Rotary Seal Device

Abstract

To provide a rotary-type seal device configured so that maintenance of a cutting blade can be performed easily in a short time.SOLUTION: A cutting blade 18 for cutting a cylindrical film is supported on an anvil 17 that performs end-sealing to the cylindrical film in cooperation with a hone. The cutting blade 18 is attachably and detachably fixed with a bolt 35 for a blade to a moving member 33 supported in a storage chamber 24a defined internally in a main body 24 of the anvil 17. A lid body 26 blocking an opening 24b of the storage chamber 24a is attachably and detachably fixed with a bolt for a lid to the main body 24. The bolt 35 for a blade is provided at a position which is accessible from the outside, when the lid body 26 is removed from the main body 24 to open the opening 24b.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a rotary sealing device that seals a tubular packaging material with a pair of sealing bodies that rotate in opposite directions and cuts the tubular packaging material. [Background technology]

[0002] In a form-fill-seal machine, a pair of sealing bodies sandwich a tubular film (wrapping material) and perform end sealing in a direction intersecting the film transport direction. In this type of sealing device, the two sealing bodies rotate on their own axis and engage with each other at a predetermined rotation angle, so that the position of engagement does not move in the film transport direction. In addition, a pair of sealing bodies that move toward and away from each other in opposition to each other move in the film transport direction while sandwiching the tubular film. In a box-motion type sealing device, heavy parts including the sealing bodies move up and down and back and forth when performing end sealing, so that vibrations and vibrations are likely to occur, and the upper limit of the packaging capacity for sealing operations that do not interfere with packaging is limited. In contrast, a rotary type sealing device has a high processing capacity per minute and is preferably used for packaging that requires high speed.

[0003] The sealing device is provided with a cutting means for cutting the tubular film in a direction intersecting the film transport direction at the sealing portion by the sealing body. As a cutting means in a rotary sealing device, a so-called "contact cut" type cutting means is generally used, in which a contact blade provided on one sealing body is brought into contact with a receiving blade provided on the other sealing body while sandwiching the tubular film, thereby cutting the film. However, in a sealing device that employs a "contact cut" type cutting means, in addition to adjusting the seal pattern formed on the sealing surface of the sealing body to match, it is necessary to adjust the contact condition of the contact blade with the receiving blade, and the adjustment work is troublesome and time-consuming. Therefore, a rotary sealing device that employs a so-called "cut-off" type cutting means that does not require adjustment of the contact condition of the receiving blade and the contact blade has been proposed, for example, in Patent Document 1. The sealing device of Patent Document 1 is configured such that a sealing body is disposed on each of a pair of rotating shafts that rotate in opposite directions, and when the sealing surfaces of the pair of sealing bodies mesh with each other, a cutting blade contained inside one of the sealing bodies protrudes from the sealing surface to cut the tubular film clamped by the sealing surfaces. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Special Publication No. 55-29862 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] The cutting blade disposed in the sealing device wears over time and is no longer able to cut the cylindrical film well, so periodic maintenance is required, such as replacing the cutting blade or removing the cutting blade from the sealing body to grind the cutting blade. The sealing device disclosed in Patent Document 1 is configured such that a link mechanism, such as a cam that links to a drive source through the inside of a rotating shaft, is connected to the cutting blade housed in the internal space of the sealing body, and the cutting blade protrudes from the sealing surface by the link mechanism. In order to remove the cutting blade from the sealing body, not only is it necessary to remove the rotating shaft from the device body and the sealing body from the rotating shaft, which is a complicated disassembly process, but the assembly process after maintenance is also complicated, and the maintenance of the cutting blade is very complicated and time-consuming.

