Width-aligning device, and folding machine

Abstract

To provide a width-aligning device capable of suppressing assembly and equipment cost; and of correctly aligning a width, even when being a multilayer film.SOLUTION: There is provided a width-aligning device that aligns a width while folding a film into a bellows shape by radially providing two or more magnet conveyors 31 at intervals in a width direction orthogonal to a conveyance direction, that is capable of suppressing assembly and equipment cost without eliminating the need of a synchronous driving mechanism, and of correctly aligning the width even when being a multilayer film, by driving an upper conveyor 32 via application of magnetic force of a lower conveyor 33, and setting a conveyance configuration by sandwiching the film between the lower conveyor 33 and the upper conveyor 32. The magnet conveyors 31 each comprise the lower conveyor 33 and the upper conveyor 32.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 9

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a width adjustment device and a folding machine that fold a wide and long film into a bellows shape by repeating mountain folds and valley folds in the width direction while conveying the film, and then adjust the width.

Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, various width adjustment devices have been proposed that fold a wide and long film into a bellows shape by repeating mountain folds and valley folds in the width direction while conveying the film, and then adjust the width. For example, Patent Document 1 proposes a width adjustment device in which a plurality of clamping belt devices are provided radially at intervals in the width direction, and a plurality of radial positions spaced apart in the width direction of the film are conveyed by the clamping belt devices, so that the film is folded into a bellows shape by repeating mountain folds and valley folds in the width direction while being conveyed, and then the width is adjusted.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] The clamping belt device of the conventional width adjustment device clamps the film between the upper and lower clamping belts, and drives the upper and lower clamping belts to convey the film. Therefore, the upper and lower clamping belts are driven synchronously by a synchronous drive mechanism. The synchronous drive mechanism has a complicated configuration that takes time to assemble and is also expensive. For this reason, it is a width adjustment device that requires assembly and equipment costs. When transporting a multilayer film (a film formed by folding and laminating films in layers) using a conventional sandwiching belt device, a plurality of films laminated in layers are sandwiched between upper and lower sandwiching belts and transported. Therefore, during transportation, peeling or displacement may occur between the films in each layer, resulting in wrinkles, and the multilayer film may not be properly centered.

[0005] The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and its object is to provide a centering device that can suppress assembly and equipment costs and can correctly center even a multilayer film.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] The centering device of the present invention is a centering device that centers the film while folding it in a bellows shape with repeated mountain folds and valley folds in the width direction perpendicular to the transport direction while transporting the film. The centering device includes at least two or more magnet conveyors radially provided at intervals in the width direction perpendicular to the transport direction such that the intervals gradually narrow as going downstream in the transport direction. The magnet conveyor includes a lower conveyor that drives an endless member having magnetic force with a driving device, and an upper conveyor that rotatably has a magnetizable endless member. By adsorbing the endless member of the upper conveyor by the magnetic force of the endless member of the lower conveyor, the endless member of the upper conveyor is driven by the driving of the endless member of the lower conveyor, and the film is sandwiched and transported between the endless member of the lower conveyor and the endless member of the upper conveyor by the magnetic force of the endless member of the lower conveyor. The centering device is characterized by this configuration.

[0007] In the centering device of the present invention, each of the magnet conveyors has the same length in the transport direction, includes a curved guide for sending the film to the inlet of the magnet conveyor, the inlets of the magnet conveyors are located on an arc centered on the convergence position, and the curved guide is curved in an arc shape centered on the convergence position. It can be a centering device. According to the width alignment device of this configuration, the leading end of the film can be simultaneously moved to the inlet of each magnetic conveyor, and when starting to convey the film, each magnetic conveyor can be simultaneously driven to start at the same feeding speed to convey the film, and the drive control of the magnetic conveyor at the start of width alignment is easy.

[0008] In the width alignment device of the present invention, each of the magnetic conveyors can be a width alignment device in which the position of the inlet can be changed in the arc direction centered on the convergence position. According to the width alignment device of this configuration, by changing the position of the magnetic conveyor, the dimensions of the width-aligned film can be arbitrarily adjusted.

[0009] In the width alignment device of the present invention, it is provided with a curved guide for sending the film to the inlet of the magnetic conveyor, and a tension roller provided on the upstream side in the conveying direction of the curved guide, and the position of the tension roller in the conveying direction can be changed with respect to the curved guide, and the tension roller can be rotated in the forward and reverse directions. After adjusting the tension of the film by changing and fixing the position of the tension roller with respect to the curved guide, a width alignment device can be configured to adjust the tension of the film conveyed in the conveying direction by rotating the tension roller in the forward and reverse directions. According to the width alignment device of this configuration, the film can be smoothly conveyed to the magnetic conveyor by the curved guide, and the film with different widths, thicknesses, materials, etc. can be set to an appropriate tension by the tension roller.

[0010] In the width alignment device of the present invention, a width alignment device can be provided with a lower conveyor mountain folding guide facing downstream on the downstream side of the lower conveyor. According to the width alignment device of this configuration, the mountain fold portion of the folded film can be made into a mountain shape, and correct width alignment can be achieved.

[0011] In the width adjustment device of the present invention, a valley guide that guides the film downstream in the conveyance direction in contact with the inside of the valley fold of the film that is width-adjusted in a bellows shape while being folded, and a detection device that detects the movement of the valley guide are provided. The valley guide is movable to a position downstream in the conveyance direction due to an overload from the film, and when the detection device detects the movement, the width adjustment device is configured to stop the conveyance of the film. According to the width adjustment device having this configuration, the film at the valley fold of the folded film does not wrinkle, and the width can be correctly adjusted. Furthermore, since it is possible to detect a conveyance failure and automatically stop the conveyance, it is possible to prevent the film from being wasted by performing the conveyance in a state where a problem has occurred.

[0012] In the width adjustment device of the present invention, a converging portion is provided downstream of the magnet conveyor. The converging portion includes a pressing member that contacts the peak fold of the film conveyed from the magnet conveyor, side brushes that contact both side surfaces of the film conveyed from the magnet conveyor, converging rollers that contact the upper portions of both side surfaces of the film conveyed from the magnet conveyor, and at least one air bleeding brush that contacts both side surfaces of the film conveyed from the magnet conveyor. According to the width adjustment device having this configuration, the folded film can be correctly width-adjusted in a normal state by any one of the pressing member, the side brushes, the converging rollers, and the air bleeding brush.

[0013] The folding machine of the present invention includes the width adjustment device according to claim 1 and a rotary conveyance unit having a 90-degree twist conveyor device, and is characterized in that the rotary conveyance unit is provided downstream in the conveyance direction of the width adjustment device. According to the folding machine of the present invention, while preventing the width-adjusted film from collapsing, the air between adjacent peak folds and between adjacent valley folds can be sufficiently discharged, and the direction of the width-adjusted film can be changed by 90 degrees.

[0014] The folding machine of the present invention comprises the width alignment device according to claim 1, a supply unit, and a post-processing unit. The supply unit includes a supply unit cutter mechanism for cutting the film in the width direction perpendicular to the conveying direction. The post-processing unit includes a discharge side cutter mechanism for cutting the film in the width direction perpendicular to the conveying direction. When continuously manufacturing a plurality of cut products of any size combination from the film, normal cutting of the products is performed by the discharge side cutter mechanism according to the conveying amount of the film, and control is performed such that only the cut on the upstream side of the last product to be manufactured is performed by the supply unit cutter mechanism. The control is calculated based on the total length of the products to be continuously manufactured, the length between the supply unit cutter mechanism and the discharge side cutter mechanism, and the conveying amount. The folding machine is characterized by this configuration. According to the folding machine with this configuration, it is possible to prevent the film from remaining downstream of the supply unit cutter mechanism after manufacturing the product and to prevent sagging. Particularly in the case of a film used for a large agricultural vinyl house with a wide width, since the price per unit length is high, the effect of preventing sagging is significant.

Effects of the Invention

[0015] According to the width alignment device of the present invention, the assembly and equipment costs can be suppressed, and correct width alignment can be achieved even for a multilayer film.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0016]

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Embodiments for Carrying Out the Invention

[0017] The film to be width-adjusted by the width-adjusting device of the present invention is a wide and long multi-layer film in which a plurality of films are folded in the width direction and overlapped, or a wide and long single-layer film of only one film in which a plurality of films are not overlapped. The multi-layer film to be width-adjusted by the width-adjusting device of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. 1. FIG. 1(A) is a schematic diagram of a two-layer multi-layer film to be width-adjusted by the width-adjusting device of the present invention. FIG. 1(B) is a schematic diagram of a four-layer multi-layer film to be width-adjusted by the width-adjusting device of the present invention. The multi-layer film 10 shown in FIG. 1(A) is folded once on each of one side (hereinafter referred to as one side) and the other side (hereinafter referred to as the other side) in the width direction at approximately 1 / 4 of the width of the original film (hereinafter referred to as the original film) with respect to the center in the width direction of the film before folding, and each of the one side and the other side is composed of two layers of a lower film 15A and an upper film 15B on one side, and a lower film 15A and an upper film 15C on the other side, respectively. It is a two-layer multi-layer film.

[0018] The multi-layer film 10 shown in FIG. 1(B) is folded three times on each of one side and the other side at approximately 1 / 8 of the width of the original film with respect to the center in the width direction of the original film, and each of the one side and the other side includes a common lower film 16A, and on one side, it is composed of four layers of two intermediate films 16B on one side and an upper film 16C on one side, and on the other side, it is composed of four layers of two intermediate films 16D on the other side and an upper film 16E on the other side. It is a four-layer multi-layer film. In FIGS. 1(A) and 1(B), the direction from the paper surface toward the front is the conveyance direction. The multi-layer film 10 is not limited to the above two-layer multi-layer film and four-layer multi-layer film, and can be a multi-layer film in which any number of films are overlapped.

[0019] The multi-layer film 10 is, for example, a wide and long agricultural polyolefin film used in agricultural vinyl greenhouses and the like. The width of the two-layer multi-layer film 10 shown in FIG. 1(A) (the width in the state folded into two layers) is 1 to 3 m, and the width of the original film before folding (the state where the two layers are unfolded and not overlapped) is 2 to 6 m. The width of the four-layer multilayer film 10 shown in FIG. 1(B) (the width in the state folded into four layers) is 1 to 3 m, and the width of the original film before folding (the state where the four layers are unfolded and not overlapping) is 4 to 12 m. The thickness of the agricultural polyolefin film in the unfolded and non-overlapping state is 0.05 mm to 0.15 mm.

[0020] The operation of the folding machine equipped with the width-aligning device of the present invention (the folding machine will be described later) will be described based on FIGS. 2 to 5. FIG. 2 is a schematic explanatory diagram of the multilayer film supply operation of the folding machine of the present invention, FIG. 3 is a schematic top view of the multilayer film for explaining the width-aligning operation of the multilayer film by the width-aligning device of the present invention, FIG. 4 is a schematic side view of the multilayer film for explaining the width-aligning operation of the multilayer film by the width-aligning device of the present invention, and FIG. 5 is a schematic explanatory diagram of the post-processing operation of the width-aligned multilayer film of the folding machine of the present invention.

[0021] As shown in FIG. 2, the multilayer film 10 (the four-layer multilayer film shown in FIG. 1(B)) is set as a roll body 11 wound in a roll shape on the supply part of the folding machine (the supply part will be described later), and the flat multilayer film 10 is conveyed in a horizontal posture by feeding out the roll body 11 and supplied to the width-aligning device. The flat state means that the films of each layer of the multilayer film 10 (the lower film 16A, one-side intermediate film 16B, and one-side upper film 16C in FIG. 1(B), and the lower film 16A, the other-side intermediate film 16D, and the other-side upper film 16E) overlap, but in FIG. 2(A), gaps are shown between the films of each layer of the multilayer film 10 for easy understanding.

[0022] One-side end 10A in the width direction of the multilayer film 10 (hereinafter referred to as one-side end) is the bent part between the lower film 16A and the lower one-side intermediate film 16B and the bent part between the upper one-side intermediate film 16B and the one-side upper film 16C. The other-side end 10B in the width direction of the multilayer film 10 (hereinafter referred to as the other-side end) is the bent part between the lower film 16A and the lower other-side intermediate film 16D and the bent part between the upper other-side intermediate film 16D and the other-side upper film 16E. The upper surface 10C of the multilayer film 10 consists of the one-side upper film 16C and the other-side upper film 16E. The lower surface 10D of the multilayer film 10 is the lower film 16A.

[0023] As shown in FIG. 3, four portions (portions indicated by the dashed-dotted line) spaced in the width direction of the multilayer film 10 are obliquely conveyed toward the central portion in the width direction. By conveying in this way, the distance (the width of the multilayer film 10) between one-side end 10A and the other-side end 10B of the multilayer film 10 is gradually narrowed, and the multilayer film 10 is conveyed while being repeatedly folded in a zigzag shape in the width direction with mountain folds and valley folds, and is width-adjusted so as to form a mountain fold portion 12A indicated by the dashed-dotted line and a valley fold portion 12B indicated by the solid line. The multilayer film 10 passes through the multilayer film 12 in the process of width adjustment and becomes the multilayer film 13 width-adjusted at the convergence position 17 and is conveyed, and is pressure-bonded by the nip roller 68 to form the width-adjusted completed multilayer film 19 in which the films are in close contact. The convergence position 17 is the position where the virtual straight line extending each mountain fold portion 12A intersects with the virtual straight line extending each valley fold portion 12B. The position where it becomes the width-adjusted multilayer film 13 (the position where it switches from the multilayer film 12 in the process of width adjustment conveyed while being folded to the width-adjusted multilayer film 13) is shifted to the upstream side in the conveyance direction from the convergence position 17 depending on the thickness of the width-adjusted multilayer film 13 (the dimension between one-side side surface 13A and the other-side side surface 13B of the width-adjusted multilayer film 13).

[0024] As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the mountain fold portions 12A and the valley fold portions 12B are formed radially so as to be sequentially narrowed alternately as going in the conveyance direction. The mountain fold portion 12A is continuous from the upper surface 10C of the multilayer film 10 to the width-adjusted multilayer film 13 at the same height, and the valley fold portion 12B is obliquely downward sequentially from the multilayer film 10. In addition, the conveyed portion of the multilayer film 10 is set so that the distance between the mountain fold portion 12A adjacent to one-side end 10A of the multilayer film 10, the distance between the adjacent mountain fold portion 12A and the valley fold portion 12B, and the distance between the mountain fold portion 12A adjacent to the other-side end 10B of the multilayer film 10 are equal.

