Vertical pillow packaging machine

Abstract

To provide a vertical pillow packaging machine which can produce a packaging body produced at first in the same way as packaging bodies produced the second time or after without wasting a packaging film due to breaking or melting and without wasting extra energy upon starting or upon restarting from waiting.SOLUTION: A vertical pillow packaging machine comprises a vertical pillow packaging machine body, a vertical pillow packaging machine control unit and a control panel. In a first cycle where the vertical pillow packaging machine body starts operation based on a waiting release command signal from an operation waiting-release command unit in a computer of the control panel, the position of a horizontal seal part in a cylindrical film is raised and heater blocks are raised, thereafter, the heater blocks are placed close together with a small, constant gap therebetween, further, the cylindrical film is lowered before a packaged item inputted from a weighing machine of a packaged item input apparatus reaches a bottom part of the cylindrical film, and simultaneously, the heater blocks are lowered.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a vertical pillow packaging machine that is designed to eliminate waste of packaging film when starting up, resuming operation from standby, and starting an operation to produce packages. [Background technology]

[0002] A vertical pillow packaging machine is a packaging machine that feeds packaging material vertically (vertically) to form it into a tubular packaging material, supplies the packaged products vertically and fills them into the tubular packaging material one by one, and then seals the tubular packaging material vertically in the top and bottom directions and horizontally in the left and right directions (horizontally) and cuts it to produce a package. In this vertical pillow packaging machine, when starting up or resuming operation from standby and starting the operation of producing packages, the first package produced has the packaged product placed in the empty tubular packaging material located at the bottom, so the impact when the packaged product enters the tubular packaging material is greater than for packages produced from the second time onwards, which can result in damage to the tubular packaging material, etc., and waste of packaging film. For this reason, various proposals have been made to ensure that the first package produced at startup or when restarting operation after standby is the same as the packages produced from the second time onwards.

[0003] For example, Patent Document 1 (JP 2016-193751 A) discloses a continuous vertical form-fill-seal packaging machine that includes a film unwinding means that continuously unwinds packaging film downward, a vertical sealer that forms the continuously unwound packaging film into a tubular shape, a pair of horizontal sealers that open and close the tubular packaging film from both sides and are movable up and down, a horizontal sealer drive means that drives the horizontal sealers, and control means that control the film unwinding means and the horizontal sealer drive means, respectively, and fills products fed from above into the tubular packaging film.The machine also includes receiving members that move integrally with the horizontal sealers and receive products midway through the process as they are fed into the tubular packaging film, and the control means performs the following control operations (a) to (c) in the first cycle of control operations after operation has begun. (a) The film unwinding means is stopped so that the packaging film is not unwound. (b) Before a product is inserted into the cylindrical packaging film, the transverse sealer drive means is controlled to move the pair of transverse sealers from both sides of the stopped cylindrical packaging film in the closing direction to a product receiving position where the pair of transverse sealers are spaced apart so that the packaging film is not transversely sealed, and where the receiving member receives the product inserted from above. (c) The horizontal sealer driving means is controlled to move the horizontal sealer downward, and after the product is placed inside the tubular packaging film, the horizontal sealer is opened and then moved upward.

[0004] In the continuous vertical form-fill-seal packaging machine of Patent Document 1, before the product is placed inside the tubular packaging film, a pair of horizontal sealers are moved from both sides of the stopped tubular packaging film in the closing direction and positioned at the product receiving position, so that the product can be received by the receiving members provided on the pair of horizontal sealers, preventing damage to the bottom of the packaging film. However, in the continuous vertical form-fill-seal packaging machine of Patent Document 1, when a pair of horizontal sealers are moved in the closing direction from both sides of a stopped tubular packaging film to position it at the product receiving position, there is a risk that the pair of horizontal sealers will come into contact with the tubular packaging film.If the horizontal sealers come into contact with the tubular packaging film, the horizontal sealers will be heated, causing the packaging film to melt and impair its function.

[0005] Next, Patent Document 2 (JP 2019-43626 A) describes a vertical form-fill-seal-seal machine that forms bags by applying horizontal seals to tubular packaging material fed vertically, while continuously producing bag packages in which a product is placed inside the previously formed bag. The machine is equipped with a product supply device that supplies the product to be placed inside the tubular packaging material, a horizontal sealing device that has two horizontal sealing blocks that sandwich the tubular packaging material between them and move toward and away from each other, and that sandwich the tubular packaging material and apply the horizontal seal to the tubular packaging material when the two horizontal sealing blocks approach each other, and a control device that controls the packaging operation of the vertical form-fill-seal-seal machine, including at least the horizontal sealing operation of the horizontal sealing device, and the control device temporarily stops operation of the vertical form-fill-seal-seal machine based on the operating state of the vertical form-fill-seal-seal machine. In a vertical form-fill-seal packaging machine, when it is determined that the horizontal sealing operation should be stopped, the horizontal sealing device is made to perform a standby operation in which it moves away from the tubular packaging material after the horizontal sealing operation and maintains an open state, and when the standby operation is released, the packaging operation is resumed with the product being put into the bag by the product supply device.In this vertical form-fill-seal packaging machine, during the standby operation from when the standby operation is started to when it is released, the horizontal sealing device is made to continue the approaching and separating operation by continuing the timing from before the standby operation started, and during the continued approaching and separating operation, when the two horizontal seal blocks approach each other, the two horizontal seal blocks are controlled to a semi-closed state where they are closed just enough so that they do not come into contact with the horizontal seal portion, and when the standby operation is released, the horizontal seal blocks are controlled to the semi-closed state.

[0006] However, in the vertical bag making, filling and packaging machine of Patent Document 2, the horizontal sealing device continues the contact and separation operation during standby operation, which requires energy to perform the contact and separation operation of both horizontal sealing blocks, resulting in the problem of consuming more energy than if the operation of both horizontal sealing blocks were stopped. Furthermore, in the vertical form-fill-seal packaging machine of Patent Document 2, when both horizontal seal blocks are in a semi-closed state, there is a risk that the horizontal seal blocks may come into contact with the tubular packaging material. If the horizontal seal blocks come into contact with the tubular packaging material, the horizontal seal blocks are heated, and as with Patent Document 1, there is the problem that the tubular packaging material will melt and its function will be impaired. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0007] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2016-193751 [Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2019-43626 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0008] The problem that this invention aims to solve is to enable a vertical pillow packaging machine to produce the first package in the same way as the packages produced from the second time onwards, without wasting the packaging film by damaging or melting it, and without wasting any extra energy, when starting up or resuming operation from standby. [Means for solving the problem]

[0009] The invention of claim 1 is a packaging machine that includes packaging material feeding means that feeds packaging material in a vertical direction, tubular packaging material forming means that forms the packaging material fed by the packaging material feeding means into a tubular packaging material, packaged product filling means that supplies packaged products that are input by packaged product input means and fills the tubular packaging material, vertical sealing means that applies a vertical seal to the tubular packaging material, and horizontal seal cutting means that applies a horizontal seal to the tubular packaging material that has been vertically sealed by the vertical sealing means and cuts it, and produces one package containing the packaged product. a vertical pillow packaging machine comprising: a vertical pillow packaging machine main body that produces a large number of the packages in one cycle; a vertical pillow packaging machine control means having a function of controlling the operation of the vertical pillow packaging machine main body; and an operation standby / release command means that issues a standby command to stop the operation of the vertical pillow packaging machine main body and put it into a standby state when the packaged product input means cannot input the packaged product into the packaged product filling means, and a standby release command to start the operation of the vertical pillow packaging machine main body that is in the standby state, An operation means for operating the vertical pillow packaging machine main body or the vertical pillow packaging machine control means is provided with the operation standby / cancel command means, the transverse seal cutting means includes heater block opening / closing means for opening and closing a pair of heater blocks, and heater block lifting means for lifting and lowering the pair of heater blocks, The vertical pillow packaging machine control means includes packaging material feed operation control means for controlling the operation of the packaging material feed means, and heater block operation control means for controlling the operation of the heater block opening / closing means and the heater block lifting / lowering means, and in the first cycle in which the vertical pillow packaging machine main body in the standby state starts operation based on the standby release command from the operation standby / release command means, the packaging material feed operation control means controls the operation of the packaging material feed means so as to raise the position of the horizontal seal of the tubular packaging material on which the horizontal seal has been applied, and the heater block operation control means controls the operation of the pair of heater blocks so as to raise the positions of the heater blocks. The above problem is solved by providing a vertical pillow packaging machine in which, after controlling the operation of the heater block lifting means, the heater block operation control means controls the operation of the heater block opening and closing means so that the pair of heater blocks approach each other leaving a certain gap, and further, the packaging material feed operation control means controls the operation of the packaging material feed means so that the tubular packaging material descends before the packaged product fed from the packaged product feeding means to the packaged product filling means reaches the bottom of the tubular packaging material, and the heater block operation control means controls the operation of the heater block lifting means so that the pair of heater blocks descend in accordance with the descent of the tubular packaging material.

[0010] The invention of claim 2 solves the above problem by providing a vertical pillow packaging machine in which the horizontal seal cutting means is equipped with a squeezing means for squeezing the portion of the tubular packaging material where the horizontal seal is to be applied, and the fixed gap is the same as the gap formed when the pair of heater blocks are brought close to each other when the squeezing means squeezes the portion where the horizontal seal is to be applied.

[0011] The invention of claim 3 solves the above problem by providing a vertical pillow packaging machine in which the horizontal seal cutting means is equipped with a shutter means that clamps the upper side of the horizontally sealed portion of the tubular packaging material when the pair of heater blocks approach each other with the certain gap between them.

[0012] The invention of claim 4 solves the above problem by providing a vertical pillow packaging machine in which the shutter means is equipped with a receiving plate that receives the packaged product that has been inserted by the packaged product insertion means and reached the bottom of the tubular packaging material.

[0014] Claim 5 The invention solves the above problem by providing a vertical pillow packaging machine in which the operation standby / release command means issues the standby release command based on a packaged product input ready signal indicating that the packaged product can be input from the packaged product input means to the packaged product filling means.

[0015] Claim 6 In the invention, the vertical sealing means opens and closes a pair of vertical seal blocks. Vertical seal block opening and closing means and vertical seal block lifting means for raising and lowering the pair of vertical seal blocks, wherein the vertical pillow packaging machine control means comprises vertical seal block operation control means for controlling the operation of the vertical seal block opening / closing means and the vertical seal block lifting means, and when the standby command is issued from the operation standby / release command means, the packaging material feed operation control means controls the operation of the packaging material feed means so that the packaging material feed means operates in the same way as when the standby command is not issued from the operation standby / release command means, the heater block operation control means controls the operation of the heater block opening / closing means and the heater block lifting means, and the vertical seal block operation control means controls the operation of the vertical seal block opening / closing means and the vertical seal block lifting means to complete one cycle, after which the vertical pillow packaging machine main body stops operating and enters a standby state, thereby solving the above-mentioned problem. The invention of claim 7 is a packaging machine that includes packaging material feeding means for feeding packaging material in a vertical direction, tubular packaging material forming means for forming the packaging material fed by the packaging material feeding means into a tubular packaging material, packaged product filling means for supplying packaged products input by packaged product input means and filling the tubular packaging material, vertical sealing means for applying a vertical seal to the tubular packaging material, and horizontal seal cutting means for applying a horizontal seal to the tubular packaging material that has been vertically sealed by the vertical sealing means and cutting the tubular packaging material, and the cycle for producing one package containing the packaged product is defined as one cycle. a vertical pillow packaging machine including a vertical pillow packaging machine main body for manufacturing a large number of the above-mentioned packages by cutting the horizontal seals, and a vertical pillow packaging machine control means having a function of controlling the operation of the vertical pillow packaging machine main body, wherein the horizontal seal cutting means includes a heater block opening / closing means for opening and closing a pair of heater blocks, and a heater block lifting / lowering means for lifting / lowering the pair of heater blocks, and the vertical pillow packaging machine control means controls the operation of the packaging material feeding means, the heater block opening / closing means, and the heater block lifting / lowering means. the vertical pillow packaging machine control means is provided with a standby command to stop operation of the vertical pillow packaging machine main body and place it in a standby state when the packaged product input means is unable to input the packaged product into the packaged product filling means, and the vertical pillow packaging machine control means is provided with a standby release command to start operation of the vertical pillow packaging machine main body in the standby state; in the first cycle in which the vertical pillow packaging machine main body in the standby state starts operation based on the standby release command, the vertical pillow packaging machine control means controls the operation of the packaging material feed means to raise the position of the horizontal seal of the tubular packaging material on which the horizontal seal has been applied, and the heater block lifting means controls the operation of the pair of heater blocks to raise the positions of the pair of heater blocks; after the above steps, the heater block open / close means controls the operation of the heater block open / close means to bring the pair of heater blocks close to each other with a certain gap left; and the packaging material feed means is controlled to lower the tubular packaging material before the packaged product input from the packaged product input means reaches the bottom of the tubular packaging material;The above-mentioned problem is solved by providing a control method for a vertical pillow packaging machine, which includes a step of controlling the operation of the heater block lifting means so that the pair of heater blocks descend in accordance with the descent of the tubular packaging material. [Effects of the Invention]