[0006] An object of the present invention is to provide a rotary seal device capable of easily performing maintenance of a cutting blade in a short time. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] The rotary seal device of the invention according to claim 1 of the present application is as follows: A rotary sealing device is provided with a pair of sealing bodies (16, 17) which rotate in opposite directions across a conveying path for a tubular packaging material (10), and which clamps the tubular packaging material (10) with sealing surfaces (23b, 25b) of the pair of sealing bodies (16, 17) to apply end seals in a direction intersecting the conveying direction of the packaging material, The pair of seal bodies (16, 17) is supported in a receiving chamber (24a) defined in a body (24) of one of the pair of seal bodies (17), In conjunction with the rotation of the one of the seal bodies (17), a moving member (33) that is reciprocated in a radial direction by a reciprocating means (36); a first fixing means (35) for removably fixing the movable member (33); In conjunction with the rotation of one of the seal bodies (17),a cutting blade (18) that passes through a hole (28, 25a) formed in one of the sealing bodies (17) and protrudes from the sealing surface (25b) as the moving member (33) moves within the storage chamber (24a) of the main body (24) to cut the tubular packaging material (10) sandwiched between the sealing surface (25b) and the sealing surface (23b) of the other sealing body (16); a cover (26) that is detachably fixed to the one of the sealing bodies (17) by a second fixing means (27) and closes an opening (24b) that opens the storage chamber (24a) in a direction intersecting the reciprocating direction of the moving member (33), The cutting blades (18) are disposed on both ends of the moving member (33) in the reciprocating direction, and are individually and detachably fixed to the moving member (33) by the first fixing means (35) corresponding to each cutting blade (18); By removing the cover body (26) from the one of the sealing bodies (17), the first fixing means (35) corresponding to each cutting blade (18) provided on both ends of the movable member (33) are exposed, and the cutting blade (18) from which the first fixing means (35) has been removed can be removed from the one of the sealing bodies (17) through the corresponding hole (28, 25a) by moving the cutting blade (18) in the reciprocating direction of the movable member (33). According to the invention of claim 1, the first fixing means for fixing the cutting blade to the movable member can be accessed simply by removing the cover from the sealing body, so that the cutting blade can be easily attached and detached, and maintenance can be easily performed in a short time.

[0008] The invention of claim 2 is characterized in that one of the sealing bodies (17) equipped with the cutting blade (18) is configured as an anvil (17), and the other sealing body (16) is configured as a horn (16) that is ultrasonically vibrated by a vibration generating means (20), and an end seal is applied to the tubular packaging material (10) clamped between the anvil (17) and the horn (16) by ultrasonic vibration. According to the invention of claim 2, the tubular packaging material is end-sealed using ultrasonic vibrations, so that the anvil and the cutting blades arranged on the anvil do not become hot, and maintenance can be performed in a shorter time without waiting for the anvil and cutting blades to cool down.

[0009] In the invention according to claim 3, the pair of seal bodies (16, 17) are positioned above and below the conveying path so that one of the seal bodies (17) is positioned below the conveying path, The one sealing body (17) is characterized in that it is provided with an arc-shaped support member (32) that allows the tubular packaging material (10) to be clamped by the sealing surface (25b) and supports the tubular packaging material (10) from below. According to the invention as defined in claim 3, the end-sealed and cut products can be guided downstream without any hindrance.

[0010] In the invention according to claim 4, the moving member (33) a receiving portion (34) that is recessed so as to open toward the opening (24b) of the storage chamber (24a) and the holes (28, 25a) is provided at each of both ends in the reciprocating direction of the The cutting blade (18) is provided with a mounting portion (18b) that can be fitted into the receiving portion (34) of the moving member (33), The attachment portion (18b) of the cutting blade (18) that has moved in the reciprocating direction of the moving member (33) through the hole (28, 25a) is fitted into the receiving portion (34) of the moving member (33). Positioning Be R At the same time, the hole (18c) formed in the attachment portion (18b) and the hole (34a) formed in the receiving portion (34) are aligned and can be fixed by the first fixing means (35). The present invention is characterized in that it is configured as follows. According to the invention as defined in claim 4, the cutting blade can be easily positioned and fixed at an appropriate position relative to the moving member. Effect of the Invention

[0011] According to the present invention, the cutting blade can be easily replaced in a short time. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0012] [Figure 1] FIG. 2 is a schematic front view showing an end seal device. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a main portion of an end seal device. [Diagram 3] FIG. 2 is a schematic front view showing the anvil with the lid removed. [Figure 4]1A and 1B are schematic cross-sectional views of the main part of the anvil, in which FIG. 1A shows a state in which a cutting blade is attached, and FIG. 1B shows a state in which the cutting blade is removed. [Diagram 5] 1A is a schematic diagram showing the movable member, the assembly jig, the main body and the seal member removed, and FIG. 1B is a schematic diagram showing the movable member, the assembly jig, the main body and the seal member fixed in place. [Figure 6] 13 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a main portion showing a state in which a limiting portion of an assembly jig fixed to a moving member is inserted into a recessed groove of the horn. FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0013] Next, a preferred embodiment of the rotary sealing device according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the embodiment, the rotary sealing device will be described as being used as an end sealing device of a horizontal form-fill-seal machine. EXAMPLES

[0014] The horizontal bag form-fill-seal machine (packaging machine) comprises a bag making means for forming a strip of film (packaging material) pulled out from a raw roll into a tubular film (tubular packaging material) 10 by overlapping both longitudinal edge portions of the film in a folded shape; a supply conveyor for supplying articles 11 toward the tubular film 10 at predetermined intervals; a center sealing device for applying a center seal to the overlapped portion of the tubular film 10 folded in a folded shape; a film transport means for clamping the overlapped portion of the tubular film 10 and transporting the tubular film 10 toward the center sealing device; and an end sealing device for clamping the tubular film 10 at the front and rear of the articles 11 supplied into the tubular film at predetermined intervals, and applying end seals and cutting in a direction intersecting the film transport direction (width direction). In addition, the horizontal form-fill-seal machine is provided with a transport conveyor 12 and an output conveyor 13 at the front and rear of the film transport direction of the end sealing device, which support items 11 from below via the tubular film 10 and transport them downstream, and is configured to transport products (pillow packaged items) that have been end sealed and cut and separated from the upstream tubular film 10 to the next process by the output conveyor 13 (see Figure 2).

