Inner bag setting mechanism and packaging device

Abstract

Achieving stable, high-speed operation of a packaging device that double-packages tea bags and other similar items by placing an inner bag inside a flat outer bag. [Solution] As the poking rod 39 descends, the magnetically coupled outer cylinder 47 moves along with it. When the outer cylinder 47 comes into contact with the rubber magnet stopper 35 and locks in place, the poking rod 39 leaves the outer cylinder 47 in the locked position and then descends independently with the magnetic coupling released. After setting the tea bag T, the poking rod 39 rises and returns to the locked position of the outer cylinder 47, and then rises again, dragging the magnetically coupled outer cylinder 47 along with it, to return to the standby position. There is no place for the suspension thread t of the tea bag T to get caught, and after setting the tea bag T, it is held down by the outer cylinder 47, so there is no risk of it floating up even when the poking rod 39 rises, thus preventing the bag from bursting due to being pushed too hard. In addition, the occurrence of empty bags and poor sealing of the seal part, which tend to occur with increased speed, is significantly prevented.

Description

Technical Field

[0003] , ,

[0001] The present invention relates to a packaging device for double-packaging an inner bag such as a tea bag by housing it in a flat outer bag, and particularly to an inner bag setting mechanism for setting an inner bag conveyed through an inner bag supply mechanism in semi-bag-shaped sections partitioned by vertical temporary seal portions on both the left and right sides of an outer bag packaging material that is folded in two at the center in the width direction, opened with the edges in the width direction facing upward.

Background Art

[0002] A tea bag is immersed directly in hot water to extract tea leaves. Therefore, the tea bag itself is made of a water-permeable mesh material or the like, and when the tea leaves enclosed in the tea bag come into contact with the outside air, the flavor of the tea leaves can only be maintained for a certain period. Therefore, in recent years, in order to maintain the flavor of the tea leaves enclosed in the tea bag for a long period, so-called double-packaging is performed by enclosing this tea bag in a flat bag together with an inert gas such as nitrogen gas. As a device for performing this double-packaging, there is one described in Patent Document 1.

[0003] In this packaging device, a temporary seal is applied vertically at a predetermined interval to an outer bag packaging material that is folded in two at the center in the width direction and opened with the edges in the width direction facing upward, and a tea bag is set in semi-bag-shaped sections partitioned by vertical temporary seal portions on both the left and right sides. After aligning the edges and applying a horizontal seal, and further applying a vertical main seal over the vertical temporary seal portion, the double package is completed by cutting at the vertical main seal portion and separating it from the subsequent outer bag packaging material.​​ [Prior art documents] [Patent Documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2017-43401 [Overview of the project] [Problems that the invention aims to solve]

[0005] Recently, in order to improve productivity, there has been a demand for even faster operating speeds for the various moving elements that make up the equipment, but the faster the speed, the more likely tailgating is to occur. Additionally, some tea bags have a hanging string attached, but only both ends of the string are secured to the tea bag packaging, forming a loop. When the tea bag is pushed in, this loop can get caught on the plate. If the plate continues to rise with the hanging string still caught, at conventional speeds the string will naturally slip down during the ascent. However, at higher speeds, the string may not slip down, and there is a risk that the tea bag may even be pulled up along with the string. Thus, with the conventional configuration, the higher the speed, the higher the probability of empty bags or improper feeding.

