Horizontal sealing device for horizontal bag making and filling machines

Abstract

To provide a lateral seal device in a bag-making / filling machine capable of adjusting a distance between a horn and an anvil when holding a cylindrical packaging material with high accuracy.SOLUTION: In a lateral seal device of a bag-making / filling machine, a pair of first support members 22 and 22 which rotatably support a first rotation shaft 21 of a horn 17 are disposed to face a pair of second support members 24 and 24 which rotatably support a second rotation shaft 23 of an anvil 18 in the vertical direction. The second support member 24 is energized toward the facing first support member 22 by an energizing means 26. A wedge member 27 interposed between the first support member 22 and the second support member 24 facing each other is slid in the horizontal direction of the support members 22 and 24 by an adjusting mechanism 28 to adjust a distance between the horn 17 and the anvil 18 when a cylindrical packaging material is held.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to Horizontal This invention relates to a transverse sealing device in a bag making and filling machine that applies a transverse seal to a tubular packaging material by ultrasonic vibration using a horn and anvil that rotate in opposite directions. [Background technology]

[0002] In packaging machines such as horizontal form-fill-seal machines, both widthwise edge portions of a film (packaging material) are pulled out from a roll and guided by a bag-making means, and are laminated in a palm-like shape to form a cylindrical shape, and vertical seals are applied to the laminated portions in the film's conveying direction, and horizontal seals that intersect with the conveying direction are applied to the front and rear positions of each item fed into the cylindrical film to obtain pillow-packaged products. A rotary-type horizontal sealing device is known for packaging machines, which is equipped with a pair of sealing bodies that rotate in opposite directions across the conveying path of the cylindrical film, and which clamps the cylindrical film between both heated sealing bodies to apply horizontal seals (see, for example, Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Special Publication No. 57-52242 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] In the case where such a conventional device is configured to sandwich a tubular film between a pair of sealing bodies consisting of a horn and an anvil and apply ultrasonic vibration to perform a lateral seal, if the opposing surfaces of the horn and the anvil are inclined in the longitudinal direction when the tubular film is sandwiched with a predetermined pressure, the opposing surfaces of the horn and the anvil come into contact with each other outside the sandwiching area of ​​the packaging material due to the inclination, and if operation is continued in this state, problems occur such as cracks or breaks in the horn due to vibration caused by resonance, or damage to the vibration generating means. Therefore, it is required to appropriately adjust the distance when the tubular film is sandwiched between the horn and the anvil. Patent Document 1 discloses a configuration in which the meshing position at which the pair of sealing bodies sandwich the tubular film can be independently adjusted on the left and right in the longitudinal direction according to the thickness of the film. However, in order to address the above problems, in order to seal a packaging material with a thickness of several tens of μm, the mechanism does not allow the left and right separation distance to be adjusted with precision in microns.