[0025] The upper end face 13C of the width-adjusted multi-layer film 13 is formed by the mountain fold portion 12A. The lower end face 13D of the width-adjusted multi-layer film 13 is formed by the valley fold portion 12B. The upper surface 10C (one-side upper film 16C) of the multi-layer film 10 between the mountain fold portion 12A-1 formed on the most one side and one-side end 10A of the multi-layer film 10 forms the one-side side face 13A of the width-adjusted multi-layer film 13. The upper surface 10C (the other-side upper film 16E) of the multi-layer film 10 between the mountain fold portion 12A-2 formed on the most other side and the other-side end 10B of the multi-layer film 10 forms the other-side side face 13B of the width-adjusted multi-layer film 13. The one-side side face 13A and the other-side side face 13B of the width-adjusted multi-layer film 13 face in the vertical direction, and the width-adjusted multi-layer film 13 is in a vertical posture.

[0026] As shown in FIGS. 3 to 5, the width-adjusted completed multi-layer film 19 is conveyed to the rotary conveyance part (the rotary conveyance part will be described later) of the folding machine on the downstream side in the conveyance direction from the convergence position 17, and the one-side side face 19A and the other-side side face 19B of the width-adjusted completed multi-layer film 19 are horizontal, the upper end face 19C is on the other side, and the lower end face 19D is on the one side, and it is rotated 90 degrees to a horizontal posture so that the one-side side face 19A is parallel to the upper surface 10C of the multi-layer film 10 before the width adjustment. In this state, the width-adjusted completed multi-layer film 19 is conveyed to the post-processing part (the post-processing part will be described later) of the folding machine, cut in the width direction orthogonal to the conveyance direction, and becomes the product 14 folded in a bellows shape.

[0027] An embodiment of a folding machine equipped with the width adjustment device of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 6 and 7. FIG. 6 is a top view of the folding machine equipped with the width adjustment device of the present invention, and FIG. 7 is a side view of the folding machine equipped with the width adjustment device of the present invention. As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the folding machine 1 equipped with the width adjustment device of the present invention is composed of a supply part 2, the width adjustment device 3 of the present invention, a rotary conveyance part 4, and a post-processing part 5 in order from the upstream side in the conveyance direction (hereinafter referred to as the upstream side) to the downstream side in the conveyance direction (hereinafter referred to as the downstream side). The supply unit 2 supplies the multilayer film 10 to the edge aligning device 3, and is configured to supply the multilayer film 10 in a horizontal posture from the roll body 11 shown in FIG. 2 toward the edge aligning device 3.

[0028] The edge aligning device 3 of the present invention forms the edge-aligned multilayer film 13 by edge-aligning the multilayer film 10 supplied from the supply unit 2 as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4. In the embodiment, the multilayer film 10 is edge-aligned from both ends in the width direction of the folding machine 1 toward the center in the width direction, so that the surfaces viewed from one side and the other side of the folding machine 1 are parallel and flat, thereby forming the edge-aligned multilayer film 13. The multilayer film 10 is edge-aligned in a bellows shape in the width direction such that one side surface 13A of the edge-aligned multilayer film 13 is formed when viewed from one side of the folding machine 1, and the other side surface 13B of the edge-aligned multilayer film 13 is formed when viewed from the other side of the folding machine 1. The edge aligning device 3 includes an edge aligning unit 30 and a converging unit 6 provided on the downstream side of the edge aligning unit 30, and the multilayer film 10 is made into the edge-aligned completed multilayer film 19.

[0029] The rotary conveyance unit 4 rotates the edge-aligned completed multilayer film 19 conveyed from the edge aligning device 3 in a vertical posture by 90 degrees counterclockwise as viewed from the upstream side in the conveyance direction so that one side surface 19A of the edge-aligned completed multilayer film 19 faces upward, and conveys it to the downstream side in a horizontal posture. The post-processing unit 5 performs arbitrary post-processing on the edge-aligned completed multilayer film 19 conveyed from the rotary conveyance unit 4 in a horizontal posture and discharges it. The post-processing unit 5 in the embodiment cuts the edge-aligned completed multilayer film 19 in the width direction of the folding machine 1, and alternately folds it in a bellows shape upstream and downstream in the conveyance direction as shown in FIG. 5, and discharges it as the product 14.

[0030] The configuration of the supply unit will be described with reference to FIG. 8. FIG. 8 is a side view of the supply unit. As shown in FIG. 8, the supply unit 2 includes a roll body holding unit 21, a supply unit cutter mechanism 22, a supply unit conveying mechanism 23, a static elimination unit 24, a buffer unit 25, a tension roller 27, and a bending guide 28. The roll body holding unit 21 is provided on the installation surface 1A of the folding machine 1 and has two holding rollers 21A. The roll body 11 is rotatably held on the two holding rollers 21A. The two holding rollers 21A are rotated by a driving device (not shown) and rotate in synchronization with the supply unit conveying mechanism 23, thereby rotating the roll body 11 counterclockwise to convey the multilayer film 10 toward the supply unit conveying mechanism 23. The side surfaces in the width direction of the roll body 11 are fixed in the width direction by a member (not shown) provided on the roll body holding unit 21 so as not to move in the width direction.

[0031] The supply unit cutter mechanism 22 is located on the downstream side of the roll body holding unit 21 and the upstream side of the supply unit conveying mechanism 23, and is for cutting the multilayer film 10 in the width direction with a supply unit cutter 22A. The supply unit cutter 22A has a configuration including a known cutter blade or the like, and cuts the multilayer film 10 by reciprocating in the width direction of the multilayer film 10. Opposite to the supply unit cutter 22A, a supply unit cutter contact plate 22B having a groove through which the blade of the supply unit cutter 22A passes is provided between one side frame 29A of the supply unit 2 and the other side frame 29B of the supply unit 2 shown in FIG. 6. The multilayer film 10 is conveyed so as to pass between the supply unit cutter 22A and the supply unit cutter contact plate 22B. The supply unit cutter 22A is attached so as to be reciprocally movable on a guide (not shown) provided between one side frame 29A of the supply unit 2 and the other side frame 29B of the supply unit 2.

[0032] The supply unit cutter 22A may be configured to automatically reciprocate for cutting according to the cutting timing described later, or may be configured to manually cut using a commercially available cutter as the supply unit cutter 22A. When the supply unit cutter 22A automatically cuts, a driving device and a control device for driving the supply unit cutter 22A are further provided. The supply unit conveying mechanism 23 pulls out the multilayer film 10 from the roll body 11 of the roll body holding unit 21. The supply unit conveying mechanism 23 includes a supply unit drive roller 23A rotated by a drive device (not shown) and a supply unit nip roller 23B provided above the supply unit drive roller 23A and nipping the multilayer film 10 together with the supply unit drive roller 23A. The supply unit drive roller 23A is rotationally driven in synchronization with the aforementioned two holding rollers 21A.

[0033] The supply unit drive roller 23A is a long roller continuous in the width direction of the multilayer film 10, and the supply unit nip rollers 23B are short rollers shorter than the width of the multilayer film 10, and a plurality of them are arranged at intervals in the width direction of the multilayer film 10. The supply unit nip roller 23B is positioned so as to be in a nip position where it nips the multilayer film 10 together with the supply unit drive roller 23A and a non-nip position where it is separated from the supply unit drive roller 23A and does not nip the multilayer film 10 according to the operating state of the folding machine 1. When transporting the multilayer film 10, the supply unit nip roller 23B is set to the nip position, and when the transport of the multilayer film 10 is completed, the supply unit nip roller 23B is set to the non-nip position.

[0034] The rotation amount of the supply unit drive roller 23A is controlled according to the supply amount of the multilayer film 10 in the buffer unit 25. For example, when the amount of the multilayer film 10 supplied to the buffer unit 25 is small, the rotation amount of the supply unit drive roller 23A is increased, and when the amount of the multilayer film 10 supplied to the buffer unit 25 is large, the rotation amount of the supply unit drive roller 23A is decreased. An electrostatic elimination unit 24 is provided on the downstream side of the supply unit conveying mechanism 23. The electrostatic elimination unit 24 has a plurality of electrostatic elimination ropes 24B attached to a mounting cross member 24A provided between one side frame 29A and the other side frame 29B of the supply unit 2 at intervals in the width direction. The electrostatic elimination ropes 24B hang down along the transport direction of the multilayer film 10 and contact the upper surface 10C of the multilayer film 10 to remove the static electricity of the multilayer film 10. Since the static electricity of the multilayer film 10 is removed by the static eliminator rope 24B, when the width alignment is performed by the width alignment device 3, it is possible to prevent the state of the multilayer film 10 from being disrupted by static electricity. Note that the number of static eliminator ropes 24B is arbitrary.

[0035] The buffer unit 25 is provided on the downstream side of the supply unit conveyance mechanism 23 and includes a buffer roller 25A, a buffer unit sensor 25B, and a buffer unit roller 25C. The buffer unit 25 holds a certain amount of the multilayer film 10 between the supply unit drive roller 23A and the buffer unit roller 25C. The multilayer film 10 is stretched from the supply unit drive roller 23A to the buffer unit roller 25C, and the buffer roller 25A contacts the upper surface 10C of the multilayer film 10 to act as a weight, so that the multilayer film 10 is held in a substantially V shape by the buffer unit 25. The buffer roller 25A is supported only by the multilayer film 10 and is a lightweight roller such as a resin roller placed as a weight on the upper surface 10C of the multilayer film 10.

[0036] The buffer unit sensor 25B detects the position of the lower end portion of the multilayer film 10 (the position of the buffer roller 25A) held in a substantially V shape by the buffer unit 25, and controls the rotation amount of the supply unit drive roller 23A based on the detection result to control the amount of the multilayer film 10 supplied to the buffer unit 25. For example, when the position of the lower end portion of the multilayer film 10 detected by the buffer unit sensor 25B is higher than a predetermined position, it is determined that the amount of the multilayer film 10 supplied to the buffer unit 25 is small, and the rotation amount of the supply unit drive roller 23A is increased. When the position of the lower end portion of the multilayer film 10 detected by the buffer unit sensor 25B is lower than a predetermined position, it is determined that the amount of the multilayer film 10 supplied to the buffer unit 25 is large, and the rotation amount of the supply unit drive roller 23A is decreased.

[0037] As shown in Fig. 6, one-side auxiliary frame 40A is attached to one-side frame 39A of width adjustment device 3, and the other-side auxiliary frame 40B is attached to the other-side frame 39B of width adjustment device 3. As shown in Fig. 8, buffer section roller 25C is attached across one-side auxiliary frame 40A and the other-side auxiliary frame 40B. Buffer roller 25A is not limited to the above configuration, and a known dancer roller can also be adopted. Supply section 2 is not limited to the above configuration, and can be of any configuration as long as it can supply multilayer film 10 to width adjustment device 3.

[0038] Embodiments of the width adjustment device of the present invention will be described based on Figs. 9 to 12. Fig. 9 is a side view of the width adjustment device, Fig. 10 is a top view of the width adjustment device, Fig. 11 is a top view of the width adjustment device for explaining the conveyance state of the multilayer film, and Fig. 12 is a top view of the downstream side portion of the lower conveyor. For ease of understanding, only one magnet conveyor is shown in Fig. 9, only the portions to be explained are shown in Figs. 10 and 11, and illustration of other portions is omitted. As shown in Fig. 11, width adjustment section 30 is provided with four magnet conveyors 31 that are radially arranged at intervals in the width direction orthogonal to the conveyance direction of multilayer film 10 so as to gradually narrow the intervals as they go downstream in order to fold and width-adjust the wide and long multilayer film 10 in a bellows shape as shown in Fig. 3.

[0039] The extension of the center line passing through the center in the width direction of each magnet conveyor 31 and facing the conveyance direction intersects at a single point on the downstream side, and that intersection point is the convergence position 17 shown in Fig. 3. Although four magnet conveyors 31 are provided, the number of magnet conveyors 31 is not limited to four, and can be changed according to conditions such as the width, thickness, material of the multilayer film 10 to be used, and the length of the side surface after width adjustment, and any number of magnet conveyors 31 can be provided. That is, at least two or more magnet conveyors 31 may be provided.

[0040] As shown in FIG. 9, the magnetic conveyor 31 includes a lower conveyor 33 that drives an endless member having magnetic force with a driving device, and an upper conveyor 32 that rotatably has a magnetic endless member. By adsorbing the endless member of the upper conveyor 32 with the magnetic force of the endless member of the lower conveyor 33, the endless member of the upper conveyor 32 is driven by the driving of the endless member of the lower conveyor 33. At the same time, the multilayer film 10 is sandwiched and conveyed between the endless member of the lower conveyor 33 and the endless member of the upper conveyor 32 by the magnetic force of the endless member of the lower conveyor 33. According to this configuration, in order to drive the endless members of the upper conveyor 32 and the lower conveyor 33 synchronously, a complicated and expensive synchronous drive mechanism that takes time for assembly is not provided, so the assembly and equipment costs can be suppressed. Moreover, since the multilayer film 10 is sandwiched and conveyed between the endless member of the upper conveyor 32 and the endless member of the lower conveyor 33 by the magnetic force of the endless member of the lower conveyor 33, when the multilayer film 10 is conveyed, the films between the layers do not peel off or shift to cause wrinkles, and even the multilayer film 10 can be correctly centered.

[0041] The configuration of the magnetic conveyor 31 of this embodiment will be described. The upper conveyor 32 includes an upstream roller 82A at the upstream end of the upper conveyor frame 83 and a downstream roller 82B at the downstream end of the upper conveyor frame 83. A steel belt 81, which is a magnetic endless member, is wound around the upstream roller 82A and the downstream roller 82B of the upper conveyor 32. The magnetic endless member is not limited to the steel belt 81, and may be a belt made of rubber mixed with iron powder or the like. The lower conveyor 33 includes an upstream roller 85A at the upstream end of the lower conveyor frame 86 and a downstream roller 85B at the downstream end of the lower conveyor frame 86. A chain 84 with magnets, which is an endless member having magnetic force, is wound around the upstream roller 85A and the downstream roller 85B of the lower conveyor 33. The endless member having magnetic force is not limited to the chain 84 with magnets, and may be a belt with magnets attached thereto or the like.

[0042] As shown in Fig. 12, the magnet-attached chain 84 has a configuration in which magnets 88 are attached to the chain 89 at regular intervals. A receiving member 89A for attaching the magnet 88 is continuously provided on the chain 89. The magnet 88 is fixed to the receiving member 89A by any method such as screws. The magnet 88 is configured such that the flat surface of the magnet 88 contacts the lower surface 10D of the multilayer film 10 being conveyed. In order to sandwich the multilayer film 10 between the flat surface of the magnet 88 and the surface of the steel belt 81 facing the flat surface of the magnet 88, the films between the layers of the multilayer film 10 do not wrinkle or collapse due to peeling or displacement, etc., and the multilayer film 10 can be sandwiched and conveyed while being width-adjusted.