[0006] This invention was made in view of the above-mentioned conventional problems, and aims to provide a novel and useful inner bag setting mechanism that allows even inner bags such as tea bags with hanging strings to be pushed deep into a semi-bag-shaped sheet made of outer packaging material without tearing the outer packaging material, and prevents empty bags or improper sealing during subsequent lateral sealing, thereby enabling stable high-speed operation of the packaging device. Furthermore, the present invention aims to provide a packaging device that achieves the above-mentioned stable high-speed operation. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] The present invention was made to solve the above problems, and is a packaging device that double-packages an inner bag by housing an inner bag in a flat outer bag, and is an inner bag setting mechanism that sets an inner bag supplied via an inner bag supply mechanism into a half-bag-shaped compartment in which the left and right sides of an outer bag packaging material, which is folded in half at the center in the width direction and opened with the edges in the width direction facing upward, are partitioned by vertical temporary seal portions, and the inner bag supplied is set into the compartment. The inner bag setting mechanism comprises a vertically movable inner bag hopper into which the supplied inner bags are fed, a thrusting rod extending vertically inside the inner bag hopper and being able to move up and down independently of the inner bag hopper, an outer cylinder slidably fitted onto the thrusting rod, a magnetic coupling means that magnetically couples the outer cylinder and the thrusting rod when they are in a specific positional relationship to move together, and a stopper that locks the outer cylinder to prevent it from descending, and when the outer cylinder is locked to the stopper during the downward movement, the thrusting rod is released from the specific positional relationship below it, thereby releasing the magnetic coupling and enabling not only downward movement but also upward movement.

[0008] Preferably, the magnetic coupling means consists of a magnet arranged in an annular shape on the outer circumference of the thrusting rod and a magnetic bushing provided on the inner circumference of the outer cylinder.

[0009] Preferably, the outer cylinder and the stopper are also in a magnetically coupled state when locked. More preferably, the stopper side is configured to have a shock-absorbing function. More preferably, the stopper side is configured to receive the rubber magnet stopper with a cushion, and the locking surface on the outer cylinder side is made of a magnetic ring.

[0010] Preferably, the thrust rod side has a locking mechanism on which a part of the outer cylinder side rests and locks. More preferably, the thrusting rod has an enlarged diameter upper surface at its lower end and contacts from below a portion of the outer cylinder that extends inward in diameter from the inner circumferential surface, thereby causing a portion of the outer cylinder to rest on and be locked to the thrusting rod. More preferably, the outer circumference of the upper surface of the enlarged protruding portion at the lower end of the thrusting rod is tapered upward and narrows in diameter, and the portion of the inner circumference of the outer cylinder that extends inward is tapered upward and recessed, so that the inclined surfaces come into contact with each other.

[0011] Preferably, the inner bag, which is placed in a semi-bag-shaped compartment and set in the back of the compartment by pushing with a poking rod, is provided with an auxiliary hand for grasping it from both sides through the outer bag packaging material.

[0012] The present invention relates to a packaging device that double-packages an outer bag by incorporating an inner bag setting mechanism. The outer bag forming mechanism comprises a half-bag-shaped compartment in which the outer bag packaging material is folded in half at the center in the width direction and opened with the edges in the width direction facing upward, and both the left and right sides are partitioned by vertical temporary sealing portions. After setting the inner bag in this compartment, a horizontal sealing device is provided to apply a horizontal seal to the edges, and a vertical main sealing device is provided to apply a vertical seal by overlapping the vertical temporary sealing portion. The horizontal sealing device and the vertical main sealing device are configured to be driven as an integrated unit. Preferably, the inner bag supply mechanism is of the conveyor transport type and is equipped with a pair of belt conveyors, wherein the pair of belt conveyors are V-shaped with their respective transport surfaces perpendicular to the transport direction, and are inclined so that the leading side in the transport direction is in a lower position. [Effects of the Invention]

[0013] The inner bag setting mechanism of the present invention, due to its structural features, allows even inner bags such as tea bags with suspension strings to be pushed deep into the semi-bag-shaped sheet made of the outer bag packaging material without tearing the outer bag packaging material, and prevents empty bags or improper sealing during subsequent lateral sealing. Therefore, packaging devices equipped with this inner bag setting mechanism can achieve stable high-speed operation. Furthermore, given its structural characteristics, it is clear that this inner bag setting mechanism is not limited to inner bags with suspension threads. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0014] [Figure 1]It is a perspective view of a packaging device according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] It is a perspective view of the packaging device of FIG. 1 as viewed from a direction different from that of FIG. 1. [Figure 3] It is a front view of the packaging device of FIG. 1. [Figure 4] It is a perspective view of an inner bag setting mechanism in the packaging device of FIG. 1. [Figure 5] It is a vertical cross-sectional perspective view of the inner bag setting mechanism of FIG. 4. [Figure 6] It is an image view of the formation of a bag for the outer bag in the packaging device of FIG. 1. [Figure 7] It is an explanatory view of the operation of the inner bag setting mechanism intervening during the formation of the bag for the outer bag of FIG. 6. [Figure 8] It is a perspective view of a double package manufactured by the packaging device of FIG. 1.

