Packaging bag identification information acquisition method and packaging bag identification information acquisition support device

Abstract

In this packaging bag identification information acquisition method, when conveying a packaging bag (1) for heavy packaging in which powder or granules are packaged and sealed by a sealing part (13) and printing based on identification information (J) is displayed on the surface in the vicinity of the sealing part (13), and the packaging bag (1) is in a laid posture in which the printing faces upward and a bottom part (1Pa) is on the leading side in the conveyance direction, a biasing member (26) is relatively moved so as to press the upper surface (1Pb) of the packaging bag (1) downward from the bottom part (1Pa) side toward the sealing part (13) to flatten the surface in the vicinity of the sealing part (13) of the packaging bag (1), and then the identification information (J) is acquired from the printing.

Description

Method for Obtaining Identification Information of Packaging Bag and Apparatus for Supporting Acquisition of Identification Information of Packaging Bag

[0001] The present invention relates to a method for obtaining identification information of a packaging bag and an apparatus for supporting acquisition of identification information of a packaging bag.

[0002] As a double packaging, a packaging bag for packaging a packaged body such as powder or granules for the purpose of transportation or storage is known. In Patent Document 1, for such a packaging bag, identification information such as the variety of the packaged body to be packaged is printed in advance, and in the identification process before the packaging bag is shipped, the identification information is read by a scanner to perform a determination such as whether it is a regular packaging bag or not.

[0003] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2003-170917

[0004] An example of the packaged body in double packaging is resin pellets. For the packaging bag for resin pellets, printing indicating identification information is directly applied to a preset printing area on the surface near the opening, or a printed label is attached and displayed.

[0005] In the packaging process of packaging resin pellets with this packaging bag, first, the packaging bag is placed upright with the opening open. Then, resin pellets are dropped and charged from above into the opened opening, and the charging stops when a predetermined amount is charged by weighing. Thereafter, the opening is sealed. Next, the sealed packaging bag is placed in a lying posture with the printing facing up and conveyed by a conveyor toward the unloading section. During the conveyance by the conveyor, the printing displayed is imaged by an imaging device installed above. The imaged image is sent to a determination device, and the determination device acquires identification information from the printing on the image and executes pass / fail determination and the like. For example, it is determined whether the information on the material charged into the packaging bag matches the information on the contents printed on the packaging bag (product name, manufacturing number, etc.). Hereinafter, the packaging bag containing and sealing resin pellets is also referred to as a pellet package.

[0006] In the packaging process described above, a predetermined amount of resin pellets are dropped into the packaging bag while it is upright, creating a space inside the bag near the opening corresponding to the amount of pellets. Therefore, when the pellet packaging is laid down, wrinkles may form near the opening where the space exists. If these wrinkles overlap the printing area, it can cause unevenness in the printing area, potentially preventing the detection device from obtaining identification information from the image captured by the imaging device.

[0007] These wrinkles are more likely to occur when the amount of resin pellets placed in the packaging bag is small relative to its capacity, as this creates more empty space. While printing on the packaging bag may be done after sealing, the same problem related to wrinkles can still occur. Furthermore, this problem can occur even if the packaged material is not resin pellets. Therefore, it is desirable to be able to reliably obtain identification information from the printing on the packaging bag.

[0008] This invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned conventional problems, and its objective is to provide a method for obtaining identification information from packaging bags and a support device for obtaining identification information from packaging bags that can reliably obtain identification information from the printing displayed on the packaging bags.

[0009] The first embodiments of the present invention that solve the above problems are (1) to (3) below, and the second embodiments are (4) to (6) below. (1) A method for acquiring identification information for a packaging bag, wherein a heavy packaging bag for packaging powder or granules is sealed at a sealing portion and printed based on identification information is displayed on the surface near the sealing portion, is transported in a lying position with the printing facing upward and the bottom facing the leading side in the transport direction, the biasing member is moved relative to the packaging bag so as to press the upper surface of the packaging bag downward from the bottom side toward the sealing portion, thereby flattening the surface near the sealing portion of the packaging bag, and then acquiring the identification information from the printing. (2) The method for acquiring identification information for a packaging bag according to (1), wherein the biasing member is a cylindrical roller extending in the width direction of the packaging bag that is pivotable in the transport direction about a fulcrum located above the transported packaging bag. (3) A method for acquiring identification information of a packaging bag as described in (2), wherein the roller is freely rotatable around its axis. (4) A packaging bag identification information acquisition support device, which is placed in a step prior to the step of acquiring identification information from the printing on a heavy packaging bag that has been packaged with powder or granules and sealed at a sealing section, and which transports the packaging bag in a lying position, a biasing member positioned to interfere in the height direction with the packaging bag that is transported in a predetermined transport direction by the transport device, and a support member that supports the biasing member so that it can be raised and lowered or swung in the transport direction, wherein the transport device moves the packaging bag by pushing and swinging or pushing up the biasing member that is in contact with the packaging bag, and the biasing member biases the upper surface of the packaging bag downward so as to flatten the surface of the packaging bag and allow the packaging bag to pass. (5) The biasing member is a cylindrical roller extending in the width direction of the packaging bag, which is pivotable in the transport direction by the support member around a pivot point located above the transported packaging bag, as described in (4). (6) The roller is freely rotatable around its axis, as described in (5).