[0016] In the vertical pillow packaging machine of the invention described in claim 1, in the first cycle in which the vertical pillow packaging machine main body in a standby state starts operation based on a standby release command from an operation standby / release command means, a packaging material feed operation control means controls the operation of the packaging material feed means so as to raise the position of the horizontal seal of the tubular packaging material on which the horizontal seal has been applied, and a heater block operation control means controls the operation of the heater block lifting and lowering means so as to raise the positions of the pair of heater blocks, and then the heater block operation control means controls the operation of the heater block opening and closing means so as to bring the pair of heater blocks close to each other while leaving a certain gap, and further, The packaging material feed operation control means controls the operation of the packaging material feed means so that the tubular packaging material descends before the packaged products fed from the stage into the packaged product filling means reach the bottom of the tubular packaging material, and the heater block operation control means controls the operation of the heater block lifting means so that the pair of heater blocks descend in accordance with the descent of the tubular packaging material. Therefore, when the vertical pillow packaging machine main body is started up or when the vertical pillow packaging machine main body resumes operation from standby, the tubular packaging material is not wasted by being damaged or melted, and packages can be produced in the same way as in a normal cycle without wasting extra energy, which is an effect. Furthermore, there is an effect that an operation standby / cancel command means can be provided in the operation means or vertical pillow packaging machine control means provided in the vertical pillow packaging machine.

[0017] In the vertical pillow packaging machine of the invention described in claim 2, there is further provided a gap between the pair of heater blocks that is the same as the gap formed during the squeezing action of the squeezing means, thereby achieving the effect of allowing the pair of heater blocks to be smoothly lowered.

[0018] In the vertical pillow packaging machine of the invention described in claim 3, the shutter means further clamps the upper side of the portion of the tubular packaging material where the horizontal seal is applied, thereby achieving the effect that the packaging material feeding means can smoothly feed the tubular packaging material.

[0019] In the vertical pillow packaging machine of the invention described in claim 4, a receiving plate further receives the packaged items that reach the bottom of the tubular packaging material, thereby preventing the lower part of the tubular packaging material from bulging outward significantly due to the accumulation of the filled packaged items.

[0021] Claim 5 The vertical pillow packaging machine of the invention described above further has the effect that the operation standby / release command means can reliably issue a signal indicating that the packaged item can be inserted.

[0022] Claim 6 In the vertical pillow packaging machine of the invention described above, when a standby command is issued from the operation standby / cancellation command means, one cycle is completed with the same operation as when the standby command is not issued from the operation standby / cancellation command means, and the vertical pillow packaging machine main body enters a standby state, thereby achieving the effect of being able to put the vertical pillow packaging machine main body into a standby state without increasing the operation patterns of the vertical pillow packaging machine main body. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0023] [Figure 1] 1 is a diagram showing the configuration of a vertical pillow packaging machine of the present invention. [Figure 2] 2 is a perspective view showing the overall configuration of the vertical pillow packaging machine body shown in FIG. 1. FIG. [Figure 3] FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the horizontal seal and cut section shown in FIG. 2. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a front view of the heater block, the block holder, and the ironing unit. [Figure 5] 5A and 5B are a bottom view and a plan view of the heater block, the block holder, and the ironing unit shown in FIG. 4. [Figure 6] 4 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a vertical pillow packaging machine control unit 60 and an operation panel 70. FIG. [Figure 7] 10 is an explanatory diagram illustrating the configuration of a product parameter table including normal cycle timing 1 stored in a storage unit 62. FIG. [Figure 8]10 is an explanatory diagram illustrating the configuration of a product parameter table including restart cycle timing 2 stored in the storage unit 62. FIG. [Figure 9] 10 is a timing chart showing the timing of the feeding operation of the film Fi, the opening / closing and raising / lowering operations of the vertical seal blocks 17a and 17b, and the opening / closing and raising / lowering operations of the heater blocks 18a and 18b in one normal cycle. [Figure 10] 10 is an explanatory diagram of the operation state showing states A and B shown in FIG. 9. FIG. [Figure 11] 10 is an explanatory diagram of the operation state showing states C and D shown in FIG. 9. FIG. [Figure 12] 10 is an explanatory diagram of the operation state showing states E and F shown in FIG. 9. FIG. [Figure 13] 10 is an explanatory diagram showing the operation of heater blocks 18a, 18b, etc. at times t10 and t12 when entering a standby state. FIG. [Figure 14] 14 is an explanatory diagram showing the operation of heater blocks 18a, 18b, etc. at time t14 when the standby state is entered, and at the time when one cycle ends and the standby state is entered. FIG. [Figure 15] 10 is a timing chart showing the timing of the feeding of the film Fi, and the opening / closing and raising / lowering operations of the heater blocks 18a and 18b in the restart cycle. [Figure 16] 16 is an explanatory diagram of the operation state showing states A″ and B″ shown in FIG. 15. FIG. [Figure 17] 16 is an explanatory diagram of the operation state showing states C″ and D″ shown in FIG. 15. FIG. [Figure 18] 16 is an explanatory diagram of the operation state showing states E'' and F'' shown in FIG. 15. FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0024] [Configuration of vertical pillow packaging machine] Figure 1 is a diagram showing the configuration of the vertical pillow packaging machine of the present invention, which is a schematic front view of the vertical pillow packaging machine main body combined with a block of the control section, Figure 2 is an oblique view showing the overall configuration of the vertical pillow packaging machine main body shown in Figure 1, and Figure 3 is an oblique view of the horizontal sealing and cutting section shown in Figure 2. In the figure, 1 is a vertical pillow packaging machine, 10 is a vertical pillow packaging machine main body, 11 is a film (packaging material) supply section, 12 is a tension adjustment section, 12a is a rotating arm, 12b is a fixed roller, 13 is a date printing section, 13a is a date printing device, 13b is a lifting roller, 14 is a packaged product supply section, 14a is a hopper, 14b is a filling tube, 15 is a tube making section, 15a is a tube making machine (former), 15b is a pressing member, 15c is a slide roller, 16 is a film feeding section, 16a is a pulley, 16b is a feeding belt, 16M is a servo motor, 17 is a vertical sealing section, 17a and 17b are vertical sealing blocks. block, 18 is a horizontal sealing and cutting section, 18a and 18b are heater blocks, 18c and 18d are ironing plates, 18e and 18f are shutter plates, 18g and 18h ​​are receiving plates, 19 is a package discharge section, 19a is a belt conveyor, 20 is a horizontal sealing device, 20M is a servo motor, 20Ma is a rotating shaft, 21 is a block holder, 21a is a guide hole, 22 is a block holder, 23 is an opening and closing toggle mechanism, 23a is a rotating arm, 23b and 23c are driven arms, 24 is a holder drive block, 25 is a support block, 25a and 25b are frame sections, 25c is a connecting section, 26a and 26b are 6b is a connecting rod, 27A and 27B are ironing sections, 28A and 28B are shutter sections, 29 is a cutting device, 29a is a support plate, 29b is an air cylinder, 29c is a piston rod, 29d is a slider, 29e and 29f are guide rods, 30 is a lifting device, 30M is a servo motor, 31a and 31b are brackets, 32 is a timing belt, 32a is a belt gripping member, 33 is a connecting plate, 34 is a driving pulley, 34a is a pulley shaft, 35 is a driven pulley, 35a is a pulley shaft, 36a and 36b are lifting guide rods, and 40 is a vertical seal block opening and closing device, 40M is a servo motor, 50 is a lifting device, 50M is a servo motor, 60 is a vertical pillow packaging machine control unit, 70 is an operation panel, 80 is a packaged product input device, 81 is a weighing machine, 82 is a packaged product input device control unit, CL1 and CL2 are communication lines, Fi is film (packaging material), gr is a guide roller, MF is a rolled film, Pc is a package, TFi is a tubular film (tubular packaging material), ts is a vertical seal portion, ys is a horizontal seal portion, and in the figure, X is the left-right direction, Y is the up-down direction, and Z is the front-to-back direction, and in Figure 1, the film portion is represented by a two-dot chain line. The vertical pillow packaging machine 1 is composed of a vertical pillow packaging machine main body 10 that produces a package Pc by unwinding film Fi from a winding film MF and packaging the packaged product, a vertical pillow packaging machine control unit 60 that controls the operation of the vertical pillow packaging machine main body 10, and an operation panel 70 that operates the vertical pillow packaging machine main body 10, and a packaged product input device 80 is connected to the vertical pillow packaging machine main body 10. In addition, the packaged product insertion device 80 is equipped with a weighing machine 81, etc., and is controlled by a packaged product insertion device control unit 82, which is connected by line to the vertical pillow packaging machine control unit 60 and the operation panel 70.

[0025] The vertical pillow packaging machine main body 10 is composed of a film (packaging material) supply section 11, a tension adjustment section 12, a printing section 13, a packaged product supply section 14, a tube making section 15, a film feed section 16, a vertical sealing section 17, a horizontal sealing and cutting section 18, a package discharge section 19, etc. The film (packaging material) supply unit 11 includes a rolled packaging material supply device (not shown) that holds the rolled film MF, and pays out the film (packaging material) Fi from the rolled film MF. The winding film support device includes a shaft (not shown) and a servo motor 11M which serves as the winding film rotating means of the present invention. The servo motor 11M rotates the shaft, thereby rotating the winding film MF attached to the shaft. The tension adjusting unit 12 is composed of a pair of rotating arms 12a, a dancer roller rotatably held by the rotating arms 12a, a fixed roller 12b, a rotating rod, etc., and the rotating arms 12a rotate to adjust the film (packaging material) Fi. The date printing unit 13 includes a date printing device 13a, an elevating roller 13b, etc., and prints the date on the film Fi. The packaged product supply section 14 is equipped with a filling tube 14b with a hopper 14a at the top, a packaged product detection sensor (not shown), etc., and receives packaged products such as snacks fed from a weighing machine 81 of the packaged product feeding device 80 in the hopper 14a and fills the filling tube 14b. The tube making section 15 is equipped with a tube making device 15a, a pressing member 15b, a slide roller 15c, etc., and the film Fi that has been unwound from the film supply section 11 and has the date printed by the date printing section 13 is guided by the slide roller 15c, formed into a cylindrical shape by the tube making device 15a, and pressed against the outer surface of the filling tube 14b by the pressing member 15b, thereby forming the film Fi into a tubular film TFi. The film feed section 16 has a pair of film feed mechanisms equipped with a pulley 16a, a feed belt 16b, a servo motor 16M, etc., which are arranged on both sides of the filling tube 14b, and the servo motor 16M rotates the pulley 16a to move the feed belt 16b, thereby feeding the film Fi wrapping around the outer surface of the filling tube 14b downward by a certain length. The vertical sealing section 17 is equipped with vertical sealing blocks 17a, 17b, a heater (not shown), a vertical sealing block opening / closing device 40 driven by a servo motor 40M, and a lifting device 50 driven by a servo motor 50M, and applies vertical seals to both end portions of the tubular film TFi that is wrapped around the outer surface of the filling tube 14b and overlapped to form a vertical seal portion ts. The horizontal sealing and cutting section 18 is equipped with a horizontal sealing device 20 having a pair of heater blocks 18a, 18b, squeezing sections 27A, 27B each having a pair of squeezing plates 18c, 18d, shutter sections 28A, 28B each having a pair of shutter plates 18e, 18f and a pair of receiving plates 18g, 18h, etc., a cutting device 29, and a lifting device 30 (details will be described later), and applies a horizontal seal to the vertically sealed tubular film TFi filled with the packaged goods to form a horizontal seal portion ys, and cuts the center of the horizontal seal portion ys to generate a packaged body Pc filled with the packaged goods. The package discharge section 19 includes a belt conveyor 19a and the like, and discharges the package Pc by the belt conveyor 19a. In FIG. 2, the squeezing units 27A and 27B and the shutter units 28A and 28B are omitted.

