Bag-making, filling and packaging machine

Abstract

To provide a bag-making, filling and packaging machine capable of balancing both reduction in power load and convenience.SOLUTION: A bag-making, filling and packaging machine comprises: a plurality of heater blocks incorporating a heater; a plurality of sealing devices which seals a packaging material by heating the packaging material with the heater block; and a control unit which selects one heating mode from among a plurality of heating modes different in magnitudes of peak power in power supply to the plurality of heaters and controls so that power is supplied to the plurality of heaters according to the selected heating mode.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a bag-making and filling packaging machine.

Background Art

[0002] A bag-making and filling packaging machine applies a seal to a tubular packaging material using a heater. At the start of operation, it is necessary to heat all the heaters provided in the bag-making and filling packaging machine to the set temperature, and until the set temperature is reached, a voltage is applied to all the heaters of the bag-making and filling packaging machine. In this case, the peak power consumption is equal to the capacity of all the heaters being used. Therefore, when the number of heaters used is large, the peak power consumption proportionally increases.

[0003] On the other hand, Patent Document 1 discloses a technique for controlling the power supply to the sealing means so that the power supply periods to a plurality of heating means do not overlap with each other.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0004]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0005] However, when controlling so that the power supply periods do not overlap with each other as in the technique of Patent Document 1, the time required to reach the set temperature becomes long. Depending on the situation where the bag-making and filling packaging machine is installed, even if the power peak is high, there may be a case where it is desired to reach the set temperature in a shorter time.

[0006] The present invention has been made in view of such problems, and an object thereof is to achieve both reduction of the power load and convenience.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0007] The present invention relates to a bag-making and filling packaging machine, comprising: a plurality of heater blocks each having a built-in heater; a plurality of sealing devices that seal by heating a packaging material with the heater blocks; and a control unit that selects one heating mode from a plurality of heating modes in which peak power magnitudes in power supply to the plurality of heaters are different, and controls power supply to the plurality of heaters according to the selected heating mode.

Advantages of the Invention

[0008] According to the present invention, it is possible to achieve both reduction of power load and convenience.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0009]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3A

Figure 3B

Figure 3C

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Figure 5

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Figure 7A

Figure 7B

Figure 7C

Best Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

[0010] FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the overall configuration of a bag-making and filling packaging machine 1. In the present embodiment, in the bag-making and filling packaging machine 1, the filling cylinder is installed such that the longitudinal direction of the filling cylinder is parallel to the gravitational direction, and the product (material to be packaged) to be packaged is introduced through the filling cylinder. Then, the bag-making and filling packaging machine 1 manufactures a bag package by making a bag from a strip-shaped packaging material Fw and filling the bag with the material to be packaged. Further, the bag-making and filling packaging machine 1 of the present embodiment is a so-called continuous machine in which the conveyance of the packaging material starts when the operation is started and then the packaging material is continuously conveyed. However, as another example, the bag-making and filling packaging machine 1 may be a so-called intermittent machine in which the conveyance of the packaging material is intermittently performed by temporarily stopping the conveyance when forming the bag package.

[0011] The bag-making and filling packaging machine 1 shown in FIG. 1 includes a former 30, a rectangular filling cylinder 40, a packaging material feeding device 50, four hemming devices 60, a longitudinal sealing device 70, and a transverse sealing device 80. The former 30 bends a strip-shaped packaging material Fw supplied from a winding roll (not shown) into a substantially cylindrical packaging material. The filling cylinder 40 is fitted into the former 30, and the material to be packaged is introduced. The packaging material feeding device 50 feeds the paper while sucking the cylindrical packaging material Ft. The four hemming devices 60 each perform hemming in parallel with the longitudinal seal. The longitudinal sealing device 70 forms a longitudinal seal on the packaging material bent into a substantially cylindrical packaging material to form a cylindrical packaging material Ft. The transverse sealing device 80 performs a transverse seal in the transverse direction on the cylindrical packaging material Ft formed by performing the longitudinal seal.

[0012] As shown in FIG. 1, the packaging material feeding device 50 is a suction packaging material feeding device that feeds the cylindrical packaging material Ft in the conveying direction while sucking it from the outside. Specifically, the packaging material feeding device 50 includes two film feeding belts 51a and 51b that are arranged to face each other on both sides in the diameter direction of the cylindrical packaging material Ft. Each of the film feeding belts 51a and 51b is wound around drive pulleys 52a and 52b driven by a motor and driven pulleys 53a and 53b. By the driving force from the drive pulleys 52a and 52b, the cylindrical packaging material Ft in contact with the film feeding belts 51a and 51b is sucked from the outside, and the cylindrical packaging material Ft is conveyed downward along the direction of gravity.