[0010] According to the present invention, identification information can be reliably obtained from the printing displayed on the packaging bag.

[0011] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram showing the packaging process of pellets 81 using a packaging bag 1. Figure 2A is a perspective view showing the case where the printing area AR1 of the packaging bag 1 is flat. Figure 2B is a perspective view showing the case where a deformation W due to wrinkles occurs in the printing area AR1 of the packaging bag 1. Figure 3A is a front view showing the identification information acquisition support device 2. Figure 3B is a side view showing the identification information acquisition support device 2. Figure 4A is the first diagram for explaining the packaging process of pellets 81. Figure 4B is the second diagram for explaining the packaging process of pellets 81. Figure 4C is the third diagram for explaining the packaging process of pellets 81. Figure 4D is the fourth diagram for explaining the packaging process of pellets 81. Figure 4E is the fifth diagram for explaining the packaging process of pellets 81. Figure 4F is the sixth diagram for explaining the packaging process of pellets 81. Figure 5A is the first diagram illustrating the degree to which the pellet packaging body 1P is pressed by the roller 26. Figure 5B is a second diagram illustrating the degree to which the roller 26 presses the pellet packaging 1P. Figure 6A is a first diagram illustrating a modified example of the pellet packaging process for 81. Figure 6B is a second diagram illustrating a modified example of the pellet packaging process for 81. Figure 6C is a third diagram illustrating a modified example of the pellet packaging process for 81. Figure 7 is a side view showing an identification information acquisition support device 2A, which is a modified example of the identification information acquisition support device 2.

[0012] Referring to Figure 1, a packaging process for powders or granules, including a method for obtaining identification information for a packaging bag, which is one embodiment of the present invention, will be described. In this embodiment, the packaged material is granular resin pellets. The packaging bag is a heavy-duty kraft bag with an opening sealed by a sewing machine. For example, it is a kraft bag that can package about 20 kg of resin pellets. The packaging process has five steps, A to E, and is performed in this order. Conveyance between some of the steps is performed by a conveyor device 5 (see Figures 3A and 3B).

[0013] In process A, the packaging bag 1 is opened and placed in an upright position with the opening facing upwards, and resin pellets 81 (hereinafter referred to as pellets 81) are dropped into the packaging bag 1 from the input hopper 80 located above. Input is stopped when the amount of pellets reaches a preset amount. In process B, the opening is sealed with a sewing machine to form a sealed section 13. Hereinafter, the packaging bag 1 containing the pellets 81 will be referred to as the pellet packaging body 1P. The pellet packaging body 1P is sent to process C by a conveying device, for example, a conveyor device 5.

[0014] The packaging bag 1 is marked with identification information J by printing. The marking is done by direct printing on the surface of the packaging bag 1 using a printing machine, or by attaching a printed sticker to the surface. The marking is done before process A or immediately after process B. On the packaging bag 1, the marking is displayed on at least the surface near the opening. The marking may also be displayed in multiple locations on the packaging bag 1. For example, it may be displayed on the surface of the end opposite the opening.

[0015] Figure 2A shows an example in which identification information J is displayed on the surface of the packaging bag 1 by direct printing. The printing is performed in a predetermined format on a printing area AR1 set on the surface near the sealing portion 13. In this example, the information is assumed to have been displayed in advance by direct printing before process A, and the items of identification information J are the lot number, resin grade, weight of the contents, and color.

[0016] In process C, the upright pellet packaging 1P is laid down so that the printed markings face upwards (see arrow DRc), and the bottom 1Pa side faces the front in the direction of transport. The laid-down pellet packaging 1P is then sent to process D by the conveyor device 5.