[0005] The object of the present invention is to be able to adjust with high precision the distance between the clamping surfaces of a horn and an anvil when a cylindrical packaging material is clamped between them. Horizontal The objective is to provide a horizontal sealing device in a bag making and filling machine. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The horizontal sealing device in the horizontal form fill and seal machine of the invention according to claim 1 of the present application is: A lateral sealing device in a horizontal form-fill-seal machine in which a horn (17) and an anvil (18) are positioned above and below the conveying path of a tubular packaging material (10) and rotate in opposite directions to each other to clamp an article (11) fed into the tubular packaging material (10) at the front and rear of the material and apply a lateral seal by ultrasonic vibration in a direction intersecting the conveying direction of the tubular packaging material (10), a pair of first support members (22, 22) that rotatably support the first rotating shaft (21) at both shaft end sides of the horn (17) on which the horn (17) is disposed; a pair of second support members (24, 24) for rotatably supporting the second rotating shaft (23) on both shaft ends of the anvil (18) on which the anvil (18) is disposed; 、 before a wedge member (27) that can adjust the distance between the horn (17) and the anvil (18) by sliding on an inclined surface (27a) that faces the first support member (22) and the second support member (24) at an intermediate portion in the conveying direction of the tubular packaging material (10); an adjustment mechanism (28) that slides the wedge member (27); a guide means (25) for supporting the pair of first support members (22, 22) and the pair of second support members (24, 24) so ​​as to face each other vertically, and for supporting either the first support member (22) or the second support member (24) so ​​as to be movable toward and away from the other support member (22) so as to linearly slide with respect to the other support member (22) with the axes of the first rotating shaft (21) and the second rotating shaft (23) vertically aligned; an air cylinder (37) that linearly extends and retracts a piston rod vertically so as to bias the one support member (24) facing the upper and lower portions toward the other support member (22); The above Guide means (25) at the top Installation At the same time, the air cylinder (37) is lowered downward to support the pair of first support members (22, 22) and the pair of second support members (24, 24) and moves them up and down. A lift table (15); The lift table (15) By a female screw member (50) and an adjustment screw (49) that screws into the female screw member (50) Rise and fall 、 The height position of the cylindrical packaging material (10) sandwiched between the horn (17) and the anvil (18) is Depending on the height of the item and an adjustable height adjustment mechanism (51). According to the invention of claim 1, the mutual distance between the support members of the horn and the anvil can be independently adjusted by the wedge members at both ends of the rotating shaft of the horn and the anvil, so that the distance between the clamping surfaces of the horn and the anvil when the packaging material is clamped can be adjusted with high precision, and it is possible to prevent the horn or the ultrasonic vibration oscillator from being damaged by ultrasonic vibrations generated when the clamping surfaces of the horn and the anvil come into contact with each other outside the clamping area of ​​the packaging material during lateral sealing. In addition, it is possible to change and adjust the pressure applied to the tubular packaging material in the longitudinal direction of the horn and the anvil and the balance of pressure applied to the left and right at both ends of the shaft, so that it is possible to prevent the balance of pressure applied to the packaging material from being lost or excessive pressure being applied when lateral sealing is performed, which would cause edge cuts or pinholes in the tubular packaging material and lead to poor sealing, and to perform good lateral sealing. Furthermore, the clamping height between the horn and the anvil can be adjusted according to the height of the article fed into the tubular packaging material, allowing a horizontal seal to be applied to the middle of the package in the height direction.

[0007] In the invention according to claim 2, the guide means (25) movably supports one of the first support member (22) or the second support member (24) by a guide member (35) that moves away from the wedge member (27) in a sliding direction, The above Air Cylinder ( 37 ) biases one of the first support member (22) or the second support member (24) between the guide members (35, 35). Ruko It is characterized by: According to the invention of claim 2, even if the packaging material is a thin material having a thickness of about 30 to 100 μm, which is often used as a food packaging material, the air cylinder can be used to apply a pressure appropriate for lateral sealing, and the pressure can be accurately and precisely adjusted and controlled.

[0008] In the invention according to claim 3, the adjustment mechanism (28) is an adjustment shaft (40) into which the wedge member (27) is slidably screwed; The adjustment shaft (40) is rotatably supported by an operating portion (41) disposed on the outer side of the first support member (22) or the second support member (24). According to the invention of claim 3, the distance between the horn and the anvil can be adjusted by sliding the wedge member with a simple structure. Effect of the Invention

[0010] According to the present invention, the distance between the clamping surfaces of the horn and the anvil when the tubular packaging material is clamped can be adjusted with high precision. Also, since the sealing pressure can be changed and adjusted, the pressure balance of the packaging material can be adjusted to prevent poor sealing due to edge cuts in the horizontal seal portion or the occurrence of pinholes, and the horizontal seal can be properly performed. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0011] [Figure 1] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a horizontal sealing device. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a schematic side view of a horizontal sealing device. [Diagram 3] FIG. 2 is a schematic side view of a main part of the horizontal sealing device. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a schematic side view showing an arrangement portion of a wedge member. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0012] Next, the present invention Horizontal A preferred embodiment of a horizontal sealing device in a bag making and filling machine will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. 。 EXAMPLES

