Filling and packaging machines

Abstract

To provide a packaging machine having a structure with two rotary blades that are adjustable while being viewed from their axial directions.SOLUTION: A packaging machine 1 includes: a first frame 43 arranged in front of a body frame 10; a shaft 81 extending in a horizontal direction; and a second frame 61 swingably supported on the first frame via the shaft. Rotary blades 20, 21 are arranged so as to be rotatable in opposite directions around two shafts 22, 23 arranged at an interval in a longitudinal direction of the body frame. The second frame is arranged on the first frame so as to be movable between an operation position at which the two shafts are oriented upward and an adjustment position at which the two shafts are oriented obliquely upward in front of the body frame from the rear toward the front.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a filling and packaging machine. [Background technology]

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses a packaging machine that continuously folds a strip-shaped packaging material made of a laminated film including a plastic film in half, and heat-seals the folded packaging material at predetermined intervals in the conveying direction while conveying it along a circumferential conveying path, thereby forming bag portions for storing filler material between adjacent sealed portions at regular intervals, and filling each bag portion with a filler material (e.g., powder). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2000-355303 A

[0004] In this type of packaging machine, a pair of rotary blades are provided which rotate in opposite directions about two parallel axes, and the packaging material is passed between these rotary blades to cut the packaging material in the sealing area between adjacent bag portions or to create perforations in the sealing area.

[0005] In particular, in packaging machines that cut or perforate packaging materials conveyed horizontally, the central axis of the rotary blade is oriented vertically. The height of the rotary blade is usually set to be approximately at eye level of a user standing in front of the packaging machine. Therefore, although it is desirable to adjust the spacing between the rotary blades as viewed from the central axis direction, it has been necessary to adjust the spacing between the rotary blades as viewed from the side. This has also required a lot of time to adjust the spacing between the rotary blades. Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT DISCLOSURE An object of the present invention is to provide a packaging machine having a configuration in which the gap between the rotary blades can be adjusted when viewed from the axial direction. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] To achieve this object, a packaging machine according to an embodiment of the present invention comprises: A packaging machine (1) having two rotary blades (20, 21) which rotate in opposite directions about two vertically oriented shafts (22, 23), and a cutting section (18) which cuts a package (105) moving horizontally between the two rotary blades (20, 21) at regular intervals, A main body frame (10) of the packaging machine (1); A first frame (43) provided on the front surface of the main body frame (10); a shaft (81) extending in the horizontal direction along the front surface of the main body frame (10); a second frame (61) supported swingably relative to the first frame (43) via the shaft (81); The second frame (61) has two rotary blades (20, 21) that are rotatable in opposite directions about two shafts (22, 23) that are spaced apart from each other in the front-rear direction of the main body frame (10), The second frame (61) is mounted on the first frame (43) so as to be movable between an operating position in which the two shafts (22, 23) are directed upward and an adjustment position in which the two shafts (22, 23) are directed diagonally upward from rear to front in front of the main frame (10). Effect of the Invention

[0008] According to a packaging machine having such a configuration, when adjusting the rotary blade, the second frame (61) is tilted to the adjustment position, whereby the gap (40) between the rotary blades (20, 21) can be precisely adjusted while being viewed from an oblique direction (90) parallel to the axes (22, 23). [Brief description of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] FIG. 2 is a partial front view of a continuous bag body produced by a packaging machine according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2] FIG. 1 is a front view of a packaging machine according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 3] FIG. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a side view of the rotary blade support mechanism with the second frame set to the operating position. [Diagram 5] FIG. 4 is a side view of the rotary blade support mechanism with the second frame set to an adjustment position. [Figure 6] FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0010] DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A packaging machine according to an embodiment of the present invention, and in particular a packaging material cutting device incorporated in the packaging machine, will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0011] [1. Packaging machine] As shown in FIG. 1, a packaging machine according to an embodiment of the present invention transports a packaging material 100 (see FIG. 2) made of a strip-shaped film or sheet in the horizontal direction while folding it in half along its longitudinal center line, bonds the folded packaging material 100 at predetermined intervals in the longitudinal direction to provide vertical seals 101 to form bag sections 102 between adjacent vertical seals 101, fills the bag sections 102 with filling material 103, bonds the upper end opening of the bag sections 102 to provide a top seal 104 to form a continuous bag body 105, and continuously produces bags containing filling material 103 by cutting the continuous bag body 105 along the vertical seal 101 between adjacent bag sections 102 to separate it into individual bags, or by making perforations 106 in the vertical seal 101 without separating the continuous bag body 105.