[0017] In process D, the pellet packaging 1P passes through the identification information acquisition support device 2 (hereinafter also referred to as support device 2), and if there is any deformation such as unevenness in the printing area AR1, it is flattened by the support device 2. The configuration and flattening operation of this support device 2 will be described later.

[0018] In step E, the imaging device 31 of the imaging unit 3 captures the print displayed in the print area AR1, and the determination device 4 acquires identification information J based on the print in the image captured by the imaging device 31 through processing such as optical character recognition. The acquisition of identification information J may also be done by an operator visually reading the print. If the print is displayed in multiple locations on the packaging bag 1, multiple imaging devices are arranged to capture the print in each location.

[0019] Next, the support device 2 will be described with reference to Figures 3A and 3B.

[0020] (Support device 2) Support device 2 consists of a conveyor device 5 and a biasing device FS including a biasing member (roller 26 in this example) installed so as to straddle the upper belt 51 of the conveyor device 5 in the width direction. The conveyor device 5 is a so-called belt conveyor that circulates an endless belt by a drive source (not shown). Figures 3A and 3B show the conveyor device 5, which consists of an upper belt 51 supported by a plurality of conveyor rollers 52 and moving in the direction of arrow DR7, and a lower belt 53 that returns in the opposite direction (arrow DR7R) below the upper belt 51.

[0021] The support device 2 comprises a base 21, a pair of support columns 23, a shaft 24, a pair of arms 25, and a roller 26. The base 21 supports the conveyor roller 52 so that it can rotate freely. The pair of support columns 23, 23 are provided so as to extend upward from the base 21 on one side and the other side in the width direction of the upper belt 51. The shaft 24 is fixed at both ends to the upper parts of the pair of support columns 23, 23 via support parts P1 in a horizontal position in the width direction of the upper belt 51.

[0022] The support part P1 is a radial bearing, with its inner ring fixed to the shaft 24 and its outer ring fixed to the upper end of the arm 25. That is, the pair of arms 25 are supported at both ends of the shaft 24 so as to be rotatable around a horizontally extending axis CL 24. In addition, rollers 26 are supported at the lower ends of the pair of arms 25 via support parts P2 so as to be rotatable around the axis CL 26 in a horizontal position. The support part P2 is also a radial bearing, with its inner ring fixed to the arm 25 and its outer ring fixed to the roller 26. The roller 26 is, for example, a cylindrical metal object with a mass of approximately 5 kg. Therefore, as described later, it functions as a biasing member that biases the upper surface 1Pb of the pellet packaging 1P from above.

[0023] With the above configuration, as shown in Figure 3B, in a natural state where no external force other than gravity is applied, the arm 25 and roller 26 are in a natural position where the roller 26 is at its lowest end and the arm 25, which is the support member supporting the roller 26, extends vertically. The arm 25 and roller 26 can swing around the axis CL24 in the conveying direction (direction of arrow DR7) and the opposite direction (direction of arrow DR7R) when an external force is applied (see arrow DR6). In this way, the pair of arms 25 and roller 26 constitute a swinging body YT that swings around the axis CL21.

[0024] As shown in Figure 3B, the average thickness of the pellet packaging 1P (shown by a dashed line) carried on the upper belt 51 is defined as thickness H1, the height distance between the lowest position of the roller 26 when it is in its natural state (the lower end of the roller 26) and the upper surface 51a of the upper belt 51 is defined as distance H2, and the distance between the axis CL26 and the upper surface 51a is defined as distance H3. At this time, at least distance H2 is set to be smaller than thickness H1. That is, the pellet packaging 1P carried by the upper belt 51 and the roller 26 are always in contact. Furthermore, the height positions of the axis CL24 and axis CL26, as well as the diameter of the roller 26, are set such that, for example, distance H3 is approximately 1 / 2 of thickness H1 and distance H2 is approximately 1 / 4 of thickness H1.

[0025] Next, the operation of the support device 2 in process D will be explained with reference to Figures 4A to 4F, and Figures 5A and 5B, which serve as operation diagrams. In Figures 4A to 4F, the arm 25 and roller 26 are shown schematically.

[0026] As shown in Figure 4A, the pellet packaging 1P, which has been laid down in process C, is transported by the movement of the upper belt 51 (see arrow DR71) with the bottom 1Pa side opposite to the sealing portion 13 as the leading edge, and approaches the oscillating body YT of the support device 2. As also shown in Figure 5A, the oscillating body YT is in the path of the pellet packaging 1P, and the roller 26 is at a height that interferes with the pellet packaging 1P in the natural position of the oscillating body YT.

