Package collecting and boxing system
The packaging system addresses high-speed packaging challenges by using dual conveying means and transfer robots to efficiently collect and pack packages, reducing space and complexity while maintaining operational efficiency.
Patent Information
- Application Number
- JP2024119167
- Authority / Receiving Office
- JP · JP
- Patent Type
- Applications
- Current Assignee / Owner
- Filing Date
- 2024-07-24
- Publication Date
- 2026-02-05
Smart Images
Figure 2026018102000001_ABST
Abstract
Description
[Technical Field]
[0001] The present invention relates to a packaging body assembling and packing system that collects a plurality of packaging bodies that are produced by a packaging machine and conveyed one after another, and packs the group of collected packaging bodies into a box.
[0002] Conventionally, a packaging system has been put into practical use that collects a plurality of bag packages produced one after another by a bag packaging machine such as a form-fill-seal machine and packs the collected bag packages into a box container such as a cardboard box. In such a packaging system, the conveying, collecting, transferring, and packing of the bag packages are performed sequentially according to a predetermined procedure, and various forms and structures have been devised to perform each step. That is, for conveying, a wide variety of transport forms such as conveyors have been devised, for collecting, a wide variety of collecting means such as collecting robots have been devised, and for packing, a wide variety of packing means have been devised that grasps and packs collected bag packages collectively into a box container. In this system, bag packages produced by a packaging machine and conveyed sequentially by a conveying means are collected by a collecting means, and the collected group of bag packages is grasped and packed by a packing means, thereby efficiently collecting and packing the bag packages.
[0003] As an example of such a boxing system, a cardboard boxing system has been proposed which includes, from the upstream side, a packaging machine that packages products in packaging material to produce bag packages, an upward inclined transport conveyor that transports the bag packages produced by the packaging machine, a cardboard box making machine that unfolds folded cardboard boxes and makes them into boxes, and a cardboard case that collects the bag packages that are transported and packs the bag packages in this collected state into a cardboard box (see Patent Document 1).
[0004] Fig. 6 is a side view showing an example of a conventional vertical form-fill-seal packaging machine and a boxing system disposed downstream thereof. The cardboard boxing system 50 shown in Fig. 6 is incorporated to form a bag package manufacturing and boxing line in a manner connected to a vertical form-fill-seal packaging machine 51 that discharges manufactured bag packages Bp from the bottom end. The vertical form-fill-seal packaging machine 51 is a well-known packaging machine and includes a former 52 that bends a strip-shaped packaging material Fw unwound from a packaging material roll Fr into a generally cylindrical shape, a filling tube 53 that is assembled so as to pass vertically through the former 2 and through which the product S to be packaged is fed, a vertical sealing device 54 that heat-seals both side edges of the bent, generally cylindrical, strip-shaped packaging material Fw to form a center seal (vertical seal) from the strip-shaped packaging material Fw into a cylindrical packaging material Ft, a horizontal sealing device 55 disposed below the filling tube 53 that applies end seals (horizontal seals) to the cylindrical packaging material Ft to seal the product inside a bag, and a discharge chute 56 that discharges the manufactured bag packages Bp. The vertical form-fill-seal packaging machine 51 is connected to an upward inclined transport conveyor 60, which is made up of several upward belt conveyors 61 and that lifts and transports the discharged bag packages Bp. While the bag packages Bp are being transported upward on the upward inclined transport conveyor 60, their weights are measured by a weight checker 62 and their heights are measured by a height measuring device 63. Any bag packages Bp with measurements outside the specified range are rejected from the system at this stage as defective products. The cardboard boxing system 50 is connected to the downstream end of the upward inclined transport conveyor 60.
[0005] A collecting conveying device 70 is connected horizontally to the fully elevated downstream end of the upwardly inclined conveyor 60, and the bag packages Bp conveyed by the upwardly inclined conveyor 60 are collected by the collecting conveying device 70 into a group of bag packages Gbp consisting of multiple bag packages Bp. The bag packages Gbp are, for example, a group of multiple bag packages Bp stacked like sashimi or laid flat. To collect the bag packages Bp during transport, the collecting conveying device 70 can be equipped with a direction changing device that, as a pre-processing step, attracts and rotates the bag packages Bp to change their orientation relative to the conveying direction, and a sorting device that sorts the row of bag packages Bp into multiple rows lined up horizontally relative to the conveying direction after the direction change. Immediately downstream of the collecting conveying device 70, a boxing station 71 is provided where the group of bag packages Gbp is filled into cardboard boxes C. The completed cardboard box C is transported by a box transport conveyor 73 to a box insertion section 74 directly below the packing station 71. An insertion device 72 for the bag package group Gbp grasps the bag package group Gbp at the packing station 71, lowers it, and inserts it into the cardboard box C, thereby packing it.
[0006] In this cardboard boxing system 50, the upward inclined transport conveyor 60, the collecting transport device 70, and the boxing station 71 are arranged in a single straight line from the vertical form-fill-fill-seal packaging machine 51 in a plan layout, resulting in a long layout for the cardboard boxing system 50. As post-processing for the box packages Cp in which bag packages Bp are packed into cardboard boxes C, there are provided a cardboard box sealing machine 75 that seals the packed cardboard boxes C, a box package inverting device 76 that inverts the sealed box packages Cp, and a box package discharge conveyor 77 that discharges the inverted box packages Cp.