[0013] The horizontal bag form-fill-seal machine (packaging machine) includes a bag making means for forming a strip of film (packaging material) pulled out from a roll into a tubular film (tubular packaging material) 10 by overlapping both longitudinal end edges of the strip, a supply conveyor for supplying articles 11 to the tubular film 10 at predetermined intervals, a vertical sealing device for applying a vertical seal to the overlapped portion of the tubular film 10 overlapped in the overlapped state in the film conveying direction, a film conveying means for clamping the overlapped portion of the tubular film 10 and conveying the tubular film 10 toward the vertical sealing device, and a horizontal sealing device for clamping the tubular film 10 at the front and rear positions of the articles 11 supplied to the tubular film 10 at predetermined intervals and applying a horizontal seal and cutting in a direction (width direction) intersecting the film conveying direction. The horizontal sealing device horizontally seals and cuts the tubular film 10 with the vertical seal applied to the overlapped portion by the vertical sealing device folded over the bag body. The packaging machine is also provided with a transport conveyor 12 and an output conveyor 13 at the front and rear of the film transport direction of the horizontal sealing device, which support the article 11 from below via the tubular film 10 and transport it downstream, and is configured to transport the product (pillow packaged item) that has been transversely sealed and cut and separated from the upstream tubular film 10 to the next process by the output conveyor 13 (see Figure 3).

[0014] As shown in Figures 1 and 2, in the horizontal sealing device, a lifting table 15 is supported on a bottom frame 14 so that it can be raised and lowered via a number of slide shafts 16 extending in the vertical direction, and a sealing unit 20 is disposed on the lifting table 15, the sealing unit 20 including a horn 17 and anvil 18 which rotate in opposite directions across the conveying path of the tubular film 10, and a vibration generating means 19 which ultrasonically vibrates the horn 17. The sealing unit 20 includes a pair of first support members 22, 22 spaced apart in the width direction (axial direction) across the horn 17 and rotatably supporting a first rotating shaft 21 on which the horn 17 is disposed, and a pair of second support members 24, 24 spaced apart in the width direction (axial direction) across the anvil 18 and rotatably supporting a second rotating shaft 23 on which the anvil 18 is disposed, and the corresponding first support members 22 and second support members 24 are disposed on the left and right sides of the horn 17 and the anvil 18 so as to face each other in a direction intersecting the width direction (vertical direction in the embodiment) so that the first rotating shaft 21 and the second rotating shaft 23 can be moved toward and away from each other. In the embodiment, the horn 17 is disposed on the upper side across the conveying path, and the anvil 18 is disposed on the lower side, and the lower surface (opposing surface) of the first support member 22 and the upper surface (opposing surface) of the second support member 24 are disposed so as to face each other. The sealing unit 20 also includes guide means 25 that supports one of the opposing support members 24 on each of the left and right sides of the horn 17 and the anvil 18 so that the one of the supporting members 24 can move toward and away from the other supporting member 22, biasing means 26 that biases the one of the supporting members 24 movably supported on the guide means 25 toward the other supporting member 22, and an adjustment mechanism 28 that adjusts the distance between the horn 17 and the anvil 18 when the tubular film 10 is clamped by a wedge member 27 interposed between each of the opposing first supporting member 22 and second supporting member 24. In this embodiment, the second supporting member 24 that supports the anvil 18 is movably supported by the guide means 25 with respect to the first supporting member 22 that supports the horn 17, such that the upper surface of the second supporting member 24 can move toward and away from the lower surface of the first supporting member 22, and the second supporting member 24 is biased toward the first supporting member 22 by the biasing means 26.

[0015] The sealing unit 20 includes a drive mechanism 29 having a drive motor 29a consisting of a servo motor and a linking mechanism linking the drive motor 29a, the first rotating shaft 21, and the second rotating shaft 23, and the horn 17 and the anvil 18 are driven to rotate in opposite directions by the drive mechanism 29. The vibration generating means 19 includes a converter that generates ultrasonic waves and a booster that amplifies ultrasonic waves, is disposed on the first rotating shaft 21, and is configured to ultrasonically vibrate the horn 17 at a predetermined amplitude, and is configured to clamp the tubular film 10 transported by the film transport means with a predetermined pressure between the horn 17 and the anvil 18 and apply a lateral seal to the width direction of the tubular film 10 by the ultrasonic vibration.