Embodiments for Carrying Out the Invention

[0015] The packaging device 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. This packaging device 1 manufactures a double package H in which a triangular pyramid-shaped tea bag T (with a hanging thread t) as shown in FIG. 8 is used as an inner bag and is packaged with a flat bag-shaped outer bag W. As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, it is configured to include an outer bag forming mechanism 3, an inner bag supply mechanism 23, and an inner bag setting mechanism 27. As shown in the image view of the formation of the bag for the outer bag W of FIG. 6, in this outer bag forming mechanism 3, while the outer bag packaging material S that is folded in two at the center in the width direction and opened with a pair of edge portions Sf, Sf in the width direction facing upward is intermittently fed horizontally by one pitch, the following respective processes are sequentially performed.

[0016] (1) The outer bag packaging material S is sandwiched between a pair of heating portions of the vertical temporary sealing device 5 to form a vertical temporary sealing portion K. (2) The vertical temporary sealing portion K formed in the above (1) is sandwiched between a pair of cooling portions of the upstream cooling device 7 and cooled. (3) The vertically temporarily sealed portion K that has been cooled in the above (2) is sandwiched between a pair of cooling portions of the downstream cooling device 9 and further cooled.

[0017] (4) In the compartment R, which is half-bag-shaped with vertical temporary seal portions K formed on both the left and right sides, a pair of edges Sf, Sf in the width direction of the outer bag packaging material S are opened and the tea bag T is supplied and set. During this setting, the left vertical temporary seal portion K is held by the upstream cooling device 7, and the right vertical temporary seal portion K is held by the downstream cooling device 9. The upstream cooling device 7, which clamps the left vertical temporary seal portion K, moves slightly toward the downstream cooling device 9, which clamps the right vertical temporary seal portion K, as an integral part of the vertical temporary seal device 5, and becomes loose, making the pair of edges Sf, Sf in the width direction of the outer bag packaging material S easily open.

[0018] (5) Above the compartment R in which the tea bag T is set, the outer bag packaging material S is sandwiched between a pair of heating elements of the lateral sealing device 11 so as to be connected to the lateral sealing portion Sa of the preceding compartment R, thereby forming a lateral sealing portion Sa. This lateral sealing portion Sa is continuous with the lateral sealing portion Sa of the preceding compartment R. Furthermore, the outer packaging material S is sandwiched between the pair of heating elements of the vertical sealing device 15, forming the right-hand vertical sealing portion Sb of the section R, which is partially overlapped with the vertical temporary sealing portion K. (6) A tea bag T is set, forming a horizontal seal Sa, and the downstream side of the compartment R is closed with a vertical main seal Sb. Nitrogen gas is then filled into the compartment R from the gas filling device 13 through the gap between the upstream vertical temporary seal K and the horizontal seal Sa, as shown by the arrow. (7) The outer bag packaging material S is sandwiched between the pair of heating elements of the vertical main sealing device 15, and the left vertical main sealing portion Sb of the section R is formed, with the outer bag packaging material S partially overlapping the vertical temporary sealing portion K. (8) The blade mounting section and receiving section of the cutter device 17 cut the vertical seal section Sb at approximately the center of the area where the vertical seal section Sb is formed, becoming the vertical seal section Sb(h), and the double packaging H is separated from the outer bag packaging material S and sent downstream. (9) The double-packaged body H is first grasped by the hand device 19, then released, and falls into the discharge chute 21 to be discharged outside.