[0007] A packing device has been proposed that includes a packing mechanism that uses a robot to transfer and align items transported by an upstream conveyor onto another moving conveying surface, moves the aligned items on the conveying surface to a packing position by the conveyor, and fills the group of items that have reached the packing position into a packaging box (see Patent Document 2). In this boxing device, the articles to be boxed are, for example, bag packages continuously produced by a packaging machine located upstream, and the articles are sent one after another to a transfer position by an upstream conveyor. A conveyor that moves the aligned group of articles to the boxing position is arranged alongside the terminal end of the upstream conveyor. A robot (for example, a link robot) located at the terminal end of the upstream conveyor lifts the articles and aligns and transfers them to the group of articles to be filled into the packaging box on the conveyor. The boxing position is located downstream of and to the side of the terminal end of the upstream conveyor. When the group of articles aligned for packing on the conveyor reaches the boxing position, a boxing mechanism lifts the group of articles together and fills them into the packaging box. The area on the conveyor where the robot aligns the articles and the adjacent boxing position are separated by a minimum distance so that the articles belonging to each area do not come into contact. This arrangement aims to improve the robot's processing capacity.
[0008] A known boxing device uses a product assembly device to assemble a predetermined number of products that have been transported at predetermined (e.g., fixed) intervals, either in a sashimi-like shape with some overlapping or in a flat shape with no overlapping, to form a product group, and then grasps the assembled product group using a means such as suction, and uses the grasping means also as an insertion means to insert the products into a container such as a cardboard box placed outside the product assembly device (see Patent Document 3). In this packing device, products and cardboard boxes are transported to the packing section by a product transport conveyor that transports products from the alignment and conveyance mechanism and a container feed conveyor that runs parallel to the product transport conveyor and carries cardboard boxes. A swing servomotor that intermittently rotates back and forth 180 degrees increments is provided in the packing section, located above the midpoint between the product transport conveyor and the container feed conveyor. In the packing section, a suction pad that captures and releases multiple products by suction is driven by the swing servomotor to swing back and forth between above the products on the product transport conveyor and above the cardboard boxes on the container feed conveyor. With each counter-rotation, a product is sucked and held by the suction pad from above, and the products released from the suction pad are loaded into the cardboard boxes. As a result, the products are simultaneously captured and packed into the cardboard boxes. In this packing device, the operation of the suction pad requires a mechanism for rotating and reciprocating the arm member driven by a rotating servo motor and for moving the support members 64, 64 up and down, which raises concerns that the mechanism will become more complex, the number of parts will increase, manufacturing costs will increase, and the device space will become larger.
[0009] In conventional packaging systems, bag packages manufactured by a packaging machine are sequentially discharged by a discharge device. The bag packages are then moved to a bag package collection / packaging position by a bag package transport device, such as a conveyor, connected to the discharge device. The collected multiple bag packages are then packed into a bag package group at the packing position. The means (process) for collecting bag packages and the means (process) for packing a group of bag packages into a case, such as a cardboard box, perform different functions: the former collects individual bag packages or a small number of bag packages into a bag package group consisting of a larger number of bag packages, while the latter packs a group of collected bag packages into a case. As a result, the two are inevitably configured separately (separate processes), and the bag package collection position and the bag package group packing position are located far apart in terms of layout. The more complex the collection pattern for individually transported bag packages becomes, the more complex and costly the collection means becomes. It is possible to combine the assembly position of the bag packages and the packing position of the group of bag packages in one location, using the same assembly means and packing means, i.e., packing at the same time, but this would make the operations and processes of the combined means even more complicated, and there is a risk that the mechanical configuration required to achieve such operations and processes would also become even more complicated.
[0010] If the collection position where the conveyed bag packages are collected and the packing position where the collected bag packages are packed are located at different positions, a transfer device is required to transport the bag packages to the packing position. If the transfer device is connected in series or parallel to the bag package discharge device from the packaging machine, the layout length of the collection and packing system extending from the bag package discharge device becomes very long. The direction of transport of the bag packages by the transfer device may be changed, for example, perpendicular to the direction of discharge of the bag packages by the discharge device. The packing direction in which the bag packages are moved to pack them may also be changed relative to the direction of discharge of the bag packages by the discharge device or the direction of transport of the bag packages by the transfer device. While there are various layout variations for changing the direction, the vertical length and horizontal length of the system are often in a trade-off relationship, where prioritizing one requires sacrificing the other. As a result, conventional proposals often fail to produce satisfactory results overall.
[0011] In recent years, the packaging speed of form-fill-seal machines has been increasing, and the assembling and boxing systems used in these machines must be able to meet both the functional (structural) requirement of being able to quickly and without damaging a large number of packaged bags and box them in a short time, and the layout (positioning) requirement of being able to minimize the amount of space taken up when the system is incorporated into a factory where the machine is installed, in a manner that connects to the machine as a line for conveying, assembling and boxing the packaged bags. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]
[0012] [Patent Document 1] Patent No. 5753643 [Patent Document 2] International Publication No. 2016 / 185862 [Patent Document 3] Patent Publication No. 9-301305 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]
[0013] Therefore, in a packaging assembly and packing system that collects packaging items conveyed in sequence by a conveying means and then packs the group of packaging items into boxes, there are issues that need to be resolved in terms of enabling high-speed handling without placing a load on the packaging items when collecting the packaging items conveyed in sequence, and enabling space savings when incorporating the system into a factory line.