[0027] Therefore, as shown in Figure 4B, the conveyed pellet packaging 1P comes into contact with the roller 26. Here, the torque required to rotate the oscillating body YT in its natural state is extremely small because the support part P1 is a radial bearing. Therefore, the contact of the pellet packaging 1P pushes the oscillating body YT, causing it to rotate around the support part P1 as a fulcrum and assume an inclined position (see arrow DR9).

[0028] Since pellets 81 are dropped into the pellet packaging 1P while the packaging bag 1 is in an upright position, the filling density of the pellets 81 on the bottom 1Pa side, which are put in immediately after the start of loading, is higher than the filling density on the sealing part 13 side, which are put in later. Specifically, the bottom 1Pa side of the pellet packaging 1P is in a state that is almost a rigid body and does not easily deform under external force due to the pellets 81 filled in the vicinity of the bottom 1Pa. Therefore, there is no problem in pushing the roller 26 with the pellet packaging 1P to tilt the oscillating body YT. In addition, a space V1 is created on the sealing part 13 side inside the pellet packaging 1P, and the printing area AR1 is set in the hollow area AR2 (see Figures 1 and 4E), which is the part of the surface of the packaging bag 1 that corresponds to the space V1.

[0029] In the following explanation, for the convenience of describing the operation of the support device 2, it is assumed that a wrinkled, uneven deformation W (see Figure 4A) is formed on the sealing portion 13 side of the packaging bag 1.

[0030] As the pellet packaging 1P is transported, and the pushed-up roller 26 rides onto the upper surface 1Pb of the pellet packaging 1P, as shown in Figure 4C, the roller 26 rotates on the support part P2 as a fulcrum (see arrow DR11) and moves relative to the upper surface 1Pb (see arrow DR14). At this time, the pellet packaging 1P receives a force F1 directed vertically downward from the roller 26 of the tilted oscillating body YT. The force F1 is a force caused by gravity corresponding to the mass of the roller 26 and the pair of arms 25. As described above, the pellets 81 inside the pellet packaging 1P are densely packed and compacted at the bottom 1Pa side, so any deformation of the packaging bag 1 due to the force F1 at this stage is minimal.

[0031] As the pellet packaging 1P is transported further, as shown in Figure 4D, the contact position of the roller 26 with respect to the pellet packaging 1P gradually moves closer to the sealing portion 13 than to the bottom portion 1Pa. In other words, the position where force F1 is applied moves to a position closer to the space V1 in the internal pellets 81. Since the filling density of the internal pellets 81 is relatively low on the side closer to space V1, force F1 causes movement in the pellets 81, and they easily collapse towards space V1 (see arrow DR15). Consequently, the external shape of the packaging bag 1 easily deforms. For example, as shown in Figure 5B, the pellet packaging 1P is pushed downward by force F1, which is considered to be a uniformly distributed load from the roller 26, and at the biased position close to the sealing portion 13, the internal pellets 81 move in response to force F1, exerting force F3 on the packaging bag 1. That is, the packaging bag 1 deforms by being crushed in the thickness direction and expanding in the width direction due to force F3. Accordingly, the upper surface 1Pb of the pellet packaging 1P in the portion containing the pellets 81 is straightened to become flatter.

[0032] As the pellet packaging 1P continues to be transported, as shown in Figure 4E, the contact position of the roller 26, which moves relative to the pellet packaging 1P, moves beyond the area where the pellets 81 are filled and into the hollow region AR2 corresponding to the space V1. The hollow region AR2 is more easily deformed than the area where the pellets 81 are filled because its interior is space V1. Specifically, the packaging bag 1 is pushed inward by the force F1 from the roller 26, correcting its unevenness, and the reaction force F2 from the air in space V1 also occurs, causing it to deform more flat. As a result, as shown in Figure 4F, by the time the roller 26 separates from the pellet packaging 1P, the hollow region AR2 is flattened so that the deformed area W, which was deformed by wrinkles, is almost completely eliminated. With this flattening of the hollow region AR2 of the packaging bag 1, the pellet packaging 1P is allowed to pass through the support device 2.

