the packaging material can be manufactured.

[0009] The fourth means is that the clamping height position of the upper buffer material sheet (12A) and the lower buffer material sheet (12B) in the pressure-bonding cutting means (14) is equivalent to the height of the article placement surface of the feed conveyor (16). In the feed conveyor (16), the lower buffer material sheet (12B) is laid flat on the lower surface of the article (11) and conveyed. The gist of the pressure-bonding cutting means (14) is that the upper buffer material sheet (12A) covering the upper side of the article (11) in a non-expanded state is pressure-bonded and cut while being clamped together with the lower buffer material sheet (12B) at positions spaced apart before and after the article (11). According to this configuration, while being conveyed by the feed conveyor, an upper buffer material sheet can be covered over the upper side of an article in a non-expanded state to manufacture a packaged product formed into a basket-wrapped shape with a buffer material.

[0010] The fifth means includes a detection means (25) for detecting the size of the article (11) until it is conveyed toward the crossing position (M1). It is essential to control at least the pulling length of the lower cushioning material sheet (12B) by the pulling means (15) based on the size information detected by the detection means (25). According to this configuration, even if articles of different sizes are randomly supplied, it is possible to manufacture a packaged product in which the article is covered with a cushioning material sheet of an appropriate length according to the article size.

[0011] The sixth means is such that, based on the length information of the article (11) detected by the detection means (25), the pulling amount downstream of the overlapping portion (13) held by the chucks (15a, 15a) is controlled, and the upper cushioning material sheet (12A) is pulled out without tension so as to cover the upper side of the article (11) in a non-expanded state above the lower cushioning material sheet (12B) that is pulled out flat. According to this configuration, since the article can be covered with a cushioning material sheet of an appropriate length according to the front-rear length of the article, it is possible to obtain a packaged product with a more appropriate amount of cushioning material sheet.

[0012] The seventh means is characterized in that holding means (42) for overlapping and holding the upper and lower cushioning material sheets (12A, 12B) behind the crimping position is provided from before the crimping and cutting of the cushioning material sheets (12A, 12B) by the crimping and cutting means (14) until the overlapping portion (13) is held by the chucks (15a, 15a) after the crimping of the cushioning material sheets (12A, 12B). According to this configuration, it is possible to prevent the cushioning material sheet from shifting when the cushioning material sheet is crimped, which would prevent proper crimping and cutting, and to prevent misalignment when the overlapping portion after crimping and cutting is held by the chucks, so that the cushioning material sheet can be properly held and pulled out by the chucks.

Advantages of the Invention

[0013] According to the present invention, it is possible to automatically package as a packaging product with a buffering function without using a plastic packaging material, which is packaged to cover and protect an article with a paper-made buffering material sheet for protecting the article, such as kraft paper. That is, it is possible to manufacture a packaging product that protects an article by using a paper-made packaging material with a small environmental load as a buffering material for covering the article by automatic packaging.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0014]

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Embodiments for Carrying Out the Invention

[0015] Next, preferred embodiments of the method for manufacturing a packaged product and the packaging apparatus according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Example

[0016] The automatic packaging device (packaging device) of the embodiment shown in Fig. 1 includes a cushioning material packaging unit G1 that manufactures a primary package 19 obtained by performing primary packaging to cover an article 11 conveyed by a supply conveyor 10 in a basket-like manner with cushioning material sheets 12A and 12B that are expanded in a three-dimensional mesh shape. The cushioning material packaging unit G1 includes a cushioning material supply means 42 that draws and guides, by expansion means 32 and 33 described later, a paper upper cushioning material sheet 12A and a cushioning material sheet 12B that are expanded in a three-dimensional mesh shape to a cushioning material crossing position (crossing position) M1 at the conveyance end position of the supply conveyor 10; at the cushioning material crossing position M1 that vertically guides across the conveyance path of the article 11, a crimping cutting means 14 that crimps and binds a overlapping portion 13 of the upper cushioning material sheet 12A and the lower cushioning material sheet 12B drawn by the cushioning material supply means 42 in a state of being overlapped and clamped in a palm-like shape at the drawn ends, and cuts the cushioning material sheets 12A and 12B at a position outside the crimping position; and a cushioning material drawing means (drawing means) 15 that clamps and draws the overlapping portion 13 where the upper and lower cushioning material sheets 12A and 12B are overlapped by crimping with chucks 15a and 15a, and draws (pulls) the cushioning material sheets 12A and 12B downstream by a drawn amount (drawn length) corresponding to the article length (the longitudinal length in the conveyance direction of the article 11). Between the upper cushioning material sheet 12A and the lower cushioning material sheet 12B that are clamped and drawn by the cushioning material drawing means 15, the article 11 sent by the supply conveyor 10 beyond the cushioning material crossing position M1 is placed on the lower cushioning material sheet 12B, and the lower cushioning material sheet 12B is supported and conveyed on the conveyance surface of a feed conveyor 16 connected to the downstream end of the supply conveyor 10 along with the downstream pulling operation by the cushioning material drawing means 15. Further, the upper cushioning material sheet 12A is drawn out in a tension-free manner so as to cover the article 11 placed on the lower cushioning material sheet 12B being pulled downstream with slack.The buffer material supply means 17, 18 assist the conveyance of the upper buffer material sheet 12A and the lower buffer material sheet 12B in a state with slack until the buffer material sheets 12A, 12B expanded by the expansion means 32, 33 are conveyed to the buffer material crossing position M1, without excessive tensile stress acting thereon to stretch the buffer material sheets 12A, 12B and lose the buffer function, and the upper buffer material sheet 12A is configured to cover the article 11 placed on the lower buffer material sheet 12B in a non-expanded state from above.

[0017] Further, the automatic packaging device includes a kraft paper packaging unit G2 downstream of the cushioning material packaging unit G1, which secondarily packages the primary package 19 primarily packaged in the cushioning material packaging unit G1 as a bag covered and sealed with kraft papers 20A and 20B. The kraft paper packaging unit G2 sandwiches the mutual leading ends of the kraft papers 20A and 20B that are extended vertically at the kraft paper extension position M2 across the conveyance path of the primary package (article) 19 by the feed conveyor 16 with a horizontal seal portion 20a horizontally sealed at a height position corresponding to the height of the primary package 19 by chucks 21a and 21a. As the primary package 19 is fed beyond the kraft paper extension position M2, a kraft paper drawing means (drawing means) KM that draws the kraft papers 20A and 20B downstream by a drawing length (predetermined length) corresponding to the article length, a horizontal seal means 22 that horizontally seals and cuts the kraft papers 20A and 20B covering the top and bottom of the primary package 19 in a width direction intersecting the conveyance direction at an intermediate height position of the height of the primary package 19 placed and conveyed on the feed conveyor 16 behind the primary package 19, and a side seal means 23 that side seals and cuts the kraft papers 20A and 20B covering the primary package 19 on both sides (left and right sides) in the width direction sandwiching the primary package 19 at an intermediate height position of the height of the primary package 19 in the conveyance direction. When the heights of the preceding primary package 19 (article 11) fed beyond the kraft paper extension position M2 by the feed conveyor 16 and the subsequent primary package 19 are different, the kraft paper drawing means KM has the horizontal seal portion 20a positioned at the intermediate height position of the height of the packaged preceding primary package 19 with the horizontal seal applied. The chucks 21a and 21a sandwich the horizontal seal portion 20a at the height of the horizontal seal portion 20a with respect to the preceding primary package 19, and when the horizontal seal portion 20a sandwiched by the chucks 21a and 21a is moved downstream by an amount corresponding to the drawing length (predetermined movement amount) corresponding to the length of the subsequent primary package 19, the clamping height of the horizontal seal portion 20a by the chucks 21a and 21a is configured to change so that it moves to a height position corresponding to the intermediate position of the height of the subsequent primary package 19.