[0015] 1 and 2, the end sealing device comprises a horn (the other sealing body) 16 disposed on one rotating shaft (first rotating shaft) 14 of a pair of rotating shafts 14, 15 that rotate in opposite directions across the transport path of tubular film 10, an anvil (one sealing body) 17 disposed on the other rotating shaft (second rotating shaft) 15, cutting means 19 disposed on anvil 17 and equipped with cutting blade 18 that cuts tubular film 10, and vibration generating means 20 disposed on first rotating shaft 14. Vibration generating means 20 comprises a converter that generates ultrasonic waves and a booster that amplifies ultrasonic waves, and is configured to ultrasonically vibrate horn 16 at a predetermined amplitude, so that tubular film 10 transported by the film transport means or transport conveyor 12 is held between horn 16 and anvil 17 at a predetermined pressure to perform end sealing in the width direction by the ultrasonic vibration. The pair of rotating shafts 14, 15 are rotatably supported by a pair of support members 21, 21 spaced apart in the width direction, and in this embodiment, the horn 16 is disposed on the upper side between the pair of support members 21, 21 with the transport path in between, and the anvil 17 is disposed on the lower side. The second rotating shaft 15 on which the anvil 17 is disposed has a shaft portion 15a extending from one end in the width direction of a body 24 of the anvil 17, which will be described later, connected to a drive motor such as a servo motor (not shown) via a transmission mechanism 22 such as a gear mechanism or a chain-sprocket mechanism, and the horn 16 and the anvil 17 are driven to rotate in opposite directions by the drive motor.

[0016] 1 and 2, the horn 16 is provided with a plurality of seal portions 23 (two at 180° intervals in this embodiment) that are spaced apart in the rotational direction and extend in the radial direction. Furthermore, a groove 23a that is recessed in the radial direction from the outer circumferential surface is formed in the seal portion 23 so as to extend in the width direction, and first seal surfaces 23b, 23b are formed on both the front and rear sides in the rotational direction, sandwiching the groove 23a, so as to extend linearly in the width direction.

[0017] As shown in Figures 1 to 3, the anvil 17 comprises a main body 24 arranged on the second rotating shaft 15 and rotating therewith, the cutting means 19 accommodated in a storage chamber 24a defined inside the main body 24 and movable radially, a sealing member 25 removably fixed to the outer circumferential surface (outer surface) of the main body 24 corresponding to the movement direction of the cutting means 19 and pairing with each sealing portion 23 of the horn 16, and a lid body 26 removably fixed to the main body 24 for closing an opening 24b of the storage chamber 24a. The main body 24 is formed such that the installation surfaces (contact surfaces, outer surfaces) 24c of the seal members 25 are formed in an arc shape (arc shape) centered on the rotation axis of the anvil 17, and the outer periphery outside the installation surfaces 24c, 24c is formed as a plane along the movement direction of the cutting means 19, and an opening 24b that opens the storage chamber 24a to the outside is formed on the plane, and the lid body 26 is detachably fixed thereto. The lid body 26 is positioned and fixed to the main body 24 by screwing a lid bolt (second fixing means) 27 such as a hexagon socket head bolt inserted into a through hole formed in the lid body 26 into a screw hole formed in the main body 24, and is configured such that by removing the lid bolt 27, the lid body 26 can be removed from the main body 24 to open the opening 24b, allowing access to the storage chamber 24a from the outside. In the embodiment, the generally rectangular cover 26 is configured to be bolted to the main body 24 at two locations on each side in the width direction, for a total of four locations. Further, the main body 24 is formed with radially penetrating through holes 28, which allow the cutting blade 18 of the cutting means 19 to pass through, at locations corresponding to the locations where the seal members 25 are disposed, and which have a predetermined length in the width direction.