[0026] [Horizontal sealing device 20, cutting device 29, lifting device 30, etc.] The horizontal sealing device 20, the cutting device 29, and the lifting device 30 that constitute the horizontal sealing and cutting section 18 will be described. As shown in FIG. 3, the horizontal sealing device 20 comprises a pair of heater blocks 18a, 18b, a servo motor 20M, block holders 21, 22, an open / close toggle mechanism 23, a holder drive block 24, a support block 25, and connecting rods 26a, 26b. In the horizontal sealing device 20, heaters (not shown) are embedded in the heater blocks 18a and 18b, the heater block 18a is attached to the right side of the block holder 21, and the heater block 18b is attached to the left side of the block holder 22. The block holder 21 is connected to a holder drive block 24 by connecting rods 26a and 26b, and the block holder 22 is connected to the holder drive block 24 via an open / close toggle mechanism 23 and is slidably supported by the connecting rods 26a and 26b. The support block 25 is an integral block in which U-shaped frame portions 25a and 25b are connected by a connecting portion 25c, and connecting rods 26a and 26b are slidably supported by the frame portions 25a and 25b. In the opening / closing toggle mechanism 23, the servo motor 20M is attached to the underside of the connecting portion 25c of the support block 25, the rotating shaft 20Ma of the servo motor 20M is inserted through the connecting portion 25c and fitted into the shaft hole of the rotating arm 23a, one ends of the driven arms 23b and 23c are rotatably attached to both ends of the rotating arm 23a, the other end of the driven arm 23b is rotatably attached to the block holder 22, and the other end of the driven arm 23c is rotatably attached to the holder drive block 24. In the horizontal sealing device 20, when the rotary shaft 20Ma of the servo motor 20M is rotated to rotate the rotary arm 23a of the open / close toggle mechanism 23, the block holder 22 moves along the connecting rods 26a, 26b via the driven arm 23b. At the same time, the holder drive block 24 moves via the driven arm 23c, and the connecting rods 26a, 26b move along the frame portions 25a, 25b of the support block 25, and the block holder 21 moves in the opposite direction to the block holder 22. This causes the heater block 18a and the heater block 18b to open and close (connect and disconnect). In this case, the servo motor 20M, block holders 21 and 22, open / close toggle mechanism 23, holder drive block 24, support block 25, and connecting rods 26a and 26b constitute the heater block open / close means of the present invention. In FIG. 3, the squeezing units 27A and 27B and the shutter units 28A and 28B are omitted.

[0027] FIG. 4 is a front view of the heater block, block holder, and ironing unit, and FIGS. 5(a) and 5(b) are a bottom view and a plan view of the heater block, block holder, and ironing unit shown in FIG. 4. In the figures, 18am and 18bm are central grooves, 27a1, 27a2, 27a3, 27a4, 28a1, 28a2, 28a3, and 28a4 are moving rods, 27at1, 27at2, 27at3, and 27at4 are movable rods. 7at4, 28at1, 28at2, 28at3, and 28at4 are tsuba (guards), 27b1, 27b2, 27b3, 27b4, 27c1, 27c2, 27c3, 27c4, 28b1, 28b2, 28b3, 28b4, 28c1, 28c2, 28c3, and 28c4 are retaining plates, and 27s1, 27s2, 27s3, 27s4, 28s1, 28s2, 28s3, and 28s4 are springs. As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5(a), squeezing unit 27A and squeezing unit 27B are paired and have the same structure, with squeezing unit 27A attached to the underside of heater block 18a and squeezing unit 27B attached to the underside of heater block 18b. In the squeezing unit 27A, a pair of moving rods 27a1 and 27a2 are attached to the left side of the squeezing plate 18c. The moving rod 27a1 has a flange 27at1 attached thereto and is inserted into holding plates 27b1 and 27c1 attached to the block holder 21, with a spring 27s1 attached between the flange 27at1 and the holding plate 27b1. The moving rod 27a2 has a flange 27at2 attached thereto and is inserted into holding plates 27b2 and 27c2 attached to the block holder 21, with a spring 27s2 attached between the flange 27at2 and the holding plate 27b2. In the squeezing section 27B, a pair of movable rods 27a3 and 27a4 are attached to the right side of the squeezing plate 18d. The movable rod 27a3 has a flange 27at3 attached thereto and is inserted into holding plates 27b3 and 27c3 attached to the block holder 22. A spring 27s3 is attached between the flange 27at3 and the holding plate 27b3. The movable rod 27a4 has a flange 27at4 attached thereto and is inserted into holding plates 27b4 and 27c4 attached to the block holder 22. A spring 27s4 is attached between the flange 27at4 and the holding plate 27b4. The ironing plate 18c protrudes to the right (X direction) from the heater block 18a, and the ironing plate 18d protrudes to the left (X direction) from the heater block 18b. As a result, the squeezing units 27A and 27B move together with the heater blocks 18a and 18b. When the heater blocks 18a and 18b approach each other, the squeezing plates 18c and 18d also approach each other. Before the opposing surfaces of the heater blocks 18a and 18b come into contact, the opposing surfaces of the squeezing plates 18c and 18d come into contact. When the heater blocks 18a and 18b approach each other further, in the squeezing units 27A and 27B, the springs 27s1, 27s2, 27s3, and 27s4 are compressed while the opposing surfaces of the squeezing plates 18c and 18d are in contact, and the heater blocks 18a and 18b can approach each other until their opposing surfaces come into contact.

[0028] As shown in Figures 4 and 5(b), shutter section 28A and shutter section 28B are paired and have the same structure, with shutter section 28A attached to the upper side of heater block 18a and shutter section 28B attached to the upper side of heater block 18b. The shutter sections 28A and 28B have the same structure as the squeezing sections 27A and 27B except for the shutter plates 18e and 18f and the receiving plates 18g and 18h. That is, in the shutter section 28A, a pair of movable rods 28a1 and 28a2 are attached to the left side of the shutter plate 18e, the movable rod 28a1 has a flange 28at1 attached to it and is inserted into holding plates 28b1 and 28c1 attached to the block holder 21, and a spring 28s1 is attached between the flange 28at1 and the holding plate 28b1, and the movable rod 28a2 has a flange 28at2 attached to it and is inserted into holding plates 28b2 and 28c2 attached to the block holder 21, and a spring 28s2 is attached between the flange 28at2 and the holding plate 28b2. In the shutter section 28B, a pair of movable rods 28a3 and 28a4 are attached to the right side of the shutter plate 18f, the movable rod 28a3 has a flange 28at3 attached thereto and is inserted into holding plates 28b3 and 28c3 attached to the block holder 22, and a spring 28s3 is attached between the flange 28at3 and the holding plate 28b3, and the movable rod 28a4 has a flange 28at4 attached thereto and is inserted into holding plates 28b4 and 28c4 attached to the block holder 22, and a spring 28s4 is attached between the flange 28at4 and the holding plate 28b4. A V-shaped receiving plate 18g is attached to the upper right end surface of the shutter plate 18e, and the shutter plate 18e and receiving plate 18g protrude rightward (in the X direction) from the heater block 18a. Similarly, a V-shaped receiving plate 18h is attached to the upper left end surface of the shutter plate 18f, and the shutter plate 18f and receiving plate 18h protrude leftward (in the X direction) from the heater block 18b. As a result, shutter sections 28A, 28B move together with squeeze sections 27A, 27B and heater blocks 18a, 18b, and when heater blocks 18a, 18b approach each other, shutter plate 18e / receiving plate 18g and shutter plate 18f / receiving plate 18h also approach each other, and before the opposing surfaces of heater blocks 18a, 18b come into contact, the opposing surfaces of shutter plate 18e / receiving plate 18g and shutter plate 18f / receiving plate 18h come into contact. Furthermore, when heater blocks 18a, 18b approach each other, in shutter sections 28A, 28B, springs 28s1, 28s2, 28s3, and 28s4 compress in a state in which the opposing surfaces of shutter plate 18e / receiving plate 18g and shutter plate 18f / receiving plate 18h are in contact, and heater blocks 18a, 18b can approach each other until their opposing surfaces come into contact.

[0029] As shown in FIG. 3, the cutting device 29 is composed of a support plate 29a, an air cylinder 29b, a piston rod 29c, a slider 29d, guide rods 29e and 29f, and the like. In the cutting device 29, an air cylinder 29b is attached to the left side of the support plate 29a, and guide rods 29e and 29f are attached to the right side of the support plate 29a. The guide rods 29e and 29f are inserted into a slider 29d, and their tips are attached to the wall surface (not shown) of the guide hole 21a of the block holder 21. The slider 29d is slidably held by guide rods 29e and 29f, and the tip of the piston rod 29c of the air cylinder 29b is attached to its left side. By operating the air cylinder 29b, the slider 29d slides along the guide rods 29e and 29f and moves within the guide hole 21a of the block holder 21. A T-shaped cutting knife (not shown) is attached to the upper center of the back right side of the slider 29d. Then, when the horizontal sealing device 20 is operated and the heater blocks 18a, 18b are closed with the cylindrical film TFi sandwiched therebetween, the air cylinder 29b of the cutting device 29 is actuated to move the slider 29d. As a result, the cutting knife protrudes from the central groove 18am of the heater block 18a and enters the central groove 18bm of the heater block 18b, thereby cutting the cylindrical film TFi.

[0030] As shown in FIG. 3, the lifting device 30 is composed of a servo motor 30M, brackets 31a and 31b, a timing belt 32, a connecting plate 33, a driving pulley 34, a driven pulley 35, lifting guide rods 36a and 36b, and the like. In the lifting device 30, brackets 31a and 31b are arranged facing the rear right side of the horizontal sealing device 20 and are attached to the frame (not shown) of the vertical pillow packaging machine main body 10, a servo motor 30M is attached to the upper back surface of bracket 31a, the pulley shaft 34a of the drive pulley 34 is rotatably held at the upper part of brackets 31a and 31b, and the pulley shaft 34a is connected to the rotating shaft of the servo motor 30M, the pulley shaft 35a of the driven pulley 35 is rotatably held at the lower part of brackets 31a and 31b, and a timing belt 32 is stretched between the drive pulley 34 and the driven pulley 35. A connecting plate 33 is attached to the right side of the frame 25a of the support block 25 of the horizontal sealing device 20, and a timing belt 32 is held in the upper part of the connecting plate 33 by a belt holding member 32a. Furthermore, lift guide rods 36a and 36b are attached to the frame of vertical pillow packaging machine body 10, and frame portions 25a and 25b are fitted into lift guide rods 36a and 36b. When the servo motor 30M in the lifting device 30 is rotated, the drive pulley 34 rotates, the timing belt 32 moves, and the support block 25 together with the connecting plate 33 gripped by the timing belt 32 rises and falls along the lifting guide rods 36a, 36b, and the heater blocks 18a, 18b of the horizontal sealing device 20 also rise and fall, and the lifting distance of the heater blocks 18a, 18b is proportional to the rotation angle of the servo motor 30M. In this case, the servo motor 30M, brackets 31a and 31b, timing belt 32, connecting plate 33, drive pulley 34, driven pulley 35, lift guide rods 36a and 36b, etc. constitute the heater block lifting means of the present invention.