[0014] The object of this invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems by providing a system for assembling and packing packages that can handle sequentially conveyed packages at high speed while assembling and packing them without placing stress on the packages, and that can save space when incorporating the system into a factory line. [Means for solving the problem]
[0015] In order to solve the above problems, the system for assembling and packing packages according to the present invention comprises: a first conveying means for sequentially conveying the packages produced and discharged by the packaging machine; a second conveying means arranged adjacent to the first conveying means and having a conveying direction opposite to the conveying direction of the first conveying means; a transfer and collection means for gripping the packages transported by the first transport means and transferring them to the second transport means, and collecting the plurality of packages transferred to the second transport means as a group of packages during the transfer; a packing station arranged adjacent to and aligned with the conveying direction of the second conveying means at a downstream end of the second conveying means in the conveying direction, where boxes to be packed are kept on standby and where the boxes that have been packed are discharged; a packing means for collectively gripping the groups of packages conveyed to the downstream end by the second conveying means and filling the groups into boxes waiting in the packing station; It consists of having the following.
[0016] According to this packaging assembly and boxing system, the packages are sequentially produced by a packaging machine by placing packaged products into containers, and the packages produced by the packaging machine are sequentially transported by a first conveying means. The direction of transport of the packages by the first conveying means may be generally aligned with the direction of transport of the packages from the packaging machine. The second conveying means is disposed adjacent to and parallel to the first conveying means, and the transport direction of the second conveying means is opposite to the transport direction of the first conveying means. The transferring and collecting means functions to transfer and collect the packages between the first conveying means and the second conveying means. That is, the transferring and collecting means grasps the packages transported by the first conveying means and transfers them to the second conveying means, and during the transfer, collects multiple packages into a group on the second conveying means. A boxing station is disposed adjacent to the downstream end of the second conveying means in the transport direction, aligned with the movement direction of the second conveying means. The packing station holds boxes to be packed and discharges the packed boxes. The packing means grasps groups of packages transferred to the downstream end of the conveying direction by the second conveying means and packs them into boxes waiting at the packing station. The length of the packaging collection and packing system is within the range of the conveying direction length of the first conveying means and the second conveying means, which are arranged adjacent to each other. The packing station can be arranged substantially within the conveying direction length of the first conveying means or the conveying direction length of the second conveying means. Compared to the length when the first conveying means and the second conveying means are arranged in series, the overall length can be shortened by the length of the first conveying means and the second conveying means extending side by side, resulting in a sufficiently short overall length. Furthermore, since the packing station does not extend beyond the width direction of the first conveying means and the second conveying means, the width of the packaging collection and packing system is limited to approximately the combined width of the first conveying means and the second conveying means, which are arranged adjacent to each other. Therefore, the space occupied by the packaging assembly and packing system is reduced.
[0017] In this system for assembling and packing packages, the transferring and assembling means may be a parallel link robot having a gripping tool for gripping the packages at the tip of a parallel link. A parallel link robot is generally an industrial robot that has a manipulator as its mechanical part, parallel links made up of numerous links (axes) connected in parallel that act as joints driven by the manipulator, and a gripping hand at the tip of the parallel link.The links work in coordination, enabling the gripping hand to move quickly and precisely, making the robot ideal for handling products that move at high speed on a production line. Thanks to recent technological improvements in parallel link robots, the movement speed of the parallel link is extremely high, and by applying it as a means for transferring and assembling packages between the first conveying means and the second conveying means in a collecting and packing system, the time required to grasp, transfer, and release the packages can be greatly reduced.In addition, by using a parallel link robot, it is possible to precisely control the timing and position at which a package is grasped on the first conveying means and the timing and position at which it is released on the second conveying means, so it is possible to precisely control the grasping of packages on the first conveying means and the gathering and release of a group of packages on the second conveying means to a predetermined state.
[0018] In this system for assembling and packing packages, the transferring and assembling means may be a rotary robot in which a gripper for gripping the packages rotates around a vertical center axis. The rotary robot is equipped with one or more gripping hands (heads) that can grip and release one or more packages, and the gripping hands can rotate around a vertical rotation axis. The vertical rotation axis is located at (or near) the boundary between the first conveying means and the second conveying means, and the gripping hands can grip one or more packages on the first conveying means, rotate around the vertical rotation axis, and release the grip onto the second conveying means, thereby transferring the one or more packages. In addition to rotating around the vertical rotation axis, it is preferable that the gripping hand be capable of adjusting its position three-dimensionally (within the plane of the first conveying means and the second conveying means, and in the direction of moving towards or away from the first conveying means and the second conveying means (up and down)) with respect to gripping the package on the first conveying means and releasing the grip on the package on the second conveying means. Since rotary robot hands have restrictions on the supply of electricity and air, the vertical rotation axis can rotate in reverse, for example, every 180 degrees.
[0019] In this packaging body assembling and boxing system, the group of packaging bodies formed by the transferring and assembling means assembling a plurality of the packaging bodies can be an accumulated packaging body group in which at least some of the packaging bodies are accumulated in a stacked state, or a flat-laid packaging body group in which the packaging bodies are densely packed in a flat state. In this system for assembling and packing packages, the collection form in which the packages are collected by the transferring and collecting means may be a dedicated system in which at least some of the packages are stacked, or a flat-laid group in which the packages are densely packed flat, or it may be a system in which the collection form can be switched between either group of packages.