[0043] In this magnet conveyor 31 with such a configuration, the steel belt 81 of the upper conveyor 32 is provided along the conveying direction so as to face the lower conveyor 33. The magnet-attached chain 84 of the lower conveyor 33 is provided along the conveying direction so as to face the upper conveyor 32, and is driven by a driving device 87 described later to convey the multilayer film 10 from the supply section 2 side toward the rotary conveying section 4 side. Therefore, the multilayer film 10 can be firmly sandwiched and conveyed by the magnet 88 of the magnet-attached chain 84 and the steel belt 81. The steel belt 81 of the upper conveyor 32 is driven by the magnet-attached chain 84 by the magnetic force of the magnet 88.

[0044] The conveying path of the multilayer film 10 to the magnet conveyor 31 will be described. As shown in FIG. 9, the multilayer film 10 supplied from the supply unit 2 is conveyed to the buffer unit roller 25C of the buffer unit 25 as described above, then conveyed from the buffer unit roller 25C to the tension roller 27, and then conveyed from the tension roller 27 to the upstream end 31A of the magnet conveyor 31 via the curved guide 28, and is sandwiched and conveyed between the upper conveyor 32 and the lower conveyor 33 of the magnet conveyor 31. That is, the upstream end 31A of the magnet conveyor 31 is the inlet of the magnet conveyor 31. The upstream end 32A of the upper conveyor 32 of the magnet conveyor 31 is located upstream of the upstream end 33A of the lower conveyor 33, and the upstream end 31A of the magnet conveyor 31 is at the same position as the upstream end 33A of the lower conveyor 33 in the conveying direction. The curved guide 28 is located upstream of the upstream end 33A of the lower conveyor 33.

[0045] As shown in FIG. 11, the guide surface 28A of the curved guide 28 is curved in an arc shape centered on the convergence position 17. The four magnet conveyors 31 are provided such that the distances between the upstream ends 31A of the magnet conveyors 31 and the convergence position 17 are the same. That is, the upstream ends 31A of the four magnet conveyors 31 are located on an arc centered on the convergence position 17. The lengths of the four magnet conveyors 31 in the conveying direction are the same, and the downstream ends 31B of the four magnet conveyors 31 are located on an arc centered on the convergence position 17. That is, the downstream end 31B of the magnet conveyor 31 is the outlet of the magnet conveyor 31.

[0046] As shown in FIG. 9, when starting to align the width of the multilayer film 10, the tip portion of the multilayer film 10 conveyed to the tension roller 27 is held by hand and moved, so that the tip of the multilayer film 10 is moved to the upstream end 31A of the magnet conveyor 31 via the guide surface 28A of the curved guide 28. The leading end portion of the multilayer film 10 moves in the conveying direction along the guide surface 28A of the curved guide 28 that is curved in an arc shape centered on the convergence position 17. Therefore, the leading end of the multilayer film 10 is curved in an arc shape centered on the convergence position 17, and the leading end of the multilayer film 10 can be simultaneously moved to the upstream end portions 31A of the four magnet conveyors 31.

[0047] According to this configuration, when starting to convey the multilayer film 10, the four magnet conveyors 31 can be simultaneously driven to start at the same feeding speed to convey the multilayer film 10. Without performing pre-feeding control, the drive control of the magnet conveyors 31 at the start of width alignment is easy. On the other hand, in the width alignment device disclosed in Patent Document 1 (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-244166), since the distances between the inlets (upstream end portions) of the respective clamping belt devices and the convergence position are different, the feeding speed of the clamping belt device at the center is made slow, and the feeding speeds of the clamping belt devices on both sides are made fast. By performing complicated pre-feeding control, the distance between the leading end of the film and the convergence position is made the same, and then the feeding speeds of the respective clamping belts are made the same. Therefore, the drive control of the clamping belt device at the start of width alignment is troublesome.

[0048] The configuration of the tension roller 27 will be described. A one-side tension roller mounting portion 26A is provided on a one-side auxiliary frame 40A provided on one-side frame 39A of the width alignment device 3, and a other-side tension roller mounting portion 26B is provided on a other-side auxiliary frame 40B provided on the other-side frame 39B of the width alignment device 3. The tension roller 27 is provided across the one-side tension roller mounting portion 26A and the other-side tension roller mounting portion 26B such that the mounting position can be adjusted in the conveying direction of the multilayer film 10.

[0049] Specifically, one-side tension roller mounting portion 26A and the other-side tension roller mounting portion 26B each have a rail member 131 and a moving body 132 provided movably in the conveying direction on the rail member 131. Each rail member 131 is attached to one-side auxiliary frame 40A and the other-side auxiliary frame 40B respectively, and a tension roller 27 is supported across each moving body 132. Further, locking means is provided to prevent the moving body 132 from moving. As the locking means, a conventionally known one such as screwing a lock bolt into the rail member 131, locking it so as not to move by tightening the lock bolt, and making it movable by loosening is used.

[0050] According to this configuration, by releasing the lock of the moving body 132 and moving the moving body 132, the tension roller 27 is moved in the conveying direction to adjust the mounting position, and after an appropriate tension is applied to the multilayer film 10 with respect to the bending guide 28, the moving body 132 can be locked to fix the mounting position of the tension roller 27. That is, in order to supply the multilayer film 10 to each magnetic conveyor 31 with an appropriate tension, the position of the tension roller 27 can be adjusted according to conditions such as the width, thickness, material, and state between layers of the multilayer film 10. As the one-side tension roller mounting portion 26A and the other-side tension roller mounting portion 26B, a known linear motion mechanism or the like can be adopted.

[0051] The tension roller 27 is provided with a driving device (not shown) and can rotate in both forward and reverse directions. Since the driving device is attached to the moving body 132 on the other-side auxiliary frame 40B side, it moves together with the tension roller 27. The upper surface 10C of the multilayer film 10 contacts the tension roller 27 and is conveyed to the magnet conveyor 31 via the curved guide 28. By applying an appropriate load to the multilayer film 10, the tension of the multilayer film 10 on the magnet conveyor 31 is controlled. The tension roller 27 controls the forward and reverse rotation so that an appropriate load is applied according to conditions such as the width, thickness, material of the multilayer film 10, and the state between layers. Here, the forward direction is the direction in which the tension roller 27 rotates counterclockwise in FIG. 8, and the reverse direction is the direction in which the tension roller 27 rotates clockwise in FIG. 8.

[0052] For example, the rotation speed of the tension roller 27 is controlled so that the speed at which the multilayer film 10 is fed out by the forward rotation of the tension roller 27 is slower than the conveyance speed of the multilayer film 10 on the downstream side of the tension roller 27. The friction between the tension roller 27 and the multilayer film 10 due to the difference in the conveyance speed of this control becomes the load when the multilayer film 10 advances in the conveyance direction. The load on the tension roller 27 changes depending on the surface area of the multilayer film 10 that contacts the tension roller 27. Therefore, as the width of the multilayer film 10 becomes narrower, the forward rotation speed of the tension roller 27 is slowed down. When the width of the multilayer film 10 becomes even narrower, the tension roller 27 is rotated in the reverse direction, and as the width of the multilayer film 10 becomes narrower, the reverse rotation speed of the tension roller 27 is increased.

[0053] Also, depending on the type of the multilayer film 10, if the material has less friction, the tension roller 27 is controlled so that the load by the tension roller 27 becomes higher even with the same width. The forward and reverse rotation and the rotation speed of the tension roller 27 can be automatically controlled according to the preset conditions such as the width, thickness, material of the multilayer film 10, the state between layers, and the conveyance speed of the folding machine 1. Compared with a single-layer film that is not folded, the multi-layer film 10 is likely to have problems such as misalignment and wrinkles between the layers when being conveyed. However, by controlling the tension roller 27 as described above, an appropriate tension that does not cause problems such as wrinkles is applied to the multi-layer film 10, so that the multi-layer film 10 can be supplied to the magnet conveyor 31.

[0054] According to this configuration, even in the width-aligning device 3 configured to supply the multi-layer film 10 to the magnet conveyor 31 via the bending guide 28, the tension roller 27 is provided on the upstream side of the bending guide 28, and by adjusting the tension of the multi-layer film 10 from the tension roller 27, an appropriate tension (tension) can be adjusted and maintained for various multi-layer films 10 (multi-layer films having different widths, thicknesses, and materials).

[0055] The width-aligning operation of the multi-layer film 10 by the width-aligning unit 30 will be described. The four magnet conveyors 31 are provided radially such that the distance between two adjacent magnet conveyors 31 in the width direction gradually decreases as going in the conveying direction of the multi-layer film 10. Therefore, the portion of the multi-layer film 10 conveyed by the magnet conveyor 31 gradually narrows as going in the conveying direction, and the portion between the adjacent conveyed portions sags due to its own weight and is valley-folded, and the conveyed portion is folded in a bellows shape in the width direction while being conveyed and mountain-folded, and thus width-aligned. That is, the multi-layer film 10 is folded in a bellows shape with four mountain folds and three valley folds in a state where a certain position of the magnet conveyor 31 becomes a mountain fold and the space between adjacent magnet conveyors 31 becomes a valley fold, and is width-aligned. Therefore, the multi-layer film 10 can be width-aligned as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4.

[0056] The distances between two adjacent magnet conveyors 31 in the width direction are all the same, and the distances between each mountain-fold portion 12A and each valley-fold portion 12B are all folded to be the same. Each magnet conveyor 31 can change its position in the arc direction with reference to the convergence position 17 which is the convergence point of width alignment. For example, the downstream end 31B side of the magnet conveyor 31 is rotatable in the width direction around the converging position 17, and the upstream end 31A of the magnet conveyor 31 is movable along an arc centered on the converging position 17.

[0057] With this configuration, by moving the magnet conveyor 31 to change the position of the upstream end 31A, the distance between adjacent magnet conveyors 31 can be adjusted. Therefore, by adjusting the distance between the magnet conveyors 31, the distance between the mountain fold portion 12A and the valley fold portion 12B of the width-aligned multilayer film 13 can be changed, and the folding dimension can be arbitrarily changed. Specifically, when the distance between adjacent magnet conveyors 31 is narrowed, the distance between the mountain fold portion 12A and the valley fold portion 12B of the width-aligned multilayer film 13 (the vertical length of one side surface 13A of the width-aligned multilayer film 13 in FIG. 4) becomes shorter, and the width alignment dimension becomes shorter. When the distance between the magnet conveyors 31 is widened, the distance between the mountain fold portion 12A and the valley fold portion 12B of the width-aligned multilayer film 13 (the vertical length of one side surface 13A of the width-aligned multilayer film 13 in FIG. 4) becomes longer, and the width alignment dimension becomes longer.

[0058] Therefore, by making each magnet conveyor 31 movable (the position in the arc direction of the upstream end 31A can be changed), the folding dimension of the width-aligned multilayer film 13 can be arbitrarily adjusted. In addition, since the position of the upstream end 31A of the magnet aconveyor 31 and the distance between adjacent magnet conveyors 31 can be changed according to the width of the multilayer film 10 to be width-aligned, multilayer films 10 with different widths can be folded and width-aligned in the same manner.

[0059] The mounting configuration of the upper conveyor 32 of the magnet conveyor 31 will be described. As shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, the upper conveyor frame 83 of the upper conveyor 32 is attached to the upper conveyor support portion 35 via two upper conveyor lifting cylinders 34. The downstream side portion of the upper conveyor support portion 35 (the portion on the side of the rotary transfer portion 4) is rotatably supported by the upper conveyor rotary support portion 36 on the downstream side frame 39C on the upper side of the width adjustment device 3. The upper conveyor rotary support portion 36 is formed by attaching a rotary support shaft 36B to a bracket 36A in the vertical direction, and the downstream side portion of the upper conveyor support portion 35 is rotatably supported by the rotary support shaft 36B. The center (rotation center) of the rotary support shaft 36B is the same as the convergence position 17. Four upper conveyor support portions 35 of the upper conveyor 32 are supported vertically on the rotary support shaft 36B.

[0060] A lock lever 98 having wheels 101 and a detachable portion 102 is attached to the lower surface of the upstream side portion of the upper conveyor support portion 35 (the portion on the side of the supply portion 2). An upper plate-like member 96 is provided across one side frame 39A and the other side frame 39B of the width adjustment device 3. The wheels 101 are in contact with the upper surface of the upper plate-like member 96, and the upstream side portion of the upper conveyor support portion 35 is movably supported by the upper plate-like member 96. In the embodiment, the upper plate-like member 96 has an arcuate portion in a top view, and the wheels 101 are provided in contact with the upper surface of the arcuate portion. The detachable portion 102 is provided to lock so that the upper conveyor support portion 35 does not move when it contacts the lower surface of the upper plate-like member 96, and to release the lock and make the upper conveyor support portion 35 movable when it separates from the upper plate-like member 96, and is operated for attachment and detachment by the lock lever 98.

[0061] That is, the downstream side portion of the upper conveyor support portion 35 is rotatably supported by the upper conveyor rotary support portion 36, the upstream side portion is movably supported by the upper plate-like member 96 via the wheels 101, and is locked so as not to move by the detachable portion 102 and unlocked so as to be movable. According to this configuration, with the locking lever 98 disengaging the detachable part 102 to release the lock, by holding the locking lever 98 by hand and moving the upper conveyor support part 35 in the arc direction in a top view around the upper conveyor rotation support part 36, the upper conveyor 32 attached to the upper conveyor support part 35 via the two upper conveyor lifting cylinders 34 can be moved in the arc direction in a top view.

[0062] The position can be fixed by locking the detachable part 102 with the locking lever 98 at an arbitrary position. Also, the vertical position of the upper conveyor 32 can be switched between a lower position where the multi-layer film 10 is sandwiched between the lower conveyor 33 and an upper position separated from the lower conveyor 33 by the extension and contraction of the upper conveyor lifting cylinder 34. The vertical position of the upper conveyor 32 is switched to a lower position where the multi-layer film 10 is sandwiched between the lower conveyor 33 when width alignment is performed at the width alignment part 30, and is switched to an upper position separated from the lower conveyor 33 when attaching or maintaining the multi-layer film 10 to the width alignment part 30 at the width alignment start time or the like.

