SEAL PACKAGING MACHINE FOR FOOD CONTAINER

Abstract

 A seal-packaging machine for a food container is proposed. The seal-packaging machine includes: a tray for loading a food-carrying container into the seal-packaging machine configured to move stably forward/backward while engaging with a ""-shaped guide by a ""-shaped guide rail; a heater unit driving support shafts operating the heater unit upward/downward and a heater unit driving portion support plate connected thereto operating upward/downward by two roller bearings and two eccentric cams contacting the same; a motor fixedly provided on a bottom frame to drive upward/downward the heater unit driving support shafts and the heater unit driving portion support plate of a heater unit driving portion; and a heater unit evenly operating upward/downward while keeping in horizontal along the four heater unit driving support shafts provided on four sides. The seal-packaging machine prevents defects due to imbalance of the heater unit, thereby guaranteeing an accurate sealing operation with a film.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a seal-packaging machine for a food container. More particularly, the present invention relates to a seal-packaging machine for a food container wherein for using a film for seal-packaging the opening of a food container containing contents, the seal-packaging of the food container may be operated more stably without malfunction or failure by means of enabling the food container to be seated correctly in a predetermined position and enabling a heater unit configured to seal the packaging of the food container to be consistently and uniformly operated upward and downward.

Background Art

[0002] Generally, when storing or delivering natural foods such as vegetables and fruits, and cooked foods at a food service establishment such as a restaurant, a sealing process is performed by putting foods in a plastic food container and seal-packaging the opening of the container with a film in order to maintain the freshness, temperature, and cleanliness of the food.

[0003] To this end, a seal-packaging machine for a food container for sealing the opening of the food container with the film has been developed and used. However, the conventional seal-packaging machine for a food container performs a sealing work by simply operating the heater unit up and down with an air cylinder or a cam whereby the film is sealed. For this reason, a phenomenon occurs where horizontal state of the heater unit is not maintained correctly but in a state tilted to either side thereof and the heater unit comes into contact with the opening of the food container. Therefore, a defect occurs where the entire opening of the food container is not uniformly sealed and partially unsealed parts are generated.

[0004] In addition, in the conventional seal-packaging machine for a food container, a tray for loading the food container containing food into the seal-packaging machine may swaying left and right when transferring the food container. Consequently, the food container is not seated correctly at the designated position where the sealing is made, thereby resulting in the sealing operation performed in a state where the food container is tilted to one side thereof.

[0005] Also, in the case of the Korean Patent No. 10-1812108 "SEALING PACKING DEVICE FOR CONTAINERS" developed by an applicant of the present invention, although the above problem has been largely solved, the invention has a problem in that a lifting plate for operating the heater unit up and down is operated by a roller bearing installed in the center of the lifting plate and an eccentric cam in contact with the roller bearing. For this reason, there was a problem that the lifting plate did not operate smoothly and stopped when the roller bearing and the eccentric cam are not installed correctly in the center of the lifting plate, the lifting bar connected to the lifting plate and an insertion hole into which the lifting bar is inserted are worn, and an allowable tolerance given between the lifting bar and the insertion hole accumulates due to repeated use.

[0006] In addition, since the motor for operating the lifting plate is installed on the lifting plate and operated simultaneously with the lifting plate while moving up and down, at the time of an initial driving of the motor, a load generated by rotating force of the motor is added to an accumulated fraction due to the above-described wear and allowable tolerance, thereby causing the lifting plate to not operate smoothly.

Disclosure

Technical Problem

[0007] The present invention has been devised in view of all the problems pertaining to such a conventional seal-packaging machine for a food container. Therefore, an objective of the present invention is to ensure that without the heater unit tilting to either side thereof, a heater unit sealing a film is operated up and down uniformly while maintaining horizontal state correctly, so that the sealing operation may be performed uniformly over the entire surface of the opening of the food container.

