Pouch manufacturing method and pouch manufacturing apparatus

Abstract

To provide a pouch manufacturing method, a pouch manufacturing apparatus and a pouch that achieve good sealing performance and downsizing of the pouch manufacturing apparatus with a simple configuration.SOLUTION: A pouch manufacturing method of the invention relates to the method for manufacturing a pouch having an unsealed portion 14 formed so as to separate a bag-making seal portion 12 and an independent seal portion 13 in the longitudinal direction. The heat sealing process includes the following steps: a step of applying heat-sealing to a region 27 to be processed, wherein a common heat sealing bar 33a is applied to the region to be processed where at least a portion of a bag-making sealing-scheduled region 23 of one pouch-scheduled region 22 out of the pouch-scheduled regions 22 adjacent in the conveying direction, and at least a portion of an independent sealing-scheduled region 24 of the other pouch-scheduled region 22; a step of conveying a raw films group 20 to the downstream side; and a step of applying cooling by applying the common cooling bar 34a to the region 27 to be processed.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing a pouch and and a pouch manufacturing apparatus to .

Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, as a container for storing liquid detergents, food and drink, etc., as shown in FIG. 7(a), a pouch 110 having a seal portion 112 for bag making formed by thermally welding a resin film at predetermined locations is known (see, for example, Patent Document 1). As an example of a method for manufacturing such a pouch 110, as shown in FIG. 7(b), a heat seal process for forming the seal portion 112 for bag making is performed on a film web group 120 formed by stacking a plurality of film webs 121 in which a plurality of pouch planned regions 122 are set, and a cutting process for cutting the film web group 120 at the boundary lines between the pouch planned regions 122 is also known to manufacture the pouch 110.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] Here, in the heat seal process described above, as shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, after applying a heat welding bar 133a to at least a part of a seal planned region 123 for bag making set in the film web group 120 to perform heat welding, the film web group 120 is intermittently moved downstream by a distance corresponding to one of the pouch planned regions 122 in the conveyance direction, and on the downstream side of the heat welding bar 133a, a cooling bar 134a is applied to the heat-welded seal planned region 123 for bag making to perform cooling to fix the heat welding. Sometimes, such a method is adopted.

[0005] However, since the heat welding bar 133a and the cooling bar 134a cannot be installed in contact with each other, as shown in FIG. 8, when the heat welding area 133b and the cooling area 134b are set adjacent to each other, due to the gap S set between the heat welding bar 133a and the cooling bar 134a, it is necessary to set the processing area 134c by the cooling bar 134a to be narrower than the bag-making seal planned area 123. Therefore, there is a problem that the fixing property of heat welding of a part of the bag-making seal planned area 123 that is not cooled (the part corresponding to the gap S) deteriorates and the seal performance decreases.

[0006] Also, as shown in FIG. 9, it is conceivable to set the heat welding area 133b and the cooling area 134b apart from each other by a distance corresponding to one pouch planned area 122. However, in this case, there are problems such as the timing of cooling the bag-making seal planned area 123 subjected to heat welding is delayed, the fixing property of heat welding deteriorates, and the seal performance decreases, and the manufacturing line becomes longer by the amount of separation between the heat welding bar 133a and the cooling bar 134a, resulting in an increase in the size of the pouch manufacturing apparatus.