[0018] 1 to 4, the sealing member 25 is a block-shaped member extending a predetermined length in the width direction, and the sealing member 25 is positioned and fixed to the main body 24 by screwing a sealing bolt (third fixing means) 30 such as a hexagon socket head bolt into a through hole 29a formed in a fixing portion 29 provided on both sides in the width direction into a screw hole 31 formed in the main body 24. The bottom surface (abutment surface) of the sealing member 25 facing the installation surface 24c of the main body 24 is formed in an arc shape (arc shape) corresponding to the installation surface 24c. Furthermore, in the sealing member 25, a long hole 25a is formed at a position corresponding to the through hole 28 of the main body 24, penetrating in the radial direction through which the cutting blade 18 can pass, and second sealing surfaces 25b, 25b that form a pair with the first sealing surfaces 23b, 23b of the horn 16 are formed to extend in the width direction on both the front and rear sides of the long hole 25a in the direction of rotation of the anvil 17. Then, as the horn 16 and the anvil 17 rotate relative to the tubular film 10 being conveyed, the tubular film 10 is clamped with a predetermined pressure by the two sealing surfaces 23b, 25b on both the front and rear sides of the clamping surface of the articles 11 that are supplied at predetermined intervals into the tubular film 10, and ultrasonic vibrations generated by the horn 16 are transmitted to the clamping portion, melting the heat-sealed film, and forming a sealed end seal portion that intersects with the conveyance direction of the tubular film 10. The second sealing surfaces 25b, 25b are formed with seals of a predetermined shape that form irregularities in the end seal portion.

[0019] 2, a support member 32 is removably disposed on main body 24 of anvil 17, which supports tubular film 10 from below as it is transported along the transport path, and can support articles 11 fed into tubular film 10 from below via tubular film 10. Support member 32 is formed in an arc shape (arc-shaped) corresponding to the rotation radius of anvil 17 so as to extend in the rotation direction of anvil 17 on its outer periphery excluding arc-shaped installation surface 24c on which sealing member 25 is disposed. In other words, support member 32 is configured to hold tubular film 10 between first seal surface 23b and second seal surface 25b, allow cutting blade 18 to protrude from second seal surface 25b, and support tubular film 10 and articles 11 in tubular film 10 from below as anvil 17 rotates, and guide them downstream without hindrance. In the embodiment, a support material 32 is arranged to cover the lid body 26, and even when the side on which the lid body 26 is arranged faces upward due to the rotation of the anvil 17, the support material 32 can support the article 11 without causing a significant change in the conveying level of the article 11.

[0020] 2 and 3, the cutting means 19 includes a movable member 33 that is supported within the accommodation chamber 24a of the anvil 17 and is movable back and forth in the radial direction, and cutting blades 18 that are detachably fixed to the movable member 33 at positions corresponding to each seal member 25, and the cutting means 19 is configured such that the cutting blades 18, 18 pass through the corresponding through holes 28 and elongated holes 25a and protrude from the second seal surface 25b by the reciprocating movement of the movable member 33 to cut the tubular film 10. The cutting blade 18 is a plate-shaped member of a predetermined thickness, and is provided with an attachment portion 18b on the side of the rotation center of the anvil 17, and a blade tip portion 18a having a blade formed at an end away from the rotation center of the anvil 17 is connected to the attachment portion 18b. The moving member 33 is formed with receiving portions (attachment portions) 34 at both ends in the reciprocating movement direction, each of which is recessed from one side in the thickness direction in a shape corresponding to the attachment portion 18b of the cutting blade 18, and the cutting blade 18 is positioned relative to the moving member 33 by fitting the attachment portion 18b into the receiving portions 34. The cutting blade 18 is positioned and fixed by screwing a blade bolt (first fixing means) 35 such as a hexagon socket head bolt inserted into a through hole 18c formed in the attachment portion 18b into a screw hole 34a formed in the receiving portion 34 of the moving member 33. In the embodiment, the cutting blade 18 is attached to the moving member 33 by a fitting structure between the receiving portions 34 and the attachment portion 18b, and the cutting blade 18 is positioned so that the through hole 18c of the attachment portion 18b and the screw hole 34a of the moving member 33 are aligned. In the embodiment, the cutting blade 18 is fixed without tilting to the moving member 33 by a plurality (two) of blade bolts 35 spaced apart in the width direction. In addition, the opposing surfaces of the attachment portion 18b of the cutting blade 18 and the receiving portion 34 are flat, and when the attachment portion 18b is fitted into the receiving portion 34 and the opposing surfaces are in contact, the center in the thickness direction of the cutting edge portion 18a is approximately aligned with the center in the width direction of the through hole 28 and is configured to be able to move within the through hole 28 without contacting the main body 24.