[0063] The attachment configuration of the lower conveyor 33 of the magnet conveyor 31 will be described. As shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, the lower conveyor frame 86 of the lower conveyor 33 is attached to the lower conveyor support part 37 via two auxiliary frames 103. The downstream side part of the lower conveyor support part 37 (the part on the side of the rotation and conveyance part 4) is rotatably supported by the lower conveyor rotation support part 38 on the downstream side frame 39C on the lower side of the width alignment device 3. The lower conveyor rotation support part 38 is formed by attaching a rotation support shaft 38B vertically to a bracket 38A, and the downstream side part of the lower conveyor support part 38 is rotatably supported by the rotation support shaft 38B. The center (rotation center) of the rotation support shaft 38B is the same as the convergence position 17. Four lower conveyor support parts 37 of the lower conveyor 33 are supported vertically on the rotation support shaft 38B.

[0064] That is, the rotation support shaft 36B of the upper conveyor rotation support portion 36 and the rotation support shaft 38B of the lower conveyor rotation support portion 38 are provided coaxially, and the upper conveyor support portion 35 and the lower conveyor support portion 37 rotate about the convergence position 17 as the center. Wheels 104 are attached to the lower surface of the upstream side portion (the portion on the supply unit 2 side) of the lower conveyor support portion 37. Further, a lock lever 99 having a detachable portion 105 is attached to the side surface of the upstream side portion of the lower conveyor support portion 37. A plate 104A is provided across the one side frame 39A and the other side frame 39B of the width alignment device 3, and a lower plate-like member 97 is provided on the plate 104A. The wheels 104 are in contact with the upper surface of the plate 104A and movably support the upstream side portion of the lower conveyor support member 37. The detachable portion 105 is provided so as to contact the side surface of the arc-shaped portion in the top view of the upper surface of the lower plate-like member 97 to lock the lower conveyor support portion 37 so as not to move, and to release the lock by separating from the side surface to make the lower conveyor support portion 37 movable, and is operated for attachment and detachment by the lock lever 99.

[0065] That is, the downstream side portion of the lower conveyor support portion 37 is rotatably supported by the lower conveyor rotation support portion 38, and the upstream side portion is movably supported by the plate 104A via the wheels 104. The drive device 87 of the lower conveyor 33 is provided on one auxiliary frame 103 and is configured to drive a sprocket (not shown) with a servo motor (not shown). The sprocket meshes with the chain 89 of the chain 84 with a magnet, and the chain 84 with a magnet is driven by driving the sprocket. Since the upper conveyor 32 and the lower conveyor 33 form a pair of magnet conveyors 31, the positions of the upper conveyor support portion 35 and the lower conveyor support portion 37 are determined so as to be at the same position when viewed from above.

[0066] According to this configuration, with the locking lever 99 removing the detachable part 105 to release the lock, hold the locking lever 99 by hand and move the lower conveyor support part 37 in the arc direction in a top view around the lower conveyor rotation support part 38. By doing so, the lower conveyor 33 attached to the lower conveyor support part 37 via the two auxiliary frames 103 can be moved in the arc direction in a top view, and the lower conveyor support part 37 can be fixed by attaching the detachable part 105 with the locking lever 99 and locking it at an arbitrary position. Therefore, by rotating the upper conveyor 32 and the lower conveyor 33 around the convergence position 17, the magnetic conveyor 31 can be rotated around the convergence position 17. In addition, since the drive device 87 of each lower conveyor 33 moves together with the lower conveyor 33, it does not become an obstacle to moving the lower conveyor 33.

[0067] Also, by synchronously driving and controlling the servo motors of the drive devices 87 of each lower conveyor 33, each lower conveyor 33 can be synchronously driven. Note that the drive device 87 of the lower conveyor 33 is provided individually for each lower conveyor 33, but a plurality of lower conveyors 33 may be driven by one drive device 87. For example, drive the lower conveyors 33 of the two magnetic conveyors 31-1 and 31-2 at the center shown in FIG. 11 with one drive device 87, and drive the lower conveyor 33 of the magnetic conveyor 31-3 on one side and the lower conveyor 33 of the magnetic conveyor 31-4 on the other side with one drive device 87 respectively. With this configuration, the number of drive devices 87 can be reduced, and cost reduction can be achieved.

[0068] Also, although the servo motors of the drive devices 87 of each lower conveyor 33 are driven and controlled synchronously, the conveyance speed for each lower conveyor 33 may be controlled to be the same for all, or may be changed for each lower conveyor 33. For example, when the film is stretched only on one side of the multilayer film 10 during the conveyance of the multilayer film 10, the speed of the lower conveyor 33 of the magnet conveyor 31-3 on one side is made faster than the speeds of the lower conveyors 33 of the other magnet conveyors 31-1, 31-2, and 31-4, and the conveyance amount of the multilayer film 10 by the magnet conveyor 31 can be adjusted. By being able to arbitrarily adjust the conveyance amount of each magnet conveyor 31, the width-adjusted multilayer film 13 can be formed regardless of the state of the multilayer film 10.

[0069] Since the portion where the upper conveyor 32 and the lower conveyor 33 of the magnet conveyor 31 sandwich the multilayer film 10 becomes the mountain fold portion 12A, the mountain fold portion 12A has a flat shape corresponding to the width of the portion of the lower conveyor 33 that sandwiches the multilayer film 10. If the mountain fold portion 12A is width-adjusted in this shape, the mountain fold portion 12A will not be correctly crushed and will wrinkle, so the film of the mountain fold portion 12A will not adhere when width-adjusted, and the width-adjusted multilayer film 13 will not be in a correctly folded state. In order to make the width-adjusted multilayer film 13 in a correctly folded state, the width adjustment portion 30 of the present invention is provided with lower conveyor mountain fold guides 90 on the downstream side of each lower conveyor 33 as shown in FIG. 11.

[0070] The lower conveyor mountain fold guide 90 is narrower in width than the portion of the lower conveyor 33 that sandwiches the multilayer film 10 and is provided to protrude downstream of the downstream end portion 33B of the lower conveyor 33. As shown in FIG. 9, the lower conveyor mountain fold guide 90 is a plate shape having a mountain fold inclined portion 90A that is continuous with the portion of the lower conveyor 33 that sandwiches the multilayer film 10 and is inclined obliquely upward to a position higher than the upper surface of the sandwiching portion, and a guide portion 90B that is continuous with the mountain fold inclined portion 90A and protrudes downstream. The multilayer film 12 in the process of being width-adjusted is conveyed downstream from the downstream end 33B of the lower conveyor 33, and when the mountain fold portion 12A moves along the mountain fold inclined portion 90A of the lower conveyor mountain fold guide 90, the mountain fold portion 12A that was originally in a flat shape is folded into an acute mountain shape, and then is conveyed along the guide portion 90B while maintaining the acute mountain shape. As a result, when the width is adjusted, the film of the mountain fold portion 12A adheres, so that the width-adjusted multilayer film 13 is in a correctly folded state.

[0071] The lower conveyor mountain fold guide 90 of the embodiment will be described. The lower conveyor mountain fold guide 90 is a guide that extends upward with respect to the conveying surface of the chain 84 with magnets. As shown in FIG. 12, the lower conveyor mountain fold guide 90 is attached to the downstream side portion of the lower conveyor frame 86. The lower conveyor 33 requires a width corresponding to the size of the magnet 88. For this reason, the mountain fold portion 12A is sent out downstream in a shape having a flat film by the width of the lower conveyor 33. The lower conveyor mountain fold guide 90 is provided to fold the flat film by the width of the lower conveyor 33, and includes a mountain fold inclined portion 90A continuous with the conveying surface of the magnet 88 of the lower conveyor 33, and a guide portion 90B that is continuous with the mountain fold inclined portion 90A and is higher by approximately half the length of the width of the lower conveyor 33 from the height of the conveying surface of the magnet 88.

[0072] According to this configuration, the film that was in a flat state by the width of the lower conveyor 33 can be folded and conveyed downstream. After the lower conveyor mountain fold guide 90 reaches the height for forming the above-mentioned mountain fold, it extends at a constant height toward the converging portion 6 and guides the mountain fold portion 12A to the converging position 17. The lower conveyor mountain fold guide 90 can convey the multilayer film 12 in the process of being width-adjusted in a folded state without causing problems such as wrinkles or a collapsed posture.

[0073] As shown in FIG. 11, the downstream end 31B of the four magnet conveyors 31 is separated from the convergence position 17 in the conveying direction, and the nip roller 68 described later is also separated from the convergence position 17 in the conveying direction. Therefore, when the width-adjusted multilayer film 13 is conveyed to the nip roller 68, it is in a free state where no force such as width adjustment acts. For this reason, the films are width-adjusted while air remains between the folded films (between adjacent mountain folds and between adjacent valley folds), and then crimped by the nip roller 68. In this case, it may be difficult to width-adjust the films so that they are in close contact with each other. In addition, the multilayer film 12 during the width-adjustment process is valley-folded due to its own weight, so it may not be properly valley-folded, and the valley-folded portion 12B may become wrinkled, resulting in inaccurate width adjustment. Moreover, the heights of the plurality of mountain-folded portions 12A of the multilayer film 12 during the width-adjustment process may be uneven, and the upper end surface 19C of the width-adjusted completed multilayer film 19 may be in an uneven state. To solve these problems, as shown in FIG. 11, a converging portion 6 is provided downstream of the downstream end 31B of the magnet conveyor 31.

[0074] The converging portion will be described with reference to FIGS. 13 to 15. FIG. 13 is a top view showing the members of the converging portion, FIG. 14(A) is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the pressing member, FIG. 14(B) is an explanatory diagram of the operation of the pressing member, and FIG. 15 is a side view showing the members of the converging portion. Note that the converging portion frame is schematically shown in FIGS. 13 and 15. As shown in FIG. 13, the converging portion 6 includes a pressing member 61, side brushes 62, a gathering roller 64, an air-bleeding brush 65, a valley guide 66, and a nip roller 68. The pressing member 61 is a plate-like member made of a flexible material such as felt or cloth, and is provided in the width direction across each lower conveyor mountain-fold guide 90. It is provided so that the upper part of each mountain-folded portion 12A of the multilayer film 12 during the width-adjustment process contacts the pressing member 61. As shown in Fig. 14(A), a plurality of notches 61E are formed on the lower surface 61A of the pressing member 61. The upper part of each lower conveyor mountain folding guide 90 enters the notch 61E, and the lower surface 61A of the pressing member 61 is located below the guide portion 90B of the lower conveyor mountain folding guide 90. As the mountain folding portion 12A of the multilayer film 12 being width-adjusted and conveyed along the guide portion 90B of the lower conveyor mountain folding guide 90, the pressing member 61 curves toward the downstream side as shown in Fig. 14(B) and contacts the upper part of the mountain folding portion 12A.

[0075] According to this configuration, the heights of the mountain folding portions 12A of the multilayer film 12 in the process of being width-adjusted can be made the same, and the upper end surface 13C of the width-adjusted multilayer film 13 can be made flat without unevenness. Further, since the pressing member 61 contacts the mountain folding portion 12A of the multilayer film 12 in the process of being width-adjusted in the width-adjusting direction (the direction of folding the tip of the mountain), it has the effect of assisting the width adjustment of the multilayer film 12 in the process of being width-adjusted. That is, the mountain folding portion 12A contacts the pressing member 61 moving in the width direction while being obliquely conveyed toward the convergence position 17, so that a force in the width direction acts, and thus the width adjustment can be assisted. Compared with a single-layer film in which the film is not folded, the multilayer film 10 has a greater resistance (resistance to folding) when being width-adjusted, and problems such as the generation of wrinkles and the collapse of the posture may occur during the width adjustment process, and it may not be possible to width-adjust normally. However, by providing the pressing member 61 to assist the width adjustment, it can be width-adjusted normally.

[0076] As shown in Fig. 13, the side brush 62 includes a one-side side brush 62A and an other-side side brush 62B. The one-side side brush 62A is a brush that contacts the one-side side surface 12C of the multilayer film 12 in the process of being width-adjusted, which becomes the one-side side surface 13A of the width-adjusted multilayer film 13, and is configured to be provided with three at intervals from the upstream side to the downstream side on the one-side brush frame 63A. One side side brush 62A is provided obliquely in the width direction such that the tip end is on the downstream side of the base end, and the width direction positions of the tip ends of the respective one side side brushes 62A are made different so as to contact different portions in the conveyance direction on one side side 12C of the multilayer film 12 in the process of being width-aligned.

[0077] The other side side brush 62B is a brush that contacts the other side side 12D of the multilayer film 12 in the process of being width-aligned, which becomes the other side side 13B of the width-aligned multilayer film 13, and is configured to be provided with three at intervals from the upstream side to the downstream side on the other side brush frame 63B. The other side side brush 62B is provided obliquely in the width direction such that the tip end is on the downstream side of the base end, and the width direction positions of the tip ends of the respective other side side brushes 62B are made different so as to contact different portions in the conveyance direction on the other side side 12D of the multilayer film 12 in the process of being width-aligned.

[0078] According to this configuration, one side side 12C of the multilayer film 12 in the process of being width-aligned that has passed through the magnet conveyor 31 contacts the one side side brush 62A and is pushed to the other side, and the other side side 12D of the multilayer film 12 in the process of being width-aligned that has passed through the magnet conveyor 31 contacts the other side side brush 62B and is pushed to the one side. Therefore, preliminary width alignment can be performed, the air between the films of the multilayer film 12 in the process of being width-aligned can be discharged, and one side side 12C and the other side side 12D of the multilayer film 12 in the process of being width-aligned can be made in a correct state without wrinkles. Therefore, the multilayer film 12 in the process of being width-aligned can be easily width-aligned, and the width-aligned multilayer film 13 can be made in a state without wrinkles. Moreover, even for the multilayer film 10 having a large resistance (resistance to folding) when width-aligning compared to a single-layer film in which the film is not folded, the width alignment can be assisted by the preliminary width alignment by the side brush 62 and the width alignment can be normally performed.

[0079] Further, in accordance with the width of the multilayer film 12 in the process of being width-adjusted (the distance between one side surface 12C and the other side surface 12D), since the one-side brush frame 63A and the other-side brush frame 63B are provided radially so as to gradually narrow as they go in the conveyance direction, preliminary width adjustment can be performed without causing problems such as a sudden pressing force acting on the multilayer film 12 in the process of being width-adjusted, resulting in wrinkles or the posture being disrupted. Further, since the positions of the one-side side brush 62A and the other-side side brush 62B can be arbitrarily adjusted in the width direction and the conveyance direction, it can be adjusted so that an appropriate contact force acts according to the width and state of the multilayer film 12 in the process of being width-adjusted.