[0007] Therefore, the present invention solves these problems, and is a pouch manufacturing method that realizes good seal performance and miniaturization of the pouch manufacturing apparatus with a simple configuration. and Pouch manufacturing apparatus with It is an object of the present invention to provide the same.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0008] The pouch manufacturing method of the present invention is to perform a heat seal treatment and a cutting treatment on a group of web films in which a plurality of web films extending along a conveyance path are stacked, thereby forming a seal portion for bag making formed around a content accommodating portion, an independent seal portion formed vertically spaced apart from the seal portion for bag making, and a non-sealed portion formed so as to separate the seal portion for bag making and the independent seal portion in the vertical direction. A pouch manufacturing method for manufacturing a pouch having a pouch, wherein a plurality of pouch planned areas are set side by side in the conveyance direction in the group of web films, and each of the pouch planned areas includes a seal planned area for bag making that becomes the seal portion for bag making after pouch manufacturing, an independent seal planned area that becomes the independent seal portion after pouch manufacturing, and a non-sealed planned area that becomes the non-sealed portion after pouch manufacturing. Each of the pouch planned areas is set such that the seal planned area for bag making of one of the pouch planned areas and the independent seal planned area of the other pouch planned area adjacent to each other in the conveyance direction are continuous in the conveyance direction. The heat seal treatment includes applying a heat welding bar to a processing target area in which at least a part of the seal planned area for bag making of one of the pouch planned areas adjacent to each other in the conveyance direction and at least a part of the independent seal planned area of the other pouch planned area are continuous in the conveyance direction, performing heat welding, then conveying the group of web films to the downstream side, and applying a cooling bar installed on the downstream side of the heat welding bar to the processing target area to perform cooling. By including the seal treatment, the above problem is solved. The pouch manufacturing apparatus of the present invention performs heat sealing and cutting processes on a group of web films stacked in multiple layers along a conveyance path, thereby forming a seal portion for bag making formed around the content storage portion, an independent seal portion formed vertically spaced apart from the seal portion for bag making, and a non-sealed portion formed to separate the seal portion for bag making and the independent seal portion vertically. It is a pouch manufacturing apparatus for manufacturing a pouch having the above, and in the group of web films, a plurality of pouch planned areas are set side by side in the conveyance direction. Each pouch planned area includes a seal planned area for bag making that becomes the seal portion for bag making after pouch manufacturing, an independent seal planned area that becomes the independent seal portion after pouch manufacturing, and a non-sealed planned area that becomes the non-sealed portion after pouch manufacturing. Each pouch planned area is set such that the seal planned area for bag making of one pouch planned area and the independent seal planned area of the other pouch planned area adjacent in the conveyance direction are continuous in the conveyance direction. The pouch manufacturing apparatus includes a conveyance mechanism for conveying the group of web films along the conveyance direction, a heat sealing mechanism for performing the heat sealing process on the group of web films, and a cutting mechanism for performing the cutting process on the group of web films. The heat sealing mechanism has a heat welding bar that abuts against and performs heat welding on a processing target area where at least a part of the seal planned area for bag making of one pouch planned area and at least a part of the independent seal planned area of the other pouch planned area adjacent in the conveyance direction are continuous in the conveyance direction, and a cooling bar that is installed on the downstream side of the heat welding bar and abuts against the processing target area to perform cooling. Thus, the above problems are solved. 。

Effects of the Invention

[0009] According to the pouch manufacturing method and the pouch manufacturing apparatus of the present invention, in the heat seal process, at least a part of the seal area for bag making of one pouch planned area and at least a part of the independent seal area of the other pouch planned area among the pouch planned areas adjacent in the conveyance direction are applied to a processing target area continuous in the conveyance direction, and after heat welding is performed by applying a heat welding bar, the raw film group is conveyed downstream, and cooling is performed by applying a cooling bar installed on the downstream side of the heat welding bar to the processing target area. This seal process is included. Thereby, even when the heat welding area and the cooling area are installed adjacent to each other, it is possible to install the heat welding bar and the cooling bar apart from each other in the conveyance direction by using the unsealed planned area. Therefore, by performing cooling immediately after heat welding, good heat welding fixing properties and seal performance can be ensured, and the manufacturing line can be prevented from becoming long, and miniaturization of the pouch manufacturing apparatus can be realized.

[0010] Further, according to the pouch of the present invention, by having a bag-making seal portion formed around the content storage portion, an unsealed portion formed across one lateral edge portion to the other lateral edge portion of the pouch, and an independent seal portion formed vertically spaced apart from the bag-making seal portion across the unsealed portion, it becomes possible to adopt the above-described pouch manufacturing method, and not only can good seal performance and miniaturization of the pouch manufacturing apparatus be realized, but also the following effects can be obtained. That is, according to the pouch of the present invention, by forming an independent seal portion formed vertically spaced apart from the bag-making seal portion across the unsealed portion, while suppressing the opening between the films located in the unsealed portion at the outer edge portion of the pouch, the effect of using the formation of the unsealed portion can be obtained. That is, the effect of suppressing the pain felt by the user's finger or hand by using the film located in the unsealed portion, which is not heat welded and has high flexibility, as a part where the user's hand or finger hits, and also using the difference in rigidity between the seal portion where the film is heat welded and the unsealed portion where the film is not heat welded, the effect of improving the ease of folding the film can be obtained, and the effect of using the formation of the unsealed portion can be obtained.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0011]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5