[0021] 3, the blade bolt 35 is located so as to face the opening 24b of the storage chamber 24a, and is configured so that the blade bolt 35 is exposed to the outside by removing the cover 26 from the main body 24. In this embodiment, the blade bolt 35 is removed to release the fixing of the cutting blade 18 to the moving member 33, so that the cutting blade 18 can be radially removed from the main body 24 through the through hole 28 and the long hole 25a (see FIG. 4).

[0022] The cutting means 19 is connected to a reciprocating means 36 that reciprocates the cutting means 19 in the radial direction. As shown in Figs. 1 and 3, the reciprocating means 36 includes a link mechanism 37 supported in the accommodation chamber 24a and connected to the moving member 33, an operating mechanism 38 that operates the link mechanism 37, and a drive motor 39 such as a servo motor as a drive means that drives the operating mechanism 38. The shaft portion 15b of the second rotating shaft 15 opposite to the shaft portion 15a to which the transmission mechanism 22 of the main body 24 is connected is configured as a hollow shaft, and the operating shaft of the operating mechanism 38 inserted into the shaft portion 15b is connected to the link mechanism 37. The link mechanism 37 is operated by the drive motor 39 via the operating shaft of the operating mechanism 38, so that the moving member 33 connected to the link mechanism 37 reciprocates in the radial direction of the anvil 17. The cutting means 19 is configured so that, at an intermediate position in the reciprocating movement direction of the movable member 33, neither of the cutting blades 18, 18 protrudes from the second sealing surfaces 25b, 25b, and is configured so that when one cutting blade 18 protrudes from the corresponding second sealing surface 25b, the other cutting blade 18 retracts from the long hole 25a of the corresponding sealing member 25 toward the through hole 28.

[0023] The reciprocating means 36 is configured to move the moving member 33 in conjunction with the rotation of the horn 16 and the anvil 17 so that the cutting edge 18a of the cutting blade 18 protrudes from the second sealing surface 25b at the timing when the first sealing surface 23b and the second sealing surface 25b clamp the tubular film 10. Note that the reciprocating means 36 also operates in conjunction when the anvil 17 is rotated manually with the packaging machine stopped, moving the moving member 33 so that the cutting blade 18 protrudes from the second sealing surface 25b at the same timing as when the packaging machine is operating.

[0024] The end seal device of the embodiment is configured so that the sealing member 25 can be positioned and fixed relative to the main body 24 of the anvil 17 by an assembly jig 40 attached to the movable member 33 instead of the cutting blade 18, so the assembly jig 40 will be explained below.

[0025] 5 and 6, the assembly jig 40 is a plate-like member consisting of an attachment portion 40a that is positioned by being fitted into the receiving portion 34 of the moving member 33, and a limiting portion 40b that is connected to the attachment portion 40a, and the dimensions of the width and height (length in the reciprocating direction of the moving member 33) of the attachment portion 40a are set to be the same as those of the attachment portion 18b of the cutting blade 18. The attachment portion 40a is also formed with a through hole 40c that corresponds to the screw hole 34a formed in the receiving portion 34, and the assembly jig 40 is configured to be positioned and fixed to the moving member 33 by the blade bolt 35. The limiting portion 40b is set to have a width dimension that is longer than that of the attachment portion 40a, and is set to a dimension that allows it to pass through the through hole 28 of the main body 24 and the long hole 25a of the seal member 25. The height of the limiting portion 40b is set to be approximately the same as the height of the cutting edge 18a of the cutting blade 18, and is configured such that, by moving the movable member 33 to which the assembly jig 40 is fixed in the radial direction, the tip of the limiting portion 40b can be protruded to a position where it can be inserted into the recessed groove 23a of the horn 16, just like the cutting blade 18. The tip of the limiting portion 40b is formed to protrude in an arc shape in the rotational direction of the anvil 17.

[0026] The thickness of the limiting portion 40b is set to a dimension that is greater than the thickness of the cutting edge portion 18a of the cutting blade 18 and can limit the movement of the sealing member 25 in the rotation direction of the anvil 17 within a predetermined range when the limiting portion 40b is inserted over a predetermined length along the longitudinal direction (width direction) of the long hole 25a of the sealing member 25. The predetermined range that limits the movement of the sealing member 25 in the rotation direction is set so that the amount of deviation between the second sealing surfaces 25b, 25b located in front and behind the long hole 25a in the rotation direction and the corresponding first sealing surfaces 23b, 23b of the horn 16 is equal to or less than the allowable amount for clamping the tubular film 10 and forming an appropriate seal at the end seal portion. In addition, when the attachment portion 40a of the assembly jig 40 is fitted into the receiving portion 34 of the moving member 33 and fixed with a bolt, the center in the thickness direction of the limiting portion 40b is configured to be approximately aligned with the center in the width direction of the through hole 28. In the embodiment, the width of the long hole 25a in the short direction intersecting with the extending direction is set to 4 mm, while the thickness of the limiting portion 40b is set to 3.7 to 3.8 mm, so that the amount of forward and backward movement of the seal member 25 in the rotation direction when the limiting portion 40b is inserted into the long hole 25a is limited to 0.15 mm or less. That is, when the limiting portion 40b is inserted into the long hole 25a, there is only a very small gap between the limiting portion 40b and the inner wall of the long hole 25a, so that the limiting portion 40b inserted into the long hole 25a can substantially restrict the movement of the anvil 17 in the rotation direction of the seal member 25. The assembly jig 40 is configured so that it can be removed from the main body 24 in the radial direction through the through hole 28 of the main body 24 and the long hole 25a of the seal member 25 by removing the blade bolt 35 to release the fixation.