[0016] 1 to 3, the horn 17 is rotatably supported via bearings on the pair of first support members 22, 22 connected in a gate shape by a connecting member 30 at the shaft end side of the first rotating shaft 21 extending laterally to the left and right. The horn 17 has a plurality of seal heads 31 (two at 180° intervals in this embodiment) radially provided on the first rotating shaft 21 at predetermined angles, and the outer circumferential surface of each seal head 31 is arc-shaped corresponding to the rotation radius of the horn 17. A pair of seal surfaces 31b, 31b with flat surfaces are provided spaced apart in the front-rear width direction of the seal head 31 across a groove portion 31a recessed inward from the outer circumferential surface of the seal head 31.

[0017] As shown in Figs. 1 to 3, the anvil 18 is rotatably supported by the pair of second support members 24, 24 erected on a support base 38, which will be described later, via bearing holders 32, 32 at the shaft end side of the second rotating shaft 23 extending laterally to the left and right. The anvil 18 is provided with seal bars 33, which are paired with the seal heads 31 of the horn 17, protruding at predetermined angles from the second rotating shaft 23. A cutting means 34 is disposed within the anvil 18, and a through hole 18a is formed at the protruding end of the seal bar 33 to allow the cutting means 34 to enter and exit. On both sides of the front-rear width sandwiching the through hole 18a of each seal bar 33, sealing surfaces 33a, 33a which are paired with the sealing surfaces 31b, 31b of the horn 17 are formed so as to extend in the width direction of the tubular film 10. The sealing surfaces 33a, 33a at the protruding end of the anvil 18 are formed in an arc shape corresponding to the rotation radius of the anvil 18. Then, at the front and rear positions where items 11 are supplied into tubular film 10 at predetermined intervals, tubular film 10 is clamped during transport by rotating horn 17 and anvil 18, and ultrasonic vibrations emitted from horn 17 are brought to sealing surfaces 31b, 33a of the clamping portion, melting the sealant in the packaging material and forming a sealed horizontal seal portion that intersects with the transport direction of tubular film 10.

[0018] 3, cutting means 34 is provided with blade portion 34a on each seal bar side, and is connected to a reciprocating means (not shown) that moves cutting means 34 back and forth in the radial direction. The reciprocating means is configured to operate cutting means 34 at the timing when tubular film 10 is clamped between sealing surfaces 31b, 33a, so that blade portion 34a momentarily protrudes in the radial direction from sealing surface 33a of anvil 18 to cut tubular film 10 clamped between sealing surfaces 31b, 33a in the width direction of tubular film 10. When blade portion 34a protrudes from sealing surface 33a of anvil 18 to cut tubular film 10, it is received in groove portion 31a of horn 17 without contacting it.

[0019] 1 and 2, the guide means 25 each having a pair of guide shafts (guide members) 35, 35 spaced apart in the left-right direction along the film transport direction are disposed on both left and right sides of the transport path for the tubular film 10 on the lift-up table 15, and the first support member 22 and the second support member 24 facing each other in the vertical direction are supported by each guide means 25. The guide shaft 35 extends upward from a holder 36 of a predetermined height dimension that is erected on the lift-up table 15, and an extending end portion of the guide shaft 35 is fastened to the first support member 22, and the first support member 22 is supported at a fixed position by the pair of guide shafts 35, 35 with respect to the lift-up table 15. The second support member 24 is supported between the holders 36, 36 of the pair of guide shafts 35, 35 and the first support member 22 so as to be movable in the vertical direction along the guide shafts 35, 35 toward or away from the first support member 22. An air cylinder 37 as the biasing means 26 is disposed on the lift table 15 at the intermediate position between the pair of guide shafts 35, 35 of each guide means 25, and the rods extending upward from both air cylinders 37, 37 are connected via floating joints 39 to positions directly below the second support members 24 on a support base 38 on which a pair of left and right second support members 24, 24 are erected. That is, the pair of second support members 24, 24 are configured to be biased by the two air cylinders 37, 37 toward the pair of first support members 22, 22 with a predetermined pressure. The floating joints 39 function to absorb the inclination of the support base 38 relative to the rod of the air cylinder 37 and suppress malfunction of the air cylinder 37.