Figure 6

Figure 7

Figure 8

Figure 9

MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

[0012] Hereinafter, a pouch manufacturing apparatus 30 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0013] As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the pouch manufacturing apparatus 30 manufactures a pouch 10 by performing a heat sealing process and a cutting process on a group of base films 20 in which a plurality of base films 21 extending along a conveyance path 31 are stacked.

[0014] First, the configuration of the pouch 10 in the present embodiment will be described below.

[0015] The pouch 10 is formed by heat-sealing a film 10a made of a flexible resin film at predetermined locations, and is configured to contain contents such as liquid detergents and food and beverages. As shown in FIG. 1, it has a bag-making seal portion 12 formed around a content-containing portion 11 that contains the contents, an independent seal portion 13 formed at a distance from the bag-making seal portion 12 in the longitudinal direction X, and an unsealed portion 14 formed across one edge of the pouch 10 to the other edge in the transverse direction Y, which separates the bag-making seal portion 12 and the independent seal portion 13 in the longitudinal direction X. The seal portions 12 and 13 are formed by heat-sealing two films 10a.

[0016] Further, as a part that constitutes a handle portion for the user to lift the pouch 10 with a hand or finger, as shown in FIG. 1, the pouch 10 has a slit-shaped or hole-shaped handle through portion 15 (where the material has not been removed) or (where the material has been removed) formed by penetrating two films 10a that constitute the pouch 10 in the front and back directions, a handle piece portion 16 partitioned from the peripheral portion by the handle through portion 15, and a bending connection portion 17 that connects the handle piece portion 16 to its peripheral portion.

[0017] At least a part of the outer edge of the handle through portion 15 (in this embodiment, the entire outer edge of the handle through portion 15) is formed in the unsealed portion 14, as shown in FIG. 1, and the handle piece portion 16 is formed in the unsealed portion 14. Further, as shown in FIG. 1, the bending connection portion 17 is formed at a portion of the outer edge of the handle piece portion 16 that is located on the side of the independent seal portion 13, and at least a part of its section (in this embodiment, the entire section) overlaps and extends along the boundary line 18 between the unsealed portion 14 and the independent seal portion 13.

[0018] Thereby, when lifting the pouch 10 using the handle portion, since the user's finger hits the bent film 10a in the vicinity of the bending connection portion 17, it is possible to suppress causing pain to the user's finger. Also, when lifting the pouch 10 using the handle portion, since the portion that contacts the user's finger is the film 10a located at the unsealed portion 14 that is not heat-sealed and has high flexibility (low rigidity), it is possible to further suppress causing pain to the user's finger. Also, since the outer edge of the handle-through portion 15 (handle-piece portion 16) is formed at the unsealed portion 14, when the user's finger or hand hits the outer edge of the handle-through portion 15 (handle-piece portion 16), it is possible to suppress causing pain to the user's finger or hand. Also, since the folding connection portion 17 extends overlapping the boundary line 18 between the unsealed portion 14 and the independent seal portion 13, by utilizing the difference in rigidity between the portion where the film 10a is heat-sealed (independent seal portion 13) and the portion where the film 10a is not heat-sealed (unsealed portion 14), it becomes easier for the user to fold the film 10a at the folding connection portion 17.

[0019] As described above, in this embodiment, by forming the handle-through portion 15 in the film 10a, a handle-piece portion 16 partitioned from the peripheral portion by the handle-through portion 15 is formed, and by folding the film 10a at the folding connection portion 17, it is configured such that the user's finger or hand can pass through to the position of the handle-piece portion 16 before folding. However, the handle-through portion 15 may be formed in a hole shape and configured such that the user's finger or hand can pass through the hole-shaped handle-through portion 15. Also in this case, in order to suppress causing pain to the user's finger or hand when the outer edge of the handle-through portion 15 hits the user's finger or hand, etc., it is preferable to form at least a part of the outer edge of the handle-through portion 15 at the unsealed portion 14.