[0018] As shown in Fig. 1, the buffer material packaging section G1 includes a separation conveyor 10 as the supply conveyor that conveys the articles 11 supplied from the previous process one by one at predetermined intervals to the downstream side. The separation conveyor 10 is composed of an upstream conveyor 10a and a downstream conveyor 10b. A first article sensor SE1, a second article sensor SE2, and a third article sensor SE3 for detecting the article 11 are correspondingly arranged at the conveyance end portion of the upstream conveyor 10a, the conveyance start portion and the conveyance end portion of the downstream conveyor 10b. When the supplied article 11 is fed from the running upstream conveyor 10a to the downstream conveyor 10b and the passage of the article 11 is detected by the second article sensor SE2, the running of the upstream conveyor 10a is stopped, and when the article conveyed to the downstream of the downstream conveyor 10b is detected by the third article sensor SE3, the upstream conveyor 10a is controlled to start running. Further, the continuously running downstream conveyor 10b stops when the third article sensor SE3 detects the article 11, and is controlled to start running when the first article sensor SE1 detects the passage of the article 11 in the article detection state of the third article sensor SE3. A size detection sensor 25 for detecting the length, width, and height of the article 11 is disposed between the conveyance end portion of the upstream conveyor 10a and the conveyance start portion of the downstream conveyor 10b, and the detection signal of the size detection sensor 25 is input to a control unit (not shown). The control unit calculates the article length based on the time when the article 11 passes through the size detection sensor 25. According to the detection value detected by such a size detection sensor 25, the article size regarding the length, width, and height of the article 11 is calculated by the detection means provided in the control unit. Further, the control unit controls the operation of the buffer material supply means 17, 18, the buffer material drawing means 15, the pressure bonding and cutting means 14, the separation conveyor 10, etc. in the buffer material packaging section G1. Then, while obtaining a primary package 19 having a length corresponding to the article size, and in the secondary packaging of covering and sealing the primary package 19 with kraft papers 20A, 20B, the kraft paper drawing means KM, the horizontal sealing means 22, the side sealing means 23, and other various operating mechanisms in the kraft paper packaging section G2 are controlled to operate so that the packaging size corresponds to the length, width, and height of the primary package 19 covered with the buffer material sheets 12A, 21B as the article size.

[0019] As shown in FIG. 1, in the buffer material packaging section G1, an upper buffer material roll 27 and a lower buffer material roll 28 around which strip-shaped papers 26a and 26b made of paper such as kraft paper are wound at a predetermined diameter are rotatably supported above and below the separation conveyor 10, respectively. As shown in FIG. 2, cuts 31 extending in the width direction intersecting the drawing direction are formed in a staggered pattern in the strip-shaped papers 26a and 26b of the buffer material rolls 27 and 28. When the strip-shaped papers are drawn out by applying tension in the drawing direction by the expanding means 32 and 33, the cuts 31 in the strip-shaped papers are expanded to form a three-dimensional mesh shape (see FIG. 6). The expanded buffer material sheets 12A and 12B in the three-dimensional mesh shape are wound around and guided by a plurality of guide rollers 29 and 30 provided in the drawing path, and are guided in the vertical direction at the buffer material crossing position M1 so as to cross the article conveyance path downstream of the end portion of the downstream conveyor 10b.

[0020] As shown in FIGS. 1 and 4, the buffer material packaging section G1 is provided with upper and lower buffer material supply means 17 and 18 for guiding buffer material sheets 12A and 12B, which are three-dimensionally expanded in a mesh shape through expanding means 32 and 33, from the upper and lower expanding means 32 and 33 to the buffer material crossing position M1. The buffer material supply means 17 and 18 supply the buffer material sheets 12A and 12B to the buffer material crossing position M1 in a slack state without excessive tensile force acting thereon that would change the expanded state (change to a flat state) made three-dimensional in a mesh shape by the expanding means 32 and 33 and cause the loss of the buffer function. The upper buffer material supply means 17 is provided with a swing roller 34a pivotally supported at the lower end of an upper swing arm 34 that is swingably supported, and a guide bar 17a provided downstream of the buffer material conveyance from the swing roller 34a around which the upper buffer material sheet 12A is wound and guided. The guide bar 17a is configured to move up and down between a storage position moved upward and a release position moved downward by an actuating means 17b such as an air cylinder. The upper buffer material sheet 12A is wound around a guide roller 29 and then routed around the swing roller 34a provided between the guide roller 29 disposed at the pivot portion of the upper swing arm 34 and the guide bar 17a in a slack state and reaches the guide bar 17a. When the upper buffer material sheet 12A is pulled out by the buffer material pulling-out means 15, the upper buffer material sheet 12A stored in a slack state in the upper buffer material supply means 17 is guided to the buffer material crossing position M1. Thereby, a tension-free pull-out is allowed without applying the excessive tensile force to the upper buffer material sheet 12A. Further, when the guide bar 17a holds the upper and lower buffer material sheets 12A and 12B with buffer material holding means 42 described later before the upper and lower buffer material sheets 12A and 12B are clamped by the crimping and cutting means 14, the guide bar 17a moves (descends) from the storage position to the release position by the actuating means 17b to slacken the upper buffer material sheet 12A of the winding difference between the two positions. Thus, when the upper buffer material sheet 12A is held by the buffer material holding means 42, no excessive tension is applied to the upper buffer material sheet 12A.In addition, as shown in FIG. 1, the lower buffer material supply means 18 includes a swing roller 35a pivotally supported at the lower end of a swingable lower swing arm 35, feed rollers 18a, 18a disposed on the cross-sectional position side of the swing roller 35a for sandwiching the lower buffer material sheet 12B, and a drive motor (not shown) for rotationally driving the feed rollers 18a, 18a. The swing roller 35a is located between a guide roller 30 disposed at the pivot portion of the lower swing arm 35 and the feed rollers 18a, 18a, and the lower buffer material sheet 12B wound around the guide roller 30 is drawn around the swing roller 35a in a slack state and reaches the feed rollers 18a, 18a. When the buffer material drawing means 15 draws, the drive motor rotates the feed rollers 18a, 18a corresponding to the downstream movement amount and movement speed of the buffer material drawing means 15 so as to draw an amount corresponding to the drawn amount according to the article size, and the lower buffer material sheet 12B stored in a slack state in the lower buffer material supply means 18 is sent out to the buffer material cross-sectional position M1, whereby the lower buffer material sheet 12B is drawn without excessive tension being applied. Balance weights are provided above the guide rollers 29, 30 disposed at the pivot portions of the upper and lower swing arms 34, 35, and the swing arms 34, 35 are configured to swing when a slight force acts on the swing rollers 34a, 35a. When the swing rollers 34a, 35a are pulled in the drawing direction by the drawing of the buffer material sheets 12A, 12B and the swing arms 34, 35 swing, the sensor detects the swing, and the corresponding expansion means 32, 33 operates to feed out the buffer material sheets 12A, 12B while expanding a predetermined amount of strip paper 26a, 26b. As the swing arms 34, 35 return to their original positions, the fed-out buffer material sheets 12A, 12B are stored around the swing rollers 34a, 35a in a slack state.

[0021] As shown in Fig. 1, the feeding conveyor 16 is disposed downstream of the downstream conveyor 10b. The article conveying surface of the feeding conveyor 16 is set at the same height as or slightly lower than the article conveying surface of the downstream conveyor 10b. When the buffer material sheets 12A and 12B are clamped by the buffer material pulling means 15 and pulled downstream, the lower buffer material sheet 12B is pulled out from below at the conveying end portion of the separation conveyor 10 and guided to be supported on the conveying surface of the feeding conveyor 16. Then, the lower buffer material sheet 12B is laid flat on the lower surface of the article 11 fed from the separation conveyor 10 and conveyed by the feeding conveyor 16. Further, the feeding conveyor 16 conveys the primary packaged article 19 in which the buffer material sheets 12A and 12B are crimped and bound before and after the article 11 covered with the upper and lower buffer material sheets 12A and 12B, toward the kraft paper packaging section G2. The feeding conveyor 16 is connected to the conveying end portion of the downstream conveyor 10b, and is configured as a shuttle conveyor in which an endless belt 16b is wound around a plurality of pulleys 16a so that the pulley 16a at the conveying start end facing the conveying end portion of the downstream conveyor 10b moves forward and backward along the article conveying direction (see Fig. 5). The width of the conveying surface of the feeding conveyor 16 is set smaller than the width dimensions of the buffer material sheets 12A and 12B, and the buffer material sheets 12A and 12B extend from the feeding conveyor 16 to the left and right sides. A fourth article sensor SE4 for detecting the arrival of the primary packaged article 19 is disposed at the conveying end portion of the feeding conveyor 16. When the fourth article sensor SE4 detects the primary packaged article 19, the feeding conveyor 16 running is controlled to stop.