[0020] 2 and 4, the wedge member 27 is disposed on the lower surface side of the first support member 22, which is the opposing surface of the second support member 24, so as to be slidable in the left-right direction of the first support member 22 (the direction perpendicular to the axial direction of the rotation shafts 21, 23), and is configured so that the upper surface of the second support member 24 (the surface opposing the first support member 22) is pressed against and comes into contact with the wedge member 27 under the bias of the air cylinders 37, 37. The wedge member 27 is disposed at a middle position in the left-right direction of the first support member 22, corresponding to a position where the center of the sliding area coincides with a line connecting the rotation centers of the rotation shafts 21, 23, and is configured to slide in the left-right direction based on the center of the sliding area. In the embodiment, the upper surface of the bearing holder 32, which is disposed on the second support member 24 and supports the second rotating shaft 23 with a bearing 32b, is formed as an inclined surface 32a, and is disposed so as to be exposed at the upper part of the second support member 24, facing an inclined surface (slope) 27a formed on the lower surface of the wedge member 27 and inclined in the left-right direction. In addition, a gap S is provided between the second support member 24 and the upper surface of the holder 36 in a state where the inclined surface 32a of the second support member 24 abuts against the inclined surface 27a of the wedge member 27. This allows the second support member 24 to move toward and away from the first support member 22 along the guide shafts 35, 35 within the range of the gap S. That is, by sliding the wedge member 27 in the left-right direction, the second support member 24 is guided by the guide means 25 and moves in parallel with respect to the first support member 22 by the wedge action.

[0021] 4, the adjustment mechanism 28 includes an adjustment shaft 40 that slides the wedge member 27, and an operation dial 41 consisting of a dial indicator or the like as an operation unit that can rotate the adjustment shaft 40. The adjustment mechanism 28 also includes display means 42, 43 that display the adjustment amount of the adjustment shaft 40. That is, the adjustment shaft 40 is rotatably supported by the first support member 22, and a screw portion 40a provided on the adjustment shaft 40 is screwed into a female screw portion 27b provided on the wedge member 27. Furthermore, an operation dial 41 is disposed on the shaft end of adjustment shaft 40 on the outer side of first support member 22 so as to be rotatable integrally therewith, and by rotating operation dial 41 in the forward or reverse direction, screw portion 40a of adjustment shaft 40 screws into female screw portion 27b of wedge member 27, causing wedge member 27 to slide in the left-right direction of first support member 22, thereby adjusting the opposing distance between first support member 22 and second support member 24, i.e., the distance between horn 17 and anvil 18 (the opposing distance between sealing surfaces (clamping surfaces) 31b, 33a when clamping tubular film 10). Note that the inclined surfaces 27a, 32a of wedge member 27 and second support member 24 are set to an inclination angle such that, for example, moving wedge member 27 by 0.5 mm using adjustment mechanism 28 adjusts the distance between horn 17 and anvil 18 by approximately 10 μm. The operation dial 41 is also provided with a scale 42 and a pointer 43 that indicates the scale 42, and is configured so that the movement position of the wedge member 27, i.e., the adjustment amount of the distance between the horn 17 and the anvil 18, can be determined by the scale 42 and the pointer 43. The thread pitch of the screw portion 40a and the female screw portion 27b is set so that the movement amount of the wedge member 27 is smaller than the rotation amount of the operation dial 41. The adjustment mechanism 28 is also provided with a lock mechanism that restricts the rotation of the operation dial 41, and is configured so that the wedge member 27 can be fixed at the adjustment position. The scale 42 and the pointer 43 form an indication means that indicates the adjustment amount of the distance between the horn 17 and the anvil 18 by the adjustment shaft 40.

