Bag opening shaping and sealing mechanism for vacuum packaging equipment

Abstract

A bag opening shaping and sealing mechanism for a vacuum packaging device that seals the opening of a flexible, rigid packaging bag without wrinkles. [Solution] The bag opening shaping and sealing mechanism of the vacuum packaging device flattens the opening of the packaging bag 1, which has been transported in a horizontal position by a slat conveyor to the vacuum sealing position, using an expansion bar 2, and while it remains flat, an upper gripper 4 presses the left and right side edge seal portions 3 of the opening.After the expansion bar 2 is removed, the extension member 7 of the pressing member 5 is crushed to expand it left and right, tensioning it and keeping it flat, and then the bag is vacuum sealed with a sealing bar 8, so that the opening of the packaging bag 1 is reliably stretched flat and can be sealed without wrinkles.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] This device relates to a bag opening shaping and sealing mechanism for a vacuum packaging device that presses and pulls the left and right side edge seals of the opening of a flexible, rigid packaging bag to flatten it, and then seals the opening in this flattened state. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, when a thin, weak plastic bag is filled with an item to be packaged and then the opening is sealed, it has been extremely difficult to seal the opening neatly without wrinkles because the bag is soft and weak. For this reason, a "bag packaging method" is known that makes it possible to seal the open end of a thin plastic bag filled with an item to be packaged without wrinkles (see Patent Document 1).

[0003] This known technology is a "bag packaging method" in which a bag filled with the product to be packaged is placed horizontally on a conveyor belt, air is blown onto the open end of the bag from above to flatten the open end against the conveyor belt, two spreader bars are inserted into the open bag and spread them horizontally to spread the mouth of the bag, and the open end of the spread bag is then sandwiched above and below and sealed. With this packaging method, even very thin and weak plastic bags can be opened reliably, and the open end of the bag can be reliably flattened by the spreader bars inserted into the open end, allowing it to be sealed without wrinkles.

[0004] In order to prevent wrinkles during sealing of flexible and rigid packaging bags, the applicant has developed a bag opening shaping and sealing device that uses an opening expansion bar to expand the opening of a flexible and rigid packaging bag, while clamping the left and right opening side edges with upper and lower grippers and pulling them sideways to flatten the bag, and then clamps the flattened opening from above and below to seal it (see Patent Document 2). This known technology is a bag opening shaping and sealing device that uses left and right spreader bars to preliminarily flatten the opening of a packaging bag that has been transported horizontally by a slat conveyor to a sealing position, and then, while the bag remains in this preliminarily flattened state, clamps the left and right side edges of the opening with upper and lower grippers.After the spreader bars are removed, the upper and lower grippers are spread apart to the left and right to completely flatten the bag, and the bag is then hermetically sealed with a seal bar. However, this conventional bag opening shaping and sealing device had the drawback of being unable to be used in vacuum packaging devices for foods and other items that are used for long-term storage. Therefore, this invention has improved the bag opening shaping and sealing mechanism of vacuum packaging devices. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0005] [Patent Document 1] Patent No. 3098897 [Patent Document 2] Patent Publication No. 2021-187518 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] The purpose of this device is to provide a bag opening shaping and sealing mechanism for a vacuum packaging device that presses the left and right side edge seals of the opening of a flexible, rigid packaging bag with the pressing member of the upper gripper and the seal receiving base, crushes the extension member of the pressing member, moves it left and right to pull and flatten it, and seals the opening in this flattened state. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] The bag opening shaping and sealing mechanism of the vacuum packaging device of this invention consists of a feeder / intake device that transports packaging bags filled with the packaged item in a horizontal position using a slat conveyor; an expansion bar device that uses an expansion bar inserted into the opening of the packaging bag at a vacuum sealing position along the feeder / intake device to expand the opening sideways and flatten it; a flattening device that presses the left and right side edge seals of the opening of the packaging bag flattened by the expansion bar device with a seal receiving base and a pressure member of an upper gripper, and crushes the extension member of the pressure member to expand it left and right and flatten it under tension; and a hermetic sealing device that clamps and seals the opening of the packaging bag flattened by the tension of the extension member by using a seal bar and a seal receiving base from above and below. [Effects of the Invention]