[0022] As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, the crimping and cutting means 14 includes a pair of clamping bodies 36 and 37 that face each other vertically with the article conveyance path by the downstream conveyor 10b and the feed conveyor 16 therebetween. The pair of clamping bodies 36 and 37 are configured to move closer to and away from each other in the vertical direction by the opening and closing movement means 38. The opening and closing movement means 38 includes a link mechanism 38a linked to the upper and lower clamping bodies 36 and 37, and a driving means 38b such as a servo motor that operates the link mechanism 38a. By operating the link mechanism 38a with the driving means 38b, the pair of clamping bodies 36 and 37 approach each other so as to clamp the buffer material sheets 12A and 12B that overlap vertically at a clamping position (clamping height position) at the same height as the article conveyance surface of the downstream conveyor 10b (feed conveyor 16). Further, the crimping and cutting means 14 includes pressing springs 36a and 36a that bias the clamping bodies 36 and 37 at the clamping position that approach each other by the opening and closing movement means 38 so as to approach each other. In the lower clamping body 37, a long groove 37a extending in the width direction is formed at the center in the front-rear direction, and as shown in FIG. 3(b), lower engaging tools 39a having tooth portions formed in a wavy shape with irregularities and provided at the upper ends are provided at two positions spaced apart in the width direction on each of the front and rear clamping surfaces sandwiching the long groove 37a. Further, in the upper clamping body 36, a knife 41 whose cutting edge is advanced and retracted into the long groove 37a of the lower clamping body 37 by an air cylinder 40a is supported so as to be vertically movable at the center in the front-rear direction, and at two positions spaced apart in the width direction corresponding to the lower engaging tools 39a and 39a sandwiching the knife 41, upper engaging tools 39b having tooth portions formed in a wavy shape with irregularities and engaging with the tooth portions of the lower engaging tool 39a are provided so as to move vertically by an air cylinder 40b. Further, the meshing position of the upper and lower engaging tools 39a and 39b is set at a position slightly below the clamping position of the clamping bodies 36 and 37.Then, with the pair of clamping members 36 and 37 moved closer to each other by the opening / closing moving means 38 and the overlapping portion 13 of the upper and lower cushion sheets 12A and 12B biased and clamped by the compression springs 36a and 36a, the upper clamping tools 39b and 39b are moved closer to the lower clamping tools 39a and 39a by the air cylinders 40b with the upper and lower cushion sheets 12A and 12B sandwiched therebetween, and meshed with each other at a predetermined pressure, thereby crushing and crimping the overlapping cushion sheets 12A and 12B. The crimped crimping portions K are formed at two positions in the width direction (see FIG. 6). At the same time, the knife 41 is advanced into the long groove 37a by the air cylinder 40a to cut the cushion sheets 12A and 12B in the width direction between the front and rear crimping positions (outside the crimping positions). Note that the conveyance start end portion of the feed conveyor 16 configured as a shuttle conveyor is configured to move horizontally with respect to the conveyance end portion of the downstream conveyor 10b following the approach and separation movement of the pair of clamping members 36 and 37. That is, when the pair of clamping members 36 and 37 approach each other, the opposing end portions of the downstream conveyor 10b and the feed conveyor 16 are separated to allow passage toward the clamping position where the cushion sheets 12A and 12B are clamped by the pair of clamping members 36 and 37. When the pair of clamping members 36 and 37 are separated from each other, the opposing end portions of the downstream conveyor 10b and the feed conveyor 16 are brought closer to each other so as to enable the downstream conveyance of the article 11 without any hindrance.

[0023] As shown in FIGS. 1 and 4, upstream of the crimping and cutting means 14, after the buffer material sheets 12A and 12B are drawn out by the buffer material drawing means 15 and before the buffer material sheets 12A and 12B are crimped and cut by the crimping and cutting means 14, a buffer material holding means 42 for holding the buffer material sheets 12A and 12B is provided. The buffer material holding means 42 includes a receiving member 42a disposed between opposing end portions of the downstream conveyor 10b and the feed conveyor 16 and extending in the width direction, and a pressing member 42b disposed above the downstream conveyor 10b and moved closer to and away from the receiving member 42a by an air cylinder 42c. In the embodiment, before the pair of clamping bodies 36 and 37 clamp the upper and lower buffer material sheets 12A and 12B, the air cylinder 42c moves the pressing member 42b closer to the receiving member 42a, so that the upper and lower buffer material sheets 12A and 12B are clamped and held by the pressing member 42b and the receiving member 42a behind the clamping position by the clamping bodies 36 and 37. The buffer material holding means 42 holds the buffer material sheets 12A and 12B after the buffer material sheets 12A and 12B are crimped and cut by the crimping and cutting means 14 until the chucks 15a and 15a of the buffer material drawing means 15 clamp the overlapping portion 13 of the buffer material sheets 12A and 12B, and then releases them.

[0024] As shown in Fig. 5, the buffer material drawing-out means 15 includes chucks (so-called air chucks) 15a that open and close a pair of gripping claws in the vertical direction by air, and are provided on both sides in the width direction sandwiching the feed conveyor 16. Each of the chucks 15a is reciprocated back and forth in the front and rear directions of the article conveyance direction by a linear slide mechanism 44 driven by a servo motor 4a. The buffer material drawing-out means 15 sandwiches both sides in the width direction of the overlapping portion 13 in the buffer material sheets 12A and 12B crimped by the crimping and cutting means 14 with the chucks 15a and 15a, and moves the chucks 15a and 15a downstream to a drawing-out length corresponding to the length information (size information) of the article 11 based on the detection result of the size detection sensor 25, and releases the clamping of the chucks 15a and 15a. Note that the two linear slide mechanisms 44 and 44 (chucks 15a and 15a) are configured to be adjustable in the width direction so as to be able to cope with changes in the width dimension of the buffer material sheets 12A and 12B. Further, the chuck 15a is arranged such that a pair of gripping claws face the other chuck 15a so as to sandwich the buffer material sheets 12A and 12B from the side, and by expanding the pair of gripping claws vertically to release the clamping of the overlapping portion 13, it is configured not to interfere with the buffer material sheets 12A and 12B when moving upstream, and no mechanism is required to prevent the chuck 15a from interfering with the buffer material sheets 12A and 12B.

[0025] Here, the buffer material packaging section G1 of the embodiment has a maximum size of the article that can be packaged corresponding to the width dimensions of the buffer material rolls 27 and 28. When the article 11 to be packaged is an article 11 within the allowable size corresponding to the width dimensions of the buffer material rolls 27 and 28, the buffer material rolls 27 and 28 of the same width are used without changing the width dimensions of the buffer material rolls 27 and 28. Then, based on the length (length information) of the article 11 detected by the size detection sensor 25 and calculated by the control unit, the upper and lower buffer material sheets 12A and 12B are controlled to be pulled downstream by a predetermined pulling length by the buffer material pulling means 15. In the embodiment, based on the size information of the article 11 detected by the size detection sensor 25, at least the pulling length of the lower buffer material sheet 12B is controlled, and the upper buffer material sheet 12A is pulled out and guided by the amount stored in a slack state in the upper buffer material supply means 17, so that the pulling amount obtained by adding the height of the article 11 to the pulling length of the lower buffer material sheet 12B laid flat on the lower surface of the article 11 is pulled out without tension, and the extending portions of the lower buffer material sheet 12B extending a predetermined length in the front and rear of the article 11, the extending portions of the upper buffer material sheet 12A covering the upper side of the article 11 and extending in the front and rear from the article 11 hang down to cover the front and rear surfaces of the article 11 and are overlapped with each other by a predetermined length (see FIG. 6).

[0026] As shown in FIG. 1, the kraft paper packaging unit G2 includes a packaging material supply means 45 that draws out kraft papers 20A and 20B from above and below the feed conveyor 16 and supplies them so as to extend vertically across the conveyance path of the primary packaged product 19 downstream of the feed conveyor 16. The packaging material supply means 45 is disposed above the article conveyance path and includes a raw roll 46 around which the upper kraft paper 20A is wound, a raw roll 47 around which the lower kraft paper 20B is wound and disposed below the article conveyance path, an upper feeding roller 48 that is rotationally driven by a servo motor to draw out the upper kraft paper 20A from the raw roll 46 and feed it downward, and a lower feeding roller 49 that is rotationally driven by a servo motor to draw out the lower kraft paper 20B from the raw roll 47 and feed it upward. Downstream of the feed conveyor 16, the upper and lower kraft papers 20A and 20B fed out by the upper feeding roller 48 and the lower feeding roller 49 face the ends sealed and cut by the horizontal sealing means 22. The inner surfaces of the kraft papers 20A and 20B are coated with a heat-fusible adhesive that melts by heat, and the inner surfaces of the upper kraft paper 20A and the lower kraft paper 20B, where the cushioning material sheets 12A and 12B located above and below the primary packaged product 19 are not positioned, are sandwiched from the outer surface by a pair of seal bodies 54 and 55 and a pair of side seal bodies 89 and 91 described later and heated, so that the adhesive on the inner surfaces of the kraft papers 20A and 20B melts and the overlapping surfaces of the upper kraft paper 20A and the lower kraft paper 20B are adhered. The width dimensions of the upper kraft paper 20A and the lower kraft paper 20B are set larger than the width dimensions of the cushioning material sheets 12A and 12B, and are adhered at the locations where the inner surfaces of the kraft papers 20A and 20B overlap outside the width direction of the cushioning material sheets 12A and 12B that overlap the article 11.