[0020] In this system for assembling and packing packages, when the group of packages is a group of accumulated packages, the conveying surface of the second conveying means can be set to a height that is lower than the conveying surface of the first conveying means by the amount of height that increases due to the accumulation of the packages. If the packages to be transferred are not stacked, the packages on the first conveying means are transferred directly to the second conveying means at the same height, so the conveying surface of the second conveying means may be set at the same height as the conveying surface of the first conveying means. When the packages to be transferred are stacked as in this invention, the height of the group of stacked packages is higher than the height of a single package. Therefore, by setting the height of the conveying surface of the second conveying means lower than the conveying surface of the first conveying means by the increased height of the group of stacked packages, when the transferring and stacking means transfers and stacks the packages gripped on the conveying surface of the first conveying means by releasing the grip on the conveying surface of the second conveying means, the packages are stacked without interfering with the packages previously transferred. To improve versatility, it is preferable that the conveying surface of the first conveying means and / or the conveying surface of the second conveying means be adjustable in the vertical direction.
[0021] In this packaging assembly and packing system, a box feeding means for transporting the boxes that are ready to be packed to the packing station and a box package sending means for sending out the box packages that have been packed can be arranged in sequence in the opposite direction to the conveying direction of the second conveying means in the space below the second conveying means. This configuration allows the space below the second conveying means to be used for the box feeding means that transports boxes to the packing station and the box package output means that outputs boxed box packages, eliminating the need for additional space. In other words, adding these means does not increase the overall volume of the collecting and packing system, resulting in overall space savings. By arranging the box feeding means and the box package output means in the opposite direction to the conveying direction of the second conveying means, the box package output means outputs box packages in a direction parallel to the conveying direction of the first conveying means. Therefore, when focusing on the conveyance of packages by the first conveying means connected to the packaging machine and the conveyance of box packages by the box package output means, the entire line achieves a natural flow of packages and box packages within the factory. Furthermore, downstream of the box package output means, processing for shipping box packages may be performed, and this processing can also be easily accommodated in the layout of the collecting and packing system.
[0022] In this packaging assembly and boxing system, the packaging machine can be a vertical or horizontal form-fill-seal machine that sequentially produces bag packages as packaging bodies by forming bags as containers from strip-shaped packaging material, placing products in the bags, and sealing them. The form-fill-seal machine is a packaging machine with high-speed packaging operations, and the assembling and boxing system can efficiently collect the bags that are produced and transported one after another at high speed from the form-fill-seal machine, and box the collected groups of bags. [Effects of the Invention]
[0023] In this packaging assembly and packing system, packaging bodies produced by the packaging machine are sequentially transported by a first conveying means. A second conveying means is provided adjacent to and parallel to the first conveying means, and the conveying direction of the second conveying means is opposite to that of the first conveying means. The transfer and collecting means functions to transfer and collect packaging bodies between the first conveying means and the second conveying means. That is, it grasps packaging bodies conveyed by the first conveying means and transfers them to the second conveying means, and collects the multiple packaging bodies transferred to the second conveying means into a group of packaging bodies. A packing station is disposed adjacent to the downstream end of the second conveying means in the conveying direction, aligned with the conveying direction of the second conveying means. Therefore, this packaging assembly and packing system can reduce the space required in length and width, thereby saving space in the layout when installed in a factory and improving installation efficiency. In addition, the packages transported and moved by the first and second transport means are grasped by the transfer and collection means and the boxing means, and although the transport speed is high, the transport distance is short, so that the packages can be collected without being damaged, and the collected group of bag packages can be boxed. [Brief explanation of the drawings]
[0024] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a plan view showing an embodiment of a packaging assembly and boxing system according to the present invention. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a side view of the package assembling and boxing system shown in FIG. 1, as seen in the direction of the arrow AA. [Figure 3] FIG. 3 is a side view of the package assembling and boxing system shown in FIG. 1, as seen in the direction of arrow BB. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing another structure for transferring and assembling packages in a package assembling and boxing system. [Figure 5] FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a package to be conveyed and an example of a group of packages to be gathered in the package gathering and boxing system according to the present invention. [Figure 6]FIG. 6 is a side view showing an example of a conventional vertical form-fill-seal packaging machine and a collecting and boxing system disposed after it. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0025] Hereinafter, an embodiment of a system for assembling and packing packages according to the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a plan view showing one embodiment of a system for assembling and packing packages according to the present invention. In this embodiment, the packages are bag packages produced by a form-fill-seal machine, and the system is an example of a system for assembling and packing the bag packages into boxes such as cardboard boxes. FIG. 2 is a side view taken along the arrow AA in FIG. 1, illustrating the conveyance of the bag packages in the system for assembling and packing packages and their subsequent transfer. FIG. 3 is a side view taken along the arrow BB in FIG. 1, illustrating the transfer and assembling of the bag packages in the system for assembling and packing packages and their subsequent transportation to a packing station. In FIG. 3, for simplicity and clarity, redundant illustrations of parts already shown in FIG. 2 are omitted.