[0022] 1 and 2, an operating shaft 45 is rotatably supported by a support member 44 erected on the upper surface of the bottom frame 14, an operating handle 46 is disposed on one end of the operating shaft 45 so as to rotate integrally therewith, and a first helical gear 47 is disposed on the other end so as to rotate integrally therewith. A second helical gear 48 meshing with the first helical gear 47 is rotatably supported in the center of the bottom frame 14, and an adjustment screw 49 extending in the vertical direction is disposed on the second helical gear 48 so as to rotate integrally therewith, and the adjustment screw 49 is screwed into a female screw member 50 provided at a corresponding position on the lift table 15. By rotating the operating handle 46 in the forward or reverse direction, the lift table 15 moves in the vertical direction relative to the bottom frame 14 under the screwing action of the adjustment screw means consisting of the adjustment screw 49 and the female screw member 50. That is, by moving the sealing unit 20 disposed on the lift table 15 in the vertical direction, the clamping height position at which the tubular film 10 is clamped by the horn 17 and the anvil 18 can be adjusted according to the height of the article 11. Height adjustment mechanism 51 is composed of operating shaft 45, helical gears 47, 48, adjustment screw 49, and female screw member 50.

[0023] Next, the operation of the horizontal sealing device in the horizontal bag making and filling machine according to the embodiment will be described.

[0024] When tubular film 10 is clamped between seal head 31 of horn 17 and seal bar 33 of anvil 18 and the appropriate pressure for sealing tubular film 10 has been applied, the position of second support member 24 is adjusted by corresponding adjustment mechanism 28 so that sealing surface 31b of horn 17 and sealing surface 33a of anvil 18 are at an appropriate distance away from each other outside the clamping area of ​​tubular film 10 so that they do not come into contact on both the left and right ends in the longitudinal direction. That is, the operating dial 41 is rotated in a predetermined direction to move wedge member 27 left and right, and second support member 24, which is biased by air cylinder 37, moves toward or away from first support member 22 by the wedge action. This allows the distance of the anvil 18 relative to the horn 17 when the tubular film 10 is clamped to be adjusted to an appropriate distance, preventing contact between the sealing surface 31b of the horn 17 and the sealing surface 33a of the anvil 18, and preventing damage such as cracking of the horn 17 and damage to the vibration generating means 19 due to resonance caused by contact between the metals of the seal head 31 and the seal bar 33 outside the clamping area of ​​the packaging material during lateral sealing. Note that a slight tilt in the longitudinal direction of the support base 38 (toward the axis of the second rotating shaft 23) caused by adjustment of the left and right second support members 24, 24 supporting both axial ends of the second rotating shaft 23 of the anvil 18 by the adjustment mechanisms 28, 28 is absorbed by the floating joint 39 provided at the extending end of the rod of the air cylinder 37 connected to the underside of the support base 38, and the biasing force of the air cylinder 37 is transmitted appropriately. This allows the anvil 18 to be biased with an appropriate pressure for lateral sealing. Also, the second support member 24 is supported by a pair of guide shafts 35, 35 spaced apart in the left-right direction, and the wedge member 27 is arranged so that the center of the slide area is located on a line connecting the axial centers of the first rotating shaft 21 and the second rotating shaft 23 in the left-right intermediate portion of the first support member 22 and the second support member 24, so that the second support member 24 can move toward and away from the first support member 22 in parallel without being tilted.