[0019] The vertical temporary seal portion K extends vertically upward from the fold edge of the folded boundary of the outer packaging material S, but its upper end is located below the edge portion Sf. The lateral sealing portion Sa is formed along the edge portion Sf, and along the periphery of Sf. The vertical main seal portion Sb is superimposed on the vertical temporary seal portion K, and the entire portion, including the upper half that was not sealed, is vertically sealed, intersecting the already formed horizontal seal portion Sa at a right angle. The pair of heating elements of the horizontal sealing device 11 described in (5) above and the pair of heating elements of the vertical sealing device 15 described in (7) above are configured as an integrated drive type. This configuration makes it easy to stably form the outer packaging material S into a perfectly square shape without pinching when sealing it to create a flat bag.

[0020] As described in (4) above, the tea bag T is set via the inner bag supply mechanism 23 and the inner bag setting mechanism 27. The inner bag supply mechanism 23 is equipped with a pair of belt conveyors 25, 25. These belt conveyors 25 utilize the upper surface 25a when the flat belt is traveling in a circular motion and then in a straight line on top. Each of the conveying surfaces 25a, 25a is inclined so that the leading side in the direction of transport is lower, and furthermore, when viewed from a direction perpendicular to the direction of transport, they are arranged in parallel in close proximity to each other, forming a V-shape at an acute angle of approximately 60°. Since the tea bags T are transported by straddling the conveying surfaces 25a, 25a without slipping, the transport time is constant and depends on the rotational speed of the flat belt. Conventionally, the tea bags were dropped by gravity, but with this method, even with high-speed transport, there is no variation in the timing of feeding the tea bags T into the inner bag hopper 29 (described later), and a stable supply to the inner bag setting mechanism 27 can be achieved.

[0021] An inner bag hopper 29 of the inner bag setting mechanism 27 is located below the leading end of the inner bag supply mechanism 23 in the transport direction, and tea bags T that fall from the leading end in the transport direction are dropped into the inner bag hopper 29 through the upper opening of the inner bag hopper 29. As shown in detail in Figures 4 and 5, the upper part 31 of the inner bag hopper 29 is rectangular, with the rear side sloping and the opening gradually narrowing towards the bottom. The lower part has a sharp-angled bottom end, and the pair of opposing plate surfaces at the front and back are rectangular in shape. These pair of plate surfaces form the opening and closing plates 33, 33. The opening / closing plate 33 is attached to a pivot shaft at its upper edge and is pivotable relative to the upper part 31, but is elastically biased. The opening / closing plates 33, 33 are inclined so that they move closer to each other as they go downwards, and their lower ends are close together with a small distance between them, closing the inner bag hopper 29. An air cylinder mechanism is attached to the opening / closing plates 33, 33, which can open the opening / closing plates 33, 33 against the biasing force, so that their lower ends move away from each other, and bring the inner bag hopper 29 into an open state.

[0022] Furthermore, the inner bag hopper 29 itself is equipped with a motor mechanism that allows it to move up and down. As shown in Figure 7, when in the upper limit position, the opening and closing plates 33, 33 are recessed slightly beyond the pair of edges Sf, Sf of the outer packaging material S, and remain in a position that does not interfere with the lateral movement of the vertical temporary seal portion K. On the other hand, when in the lower limit position, the opening and closing plates 33, 33 are deeply recessed and lowered to a position where they interfere with the lateral movement of the vertical temporary sealing portion K.

[0023] As shown in Figures 4 and 5, a notch is provided on the front side of the upper part 31 of the inner bag hopper 29, extending downward from the top end. A small cylindrical rubber magnet stopper 35 is inserted through this notch into the inner bag hopper 29 near the front side of the inner bag hopper 29, with its circular surface facing upward. The rubber magnetic stopper 35 is supported and lifted by a cushion 37 attached to the inner bag hopper 29 side.