[0012] As shown in Fig. 2, the packaging machine 1 has a main body frame 10. The main body frame 10 is fixed to a floor of a building or the like. A packaging material supply unit 13 that supplies packaging material 100 is disposed on the front side of the main body frame 10 (the surface that appears in Fig. 2 and that faces an operator). The main body frame 10 has a packaging material folding unit 14 that guides the packaging material 100 supplied from the packaging material supply unit 13 in a substantially horizontal direction and folds the packaging material 100 up into a substantially V-shape with the longitudinal center line of the packaging material 100 as a fulcrum. The main body frame 10 supports a filler filling section 15 which heat-seals the left and right packaging material pieces folded up in the packaging material folding section 14 at a predetermined interval in the longitudinal direction to continuously form vertical seals 101 and bag sections 102 located between adjacent vertical seals 101, and fills each bag section 102 with filler, a filler supply section 16 which supplies filler to the filler filling section 15, a top seal section 17 which heat-seals the upper ends of each bag section 102 filled with filler to form a top seal 104, and a cutting section 18 which cuts the continuous bag body 105 along the vertical seals 101 between adjacent bag sections or cuts perforations 106 in the vertical seals 101.

[0013] [2. Cutting part] As shown in Fig. 3, the cutting section 18 has a pair of rotary blades 20, 21 arranged to face each other across the packaging material conveying path 19 when the packaging machine 1 is viewed from above. The rotary blades 20, 21 have shaft portions 24, 25 extending along the shafts 22, 23. The shaft portions 24, 25 have blade support portions 26, 27 arranged at 90 degree intervals around the shafts 22, 23. The blade support portions 26, 27 have blade support surfaces 28, 29 on planes extending parallel to the shafts 22, 23, and support plate blades 30, 31 for cutting or perforating on the blade support surfaces 28, 29. The blade plates 30, 31 are formed with a plurality of through holes 32, 33 at predetermined intervals in the direction of the axes 22, 23, and are fixed to the blade support surfaces 28, 29 by screwing bolts 36, 37 into screw holes 34, 35 formed in the blade support surfaces 28, 29 through the through holes 32, 33. The through holes 32, 33 are made slightly larger than the outer diameter of the bolts 36, 37 in order to adjust the gap 40 between the cutting edge 38 of one rotary blade 20 and the cutting edge 39 of the opposing other rotary blade 21.

[0014] [Guide Rail] The rotary blades 20, 21 are supported by a rotary blade support mechanism 41 shown in Figures 3 and 4. The rotary blade support mechanism 41 has a pair of left and right guide rails 42 fixed to the front surface of the main body frame 10. The guide rails 42 are arranged in the vertical direction and are fixed at regular intervals in the horizontal direction (hereinafter, this direction will be referred to as the "lateral direction") along the front surface of the main body frame 10.

[0015] [1st frame] The guide rail 42 supports the first frame 43 so that it can be raised and lowered. The first frame 43 has a pair of frame parts (right frame part and left frame part) 44 that appear in a square or rectangular shape when viewed from the side. The left and right frame parts 44 each have an upper horizontal member 45 and a lower horizontal member 46 that extend forward from the guide rail 42 with a gap therebetween in the vertical direction (hereinafter, a direction parallel to this direction will be referred to as the "front-rear direction"), and a front vertical member 47 and a rear vertical member 48 that connect the upper horizontal member 45 and the lower horizontal member 46 to each other at both ends (the distal end away from the main body frame and the proximal end close to the main body frame). The left and right frame parts 44 are connected by a lower connecting member 48 that connects the left and right lower horizontal members 46 to each other, a front connecting member 49 that connects the left and right front vertical members 47 to each other, and an upper connecting member 50 that connects the left and right upper horizontal members 45 to each other at the proximal end sides of the left and right upper horizontal members 45. An upper sliding portion (slider) 51 and a lower sliding portion (slider) 52 are fixed to the upper and lower portions of the proximal ends of the left and right frame portions 44. The upper and lower sliding portions 51, 52 are connected to the guide rail 42 so as to be able to rise and fall.