[0027] As shown in FIG. 1, in the extension path where the upper kraft paper 20A is extended in the vertical direction by the packaging material supply means 45, a printer 50 such as an inkjet printer for printing product name information such as product names on the outer surface of the upper kraft paper 20A is disposed. Information on the article 11 to be packaged is transmitted as data from the production information server to the printer 50, and based on that information, the printer 50 prints a barcode representing product code information, the product name information to be packaged, etc. on the upper kraft paper 20A.

[0028] As shown in FIGS. 1 and 8, downstream of the feed conveyor 16, when the primary package 19 is conveyed beyond the kraft paper extension position M2, a conveyor 51 for placing and conveying the primary package 19 is provided. The primary package 19 is covered from above and below with kraft papers 20A and 20B and is supported on the lower surface side by the conveyor 51 and conveyed downstream. The conveyor 51 is configured as a shuttle conveyor in which an endless belt 51b is wound around a plurality of pulleys 51a, and the pulley 51a at the start end of the conveyance moves forward and backward along the article conveyance direction. Further, a discharge conveyor 52 is provided downstream of the conveyor 51, and the packaged product 53 with horizontal seals applied before and after the primary package 19 in the kraft papers 20A and 20B covering the primary package 19 is discharged to the next process by the discharge conveyor 52.

[0029] As shown in FIGS. 1, 7, and 8, the horizontal sealing means 22 includes a pair of sealing bodies 54 and 55 that face each other vertically with the article conveyance path by the conveyance conveyor 51 interposed therebetween. The pair of sealing bodies 54 and 55 are configured to move closer to and away from each other by the opening and closing movement means 56, and the pair of sealing bodies 54 and 55 are configured to sandwich the kraft papers 20A and 20B and perform a horizontal seal in the width direction by approaching each other by the opening and closing movement means 56. The conveyance start end of the conveyance conveyor 51 configured as a shuttle conveyor is configured to move horizontally with respect to the conveyance end of the feed conveyor 16 following the approach and separation movement of the pair of sealing bodies 54 and 55. That is, when the pair of sealing bodies 54 and 55 approach, the opposing ends of the feed conveyor 16 and the conveyance conveyor 51 separate, allowing passage toward the clamping position where the kraft papers 20A and 20B are clamped by the pair of sealing bodies 54 and 55. When the pair of sealing bodies 54 and 55 separate, the opposing ends of the feed conveyor 16 and the conveyance conveyor 51 approach, enabling the conveyance of the primary package 19 downstream without any hindrance.

[0030] As shown in FIG. 7, the horizontal sealing means 22 includes a pair of seal support members 57 and 57 spaced apart in the width direction. Between the pair of seal support members 57 and 57, a pair of holding members 58 and 59 that face each other with the article conveyance path interposed therebetween and support the sealing bodies 54 and 55 are supported so as to be movable in the vertical direction. Slide shafts 60 extending in the vertical direction are slidably inserted and supported in the respective seal support members 57. At the upper ends of the pair of slide shafts 60 and 60 extending upward from the pair of seal support members 57 and 57, a first holding member 58 facing above the article conveyance path is disposed. The lower ends of the pair of slide shafts 60 and 60 extending downward from the pair of seal support members 57 and 57 are connected by a connecting member 61. Further, a second holding member 59 facing below the article conveyance path is slidably supported via a support body on the slide shafts 60 and 60 between the first holding member 58 and the seal support members 57 and 57. The first holding member 58 and the second holding member 59 are configured to be able to move relatively closer to and away from each other while maintaining their postures by the slide shafts 60 and 60.

[0031] As shown in Fig. 7, the opening / closing moving means 56 includes a pair of left and right link mechanisms 62, 62 that link the first and second holding members 58, 59, and air cylinders 63, 63 for opening and closing. By operating the link mechanisms 62, 62 with the air cylinders 63, 63 for opening and closing, the upper and lower seal bodies 54, 55 approach and separate from each other with the article conveyance path therebetween. The air cylinders 63, 63 for opening and closing are disposed on an adjustment lifting member 65 that can be moved up and down in the vertical direction by a height adjustment means 64. The height adjustment means 64 includes an adjustment mechanism 66 such as a screw mechanism that links to the adjustment lifting member 65, and an operating means 67 such as a servo motor. Based on the height value (height information) of the article 11 detected by the size detection sensor 25, the height adjustment means 64 is controlled, and the adjustment mechanism 66 is operated by the operating means 67 to adjust the height position of the adjustment lifting member 65, so that the upper and lower seal bodies 54, 55 that approach each other by the opening / closing moving means 56 mesh at the intermediate position of the height of the primary package 19 placed on the feed conveyor 16 (seal height position) to horizontally seal the kraft papers 20A, 20B.

[0032] As shown in Fig. 8, a cutting knife 68 is supported between a pair of seal surfaces 55a, 55a of the lower seal body 55, and an air cylinder 69 that moves the cutting knife 68 forward and backward is disposed. When the kraft papers 20A, 20B are clamped between the seal surfaces 54a, 54a of the upper seal body 54 and the seal surfaces 55a, 55a of the lower seal body 55, the cutting knife 68 is moved forward and backward by the air cylinder 69 to cut the kraft papers 20A, 20B.

[0033] As shown in FIG. 8, a lower packaging material guide 71 capable of supporting the lower kraft paper 20B from above and below is disposed at a position substantially the same height as the conveyance surface of the conveyance conveyor 51 upstream of the kraft paper extension position M2. When the primary package 19 is conveyed toward the seal bodies 54 and 55, both side portions in the width direction of the lower kraft paper 20B are arranged so as to be able to guide the left and right edge portions of the primary package 19 to pass through without interference. And when approaching from a position where the pair of seal bodies 54 and 55 are separated from each other, the lower kraft paper 20B drawn out from the raw material roll 47 is configured to be supported by the lower packaging material guide 71 on the upstream side of the seal bodies 54 and 55.

[0034] As shown in FIGS. 1 and 9, the kraft paper drawing means KM includes two sets of chuck units 21A and 21B that sandwich and draw out the horizontally sealed upper and lower kraft papers 20A and 20B. When the left and right end portions of the kraft papers 20A and 20B are alternately clamped by the two sets of chuck units 21A and 21B and pulled downstream, the primary package 19 covered above and below by the kraft papers 20A and 20B is placed on the conveyance conveyor 51 and conveyed. The operations of the chuck units 21A and 21B and the conveyance conveyor 51 are synchronized, and the pulling speed downstream of the kraft papers 20A and 20B by the chuck units 21A and 21B and the running speed of the conveyance conveyor 51 are set to the same speed. The two sets of chuck units 21A and 21B are arranged vertically spaced apart with the article conveyance path therebetween. And the upper chuck unit 21A and the lower chuck unit 21B are operated so as to alternately draw out the kraft papers 20A and 20B extended at the kraft paper extension position M2. Since the configurations of the upper chuck unit 21A and the lower chuck unit 21B are the same, only the configuration of the upper chuck unit 21A will be described, and means having the same or identical functions as the upper chuck unit 21A in the lower chuck unit 21B will be denoted by the same reference numerals and the description thereof will be omitted.