[0080] In the embodiment, the one-side brush frame 63A is supported so that the upstream portion can rotate around the downstream portion and approach and separate from the other-side brush frame 63B, and can move parallel to the width direction, and the other-side brush frame 63B is supported so that the upstream portion can rotate around the downstream portion and approach and separate from the one-side brush frame 63A, and can move parallel to the width direction. According to this configuration, by moving the one-side brush frame 63A and the other-side brush frame 63B in the width direction, the interval in the width direction between the one-side brush frame 63A and the other-side brush frame 63B can be changed, and the interval in the width direction between the one-side side brush 62A and the other-side side brush 62B can be changed. Therefore, the force for pressing the one-side surface 12C of the multilayer film 12 in the process of being width-adjusted by the one-side side brush 62A and the force for pressing the other-side surface 12D of the multilayer film 12 in the process of being width-adjusted by the other-side side brush 62B can be arbitrarily adjusted.

[0081] For example, if the one-side brush frame 63A and the other-side brush frame 63B are moved in the width direction so as to be separated from each other to widen the interval in the width direction between the one-side side brush 62A and the other-side side brush 62B, the force for pressing the one-side surface 12C of the multilayer film 12 in the process of being width-adjusted and the force for pressing the other-side surface 12D will decrease. If the one-side side brush 62A and the other-side side brush 62B are moved in the width direction so as to approach each other to narrow the interval in the width direction between the one-side side brush 62A and the other-side side brush 62B, the force pressing the one-side side 12C of the multilayer film 12 in the process of width alignment and the force pressing the other-side side 12D will increase. Therefore, it is possible to adjust so that an appropriate pressing force acts according to the thickness of the multilayer film 10 (such as the number of films stacked), the width and state of the multilayer film 12 in the process of width alignment, and width alignment can be performed normally.

[0082] Further, by rotating the one-side brush frame 63A and the other-side brush frame 63B to change the angle formed by the one-side brush frame 63A and the other-side brush frame 63B, a virtual straight line on one side connecting the tips of the plurality of one-side side brushes 62A and a virtual straight line on the other side connecting the tips of the plurality of the other-side side brushes 62B can be changed. According to this configuration, when width-aligning the multilayer films 10 with different widths, by setting the angle formed by the one-side brush frame 63A and the other-side brush frame 63B to an angle corresponding to the angle formed by the one-side side 12C and the other-side side 12D of the multilayer film 12 in the process of width alignment, the one-side side brush 62A can be brought into contact with the one-side side 12C of the multilayer film 12 in the process of width alignment, and the other-side side brush 62B can be brought into contact with the other-side side 12D of the multilayer film 12 in the process of width alignment.

[0083] That is, since the angle formed by the one-side side 12C and the other-side side 12D of the multilayer film 12 in the process of width alignment changes depending on the width of the multilayer film 10, when width-aligning the multilayer films 10 with different widths, the angle formed by the one-side brush frame 63A and the other-side brush frame 63B is set to an angle corresponding to that angle. Therefore, the multilayer films 10 with different widths can be preliminarily width-aligned correctly.

[0084] As shown in FIG. 13, the gathering roller 64 is provided on the downstream side of the side brush 62 and is composed of a one-side gathering roller 64A and an other-side gathering roller 64B. The one-side collecting roller 64A and the other-side collecting roller 64B are provided to face each other in the width direction on one side and the other side with the converging position 17 as the boundary. When viewed in the direction of FIG. 13 (from above), the one-side collecting roller 64A rotates clockwise, and the other-side collecting roller 64B rotates counterclockwise. The vertical length of the one-side collecting roller 64A and the other-side collecting roller 64B is shorter than the vertical distance of the multilayer film 12 in the process of being width-adjusted. As shown in FIG. 15, the collecting roller 64 is provided to face the downstream end 33B of the lower conveyor 33. The one-side collecting roller 64A and the other-side collecting roller 64B nip only the folded upper part near the mountain fold of the multilayer film 12 in the process of being width-adjusted (the side that becomes the upper end face 13C of the width-adjusted multilayer film 13), and convey it downstream as the width-adjusted multilayer film 13.

[0085] According to this configuration, the mountain fold portion 12A of the multilayer film 12 in the process of being width-adjusted and conveyed is crushed and width-adjusted, and the air between the further folded films is discharged. For example, by nipping a range of approximately 1 / 3 to 1 / 2 of the vertical length of one side surface 13A and the other side surface 13B of the width-adjusted multilayer film 13, the air between the layers (between the films) of the multilayer film 13 nipped and width-adjusted by the collecting roller 64 is discharged from the upper end face 13C side toward the lower end face 13D. Therefore, it is possible to prevent problems such as wrinkles occurring in the width-adjusted multilayer film 13 conveyed from the collecting roller 64 due to the air remaining between the layers and the posture being disrupted.

[0086] The one-side collecting roller 64A and the other-side collecting roller 64B are provided so that they can move in the width direction and the conveying direction respectively. By moving the one-side collecting roller 64A and the other-side collecting roller 64B closer to each other in the width direction, the interval in the width direction between the one-side collecting roller 64A and the other-side collecting roller 64B can be narrowed, and by moving the one-side collecting roller 64A and the other-side collecting roller 64B away from each other in the width direction, the interval in the width direction between the one-side collecting roller 64A and the other-side collecting roller 64B can be widened. Therefore, the air remaining between the layers of the multilayer film 13 with different widths that are width-aligned can be discharged by setting the interval in the width direction between the one-side collecting roller 64A and the other-side collecting roller 64B to an interval corresponding to the width of the width-aligned multilayer film 13.

[0087] As shown in FIG. 13, the air-bleeding brush 65 is provided on the downstream side of the collecting roller 64 and is composed of a one-side air-bleeding brush 65A and an other-side air-bleeding brush 65B. As shown in FIG. 15, the lengths of the one-side air-bleeding brush 65A and the other-side air-bleeding brush 65B are longer than the vertical length of the width-aligned multilayer film 13 (the length between the upper end face 13C and the lower end face 13D). The one-side air-bleeding brush 65A is a brush that goes from one side to the other side and contacts one-side side face 13A of the width-aligned multilayer film 13. The other-side air-bleeding brush 65B is a brush that goes from the other side to the one side and contacts the other-side side face 13B of the width-aligned multilayer film 13.

[0088] According to this configuration, the width-aligned multilayer film 13 is pressed from both side faces in the width direction by the one-side air-bleeding brush 65A and the other-side air-bleeding brush 65B, so that the air remaining between the layers (between the films) of the width-aligned multilayer film 13 is discharged, and defects such as wrinkles occurring in the width-aligned multilayer film 13 during conveyance and the posture collapsing are prevented.

[0089] The one-side air-bleeding brush 65A and the other-side air-bleeding brush 65B are each provided so as to be movable in the width direction. By moving the one-side air-bleeding brush 65A to the other side and strongly contacting one-side side face 13A of the width-aligned multilayer film 13, and moving the other-side air-bleeding brush 65B to the one side and strongly contacting the other-side side face 13B of the width-aligned multilayer film 13, the force pressing the width-aligned multilayer film 13 from both side faces can be increased. The one-sided air-bleeding brush 65A is moved to one side and gently contacts the one-sided side surface 13A of the width-adjusted multilayer film 13, and the other-sided air-bleeding brush 65B is moved to the other side and gently contacts the other-sided side surface 13B of the width-adjusted multilayer film 13, so that the force pressing the width-adjusted multilayer film 13 from both side surfaces can be weakened.

[0090] According to this configuration, the force pressing the width-adjusted multilayer film 13 from both side surfaces can be adjusted, and air can be reliably discharged as the pressing force according to the number of superimposed films of the multilayer film 10 and the like. Further, according to the thickness of the width-adjusted multilayer film 13, the positions of the one-sided air-bleeding brush 65A and the other-sided air-bleeding brush 65B can be adjusted, and air can be reliably discharged.

[0091] As shown in FIG. 13, the valley guide 66 is provided on the upstream side of the gathering roller 64, and includes guides 111 provided inside each valley-fold portion (valley-fold portion 12B) of the multilayer film 12 in the process of being width-adjusted. By guiding the valley-fold portion 12B of the multilayer film 12 in the process of being width-adjusted by the guide 111, the film between the valley-fold portion 12B and the mountain-fold portion 12A becomes a straight state without wrinkles, and accurate valley folding can be performed. Therefore, accurate width adjustment can be performed.

[0092] The nip roller 68 is provided on the downstream side of the air-bleeding brush 65 and on the downstream frame 39C of the width-adjusting device 3 via a frame (not shown), and nips and presses the width-adjusted multilayer film 13 to make each film adhere to form a width-adjusted completed multilayer film 19. The nip roller 68 is composed of a one-sided nip roller 68A and an other-sided nip roller 68B, and the interval between the one-sided nip roller 68A and the other-sided nip roller 68B is provided so as to be adjustable in the width direction on a frame (not shown). By nipping the multilayer film 13 that has been width-adjusted by the one-side nip roller 68A and the other-side nip roller 68B, the films come into close contact with each other after the air between adjacent mountain folds and between adjacent valley folds has been discharged by the air-extracting brush 65, and can be correctly width-adjusted without losing their posture and conveyed downstream.

[0093] The pressing member 61, side brush 62, converging roller 64, air-extracting brush 65, and valley guide 66 of the converging portion 6 are attached to the converging portion frame 200. The converging portion frame will be described with reference to FIGS. 16 to 18. FIG. 16 is a side view of the converging portion frame, FIG. 17 is a top view of the converging portion frame, and FIG. 18 is a front view of the upstream side of the converging portion frame. Note that bolts and the like for fixing each member are not shown, and in FIG. 18, the illustration of the one-side brush frame and the other-side brush frame is omitted. The converging portion frame 200 includes an upper frame 201 extending in the width direction provided on the upper frame 39D inside the downstream frame 39C of the width-adjusting device 3, and a lower frame 202 extending in the width direction provided on the lower frame 39E inside the downstream frame 39C of the width-adjusting device 3. The upper frame 201 is a hook-shaped long member having a horizontal plate 204 provided upstream at the upper part of the vertical plate 203. The vertical plate 203 is attached to the upstream side surface of the upper frame 39D. A rail portion 205 is continuously provided in the width direction upstream on the vertical plate 203.

[0094] A one-side slider 206 and an other-side slider 207 are provided on the rail portion 205 so as to be movable in the width direction. A one-side upper width-direction movable body 208 is provided on the one-side slider 206 upstream, and an other-side upper width-direction movable body 209 is provided on the other-side slider 207 upstream. The one-side upper width-direction movable body 208 and the other-side upper width-direction movable body 209 are movable in the width direction along the rail portion 205. Lock bolts 212 with levers are respectively screwed into the upper one-side width-direction moving body 208 and the upper other-side width-direction moving body 209 from the long holes 211 in the width direction formed on both sides closer to the width direction of the horizontal plate 204. By tightening the lock bolts 212 with levers, they are fixed so as not to move, and by loosening them, they can move, thus constituting a locking means. The locking means is not limited to this configuration and can be of various configurations. Since the upper one-side width-direction moving body 208 and the upper other-side width-direction moving body 209 can be fixed so as not to move respectively by the locking means, they can be fixed at arbitrary positions in the width direction.

[0095] An upper one-side guide rod 213 is provided on the upper one-side width-direction moving body 208 toward the upstream side, and an upper one-side conveyance-direction moving body 214 is provided on the upper one-side guide rod 213 so as to be movable in the conveyance direction. An upper other-side guide rod 215 is provided on the upper other-side width-direction moving body 209 toward the upstream side, and an upper other-side conveyance-direction moving body 216 is provided on the upper other-side guide rod 215 so as to be movable in the conveyance direction. Lock bolts 218 with levers are respectively screwed into the upper one-side conveyance-direction moving body 214 and the upper other-side conveyance-direction moving body 216. By tightening the lock bolts 218 with levers, they are fixed so as not to move, and by loosening them, they can move, thus constituting a locking means. The locking means is not limited to this configuration and can be of various configurations.

[0096] The upper one-side conveyance-direction moving body 214 and the upper other-side conveyance-direction moving body 216 are movable in the conveyance direction and can be fixed so as not to move respectively by the locking means, so they can be fixed at arbitrary positions in the conveyance direction. On the other side of the one-side upper conveying-direction moving body 214, a one-side upper collecting roller mounting portion 220 is provided facing the other side. For example, the lower part on the other side of the one-side upper conveying-direction moving body 214 has a shape protruding toward the other side, and the protruding portion is the one-side upper collecting roller mounting portion 220. However, it is not limited to this, and a one-side upper collecting roller mounting member may be fixed to the other side of the one-side upper conveying-direction moving body 214 to serve as the one-side upper collecting roller mounting portion 220.

[0097] On the one side of the other-side upper conveying-direction moving body 216, an other-side upper collecting roller mounting portion 221 is provided facing the one side. For example, the lower part on the one side of the other-side upper conveying-direction moving body 216 has a shape protruding toward the one side, and the protruding portion is the other-side upper collecting roller mounting portion 221. However, it is not limited to this, and an other-side upper collecting roller mounting member may be fixed to the one side of the other-side upper conveying-direction moving body 216 to serve as the other-side upper collecting roller mounting portion 221. The one-side upper collecting roller mounting portion 220 and the other-side upper collecting roller mounting portion 221 face each other in the width direction. In the central portion in the width direction of the upper frame 201, a valley guide mounting frame 300 is provided facing the upstream side. On both sides in the width direction of the upper frame 201, pressing member mounting frames 222 are provided facing the upstream side. A pressing member mounting body 61B is movably provided in the conveying direction on the pressing member mounting frame 222, and the pressing member mounting body 61B can be fixed by a fixing bolt 61C so as not to move in the conveying direction.

[0098] The lower frame 202 is a hook-shaped long member in which a horizontal plate 224 is provided at the lower part of a vertical plate 223 facing the upstream side. The vertical plate 223 is attached to the upstream side surface of the lower frame 39E on the lower side, and a rail portion 225 is continuously provided in the width direction facing the upstream side on the vertical plate 223. A one-side slider 226 and an other-side slider 227 are movably provided in the width direction on the rail portion 225. A one-side lower width-direction moving body 228 is provided on the one-side slider 226 facing the upstream side, and an other-side lower width-direction moving body 229 is provided on the other-side slider 227 facing the upstream side. The one-side lower-width-direction moving body 228 and the other-side lower-width-direction moving body 229 are movable in the width direction along the rail part 225.