[0020] Next, the raw film group 20 used for manufacturing the pouch 10 will be described below.

[0021] As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the raw film group 20 is formed by stacking a plurality (two in this embodiment) of raw films 21 extending along the conveyance path 31, and a plurality of pouch planned areas 22 that will become the pouches 10 after manufacturing are arranged side by side in the conveyance direction so that the longitudinal direction X of the pouch 10 faces the conveyance direction (the longitudinal direction of the raw film group 20).

[0022] As shown in FIG. 2, each pouch planned area 22 includes a seal planned area 23 for bag making that will become the bag making seal part 12 of the pouch 10 after manufacturing, an independent seal planned area 24 that will become the independent seal part 13 of the pouch 10 after manufacturing, and an unsealed planned area 25 that will become the unsealed part 14 of the pouch 10 after manufacturing. Also, as shown in FIG. 2, a film through planned part 26 that will become the handle through part 15 of the pouch 10 after manufacturing is set in each pouch planned area 22.

[0023] As shown in FIG. 2, each pouch planned area 22 is set so that the seal planned area 23 for bag making of one (the upstream side in this embodiment) of the pouch planned areas 22 and the independent seal planned area 24 of the other (the downstream side in this embodiment) of the pouch planned areas 22 are continuous in the conveyance direction between the pouch planned areas 22 adjacent in the conveyance direction. Conversely, it may be set so that the seal planned area 23 for bag making of the downstream pouch planned area 22 and the independent seal planned area 24 of the upstream pouch planned area 22 are continuous in the conveyance direction.

[0024] Next, the configuration of the pouch manufacturing apparatus 30 will be described below.

[0025] As shown in FIG. 3, the pouch manufacturing apparatus 30 includes a conveyance mechanism (not shown) that conveys the raw film group 20 along the conveyance direction, a heat seal mechanism 32 that performs a heat seal process on the raw film group 20, a cutting mechanism (not shown) that performs a cutting process on the raw film group 20, and a control unit (not shown) composed of a personal computer, a PLC, etc. having a CPU or the like that controls each part of the pouch manufacturing apparatus 30.

[0026] The conveying mechanism (not shown) conveys the raw film group 20 (the raw film group 20 before the cutting process, or the raw film group 20 before and after the cutting process). In this embodiment, in at least a partial section of the production line, the conveying mechanism is configured to intermittently move the raw film group 20. The conveying distance of the raw film group 20 for each intermittent movement is set to the distance corresponding to one pouch planned area 22 in the conveying direction.

[0027] In this embodiment, the conveying mechanism (not shown) is installed at a plurality of predetermined positions in the conveying direction, and includes a roller unit (not shown) composed of a pair of conveying rollers that sandwich the raw film group 20 from the front and back (the front side and the back side of the paper surface in FIG. 3) and send it out in the conveying direction, a conveying guide (not shown) that guides the raw film group 20 in the conveying direction, and the like. However, as long as the specific aspect of the conveying mechanism (not shown) can convey the raw film group 20 in the conveying direction, in addition to those using the above-mentioned conveying rollers and the like, for example, those using belt drive, air conveyance, etc., or those configured by combining a plurality of different driving means, any form is acceptable.

[0028] The heat-sealing mechanism 32 forms the bag-making seal part 12 and the independent seal part 13 by performing a heat-sealing process on the raw film group 20 (the raw film group 20 before the cutting process, or the raw film group 20 before and after the cutting process). As shown in FIG. 3, it has a heat-sealing unit 33 that performs heat welding on a predetermined position of the raw film group 20, and a cooling unit 34 that cools the position where the heat welding is performed by the heat-sealing unit 33 to fix the heat welding.