[0024] The thrusting rod 39 is positioned with its axial direction facing up and down. It is able to move up and down independently of the inner bag hopper 29 by a separate motor mechanism from the one for the inner bag hopper 29, and it passes through the inside of the inner bag hopper 29. The thrusting rod 39 is coaxially widened at the lower part of the shaft 41, which has a circular cross-section, and has a circular thrusting portion 43 attached to it when viewed from the axial direction. The pressing surface 43a formed on the lower surface of this thrusting portion 43 is a plane perpendicular to the axial direction. On the other hand, the upper surface of the thrusting portion 43 is inclined, and is tapered upwards around the shaft 41, becoming a conical surface 43b. Furthermore, the outer surface of the shaft 41 is recessed in an annular shape along the boundary with the projection 43, and an annular magnet 45 is fitted into this recess and integrated with it. The outer surface of this magnet 45 is almost flush with the outer surface of the shaft 41.

[0025] A cylindrical outer cylinder 47 is fitted onto the thrusting rod 39. An annular flange 49 extends coaxially outward from the upper end of the outer cylinder 47, and an annular, flat magnetic ring 51 is fitted onto the outer cylinder 47 with its upper surface in contact with the lower surface of the flange 49. The outer diameter edge of the magnetic ring 51 and the outer diameter edge of the flange 49 are aligned. The inner circumferential surface of the outer cylinder 47 is tapered upwards and narrows in diameter in the middle of the vertical direction, forming an inclined inner circumferential surface 47a. Above it is a smaller diameter inner circumferential surface 47b of the same diameter, and below it is a larger diameter inner circumferential surface 47c of the same diameter. Furthermore, a cylindrical magnetic bush 53 is coaxially fitted into the upper small-diameter inner circumferential surface 47b, forming a double-tube structure. An annular flange 53a extends outward from the upper end of this magnetic bush 53, and this flange 53a is locked to the upper end surface of the outer cylinder 47.

[0026] The inclination angles of the conical surface 43b on the thrusting rod 39 side and the inclined inner circumferential surface 47a on the outer cylinder 47 side are approximately the same, forming an inclined surface contact area. Furthermore, the outer diameter of the shaft 41 on the thrusting rod 39 side is slightly smaller than the inner diameter of the small-diameter inner circumferential surface 47b on the outer cylinder 47 side, and the outer diameter of the thrusting portion 43 on the thrusting rod 39 side is set to be slightly smaller than the inner diameter of the large-diameter inner circumferential surface 47c on the outer cylinder 47 side. Therefore, on the downward side of the thrusting rod 39, the shaft 41 and thrusting portion 43 on the thrusting rod 39 slide downward relative to the outer cylinder 47, allowing the thrusting portion 43 to disengage from the outer cylinder 47. On the upward side of the thrusting rod 39, the conical surface 43b of the thrusting rod 39 comes into contact with the inclined inner circumferential surface 47a of the outer cylinder 47, causing a portion of the outer cylinder 47 to rest on the thrusting rod 39 and lock into place. This causes the thrusting rod 39 to physically lift and move the outer cylinder 47. In this state, the thrusting portion 43 of the thrusting rod 39 is housed inside the outer cylinder 47, and the pressing surface 43a of the thrusting portion 43 is located slightly above the lower edge of the outer cylinder 47.

[0027] Furthermore, at the inclined surface contact position described above, the magnetic bush 53 on the outer cylinder 47 side and the magnet 45 on the rod 39 side are facing each other in a direction perpendicular to the axial direction, and are magnetically coupled. Therefore, the outer cylinder 47 side is magnetically lifted and moved along with it.

[0028] With the poking rod 39 fitted onto the outer cylinder, the outer cylinder 47 is sized to fit into the upper part 31 of the inner bag hopper 29. When it moves down along with the poking rod 39, it fits into the upper part 31, but the magnetic ring 51 on the flange 49 side of the outer cylinder 47 becomes the locking surface and contacts the rubber magnet stopper 35, locking it in place. Therefore, further downward movement of the outer cylinder 47 is physically prevented. Furthermore, when in contact, the magnetic ring 51 is magnetically attracted to the rubber magnet stopper 35.