[0099] On the one-side lower-width-direction moving body 228, a one-side lower guide rod 230 is provided toward the upstream side, and on the one-side lower guide rod 230, a one-side lower conveyance-direction moving body 231 is provided so as to be movable in the conveyance direction. On the other-side lower-width-direction moving body 229, an other-side lower guide rod 232 is provided toward the upstream side, and on the other-side lower guide rod 232, an other-side lower conveyance-direction moving body 233 is provided so as to be movable in the conveyance direction. Lever-attached lock bolts 235 are respectively screwed onto the one-side lower conveyance-direction moving body 231 and the other-side lower conveyance-direction moving body 233. By tightening the lever-attached lock bolts 235, they are fixed so as not to move, and by loosening them, they can move, thus constituting locking means. The locking means is not limited to this configuration and can be of various configurations. The one-side lower conveyance-direction moving body 231 and the other-side upper conveyance-direction moving body 233 are movable in the conveyance direction and can be respectively fixed so as not to move by the locking means, so they can be fixed at arbitrary conveyance-direction positions. On the other side of the one-side lower conveyance-direction moving body 231, a one-side lower collecting roller mounting part 236 is provided toward the other side. For example, the upper part on the other side of the one-side lower conveyance-direction moving body 231 has a shape protruding toward the other side, and the protruding part is the one-side lower collecting roller mounting part 236. It is not limited to this, and a one-side upper collecting roller mounting member may be fixed to the other side of the one-side lower conveyance-direction moving body 231 to serve as the one-side lower collecting roller mounting part 236.

[0100] On the one side of the other-side lower conveyance-direction moving body 233, an other-side lower collecting roller mounting part 237 is provided toward the one side. For example, the upper part on the one side of the other-side lower conveyance-direction moving body 233 has a shape protruding toward the one side, and the protruding part is the other-side lower collecting roller mounting part 237. It is not limited to this, and an other-side upper collecting roller mounting member may be fixed to the one side of the other-side lower conveyance-direction moving body 233 to serve as the other-side lower collecting roller mounting part 237. The one-side lower collecting roller mounting portion 236 and the other-side lower collecting roller mounting portion 237 face each other in the width direction.

[0101] One-side connecting member 238 is attached across one side surface of the one-side upper conveyance-direction moving body 214 and one side surface of the one-side lower conveyance-direction moving body 231. The one-side upper conveyance-direction moving body 214 and the one-side lower conveyance-direction moving body 231 move synchronously in the width direction and the conveyance direction. A handle 239 is provided on one side surface of the one-side connecting member 238. By holding this handle 239, the one-side upper conveyance-direction moving body 214 and the one-side lower conveyance-direction moving body 231 can be moved in the width direction and the conveyance direction. The other-side connecting member 240 is attached across the other side surface of the other-side upper conveyance-direction moving body 216 and the other side surface of the other-side lower conveyance-direction moving body 233. The other-side upper conveyance-direction moving body 216 and the other-side lower conveyance-direction moving body 233 move synchronously in the width direction and the conveyance direction. A handle 241 is provided on the other side surface of the other-side connecting member 240. By holding this handle 241, the other-side upper conveyance-direction moving body 216 and the other-side lower conveyance-direction moving body 233 can be moved in the width direction and the conveyance direction.

[0102] One-side brush frame 63A of side brush 62 is attached to the one-side connecting member 238. One-side brush frame 63A has a U shape formed by a vertical member 242, an upper horizontal member 243, and a lower horizontal member 244. The vertical member 242 is pivotable in the width direction on the one-side connecting member 238 by a hinge 245, and the upper horizontal member 243 and the lower horizontal member 244 are attached so as to face the conveyance direction. A plurality of brush mounting members 246 are provided on the upper horizontal member 243 and the lower horizontal member 244. A plate 247 is fixed to the one-side connecting member 238. The plate 247 has an arcuate hole 248 centered on the rotation center of the hinge 245. A bolt with a handle 249 is screwed into the vertical member 242 through this hole 248. When the bolt with a handle 249 is tightened, the one-side brush frame 63A is fixed so as not to rotate, and when loosened, it can rotate.

[0103] The other brush frame 63B of the side brush 62 has the same shape as the one - side brush frame 63A and is attached to the other - side connecting member 240 in the same way as the one - side brush frame 63A. According to this configuration, by rotating the one - side brush frame 63A and the other - side brush frame 63B, the angle between the one - side brush frame 63A and the other - side brush frame 63B can be arbitrarily adjusted. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 13, the distance in the width direction between the one - side side brush 62A attached to the one - side brush frame 63A and the other - side side brush 62B attached to the other - side brush frame 63B can be adjusted.

[0104] The pressing member 61 is attached to the converging portion frame 200 as shown in FIG. 15. A plate - shaped vertical member 61D is attached downward to a pressing - member attachment body 61B provided on the pressing - member attachment frame 222, and the pressing member 61 is attached to the lower part of the vertical member 61D. By moving the pressing - member attachment body 61B along the pressing - member attachment frame 222 in the conveyance direction, the pressing member 61 moves in the conveyance direction, so that the position of the pressing member 61 in the conveyance direction can be adjusted.

[0105] The converging roller 64 is attached to the converging portion frame 200 as shown in FIGS. 13 and 15. A rotation support shaft 250 is attached across the one - side upper converging - roller attachment portion 220 of the one - side upper conveyance - direction moving body 214 and the one - side lower converging - roller attachment portion 236 of the one - side lower conveyance - direction moving body 231, and a one - side converging roller 64A is rotatably attached near the upper part of the rotation support shaft 250. A rotation support shaft 250 is attached across the other - side upper converging - roller attachment portion 221 of the other - side upper conveyance - direction moving body 216 and the other - side lower converging - roller attachment portion 237 of the other - side lower conveyance - direction moving body 233, and a other - side converging roller 64B is rotatably attached near the upper part of the rotation support shaft 250.

[0106] Since the one-sided brush frame 63A is attached to the one-sided connecting member 238, when the one-sided upper conveyance-direction moving body 214 and the one-sided lower conveyance-direction moving body 231 move in the conveyance direction, the one-sided collecting roller 64A and the one-sided brush frame 63A move in the conveyance direction. Therefore, the operation of moving the one-sided collecting roller 64A and the one-sided side brush 62A in the conveyance direction is simple, and the amount of movement in the conveyance direction is the same. Since the other-sided brush frame 63B is attached to the other-sided connecting member 240, when the other-sided upper conveyance-direction moving body 216 and the other-sided lower conveyance-direction moving body 233 move in the conveyance direction, the other-sided collecting roller 64B and the other-sided brush frame 63B move in the conveyance direction. Therefore, the operation of moving the other-sided collecting roller 64B and the other-sided side brush 62B in the conveyance direction is simple, and the amount of movement in the conveyance direction is the same. Therefore, the positions of the side brush 62 and the collecting roller 64 in the conveyance direction can be adjusted simply and accurately according to the width alignment state of the multilayer film 10.

[0107] The air-bleeding brush 65 is attached to the converging portion frame 200 as shown in FIGS. 13 and 15. The one-sided air-bleeding brush 65A is attached to the mounting plate 65C, and by attaching the mounting plate 65C across the one-sided upper width-direction moving body 208 and the one-sided lower width-direction moving body 228, the one-sided air-bleeding brush 65A is attached facing the other side. The other-sided air-bleeding brush 65B is attached to the mounting plate 65C, and by attaching the mounting plate 65C across the other-sided upper width-direction moving body 209 and the other-sided lower width-direction moving body 229, the other-sided air-bleeding brush 65B is attached facing the one side.

[0108] When the one-sided upper width-direction moving body 208 and the one-sided lower width-direction moving body 228 move in the width direction, the one-sided air-bleeding brush 65A moves in the width direction, and at the same time, the one-sided side brush 62A and the one-sided collecting roller 64A move in the width direction. Therefore, the operation of moving the one-sided air-bleeding brush 65A, the one-sided side brush 62A, and the one-sided collecting roller 64A in the width direction is simple and the amount of movement is the same. When the other upper-width-direction moving body 209 and the other lower-width-direction moving body 229 move in the width direction, the other air-bleeding brush 65B moves in the width direction, and the other side brush 62B and the other collecting roller 64B move in the width direction. Therefore, the operation of moving the other air-bleeding brush 65B, the other side brush 62B, and the other collecting roller 64B in the width direction is simple, and the moving amounts in the width direction are the same.

[0109] Therefore, the intervals in the width direction between the one-side side brush 62A and the other-side side brush 62B, the intervals in the width direction between the one-side collecting roller 64A and the other-side collecting roller 64B, and the intervals in the width direction between the one-side air-bleeding brush 65A and the other-side air-bleeding brush 65B can be easily and accurately adjusted according to the width-aligning state of the multilayer film 10.

[0110] The valley guide will be described with reference to FIGS. 19 to 21. FIG. 19 is a side view of the valley guide, FIG. 20 is a top view of the valley guide, and FIG. 21 is a front view of the upstream side of the guide portion. As shown in FIGS. 19 and 20, a first support 301 is rotatably attached to the upstream side portion of the valley guide attachment frame 300 in the conveying direction. The first support 301 includes a narrow and long plate-shaped main body 302, horizontal pieces 303 provided at both longitudinal ends thereof, a mounting portion 304 provided on the downstream side surface of the main body 302, and a rail portion 305 provided on the upstream side surface. By rotatably connecting the brackets 306 provided on both side surfaces of the valley guide attachment frame 300 and the mounting portion 304 with a rotating shaft 307 in the width direction, the first support 301 is rotatably attached to the upstream side.

[0111] The first support 301 is applied with a rotational force (torque) that rotates clockwise by a tension spring 308. The first support 301 rotates clockwise about the rotating shaft 307, and a stopper 309 attached to the mounting portion 304 contacts the upper surface of the valley guide attachment frame 300 and is maintained in the vertical posture shown by the solid line. The tension spring 308 is attached across the upper portion of the first support 301 and a spring attachment member 310 provided on a bracket 36A of the upper conveyor rotation support portion 36. When a counterclockwise rotational force greater than the rotational force of the tension spring 308 acts on the first support 301, the first support 301 rotates counterclockwise. When it rotates to the position shown by the two-dot chain line, the stopper 309 contacts the stopper detection device 311 provided on the valley guide mounting frame 300.

[0112] A second support 312 is provided on the first support 301 so as to be movable longitudinally along the rail portion 305. The second support 312 can be fixed by a locking means (not shown) so as not to move at an arbitrary position, and the longitudinal position can be arbitrarily adjusted. As the locking means, a lock bolt is screwed into the second support 312, and the lock bolt is tightened by a lever or the like and pressed against the rail portion 305 to lock it so that it does not move. When it is loosened, it separates from the rail portion 305 and becomes movable. The moving amount of the second support 312 is, for example, about 20 cm. A scale plate (scale) (not shown) is provided on the rail portion 305, and a pointer (not shown) is provided on the second support 312 so that the position of the second support 312 can be confirmed.

[0113] A guide attachment body 320 is attached to the second support 312 so as to be movable in the vertical direction. For example, the second support 312 is in a box shape with an open upstream side surface formed by an upper surface plate, a lower surface plate, both side plates, and a back plate. Two shafts 313 are provided at intervals in the width direction across the upper surface plate and the lower surface plate. With the two shafts 313 removed, a part of the guide attachment body 320 is inserted into the second support 312, and the two shafts 313 are continuously inserted into the upper surface plate, the guide attachment body 320, and the lower surface plate, and the guide attachment body 320 is attached so as to be movable in the vertical direction along the two shafts 313. This attachment is not limited to this, and various attachment configurations such as a known linear motion mechanism can be adopted. The vertical movement amount of the guide attachment body 320 is, for example, 2 to 5 cm.

[0114] The guide 111 is in the shape of a roller and is rotatably provided at the tip of the guide holder 112. The base end of the guide holder 112 is attached to the guide attachment body 320 so as to be in contact with the inside of the valley fold 12B of the multilayer film 12 during the process of width alignment of the guide 111, and rotates following the conveyance of the multilayer film 12 during the width alignment process. The tip of the guide holder 112 is on the lower side with respect to the conveyance surface, and the base end is on the upper side with respect to the conveyance surface. The guide 111 is provided for each valley fold 12B of the multilayer film 12 during the width alignment process. In the embodiment of the present invention where there are four magnet conveyors 31, as shown in FIG. 20, three guides 111A on one side, 111B in the center, and 111C on the other side are provided. In FIG. 19, only the guide 111A on one side is shown for easy understanding.

[0115] As the guide 111, a roller with a member such as rubber provided on the circumference of a metal roller can be used. The guide 111A on one side is provided along the conveyance direction of the valley fold 12B-1 on one side, the guide 111B in the center is provided along the conveyance direction of the valley fold 12B-2 in the center, and the guide 111C on the other side is provided along the conveyance direction of the valley fold 12B-3 on the other side. That is, each of the guides 111A, 111B, and 111C is provided radially along the conveyance direction of each valley fold 12B. By providing such a guide 111, the multilayer film 12 during the width alignment process can be stably conveyed downstream without imposing an excessive load on the multilayer film 12 during the width alignment process.

[0116] Since the guide 111B in the center is provided along the center valley fold 12B-2, it is always located at the center in the width direction even if the position of the magnet conveyor 31 changes. Therefore, the guide holder 112-2 is fixed to the guide attachment body 320 by guide fixing means 114B such as lock bolts. The guide 111A on one side and the guide 111C on the other side need to be provided at the position of the valley fold 12B corresponding to the position of the magnet conveyor 31. For this reason, the guide holder 1112-1 of the guide 111A and the guide holder 112-3 of the guide 111C are movably provided along the arc-shaped one-sided long hole 321 and the other-sided long hole 322 formed on one side and the other side of the guide attachment body 320. The guide holder 112-1 is fixed to the guide attachment body 320 by the guide fixing means 114A at the position where the guide 111A on one side corresponds to the valley fold 12B-1 on one side. The guide holder 112-3 is fixed to the guide attachment body 320 by the guide fixing means 114C at the position where the guide 111C on the other side corresponds to the valley fold 12B-3 on the other side. It is preferable to use bolts that can be tightened manually, such as wing bolts, for the guide fixing means 114A and 114C so that they can be easily adjusted according to the position (the dimension for width adjustment) of the magnet conveyor 31.