[0013] The four hem-sealing devices 60 are respectively arranged at positions corresponding to the four vertices of the filling cylinder 40. In FIG. 1, only three hem-sealing devices 60 are shown. Each hem-sealing device 60 includes a hem heater block 61 and a hem block 62, and forms a hem portion Sh by sandwiching the strip-shaped packaging material Fw therebetween.

[0014] The longitudinal sealing device 70 is disposed below the former 30. The longitudinal sealing device 70 includes a longitudinal heater block 71 and a longitudinal preheating heater block 72, and forms a longitudinal seal portion Sc by sandwiching the edge of the strip-shaped packaging material Fw therebetween.

[0015] The transverse sealing device 80 is disposed below the longitudinal sealing device 70. The transverse sealing device 80 includes two opposed transverse heater blocks (a front transverse heater block 81 and a rear transverse heater block 82), and forms a transverse seal portion Se by sandwiching the cylindrical packaging material Ft therebetween. A cutter blade 83 is incorporated in the front transverse heater block 81 so as to be able to advance and retract, and a groove 84 into which the advanced cutter blade 83 enters is formed in the rear transverse heater block 82 for cutting the sandwiched cylindrical packaging material Ft.

[0016] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the main configuration for controlling a plurality of heater blocks of the bag-making and filling packaging machine 1. Note that the bag-making and filling packaging machine 1 of the present embodiment includes two heater blocks included in each of the four hemming devices 60, two heater blocks included in the longitudinal sealing device 70, and two heater blocks included in the transverse sealing device 80. However, in the following, for the sake of convenience of explanation, a case where the bag-making and filling packaging machine 1 includes a total of four heater blocks, namely two heater blocks included in the longitudinal sealing device 70 and two heater blocks included in the transverse sealing device 80, and does not include the four hemming devices 60 will be described.

[0017] The bag-making and filling packaging machine 1 includes a control unit 100 having a CPU, a RAM, a ROM, etc., an operation unit 102, a display unit 104, and a storage unit 106. The control unit 100 performs various processes by executing, for example, a program stored in the storage unit 106. The operation unit 102 receives user operations. The display unit 104 displays various information. The storage unit 106 stores various data and various programs.

[0018] The bag-making and filling packaging machine 1 also has four heater blocks (longitudinal heater block 71, longitudinal preheating heater block 72, transverse front heater block 81, transverse rear heater block 82), four SSRs (solid state relays) 120, and four temperature sensors 130. Each of the four heater blocks has a heater 110 built therein along the longitudinal direction of the heater block. The on / off of each heater 110 is controlled by the corresponding SSR 120 turning on / off in response to an instruction from the control unit 100. Further, it is assumed that the power consumption of each heater 110 is equal at 500 W.

[0019] Next, the heating control of the heater by the control unit 100 will be described. The control unit 100 heats the heater by PID control (Proportional-Integral-Differential Controller) and maintains the set temperature after reaching the set temperature. The bag-making and filling packaging machine 1 of the present embodiment has three heating modes with different peak power magnitudes for the temperature rise control of the heater block at the start of operation. Here, the heating mode is the on / off pattern of each heater when the heater block is heated to the set temperature. The first heating mode is the temperature rise control with the largest peak power. The third heating mode is the temperature rise control with the smallest peak power. The second heating mode is the temperature rise control with the peak power between the first heating mode and the third heating mode. Note that the first heating mode, the second heating mode, and the third heating mode all indicate the on / off of the heater for reaching the set temperature and are an example of the heating mode.

[0020] The bag-making and filling packaging machine 1 of the present embodiment can select the temperature rise control in three heating modes, and the user can select the desired heating mode. When the heating mode is specified according to the user operation, the control unit 100 selects the specified heating mode and controls the power supply to each heater so that heating in the selected heating mode is performed.

[0021] FIG. 3A, FIG. 3B, and FIG. 3C are diagrams showing the on / off patterns of each heater in the first heating mode, the second heating mode, and the third heating mode, respectively. In each figure, the horizontal direction of the paper surface indicates time, and the hatched portion indicates the heating period. Hereinafter, the four heaters built in the four heater blocks will be referred to as the first heater, the second heater, the third heater, and the fourth heater.

[0022] As shown in FIG. 3A, in the first heating mode, when the operation of the bag-making and filling packaging machine 1 starts, all heaters start heating (operation). In the first heating mode, the heating periods of all heaters overlap. Therefore, the total power consumption is always the maximum value (the total of the four heaters), and the peak power is 2000 W. Also, the required time until the set temperature is reached is 20 minutes.