[0029] As shown in FIG. 3, the heat-sealing unit 33 has a flat press surface made of metal, a heat-sealing bar 33a, which sandwiches a predetermined position of the raw film group 20 from the front and back (the front side and the back side of the paper surface in FIG. 3) to perform heat welding, and a heating means (not shown) composed of a heater or the like that heats the heat-sealing bar 33a. Reference numeral 33c shown in Fig. 3 indicates the processing area on the raw film group 20 where heat welding is performed by pressing (contacting) the heat welding bar 33a in the first sealing process among the plurality of sealing processes included in the heat sealing process by the heat sealing mechanism 32. In the present embodiment, two heat welding bars 33a are provided, specifically for the first sealing process and the second sealing process, which will be described in detail later.

[0030] As shown in Fig. 3, the cooling unit 34 includes a metal cooling bar 34a having a flat pressing surface for sandwiching and cooling a predetermined portion of the raw film group 20 from the front and back (the front side and the back side of the paper surface in Fig. 3), and a cooling means (not shown) for cooling the cooling bar 34a using cooling water or the like. The cooling bar 34a is installed at a distance from the heat welding bar 33a in the conveying direction. Regarding the specific form of the cooling bar 34a, any form may be used as long as it can cool the raw film group 20. For example, a rubber may be attached to the pressing surface side of a metal backup plate. Reference numeral 34c shown in Fig. 3 indicates the processing area on the raw film group 20 where cooling is performed by pressing (contacting) the cooling bar 34a in the first sealing process among the plurality of sealing processes included in the heat sealing process by the heat sealing mechanism 32. In the present embodiment, two cooling bars 34a are provided, specifically for the first sealing process and the second sealing process, which will be described in detail later. Note that cooling may be applied to the raw film group 20 over a range wider than the processing area 34c shown in Fig. 3.

[0031] The cutting mechanism (not shown) is installed on the downstream side of the heat sealing mechanism 32 and performs a cutting process of cutting the raw film group 20 along the boundary line between the pouch planned areas 22 using a cutter to divide it into units of the pouch planned areas 22.

[0032] In addition, as facilities other than those described above, the pouch manufacturing apparatus 30 of the present embodiment includes a through - processing mechanism (not shown) that forms the handle through - portion 15 by performing a through - processing on the film through - portion planned portion 26 of the raw film group 20 using a cutter or the like in a through - processing area (not shown). Note that the installation position of the through - processing mechanism (not shown) may be either on the downstream side or the upstream side of the cutting mechanism (not shown). That is, the through - processing may be performed on the raw film group 20 before it is divided into units of the pouch planned area 22, or the through - processing may be performed on the raw film group 20 in a state where it is divided into units of the pouch planned area 22.

[0033] Next, a pouch manufacturing method using the pouch manufacturing apparatus 30 will be described below.

[0034] First, in the heat - sealing process in the present embodiment, after heat - welding the processing target area 27 with the heat - welding bar 33a, the raw film group 20 is conveyed to the downstream side, and a plurality of sealing processes including cooling the processing target area 27 with the cooling bar 34a in the cooling area 34b are included. FIG. 3 shows the state of the first sealing process among the plurality of sealing processes.

[0035] That is, in the first sealing process, first, as shown in FIG. 3, the processing target area 27 of the raw film group 20 sent to the heat - welding area 33b provided on the conveyance path 31 is heat - welded with the heat - welding bar 33a. Here, as shown in FIG. 3, the processing target area 27 of the raw film group 20 is set as a region where at least a part (in this embodiment, a part of the bag - making seal planned area 23) of the bag - making seal planned area 23 of one (in this embodiment, the upstream side) of the pouch planned areas 22 adjacent in the conveyance direction and at least a part (in this embodiment, the whole of the independent seal planned area 24) of the independent seal planned area 24 of the other (in this embodiment, the downstream side) of the pouch planned areas 22 are continuous in the conveyance direction. In the heat - welding area 33b, the common heat - welding bar 33a is applied to the processing target area 27 set in this way for heat - welding.

[0036] Note that reference numeral 23a shown in FIG. 3 indicates an unsealed portion for filling the content into the content storage portion 11, which is not heat-welded in the first sealing process, among the seal planned areas 23 for bag making.