[0033] Since the printing area AR1 is set in the hollow area AR2, even if there is an uneven deformation W in the printing area AR1 as shown in Figure 2B when the pellet packaging 1P is fed into process D, the movement of the oscillating body YT accompanying the movement of the pellet packaging 1P flattens the printing area AR1 as shown in Figure 2A. As a result, the display in the printing area AR1 is captured or viewed with the printed characters etc. in their normal shape, so that the acquisition of identification information J by the judgment device 4 or the operator in the subsequent process E can be performed more reliably.

[0034] The support device 2 flattens the printing area AR1, eliminating wrinkles regardless of differences in the content volume of the pellets 81. Therefore, it was predicted and confirmed experimentally that the success rate of acquiring identification information J in process E could be significantly improved. Specifically, in a scenario where the pellet packaging 1P has a content volume of 20 kg and the identification information J is acquired by image recognition, the failure rate of acquiring identification information J without using the support device 2, i.e., when proceeding directly from process C to process E, was approximately 11% (success rate 89%). In contrast, by introducing process D and performing the flattening operation of the printing area AR1 by the support device 2, the failure rate of acquiring identification information J decreased to 0.1% (success rate 99.9%), meaning that the acquisition success rate was significantly improved.

[0035] As described in detail above, according to one embodiment of the present invention, identification information J can be reliably obtained from the printing displayed on the packaging bag 1 of the pellet packaging 1P.

[0036] One embodiment of the present invention is not limited to the configuration and procedure described above, and may be modified without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

[0037] (Modification 1) The conveyor device 5 does not have to have an upper belt 51 that transports the pellet packaging 1P be at a constant horizontal height on both the upstream and downstream sides of the support device 2. For example, as shown in Figures 6A to 6C as modified examples of the packaging process, the conveyor device 5A may have an upper belt 51A that is inclined so that the upstream side of the support device 2 is uphill and the downstream side is horizontal. Figure 6A is the first diagram illustrating a modified example of the packaging process for pellets 81, Figure 6B is the second diagram illustrating a modified example of the packaging process for pellets 81, and Figure 6C is the third diagram illustrating a modified example of the packaging process for pellets 81.

[0038] As shown in Figure 6A, the upper belt 51A of the conveyor device 5A is sloped upwards (left side in Figure 6A) and horizontal downstream of the oscillating body YT in the conveying direction (arrow DR17). The pellet packaging 1P, conveyed on the sloped upper belt 51A and reaching the support device 2, pushes against the roller 26, as shown in Figure 6B, and receives a force F1 from the roller 26. At this time, the pellet packaging 1P is tilted so that the sealing portion 13 side is lower, making it easier for the pellets 81 inside to move toward the sealing portion 13 due to their own weight (see arrow DR19). In other words, the shape of the packaging bag 1 is more easily corrected by the movement of the pellets 81 toward the sealing portion 13.

[0039] As the conveying of the pellet packaging 1P progresses, the bottom 1Pa side of the pellet packaging 1P moves downstream of the support device 2 on the upper belt 51A and assumes a horizontal position, while the sealing portion 13 side also changes position from a low inclined position to a horizontal position. In other words, in addition to the biasing force by the rollers 26, the packaging bag 1 also tries to lift from an inclined position to a horizontal position at the sealing portion 13 side, thus promoting the corrective effect, and the shape of the hollow region AR2 on the sealing portion 13 side of the packaging bag 1 is more strongly corrected by the rollers 26 so that the uneven shape is eliminated. In this way, in the case of the conveyor device 5A, the flattening of the hollow region AR2 of the packaging bag 1 of the pellet packaging 1P is performed more stably.

[0040] The belt 51A is not limited to moving upward in the conveying direction as in this modified example 1, but may also move downward. Furthermore, the belt 51A does not have to move horizontally at the contact point between the pellet packaging 1P and the oscillating body YT, but may move in an upward or downward inclined direction. In addition, the belt 51A may move in a posture that is slightly tilted in the width direction.

[0041] (Modification 2) The support device 2 may be a support device 2A, as shown in Figure 7, which has a lifting body ST that moves up and down instead of the oscillating body YT. Specifically, the support device 2A has a slit 231 that extends up and down in a support column 23A corresponding to the support column 23. The shaft portion 232 of a roller 26A corresponding to the roller 26 is inserted into the slit 231, and the roller 26A is rotatable and can move up and down within the slit 231 as shown by the arrow DR21. That is, when the pellet package 1P being transported comes into contact with the roller 26A and is pushed, the roller 26A rises.