[0026] As shown in Fig. 6, one example of a packaging machine to which the packaging system for assembling and encasing packages according to the present invention can be applied is a vertical form-fill-seal packaging machine 51 that produces pouch packages Bp, such as pillow packages, in which a product S is contained and sealed in a bag formed by passing a strip-shaped packaging material Fw through a tubular packaging material Ft. As shown in Figs. 1 to 3, the assembling and encasing system 1 is connected to the vertical form-fill-seal packaging machine 51. Specifically, the assembling and encasing system 1 is connected to the discharge end of the discharge means (upward inclined transport conveyor 60) for the pouch packages Bp produced by the vertical form-fill-seal packaging machine 51 in a manner that extends along the discharge direction. All of the main components of the assembling and encasing system 1 are arranged to be substantially contained within the machine frame 2, making it easy to apply the assembling and encasing system 1 to the vertical form-fill-seal packaging machine 51. The assembling and packing system 1 first collects the bag packages Bp produced and discharged by the vertical bag form, fill and pack machine 51 as a group of bag packages Gbp, and then packs the group of bag packages Gbp into a box by repeatedly filling it multiple times.
[0027] The bag packages Bp discharged by the upward inclined transport conveyor 60 of the vertical form-fill-seal packaging machine 51 are successively transferred to the inclined belt conveyor 3 of the collecting and packing system 1, where they are elevated and transported to a predetermined height within the machine frame 2. A first belt conveyor 4 with a horizontal transport surface 4a serving as a first transport means is connected in series to the downstream end of the inclined belt conveyor 3, and the bag packages Bp continue to be transported horizontally by the first belt conveyor 4. The bag packages Bp transported by the first belt conveyor 4 are discharged from the vertical form-fill-seal packaging machine 51 successively at intervals, but the transport intervals are not necessarily equal, and the transport posture is not necessarily constant. If some bag packages Bp have been removed from the line as defective, the transport intervals may be noticeably longer.
[0028] A transfer and collection station 5 for transferring and collecting bag packages Bp is provided between the downstream end of the first belt conveyor 4 and the upstream end of the adjacent second belt conveyor 10, which serves as the second transport means. The second belt conveyor 10 is a belt conveyor that is adjacent to and parallel to one side of the first belt conveyor 4, and its transport direction is the same horizontal and lateral direction as the transport direction of the first belt conveyor 4, but in the opposite direction. A parallel link robot 6 is provided in the transfer and collection station 5 as a means for transferring and collecting bag packages Bp from the first belt conveyor 4 to the second belt conveyor 10. The working area of the parallel link robot 6 extends across the downstream end of the first belt conveyor 4 and the upstream end of the second belt conveyor 10.
[0029] The parallel link robot 6 is disposed in a suspended manner in the transfer and assembly station 5, with its upper end attached to the top of the machine frame 2 corresponding to the adjacent boundary between the first belt conveyor 4 and the second belt conveyor 10. The parallel link robot 6 is an industrial robot equipped with a manipulator 7 provided at the upper end as a mechanical part, three parallel links 8a, 8b, 8c each of which has six links (axes) connected in parallel, two by two, corresponding to multiple joints driven by the manipulator 7, and one gripper hand 9 supported at the lower end of the parallel links 8a, 8b, 8c, which is capable of suction-holding, gripping, and releasing bag packages Bp. By devising a structure such as providing multiple suction pads on the gripper hand 9, the gripper hand 9 can grip and release multiple bag packages Bp at once.
[0030] Thanks to recent technological advances in the parallel link robot 6, the parallel links 8a, 8b, and 8c operate in coordination, allowing the parallel links 8a, 8b, and 8c and the gripping hand 9 to move quickly and precisely between the first belt conveyor 4 and the second belt conveyor 10. The parallel links 8a, 8b, and 8c move quickly, shortening the time required to grip and release the bag packages Bp. Because the timing and position at which the bag packages Bp are gripped on the first belt conveyor 4 and the timing and position at which the bag packages Bp are released from grip on the second belt conveyor 10 can be precisely controlled, the parallel link robot 6 is suitable for tasks such as gripping the bag packages Bp flowing on the first belt conveyor 4 and transferring and collecting them onto the second belt conveyor 10, and can accurately control the collection state of the bag packages on the second belt conveyor 10 to a predetermined state.
[0031] At the transfer and assembly station 5, the gripping hand 9 of the parallel link robot 6 grips the bag package Bp that has been transported to the downstream end on the first belt conveyor 4, moves in this gripped state toward the upstream end of the second belt conveyor 10, and releases its grip on the bag package Bp at the upstream end of the second belt conveyor 10, thereby transferring the bag package Bp onto the conveying surface 10a of the second belt conveyor 10.
[0032] When gripping the bag package Bp, it is preferable that the gripping hands 9 of the parallel link robot 6 rise slightly so that the gripped (suction gripped) bag package Bp is raised above the conveying surface 4a of the first belt conveyor 4 and the conveying surface 10a of the second belt conveyor 10. By lifting the bag package Bp above the conveying surface 4a, the bag package Bp will not subsequently come into contact with or slide against the conveying surface 4a or the conveying surface 10a, and the bag package Bp will not unintentionally come off the gripping hands 9.