[0029] The inner bag setting mechanism 27 is used to perform the process of opening a pair of widthwise edges Sf, Sf of the outer bag packaging material S described above (4) in relation to the outer bag forming mechanism 3 located below the inner bag hopper 29, and supplying and setting the tea bags T into a compartment R separated by a pair of vertical temporary seal portions K, K arranged in the left-right direction. During the lateral feeding of the outer bag packaging material S, a pair of opening and closing plates 33, 33 of the inner bag hopper 29 are slightly inserted between a pair of edges Sf, Sf. The material is fed to the position of the inner bag hopper 29 with the vertical temporary seal portion K already formed on the upstream side, but the standby position is at the upper limit position, so it remains in a position that does not interfere with the lateral movement of the vertical temporary seal portion K.

[0030] The upstream cooling device 7 and the downstream cooling device 9 stop with the vertical temporary sealing sections K, K sandwiched between them, respectively, and a tea bag T is set in the compartment R sandwiched between the upstream cooling device 7 and the downstream cooling device 9. Here, a pair of edges Sf, Sf in the width direction of the outer packaging material S are in a state that makes it easy to open, allowing the outer packaging material S to easily receive the tea bag T.

[0031] In addition to the above-described configuration, the inner bag setting mechanism 27 includes an auxiliary hand device 55. This auxiliary hand device 55 has a pair of plate-shaped hands 55a, 55a, which are positioned with their plate surfaces facing each other, sandwiching the outer bag packaging material S being fed laterally, and are configured to rotate relative to each other so that their upper ends move toward and away from each other. Furthermore, their upper ends are slightly inclined toward each other, forming a claw shape.

[0032] The inner bag setting mechanism 27, configured as described above, operates in the order of (a) to (g) in Figure 7. (a) The operation begins when the inner bag hopper 29 is in the upper standby position, and the thrusting rod 39, together with the outer cylinder 47 to which it is fitted by magnetic coupling, has come out of the inner bag hopper 29 and is in the upper standby position. The tea bags (T) are placed into the inner bag hopper (29). (b) The inner bag hopper 29 descends and enters the compartment R, opening the pair of opening / closing plates 33, 33, thereby enlarging the opening of the compartment R from above in a planar manner. Also, the thrusting rod 39 descends. The thrusting rod 39 begins to descend rapidly from its upper waiting position, but the outer cylinder 47 overcomes the inertial force and moves along with it.

[0033] (c) The magnetic ring 51 on the flange 49 side of the outer cylinder 47 contacts and locks against the rubber magnet stopper 35. The outer cylinder 47 will be locked in place while descending at high speed, but the rubber magnet stopper 35 and cushion 37 absorb the impact, and the outer cylinder 47 is magnetically attracted to the inner bag hopper 29, so it stops without bouncing, and these also serve to dampen noise.

[0034] (d) The thrusting rod 39 lowers itself after fixing the outer cylinder 47 in place. This downward movement causes the magnet 45 on the rod 39 side to move out of the opposing positional relationship with the magnetic bush 53 on the outer cylinder 47 side, thus releasing the magnetic coupling. The poking rod 39 pushes the tea bag T, which was remaining inside the inner bag hopper 29, into the back of the compartment R, which has been partially opened and formed into a half-bag shape by the poking part 43, and sets it in place.

[0035] (e) The pair of hands 55a, 55a of the auxiliary hand device 55 rotate from an open position to close, and the claw-shaped parts on both sides grasp the tea bag T through the outer packaging material S from both sides. After that, the thrusting rod 39 rises and returns to the locking position of the outer cylinder 47. During this upward movement, the magnetic coupling with the outer cylinder 47 is released, so the outer cylinder 47 remains in place, but when it returns to the locking position, the magnetic coupling is re-established. If the pressing surface 43a of the thrusting portion 43 of the thrusting rod 39 suddenly separates from the tea bag T, there is a risk that the tea bag T will float upward due to the recoil. However, the retained outer cylinder 47 holds down the tea bag T, and as mentioned above, it is also being held by the auxiliary hand device 55, so these work together effectively to reliably prevent it from floating upward.