[0023] When the first temperature rising mode is selected, each heater is heated in the on-off pattern shown in FIG. 3A. That is, in this case, the control unit 100 controls to supply power to each of the four heaters. Then, while referring to the detection result of the temperature sensor 130, the control unit 100 continues heating until the four heaters reach the set temperature.

[0024] As shown in FIG. 3B, in the second temperature rising mode, the four heaters are divided into two groups: a first group of the first heater and the third heater, and a second group of the second heater and the fourth heater. When the operation of the bag-making and filling packaging machine 1 starts, the two heaters in the first group and the two heaters in the second group alternately perform heating. That is, the heating periods of the two heaters in the first group overlap, the heating periods of the two heaters in the second group are different, but the heating periods of the first group and the second group do not overlap. Thus, in the second temperature rising mode, a part of the heating periods of the plurality of heaters overlaps. As a result, the peak power of the total power consumption becomes the total of two heaters, which is 1000 W. Also, the required time until the set temperature is reached is 45 minutes.

[0025] When the second temperature rising mode is selected, each heater is heated in the on-off pattern shown in FIG. 3B. That is, in this case, the control unit 100 first turns on the first heater and the third heater in the first group and heats them for a certain period of time. Then, the control unit 100 turns off the first heater and the third heater and turns on the second heater and the fourth heater in the second group and heats them for a certain period of time. While referring to the detection result of the temperature sensor 130, the control unit 100 repeats the cycle of heating the first group and heating the second group until the set temperature is reached.

[0026] As shown in FIG. 3C, in the third temperature rising mode, the four heaters are turned on in order, and the heating times do not overlap with each other. Therefore, the peak power of the total power consumption becomes the power consumption of one heater, which is 500 W. Also, the required time until the set temperature is reached is 100 minutes.

[0027] Also, when the third heating mode is selected, each heater is heated in the on-off pattern shown in FIG. 3C. That is, in this case, the control unit 100 first turns on the first heater and heats it for a certain period of time, and then turns off the first heater and turns on the second heater. Further, after heating the second heater for a certain period of time, the control unit 100 turns off the second heater and turns on the third heater. Further, the control unit 100 heats the third heater for a certain period of time, and then turns off the third heater and turns on the fourth heater, and heats the fourth heater for a certain period of time. The control unit 100 repeats the cycle of heating the first heater, heating the second heater, heating the third heater, and heating the fourth heater until the set temperature is reached while referring to the detection result of the temperature sensor 130.

[0028] Among the three heating modes, in the first heating mode, the peak power is the maximum while the required time until the set temperature is reached is the shortest. On the other hand, in the third heating mode, the peak power is the minimum while the required time until the set temperature is reached is the longest. Also, in the second heating mode, both the peak power and the required time are values between those of the first heating mode and the third heating mode.

[0029] Further, in the bag-making and filling packaging machine 1 of the present embodiment, in the second heating mode and the third heating mode, it is assumed that the on-off of each heater is repeated at a constant cycle. Thereby, during the heating interval, it is possible to avoid the temperature of the heater dropping and the heating becoming inefficient because the heater is not heated for a long time. Since the heat retention ability of the heater block varies depending on its block size and the like, a constant cycle is determined such that the period during which the temperature of the heater block in which each heater is incorporated does not drop is set as the heater-off period (interval).

[0030] After reaching the set temperature, in order to maintain the set temperature, the control unit 100 turns on and off the power supply to each of the four heaters at appropriate timings. The bag-making and filling packaging machine 1 has three heat preservation modes with different peak power magnitudes, similar to the heating mode during heating to the set temperature, as the heat preservation mode when maintaining the set temperature. The first heat preservation mode is the heat preservation control with the largest peak power amount, the third heat preservation mode is the heat preservation control with the smallest peak power amount, and the second heat preservation mode is the heat preservation control where the peak power is between the first heat preservation mode and the third heat preservation mode. In the first heat preservation mode, similar to the first temperature rising mode, all the heating periods overlap. In the second heat preservation mode, the heating periods of the two heaters in the first group overlap, the heating periods of the two heaters in the second group overlap, and the heating periods of the first group and the second group do not overlap. In the third heat preservation mode, the heating periods of the four heaters do not overlap at all. Note that the first heat preservation mode, the second heat preservation mode, and the third heat preservation mode all show the on / off patterns of the heating of the heaters for maintaining the set temperature, and are an example of the heating mode.