[0031] [Vertical pillow packaging machine control unit 60, operation panel 70] FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the vertical pillow packaging machine control unit 60 and the operation panel 70. In the figure, 61 is an arithmetic control unit, 61a is a drive equipment control unit, 61b is a film feed control unit, 61c is a vertical seal block operation control unit, 61d is a heater block operation control unit, 62 is a memory unit, 63 is a transmission / reception unit, 71 is a computer, 71a is an operation timing setting unit, 71a1 is a film feed timing setting unit, 71a2 is a vertical seal opening / closing timing setting unit, 71a3 is a vertical seal lifting / lowering timing setting unit, 71a4 is a horizontal seal opening / closing timing setting unit, 71a5 is a horizontal seal lifting / lowering timing setting unit, 71b is an operation standby / cancellation command unit, 73 is a transmission / reception unit, and 74 is an input / display unit. The vertical pillow packaging machine control unit 60 includes an arithmetic control unit 61, a memory unit 62, and a transmission / reception unit 63, and the arithmetic control unit 61 includes a drive equipment control unit 61a, a film feed control unit 61b, a vertical seal block operation control unit 61c, and a heater block operation control unit 61d.

[0032] The drive equipment control unit 61a controls the operation of the drive equipment (excluding servo motors 16M, 20M, 30M, 40M, and 50M) of the vertical pillow packaging machine main body 10, such as the various heaters in the vertical sealing unit 17 and the horizontal sealing and cutting unit 18, based on parameters registered in the product parameter table in the memory unit 62 for the product set on the operation panel 70 (numeric values ​​representing the production capacity, bag length, heater temperature, etc. set for each product produced by the vertical pillow packaging machine main body 10). The film feed control unit 61b controls the operation of the servo motor 16M of the film feed unit 16 based on the timing set by the film feed timing setting unit 71a1. The vertical seal block operation control unit 61c controls the operation of the servo motor 40M that drives the vertical seal block opening and closing device 40 and the operation of the servo motor 50M that drives the lifting device 50 based on the timing set by the vertical seal opening and closing timing setting unit 71a2 and the vertical seal lifting and lowering timing setting unit 71a3. The heater block operation control unit 61d controls the operation of the servo motor 20M that drives the horizontal sealing device 20 and the operation of the servo motor 30M that drives the lifting device 30 based on the timing set by the horizontal seal opening / closing timing setting unit 71a4 and the horizontal seal lifting / lowering timing setting unit 71a5. The memory unit 62 stores a product parameter table, a production information table, etc., and the product parameter table stores the No. (registration number), product name, production capacity, bag length, heater temperature, operation timing, etc. for the products produced by the vertical pillow packaging machine 1, while the production information table stores production results for the products actually produced, such as output, empty bags, lost bags, operating rate, operating time, stop time, and standby time. The transmitter / receiver unit 63 communicates with the transmitter / receiver unit 73 of the operation panel 70 via the communication line CL1, transmits various data from the calculation control unit 61 to the transmitter / receiver unit 73 of the operation panel 70, and also receives various data transmitted from the transmitter / receiver unit 73 and sends it to the calculation control unit 61.

[0033] The operation panel 70 includes a computer 71 , a transmitting / receiving unit 73 , and an input / display unit 74 . The computer 71 includes a calculation processing unit and a memory unit, and is loaded with a dedicated program compatible with the vertical pillow packaging machine main body 10, and performs various processes and controls the operation panel 70 in an integrated manner. The calculation processing unit of the computer 71 has an operation timing setting unit 71a and an operation standby / cancellation command unit 71b, and the operation timing setting unit 71a has a film feed timing setting unit 71a1, a vertical seal opening / closing timing setting unit 71a2, a vertical seal lifting / lowering timing setting unit 71a3, a horizontal seal opening / closing timing setting unit 71a4, and a horizontal seal lifting / lowering timing setting unit 71a5. The operation timing setting unit 71a sets the operation timing of each driving device in one cycle (the period during which the vertical pillow packaging machine body 10 produces one package Pc). Specifically, the film feed timing setting section 71a1 sets the timing at which the servo motor 16M in the film feed section 16 rotates to start feeding the film Fi, and the timing at which the servo motor 16M stops to end feeding the film Fi. The timing setting of this film feed timing setting unit 71a1 is performed automatically based on the numerical values ​​input from the input display unit 74, or the production capacity and bag length registered in the product parameter table, and also the timing at which the heater blocks 18a and 18b rise as set by the horizontal seal lifting / lowering timing setting unit 71a5.

[0034] The vertical seal opening / closing timing setting unit 71a2 rotates the servo motor 40M to operate the vertical seal block opening / closing device 40, and sets the timing to open the vertical seal blocks 17a, 17b (the timing to start opening and the timing to end opening) and the timing to close the vertical seal blocks 17a, 17b (the timing to start closing and the timing to end closing). The timing setting of this vertical seal opening / closing timing setting section 71a2 is performed based on a numerical value input from the input / display section 74, or the timing set by the film feed timing setting section 71a1, or the like. The vertical seal lifting / lowering timing setting unit 71a3 rotates the servo motor 50M to operate the lifting device 50, and sets the timing at which the vertical seal blocks 17a, 17b rise (the timing at which they start rising and the timing at which they end rising) and the timing at which the vertical seal blocks 17a, 17b fall (the timing at which they start falling and the timing at which they end falling). The timing setting by the vertical seal lifting / lowering timing setting section 71a3 is performed based on a numerical value input from the input / display section 74, or the timing set by the vertical seal opening / closing timing setting section 71a2.

[0035] The horizontal seal opening / closing timing setting unit 71a4 rotates the servo motor 20M to operate the horizontal seal device 20, and sets the timing to open the heater blocks 18a and 18b (the timing to start opening and the timing to end opening) and the timing to close the heater blocks 18a and 18b (the timing to start closing and the timing to end closing). The timing setting by the horizontal seal opening / closing timing setting section 71a4 is performed based on a numerical value input from the input / display section 74, or the timing set by the film feed timing setting section 71a1. The horizontal seal lifting and lowering timing setting unit 71a5 rotates the servo motor 30M to operate the lifting device 30, and sets the timing at which the heater blocks 18a, 18b rise (the timing at which they start to rise and the timing at which they end to rise) and the timing at which the heater blocks 18a, 18b fall (the timing at which they start to fall and the timing at which they end to fall). The timing setting of this horizontal seal lifting / lowering timing setting unit 71a5 is based on the numerical value input from the input display unit 74, or the timing set by the film feed timing setting unit 71a1, or further the timing set by the horizontal seal opening / closing timing setting unit 71a4, etc. The function of the operation standby / cancel command unit 71b will be described later. The transceiver unit 73 transmits various data sent from the computer 71 to the transceiver unit 63 of the vertical pillow packaging machine control unit 60 via the communication line CL1, receives various data sent from the transceiver unit 63 of the vertical pillow packaging machine control unit 60 via the communication line CL1 and sends it to the computer 71, and the transceiver unit 73 also communicates with the packaged product insertion device control unit 82 of the packaged product insertion device 80 (details will be described later). The input display unit 74 has a touch panel display screen and displays various screens created by a dedicated program installed in the computer 71, such as an operation screen for inputting the timing set by the operation timing setting unit 71a (film feed timing setting unit 71a1, etc.).

[0036] [Packaged product input device 80, operation standby / release command unit 71b, etc.] Packaged product input device 80 includes a weighing machine 81 installed above packaged product supply section 14 (hopper 14a) of vertical pillow packaging machine main body 10, a packaged product input device control section 82, and the like. Weighing machine 81 puts the packaged products into packaged product supply section 14 (hopper 14a) of vertical pillow packaging machine main body 10 at a timing set for each cycle of vertical pillow packaging machine main body 10. The packaged product insertion device control unit 82 controls the packaged product insertion operation of the weighing machine 81, and is connected to the vertical pillow packaging machine control unit 60 via a line, and is connected to the operation panel 70 via communication line CL2. When the weighing machine 81 is unable to feed packaged products into the packaged product supply section 14, the packaged product feeding device control section 82 sends a packaged product feeding inability signal to the operation panel 70 via the communication line CL2. In addition, when the weighing machine 81 changes from a state in which it cannot input packaged products into the packaged product supply section 14 to a state in which it can input packaged products, the packaged product input device control section 82 sends a packaged product input enable signal to the operation panel 70 via communication line CL2. In this case, the transmitter / receiver 73 of the operation panel 70 receives a packaged product insertion disable signal and packaged product insertion enable signal sent from the packaged product insertion device control unit 82 via the communication line CL2 and sends them to the computer 71.

[0037] Based on the packaged product insertion disable signal sent from the packaged product insertion device control unit 82 via communication line CL2, the operation standby / cancel command unit 71b of the computer 71 sends a standby command signal to the film feed control unit 61b, vertical seal block operation control unit 61c, and heater block operation control unit 61d to stop the operation of servo motors 16M, 40M, 50M, 20M, and 30M and put them into a standby state. In addition, the operation standby / release command unit 71b of the computer 71 sends a standby release command signal to the film feed control unit 61b, vertical seal block operation control unit 61c, and heater block operation control unit 61d to cause servo motors 16M, 40M, 50M, 20M, and 30M, which are in a standby state, to start operating, based on a packaged product insertion possible signal sent from the packaged product insertion device control unit 82 via communication line CL2. In this case, the transmitting / receiving unit 73 transmits the standby command signal and the standby release command signal sent from the computer 71 to the transmitting / receiving unit 63 of the vertical pillow packaging machine control unit 60 via the communication line CL1. In addition, the operation standby / cancel command unit 71b may be provided in the calculation control unit 61 of the vertical pillow packaging machine control unit 60, rather than in the computer 71 of the operation panel 70, and a packaged product insertion disabled signal / packaged product insertion enabled signal may be sent from the packaged product insertion device control unit 82 to the vertical pillow packaging machine control unit 60, and the operation standby / cancel command unit 71b of the calculation control unit 61 may send a standby command signal / standby release command signal to the film feed control unit 61b, the vertical seal block operation control unit 61c, and the heater block operation control unit 61d. In addition, instead of the packaged product insertion device control unit 82 sending a packaged product insertion impossible signal, the calculation control unit 61 of the vertical pillow packaging machine control unit 60 may generate a packaged product insertion impossible signal when the packaged product detection sensor installed in the packaged product supply unit 14 does not detect a packaged product at the specified timing.

[0038] 7 and 8 are explanatory diagrams illustrating the configuration of the product parameter table stored in the storage unit 62. FIG. The product parameter table shown in Figure 7 has registered therein the No. (registration number), product name, production capacity, bag length, timing 1 (film feed 1 start, film feed 1 end, etc.) in the normal cycle (second or subsequent cycle), etc. However, the item names themselves, such as "No. (registration number)," "product name," "production capacity," "bag length," "timing," "film feed 1 start," and "film feed 1 end," are not registered; only the parts excluding the item names are registered. The No. is a number that identifies the product that the vertical pillow packaging machine 1 (vertical pillow packaging machine main body 10) produces, and is available in the range of 01 to 99. The No. and product name are entered from the product name registration screen displayed on the input display unit 74 of the operation panel 70, and are transmitted from the transceiver unit 73 to the vertical pillow packaging machine control unit 60 via communication line CL1, received by the transceiver unit 63, and registered in the product parameter table in the memory unit 62. The numerical values ​​for production capacity, bag length, etc. are parameters that indicate the conditions for operating the drive equipment (motors, etc.) of the vertical pillow packaging machine main body 10. For example, the "production capacity" parameter "100" means that 100 units (bags) are produced per minute, and the "bag length" parameter "120" means that the length of the package Pc (one bag) is 120 mm. This product parameter table registers the following timings for a normal cycle: film feed 1 start, film feed 1 end, film feed 2 start, film feed 2 end, vertical seal opening operation start, vertical seal opening operation end, vertical seal closing operation start, vertical seal closing operation end, vertical seal rising start, vertical seal rising end, vertical seal lowering start, vertical seal lowering end, horizontal seal opening operation start, horizontal seal opening operation end, horizontal seal closing operation 1 start, horizontal seal closing operation 1 end, horizontal seal closing operation 2 start, horizontal seal closing operation 2 end, horizontal seal rising 1 start, horizontal seal rising 1 end, horizontal seal lowering 1 start, horizontal seal lowering 1 end, horizontal seal lowering 1 start, horizontal seal lowering 2 end, horizontal seal lowering 2 start, horizontal seal lowering 2 end. Furthermore, as shown in Figure 8, the product parameter table registers the following timings for the first cycle at startup or restart of operation (hereinafter referred to as the "restart cycle"): start of film reverse feed, end of film reverse feed, start of film feed 3, end of film feed 3, start of horizontal seal closing operation 3, end of horizontal seal closing operation 3, start of horizontal seal rise 2, end of horizontal seal rise 2, start of horizontal seal descent 3, and end of horizontal seal descent 3.