[0036] (f) The thrusting rod 39 rises further, dragging the outer cylinder 47 along with it, and returns to its upper waiting position. The thrusting rod 39 physically lifts the outer cylinder 47 when it comes into contact with the inclined surface of the outer cylinder 47. However, when the thrusting rod 39 returns to its locking position on the outer cylinder 47, the magnet 45 on the thrusting rod 39 returns to a positional relationship where it faces the magnetic bush 53 on the outer cylinder 47, thus returning to a magnetically coupled state and lifting the outer cylinder 47 magnetically as well. The high-speed thrusting rod 39 will strike the outer cylinder 47, but because the contact surface is inclined, wear between the contact surfaces and a noise reduction effect can be expected. Furthermore, since it is magnetically attracted, a sound-dampening effect can also be expected from this point of view. Since the structure is designed to lift the object physically, excessive strength is not required in the magnetic coupling state.

[0037] (g) When the poking rod 39 brings the outer cylinder 47 out of the pair of opening / closing plates 33, 33 of the inner bag hopper 29, the opening / closing plates 33, 33 are closed and the inner bag hopper 29 is raised back to the upper limit standby position so as not to hinder the lateral feeding of the outer bag packaging material S. Furthermore, the pair of hands 55a, 55a of the auxiliary hand device 55 open. With this, the inner bag setting mechanism 27 returns to the state described in (a) above, and with the arrival and stopping of the subsequent compartment R and the insertion of the tea bag T, it performs the series of operations that followed from (a) above again.

[0038] In (d) above, there is no risk of the tea bag T floating up after being set, so you can avoid pressing the tea bag T too hard and tearing the outer packaging S, which can cause the bag to break. In (e) above, the thrusting portion 43 of the thrusting rod 39 fits within the outer cylinder 47 and does not extend much in the radial direction, and its upper surface is a conical surface 43b, so there is no part where the suspension thread t of the tea bag T can get caught. In addition, the outer cylinder 47 holds down the tea bag T in place, and while the outer cylinder 47 is rising, the auxiliary hand device 55 holds the tea bag T, so it does not float up. Therefore, the occurrence of empty bags and poor sealing of the seal portion is prevented. Therefore, the inner bag setting mechanism 27 can set the tea bag T at high speed without causing tearing, empty bags, or jamming problems.

[0039] Furthermore, the inner bag supply mechanism 23 also features other mechanisms that support high-speed operation, such as conveying the bags on a conveyor belt. Therefore, the entire packaging device 1 can achieve stable, high-speed operation. Furthermore, the raising and lowering of the outer cylinder 47 is operated by being moved in conjunction with the thrusting rod 39, and since there is no dedicated drive mechanism for the outer cylinder 47, the structure and control of the packaging device 1 can be simplified.

[0040] Although embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail above, the specific configuration is not limited to these embodiments, and any design changes or other modifications that do not depart from the spirit of the invention are also included in the invention. Furthermore, while the packaging device according to the embodiment of the present invention seals a triangular pyramidal inner bag inside an outer bag, the shape of the inner bag is not limited. However, it is most suitable for double packaging of a three-dimensional inner bag. [Explanation of symbols]

[0041] 1…Packaging device 3…Outer bag forming mechanism 5…Vertical temporary sealing device 7…Upstream cooling device 9…Downstream cooling device 11…Lateral sealing device 13...Gas filling device 15...Vertical book sealing device 17…Cutter device 19…Hand device 21... Discharge chute 23... Inner bag supply mechanism 25... Belt conveyor 25a... Conveying surface 27...Inner bag setting mechanism 29...Inner bag hopper 31...Top part 33...Opening / closing panel 35... Rubber magnetic stopper 37...Cushion 39...Poke stick 41...Axis 43...Thrust 43a...Indentation surface 43b...Conical surface 45...Magnet 47...Outer cylinder 47a...Inclined inner circumferential surface 47b...Small diameter inner circumferential surface 47c...Large diameter inner surface 49...Flange 51…Magnetic ring 53…Magnetic bush 53a…Flange 55…Auxiliary hand device 55a...Hand H...Double packaging W...Outer bag T...Tea bag t...Suspension thread S…Outer bag packaging material Sf…Edge K...Vertical temporary seal part Sa...Horizontal seal part Sb...Vertical seal area Sb(h)...Vertical seal area R...Plot