[0008] The bag opening shaping and sealing mechanism of the vacuum packaging device of this invention uses an expansion bar to flatten the opening of a packaging bag that has been transferred in a horizontal position at a vacuum sealing position along the way of the loading and feeding device. While the bag remains in this flattened state, the upper gripper's pressure member and seal receiving base press down on the left and right side edge seals of the opening of the packaging bag. After the expansion bar is removed, the expansion member of the pressure member is crushed and spread apart to the left and right, and the bag is then sealed with the seal bar and seal receiving base while remaining in the flattened state due to tension. This ensures that the opening of the packaging bag is reliably stretched flat and can be sealed without wrinkles. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] 1 is a perspective view of a packaging bag that has been transferred to a vacuum sealing position of a bag opening shaping and sealing mechanism of a vacuum packaging device according to the present invention; [Figure 2] 1 is an enlarged perspective view of a packaging bag flattened by an expansion bar of a bag opening shaping and sealing mechanism of a vacuum packaging device according to the present invention; FIG. [Figure 3] This is a front view of the bag opening shaping and sealing mechanism of the vacuum packaging device of the present invention, in which the left and right side edge seal portions of the opening of the packaging bag are pressed by the seal receiving base and the extension member of the upper gripper. [Figure 4]1 is a front view of the bag opening shaping and sealing mechanism of the vacuum packaging device of the present invention, in which the extension members of the upper gripper are pushed out to the left and right and flattened by tension. [Figure 5] FIG. 4 is an enlarged vertical cross-sectional view of the upper gripper. [Figure 6] FIG. 2 is a plan view of a three-sided sealed packaging bag. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0010] An embodiment of a bag opening shaping and sealing mechanism for a vacuum packaging device according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. As shown in the perspective view of Figure 1, the bag opening shaping and sealing mechanism of the vacuum packaging device of the present invention comprises an input / output device that transfers packaging bags 1 filled with the packaged item in a horizontal position using a slat conveyor (not shown); an expansion bar device that uses an expansion bar 2 to expand the opening of the packaging bag 1 horizontally at a vacuum sealing position along the input / output device, to flatten it; a flattening device that presses the left and right side edge seal portions 3 of the opening of the packaging bag 1 flattened by the expansion bar device with a pressing member 5 of an upper gripper 4 and a seal receiving base 6, and crushes the expanding member 7 of the pressing member 5 to expand it left and right and flatten it by tension; and a hermetic sealing device that clamps and seals the opening of the packaging bag 1, which has been flattened by the tension of the expanding member 7 of the pressing member 5, between the seal receiving base 6 and the seal bar 8.

[0011] In the case of packaged items such as boiled dishes containing seasoning liquid, the loading and supplying device is installed with a horizontally placed slat conveyor (not shown) at an inclination angle of about 5 to 7 degrees so that the opening side of the packaging bag 1 is higher and the bottom side is lowered to transport the package. As shown in the enlarged oblique view of Figure 2, in this embodiment, one spreading bar device is arranged to process the packaging bags 1 transported by the slat conveyor (not shown) one by one, but multiple rows may also be used, and this is not limiting. The opening bar device has left and right opening bars 2 that horizontally expand the opening of the packaging bag 1 opened by air from the spray nozzle 9 to make it flat, and the left and right opening bars are fixed to the left and right connecting rods so that they can move horizontally in the left and right directions, and the left and right connecting rods are further fixed to the left and right block bodies. The spreading bar device, although not shown, has a left lever and a right lever connected to the cylinder head at an angle, which are connected to the left block body and the right block body, and as the spreading cylinder moves back and forth, the left lever and the right lever move along the guide rail, causing the left spreading bar and the right spreading bar to move left and right, thereby allowing the left and right spreading bars 2 to spread left and right. Also, although not shown, the base moves due to the reciprocating motion of a movable cylinder mounted on a stand, and the expansion cylinder and guide rail mounted on the base move forward and backward, moving the expansion lever 2 forward and backward to the opening of the packaging bag 1.

[0012] The flattening device is installed between the loading and feeding device and the opening bar device as shown in Figure 1, and as shown in the front views of Figures 3 and 4, the main cylinder rod 10 moves the entire upper gripper 4 up and down toward the opening of the packaging bag 1. The upper gripper 4 has pressing members 5 disposed facing each other at positions corresponding to the left and right side edge seal portions 3 of the opening of the packaging bag 1. Each pressing member 5 forms a pair so as to open left and right together with an extension member 7 attached to the pressing member 5. Each pressing member 5 is fixed to the upper gripper 4 via a support shaft 16 so as to be able to swing and rotate in the left and right direction. The pressing member 5 connected to the upper gripper 4 at an angle is connected and fixed to a pressing spring 11, and the spring pressure of the pressing spring 11 can be adjusted by an adjustment set screw 12.

[0013] The extension member 7 is formed from a cylindrical rod-shaped elastic silicone member, and is capable of pressing the joining points 14 of the left and right side edge seal portions 3 of the packaging bag 1 by its elastic force. The distance between the joining points 14 of the packaging bag 1 in Figure 6 corresponds to the interval R in Figure 5. As the upper gripper 4 descends, the pressing member 5 moves toward the seal receiving base 6, and the pressing member 5 of the upper gripper 4 and the seal receiving base 6 press down on the left and right side edge seal portions 3 of the opening of the packaging bag 1, which has been flattened by the spreading bar 2. When the upper gripper 4 is further lowered, the expansion members 7 of the pressing members 5 are crushed and spread out to the left and right, and the opening of the packaging bag 1 is flattened by the tension.