[0037] Next, at a position where the raw film group 20 is conveyed downstream by a distance corresponding to one pouch planned area 22 in the conveyance direction by a conveyance mechanism (not shown) (a cooling area 34b set adjacent to the heat welding area 33b in the conveyance direction), a common cooling bar 34a is pressed against the processing target area 27 that has been heat-welded by the above-described heat welding bar 33a to perform cooling.

[0038] Note that the heat welding by the heat welding bar 33a on the upstream processing target area 27 and the cooling by the cooling bar 34a on the processing target area 27 located downstream of the processing target area 27 are performed simultaneously (or almost simultaneously).

[0039] Then, thereafter, the raw film group 20 is sent downstream in the conveyance direction and is cut by a cutting mechanism (not shown) in a cutting area (not shown), so that it is separated into units of the pouch planned area 22, and a through-hole for a handle 15 is formed by performing a through-hole process by a through-hole processing mechanism (not shown) in a through-hole processing area (not shown).

[0040] Then, thereafter, on the downstream side of the cutting area (not shown) and the through-hole processing area (not shown), after the content storage portion 11 is filled with the content through the unsealed portion 23a for filling by a content filling mechanism, as the second sealing process of the heat sealing process in the present embodiment, heat welding and cooling are performed on the film 10a in the unsealed portion 23a for filling as the processing target area by using a heat welding bar (not shown) and a cooling bar (not shown) of the heat sealing mechanism 32, thereby performing a sealing process between the films 10a in the unsealed portion 23a for filling.

[0041] In the present embodiment, various processes such as heat welding by the heat welding unit 33 (heat welding bar 33a), cooling by the cooling unit 34 (cooling bar 34a), cutting by a cutting mechanism (not shown), and penetration processing by a penetration processing mechanism (not shown) are performed when the conveying mechanism (not shown) stops during intermittent movement.

[0042] As described above, the embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail. However, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and various design changes can be made without departing from the present invention described in the claims. For example, the embodiments and modifications described above or below may be arbitrarily combined.

[0043] For example, regarding the specific aspect of the film 10a constituting the pouch 10, as long as it has a heat-sealable layer such as an olefin-based material like low-density polyethylene or polypropylene or a polyester-based material like PET on at least one side, a single film of the heat-sealing layer or any layer may be laminated on the heat-sealing layer. The material constituting the laminate may be any material, and it may be arbitrarily formed by laminating known polyester, polypropylene, polyamide, polyethylene, polybutylene terephthalate, aluminum foil, etc.

[0044] In the above-described embodiment, the pouch 10 has been described as being configured as a so-called flat pouch formed by heat-sealing two films 10a at a predetermined location. However, as long as the specific aspect of the pouch 10 is formed by heat-sealing one or more films 10a at a predetermined location, for example, a so-called horizontal gusset-type pouch having gusset portions formed on both the left and right sides as shown in FIG. 4, a so-called standing pouch having a gusset portion on the bottom side, a pouch with a spout attached to a predetermined location of the film 10a, or the like may be used.

[0045] In the above-described embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3, it has been described that a plurality of pouch planned regions 22 are arranged in a row along the conveyance direction in the raw film group 20. However, in the raw film group 20, a plurality of rows of pouch planned regions 22 may be arranged side by side in the left-right direction orthogonal to the conveyance direction. In this case, for the processing target area 27 to which the heat welding bar 33a and the cooling bar 34a are applied, it may be set across the pouch planned areas 22 arranged in the left - right direction (the bag - making seal planned area 23 and the independent seal planned area 24). Also, in the cutting process of the cutting mechanism (not shown), the boundary line between the pouch planned areas 22 in the left - right direction is also cut.