[0117] According to this configuration, when the multi-layer film 12 in the process of being width-adjusted is being normally conveyed, the first support 301 is maintained in the vertical posture shown by the solid line in FIG. 19, and the inner surface of the valley fold 12B is conveyed while contacting the guide 111, so that a correct valley fold 12B can be obtained. Also, when the magnet conveyor 31 is moved to adjust the folding dimension, etc., the vertical position of the valley fold 12B changes. In such a case, the vertical position of the guide 111 can be adjusted by moving the second support 312 up and down with respect to the first support 301 so as to contact the inner surface of the valley fold 12B.

[0118] Also, the guide attachment body 320 is in the lower position due to its own weight and can move upward when an upward force acts. Therefore, when the multi-layer film 12 in the process of being width-adjusted is being conveyed, the guide holder 112 is pushed up together with the guide 111 in response to the rise of the formation position of the valley fold 12B, and no impact is applied to the valley fold 12B. That is, the configuration in which the guide attachment body 320 moves up and down with respect to the second support 312 is a buffer mechanism that absorbs the impact on the valley fold 12B.

[0119] The above description is for the case where the conveyance of the multilayer film 12 in the width-aligning process is normal. The case where a problem occurs in the conveyance of the multilayer film 12 in the width-aligning process will be described. When there is a conveyance defect in the multilayer film 12 in the width-aligning process during conveyance, a large load (overload) acting toward the downstream side more than in the case of normal conveyance is applied to the guide 111. When the force that rotates the first support 301 counterclockwise due to this load is greater than the force that rotates clockwise due to the tensile force of the tension spring 308, the first support 301 rotates counterclockwise and assumes a fallen posture in which the upper part shown by the two-dot chain line in FIG. 19 moves to the upstream side. At this time, the stopper 309 comes into contact with the stopper detection device 311, and the stopper detection device 311 detects that the first support 301 has moved to the fallen posture position and sends a detection signal to a control device (not shown).

[0120] When the detection signal of the stopper detection device 311 is sent to a control device (not shown), the control device (not shown) determines that there is a conveyance defect and automatically stops the conveyance of the multilayer film 12 in the width-aligning process. The magnitude of the load acting on the guide 111 regarded as a conveyance defect can be adjusted by changing the tensile force of the tension spring 308 or the attachment position of the stopper detection device 311 in the conveyance direction or the vertical direction. In the embodiment, the stopper detection device 311 is attached to the upper surface of the valley guide attachment frame 300 so as to be adjustable along the conveyance direction or the vertical direction. By providing the valley guide 66 having this configuration, the attachment position of the guide 111 can be easily adjusted according to the dimension of width alignment, and the multilayer film 12 in the width-aligning process can be stably conveyed to the downstream side without applying an excessive load to the multilayer film 12 in the width-aligning process. Therefore, it is possible to prevent defects such as wrinkles and loss of posture from occurring in the multilayer film 12 in the width-aligning process and perform width alignment. Furthermore, since a conveyance defect can be detected and the conveyance can be automatically stopped, it is possible to prevent the conveyance from being performed in a state where a problem has occurred and the multilayer film 10 from being wasted.

[0121] Based on FIGS. 22 and 23, the rotary conveyance unit 4 will be described. FIG. 22 is a side view of the rotary conveyance unit, and FIG. 23 is a top view of the rotary conveyance unit. As shown in FIGS. 22 and 23, the rotary conveyance unit 4 includes a 90-degree twist conveyor device composed of an upstream roller 41 of the rotary conveyance unit, a downstream roller 46 of the rotary conveyance unit, one-side belt member 43A, the other-side belt member 43B, and a pressure roller 47. The rotary conveyance unit 4 conveys while changing the orientation of one-side surface 13A of the width-adjusted multilayer film 13 (in the embodiment, it is the width-adjusted completed multilayer film 19, but it is assumed to be the width-adjusted multilayer film 13) for post-treatment in the post-treatment unit 5. Here, the surface parallel to the installation surface 1A of the folding machine 1 and facing the upper side in FIG. 22 is the upper surface, and the surface parallel to the installation surface 1A and facing the lower side in FIG. 22 is the lower surface.

[0122] The post-treatment unit 5 in the embodiment is configured to perform post-treatment in a state where one-side surface 13A of the width-adjusted multilayer film 13 faces the upper surface (lateral posture). For this reason, the rotary conveyance unit 4 is configured to rotate and convey the width-adjusted multilayer film 13 90 degrees counterclockwise as viewed from the upstream side in the conveyance direction so that one-side surface 13A of the width-adjusted multilayer film 13 faces the upper surface. The width-adjusted multilayer film 13 conveyed from the width-adjusting device 3 to the rotary conveyance unit 4 is conveyed in a state where the lower end face 13D of the width-adjusted multilayer film 13 faces the lower side of the folding machine 1 (see FIGS. 3 and 6), and the upper end face 13C of the width-adjusted multilayer film 13 faces the upper side of the folding machine 1 (see FIGS. 3 and 6) (vertical posture).

[0123] The upstream roller 41 of the rotary conveyance unit is provided on the upstream side of the rotary conveyance unit 4 and is composed of one-side upstream roller 41A of the rotary conveyance unit and the other-side upstream roller 41B of the rotary conveyance unit. The direction of the rotation axis is the direction (vertical direction) toward the installation surface 1A of the folding machine 1. The one-side upstream roller 41A of the rotary conveyance unit is provided on the one-side surface 13A side of the width-adjusted multilayer film 13, and the other-side upstream roller 41B of the rotary conveyance unit is provided on the other-side surface 13B side of the width-adjusted multilayer film 13. The downstream roller 46 of the rotary conveyor section is provided on the downstream side of the rotary conveyor section 4, and is composed of an upper-side downstream roller 46A and a lower-side downstream roller 46B of the rotary conveyor section. The direction of the rotation axis is the direction (lateral direction) facing the paper surface of Fig. 22. The downstream roller 46 of the rotary conveyor section is provided with an upper-side downstream roller 46A and a lower-side downstream roller 46B at positions overlapping when viewed from the installation surface 1A of the folding machine 1.

[0124] Between the upstream roller 41 of the rotary conveyor section and the downstream roller 46 of the rotary conveyor section, one-side belt members 43A and the other-side belt members 43B are wound. The one-side belt member 43A is wound between the upstream roller 41A of the one-side rotary conveyor section and the upper-side downstream roller 46A of the rotary conveyor section. The other-side belt member 43B is wound between the upstream roller 41B of the other-side rotary conveyor section and the lower-side downstream roller 46B of the rotary conveyor section. That is, the one-side belt member 43A and the other-side belt member 43B are provided with a 90-degree twist counterclockwise when viewed from the upstream side in the conveying direction. The width-adjusted multilayer film 13 is conveyed downstream while being sandwiched between the one-side belt member 43A and the other-side belt member 43B and being rotated 90 degrees counterclockwise when viewed from the upstream side in the conveying direction along the one-side belt member 43A and the other-side belt member 43B.

[0125] Since the one-side belt member 43A and the other-side belt member 43B can sandwich all the both side surfaces of the width-adjusted multilayer film 13 during conveyance, while preventing the width-adjusted multilayer film 13 from collapsing, the orientation of one side surface 13A of the width-adjusted multilayer film 13 can be rotated. Thus, since the one-side belt member 43A and the other-side belt member 43B are twisted by 90 degrees, the rotary conveyor section 4 is provided with a 90-degree twist conveyor device. The interval in the width direction between the upstream roller 41 of the rotary conveyor section, the upstream roller 41A of the one-side rotary conveyor section and the upstream roller 41B of the other-side rotary conveyor section, and the interval in the vertical direction between the downstream roller 46 of the rotary conveyor section, the upper-side downstream roller 46A of the rotary conveyor section and the lower-side downstream roller 46B of the rotary conveyor section are each adjustable.

[0126] By adjusting the intervals between the upstream roller 41 of the rotary conveying unit and the downstream roller 46 of the rotary conveying unit, the force for sandwiching the multilayer film 13 that is width-adjusted by the one-side belt member 43A and the other-side belt member 43B can be adjusted. The width-adjusted multilayer film 13 is more likely to have problems during conveyance compared to a single-layer film that is not folded. However, according to the conditions such as the width, thickness, material, and the state between each layer of the width-adjusted multilayer film 13, the force for sandwiching with the one-side belt member 43A and the other-side belt member 43B can be adjusted, so it can be conveyed while being sandwiched with an appropriate force. According to this configuration, while preventing the width-adjusted multilayer film 13 from collapsing, the air between adjacent mountain folds and between adjacent valley folds can be sufficiently removed, and the orientation of one side surface 13A of the width-adjusted multilayer film 13 can be rotated by 90 degrees.

[0127] Adjacent to the downstream side of the upstream roller 41 of the rotary conveying unit, a first auxiliary roller 42 is provided. The first auxiliary roller 42 is composed of a one-side first auxiliary roller 42A on the side of the one-side upstream roller 41A of the one-side rotary conveying unit and a second-side first auxiliary roller 42B on the side of the second-side upstream roller 41B of the second-side rotary conveying unit. When the one-side upstream roller 41A of the one-side rotary conveying unit and the second-side upstream roller 41B of the second-side rotary conveying unit sandwich the width-adjusted multilayer film 13 via the one-side belt member 43A and the second-side belt member 43B, it is provided to assist the force for sandwiching the width-adjusted multilayer film 13. Adjacent to the upstream side of the downstream roller 46 of the rotary conveying unit, a second auxiliary roller 45 is provided. The second auxiliary roller 45 is composed of an upper-side second auxiliary roller 45A on the side of the upper-side downstream roller 46A of the upper-side rotary conveying unit and a lower-side second auxiliary roller 45B on the side of the lower-side downstream roller 46B of the lower-side rotary conveying unit. When the upper-side downstream roller 46A of the upper-side rotary conveying unit and the lower-side downstream roller 46B of the lower-side rotary conveying unit sandwich the width-adjusted multilayer film 13 via the one-side belt member 43A and the second-side belt member 43B, it is provided to assist the force for sandwiching the width-adjusted multilayer film 13.

[0128] By reliably sandwiching the width-aligned multilayer film 13 with the first auxiliary roller 42 and the second auxiliary roller 45, it is possible to sufficiently discharge the air between adjacent mountain folds and between adjacent valley folds while preventing the width-aligned multilayer film 13 from collapsing. The interval in the width direction between the one-side first auxiliary roller 42A and the other-side first auxiliary roller 42B of the first auxiliary roller 42, and the interval in the vertical direction between the upper-side second auxiliary roller 45A and the lower-side second auxiliary roller 45B of the second auxiliary roller 45 can be arbitrarily adjusted in the same manner as the upstream-side roller 41 and the downstream-side roller 46 of the rotary conveyance unit. In the embodiment, since the force for sandwiching the width-aligned multilayer film 13 with the one-side belt member 43A and the other-side belt member 43B is adjusted to gradually increase from the upstream side to the downstream side, it is possible to sufficiently discharge the air between adjacent mountain folds and between adjacent valley folds while preventing the width-aligned multilayer film 13 from collapsing.

[0129] A crimping roller 47 including a drive roller 47A and a nip roller 47B for crimping the width-aligned multilayer film 13 may be provided downstream of the downstream-side roller 46 of the rotary conveyance unit. The crimping roller 47 applies pressure to the width-aligned multilayer film 13 to crimp it so as not to collapse, thereby preventing the width-aligned multilayer film 13 from collapsing during conveyance and sufficiently discharging the air between adjacent mountain folds and between adjacent valley folds. The configuration of the rotary conveyance unit 4 is not limited to the above, and can be arbitrarily configured according to the processing on the downstream side in the conveyance direction. Also, the rotary conveyance unit 4 may not be provided depending on the processing on the downstream side in the conveyance direction.

[0130] In the above-described embodiment, an example is shown in which one side surface 13A of the offset multi-layer film 13 is conveyed facing upward, but the other side surface 13B of the offset multi-layer film 13 may be conveyed facing upward. In this case, the one-side belt member 43A is wound between the upstream roller 41A of the one-side rotary conveying section and the downstream roller 46B of the lower-side rotary conveying section, and the other-side belt member 43B is wound between the upstream roller 41B of the other-side rotary conveying section and the downstream roller 46A of the upper-side rotary conveying section.

[0131] A pair of rollers for assisting the conveyance of the multi-layer film 13 conveyed by the one-side belt member 43A and the other-side belt member 43B may be provided between the upstream roller 41 of the rotary conveying section and the downstream roller 46 of the rotary conveying section. In the embodiment, the first intermediate roller 44A and the second intermediate roller 44B are provided as the rollers for assistance. The rollers for assistance are not limited to this configuration, and the number and position of the rollers to be provided are arbitrary. The first intermediate roller 44A and the second intermediate roller 44B are each provided so as to hold the multi-layer film 13 offset via the one-side belt member 43A and the other-side belt member 43B, and rotate along with the driving of the one-side belt member 43A and the other-side belt member 43B.

[0132] The angles of the rotating shafts of the rollers to which the first intermediate roller 44A and the second intermediate roller 44B are attached are sequentially different so as to change from the angle of the rotating shaft of the upstream roller 41 of the rotary conveying section to the angle of the rotating shaft of the downstream roller 46 of the rotary conveying section when viewed from the upstream side in the conveying direction, and are provided while rotating 90 degrees counterclockwise toward the downstream roller 46 of the rotary conveying section so that the surfaces along the one-side belt member 43A and the other-side belt member 43B coincide with the rotating shafts. The angles of the first intermediate roller 44A and the second intermediate roller 44B are adjustable, and the angles can be adjusted according to the conveying state of the offset multi-layer film 13. According to this configuration, since the manner of change in the angle of the one-side belt member 43A and the other-side belt member 43B when viewed from the upstream side in the conveying direction can be adjusted, it is possible to prevent the offset multi-layer film 13 from collapsing during the conveying process.

[0133] Based on FIG. 24, the configuration of the post-processing unit will be described. FIG. 24 is a side view of the post-processing unit. As shown in FIG. 24, the post-processing unit 5 includes a post-processing unit drive device 51, a post-processing unit drive device holding unit 52, a lifting unit 53, a discharge-side cutter mechanism 54, a head swing device 55, and an operation panel 58. The width-adjusted multilayer film 13 conveyed from the rotary conveyance unit 4 is conveyed to the post-processing unit 5 in a state where one side surface 13A of the width-adjusted multilayer film 13 faces upward with respect to the conveyance surface. The post-processing unit drive device 51 includes a post-processing unit drive roller 51A and a post-processing unit nip roller 51B. The post-processing unit drive roller 51A and the post-processing unit nip roller 51B are long rollers continuous in the width direction of the width-adjusted multilayer film 13.