[0033] When the gripping hands 9 start to transfer the gripped bag packages Bp from the first belt conveyor 4 to the second belt conveyor 10, it is preferable that the gripping hands 9 move with the same speed vector (direction and speed) as the first belt conveyor 4, and then perform a uniform circular motion that traces an exact semicircular trajectory. By having the gripping hands 9 perform this type of motion, there is less change in speed when the bag packages Bp transported on the first belt conveyor 4 are gripped and transferred by the gripping hands 9, and there is also less change in speed during the uniform circular motion while being transferred in an arc, which reduces the risk that the products S contained in the bag packages Bp will become uneven within the bags due to these changes.
[0034] When the transfer of the bag package Bp held by the gripper hand 9 onto the second belt conveyor 10 is completed, it is preferable that the gripper hand 9 is in the final stage of its uniform circular motion, moving with the same velocity vector (direction and speed) as the second belt conveyor 10, and releases its grip on the bag package Bp in that state. By having the gripper hand 9 move in this manner, there is little change in speed when the bag package Bp held by the gripper hand 9 is transferred onto the second belt conveyor 10, reducing the risk of the products S contained in the bag package Bp becoming uneven due to this change. When releasing the grip of the bag package Bp, it is preferable that the gripper hand 9 of the parallel link robot 6 slightly descends to soften the impact when the gripped (suction gripped) bag package Bp is placed on the conveying surface 10a of the second belt conveyor 10.
[0035] Although it is preferable to avoid sudden changes in the velocity vector by making the trajectory of the gripping hand 9 a semicircular tangent to the transport of the bag package Bp when gripping and releasing the bag package Bp, the trajectory does not necessarily have to be an arc, and an approximate trajectory consisting of a smooth curve close to an arc, such as an ellipse, may be used. A smooth approximate trajectory close to an arc can reduce changes in radial and circumferential acceleration acting on the bag package Bp during transfer. Even in this case, it is preferable to match the movement speed of the gripping hand 9 when gripping and releasing the bag package Bp to the conveying speed of the first belt conveyor 4 or the second belt conveyor 10 to reduce the risk of uneven distribution of the products S contained in the bag package Bp.
[0036] 5A and 5B show examples of the package assembly and boxing system, in which the package is a bag package, conveyed by the first conveying means and a group of packages assembled on the second conveying means. As shown in Fig. 5A, the posture of each bag package Bp conveyed by the first belt conveyor 4 is such that, in accordance with production by the bag form, fill and seal machine 51, the center seal portion Sc extends in the direction of conveyance of the first belt conveyor 4 and the end seal portions Se, Se extend in a direction perpendicular to the conveyance direction of the first belt conveyor 4. In Fig. 5B, the group of bag packages Gbp assembled on the second belt conveyor 10 is shown as an assembled group of bag packages Gbp1, in an accumulated state.
[0037] When the parallel link robot 6 transfers the bag packages Bp onto the second belt conveyor 10, the bag package Bp to be transferred is partially or completely overlapped on the bag package Bp that has been transferred previously. Therefore, the group of bag packages Gbp here is an accumulated group of bag packages Gbp1 in which these bag packages Bp are accumulated (details are shown in Figure 5(b)). The second belt conveyor 10 transports the group of bag packages Gbp on its conveying surface to a boxing station 20 arranged at its downstream end.
[0038] The group of accumulated bag packages Gbp1 consists of three bag packages Bp as shown in the figure. The parallel link robot 6 sequentially accumulates two consecutive bag packages Bp1, Bp2 conveyed by the first belt conveyor 4 so that when they are transferred onto the conveying surface 10a of the second belt conveyor 10, they are side-by-side and part of the side portions of the side-by-side bags overlap each other. The parallel link robot 6 transfers and accumulates the third bag package Bp3 in an orientation perpendicular to the two bag packages Bp1, Bp2 previously transferred and accumulated, and so that part of its side portion overlaps the vertical side edges of these two bag packages Bp1, Bp2. While the parallel link robot 6 is transferring each bag package Bp, the second belt conveyor 10 may continue to operate continuously, and the transfer position and timing of each bag package Bp are controlled by the parallel link robot 6, so that the bag packages are transferred and accumulated as a group Gbp1 of bag packages having the accumulation pattern shown in the figure. The group Gbp1 of bag packages is transferred by the second belt conveyor 10 in an accumulated state with two bag packages Bp1 and Bp2 at the front and the third bag package Bp3 at the end. Note that the example shown in the figure is merely one example of the group of bag packages Gbp, and other accumulation patterns are also possible.
[0039] For the bag package group Gbp1 in which the bag packages Bp are gathered in an accumulated state, the conveying surface 10a of the second belt conveyor 10 is set at a height lower than the conveying surface 4a of the first belt conveyor 4 by the amount of height increase due to the accumulation of the packages Bp. If the transferred packages Bp are not accumulated, that is, if the collection is simply densely packed flat without being stacked, the bag packages Bp on the conveying surface 4a of the first belt conveyor 4 are transferred onto the conveying surface 10a of the second belt conveyor 10 at the same height, so the conveying surface 10a is set at the same height as the conveying surface 4a. If the transferred three bag packages Bp1 to Bp3 are accumulated one on top of the other as in the embodiment of the present invention, the height of the bag package group Gbp will be nearly three times the height of the bag packages Bp at most, so the height of the conveying surface 10a is set at a height lower than the conveying surface 4a by the amount of the increased height. By setting the height in this way, when the parallel link robot 6 sequentially grasps and releases the bag packages Bp1 to Bp3 on the second belt conveyor 10 and places them on the conveying surface 10a for transfer and stacking, the bag packages Bp do not interfere with the bag packages Bp that have already been transferred and stacked, and the group of bag packages Gbp1 can be stacked smoothly and appropriately.