[0046] Also, in the above - described embodiment, the heat - sealing process by the heat - sealing mechanism 32 is described as achieving the formation of the bag - making seal part 12 and the independent seal part 13 by the first sealing process of applying heat welding by the heat welding bar 33a and cooling by the cooling bar 34a to the processing target area 27 as shown in FIG. 3, and the second sealing process of applying heat welding by a heat welding bar (not shown) and cooling by a cooling bar (not shown) to the position corresponding to the unsealed part 23a for filling. However, the heat - sealing process by the heat - welding unit 33 of the present invention includes at least one sealing process of applying heat welding by the heat welding bar 33a and cooling by the cooling bar 34a to a processing target area 27 in which at least a part of the bag - making seal planned area 23 of one pouch planned area 22 and at least a part of the independent seal planned area 24 of the other pouch planned area 22 are continuous in the conveyance direction. As long as the formation of the bag - making seal part 12 and the independent seal part 13 is achieved, the number of sealing processes and the setting of the processing target area may be arbitrarily set according to the embodiment.

[0047] Here, as an example of a modification of the heat - sealing process by the heat - welding unit 33, FIGS. 6(a) and 6(b) show the heat - sealing process by the heat - welding unit 33 for manufacturing the pouch 10 shown in FIG. 4 by applying various processes to the original film group 20 shown in FIG. 5. Note that FIGS. 6(a) and 6(b) show only two of the multiple sealing processes included in the heat - sealing process required to form the bag - making seal part 12 and the independent seal part 13 of the pouch 10 shown in FIG. 4. Incidentally, the pouch 10 shown in FIG. 6 is formed as a so-called horizontal gusset type pouch composed of front and back films 10a and films 10a for left and right gusset portions arranged on the left and right sides. In FIGS. 4 to 6, parts that function in the same manner as those shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 are given the same reference numerals as in FIGS. 1 to 3.

[0048] Also, in the above-described embodiment, the pouch manufacturing apparatus 30 (pouch manufacturing method) was described as manufacturing a pouch 10 in which the entire area of the bag-making seal portion 12 was formed by performing a seal process up to the seal process in the unsealed portion 23a for filling. However, the pouch manufacturing apparatus 30 (pouch manufacturing method) of the present invention only needs to manufacture a pouch 10 having at least a part of the bag-making seal portion 12, at least a part of the independent seal portion 13, and an unsealed portion by performing a heat seal process and a cutting process including at least one seal process described above on the raw film group 20. In other words, the pouch 10 of the present invention includes those in which a part of the bag-making seal portion 12 (such as the unsealed portion 23a for filling shown in FIG. 3) is not formed, those in which a part of the independent seal portion 13 is not formed, and the like. In this case, for example, heat welding for forming a part of the above-described bag-making seal portion 12 or a part of the independent seal portion 13 may be performed by another apparatus installed in another facility. For example, after filling the contents into the pouch 10 having the unsealed portion 23a for filling manufactured by the pouch manufacturing apparatus 30 (pouch manufacturing method) of the present invention by another apparatus installed in another facility, heat welding may be performed on the unsealed portion 23a for filling.

[0049] Also, in the above-described embodiment, the pouch 10 was described as being manufactured by performing a heat seal process (heat welding and cooling) by the heat seal mechanism 32, a cutting process by a cutting mechanism (not shown), and a penetration process by a penetration process mechanism (not shown) on the raw film group 20. However, depending on the form of the pouch 10 to be manufactured, any process such as cutting or bending the film 10a, attaching a spout to the film 10a, etc. may be performed on the raw film group 20 (the raw film group 20 before or after the cutting process), and the penetration process by a penetration mechanism (not shown) may not be performed. Also, regarding the order, timing, etc. of various processes such as the heat seal process and the penetration process described above, they may be arbitrarily set according to the form of the pouch 10 to be manufactured, etc.

Explanation of Signs

[0050] 10 ··· Pouch 10a ··· Film 11 ··· Contents storage part 12 ··· Bag-making seal part 13 ··· Independent seal part 14 ··· Unsealed part 15 ··· Handle penetration part 16 ··· Handle piece part 17 ··· Bending connection part 18 ··· Boundary line between unsealed part and independent seal part 20 ··· Raw film group 21 ··· Raw film 22 ··· Pouch planned area 23 ··· Bag-making seal planned area 23a ··· Unsealed part for filling 24 ··· Independent seal planned area 25 ··· Unsealed planned area 26 ··· Film penetration planned part 27 ··· Processing target area 30 ··· Pouch manufacturing device 31 ··· Conveyor path 32 ··· Heat seal mechanism 33 ··· Heat welding unit 33a ··· Heat welding bar 33b ··· Heat welding area 33c ··· Processing area 34 ··· Cooling unit 34a ··· Cooling bar 34b ··· Cooling area 34c ··· Processing area X ··· Vertical direction Y ··· Horizontal direction