[0042] In its natural state, the roller 26A is located at the lower end of the slit 231, and in this state, the gap between the upper belt 51 and the lower end of the roller 26A is set to distance H2, the same as in the case of the roller 26. In this case, distance H2 should be set to be greater than half the thickness of the pellet packaging 1P. This support device 2A also corrects the outer shape of the packaging bag 1 of the pellet packaging 1P and flattens the hollow region AR2.

[0043] In the above-described aspect and its modification examples 1 and 2, the rollers 26 and 26A used as the biasing members are not limited to being rotatable, and may be non-rotatably supported by the support portion P2. Further, instead of the rollers 26 and 26A, a squeegee-shaped and elastically deformable plate-like member may be used.

[0044] Although the conveyor devices 5 and 5A have been described as the conveying devices for conveying the pellet package 1P, the conveying device is not limited to the conveyor devices 5 and 5A. An AGV (Automated Guided Vehicle) or an AMR (Autonomous Mobile Robot) that moves while carrying the pellet package 1P may be used as the conveying device, and the flattening of the printing area AR1 may be performed by passing through the support device 2.

[0045] The object to be packaged and packaged in the packaging bag 1 for overpackaging is not limited to the resin pellets 81. The object to be packaged may be, for example, powders or granules such as flour, food, and feed.

[0046] Although the present invention has been described with reference to the above several embodiments, the present invention is not limited by the above several embodiments. Various changes can be made to the configuration and details of the present invention within the scope of the present invention. This disclosure is related to the subject matter described in Japanese Patent Application No. 2024-195711 filed on November 8, 2024, and all the disclosure contents thereof are incorporated herein by reference.

[0047] 1 Packaging bag: 1P Pellet packaging, 1Pa Bottom, 1Pb Top, 13 Sealing part; 2, 2A Support device (Identification information acquisition support device): 21 Base, 23, 23A Support column, 231 Slit, 232 Shaft, 24 Shaft, 25 Arm, 26, 26A Roller; 3 Imaging unit: 31 Imaging device; 4 Judgment device; 5, 5A Conveyor device, 51, 51A Upper belt, 51a Top, 52 Conveyor roller, 53 Lower belt; 80 Input hopper, 81 Resin pellet (pellet), AR1 Printing area, AR2 Hollow area, CL24, CL26 Axis, FS Biasing device, F1, F3 Force, F2 Reaction force, H1 Thickness, H2, H3 Distance, J Identification information, P1, P2 Support section, ST lifting body, V1 space, W deformation section, YT oscillating body

Claims

1. A method for acquiring identification information for a packaging bag, wherein a heavy-duty packaging bag containing powder or granules, sealed at a sealing portion and having printing based on identification information on the surface near the sealing portion, is transported in a lying position with the printing facing upwards and the bottom facing the leading end in the transport direction, the method involves moving a biasing member relative to the packaging bag so as to press the upper surface of the packaging bag downwards from the bottom towards the sealing portion, thereby flattening the surface near the sealing portion of the packaging bag, and then acquiring the identification information from the printing.

2. The method for obtaining identification information of a packaging bag according to claim 1, wherein the biasing member is a cylindrical roller extending in the width direction of the packaging bag, which is pivotable in the conveying direction around a pivot point located above the conveyed packaging bag.

3. The method for obtaining identification information of a packaging bag according to claim 2, wherein the roller is freely rotatable around its axis.

4. A packaging bag identification information acquisition support device, which is positioned in a step prior to the step of acquiring identification information from the printing on a heavy packaging bag that has been packaged with powder or granules and sealed at a sealing section, and comprises: a conveying device that conveys the packaging bag in a lying position; a biasing member positioned to interfere in the height direction with the packaging bag that is conveyed in a predetermined conveying direction by the conveying device; and a support member that supports the biasing member so that it can be raised and lowered or swung in the conveying direction, wherein the conveying device moves the packaging bag by pushing and swinging or pushing up the biasing member that is in contact with the packaging bag, and the biasing member biases the upper surface of the packaging bag downward so as to flatten the surface of the packaging bag and allow the packaging bag to pass through.

5. The packaging bag identification information acquisition support device according to claim 4, wherein the biasing member is a cylindrical roller extending in the width direction of the packaging bag, which is pivotable in the transport direction by the support member around a fulcrum located above the transported packaging bag.

6. The packaging bag identification information acquisition support device according to claim 5, wherein the roller is freely rotatable around its axis.

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