[0040] A supply and conveying line for the cardboard boxes C used to pack the bag packages Bp is provided in the space below the second belt conveyor 10. Outside the machine frame 2, in an area adjacent to the downstream end of the second belt conveyor 10, a stack 21 of folded cardboard boxes C is placed, each stacked horizontally and held upright. Near the stack 21 of cardboard boxes C, a box former 22 is provided that uses a feeding means such as suction to feed a folded cardboard box C from the stack 21 and open and form the cardboard box C ready for packing. In the box former 22, the folded cardboard box C is opened into a square shape, and the lower flaps are folded to form the bottom of the cardboard box C. The upper flaps are kept open so that the bag packages Gbp can be filled from above. The cardboard boxes C that have been prepared for packing are transported to the packing station 20 through the space below the second belt conveyor 10 by a roller conveyor 23 serving as a box feeding means.
[0041] At the packing station 20, the group of bag packages Gbp transferred by the second belt conveyor 10 is grasped all at once by the packing robot 30 and packed from above into a cardboard box C that has been transported to the packing station 20 and is waiting there. The packing robot 30 is equipped with a vertical shaft 31 extending in the up-down direction, a gripping unit 32 attached to the lower end of the vertical shaft 31 and capable of gripping and releasing the grip of the group of bag packages Gbp, a vertical drive mechanism 33 that can drive the vertical shaft 31 back and forth in the up-down direction, and a horizontal drive mechanism 34 that can move the vertical shaft 31, including the vertical drive mechanism 33, back and forth horizontally between a position above the downstream end of the second belt conveyor 10 and a position above the packing station 20. The vertical drive mechanism 33 drives the vertical shaft 31 to grip and lift the bag package groups Gbp at the downstream end of the second belt conveyor 10, packs the bag package groups Gbp into cardboard boxes C waiting in the packing station 20, and can then drive the vertical shaft 31 up and down to return upward. The packing robot 30 packs several bag package groups Gbp into the waiting cardboard boxes C. The box package Cp for which packing is complete is sent to a box carrying-out station 36 outside the machine frame 2 by a box package sending-out belt conveyor 35, which is a box package sending means.
[0042] In this system for assembling and packing packages, the space Sd below the second belt conveyor 10 is efficiently utilized for transporting cardboard boxes C to the packing station 20 via the roller conveyor 23 and for transporting the packed box packages Cp out of the machine frame 2. Adding the roller conveyor 23, which serves as a box feeding means, or the box package output conveyor 35, which serves as a box package output means, does not increase the speed of the assembling and packing system 1 and saves space. In the illustrated example, the box package output conveyor 35 is depicted as a belt conveyor, but it may also be configured as a roller conveyor so that heavy box packages Cp can be sent to the box output station 36 with only a small pushing force. The space Sd below the second belt conveyor 10 can also accommodate the weight checker 62 and height measuring device 63 used in the example shown in FIG. 6.
[0043] The roller conveyor 23 and the box package output conveyor 35 are arranged in that order in the opposite direction to the conveying direction of the second belt conveyor 10. The box package output conveyor 35 sends the box packages Cp from the packing station 20 in the opposite direction to the transfer direction of the second belt conveyor 10, i.e., in a direction parallel to the conveying direction of the bag packages Bp by the first belt conveyor 4. The supply and conveying line for the cardboard boxes C is known per se, but when we focus on the conveyance of the bag packages Bp by the first belt conveyor 4 and the conveyance of the box packages Cp by the box package output conveyor 35 in this package collection and packing system, although the order is reverse to the conveying direction of the second belt conveyor 10, the flow of the bag packages Bp and the box packages Cp within the factory on the entire line is natural. In addition, the box package Cp that has been packed is transported from the box discharge station 36 where the flaps are closed and the box is sealed as appropriate, and then post-processing such as shipping is carried out.These processes connected to the box discharge station 36 can also be easily adapted to the layout of the collecting and packing system 1.
[0044] The parallel link robot 6 basically handles one bag package Bp or one group of bag packages Gbp at a time, but because it is capable of high-speed operation, it can repeat operations within a short, predetermined period of time as if it were handling multiple bag packages Bp at once (performing the operations of grasping, moving, releasing the grip, and returning).
[0045] FIG. 4 shows another embodiment of the transfer and assembly of packages in the package assembly and packing system according to the present invention. In FIG. 4, (a) is a plan view of the main components, and (b) is a front view thereof. In the bag package assembly and packing system 40 shown as an embodiment in FIG. 4, the transfer and assembly means is a rotary robot 41 that rotates around a vertical rotation axis at the center of which is a gripping hand (head) for gripping the bag package Bp. The rotary robot 41 includes a rotating arm 43 that can rotate around a vertical rotation axis 42, an elevating shaft 44 that can move up and down from the tip of the rotating arm 43, and one or more gripping hands 45 (in the illustrated example, two gripping hands that rotate back and forth every 180 degrees, taking into account limitations on the supply of electricity and air) attached to the lower end of the elevating shaft 44. Each gripping hand 45 is equipped with a suction device such as a suction pad that can grip and release one bag package Bp or a group of bag packages Gbp.