[0039] The start and end of film feed 1 at timing 1, the start and end of film feed 2, the start and end of film reverse feed at timing 2, and the start and end of film feed 3 at timing 3 are the operation timings of the servo motor 16M that feeds the film Fi downward in the film feed section 16, and are set by the film feed timing setting section 71a1. As a result, the feeding operation of the film Fi in the film feeding section 16 is performed in a normal cycle by feeding downward twice, and in a restart cycle by feeding upward (reverse) once and feeding downward once. The start of the vertical seal opening operation and the end of the vertical seal opening operation at timing 1 are the operation timings of the servo motor 40M that moves the vertical seal blocks 17a and 17b in the opening direction in the vertical seal block opening / closing device 40, and the start of the vertical seal closing operation and the end of the vertical seal closing operation at timing 1 are the operation timings of the servo motor 40M that moves the vertical seal blocks 17a and 17b in the closing direction in the vertical seal block opening / closing device 40, both of which are set by the vertical seal opening / closing timing setting unit 71a2. The start and end of the vertical seal rising at timing 1 are the operation timings of the servo motor 50M that raises the vertical seal blocks 17a and 17b in the lifting device 50, and the start and end of the vertical seal descent at timing 1 are the operation timings of the servo motor 50M that lowers the vertical seal blocks 17a and 17b in the lifting device 50, both of which are set by the vertical seal rising and falling timing setting unit 71a3. In the restart cycle, the vertical seal blocks 17a and 17b do not operate, and the operation timings of the servo motors 40M and 50M are not set.

[0040] The start of the horizontal seal opening operation and the end of the horizontal seal opening operation at timing 1 are the operation timings of the servo motor 20M that moves the heater blocks 18a, 18b in the opening direction in the horizontal sealing device 20, and the start of the horizontal seal closing operation 1 and the end of the horizontal seal closing operation 1, the start of the horizontal seal closing operation 2 and the end of the horizontal seal closing operation 2 at timing 1, and the start of the horizontal seal closing operation 3 and the end of the horizontal seal closing operation 3 at timing 2 are the operation timings of the servo motor 20M that moves the heater blocks 18a, 18b in the closing direction in the horizontal sealing device 20, and all of these are set by the horizontal seal opening / closing timing setting unit 71a4. As a result, in a normal cycle, the operation of closing the heater blocks 18a and 18b of the horizontal sealing device 20 is performed in two steps, with the heater blocks 18a and 18b approaching each other at the start and end of the first horizontal seal closing operation 1, and the heater blocks 18a and 18b completely closing at the start and end of the second horizontal seal closing operation 2, performing horizontal sealing. In the restart cycle, only the start and end of horizontal seal closing operation 3 (same as the start and end of horizontal seal closing operation 1) in which heater blocks 18a and 18b approach each other are performed. The start of horizontal seal rise 1 and the end of horizontal seal rise 1 at timing 1, and the start of horizontal seal rise 2 and the end of horizontal seal rise 2 at timing 2 are the operation timings of servo motor 30M that raises heater blocks 18a and 18b in lifting device 30, and the start of horizontal seal descent 1 and the end of horizontal seal descent 1, the start of horizontal seal descent 2 and the end of horizontal seal descent 2 at timing 1, and the start of horizontal seal descent 3 and the end of horizontal seal descent 3 at timing 2 are the operation timings of servo motor 30M that lowers heater blocks 18a and 18b in lifting device 30, all of which are set by the horizontal seal rise / fall timing setting unit 71a5. As a result, in a normal cycle, the operation of lowering the heater blocks 18a and 18b of the lifting device 30 is performed in two steps, with the first lowering operation being performed to squeeze the upper part of the tubular film TFi filled with the packaged goods in the squeezing sections 27A and 27B, and the second lowering operation being performed when the packaged goods are filled into the tubular film TFi with the lower end sealed horizontally. Furthermore, during the restart cycle, unlike the normal cycle, there is no tubular film TFi filled with packaged goods below the heater blocks 18a and 18b, so the heater blocks 18a and 18b are not lowered to perform the squeezing action by the squeezing sections 27A and 27B, and only the operation of lowering the heater blocks 18a and 18b (horizontal seal lowering 3), which is performed when filling the packaged goods into the tubular film TFi with the bottom end horizontally sealed, is performed.

[0041] [Operation of the film feeding unit 16, vertical sealing unit 17, and horizontal sealing and cutting unit 18 in a normal cycle] FIG. 9 is a timing chart showing the timing of each operation of feeding the film Fi, opening / closing and raising / lowering of the vertical seal blocks 17a and 17b, and opening / closing and raising / lowering of the heater blocks 18a and 18b in one normal cycle for the product name "AAAA" shown in FIG. 7. In the figure, TC1 is a timing chart of the feeding operation of the film Fi (film feeding operation), TC2 is a timing chart of the opening / closing operation of the vertical seal blocks 17a and 17b (vertical seal opening / closing operation), and TC3 is a timing chart of the opening / closing operation of the vertical seal blocks 17a and 17b. TC3 is a timing chart of the lifting and lowering operation of heater blocks 18a and 18b (vertical seal lifting and lowering operation), TC4 is a timing chart of the opening and closing operation of heater blocks 18a and 18b (horizontal seal opening and closing operation), and TC5 is a timing chart of the lifting and lowering operation of heater blocks 18a and 18b (horizontal seal lifting and lowering operation).The vertical axis represents the speed of each operation, the horizontal axis represents time, and the scale shown at the top indicates the cycle time obtained by dividing one cycle (one cycle is 0.6 seconds in the timing chart of Figure 9) into 100 parts, and t0 to t16 is the elapsed time of one cycle. In this case, the film feed control section 61b controls the operation of the servo motor 16M so that the film Fi is fed in accordance with the timing chart TC1. In addition, the vertical seal block operation control unit 61c controls the operation of the servo motor 40M so that the vertical seal blocks 17a and 17b open and close in accordance with timing chart TC2, and the vertical seal block operation control unit 61c controls the operation of the servo motor 50M so that the vertical seal blocks 17a and 17b move up and down in accordance with timing chart TC3. Furthermore, the heater block operation control unit 61d controls the operation of the servo motor 20M so that the heater blocks 18a and 18b are opened and closed in accordance with timing chart TC4, and the heater block operation control unit 61d controls the operation of the servo motor 30M so that the heater blocks 18a and 18b are raised and lowered in accordance with timing chart TC5.

[0042] 10 to 12 are operation state explanatory diagrams showing the states of each operation at the main timings shown in FIG. 9 (FIG. 10 shows states A and B, FIG. 11 shows states C and D, and FIG. 12 shows states E and F). In the figures, P0 to P3 are the positions of the central grooves 18am and 18bm of the heater blocks 18a and 18b in the up-down direction (Y direction), P0 is the position (lowest position) when the heater blocks 18a and 18b are at their lowest, P1 is the position (highest position) when the heater blocks 18a and 18b are at their highest, P2 is the position when the heater blocks 18a and 18b are lowered in lowering operation 1, P3 is the position when the heater blocks 18a and 18b are lowered in lowering operation 2, Q0 and Q1 are the positions of the lower ends of the vertical seal blocks 17a and 17b in the up-down direction (Y direction), and Q0 is the The vertical seal blocks 17a and 17b are positioned when they are at their lowest (lowest position), Q1 is the position when they are at their highest (highest position), R0 to R2 are the left-right (X-direction) positions of the left end of the heater block 18a, R0 is the position when the heater blocks 18a and 18b are completely closed, R1 is the position when the heater blocks 18a and 18b are at their most open, and R2 is the position when the heater blocks 18a and 18b are closed by closing operation 1 (the heater block 18b is located symmetrically to the heater block 18a with respect to the center position of the tubular film TFi in the left-right direction), CP is the product to be packaged, and in the figure, the horizontal dashed line at the top of the tubular film TFi is the bottom end of the filling tube 14b, and the vertical seal portion of the tubular film TFi is omitted. The operations of film feeding unit 16, vertical sealing unit 17, and horizontal sealing and cutting unit 18 in a normal cycle will be described below with reference to FIGS. 9 and 10 to 12.

[0043] Figure 10(a) shows state A in Figure 9, which shows the state at time t0 when the production of one packaging body Pc is completed and the production of the next packaging body Pc begins, i.e., the start of one cycle. FIG. 10(b) shows state B of FIG. 9, which shows the state at time t5 (time "30") when the first feeding operation of the film Fi (feeding operation 1) has ended. The operation from state A (time t0) to state B (time t5) will be explained below. Regarding the film feeding operation, the first feeding operation (feeding operation 1) of the film Fi starts at time t0 (time "00"), and feeding operation 1 ends at time t5 (time "30"). At this time, in the feeding operation 1, the feeding of the film Fi increases from the start, becomes a constant speed, and then decelerates and stops just before the end. The same applies to other operations. Regarding the vertical seal opening and closing operation, the opening operation of the vertical seal blocks 17a and 17b that started in the previous cycle ends at time t1 (time "15"), and the closing operation of the vertical seal blocks 17a and 17b starts at time t3 (time "20"). Regarding the vertical seal lifting operation, the lifting operation of the vertical seal blocks 17a and 17b starts at time t0 (time "00") and ends at time t2 (time "18"). Regarding the horizontal seal opening and closing operation, the opening operation of heater blocks 18a and 18b that started in the previous cycle ends at time t3 (time "20"), and then the first closing operation (closing operation 1) of heater blocks 18a and 18b starts at time t4 (time "25"). Regarding the horizontal seal lifting operation, lifting operation 1 of the heater blocks 18a and 18b starts at time t0 (time "00") and ends at time t5 (time "30"). In this case, heater blocks 18a and 18b move in the vertical direction (Y direction) from the lowest position P0 to the highest position P1, a distance y1 away, heater block 18a moves in the horizontal direction (X direction) to position R1, a distance s1 to the left of position R0, and vertical seal blocks 17a and 17b move in the vertical direction (Y direction) from the lowest position Q0 to the highest position Q1, a distance yq away. The cylindrical film TFi descends while being filled with the packaged products CP.