[0027] Next, the operation of the end seal device according to the embodiment will be described. In a horizontal form-fill-seal machine, above the transport conveyor 12 and the discharge conveyor 13, which are disposed before and after the end seal device in the film transport direction, there is a space that allows an operator to access the horn 16 and the anvil 17 located between the support members 21, 21 from the front or rear of the film transport direction. Therefore, when performing maintenance such as replacing the cutting blade 18, the packaging machine is stopped and the anvil 17 is rotated so that the side on which the lid body 26 is disposed faces the front or rear side of the film transport direction, which is accessible from outside the end seal device. With the support member 32 removed from the main body 24 of the anvil 17, the multiple lid bolts 27 that secure the lid body 26 to the main body 24 are removed, and the lid body 26 is removed from the main body 24. By removing the cover 26 from the main body 24, as shown in Fig. 3 and Fig. 4(a), the opening 24b of the storage chamber 24a is opened to the outside, and the blade bolt 35 that fixes the cutting blade 18 of the cutting means 19 to the moving member 33 is exposed through the opening 24b. By removing the blade bolt 35, the fixing of the cutting blade 18 to the moving member 33 is released, so that the cutting blade 18 can be removed from the main body 24 through the through hole 28 of the main body 24 and the long hole 25a of the seal member 25 as shown in Fig. 4(b). When removing the blade bolt 35, the anvil 17 is placed in a position in which the through hole 28 of the main body 24 and the long hole 25a of the seal member 25 face forward and backward in the conveying direction (a position in which the direction in which the cutting blade 18 enters and leaves the long hole 25a is roughly parallel to the conveying direction), so that the cutting blade 18 can be removed from the long hole 25a without dropping it. This allows the cutting blade 18 to be replaced or the cutting edge of the cutting blade 18 to be sharpened outside.

[0028] The work of assembling a new cutting blade 18 or a cutting blade 18 whose cutting edge has been ground to the anvil 17 can be performed by the reverse procedure of the removal. That is, the cutting blade 18 is passed through the long hole 25a of the second seal member 25 and the through hole 28 of the main body 24 from the side of the attachment portion 18b, and the attachment portion 18b is fitted into the receiving portion 34 of the moving member 33. Then, after the cutting blade 18 is fixed to the moving member 33 with the blade bolt 35, the lid body 26 is fixed to the main body 24 with the lid bolt 27, and the support member 32 is disposed on the main body 24. The cutting blade 18 is positioned relative to the moving member 33 so that the through hole 18c of the attachment portion 18b and the screw hole 34a of the moving member 33 are aligned by the fitting structure between the receiving portion 34 and the attachment portion 18b, so that the cutting blade 18 can be easily fixed to the moving member 33 at the appropriate position without time-consuming work of fixing the blade bolt 35.

[0029] In the end seal device of the embodiment, the blade bolt 35 that fixes the cutting blade 18 and the moving member 33 housed in the housing chamber 24a can be accessed from the outside by simply removing the cover 26 of the anvil 17 from the main body 24, so that the maintenance of the cutting blade 18 is very easy and the work time can be shortened. In addition, in the sealing method using ultrasonic vibration, the anvil 17 and the cutting blade 18 do not become hot, so that when performing maintenance of the cutting blade 18, it is not necessary to wait for the anvil 17 and the cutting blade 18 to drop to a temperature that does not interfere with the work, as in the heat sealing method using a heater or the like, and the maintenance can be started immediately after the packaging machine is stopped, so that the work time can be further shortened. In addition, the main body 24 of the anvil 17 is provided with a support member 32 that can support the article 11 from below via the tubular film 10 so as to cover the cover 26, so that even if the cover 26 is in an upward position, the end-sealed and cut product can be guided to the downstream side without any hindrance. In addition, in the sealing method using ultrasonic vibration, if a cutting blade 18 or support material 32 is arranged on the horn 16 that generates the ultrasonic vibration, there is a risk of problems related to the ultrasonic vibration. However, in the embodiment, an anvil 17 is placed below the conveying path, and the cutting blade 18 and support material 32 are arranged on the anvil 17, so that the tubular film 10 can be cut and the article 11 can be guided to the downstream side smoothly without causing problems related to the ultrasonic vibration.