[0134] The post-processing unit nip roller 51B is controlled to be in a nip position where it nips the width-adjusted multilayer film 13 with the post-processing unit drive roller 51A and a non-nip position where it is separated from the post-processing unit drive roller 51A and does not nip the width-adjusted multilayer film 13 according to the operating conditions of the folding machine 1. When conveying the width-adjusted multilayer film 13, the post-processing unit nip roller 51B is set to the nip position, and when the conveyance of the width-adjusted multilayer film 13 is completed, the post-processing unit nip roller 51B is set to the non-nip position. Two sets of the post-processing unit drive devices 51 are provided on the post-processing unit drive device holding unit 52.

[0135] In the embodiment, since the width-adjusted multilayer film 13 conveyed by the post-processing unit 5 is folded and has a large weight per unit area, two sets of the post-processing unit drive devices 51 are provided to obtain sufficient conveying force. However, the number of the post-processing unit drive devices 51 may be arbitrarily changed. The post - processing unit drive device holder 52 is provided on the lifting unit 53, and the drive device (not shown) of the lifting unit 53 enables the post - processing unit drive device holder 52 to move in the vertical direction with respect to the conveyance surface. For example, when conveying the width - adjusted multilayer film 13, in order to perform post - processing with the later - described shaking device 55, the post - processing unit drive device holder 52 is moved to an upper position so that the multilayer film 13 width - adjusted from above to below with respect to the conveyance surface can be conveyed. When preparing for the operation or performing maintenance of the folding machine 1, the post - processing unit drive device holder 52 is moved to a lower position.

[0136] Here, the upper position is the position where the post - processing unit drive device holder 52 is shown in FIG. 24. The lower position is the position where the width - adjusted multilayer film 13 of the rotary conveyance unit 4 is discharged (the position facing the discharge part of the crimping roller 47 provided on the downstream side of the rotary conveyance unit 4), and the position where the width - adjusted multilayer film 13 is supplied to the post - processing unit drive device 51 is on the same plane. For example, when preparing for the operation of the folding machine 1, the post - processing unit drive device holder 52 is set to the lower position, the post - processing unit nip roller 51B is set to the non - nip position, the width - adjusted multilayer film 13 sent out from the rotary conveyance unit 4 is attached between the post - processing unit drive roller 51A and the post - processing unit nip roller 51B, the post - processing unit nip roller 51B is switched to the nip position, and while conveying from the rotary conveyance unit 4, the post - processing unit drive device holder 52 is moved to the upper position, so that the post - processing with the shaking device 55 can be performed, and the folding machine 1 can be put into an operable state.

[0137] The width - adjusted multilayer film 13 sent out from the post - processing unit drive device 51 of the post - processing unit drive device holder 52 at the upper position is conveyed along the conveyance guides and rollers by its own weight and sent toward the shaking device 55. According to this configuration, even in a configuration where the multilayer film 13 width - adjusted from above is conveyed by the lifting unit 53, the preparation for the operation of the folding machine 1 can be performed at the lower position, so that the operation preparation can be easily performed. The discharge side cutter mechanism 54 is provided on the downstream side of the post-processing unit drive device 51 and on the upstream side of the shaking device 55, and is for cutting the width-aligned multilayer film 13 in the width direction. The discharge side cutter mechanism 54 has a configuration including a known cutter blade or the like, and cuts the width-aligned multilayer film 13 by reciprocating in the width direction of the width-aligned multilayer film 13.

[0138] A receiving member similar to the supply unit cutter contact plate 22B of the supply unit cutter mechanism 22 may be provided facing the cutter blade of the discharge side cutter mechanism 54. The discharge side cutter mechanism 54 is attached so as to be reciprocally movable on a guide (not shown) provided between one side frame 59A of the post-processing unit 5 and the other side frame 59B of the post-processing unit 5 shown in FIG. 6. The discharge side cutter mechanism 54 may be configured to automatically reciprocate for cutting according to the cutting timing described later, or may be configured to be reciprocated manually for cutting. When the discharge side cutter mechanism 54 automatically cuts, a drive device and a control device for driving the discharge side cutter mechanism 54 are further provided.

[0139] The shaking device 55 has the shaking device supply side portion 56 to which the width-aligned multilayer film 13 is supplied as a fulcrum, and the shaking device discharge side portion 57 from which the width-aligned multilayer film 13 is discharged reciprocates back and forth with respect to the conveyance direction, thereby folding the width-aligned multilayer film 13 and discharging it as the product 14. Two shaking device discharge side guide rollers 57A that respectively contact both sides of the width-aligned multilayer film 13 are provided on the shaking device discharge side portion 57. The lifting portion 53, the discharge side cutter mechanism 54, the shaking device 55, and the operation panel 58 are provided in the post-processing unit 5 via one side frame 59A of the post-processing unit 5 and the other side frame 59B of the post-processing unit 5.

[0140] Product 14 is discharged onto the carriage 91. The carriage 91 is used by the user to transport the product 14 for subsequent processes such as shipping. The configuration of the post-processing unit 5 is not limited to this example, and instead of the carriage 91, any configuration can be adopted, such as providing a transport device that transports the product 14 discharged to another device. In the embodiment of FIG. 24, the configuration of the shaking device 55 that forms the product 14 folded in the transport direction is shown as the post-processing device 5, but the configuration is not limited to this, and any configuration can be adopted, such as a delivery device that transports the multi-layer film 13 that has been width-adjusted to another device.

[0141] The timing of cutting by the supply unit cutting mechanism 22 and the discharge side cutting mechanism 54 when the multi-layer film 13 that has been width-adjusted using the long multi-layer film 10 is made into a product 14 of an arbitrary length by the folding machine 1 of the present invention will be described. With the folding machine 1, products 14 of any size can be continuously produced. For example, two 20 m products and two 30 m products are continuously manufactured, and assuming the distance between the supply unit cutting mechanism 22 and the discharge side cutting mechanism 54 is 10 m, an example of the cutting timing is shown below. Here, the total length of all the products to be manufactured is 100 m. The multi-layer film 13 that has been width-adjusted is attached to the aforementioned post-processing unit drive device 51, and the continuous production of products is started with the state where the post-processing unit drive device holding unit 52 is positioned above as the reference state at the start (the transport amount L is 0 m).

[0142] The cutting timing is determined by calculating the transport amount from the rotation amount of an arbitrary roller. In the embodiment, the transport amount is calculated from the rotation amount of the post-processing unit drive roller 51A. The cutting of normal products is performed by the discharge side cutting mechanism 54, and only the cutting of the rear end of the last product (the second of the 30 m products) continuously manufactured is performed by the supply unit cutting mechanism 22. That is, for the first product (20 m), when the transport amount L detected after starting the transport from the reference state at the start reaches 20 m, the transport of the folding machine 1 is stopped, and cutting is performed by the discharge side cutting mechanism 54. When the conveyed amount L detected from the starting reference state reaches 40 m for the second product (20 m), the conveyance of the folding machine 1 is stopped, and cutting is performed by the discharge side cutter mechanism 54. When the conveyed amount L detected from the starting reference state reaches 70 m for the third product (30 m), the conveyance of the folding machine 1 is stopped, and cutting is performed by the discharge side cutter mechanism 54.

[0143] When the conveyed amount L detected from the starting reference state reaches 90 m for the fourth product (30 m), that is, when the conveyed amount L becomes the value obtained by subtracting the value of the interval (10 m) between the supply unit cutter mechanism 22 and the discharge side cutter mechanism 54 from the total length (100 m) of all the products to be manufactured, the conveyance of the folding machine 1 is stopped, and cutting is performed by the supply unit cutter mechanism 22. After cutting by the supply unit cutter mechanism 22, the supply unit 2 is stopped so that the multilayer film 10 upstream of the supply unit cutter mechanism 22 is not conveyed. The downstream side of the multilayer film 10 cut by the supply unit cutter mechanism 22 is conveyed through the width alignment device 3 and the rotary conveyance unit 4, and discharged as the product 14 by the post-treatment unit 5. At this time, since the rear end of the fourth product has been cut by the supply unit cutter mechanism 22, the discharge side cutter mechanism 54 does not perform cutting.

[0144] Conventionally, the film left on the folding machine 1 for a long time was not used as a product and was discarded as waste. However, by controlling the cutting timing by properly using the supply unit cutter mechanism 22 and the discharge side cutter mechanism 54 as described above, it is possible to prevent waste from occurring by leaving the multilayer film 10 downstream of the supply unit cutter mechanism 22 after the production of the product. Particularly in the case of a film used for a large agricultural vinyl house with a wide width, since the price per unit length is high, the effect of preventing waste is significant. Waste is a printing term and refers to, for example, a base material (such as paper or film) that becomes waste during the process of making a product.

[0145] The difference in position between the roller used for detecting the conveyance amount L and the discharge-side cutter mechanism 54 is corrected during the detection of the conveyance amount L to adjust the cutting timing. For example, when the difference in position between the post-processing unit drive roller 51A used for detecting the conveyance amount L and the discharge-side cutter mechanism 54 is 50 cm, continuous production of the product is started with the conveyance amount L in the reference state at the start being set from 0 m to -0.50 m. As described above, the cutting by the supply unit cutter mechanism 22 and the discharge-side cutter mechanism 54 may be performed automatically or manually. When performing the cutting manually, when the conveyance stops at the timing of each of the above-described cuts, a cut notification may be displayed to the user on the operation panel 58. The cut notification instructs the user as to which of the supply unit cutter mechanism 22 and the discharge-side cutter mechanism 54 performs the cut. In addition to the above-described cut notification, the operation panel 58 may be used as an operation device for controlling the operation of the folding machine 1.

Description of Reference Numerals

[0146] 1... folding machine, 2... supply unit, 3... width-aligning device, 4... rotary conveyance unit, 5... post-processing unit, 6... converging unit, 10... multilayer film, 12... multilayer film in the process of being width-aligned, 12A... mountain fold portion, 12B... valley fold portion, 13... width-aligned multilayer film, 14... product, 17... converging position, 22... supply unit cutter mechanism, 23... supply unit conveyance mechanism, 27... tension roller, 28... curved guide, 30... width-aligning portion, 31... magnetic conveyor, 31A... upstream end portion (entrance) of the magnetic conveyor, 31B... downstream end portion (exit) of the magnetic conveyor, 32... upper conveyor, 33... lower conveyor, 54... discharge-side cutter mechanism, 61... pressing member, 62... side brush, 62A... one-side side brush, 62B... the other-side side brush, 64... gathering roller, 64A... one-side gathering roller, 64B... the other-side gathering roller, 65... air-bleeding brush, 65A... one-side air-bleeding brush, 65B... the other-side air-bleeding brush, 66... valley guide, 68... nip roller, 68A... one-side nip roller, 68B... the other-side nip roller, 81... steel belt, 84... chain with magnet, 90... lower conveyor mountain fold guide, 111... guide.

Claims

1. A width adjustment device that, while conveying a film, performs width adjustment by folding the film in a bellows shape with repeated mountain folds and valley folds in a width direction orthogonal to the conveying direction, wherein the width adjustment device includes at least two or more magnetic conveyors radially provided at intervals in the width direction orthogonal to the conveying direction such that the intervals gradually narrow as going downstream in the conveying direction, each magnetic conveyor includes a lower conveyor that drives an endless member having magnetic force with a driving device, and an upper conveyor that rotatably has a magnetic endless member, and the endless member of the upper conveyor is driven by driving the endless member of the lower conveyor by adsorbing the endless member of the upper conveyor with the magnetic force of the endless member of the lower conveyor, and the film is sandwiched and conveyed between the endless member of the lower conveyor and the endless member of the upper conveyor by the magnetic force of the endless member of the lower conveyor. A width adjustment device characterized by this configuration.

2. In the width adjustment device according to Claim 1, each of the magnetic conveyors has the same length in the conveying direction, is provided with a curved guide for sending the film to the inlet of the magnetic conveyor, the inlets of the respective magnetic conveyors are located on an arc centered on a convergence position, and the curved guide is curved in an arc shape centered on the convergence position. A width adjustment device.

3. In the width adjustment device according to Claim 1, each of the magnetic conveyors is a width adjustment device in which the position of the inlet can be changed in the arc direction centered on the convergence position.

4. In the width adjustment device according to Claim 1, a curved guide for sending the film to the inlet of the magnetic conveyor, and a tension roller provided upstream of the curved guide in the conveying direction, are provided, the position of the tension roller in the conveying direction can be changed with respect to the curved guide, the tension roller can be rotated in the forward and reverse directions, after adjusting the tension of the film by changing and fixing the position of the tension roller with respect to the curved guide, the tension of the film conveyed in the conveying direction is adjusted by rotating the tension roller in the forward and reverse directions. A width adjustment device having such a configuration.

5. In the width adjustment device according to Claim 1, a lower conveyor mountain fold guide is provided downstream of the lower conveyor facing downstream. A width adjustment device.

6. In the width adjustment device according to claim 1, a valley guide that guides downstream in the conveyance direction in contact with the inside of the valley fold portion of the film that is width-adjusted in a bellows shape while being folded; a detection device that detects the movement of the valley guide; comprising a width adjustment device configured such that the valley guide can move to a downstream position in the conveyance direction due to an overload from the film, and when the detection device detects the movement, the conveyance of the film is stopped.

7. In the width adjustment device according to claim 1, a converging portion is provided downstream of the magnet conveyor, the converging portion includes a pressing member in contact with the peak fold portion of the film conveyed from the magnet conveyor, side brushes in contact with both side surfaces of the film conveyed from the magnet conveyor, converging rollers in contact with both upper sides of the film conveyed from the magnet conveyor, and at least one air bleeding brush in contact with both side surfaces of the film conveyed from the magnet conveyor. A width adjustment device.

8. The width adjustment device according to claim 1, a rotary conveyance unit having a 90-degree twist conveyor device, comprising a folding machine characterized in that the rotary conveyance unit is provided downstream of the width adjustment device in the conveyance direction.

9. The width adjustment device according to claim 1, a supply unit, a post-processing unit, comprising the supply unit includes a supply unit cutter mechanism that cuts the film in a width direction orthogonal to the conveyance direction, the post-processing unit includes a discharge side cutter mechanism that cuts the film in a width direction orthogonal to the conveyance direction, when manufacturing a plurality of cut products of any size combination continuously from the film, normal cutting of the product is performed by the discharge side cutter mechanism according to the conveyance amount of the film, and control is performed such that only the cut upstream of the last product to be manufactured is performed by the supply unit cutter mechanism. The total length of the products to be continuously manufactured, the length between the supply unit cutter mechanism and the discharge side cutter mechanism, and the conveyance amount are calculated and performed. A folding machine characterized by this.

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