[0044] Figures 11(a) and (b) show states C and D in Figure 9, where state C shows the state at time t9 (time "60") when the first lowering operation (lowering operation 1) of heater blocks 18a and 18b is completed, and state D shows the state at time t10 (time "64") when the second closing operation (closing operation 2) of heater blocks 18a and 18b is completed. The operation from state B (time t5) to state D (time t10) will be explained below. Regarding the vertical seal opening and closing operation, the closing operation of the vertical seal blocks 17a and 17b, which started at time t3 (time "20"), ends at time t6 (time "32"). As a result, vertical seal blocks 17a and 17b are completely closed, and a vertical seal is applied to tubular film TFi. Regarding the horizontal seal opening and closing operation, closing operation 1 of heater blocks 18a and 18b, which started at time t4 (time "25"), ends at time t7 (time "50"), and immediately thereafter at time t8 (time "51"), the second closing operation (closing operation 2) of heater blocks 18a and 18b starts, and closing operation 2 ends at time t10 (time "64"). Regarding the horizontal seal lifting operation, the first lowering operation (lowering operation 1) of the heater blocks 18a and 18b starts at time t5 (time "30"), and lowering operation 1 ends at time t9 (time "60"). In this case, heater blocks 18a and 18b move in the vertical direction (Y direction) to position P2, which is a distance y2 away from the top position P1, and heater block 18a moves in the horizontal direction (X direction) via position R2, which is a distance s2 to the right of position R1 (a distance s3 from position R0), to position R0. As a result, the squeezing plates 18c and 18d clamp the lower tubular film TFi of the heater blocks 18a and 18b, and the shutter plates 18e and 18f clamp the upper tubular film TFi of the heater blocks 18a and 18b. The squeezing plates 18c and 18d and the shutter plates 18e and 18f descend together with the heater blocks 18a and 18b, and the upper portion of the tubular film TFi filled with the packaged product CP is squeezed by the squeezing plates 18c and 18d. Furthermore, when closing operation 2 is completed, heater blocks 18a and 18b are completely closed, and a horizontal seal is formed on cylindrical film TFi. As shown in Figure 11(b), at the time when the heater blocks 18a, 18b are completely closed and horizontal sealing begins (time t10), the packaged product CP inserted from the packaged product insertion device 80 is inside the filling tube 14b or the hopper 14a and has not yet reached the bottom of the tubular film TFi.

[0045] Figures 12(a) and (b) show states E and F in Figure 9, where state E shows the state at time t12 (time "66") when the descent speed of the second descent operation (descent operation 2) of heater blocks 18a and 18b becomes constant, and state F shows the state at time t14 (time "90") when the second descent operation 2 of heater blocks 18a and 18b ends. The operation from state D (time t10) to state F (time t14) will be explained below. With regard to the film feeding operation, the second feeding operation (feeding operation 2) of the film Fi starts at time t11 (time "65"), and feeding operation 2 ends at time t14 (time "90"). Regarding the vertical seal lifting and lowering operation, the vertical seal blocks 17a and 17b start to lower at time t11 (time "65") and this lowering operation ends at time t14 (time "90"). Regarding the horizontal seal raising and lowering operation, the second lowering operation (lowering operation 2) of heater blocks 18a and 18b begins at time t11 (time "65"), the lowering speed of lowering operation 2 becomes constant at time t12 (time "66"), and lowering operation 2 ends at time t14 (time "90"). That is, at time t11, immediately after time t10 when the heater blocks 18a and 18b are completely closed and horizontal sealing begins, the heater blocks 18a and 18b begin to descend 2, and in synchronization with this descending operation 2, the film Fi feed operation 2 and the vertical seal blocks 17a and 17b begin to descend, and when the heater blocks 18a and 18b descend 2 is completed, the film Fi feed operation 2 and the vertical seal blocks 17a and 17b begin to descend in synchronization. In this case, the heater blocks 18a and 18b move in the vertical direction (Y direction) from position P2 to position P3, a distance y3 away, at time t12 (time "66"), and move to the lowest position P0, a distance y4 away from position P3, at time t14 (time "90"), and the vertical seal blocks 17a and 17b move in the vertical direction (Y direction) from the highest position Q1 to the lowest position Q0, a distance yq away.

[0046] Then, as shown in Figure 12(a), the packaged product CP inserted from the packaged product insertion device 80 reaches the bottom of the tubular film TFi at time t12 when the descending speed of the descending operation 2 becomes constant, and the packaged product CP is filled into the tubular film TFi, and the filling of the packaged product CP is completed at time t13 (time "80") while the descending operation 2 is continuing. While the packaged goods CP are being filled, the shutter plates 18e and 18f block the bottom of the tubular film TFi (the upper part of the heater blocks 18a and 18b), preventing the packaged goods CP from being pinched between the horizontal seal parts of the tubular film TFi, and the receiving plates 18g and 18h ​​receive the packaged goods CP that reach the bottom of the tubular film TFi, preventing the lower part of the tubular film TFi (the upper part of the heater blocks 18a and 18b) from bulging outward significantly due to the accumulation of the filled packaged goods CP. In addition, the lowering operation 2 reduces the impact of the packaged product CP being dropped into the tubular film TFi, suppressing its rebound, and the filling of the packaged product CP into the tubular film TFi is completed during the lowering operation 2. Furthermore, the distance yq by which the vertical seal blocks 17a, 17b descend is greater than the distance (y3+y4) by which the heater blocks 18a, 18b descend due to the descending operation 2, and when the descent of the vertical seal blocks 17a, 17b and the heater blocks 18a, 18b is completed, a bulge (slack) is formed at the bottom of the tubular film TFi as shown in Figure 12(b), thereby improving the filling efficiency of the packaged products CP. The timing (time) at which the packaged product CP reaches the bottom of the tubular film TFi may be just before or just after time t12 at which the descent speed of the descending operation 2 becomes constant, and the timing (time) at which the filling of the packaged product CP ends may be any time while the descent speed of the descending operation 2 of the heater blocks 18a and 18b becomes constant.

[0047] Here, the packaged item insertion device 80 is controlled by a packaged item insertion device control unit 82 that is separate from the vertical pillow packaging machine control unit 60, but the time for one cycle of the packaged item insertion device control unit 80 is set so as to be synchronized with one cycle of the vertical pillow packaging machine control unit 60. The timing of feeding the packaged product CP into the packaged product supply section 14 (hopper 14a) and the timing of starting the horizontal seal descent 2 are set so that the packaged product CP fed from the weighing machine 81 of the packaged product feeding device 80 reaches the bottom of the tubular film TFi at time t12 when the descent speed of the descent operation 2 of the heater blocks 18a and 18b becomes constant. Specifically, the time it takes for the packaged product CP fed from the weighing machine 81 to reach the bottom of the tubular film TFi is 0.3 to 0.6 seconds, and the timing of feeding the packaged product CP into the weighing machine 81 is set so that the packaged product CP reaches the bottom of the tubular film TFi after time "60" in one cycle, and the timing of the lowering operation 2 of the heater blocks 18a, 18b, etc. is set based on this feeding timing.

[0048] [Waiting state when no packaged product CP is inserted] Here, if the packaged product CP is not fed from the weighing machine 81 of the packaged product feeding device 80 to the packaged product supply section 14 (hopper 14a) of the vertical pillow packaging machine main body 10, the vertical pillow packaging machine main body 10 will enter a standby state and stop producing the packaged body Pc. The operation of the vertical pillow packaging machine main body 10 entering the standby state will be described below. In the packaged product feeding device 80, when a state occurs in which packaged products cannot be fed from the weighing machine 81 to the packaged product supply section 14 (hopper 14a) of the vertical pillow packaging machine main body 10 at a predetermined timing, the packaged product feeding device control section 82 sends a packaged product feeding impossible signal to the operation panel 70 via the communication line CL2. In the operation panel 70, the transceiver unit 73 receives the packaged item cannot be inserted signal and sends it to the computer 71, and in the computer 71, the operation standby / cancel command unit 71b generates a standby command signal based on this packaged item cannot be inserted signal and sends it to the transceiver unit 73, and the transceiver unit 73 transmits the standby command signal to the vertical pillow packaging machine control unit 60 via the communication line CL1. In the vertical pillow packaging machine control unit 60, the transceiver unit 63 receives a standby command signal and sends it to the calculation control unit 61, and in the calculation control unit 61, based on this standby command signal, the film feed control unit 61b puts the servo motor 16M (film feed unit 16) into a standby state, the vertical seal block operation control unit 61c puts the servo motor 40M (vertical seal block opening / closing device 40) and the servo motor 50M (lifting device 50) into a standby state, and the heater block operation control unit 61d controls the servo motor 20M (horizontal seal device 20) and the servo motor 30M (lifting device 30) into a standby state. In this case, the servo motor 16M (film transport unit 16) and the like stop after completing one cycle of operation and enter a standby state. Specifically, for example, in the timing chart of one cycle shown in Figure 9, if a standby command signal is sent from the calculation control unit 61 between times t0 and t1, the film feed control unit 61b, vertical seal block operation control unit 61c, and heater block operation control unit 61d will, in accordance with the timing chart shown in Figure 9, respectively operate servo motor 16M (film feed unit 16), servo motor 40M (vertical seal block opening / closing device 40), servo motor 50M (vertical seal block lifting / lowering device 50), servo motor 20M (horizontal seal device 20), and servo motor 30M (heater block lifting / lowering device 30) to the end of the cycle that has already started, and then stop and enter a standby state without entering the next cycle.

[0049] FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram showing the operating states of heater blocks 18a, 18b, etc. at times t10 and t12, with the operating state at time t10 being state D' (FIG. 13(a)) and the operating state at time t12 being state E' (FIG. 13(b)). As in the case of a normal cycle, state D' is the state at which the first feeding operation of the film Fi (feeding operation 1), the closing operation of the vertical sealing blocks 17a and 17b, and the first lowering operation of the heater blocks 18a and 18b (lowering operation 1) have already been completed, and the second closing operation of the heater blocks 18a and 18b (closing operation 2) has also been completed, with the heater blocks 18a and 18b completely closed and horizontal sealing beginning (time t10).However, in state D', no packaged products CP are being fed from the weighing machine 81, so there are no packaged products CP to fall into the filling tube 14b. That is, state D' differs from state D shown in FIG. 11(b) in that there are no packaged products CP that fall into the filling tube 14b. State E' is the state at the point (time t12) when the descent speeds of the second film Fi feeding operation (feeding operation 2) that started at time t11, the descending operation of the vertical sealing blocks 17a and 17b, and the second descending operation of the heater blocks 18a and 18b (descending operation 2) have become constant, as in the case of a normal cycle. However, in state E', since no packaged products CP are fed from the weighing machine 81, no packaged products CP fall into the tubular film TFi and reach the bottom. That is, state E' differs from state E shown in FIG. 12(a) in that there are no packaged products CP that fall into the tubular film TFi and reach the bottom.

[0050] FIG. 14 is an explanatory diagram of the operating state of heater blocks 18a, 18b, etc. at time t14, when one cycle ends and the standby state is entered. The operating state at time t14 is state F' (FIG. 14(a)), and the operating state at the time the standby state is entered is state G (FIG. 14(b)). State F' is the state at the time (time t14) when the second film Fi feeding operation (feeding operation 2), the vertical seal block 17a, 17b descending operation, and the heater block 18a, 18b second descending operation (descending operation 2) have been completed, as in the normal cycle, but the tubular film TFi is empty and not filled with the packaged product CP. That is, state F' differs from state F shown in FIG. 12(b) in that the cylindrical film TFi is empty and not filled with packaged products CP. In state G, the second film Fi feed operation (feed operation 2), the lowering operation of the vertical seal blocks 17a and 17b, and the second lowering operation of the heater blocks 18a and 18b (lowering operation 2) have already been completed, and the servo motor 16M (film feed section 16), servo motor 50M (lifting device 50), and servo motor 30M (lifting device 30) are in a stopped state. The opening operation of the vertical seal blocks 17a and 17b and the opening operation of the heater blocks 18a and 18b that started at time t15 continue even at time t16 when one cycle ends, and the vertical seal blocks 17a and 17b and heater blocks 18a and 18b end up completely open, and the servo motor 40M (vertical seal block opening and closing device 40) and servo motor 20M (horizontal seal device 20) are in a stopped state. That is, state G differs from the state shown in FIG. 9 at the end of one cycle (time t16) in that vertical seal blocks 17a, 17b and heater blocks 18a, 18b are completely open. In this standby state, state G, heater blocks 18a and 18b are at position P0 in the vertical direction (Y direction) and at position R1 in the horizontal direction (X direction). The leading end side of the cylindrical film TFi is transversely sealed by heater blocks 18a and 18b, and the leading end of the transversely sealed portion ys is at position P0.