[0031] Furthermore, when selecting the temperature rising mode, a selection screen 200 as shown in FIG. 4 is displayed on the display unit 104. The selection screen 200 shows the peak power in each of the plurality of temperature rising modes and the required time until the set temperature is reached. Thereby, the user can select the desired temperature rising mode while checking the peak power and the required time. Note that when selecting the heat preservation mode, a selection screen for the heat preservation mode is displayed on the display unit 104. The peak power in each heat preservation mode is displayed on the selection screen in the heat preservation mode.

[0032] So far, the case where the bag-making and filling packaging machine 1 is provided with four heater blocks has been described. However, even when the bag-making and filling packaging machine 1 is provided with a total of 12 heater blocks, including eight heater blocks of the hem-sealing device 60, the same heating control is performed. That is, in the first temperature-rising mode and the first heat-keeping mode, the control unit 100 performs heating control such that the heating times of the 12 heaters corresponding to the 12 heater blocks all overlap. Also, in the second temperature-rising mode and the second heat-keeping mode, the control unit 100 divides the 12 heaters into a plurality of groups, and performs heating control such that the heating times of the heaters within each group overlap, and between the groups, the heating times of the heaters do not overlap. In the third temperature-rising mode and the third heat-keeping mode, heating control is performed such that the heating times of all the heaters do not overlap.

[0033] As described above, in the bag-making and filling packaging machine 1 of the present embodiment, one heating mode is selected from a plurality of heating modes, and control is performed such that power supply to the plurality of heaters is performed according to the selected heating mode. Therefore, the user can select a heating mode according to the situation, for example, when the user wants to prioritize a short time until the set temperature is reached even if the peak power is high, or when the user wants to reduce the peak power even if it takes time to reach the set temperature. That is, the bag-making and filling packaging machine 1 can achieve both reduction of the power load and convenience.

[0034] Note that the present invention is not limited to such a specific embodiment, and various modifications and changes are possible within the scope of the gist of the present invention described in the claims.

[0035] As such a first modification example, the control unit 100 may receive the operation start time according to the operation of the operation unit 102, and select a temperature increase mode according to the operation start time. The control unit 100 receives the time when the operation is received as the operation start time. The control unit 100 can also receive a future time as a reserved operation start time. In this case, the first correspondence table 310 shown in FIG. 5 is stored in the storage unit 106. In the first correspondence table 310, an operation time zone, a temperature increase mode, and a heat preservation mode are associated with each other. The control unit 100 selects a temperature increase mode and a heat preservation mode associated with the operation time zone including the operation start time or the reserved operation start time.

[0036] In the first correspondence table 310, a first temperature increase mode and a first heat preservation mode are associated with the night time zone. When the electricity usage fee at night is lower than that during the day, it is thus preferable that the first temperature increase mode and the first heat preservation mode are selected at night.

[0037] Also, in the first correspondence table 310, a second temperature increase mode and a second heat preservation mode are associated with the morning. Also, a third temperature increase mode and a third heat preservation mode are associated with the afternoon. For example, in the morning time zone, it is assumed that only the bag-making filling and packaging machine 1 is scheduled to operate in the factory, while in the afternoon time zone, other devices in the factory are also scheduled to operate. In this case, for the morning, the second temperature increase mode and the second heat preservation mode, which are intermediate heating modes, are preferably selected, and for the afternoon, the third temperature increase mode and the third heat preservation mode that minimize the power peak are preferably selected. In this way, the bag-making filling and packaging machine 1 can select a heating mode suitable for the situation in each time zone. That is, the bag-making filling and packaging machine 1 can achieve both reduction of the power load and convenience.

[0038] As a second modification example, the control unit 100 may accept peak power according to the operation of the operation unit 102. In this case, the second correspondence table 320 shown in FIG. 6 is stored in the storage unit 106. In the second correspondence table 320, peak power, a temperature rising mode, and a heat retention mode are associated with each other. The control unit 100 may select the temperature rising mode and the heat retention mode associated with the peak power received via the operation unit 102.

[0039] Next, as a third modification example, a case where the power consumptions of a plurality of heaters are different will be described. FIGS. 7A, 7B, and 7C are diagrams showing the on / off patterns of the respective heaters in the first temperature rising mode, the second temperature rising mode, and the third temperature rising mode in this modification example. Here, it is assumed that the power consumptions of the first heater and the second heater are 500 W, and the power consumptions of the third heater and the fourth heater are 250 W.