Claims

1. A pouch manufacturing method for manufacturing a pouch having a seal part for bag making formed around a content accommodating part, an independent seal part formed vertically spaced apart from the seal part for bag making, and an unsealed part formed so as to separate the seal part for bag making and the independent seal part in the vertical direction, by performing a heat sealing process and a cutting process on a group of web films in which a plurality of web films extending along a conveyance path are stacked, In the group of web films, a plurality of pouch planned areas are set side by side in the conveyance direction, Each of the pouch planned areas includes a seal planned area for bag making that becomes the seal part for bag making after pouch manufacturing, an independent seal planned area that becomes the independent seal part after pouch manufacturing, and an unsealed planned area that becomes the unsealed part after pouch manufacturing, Each of the pouch planned areas is set such that the seal planned area for bag making of one of the pouch planned areas and the independent seal planned area of the other pouch planned area adjacent in the conveyance direction are continuous in the conveyance direction between the pouch planned areas adjacent in the conveyance direction, The heat sealing process includes applying a heat welding bar to a processing target area where at least a part of the seal planned area for bag making of one of the pouch planned areas adjacent in the conveyance direction and at least a part of the independent seal planned area of the other pouch planned area are continuous in the conveyance direction, performing heat welding, then conveying the group of web films to the downstream side, and performing cooling by applying a cooling bar installed on the downstream side of the heat welding bar to the processing target area. The pouch manufacturing method is characterized by including this seal process.

2. The pouch manufacturing method intermittently moves the group of web films along the conveyance direction, and performs heat welding by the heat welding bar and cooling by the cooling bar when stopped. The conveyance distance of the group of web films for each intermittent movement in the intermittent movement is set to the distance of one of the pouch planned areas in the conveyance direction. The pouch manufacturing method according to Claim 1 is characterized by this.

3. In the sealing process, after heat-sealing the processing target area with the heat-sealing bar, at a position where the raw film group is conveyed downstream by a distance corresponding to one of the pouch planned areas in the conveying direction, cooling is applied by applying the cooling bar to the processing target area. The pouch manufacturing method according to claim 2, characterized in that.

4. A pouch manufacturing apparatus that manufactures a pouch having a seal portion for bag making formed around a content storage portion, an independent seal portion formed vertically spaced apart from the seal portion for bag making, and an unsealed portion formed to separate the seal portion for bag making and the independent seal portion vertically, by performing a heat-sealing process and a cutting process on a group of raw films stacked in a plurality along a conveyance path. In the group of raw films, a plurality of pouch planned areas are set side by side in the conveying direction. Each of the pouch planned areas includes a seal planned area for bag making that becomes the seal portion for bag making after pouch manufacturing, an independent seal planned area that becomes the independent seal portion after pouch manufacturing, and an unsealed planned area that becomes the unsealed portion after pouch manufacturing. Each of the pouch planned areas is set such that the seal planned area for bag making of one of the pouch planned areas and the independent seal planned area of the other pouch planned area adjacent to it in the conveying direction are continuous in the conveying direction. The pouch manufacturing apparatus includes a conveyance mechanism that conveys the group of raw films along the conveying direction, a heat-sealing mechanism that performs the heat-sealing process on the group of raw films, and a cutting mechanism that performs the cutting process on the group of raw films. The heat-sealing mechanism has a heat-sealing bar that abuts against and performs heat-sealing on a processing target area where at least a part of the seal planned area for bag making of one of the pouch planned areas adjacent to each other in the conveying direction and at least a part of the independent seal planned area of the other pouch planned area are continuous in the conveying direction, and a cooling bar that is installed on the downstream side of the heat-sealing bar and abuts against the processing target area to perform cooling. The pouch manufacturing apparatus is characterized in that.

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