[0051] As a result, in the vertical pillow packaging machine main body 10, if no packaged products CP are fed from the weighing machine 81 to the packaged product supply section 14 (hopper 14a), when a standby command signal is issued from the operation standby / cancel command section 71b, the operations of the servo motor 16M (film feed section 16), servo motor 40M (vertical seal block opening / closing device 40), servo motor 50M (vertical seal block lifting / lowering device 50), servo motor 20M (horizontal seal device 20), and servo motor 30M (heater block lifting / lowering device 30) in the ongoing cycle continue as they are, and the ongoing cycle is terminated. When the cycle ends, the servo motor 16M (film feed section 16), servo motor 50M (vertical seal block lifting device 50), and servo motor 30M (heater block lifting device 30), which have stopped operating, remain stopped and enter a standby state, while the servo motor 40M (vertical seal block opening / closing device 40) and servo motor 20M (horizontal seal device 20), which are operating when the ongoing cycle ends, continue to operate, and when the vertical seal blocks 17a, 17b and heater blocks 18a, 18b are completely open, they stop operating and enter a standby state. Furthermore, when the vertical pillow packaging machine 1 is started, after the preparations for operation of the vertical pillow packaging machine main body 10, the packaged product feeding device 80, and other devices linked to the vertical pillow packaging machine 1 are completed, the vertical pillow packaging machine main body 10 is put into a standby state, the tubular film TFi, vertical seal blocks 17a, 17b, heater blocks 18a, 18b, etc. are put into state G in Figure 14(b), and based on a packaged product ready signal from the packaged product feeding device 80 (packaged product feeding device control unit 82), the operation standby / release command unit 71b sends a standby release command signal to the vertical pillow packaging machine control unit 60, and the first cycle begins.

[0052] [Operation of film feeding unit 16 and horizontal sealing and cutting unit 18 during the restart cycle] Figure 15 is a timing chart showing the timing of the feeding of the film Fi, and the opening / closing and raising / lowering operations of the heater blocks 18a and 18b during the restart cycle for the product name "AAAA" shown in Figure 8. In the figure, TC11 is the timing chart for the feeding operation of the film Fi (film feeding operation), TC14 is the timing chart for the opening / closing operation of the heater blocks 18a and 18b (horizontal seal opening / closing operation), and TC15 is the timing chart for the raising / lowering operation of the heater blocks 18a and 18b (horizontal seal raising / lowering operation). The vertical axis, horizontal axis, and scales shown at the top are the same as those in the timing chart shown in Figure 9, and t0, t4, t5, t7, t10 to t16 are the same elapsed times as those in the timing chart shown in Figure 9. In this case, the film feed control section 61b controls the operation of the servo motor 16M so that the film Fi is fed in accordance with the timing chart TC11. In addition, the heater block operation control unit 61d controls the operation of the servo motor 20M so that the heater blocks 18a and 18b are opened and closed in accordance with timing chart TC14, and the heater block operation control unit 61d controls the operation of the servo motor 30M so that the heater blocks 18a and 18b are raised and lowered in accordance with timing chart TC15. The vertical seal blocks 17a and 17b do not perform opening / closing or lifting / lowering operations and remain stationary.

[0053] 16 to 18 are explanatory diagrams of the operating states showing the states of each operation at the main timings shown in FIG. 15 (FIG. 16 shows state A″ and state B″, FIG. 17 shows state C″ and state D″, and FIG. 18 shows state E″ and state F″). In the figures, P0 to P3 indicate the vertical (Y-direction) positions of the central grooves 18am and 18bm of heater blocks 18a and 18b, the same as in FIGS. 10 to 12, and R0 to R2 indicate the horizontal (X-direction) positions of the left end of heater block 18a, the same as in FIGS. 10 to 12. The operations of film feeding unit 16, vertical sealing unit 17, and horizontal sealing and cutting unit 18 in the restart cycle will be described below with reference to FIG. 15 and FIGS. In the packaged product feeding device 80, when the packaged product can be fed from the weighing machine 81 to the packaged product supply section 14 (hopper 14a) of the vertical pillow packaging machine main body 10, the packaged product feeding device control section 82 sends a packaged product feeding ready signal to the operation panel 70 via the communication line CL2. In the operation panel 70, the transceiver unit 73 receives the packaged item insertion possible signal and sends it to the computer 71, and in the computer 71, the operation standby / release command unit 71b generates a standby release command signal based on this packaged item insertion possible signal and sends it to the transceiver unit 73, and the transceiver unit 73 transmits the standby release command signal to the vertical pillow packaging machine control unit 60 via the communication line CL1. In the vertical pillow packaging machine control unit 60, the transceiver unit 63 receives the standby release command signal and sends it to the calculation control unit 61, and in the calculation control unit 61, based on this standby release command signal, the film feed control unit 61b controls the operation of the servo motor 16M (film feed unit 16), and the heater block operation control unit 61d controls the operation of the servo motor 20M (horizontal sealing device 20) and the servo motor 30M (lifting device 30).

[0054] FIG. 16(a) shows state A'' of FIG. 15, which indicates the state at time t0, which is the start point of the restart cycle, and is the same as state G shown in FIG. 14(b). FIG. 16(b) shows state B″ of FIG. 15, which shows the state at time t5 (time “30”) when the reverse feed operation of the film Fi and the raising operation 2 of the heater blocks 18a and 18b are completed. The operation from state A'' (time t0) to state B'' (time t5) will be explained below. With regard to the film feeding operation, the reverse feeding operation of the film Fi, that is, the operation of lifting the cylindrical film TFi, begins at time t0 (time "00") and ends at time t5 (time "30"). In a normal cycle, the tubular film TFi is filled with the packaged product CP, so feed operation 1 of the film Fi is performed from time t0 to time t5. However, in a restart cycle, the tubular film TFi is not filled with the packaged product CP, so the reverse feed operation of the film Fi as described above is performed, and the tip of the horizontal seal portion ys of the tubular film TFi rises from position P0 to position P2 (a position lower by a distance y2 from the top position P1). Regarding the horizontal seal opening and closing operation, closing operation 3 of heater blocks 18a and 18b starts at time t4 (time "25"). This closing operation 3 is the same as closing operation 1 in the normal cycle. Regarding the horizontal seal lifting operation, lifting operation 2 of the heater blocks 18a and 18b starts at time t0 (time "00") and ends at time t5 (time "30"). In this rising operation 2, the rising position of the heater blocks 18a and 18b is different from that in the normal cylindrical cycle because there is no need to squeeze the tubular film TFi with the squeezing plates 18c and 18d, and the heater blocks 18a and 18b rise from position P0 to position P2 instead of the top position P1. As a result, the heater blocks 18a and 18b move in the vertical direction (Y direction) to a position P2 that is a distance (y1-y2) away from the lowest position P0, unlike in a normal cycle, and the tip of the horizontal seal portion ys of the tubular film TFi also moves from position P0 to position P2.

[0055] Figures 17(a) and (b) show states C" and D" in Figure 15, where state C" shows the state at time t7 (time "50") when the closing operation 3 of heater blocks 18a and 18b is completed, and state D" shows the state at time t10 (time "64") just before the feed operation 3 of film Fi and the lowering operation 3 of heater blocks 18a and 18b begin. The operation from state B'' (time t5) to state D'' (time t10) will be explained below. Regarding the horizontal seal opening and closing operation, the closing operation 3 of the heater blocks 18a and 18b, which started at time t4 (time "25"), ends at time t7 (time "50"). In a normal cycle, after closing operation 1 (same as closing operation 3) of heater blocks 18a and 18b is completed, a second closing operation (closing operation 2) of heater blocks 18a and 18b is performed to perform horizontal sealing. However, in a restart cycle, horizontal sealing is not performed, so the second closing operation (closing operation 2) of heater blocks 18a and 18b is not performed, and heater blocks 18a and 18b are close to each other, with a small, constant gap between the two heater blocks (a gap twice the distance s3 moved by heater blocks 18a and 18b during closing operation 2). Also, unlike the normal cycle, since there is no tubular film TFi filled with packaged products below the heater blocks 18a and 18b, the operation of lowering the heater blocks 18a and 18b to perform the squeezing operation by the squeezing sections 27A and 27B (squeezing plates 18c and 18d) (lowering operation 1 in the normal cycle) is not performed. Then, as shown in Figure 17(b), in state D" at time t10, a short time after time t9, heater blocks 18a and 18b are in a stationary state, close to each other with a small, constant gap between them, and the packaged product CP inserted by weighing device 81 of packaged product insertion device 80 has reached the inside of filling tube 14b or hopper 14a, but has not yet reached the bottom of tubular film TFi.

[0056] Figures 18(a) and (b) show states E" and F" in Figure 15, where state E" shows the state at time t12 (time "66") when the descent speed of the descent operation 3 of the heater blocks 18a and 18b becomes constant, and state F" shows the state at time t14 (time "90") when the descent operation 3 of the heater blocks 18a and 18b ends. The operation from state D'' (time t10) to state F'' (time t14) will be explained below. Concerning the film transport operation, transport operation 3 of the film Fi starts at time t11 (time "65"), and transport operation 3 ends at time t14 (time "90"). This feeding operation 3 is the same as feeding operation 2 in the normal cycle. Regarding the horizontal seal lifting operation, the lowering operation 3 of the heater blocks 18a and 18b begins at time t11 (time "65"), the lowering speed of the lowering operation 3 becomes constant at time t12 (time "66"), and the lowering operation 3 ends at time t14 (time "90"). This descending movement 3 is the same as the descending movement 2 in the normal cycle. That is, in the restart cycle, the heater blocks 18a and 18b are not completely closed, unlike in the normal cycle, but perform the same lowering operation as in the normal cycle, with a small, fixed gap between them. In this case, the heater blocks 18a, 18b and the tip of the horizontal seal portion ys of the tubular film TFi move in the vertical direction (Y direction) to position P3, a distance y3 away from position P2, at time t12 (time "66"), and then move to the lowest position P0, a distance y4 away from position P3, at time t14 (time "90").

[0057] Then, as shown in Figure 18(a), the packaged product CP inserted by the weighing machine 81 of the packaged product insertion device 80 reaches the bottom of the tubular film TFi at time t12 when the speed of the feeding operation 3 of the tubular film TFi and the descending operation 3 of the heater blocks 18a and 18b becomes constant, and the packaged product CP is filled into the tubular film TFi, and the filling of the packaged product CP is completed at time t13 (time "80") during the time when the feeding operation 3 and the descending operation 3 are continuing. While the packaged goods CP are being filled, the shutter plates 18e and 18f clamp the upper side of the horizontal seal portion ys of the tubular film TFi, and the receiving plates 18g and 18h ​​receive the packaged goods CP that reach the bottom of the tubular film TFi, preventing the lower part of the tubular film TFi (the upper part of the heater blocks 18a and 18b) from bulging outward significantly due to the accumulation of the filled packaged goods CP. In addition, the feeding operation 3 and the lowering operation 3 reduce the impact of the packaged product CP falling into the tubular film TFi, suppressing its rebound, and the filling of the packaged product CP into the tubular film TFi is completed while the feeding operation 3 and the lowering operation 3 are continuing. In this way, during the restart cycle, the heater blocks 18a and 18b descend close to each other with a small, constant gap between them but without touching the tubular film TFi, and the packaged product CP that reaches the bottom of the tubular film TFi is received by the receiving plates 18g and 18h, so that the packaged body Pc is produced in the same manner as in the normal cycle without damaging or melting the tubular film TF. The timing (time) at which the packaged product CP reaches the bottom of the tubular film TFi may be just before or just after time t12 at which the descent speed of the descending operation 4 becomes constant, and the timing (time) at which the filling of the packaged product CP ends may be any time while the descent speed of the descending operation 4 of the heater blocks 18a, 18b becomes constant.