[0030] Next, the operation of replacing the seal member 25 will be described. When replacing the seal member 25, as shown in Fig. 5(a), the sealing bolts 30 fixing the seal member 25 to the main body 24 are removed, and the seal member 25 is removed from the main body 24. As described above, the cover 26 is removed from the main body 24, and the blade bolts 35 fixing the cutting blade 18 to the moving member 33 are exposed through the openings 24b (see Fig. 3). The cutting blade 18 is removed from the moving member 33 by removing the blade bolts 35. Instead, the assembly jig 40 is passed through the through-holes 28 of the main body 24 from the mounting portion 40a side, and the mounting portion 40a is fitted into the receiving portion 34 of the moving member 33 to position it, and the mounting portion 40a is positioned and fixed to the receiving portion 34 by the blade bolts 35 (see Fig. 5(b)). The movable member 33 to which the assembly jig 40 is fixed is moved radially via the reciprocating means 36 by manually rotating the anvil 17, and with the limiting portion 40b protruding from the mounting surface 24c of the main body 24, the sealing member 25 is positioned on the mounting surface 24c by inserting the limiting portion 40b into the long hole 25a.

[0031] The anvil 17 is rotated manually, and the groove 23a of the seal portion 23 of the horn 16 faces the long hole 25a of the seal member 25 arranged on the installation surface 24c of the main body 24 via the assembly jig 40. As a result, the moving member 33 moves in the radial direction in conjunction with the rotation of the anvil 17, so that the limiting portion 40b of the assembly jig 40 protrudes from the second seal surface 25b of the seal member 25. Then, when the tip of the limiting portion 40b protruding from the second seal surface 25b is inserted (reaches) into the groove 23a of the seal portion 23, the seal member 25 is positioned and fixed to the main body 24 by the sealing bolt 30. The blade bolt 35 is removed to release the fixing of the assembly jig 40 to the moving member 33, and the assembly jig 40 is removed from the main body 24 through the through hole 28 of the main body 24 and the long hole 25a of the seal member 25. By positioning and fixing (attaching) the cutting blade 18 to the moving member 33 via the attachment portion 18b instead of the assembly jig 40, the positional relationship between the long hole 25a of the sealing member 25 and the recessed groove 23a of the horn 16 in the cutting blade 18 becomes appropriate. When removing the blade bolt 35, the anvil 17 is oriented so that the through hole 28 of the main body 24 and the long hole 25a of the sealing member 25 face forward and backward in the conveying direction, as in the case of removing the cutting blade 18, and the assembly jig 40 can be removed without dropping it from the long hole 25a.

[0032] In the end seal device of the embodiment, the seal member 25 is fixed to the main body 24 of the anvil 17 by inserting the long hole 25a into the limiting portion 40b of the assembly jig 40 fixed via the attachment portion 40a to the receiving portion 34 that positions the cutting blade 18 on the moving member 33, so that by fixing the cutting blade 18 to the moving member 33 from which the assembly jig 40 has been removed, the cutting blade 18 and the long hole 25a of the seal member 25 can be placed in a proper positional relationship, and damage to the cutting blade 18 and the seal member 25 due to contact therebetween can be prevented during operation of the end seal device. In addition, the fixing position of the seal member 25 is mechanically determined by simply inserting the long hole 25a of the seal member 25 into the limiting portion 40b of the assembly jig 40, so that the seal member 25 can be assembled accurately in a short time at a proper position regardless of the skill level of the worker. Furthermore, by fixing sealing member 25 to body 24 of anvil 17 with limiting portion 40b of assembly jig 40 inserted into groove 23a of horn 16, the positional relationship between groove 23a and cutting blade 18 can be adjusted appropriately, and damage to cutting blade 18 and horn 16 can be prevented from coming into contact with each other. Furthermore, misalignment of first sealing surface 23b and second sealing surface 25b, which are located at the front and rear of groove 23a and elongated hole 25a in the direction of rotation, can be restricted, allowing an appropriate end seal to be applied to tubular film 10.

[0033] Since the mounting surface 24c on the main body 24 of the anvil 17 and the bottom surface of the seal member 25 are formed in a corresponding arc shape, the seal member 25 can be easily positioned along the rotation axis direction of the anvil 17 simply by placing the seal member 25 on the main body 24 so that its bottom surface abuts against the mounting surface 24c. In addition, since the tip of the limiting portion 40b of the assembly jig 40 is formed in an arc shape in the rotation direction of the anvil 17, it is possible to prevent the limiting portion 40b from coming into contact with the horn 16 even if the end seal device is mistakenly operated with the assembly jig 40 fixed to the moving member 33. In addition, it is safe to touch the tip of the limiting portion 40b when handling the assembly jig 40.