[0025] Even if sealing defects such as pinholes or edge cuts occur in the horizontal seal portions of the tubular film 10, by changing the position of second support members 24 located on both the left and right sides or one side with the corresponding adjustment mechanism 28, the distance between horn 17 and anvil 18 when clamping tubular film 10 can be accurately adjusted to a distance that does not apply excessive pressure to tubular film 10, and an appropriate sealing pressure can be achieved that does not cause sealing defects in the horizontal seal portions. In addition, by controlling the air pressure supplied to air cylinder 37, the pressure can be accurately and precisely adjusted and managed, making it possible to easily accommodate changes in the type of packaging material due to changes in order, etc. In addition, since the thickness of the overlap of the packaging material in the tubular film 10 on which the transverse seal is applied differs between the area where the vertical seal portion overlaps the bag body and the other area, by adjusting the opposing distances at the left and right longitudinal end sides of the sealing surfaces 31b, 33a of the horn 17 and the anvil 18 using the left and right adjustment mechanisms 28, 28, respectively, it is possible to apply a good transverse seal to the tubular film 10 on which the overlapping thickness of the packaging material differs in the width direction. In other words, the pressure applied to the packaging material in the longitudinal direction of the horn 17 and the anvil 18 and the balance of left and right pressure at both axial ends can be changed and adjusted so that the transverse seal can be properly applied so that the balance of pressure applied to the packaging material in the longitudinal direction of the horn 17 and the anvil 18 and the balance of pressure applied to the packaging material on the left and right sides at both axial ends are not lost and excessive pressure is not applied to the packaging material, causing edge cuts or pinholes in the tubular film 10.

[0026] The horizontal sealing device of the embodiment can easily and accurately adjust the distance between the seal surface 31b of the horn 17 and the seal surface 33a of the anvil 18 by a simple adjustment mechanism 28 in which an adjustment shaft 40 screwed into the wedge member 27 is rotated by an operation dial 41. Furthermore, the scale 42 of the operation dial 41 and the pointer 43 allow the distance (adjustment amount) between the seal surface 31b of the horn 17 and the seal surface 33a of the anvil 18 adjusted by the adjustment mechanism 28 to be grasped numerically, making adjustment easy. Furthermore, when an appropriate numerical value according to the type of packaging, etc. is known, the distance between the horn 17 and the anvil 18 can be appropriately set according to the type of packaging, etc., simply by rotating the operation dial 41 so that the numerical value on the scale 42 matches the pointer 43.

[0027] If the height dimension of article 11 changes due to an order change or the like, the operating handle 46 can be rotated in the required direction to change the position of sealing unit 20 in the vertical direction relative to bottom frame 14 via lift table 15 under the screwing action of adjustment screw 49 and female screw member 50. This makes it possible to adjust the height position at which tubular film 10 is clamped between horn 17 and anvil 18 to the middle position in the height direction of article 11. Therefore, the lateral seal position of the film relative to article 11 can always be centered in the height direction.

[0028] (Example of change) The present invention is not limited to the configurations of the examples, and can be modified as follows, for example. Furthermore, the configurations described in the examples are not limited to the following modifications, and various embodiments can be adopted within the scope of the gist of the present invention. (1) The vertical relationship between the horn 17 and the anvil 18 may be reversed from that in the embodiment. Although the first support member 22 is fixed to the guide means 25 and the second support member 24 is moved, the relationship may be reversed. A configuration in which the first support member 22 and the second support member 24 are movably supported by the guide means 25 may be adopted. In this configuration, the wedge member 27 disposed between the opposing surfaces of the support members 22 and 24 may be formed with inclined surfaces facing the inclined surfaces formed on the opposing surfaces of the support members 22 and 24, and the support members 22 and 24 may be moved toward or away from each other by sliding the wedge member 27. A configuration in which each of the support members 22 and 24 is biased against the other by various biasing means such as a spring or an air cylinder may be adopted. (2) The biasing means 26 may be configured to use a biasing member such as a compression spring instead of the air cylinder 37 . (3) Although the guide means 25 is configured to allow the second support member 24 to slide along the guide shafts 35, 35, a configuration in which the support member is movably supported by various guide members such as linear guide rails can also be used. (4) The adjustment mechanism 28 is configured to slide the adjustment shaft 40 screwed into the wedge member 27 by rotating the operation dial 41, but it is not limited to this and may be an adjustment mechanism using various moving mechanisms. In addition, the display means may be a digital position indicator that digitally displays the amount of adjustment. (5) In order to accommodate packaging of multiple types of articles 11 of different heights, a height adjustment mechanism 51 may be adopted to adjust the clamping height position of the packaging material between the horn 17 and the anvil 18 as necessary, and the height adjustment mechanism 51 may be omitted as necessary. (6) The present invention is not limited to being limited to the horizontal sealing device of a horizontal form-fill-seal machine of the embodiment, but may be adopted as a horizontal sealing device of a vertical form-fill-seal machine. (7) The sliding direction of the wedge member 27 may be arranged so as to be adjustable so as to slide in the axial direction of the rotating shafts 21, 23 perpendicular to the support members 22, 24, instead of moving in the left-right direction of the support members 22, 24. In this case, it is preferable that the center of the width direction of the wedge member 27 perpendicular to the sliding direction coincides with a line connecting the rotation centers of the rotating shafts 21, 23 and slides along the axial centers of the rotating shafts 21, 23. Also, it is preferable that the wedge member 27 is arranged so that the center of the sliding area coincides with the center of the axial direction of the support members 22, 24, as in the embodiment, and slides in the axial direction of the rotating shafts 21, 23 based on the center of the sliding area. [Explanation of symbols]