[0035] As shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, the upper chuck unit 21A includes a pair of chuck mechanisms 100, 100 spaced apart on the left and right of the conveying conveyor 51 and the discharging conveyor 52 that convey the packaged primary packages 19 with a horizontal seal. Each chuck mechanism 100 is linked to a chuck width adjustment mechanism 101 and is configured to be able to adjust the position in the width direction of each chuck mechanism 100 by the chuck width adjustment mechanism 101. The chuck mechanism 100 includes the chuck (so-called air chuck) 21a that opens and closes a pair of gripping claws in the vertical direction by air, and the chuck 21a is moved in the front-rear direction and the vertical direction in the article conveying direction by chuck moving means (moving means) 73. The chuck moving means 73 includes a front-rear linear slide mechanism (slide mechanism) 75, a front-rear drive motor 76 composed of a servo motor that operates the front-rear linear slide mechanism 75, an up-down linear slide mechanism 78 disposed on a front-rear moving holder 77 linked to the front-rear linear slide mechanism 75, and an up-down drive motor 79 composed of a servo motor that operates the up-down linear slide mechanism 78. A chuck holder 80 on which the chuck 21a is disposed is linked to the up-down linear slide mechanism 78. That is, when the front-rear linear slide mechanism 75 is operated by the front-rear drive motor 76, the chuck 21a moves in the front-rear direction, and when the up-down linear slide mechanism 78 is operated by the up-down drive motor 79, the chuck 21a moves in the vertical direction. The front-rear drive motor 76 is controlled based on the values of the length and height of the article 11 (length information and height information) detected by the size detection sensor 25, and is configured to change the pulling-out position of the kraft papers 20A, 20B by the chucks 21a, 21a in the front-rear direction. Further, the up-down drive motor 79 is controlled based on the value of the height of the article 11 (height information) detected by the size detection sensor 25, and changes the clamping position of the kraft papers 20A, 20B by the chucks 21a, 21a in the vertical direction so as to be able to clamp the horizontal seal portion 20a that is horizontally sealed by the horizontal seal means 22 in the kraft papers 20A, 20B and extends downstream at the intermediate position of the height of the primary package 19.In addition, a lateral movement means 81 such as an air cylinder for moving the chuck 21a in the width direction is provided on the chuck holder 80, and the chuck 21a is moved by the lateral movement means 81 between a forward position where the kraft papers 20A and 20B can be clamped and a retracted position where it is retracted in the width direction without interfering with the kraft papers 20A and 20B.

[0036] As shown in FIGS. 12 and 13, the side seal means 23 includes a pair of seal units 82, 82 disposed on the machine frame 74 so as to face both sides in the width direction sandwiching the carry-out conveyor 52. The seal unit 82 is linked to a seal interval adjustment mechanism 83 that is controlled based on the width value (width information) of the article 11 detected by the size detection sensor 25, and is configured such that the widthwise positions of the pair of seal units 82, 82 can be adjusted by the seal interval adjustment mechanism 83. The seal interval adjustment mechanism 83 includes a screw shaft 84, an interval adjustment servo motor 85 that rotationally drives the screw shaft 84, and a female screw member 86 that is screwed onto the screw shaft 84. By rotating the screw shaft 84 forward or backward by the interval adjustment servo motor 85 to move the pair of main bodies 87, 87 closer to and away from each other, the widthwise positions of the pair of seal units 82, 82 can be adjusted.

[0037] As shown in FIGS. 12 and 13, an upper seal holder 88 is supported by the main body 87 so as to be movable in the vertical direction, and a side upper seal body 89 having a seal surface facing downward and extending in a predetermined length in the article conveying direction is disposed on the upper seal holder 88. Further, a lower seal holder 90 is supported by the main body 87 so as to be movable in the vertical direction, and a side lower seal body 91 having a seal surface facing upward and extending in a predetermined length in the article conveying direction so as to face the seal surface of the side upper seal body 89 is disposed on the lower seal holder 90. Corresponding to the upper and lower seal holders 88 and 90, an upper air cylinder 92 and a lower air cylinder 93 are respectively disposed at intervals in the article conveying direction on the main body 87. By operating the upper and lower air cylinders 92 and 93 to bring the upper and lower side seal bodies 89 and 91 closer to each other and sandwiching and heating the kraft papers 20A and 20B on the side of the primary package 19, the adhesive applied to the inner surfaces of the kraft papers 20A and 20B melts and is side-sealed. The lengths of the upper and lower side seal bodies 89 and 91 are set to a predetermined length that is longer than the front-rear length of the largest package.

[0038] As shown in FIGS. 12 and 13, on the upper and lower seal holders 88 and 90, there are provided clamping members 94, 94 for clamping the kraft papers 20A and 20B, which are spaced apart outward in the width direction from the opposing side seal members 89 and 91, when the kraft papers 20A and 20B are sealed by the upper and lower side seal members 89 and 91. On the upper seal holder 88, there is provided side cutting means 95 for cutting the kraft papers 20A and 20B between the side seal positions by the upper and lower side seal members 89 and 91 and the positions clamped by the upper and lower clamping members 94, 94. The side cutting means 95 includes a side knife 96 that is supported so as to be able to move forward and backward in the vertical direction between the seal surface of the side upper seal member 89 and the clamping member 94 and has a blade edge inclined in the longitudinal direction, and a knife air cylinder 97 disposed on the upper seal holder 88 as forward and backward movement means for moving the side knife 96 forward and backward. When the kraft papers 20A and 20B are clamped between the side upper seal member 89 and the side lower seal member 91, the side knife 96 is moved forward and backward by the knife air cylinder 97, so that the kraft papers 20A and 20B are cut along the article conveyance direction outside the seal portions by the both side seal members 89 and 91. The knife air cylinder 97 is disposed at a plurality of locations (three locations in the embodiment) in the longitudinal direction of the side knife 96, and is configured to stably move the side knife 96 forward and backward in the longitudinal direction.

[0039] The seal unit 82 is configured to be vertically movable by a height adjustment means (not shown) that operates an adjustment means such as a screw mechanism by an operating means such as a servo motor. Based on the height value (height information) of the article 11 detected by the size detection sensor 25, the height adjustment means is controlled to adjust the side seal height position (seal height position) by the seal unit 82, so that the kraft papers 20A and 20B are side-sealed at the intermediate position of the height of the primary package 19. Further, the side seal position and the cutting position by the seal unit 82 and the side cutting means 95 are adjusted by controlling the seal interval adjustment mechanism 83 by the control unit according to the article size, and in the interval adjustment, it is adjusted to a size corresponding to the outer dimensions that become the bundled size calculated for the package 53. Preferably, the seal unit 82 is adjusted and set so that the side seal position and the cutting position are set step by step to be the sizes for each delivery section set so that the shipping fees are different.

[0040] As shown in FIGS. 12 and 13, on both sides in the width direction sandwiching the carry-out conveyor 52, recovery conveyors (discharge means) 98 for carrying out the cut pieces of the kraft papers 20A and 20B cut off by the side cutting means 95 and separated from the carry-out conveyor 52 are arranged in parallel. The left and right seal units 82, 82 are configured to be movable in the vertical and width directions between the corresponding recovery conveyors 98 and the carry-out conveyor 52. Further, the lower seal holder 90 is provided with a discharge guide 99 that slopes downward toward the recovery conveyor 98 located on the outer side in the width direction, and when the cut pieces of the kraft papers 20A and 20B cut by the side knife 96 and separated fall, they are guided to the recovery conveyor 98 by the discharge guide 99. Further, each recovery conveyor 98 is adjusted in position in the width and vertical directions integrally with the corresponding seal unit 82.

[0041] Next, the operation of the automatic packaging device according to the embodiment will be described in relation to the automatic manufacturing method (manufacturing method).

[0042] When it is detected that the article 11 supplied from the previous process and conveyed by the separation conveyor 10 has passed through the second article sensor SE2, the upstream conveyor 10a stops, and the article 11 continues to be conveyed downstream by the downstream conveyor 10b. Further, when the article 11 passes through the size detection sensor 25, the length, height, and width of the article 11 are detected, and the article size is determined based on the detected values.

[0043] The cushioning material sheets 12A and 12B drawn out from the cushioning material rolls 27 and 28 by the expanding means 32 and 33 and expanded into a three-dimensional net shape are guided by a plurality of guide rollers 29 and 30 and extend in the vertical direction at the crossing position M1. The drawn end portions thereof are crimped by the crimping and cutting means 14 and extend downstream with a predetermined length overlapping. Note that the overlapping portion 13 of the upper and lower cushioning material sheets 12A and 12B is positioned at substantially the same height as the placement height of the lower cushioning material sheet 12B placed on the article conveying surface of the separation conveyor 10 and conveyed. Further, the upper and lower cushioning material sheets 12A and 12B are stored in the upper and lower cushioning material supply means 17 and 18 in a predetermined length that can be drawn out without tension. Then, both the left and right side edges of the overlapping portion 13 of the upper and lower cushioning material sheets 12A and 12B are clamped by the chucks 15a and 15a of the cushioning material drawing means 15.