[0058] As described above, the vertical pillow packaging machine 1 includes the vertical pillow packaging machine main body 10, the vertical pillow packaging machine control unit 60 that controls the operation of the vertical pillow packaging machine main body 10, and the operation panel 70 that operates the vertical pillow packaging machine main body 10. The vertical pillow packaging machine main body 10 includes a film feeding unit 16 that feeds the film Fi in the vertical direction, a tube making unit 15 that forms the film Fi into a tubular film TFi, a packaged product supply unit 14 that supplies packaged products CP that are input by a packaged product input device 80 and fills the tubular film TFi, a vertical sealing unit 17 that applies a vertical seal to the tubular film TFi, and a vertically sealed tubular film TFi. The vertical pillow packaging machine includes a horizontal sealing and cutting unit 18 that performs horizontal sealing and cutting on the film TFi, and the horizontal sealing and cutting unit 18 includes a horizontal sealing device 20 that opens and closes a pair of heater blocks 18a, 18b, and a lifting device 30 that raises and lowers the pair of heater blocks 18a, 18b. The vertical pillow packaging machine control unit 60 includes a film feed control unit 61b that controls the operation of the film feed unit 16, a vertical seal block operation control unit 61c that controls the operation of the vertical seal blocks 17a, 17b of the vertical seal unit 17, and a heater block operation control unit 61d that controls the operation of the horizontal sealing device 20 and the lifting device 30. 70 includes a computer 71 having an operation standby / cancel command unit 71b that issues a standby command signal to stop the operation of vertical pillow packaging machine main body 10 and put it into a standby state, and a standby release command signal to start the operation of vertical pillow packaging machine main body 10 that is in a standby state, and in the first cycle in which vertical pillow packaging machine main body 10 starts operating based on the standby release command signal from operation standby / cancel command unit 71b, film feed control unit 61b controls the operation of film feed unit 16 to raise the position of horizontal seal portion ys of tubular film TFi, and heater block operation control unit 61d controls the lift After controlling the operation of the lifting device 30 to raise the heater blocks 18a and 18b, the heater block operation control unit 61d controls the operation of the horizontal sealing device 20 to bring the heater blocks 18a and 18b close to each other, leaving a small gap between them. Furthermore, the film feed control unit 61b controls the operation of the film feed unit 16 to lower the tubular film TFi before the packaged product CP inserted by the weighing machine 81 of the packaged product insertion device 80 reaches the bottom of the tubular film TFi. At the same time, the heater block operation control unit 61d controls the operation of the lifting device 30 to raise the heater blocks 18a and 18b.Lower 18b. As a result, in the vertical pillow packaging machine 1, when the vertical pillow packaging machine main body 10 is started up or when the vertical pillow packaging machine main body 10 resumes operation after being in standby, in the first cycle, the tubular film TF is not wasted by being damaged or melted, and no extra energy is consumed, and the packaged body Pc is produced in the same way as in a normal cycle. [Industrial Applicability]

[0059] The vertical pillow packaging machine of the present invention can be used as a vertical pillow packaging machine that can produce the first package in the same way as the packages produced from the second time onwards, without wasting packaging film by damaging or melting it, and without wasting extra energy, when starting up or resuming operation from standby, thereby eliminating waste of packaging film. [Explanation of symbols]

[0060] 1 Vertical pillow packaging machine 10 Vertical pillow packaging machine body 11 Film (packaging material) supply section 12 Tension adjustment section 12a Rotating arm 12b Fixed roller 13 Date printing section 13a Date printing device 13b Lifting roller 14 Packaged product supply section 14a Hopper 14b Filling cylinder 15. Cylinder manufacturing section 15a Cylinder maker (former) 15b holding member 15c slide roller 16 Film feed section 16a pulley 16b Feed belt 16M servo motor 17 Vertical seal 17a, 17b Vertical seal block 18 Horizontal seal and cutting section 18a, 18b heater blocks 18am, 18bm center groove 18c, 18d ironing board 18e, 18f shutter plate 18g, 18h backing plate 19 Package discharge section 19a conveyor belt 20 Horizontal sealing device 20M Servo Motor 20Ma rotation axis 21 Block holder 21a Guide hole 22 Block holder 23 Opening and closing toggle mechanism 23a Rotating arm 23b, 23c Follower arms 24 Holder drive block 25 Support Block 25a, 25b frame 25c connection part 26a, 26b Connecting rod 27A, 27B Stroking section 28A, 28B shutter section 27a1, 27a2, 27a3, 27a4, 28a1, 28a2, 28a3, 28a4 Moving rod 27at1, 27at2, 27at3, 27at4, 28at1, 28at2, 28at3, 28at4 Tsuba 27b1, 27b2, 27b3, 27b4, 27c1, 27c2, 27c3, 27c4, 28b1, 28b2, 28b3, 28b4, 28c1, 28c2, 28c3, 28c4 Retainer plate 27s1, 27s2, 27s3, 27s4, 28s1, 28s2, 28s3, 28s4 springs 29 Cutting device 29a Support plate 29b Air cylinder 29c piston rod 29d slider 29e, 29f guide rod 30 Lifting device 30M Servo Motor 31a, 31b bracket 32 Timing belt 32a Belt clamping member 33 Connecting plate 34 Drive pulley 34a Pulley shaft 35 driven pulley 35a Pulley shaft 36a, 36b Lifting guide rod 40 Vertical seal block opening and closing device 40M Servo Motor 50 Lifting device 50M Servo Motor 60 Vertical pillow packaging machine control unit 61 Calculation control unit 61a Drive equipment control section 61b Film feed control section 61c Vertical seal block operation control section 61d heater block operation control unit 62 Storage section 63 Transmitter / Receiver 70 Operation Panel 71 Computer 71a Operation timing setting section 71a1 Film feed timing setting unit 71a2 Vertical seal opening / closing timing setting part 71a3 Vertical seal lift timing setting part 71a4 Horizontal seal opening / closing timing setting part 71a5 Horizontal seal lift timing setting part 71b Operation standby / cancellation command section 73 Transmitter / Receiver 74 Input display section 80 Packaged product loading device 81 Weighing machine 82 Packaged product loading device control section CL1, CL2 communication lines CP packaged product Fi film (packaging material) gr guide roller MF winding film PC packaging TC1~TC4 timing chart TFi cylindrical film (cylindrical packaging material) ts Vertical seal part ys Horizontal seal part

Claims

1. a vertical pillow packaging machine body that is equipped with packaging material feeding means that feeds packaging material in a vertical direction, tubular packaging material forming means that forms the packaging material fed by the packaging material feeding means into a tubular packaging material, packaged product filling means that supplies packaged products input by packaged product input means and fills the tubular packaging material, vertical sealing means that vertically seals the tubular packaging material, and horizontal seal cutting means that horizontally seals and cuts the tubular packaging material that has been vertically sealed by the vertical sealing means, and that produces a large number of packaged bodies, each of which is a cycle in which one packaged body containing the packaged product is produced; A vertical pillow packaging machine control means having a function of controlling the operation of the vertical pillow packaging machine main body; an operation standby / cancel command means for issuing a standby command to stop operation of the vertical pillow packaging machine main body and put it into a standby state when the packaged product input means cannot input the packaged product into the packaged product filling means, and a standby release command to start operation of the vertical pillow packaging machine main body in the standby state; A vertical pillow packaging machine comprising: An operation means for operating the vertical pillow packaging machine main body or the vertical pillow packaging machine control means is provided with the operation standby / cancellation command means, the transverse seal cutting means includes heater block opening / closing means for opening and closing a pair of heater blocks, and heater block lifting means for lifting and lowering the pair of heater blocks, The vertical pillow packaging machine control means includes a packaging material feeding operation control means that controls the operation of the packaging material feeding means, and a heater block operation control means that controls the operation of the heater block opening / closing means and the heater block lifting / lowering means, a packaging material feed operation control means for controlling the operation of the packaging material feed means to raise the position of the horizontal seal of the tubular packaging material on which the horizontal seal has been applied, and a heater block operation control means for controlling the operation of the heater block lifting means to raise the position of the pair of heater blocks, and the heater block operation control means for controlling the operation of the heater block opening and closing means to bring the pair of heater blocks close together while leaving a certain gap; and the packaging material feed operation control means for controlling the operation of the packaging material feed means to lower the tubular packaging material before the packaged product inserted from the packaged product inserting means into the packaged product filling means reaches the bottom of the tubular packaging material, and the heater block operation control means for controlling the operation of the heater block lifting means to lower the pair of heater blocks in accordance with the descent of the tubular packaging material.

2. 2. The vertical pillow packaging machine of claim 1, wherein the horizontal seal cutting means is provided with a squeezing means for squeezing the portion of the tubular packaging material where the horizontal seal is to be applied, and the fixed gap is the same as the gap formed when the pair of heater blocks are brought into close proximity when the squeezing means squeezes the portion where the horizontal seal is to be applied.

3. 2. A vertical pillow packaging machine as described in claim 1, characterized in that the horizontal seal cutting means is provided with a shutter means that clamps the upper side of the horizontally sealed portion of the tubular packaging material when the pair of heater blocks approach each other with the certain gap between them.

4. 4. A vertical pillow packaging machine according to claim 3, wherein the shutter means is provided with a receiving plate for receiving the packaged product that has been inserted by the packaged product inserting means and reached the bottom of the tubular packaging material.

5. 2. The vertical pillow packaging machine according to claim 1, wherein the operation standby / release command means issues the standby release command based on a packaged product input enable signal indicating that the packaged product can be input from the packaged product input means to the packaged product filling means.

6. The vertical sealing means includes a vertical seal block opening / closing means for opening and closing a pair of vertical seal blocks, and a vertical seal block lifting / lowering means for lifting and lowering the pair of vertical seal blocks, The vertical pillow packaging machine control means includes a vertical seal block operation control means for controlling the operation of the vertical seal block opening / closing means and the vertical seal block lifting / lowering means, 2. The vertical pillow packaging machine according to claim 1, wherein, when the standby command is issued from the operation standby / cancellation command means, the packaging material feed operation control means controls the operation of the packaging material feed means so that the packaging material feed means operates in the same manner as when the standby command is not issued from the operation standby / cancellation command means, the heater block operation control means controls the operation of the heater block opening / closing means and the heater block lifting / lowering means, and the vertical seal block operation control means controls the operation of the vertical seal block opening / closing means and the vertical seal block lifting / lowering means to complete one cycle, after which the vertical pillow packaging machine main body stops operating and enters a standby state.

7. A vertical pillow packaging machine comprising: packaging material feeding means for feeding packaging material in a vertical direction; tubular packaging material forming means for forming the packaging material fed by the packaging material feeding means into a tubular packaging material; packaged product filling means for supplying packaged products input by packaged product input means and filling the tubular packaging material; vertical sealing means for applying a vertical seal in the vertical direction to the tubular packaging material; and horizontal seal cutting means for applying a horizontal seal in the left-right direction and cutting the tubular packaging material that has been vertically sealed by the vertical sealing means; a vertical pillow packaging machine main body that produces a number of packages in one cycle, each of which produces one package packed with the packaged product; and vertical pillow packaging machine control means having the function of controlling the operation of the vertical pillow packaging machine main body, a control method for a vertical pillow packaging machine, wherein the horizontal seal cutting means comprises heater block opening / closing means for opening and closing a pair of heater blocks, and heater block lifting means for lifting and lowering the pair of heater blocks, and the vertical pillow packaging machine control means controls the operation of the packaging material feeding means, the heater block opening / closing means, and the heater block lifting means, When the packaged product input means cannot input the packaged product to the packaged product filling means, a standby command is sent to the vertical pillow packaging machine control means to stop operation of the vertical pillow packaging machine main body and put it into a standby state, and a standby release command is sent to the vertical pillow packaging machine control means to start operation of the vertical pillow packaging machine main body that is in the standby state, In the first cycle, the vertical pillow packaging machine main body in the standby state starts operating based on the standby release command. controlling the operation of the packaging material feeding means to raise the position of the transverse seal of the tubular packaging material on which the transverse seal has been applied, and controlling the operation of the heater block lifting means to raise the positions of the pair of heater blocks; After the step, controlling the operation of the heater block opening / closing means so that the pair of heater blocks approach each other while leaving a certain gap between them; a step of controlling the operation of the packaging material feeding means so that the tubular packaging material descends before the packaged products fed from the packaged product feeding means to the packaged product filling means reach the bottom of the tubular packaging material, and controlling the operation of the heater block elevating means so that the pair of heater blocks descend in accordance with the descent of the tubular packaging material. A control method for a vertical pillow packaging machine, comprising:

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