[0029] 10 tubular film (tubular packaging material), 11 item, 15 lifting table, 17 horn 18 anvil, 21 first rotating shaft, 22 first support member, 23 second rotating shaft 24 second support member, 25 guide means, 26 biasing means, 27 wedge member 27a inclined surface (slope), 28 adjustment mechanism, 35 guide shaft (guide member) 37 air cylinder, 40 adjustment shaft, 41 operation dial (operation part), 51 height adjustment mechanism

Claims

1. In a horizontal form-fill-seal machine, a horn and an anvil are positioned above and below the conveying path of a tubular packaging material and rotate in opposite directions to each other to clamp an article fed into the tubular packaging material at the front and rear of the material and apply a horizontal seal by ultrasonic vibration in a direction intersecting the conveying direction of the tubular packaging material, a pair of first support members that rotatably support the first rotating shaft at shaft ends on both sides of the horn on the first rotating shaft on which the horn is disposed; a pair of second support members that rotatably support the second rotating shaft at shaft end sides on both sides of the anvil on which the anvil is disposed; a wedge member that can adjust the distance between the horn and the anvil by sliding on an inclined surface that faces the first support member and the second support member at an intermediate portion in a conveying direction of the tubular packaging material; an adjustment mechanism for sliding the wedge member; a guide means for supporting the pair of first support members and the pair of second support members so as to face each other vertically, and for supporting one of the first support members or the second support members so as to be movable toward and away from the other support member so as to linearly slide with respect to the other support member while aligning the axes of the first rotation shaft and the second rotation shaft vertically; an air cylinder that linearly extends and retracts a piston rod vertically so as to bias one of the support members facing each other vertically toward the other support member; a lift table having the guide means disposed on an upper portion thereof and the air cylinder suspended downwardly therefrom, which lifts and lowers the pair of first support members and the pair of second support members while supporting them; a height adjustment mechanism for adjusting the clamping height of the cylindrical packaging material between the horn and the anvil in accordance with the height of the article by raising and lowering the lifting table using a female screw member and an adjustment screw that is screwed into the female screw member. A horizontal sealing device in a horizontal bag making and filling machine.

2. the guide means movably supports one of the first support member and the second support member by a guide member spaced apart in a sliding direction of the wedge member, 2. The horizontal sealing device in a horizontal bag form filler and filler machine according to claim 1, wherein the air cylinder biases one of the first support member and the second support member between the guide members.

3. The adjustment mechanism includes: an adjustment shaft that slidably screws onto the wedge member; 3. The horizontal sealing device in a horizontal bag form filler and sealer according to claim 1, further comprising: an operating unit disposed on an outer side of the first support member or the second support member so as to rotate the adjustment shaft.

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