[0016] A through hole 53 is formed in the lower connecting member 48, penetrating the upper and lower surfaces of the lower connecting member 48, and an internally threaded member (nut) 54 is fixed to the through hole 53. As shown in the figure, the central axis of the internally threaded member 54 is oriented in the vertical direction.

[0017] An externally threaded member (screw shaft) 55 is screwed into the internally threaded member 54. A cylindrical portion 56 without an external thread is formed at the lower portion of the externally threaded member 55, and the cylindrical portion 56 is rotatably supported by the main body frame 10 via a bracket 57. The lower end of the cylindrical portion 56 extends below the bracket 57, and a worm wheel 58 is fixed thereto. As shown in FIG. 6, the worm wheel 58 is engaged with a worm 60 that is drivingly connected to a motor (forward and reverse rotation motor) 59 fixed to the main body frame 10. Therefore, when the motor 59 is rotated forward or backward, the rotation is transmitted to the worm 60, the worm wheel 58, and the externally threaded member 55, and the internally threaded member 54 and the first frame 43 that holds it move between an elevated position (FIG. 4) and a lowered position (FIG. 5).

[0018] [2nd frame] The first frame 43 supports a second frame 61. The second frame 61 has a horizontal member 62 extending in the front-rear direction in the operating state (state during manufacture of the bag) shown in Fig. 3, and vertical members 63, 64 extending upward from both ends (the distal end far from the main body frame and the proximal end close to the main body frame) of the horizontal member 62.

[0019] The front and rear vertical members 63, 64 are connected at approximately the middle portion by a connecting member 65. To the upper ends of the vertical members 63, 64, arms 66, 67 extending toward the other vertical members 64, 63 are fixed.

[0020] The connecting member 65 and the arms 66, 67 have upper and lower through holes 68, 69, 70, 71 formed along two axes 22, 23 extending vertically and spaced apart in the front-to-back direction as shown in Figure 3, and a shaft 72 of one of the rotary blades 20 is rotatably inserted into the through holes 68, 70, and a shaft 73 of the other rotary blade 21 is rotatably inserted into the through holes 69, 71.

[0021] The horizontal member 62 has a through hole 74 formed on an extension of the axis 23, and a shaft 73 is inserted into the through hole 74. The horizontal member 62 also supports a motor 75, and the motor 75 is drivingly connected to the shaft 73.

[0022] External gears 76, 77 are fixed to the shafts 70, 71 of the rotary blades 20, 21, and the external gears 76, 77 mesh with each other.

[0023] Although not shown, the first frame 43 and the second frame 61 are provided with a locking mechanism for fixing the second frame 61 in the operating state shown in FIG.

[0024] Therefore, during operation (when manufacturing bags), the first frame 43 and the second frame 61 are held in the raised position shown in Figure 4. In this state, when the motor 75 is driven, its rotation is transmitted to the external gears 77, 76 via the shaft 73, causing the rotating blades 20, 21 to rotate in the opposite direction, cutting the continuous bag 105 transported along the transport path 19 (see Figure 3) at the vertical seal 101 or creating perforations 106 in the vertical seal 101.

[0025] [3. Rotary blade adjustment mechanism] As described above, the interval between the rotary blades 20, 21 must be adjusted with high precision in order for the cutting unit 18 to accurately cut the packaging material made of a thin film or sheet at the vertical seal 101 or to uniformly make perforations therein. In order to accurately adjust the interval between the rotary blades 20, 21, it is preferable that the gap between the rotary blades 20, 21 can be confirmed from a direction parallel to the axes 22, 23 during adjustment. For this reason, the packaging machine 1 of the embodiment is configured so that the second frame 61 can move between an operating position in which the axes 22, 23 of the rotary blades 20, 21 are oriented vertically as shown in FIG. 4 and an adjustment position in which the axes 22, 23 of the rotary blades 20, 21 are inclined obliquely upward from the rear to the front as shown in FIG. 5.