[0044] When the article 11 conveyed by the downstream conveyor 10b is detected by the third article sensor SE3, the upstream conveyor 10a resumes running and the running of the downstream conveyor 10b is stopped. Then, when the first article sensor SE1 detects the passage of the article 11 that has resumed running and is conveyed by the upstream conveyor 10a, the buffer material drawing means 15 moves the chucks 15a, 15a that are clamping the overlapping portion 13 of the buffer material sheets 12A, 12B downstream by the drawing length based on the length information of the article 11, and the downstream conveyor 10b resumes running at a predetermined timing. At this time, the upper buffer material sheet 12A stored in a slack state in the upper buffer material supply means 17 is drawn out tension-free to the buffer material crossing position M1 in a state where excessive tensile tension is not applied, and the lower buffer material supply means 18 supplies the lower buffer material sheet 12B stored in a slack state toward the buffer material crossing position M1 in synchronization with the moving speed of the chucks 15a, 15a. As a result, the upper and lower buffer material sheets 12A, 12B are drawn out tension-free by the chucks 15a, 15a while maintaining the state of being three-dimensionally expanded by the expanding means 32, 33. Further, the article 11 is fed between the upper and lower buffer material sheets 12A, 12B drawn downstream by the buffer material drawing means 15, and the article 11 is placed on the lower buffer material sheet 12B that is flatly drawn out on the feed conveyor 16, and is supported from below by the feed conveyor 16 together with the lower buffer material sheet 12B and conveyed downstream. Note that the downstream conveyor 10b resumes running with a predetermined time delay from the start timing of drawing out the buffer material sheets 12A, 12B by the buffer material drawing means 15, so that the article 11 is fed to a position that is the middle between the front and rear of the primary package 19. Also, along with the drawing by the buffer material drawing means 15, at the crossing position M1, the upper buffer material sheet 12A in a slack state where the drawing amount obtained by adding the height of the article 11 to the drawing length of the lower buffer material sheet 12B is drawn out tension-free and guided is covered in a slack and non-expanded state so as to follow the shape of the article 11 above the article 11 placed on the lower buffer material sheet 12B.

[0045] When the drawing operation of the upper and lower cushioning material sheets 12A and 12B by the cushioning material drawing means 15 is completed, the feed conveyor 16 stops, and the upper cushioning material supply means 17 lowers the guide bar 17a from the storage position to the release position to loosen the upper cushioning material sheet 12A with the winding difference at both positions of the guide bar 17a. Then, the pressing member 42b of the cushioning material holding means 42 is actuated by the air cylinder 42c, and the upper and lower cushioning material sheets 12A and 12B are held between the receiving member 42a and the pressing member 42b behind the article 11. Further, the clamping bodies 36 and 37 of the pressure bonding and cutting means 14 move closer to each other, and the upper and lower cushioning material sheets 12A and 12B between the holding position by the cushioning material holding means 42 and the article 11 are clamped by the clamping bodies 36 and 37. When the guide bar 17a of the upper cushioning material supply means 17 descends, the loosened upper cushioning material sheet 12A is drawn out without tension at the transverse position M1, and flatly overlaps with the extending portion extending rearward from the article 11 in the lower cushioning material sheet 12B lying flat on the lower surface of the article 11 by a predetermined length. When the upper and lower cushioning material sheets 12A and 12B are clamped by the pressing member 42b, excessive tension is not applied to the upper cushioning material sheet 12A. That is, when the overlapping portion 13 where the cushioning material sheets 12A and 12B overlap behind the article 11 is clamped by the clamping bodies 36 and 37 of the pressure bonding and cutting means 14, no pulling tension acts on the cushioning material sheets 12A and 12B on the upstream side of the drawing. In a state where the overlapping portion 13 is clamped by the clamping bodies 36 and 37, the upper jaw 39b is lowered by the air cylinder 40b, and meshes with the lower jaw 39a by clamping the cushioning material sheets 12A and 12B, and the overlapping portion 13 is pressure-bonded at two locations in the width direction and stitched together by the pressure-bonded portion K. Further, the knife 41 in the pressure bonding and cutting means 14 is actuated by the air cylinder 40a, and the cushioning material sheets 12A and 12B are cut in the width direction. As shown in FIG. 6, a primary package 19 is obtained in which the article 11 is covered with the lower cushioning material sheet 12B laid flat on the lower surface of the article 11 and the upper cushioning material sheet 12A with the front and rear overlapping portions 13 that cover the article 11 in a non-expanded state and are pressure-bonded to sandwich the article 11.

[0046] When the buffer material sheets 12A and 12B are cut in the width direction by the crimping and cutting means 14, the chucks 15a and 15a release the buffer material sheets 12A and 12B, and the primary package 19 is conveyed by the feed conveyor 16 toward the kraft paper packaging section G2. Also, as the guide bar 17a of the upper buffer material supply means 17 is moved from the release position to the storage position, the upper and lower buffer material sheets 12A and 12B, which are pulled out from the upper and lower buffer material rolls 27 and 28 and expanded in a three-dimensional net shape while being pulled out by the upper and lower expanding means 32 and 33, are stored in a slack state with a predetermined length in the upper and lower buffer material supply means 17 and 18. Further, the buffer material drawing means 15 moves the chucks 15a and 15a upstream and clamps the crimped overlapping portion 13 of the buffer material sheets 12A and 12B that are cut by the crimping and cutting means 14 and extend downstream with a predetermined length. Thereafter, the buffer material holding means 42 raises the pressing member 42b to release the buffer material sheets 12A and 12B. Since the chucks 15a and 15a are positioned on the sides of the buffer material sheets 12A and 12B and expand a pair of gripping claws vertically to release the buffer material sheets 12A and 12B, there is no interference with the buffer material sheets 12A and 12B when the chucks 15a and 15a move upstream.

[0047] The chuck unit 21A (21B) on one of the upper and lower sides moves the chucks 21a, 21a by the chuck moving means 73 to a position where the end portions of the upper kraft paper 20A and the lower kraft paper 20B are sealed at the kraft paper extension position M2 and the horizontal seal portion 20a extending downstream at the intermediate position of the article height can be clamped, and clamps the left and right end portions of the horizontal seal portion 20a with the chucks 21a, 21a. In synchronization with the pulling operation of the kraft papers 20A, 20B by the chucks 21a, 21a, the upper and lower feeding rollers 48, 49 rotate, and the kraft papers 20A, 20B are pulled out from the respective kraft paper rolls 46, 47 of the upper kraft paper 20A and the lower kraft paper 20B. At the same time, the primary package 19 that the feed conveyor 16 travels and is sent out beyond the kraft paper extension position M2 is covered with the upper and lower kraft papers 20A, 20B. Further, based on the information transmitted from the control unit of the packaging machine or the production information server, the product name, product number code, code information such as barcodes and QR codes (registered trademarks) corresponding to the article 11 to be packaged, and other information are printed by various printing means such as the inkjet printer 50 and the laser marker during the conveyance of the upper kraft paper 20A at the kraft paper extension position M2 in the pulling path of the upper kraft paper 20A from the kraft paper roll 46.

[0048] The control unit rotates the upper and lower pay-off rollers 48 and 49, and the kraft papers 20A and 20B drawn from the upper and lower raw paper rolls 46 and 47 are drawn out by a length corresponding to the size of the article (a length capable of covering the primary package 19). Then, when the primary package 19 covered with the kraft papers 20A and 20B is transferred from the feed conveyor 16 to the transfer conveyor 51, the transfer start end of the transfer conveyor 51 moves to a position downstream of the kraft paper extension position M2. When the kraft papers 20A and 20B of a length sufficient to cover the primary package 19 corresponding to the article size are drawn out, the pay-off rollers 48 and 49 are stopped, and the downstream movement of the chucks 21a and 21a in the one chuck unit 21A (21B) also stops, and the transfer conveyor 51 also stops. Further, in the clamped state of the chucks 21a and 21a, the horizontal sealing means 22 causes the upper and lower sealing bodies 54 and 55 to approach each other by the opening and closing air cylinders 63 and 63, clamps the kraft papers 20A and 20B with their inner surfaces facing each other behind the primary package 19, and horizontally seals and cuts the kraft papers 20A and 20B in the width direction (see FIG. 8). Note that the kraft papers 20A and 20B may be pulled back to a fixed position clamped by the chucks 21a and 21a so that the upper and lower kraft papers 20A and 20B are not drawn out and loosened when clamped by the upper and lower sealing bodies 54 and 55. The primary package 19 covered with the kraft papers 20A and 20B is moved from the transfer conveyor 51 to the discharge conveyor 52 by the chucks 21a and 21a, and after being conveyed to the position where the side sealing means 23 is disposed by the chucks 21a and 21a and the discharge conveyor 52, the clamping of the horizontal seal portion 20a by the chucks 21a and 21a is released and the discharge conveyor 52 stops. The chucks 21a and 21a that have released the clamping of the horizontal seal portion 20a are moved to the retracted position by the lateral movement means 81 and 81, then moved in the width direction by the lateral movement means 81, and then moved up or down by the chuck movement means 73 so that when the chucks 21a and 21a move upstream, they do not interfere with the kraft papers 20A and 20B.