[0046] The vertical rotation shaft 42 is disposed at the boundary between the first belt conveyor 4 and the second belt conveyor 10, and the gripping hand 43 grips the bag package Bp or the bag package group Gbp on the first belt conveyor 4 and rotates around the vertical rotation shaft 42, thereby enabling the gripped bag package Bp or the bag package group Gbp to be released and transferred onto the second belt conveyor 10. In addition to being able to rotate around the vertical rotation shaft 42 and the lifting shaft 44, the gripping hand 43 is preferably configured to be able to adjust its planar position on the conveying surface 4a of the first belt conveyor 4 and the conveying surface 10a of the second belt conveyor 10 in relation to gripping and releasing the bag package Bp or the bag package group Gbp. When the bag packages Bp are accumulated, the height of the conveying surface 10a of the second belt conveyor 10 is set lower than the conveying surface 4a of the first belt conveyor 4 by at least ΔH, which corresponds to the increased height, taking into account the increase in the height of the accumulated bag packages Bp.
[0047] Figure 5(c) is a diagram showing an example of a state in which multiple (four in the illustrated example) bag packages Bp are transferred and collected onto the second belt conveyor 10, with the collected state being a flat state in which adjacent bag packages Bp are closely spaced and arranged closely together. In this case, the group of bag packages Gbp becomes a flat-laid group of bag packages Gbp2. It is preferable to configure the collected state to be switchable between an accumulated state and a flat state by controlling the position on the conveying surface of the gripping device of the transferring and collecting means. [Explanation of symbols]
[0048] 1. Collection and packing system 2. Machine frame 3 Inclined Belt Conveyor 4 First belt conveyor 4a Conveying surface 5 Transfer and assembly station 6 Parallel link robot 7 Manipulator 8a, 8b, 8c Parallel link 9 Grasping Hand 10 Second belt conveyor 10a Conveying surface 20 Packing Station 21 Stack 22 Box making machine 23 Roller conveyor 30 Packing robot 31 Vertical axis 32 gripping part 33 up / down drive mechanism 34 Horizontal drive mechanism 35 Box package delivery conveyor 36 Box Discharge Station 40 Collection and packing system 41 Rotating robot 42 Vertical rotation axis 43 Rotating arm 44 Elevation axis 45 Grasping hand 50 Cardboard box packing system 51 Vertical form-fill-seal machine 52 Former 53 Filling tube 54 Vertical sealing device 55 Horizontal sealing device 56 Discharge Chute 60 Upward inclined conveyor 61 Upward belt conveyor 62 Weight checker 63 Height measuring device 70 Collecting conveyor 71 Packing station 72 Inserting device 73 Box transport conveyor 74 Box insertion section 75 Cardboard box sealing machine 76 Box package inverting device 77 Box package carrying-out conveyor Fr Packaging Roll Fw Strip packaging material Ft Cylindrical packaging material Sc Center seal part Se,Se End seal part S Product Bp, Bp1, Bp2, Bp3 Bag packaging Gbp bag packaging group Gbp1 Accumulated bag packaging group Gbp2 Flat-laid bag packaging group C: Cardboard box Cp: Box packaging Sd Lower Space
Claims
1. a first conveying means for sequentially conveying the packages produced and discharged by the packaging machine; a second conveying means arranged adjacent to the first conveying means and having a conveying direction opposite to the conveying direction of the first conveying means; a transfer and collection means for gripping the package transported by the first transport means and transferring it to the second transport means, and collecting the plurality of package bodies transferred to the second transport means as a package group during the transfer; a packing station arranged adjacent to and aligned with the conveying direction of the second conveying means at a downstream end of the second conveying means in the conveying direction, where boxes to be packed are kept on standby and where the boxes that have been packed are discharged; a packing means for collectively gripping the groups of packages conveyed to the downstream end by the second conveying means and filling the groups into boxes waiting in the packing station; Equipped with A packaging assembly and boxing system consisting of:
2. The transfer and collection means is a parallel link robot having a gripping tool at the tip of a parallel link for gripping the package.
2. The system for assembling and packing packages according to claim 1, wherein:
3. The transfer and collection means is a rotary robot in which a gripper for gripping the package rotates around a vertical central axis.
2. The system for assembling and packing packages according to claim 1, wherein:
4. The group of packages formed by assembling a plurality of the packages by the transfer / assembly means is an accumulated group of packages in which at least some of the packages are accumulated in a stacked state, or a flat-laid group of packages in which the packages are densely packed in a flat state.
2. The system for assembling and packing packages according to claim 1, comprising:
5. When the group of packages is a group of accumulated packages, the conveying surface of the second conveying means is set to a height that is lower than the conveying surface of the first conveying means by an amount that increases due to the accumulation of the packages.
5. The system for assembling and packing packages according to claim 4, wherein:
6. In the space below the second conveying means, a box feeding means for conveying the boxes that have been prepared for packing to the packing station and a box package sending means for sending out the box packages that have been packed with the packages are arranged in order in a direction opposite to the conveying direction of the second conveying means.
2. The system for assembling and packing packages according to claim 1, wherein:
7. The packaging machine is a vertical or horizontal form-fill-seal machine that sequentially produces bag packages as the packages by forming bags as containers from a strip of packaging material, placing products in the bags, and sealing the bags.
2. The system for assembling and packing packages according to claim 1, wherein:
Citation Information
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