[0026] Specifically, in the embodiment, the first frame 43 and the second frame 61 are connected by a pair of left and right brackets 80 (one of which is not shown) fixed to the front connecting member 49 of the first frame 43 with a horizontal gap therebetween, a horizontal shaft 81 extending in the horizontal direction and rotatably supported by the pair of brackets 80, and an arm 82 connecting the horizontal shaft 81 and the horizontal member 62 of the second frame 61. In addition, the second frame 61 is configured such that a part of it (e.g., the lower end of the horizontal member 62 or the proximal vertical member 65) is supported by the upper connecting member 50 of the first frame 43 in the operating position. Therefore, the front and rear parts of the second frame 61 are supported by the first frame 43 in the operating position.

[0027] The second frame 61 is positioned at the adjustment position by a positioning mechanism 85. The positioning mechanism 85 has a support part 86 protruding forward from the front connecting member 49 of the first frame 43, and a supported part 87 provided on the horizontal member 62 of the second frame 61. In the embodiment, in order to adjust the tilt angle of the second frame 61, a screw hole 88 is formed in the vertical direction at a location (part of the support part 86) that faces the supported part 87 at the adjustment position, and a screw (bolt) 89 is screwed into the screw hole 88, so that the head of the screw 89 supports the supported part 87 of the second frame 61.

[0028] [4. Rotary blade adjustment] According to the cutting unit 18 having the above configuration, when adjusting the rotary blades 20, 21, the motor 59 is driven to move the first frame 43 and the second frame 61 from the raised position (Fig. 4) to the lowered position (Fig. 5). Next, the locking mechanism is released to rotatably release the second frame 61 from the first frame 43, and the second frame 61 is held and tilted from the operating position to the adjustment position. The tilt angle of the second frame 61 can be adjusted by manipulating the height of the screw 89 according to the operator's physique and the working environment.

[0029] Therefore, as shown in FIG. 5, an operator OP can accurately adjust the distance between the plate blades 30, 31 (particularly the cutting edges 38, 39 or blade faces) of the rotary blades 20, 21 while viewing the gap 40 between the rotary blades 20, 21 from an obliquely upward direction 90 parallel to the axes 22, 23.

[0030] In the above explanation, the term "horizontal direction" is used, but this term should be understood to include not only a completely horizontal direction, but also a direction slightly tilted from the completely horizontal direction. Similarly, the term "vertical direction" should be understood to include not only a completely vertical direction (the direction of gravity), but also a direction slightly tilted from the direction of gravity. [Explanation of symbols]

[0031] 18: Cutting section 20,21: Rotating blade 22,23: Axis 41: Rotary blade support mechanism 43: First frame 61: Second frame 85: Positioning mechanism

Claims

1. A packaging machine (1) having two rotary blades (20, 21) rotating in opposite directions about two vertically oriented shafts (22, 23), and equipped with a cutting section (18) for cutting a package (105) moving horizontally between the two rotary blades (20, 21) with the two rotary blades (20, 21), A main body frame (10) of the packaging machine (1); A first frame (43) provided on the front surface of the main body frame (10); A shaft (81) extending in the horizontal direction along the front surface of the main body frame (10); a second frame (61) supported swingably relative to the first frame (43) via the shaft (81); The second frame (61) has two rotary blades (20, 21) that are rotatable in opposite directions about two shafts (22, 23) that are spaced apart from each other in the front-rear direction of the main frame (10), the second frame (61) is provided on the first frame (43) so as to be movable between an operating position in which the two shafts (22, 23) are directed upward and an adjustment position in which the two shafts (22, 23) are directed obliquely upward from rear to front in front of the main body frame (10).

2. 2. The packaging machine according to claim 1, further comprising a mechanism (42, 51, 52, 59) for raising and lowering the first frame (43).

3. 3. The packaging machine according to claim 1, further comprising a mechanism (85) for adjusting the inclination angle of said second frame (61) at said adjustment position.

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