[0049] While the primary package 19 covered with kraft papers 20A and 20B is being moved to the unloading conveyor 52 by one of the chuck units 21A (21B), the other chuck unit 21B (21A) moves the chucks 21a, 21a forward to the initial position where the horizontal seal portion 20a where the ends of the upper and lower kraft papers 20A and 20B are sealed at the kraft paper extension position M2, and clamps the horizontal seal portion 20a. When the next primary package 19 is conveyed toward the kraft paper extension position M2, the chucks 21a, 21a are moved downstream in the same manner as described above to pull out the kraft papers 20A and 20B to cover the primary package 19.

[0050] Here, when the height of the preceding article 11 covered with the kraft papers 20A and 20B that are horizontally sealed and cut by the horizontal sealing means 22 and move downstream is the same as the height of the subsequent article 11 fed into the kraft paper extension position M2 next, each chuck unit 21A and 21B moves the chucks 21a and 21a that sandwich the horizontal seal portion 20a downstream without changing the height. On the other hand, when the height of the preceding article 11 covered with the kraft papers 20A and 20B that are horizontally sealed and cut by the horizontal sealing means 22 and move downstream is different from the height of the subsequent article 11 fed into the kraft paper extension position M2 next, since the height (meshing height) of the clamping position by the horizontal sealing means 22 changes between the preceding article 11 and the subsequent article 11, the height position of the horizontal seal portion 20a also changes in relation to the article height. Therefore, since it is necessary to also change the clamping position of the chuck 21a, it is necessary to change the height at the time of receiving the horizontal seal portion 20a of the chuck 21a and the height at the end point of the extraction. Therefore, the chuck units 21A and 21B move the chucks 21a and 21a that sandwich the horizontal seal portion 20a extending downstream at the intermediate position of the height of the preceding article 11 in the vertical direction by the chuck moving means 73 until the extraction of the kraft papers 20A and 20B by the chucks 21a and 21a is completed to the intermediate position of the height of the subsequent article 11 fed into the kraft paper extension position M2 next (see FIG. 11). Thereby, the horizontal seal portion 20a of the kraft papers 20A and 20B positioned in front of the primary package 19 and clamped by the chucks 21a and 21a becomes the intermediate position of the height of the article 11 when the height of the article 11 changes. That is, behind the primary package 19, the horizontal seal portion 20a of the kraft papers 20A and 20B horizontally sealed by the horizontal sealing means 22 whose clamping position is changed according to the height of the article 11 and the horizontal seal portion 20a in front of the primary package 19 both become the intermediate position of the height of the article 11.

[0051] The primary package 19, which is horizontally sealed at the front and back and covered with kraft papers 20A and 20B, is conveyed to the position where the side sealing means 23 is disposed. The openings on both the left and right sides of the kraft papers 20A and 20B are side-sealed and cut by the side seal bodies 89 and 91 and the side knives 96 in the side sealing means 23 over the entire length in the article conveying direction, and are manufactured as a packaged product packed in a bag sealed on all four sides. The cut pieces of the kraft papers 20A and 20B cut off by the side knives 96, 96 are guided by the discharge guides 99, 99 and fall to the recovery conveyors 98, 98, and are discharged downstream by the recovery conveyors 98, 98. Then, the packaged product 53, which is sealed on the front, back, left, and right and formed into a bag shape, is carried out from the carry-out conveyor 52. The side sealing means 23 is automatically adjusted so that the sealing units 82, 82 are positioned at the side sealing position, cutting position, and sealing height position corresponding to the article size based on the detection result by the size detection sensor 25 by the seal interval adjustment mechanism 83 and the height adjustment means.

[0052] In the automatic packaging apparatus of the embodiment, the article 11 can be automatically packaged to obtain the primary package (package) 19 having a buffer function by covering the article 11 with the three-dimensional mesh-like paper buffer sheets 12A and 12B. That is, it can be a new packaging apparatus for manufacturing a package having a packaging form with a small environmental load. Further, when the article 11 is covered with the three-dimensional mesh-like buffer sheets 12A and 12B and when being clamped by the buffer sheet holding means 42, the buffer sheets 12A and 12B are pulled out so that excessive tension is not applied to the buffer sheets 12A and 12B. Therefore, the expanded state of the buffer sheets 12A and 12B deformed by the expanding means 32 and 33 does not change to a state where the buffer function is lost due to the tension during pulling out, and the article 11 can be properly protected. Further, by using a packaging material that does not contain a plastic material, an environmentally friendly primary package (package) 19 can be manufactured.

[0053] In the automatic packaging apparatus of the embodiment, the lower cushioning material sheet 12B on which the article 11 passing through the cushioning material crossing position M1 is placed is conveyed by the feed conveyor 16 so as to be laid flat on the lower surface of the article 11, and the overlapping portion 13 between the upper cushioning material sheet 12A covered in a non-expanded state on the upper side of the article 11 and the lower cushioning material sheet 12B is clamped and crimped at a height position equivalent to the article conveyance surface on the separation conveyor 10 by the crimping and cutting means 14 and cut, so that the article 11 can be automatically packaged well as the primary package (package) 19 covered with the cushioning material sheets 12A and 12B above and below. Further, by controlling the drawing lengths of the upper and lower cushioning material sheets 12A and 12B by the cushioning material drawing means 15 based on the length information of the article 11 calculated based on the detection information by the size detection sensor 25, even if articles 11 of different sizes are randomly supplied, the primary package (package) 19 covering the article 11 with the cushioning material sheets 12A and 12B having appropriate lengths according to the article size can be manufactured. Furthermore, from before the crimping and cutting of the cushioning material sheets 12A and 12B by the crimping and cutting means 14 to when the overlapping portion 13 is clamped by the chucks 15a and 15a of the cushioning material drawing means 15 after the crimping of the cushioning material sheets 12A and 12B, the upper and lower cushioning material sheets 12A and 12B are overlapped and pressed by the cushioning material holding means 42 behind the crimping position, so that when the cushioning material sheets 12A and 12B are crimped, it is prevented that the cushioning material sheets 12A and 12B are displaced to prevent proper crimping and cutting, the displacement when the overlapping portion 13 after crimping and cutting is clamped by the chucks 15a and 15a is prevented, the cushioning material sheets 12A and 12B can be clamped well by the chucks 15a and 15a, and the occurrence of drawing errors and the like can be prevented.

[0054] In the automatic packaging apparatus of the embodiment, the primary package 19 with cushioning material can be automatically packaged with the kraft papers 20A and 20B, and the packaging article 53 for delivery with a small environmental load can be manufactured. Further, since both the cushioning material sheets 12A and 12B and the kraft papers 20A and 20B are made of paper, it is possible to automatically package as an environmentally friendly packaging article 53 with a cushioning function that does not use a plastic material for the packaging material, and there is no need for the trouble of sorting after the packaging article 53 is opened.

[0055] In the automatic packaging device of the embodiment, when the heights of the preceding article 11 fed to the kraft paper extension position M2 and the subsequent article 11 fed next are different, the chucks 21a, 21a that sandwich the horizontal seal portion 20a at the intermediate position of the height of the preceding article 11 are changed to the intermediate position of the height of the subsequent article 11 by the time they move downstream by the pulling length. Therefore, even when randomly packaging articles 11 of various heights, the kraft papers 20A, 20B covering the article 11 can be automatically packaged as a packaged product 53 that is horizontally sealed, cut, side-sealed, and cut at the intermediate position of the article height. Further, by providing two sets of chuck units 21A, 21B for pulling out the kraft papers 20A, 20B, while the kraft papers 20A, 20B are being pulled out by one chuck unit 21A (21B), the other chuck unit 21B (21A) can prepare for pulling out the next kraft papers 20A, 20B, the tact time related to the pulling operation of the kraft papers 20A, 20B can be shortened, and the packaging ability can be enhanced. Further, since the chuck units 21A, 21B move the chucks 21a, 21a by the front-rear linear slide mechanism 75, the pulling amount of the kraft papers 20A, 20B can be accurately set according to the article length, and the setting is also easy.