[0014] 1, the hermetic sealing device is installed between the upper gripper 4 and the spreading bar 2, the seal receiving base 6 has a surface that is treated with a fluororesin (Teflon (registered trademark) coating) to make it slippery, and the seal bar 8 is made of a heating rod member that moves up and down by a slave cylinder rod 13. As the upper gripper 4 further descends, the opening of the packaging bag 1, which has been flattened by the tension of the stretching member 7 of the pressing member 5, is sandwiched between the seal receiving base 6 and the seal bar 8 from above and below and sealed.

[0015] Next, the operation of the bag opening shaping and sealing mechanism of the vacuum packaging device of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. As shown in Figure 1, packaging bags 1 filled with the packaged items are transported to the vacuum sealing position on an inclined slat conveyor and stopped there, and the opening expansion bar 4 in a closed state advances to the opening of the packaging bag 1 opened by air from the spray nozzle 9 and is inserted into the opening of the packaging bag 1, expanding the opening in the left and right directions. At this time, the opening expansion bar 2 moves to the left and right side edge seal portions 3 of the opening of the packaging bag 1 and expands it into a flat state.

[0016] When the spreading bar 2 moves to the left and right side edge seal portions 3 at the opening of the packaging bag 1 and spreads it into a flat state, as shown in Figure 3, the upper gripper 4 is lowered to press the left and right side edge seal portions 3 of the packaging bag 1 with the seal receiving base 6 and the extension members 7 of the pressing members 5, resulting in a flat state with a gap P. At that time, the extension members 7 press the joining points 14 shown in Figure 6 of the left and right side edge seal portions 3 of the three-sided sealed packaging bag 1. After the expansion bar 2 is removed, the vacuum chamber 14 is lowered to form a vacuum sealed space, and while the pressing member 5 of the upper gripper 4 is in a tensed state pressing against the left and right side edge seal portions 3 of the packaging bag 1, the pressing member 5 is further pressed down, crushing the extension member 7 and moving it horizontally in the left and right direction, flattening the opening of the packaging bag 1 to a distance Q. When negative pressure is generated in the vacuum chamber 15, the air in the packaging bag 1 acts against the pressing force of the pressing member 5 to relax the tension at the opening of the packaging bag 1, which has been kept in a tensed and flattened state, forming a gap at the opening for air circulation and discharging the air. Then, the opening of the packaging bag 1, which is flattened while being held in a tensioned state by the extension member 7, is sealed by sandwiching it from above and below between the seal receiving base 6 and the seal bar 8. Once sealing is complete, the vacuum chamber 14 moves up, completing the vacuum packaging operation.

[0017] In this way, the opening of the packaging bag 1 that has been transported in a horizontal position is flattened by the expansion bar 2, and while maintaining this flattened state, the upper gripper 4 presses the left and right side edge seal portions 3 of the opening, expanding them left and right and tensioning them to maintain the flattened state, and then the sealing bar 8 vacuum seals the opening, so that the opening of the packaging bag 1 is reliably stretched flat and can be sealed without wrinkles. [Explanation of symbols]

[0018] 1 packaging bag 2 Expanding bar 3 Left and right side edge seals 4 Upper gripper 5 Pressing member 6 Seal holder 7 Extension member 8 Seal Bar 9 spray nozzle 10 Main cylinder rod 11 Compression spring 12 Adjustment set screw 13 Sub cylinder rod 14 Junction 15 Vacuum Chamber 16 Spindle

Claims

1. a flattening device that presses the left and right side edge seals of the opening of the packaging bag flattened by the spreading bar device with a seal receiving base and a pressing member of an upper gripper, and crushes the extension member of the pressing member to spread it left and right and flatten it by tension; and a sealing device that clamps and seals the opening of the packaging bag flattened by the tension force of the extension member by the seal bar and the seal receiving base from above and below.

2. 2. The bag opening shaping and sealing mechanism for a vacuum packaging device according to claim 1, wherein the flattening device is provided between the carrying-in and supply device and the spreading bar device, and the upper gripper has pressing members disposed facing each other at positions corresponding to the left and right side edge seal portions of the opening of the packaging bag, and each pressing member is formed as a pair so as to open left and right together with an extension member attached to the pressing member.

3. 3. The bag opening shaping and sealing mechanism for a vacuum packaging device according to claim 2, wherein the pressing member is fixed to the upper gripper so as to be able to swing and rotate in the left and right direction via a support shaft, the pressing member connected to the upper gripper so as to be able to swing freely at an angle is connected and fixed to a pressing spring, and the spring pressure of the pressing spring can be adjusted by an adjustment set screw.

4. 3. The bag opening shaping and sealing mechanism for a vacuum packaging device according to claim 2, wherein the pressing member moves toward the seal receiving base as the upper gripper descends, and the left and right side edge seal portions of the opening of the packaging bag that have been flattened by the spreading bar are pressed down by the pressing member of the upper gripper and the seal receiving base, and when the upper gripper is further lowered, the extension member of the pressing member is crushed and spread to the left and right, and the opening of the packaging bag is flattened by the tension force.

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