[0040] As shown in FIG. 7A, in the first temperature rising mode, it is assumed that the heating times of all the heaters overlap. Therefore, the peak power in the first temperature rising mode is the total value (1500 W) of the power consumptions of all the heaters.

[0041] Also, as shown in FIG. 7B, in the second temperature rising mode, the first heater and the third heater are turned on simultaneously, and the second heater and the fourth heater are turned on simultaneously. Thereby, the peak power in the second temperature rising mode becomes 1000 W. Further, as shown in FIG. 7C, in the third temperature rising mode, the first heater is turned on, then the second heater is turned on, and then the third heater and the fourth heater are turned on. That is, the peak power in the third temperature rising mode is 500 W, which is the maximum power among the power consumptions of the four heaters. Thus, even when the power consumptions of the plurality of heaters are different, the bag-making and filling packaging machine 1 can select a plurality of heating modes with different peak powers. Therefore, the bag-making and filling packaging machine 1 can achieve both reduction of the power load and convenience.

[0042] Furthermore, if there is a difference in the time required to reach the set temperature in this way, the length of the heating period may be varied according to the time required. In the examples of FIGS. 7B and 7C, the heating periods of the first heater and the second heater are set longer than the heating periods of the third heater and the fourth heater.

[0043] Also, as a fourth modification, the paired heaters may be heated during the same heating period. Here, the paired heaters are, for example, a plurality of heaters corresponding to the same sealing device, such as the vertical heater block 71 and the vertical preheating heater block 72 of the vertical sealing device.

[0044] Also, as a fifth modification, for example, when the heater block size is the first size, the heating interval in the heat retention mode is set to the first hour. And when the heater block size is the second size smaller than the first size, the heating interval in the heat retention mode is set to the second hour shorter than the first hour. This corresponds to the fact that the larger the heater block size, the higher the heat retention ability. Furthermore, it is preferable that the length of the heating period is also set according to the heater block size. That is, in the case of the first size, the length of the heating period may be the third hour, and in the case of the second size, it may be the fourth hour shorter than the third hour.

Explanation of Reference Numerals

[0045] 1 Bag-making and filling packaging machine 30 Former 40 Filling cylinder 50 Packaging material feeding device 60 Hem sealing device 70 Vertical sealing device 80 Horizontal sealing device 100 Control unit 102 Operation unit 104 Display unit 106 Storage unit 110 Heater 120 SSR 130 Temperature sensor Fw Belt-like packaging material Ft Cylindrical Packaging Material

Claims

1. A plurality of heater blocks each containing a heater, A plurality of sealing devices that seal by heating a packaging material with the heater blocks, A control unit that selects one heating mode from a plurality of heating modes in which the peak power in power supply to the plurality of heaters is different, and controls power supply to the plurality of heaters according to the selected heating mode, A bag-making and filling packaging machine comprising the above.

2. The bag-making and filling packaging machine according to Claim 1, wherein the control unit selects one heating mode from the plurality of heating modes according to a user operation.

3. Further comprising a storage unit that stores the heating mode in association with the operation time period during which the heating mode is executed, The bag-making and filling packaging machine according to Claim 1, wherein the control unit selects the heating mode associated with the operation time period including the operation start time.

4. Further comprising a storage unit that stores the heating mode in association with the peak power allowed in the heating mode, The bag-making and filling packaging machine according to Claim 1, wherein the control unit selects the heating mode associated with the specified peak power when the peak power is specified.

5. The bag-making and filling packaging machine according to Claim 1, further comprising a display unit that displays the peak power in each of the plurality of heating modes.

6. The heating mode is a temperature-rising mode in which the heater block is heated up to a set temperature, The bag-making and filling packaging machine according to Claim 5, wherein the display unit displays the peak power in each of the plurality of temperature-rising modes and the time required to reach the set temperature.

7. The plurality of heating modes include a heating mode in which all of the heating periods of the plurality of heaters overlap, and a heating mode in which the heating periods by the plurality of heaters do not overlap. The bag-making and filling packaging machine according to Claim 1.

8. The plurality of heating modes include a heating mode in which the peak power is the total value of the power consumptions of the plurality of heaters, and a heating mode in which the peak power is the maximum power among the power consumptions of the plurality of heaters. The bag-making and filling packaging machine according to Claim 1.

9. The plurality of heating modes include a heating mode in which a part of the heating periods of the plurality of heaters overlaps. The bag-making and filling packaging machine according to Claim 7 or 8.

10. The bag-making and filling packaging machine according to claim 1, wherein in any of the heating modes, the heating periods of a plurality of the heaters corresponding to the same sealing device are the same.

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