Claims

1. In a packaging device that double-packages an inner bag by housing an inner bag in a flat outer bag, the inner bag setting mechanism sets an inner bag supplied via an inner bag supply mechanism into a semi-bag-shaped compartment where the left and right sides of the outer bag packaging material, which is folded in half at the center in the width direction and opened with the width direction edges facing upwards, are separated by vertical temporary seal portions. A liftable inner bag hopper into which the supplied inner bags are fed, A thrusting rod extends vertically within the inner bag hopper and is capable of moving up and down independently of the inner bag hopper, An outer cylinder slidably fitted onto the aforementioned thrusting rod, A magnetic coupling means that magnetically couples the outer cylinder and the thrust rod when they are in a specific positional relationship, thereby causing them to move together; The outer cylinder is equipped with a stopper that locks it in place to prevent it from descending, An inner bag setting mechanism characterized in that when the outer cylinder is locked to the stopper during a combined descent, the push rod disengages from a specific positional relationship below it, thereby releasing the magnetic coupling and enabling not only independent descent but also ascent.

2. In the inner bag setting mechanism described in claim 1, The inner bag setting mechanism is characterized in that the magnetic coupling means consists of a magnet arranged in an annular shape on the outer circumference of the thrusting rod and a magnetic bushing provided on the inner circumference of the outer cylinder.

3. In the inner bag setting mechanism described in claim 1, An inner bag setting mechanism characterized by the fact that the outer cylinder and stopper are also in a magnetically coupled state when locked.

4. In the inner bag setting mechanism described in claim 3, An inner bag setting mechanism characterized by having a stopper side that is configured to have a shock-absorbing function.

5. In the inner bag setting mechanism described in claim 4, The inner bag setting mechanism is characterized by a configuration in which the stopper side receives the rubber magnet stopper with a cushion, and the locking surface on the outer cylinder side is made of a magnetic ring.

6. In the inner bag setting mechanism described in claim 3, An inner bag setting mechanism characterized by having a locking means on which a part of the outer cylinder side rests and locks onto the thrusting rod side.

7. In the inner bag setting mechanism described in claim 6, An inner bag setting mechanism characterized in that the thrusting rod has an enlarged diameter upper surface at its lower end, and contacts from below with a portion of the outer cylinder that extends inward in diameter from the inner circumferential surface of the outer cylinder, thereby causing a portion of the outer cylinder to rest on and be locked onto the thrusting rod.

8. In the inner bag setting mechanism described in claim 7, The inner bag setting mechanism is characterized by the fact that the outer circumference of the upper surface of the enlarged protruding portion at the lower end of the thrusting rod is tapered upwards and narrows in diameter, and the portion of the inner circumference of the outer cylinder that extends inward is tapered upwards and recessed, with the inclined surfaces contacting each other.

9. In the inner bag setting mechanism described in claim 1, An inner bag setting mechanism characterized by having auxiliary hands for grasping the inner bag, which is placed in a semi-bag-shaped compartment and set in the back of the compartment by pushing with a poking rod, from both sides of the outer bag packaging material.

10. In a packaging device that double-packages using the inner bag setting mechanism described in claim 1, The outer bag forming mechanism is a packaging device characterized by comprising a horizontal sealing device that applies a horizontal seal to the edges after setting an inner bag in a semi-bag-shaped compartment formed by folding the outer bag material in half at the center in the width direction and opening with the edges in the width direction facing upward, with both the left and right sides separated by vertical temporary sealing portions, and a vertical main sealing device that applies a vertical seal by overlapping the vertical temporary sealing portions, wherein the horizontal sealing device and the vertical main sealing device are configured as an integrated drive type.

11. In the packaging apparatus described in claim 10, The inner bag supply mechanism is of the conveyor transport type and is equipped with a pair of belt conveyors, characterized in that the pair of belt conveyors have their respective transport surfaces forming a V shape in a direction perpendicular to the transport direction, and are inclined so that the leading side in the transport direction is in a lower position.

Images