[0056] In the automatic packaging device of the embodiment, the clamping position and pulling length of the kraft papers 20A, 20B by the chucks 21a, 21a, and the sealing position and cutting position by the horizontal sealing means 22 and the side sealing means 23 are automatically adjusted according to the size of the primary packaged product 19 corresponding to the article size based on the detection result of the size detection sensor 25. Therefore, a packaged product 53 that is well bagged with an appropriate outer dimension as a packaging size corresponding to the article size can be manufactured. Further, a packaged product 53 with an appropriate amount of kraft papers 20A, 20B can be obtained.

[0057] In the automatic packaging device of the embodiment, the cutting positions of the kraft papers 20A and 20B by the side cutting means 95 are changed step by step, and the packaged product 53 can be appropriately manufactured with an outer dimension that conforms to a delivery category or the like in which the delivery fee varies according to the size of the packaged product 53. Further, the scraps obtained by cutting the kraft papers 20A and 20B by the side cutting means 95 can be automatically collected by the collection conveyor 98 and disposed of.

[0058] (Modification example) The present invention is not limited to the configuration of the embodiment, and for example, it can be modified as follows. Further, not limited to the following modification examples, various embodiments can be adopted for the configuration described in the embodiment within the scope of the gist of the present invention. (1) For the secondary packaging (bagging), the primary packaged product 19 wrapped in a mat shape with the cushioning material sheets 12A and 12B was covered with the kraft papers 20A and 20B and sealed on all four sides to form the packaged product 53, but it may be in a form sealed on three sides or in a pillow-packaged form. Further, the secondary packaging may be in a form in which the primary packaged product 19 is appropriately accommodated in a small box by a supply means. (2) The secondary packaging is not limited to automatic packaging, and it may be manually bagged or boxed. (3) The crimping and cutting means 14 has two sets of engaging tools 39a and 39b arranged at intervals in the width direction at the front and rear positions sandwiching the knife 41, but two or more sets of engaging tools 39a and 39b may be arranged at intervals. (4) The tooth shape of the meshing surface of the engaging tools 39a and 39b is not limited to a waveform, and it may be a trapezoid or other appropriate meshing shapes. (5) The chuck 15a for pulling out the cushioning material sheets 12A and 12B was set at a height position equal to the conveying height by the conveying surface of the separation conveyor 10, but it is not necessarily required to be set at a height position equal to the conveying height. (6) The size detection sensor 25 for detecting the size of the article 11 conveyed by the conveyor is not necessarily provided. It is possible to adopt a configuration in which the operator performs various size adjustments and operation controls of the driving means based on the result of the variety setting operation each time, such as receiving the production information management server, reading the barcode or other identification code information for each article, or receiving the article size information from the article 11 having an RFID tag. (7) Although two sets of chuck units 21A and 21B for secondary packaging are provided, one set or a plurality of three or more chuck units may be provided depending on conditions such as the size of the article 11 and the packaging speed. (8) In the embodiment, only one buffer material drawing means 15 for primary packaging is provided, but similar to the kraft paper drawing means KM (chuck units 21A and 21B) for secondary packaging, two sets or a plurality of three or more buffer material drawing means 15 may be provided. (9) In the embodiment, the side cutting means 95 is disposed in the seal unit 82, and the sealing and cutting of the kraft papers 20A and 20B on the side of the primary packaged product 19 (article 11) are performed at the same position. However, the side cutting means 95 may be arranged on the downstream side of the seal unit 82, and a configuration in which the sealing and cutting of the kraft papers 20A and 20B are performed at different positions may be adopted. (10) The position adjustment of the side seal position and the cutting position of the kraft papers 20A and 20B by the seal unit 82 and the side cutting means 95 is not stepwise, and a configuration that can be adjusted steplessly according to the width of the primary packaged product 19 (article 11) may be adopted. (11) The recovery conveyor 98 may be provided as necessary and can be omitted.

Explanation of reference numerals

[0059] 10 Separation conveyor (supply conveyor), 11 Article 12A Upper buffer material sheet (buffer material sheet), 12B Lower buffer material sheet (buffer material sheet) 13 Overlapping portion, 14 Pressure bonding and cutting means, 15 Buffer material drawing means (drawing means) 15a chuck, 16 feed conveyor, 17 upper buffer material supply means (buffer material supply means) 18 lower buffer material supply means (buffer material supply means), 25 size detection sensor (detection means) 42 buffer material holding means (holding means), M1 buffer material crossing position (crossing position)

Claims

1. The upper cushioning material sheet and the lower cushioning material sheet made of paper and expanded in a three-dimensional mesh shape are pulled out to a transverse position that crosses the article conveyance path of the supply conveyor vertically, and are crimped in a state where their pulled-out ends are overlapped in a praying-hands shape and clamped, and the cushioning material sheet is cut outside the crimping position, clamp the crimped overlapping portion of the upper and lower cushioning material sheets and pull it downstream, when pulling the overlapping portion downstream, place an article on the lower cushioning material sheet supported and conveyed by the feed conveyor and convey it, and cover the top and bottom of the article with the upper and lower cushioning material sheets that are pulled out, the upper and lower cushioning material sheets are supplied to the crimping position without excessive tension being applied that would cause the loss of the cushioning function, the lower cushioning material sheet is pulled out by a length corresponding to the longitudinal length of the article, and the upper cushioning material sheet is covered over the article placed on the lower cushioning material sheet in a non-expanded state, and at the rear of the article covered on the top and bottom, clamp and crimp the overlapping portion of the upper and lower cushioning material sheets A method for manufacturing a packaged product, characterized in that.

2. Clamp the overlapping portion of the cushioning material sheet positioned at a height equivalent to the article conveyance surface of the supply conveyor and pull it downstream, In the feed conveyor, the lower cushioning material sheet is laid flat on the lower surface of the article and conveyed, and the upper cushioning material sheet is covered over the upper side of the article in a non-expanded state. The method for manufacturing a packaged product according to claim 1, characterized in that.

3. Cushioning material supply means for pulling out and guiding the expanded upper cushioning material sheet and lower cushioning material sheet made of paper to a transverse position that crosses vertically at the conveyance end of the supply conveyor, Crimping and cutting means for crimping the pulled-out ends of the upper and lower cushioning material sheets pulled out by the cushioning material supply means in a state where they are overlapped in a praying-hands shape and clamped, and cutting the cushioning material sheet outside the crimping position, The supply conveyor for placing and conveying an article toward the transverse position, A chuck for clamping the overlapping portion of the upper and lower cushioning material sheets crimped by the crimping and cutting means, Pulling means for pulling the overlapping portion clamped by the chuck downstream corresponding to the longitudinal length of the article, When the overlapping portion is pulled downstream by the pulling means, a feed conveyor for conveying the article fed from the supply conveyor beyond the transverse position while placed on the lower cushioning material sheet, comprising. When the buffer material supply means clamps the overlapping portion with the chuck and pulls it downstream, the upper buffer material sheet and the lower buffer material sheet are drawn and guided so that excessive tension that causes the upper and lower buffer material sheets to lose their buffer function does not act. The upper buffer material sheet is drawn out by an amount obtained by adding the height of the article to the drawn-out length of the lower buffer material sheet and covers the upper side of the article in a non-expanded state. A packaging device characterized by the above.

4. The clamping height position of the upper buffer material sheet and the lower buffer material sheet in the pressure-bonding cutting means is equivalent to the height of the article placement surface of the feed conveyor. In the feed conveyor, the lower buffer material sheet is laid flat on the lower surface of the article and conveyed. The pressure-bonding cutting means is characterized in that, in a state where the upper buffer material sheet covering the upper side of the article placed on the lower buffer material sheet in a non-expanded state is clamped together with the lower buffer material sheet at positions spaced apart before and after the article, pressure-bonding cutting is performed. The packaging device according to claim 3.

5. It is provided with a detection means for detecting the size of the article until it is conveyed toward the transverse position. The packaging device according to claim 3, characterized in that, based on the size information detected by the detection means, at least the drawn-out length of the lower buffer material sheet by the drawing means is controlled.

6. Based on the length information of the article detected by the detection means, the amount of drawing downstream of the overlapping portion clamped by the chuck is controlled, and the upper buffer material sheet is drawn out in a tension-free manner so as to cover the upper side of the article above the lower buffer material sheet that is drawn out flat. The packaging device according to claim 5, characterized in that it is covered.

7. The packaging device according to any one of claims 3 to 6, characterized in that it is provided with holding means for overlapping and holding the upper and lower buffer material sheets behind the pressure-bonding position from before the pressure-bonding cutting of the buffer material sheet by the pressure-bonding cutting means until the overlapping portion is clamped by the chuck after the pressure-bonding of the buffer material sheet.

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