[0034] (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 number of sealing members 25 provided on the anvil 17 is not limited to two and may be one, and the number of cutting blades 18 provided on the movable member 33 and the number of sealing portions 23 provided on the horn 16 may correspond to the number of sealing members 25 provided. (2) The support material 32 may be configured to be integral with the lid body 26. In this configuration, a notch or a through hole may be provided in the support material 32 at a position corresponding to the lid bolt 27, or the support material 32 may be provided only at a position away from the lid bolt 27, thereby making the lid bolt 27 accessible from the outside. (3) It is possible to adopt a configuration in which the anvil 17 is disposed above the conveying path and the horn 16 is disposed below it. In this configuration, the support member 32 for the anvil 17 can be omitted. (4) The fixing means for fixing the cutting blade 18 and the cover body 26 is not limited to a configuration that can be attached and detached using tools such as bolts 35, 27 or screws, but various well-known means can be used, such as various locking mechanisms that can be switched between a locked state and an unlocked state without using tools. (5) The end seal device may be of a heat sealing type in which a heat source such as a heater is provided in the sealing body. (6) The packaging material is not limited to a synthetic resin film, but may be a composite packaging material made of a paper base material and a heat-sealable film laminated thereon. (7) It can be used as an end sealing device in a vertical form-fill-seal machine. [Explanation of symbols]

[0035] 10 cylindrical film (cylindrical packaging material), 11 article, 16 horn (other sealing body) 17 anvil (one of the sealing bodies), 18 cutting blade, 20 vibration generating means 23b first seal surface (seal surface), 24a accommodation chamber, 24b opening 25b second seal surface (seal surface), 26 lid body, 27 lid bolt (second fixing means) 32 support member, 33 moving member, 35 blade bolt (first fixing means), 36 reciprocating means

Claims

1. A rotary sealing device includes a pair of sealing bodies which rotate in opposite directions across a conveying path for a tubular packaging material, and which sandwiches the tubular packaging material between the sealing surfaces of the pair of sealing bodies to apply end seals in a direction intersecting the conveying direction of the packaging material, a movable member supported in an accommodation chamber defined in a main body of one of the pair of seal bodies and reciprocated in a radial direction by a reciprocating means in association with rotation of the one seal body; a cutting blade that is detachably fixed to the moving member by a first fixing means, and that protrudes from the seal surface through a hole provided in the one seal body as the moving member moves within the storage chamber of the main body in conjunction with the rotation of the one seal body, and cuts the tubular packaging material sandwiched between the seal surface and the seal surface of the other seal body; a cover body that is removably fixed to the one of the seal bodies by a second fixing means and closes an opening that opens the storage chamber in a direction intersecting the reciprocating direction of the movable member, The cutting blades are disposed on both ends of the moving member in a reciprocating direction, and are individually and detachably fixed to the moving member by the first fixing means corresponding to each cutting blade, By removing the cover from the one of the seal bodies, the first fixing means corresponding to each cutting blade provided on both ends of the moving member are exposed, and the cutting blade from which the first fixing means has been removed can be removed from the one of the seal bodies through the corresponding hole by moving the cutting blade in the reciprocating direction of the moving member. A rotary seal device characterized by:

2. A rotary sealing device as described in claim 1, characterized in that one sealing body equipped with the cutting blade is configured as an anvil, and the other sealing body is configured as a horn that is ultrasonically vibrated by a vibration generating means, and an end seal is applied to the tubular packaging material clamped between the anvil and the horn by ultrasonic vibration.

3. the pair of seal bodies are positioned above and below the transport path such that one seal body is positioned below the transport path, 3. A rotary sealing device as claimed in claim 1, wherein one of the sealing bodies is provided with an arc-shaped support member which allows the tubular packaging material to be clamped by the sealing surface and supports the tubular packaging material from below.

4. a receiving portion that is recessed so as to open to an opening of the accommodation chamber and the hole side is provided on each of both ends of the reciprocating movement direction of the moving member, The cutting blade is provided with an attachment portion that can be fitted into the receiving portion of the moving member, A rotary seal device as described in any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the attachment portion of the cutting blade moved in the reciprocating direction of the movable member through the hole is fitted into the receiving portion of the movable member and positioned, and the hole provided in the attachment portion and the hole provided in the receiving portion are aligned so that the device can be fixed by the first fixing means.

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