[0008] Another objective of the present invention is to ensure that the tray for loading the food container containing food into the seal-packaging machine is stably loaded without swaying left and right, so that the food container is correctly seated in the designated position where the sealing is performed, and thus the sealing operation may be performed properly.

[0009] Yet another objective of the present invention is to ensure that the heater unit driving support shaft of the heater unit driving portion for operating the heater unit up and down and the heater unit driving portion support plate connected thereto are operated up and down in a more stable state, so that a smooth operation is possible without fear of malfunction due to wear or allowable tolerance of the heater unit driving support shaft and the bearing.

[0010] Still another objective of the present invention is to ensure that the heater unit is prevented from not operating smoothly by the load caused by the initial rotating force of the motor acting on the heater unit driving support shaft of the heater unit and the bearing with the heater unit driving support shaft inserted therein.

Technical Solution

[0011] To this end, the present invention is characterized as follows: the heater unit to seal the film may be operated uniformly up and down in accordance with the operation of the eccentric cam of the heater unit driving portion in horizontal state along the four heater unit driving support shafts provided on the four sides, and thus it is possible to prevent the occurrence of defects due to the imbalance of the heater unit; the tray that enables the food container to be loaded inside the seal-packaging machine may be engaged with the "

"-shaped guides by the "⊏"-shaped guide rail so that the tray may move back and forth stably without swaying left and right, and thus the food container is correctly seated in an designated position and the sealing operation may be performed properly; the heater unit driving support shaft of the heater unit driving portion for operating the heater unit up and down and the heater unit driving portion support plate connected thereto are also to operate up and down in a stably supported state by the two roller bearings installed on the left and right end portions and the two eccentric cams in contact therewith, thereby being operated more smoothly without fear of malfunction despite wear and allowable tolerance of the heater unit driving support shaft and the bearing; and the heater unit driving support shaft of the heater unit driving portion and the motor for driving the heater unit driving portion support plate up and down are fixedly provided on the bottom frame to prevent the load caused by the initial rotating force of the motor from being directly transmitted to the heater unit driving support shaft and the bearing, and thus the heater unit driving portion may be made to operate more smoothly.

Advantageous Effects

[0012] The seal-packaging machine for a food container of the present invention has the following effects: the heater unit to seal the film may be operated uniformly up and down in horizontal state along the four heater unit driving support shafts provided on the four sides, thereby preventing the occurrence of defects due to the imbalance of the heater unit; the tray that enables the food container to be loaded inside the seal-packaging machine may move back and forth stably without swaying left and right, and thus the food container is correctly seated in an designated position and the sealing operation may be performed properly; the heater unit driving support shaft of the heater unit driving portion for operating the heater unit up and down and the heater unit driving portion support plate connected thereto are allowed to operate up and down in a stably supported state, and thus the heater unit is operated more smoothly without fear of malfunction despite wear and allowable tolerance of the heater unit driving support shaft and the bearing; and the load caused by the initial rotating force of the motor driving up and down the heater unit driving support shaft of the heater unit driving portion and the heater unit driving portion support plate is prevented from being directly transmitted to the heater unit driving support shaft and the bearing, and thus the heater unit driving portion may be made to operate more smoothly.

Description of Drawings

[0013] FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating the internal configuration of the practical exemplary embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the internal configuration of the present invention from the rear side. FIG. 3 is a side view illustrating the operating state before the food container is sealed by the present invention. Also, FIG. 4 is a side view illustrating a state in which the food container is sealed by the present invention.

Mode of Invention

[0014] Hereinafter, with reference to the accompanying drawings, a seal-packaging machine for a food container according to the present invention will be described in detail.

[0015] FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating the internal configuration of the practical exemplary embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the internal configuration of the present invention from the rear side, FIG. 3 is a side view illustrating the operating state before the food container is sealed by the present invention, and FIG. 4 is a side view illustrating a state in which the food container is sealed by the present invention. In a seal-packaging machine for a food container of the present invention, an outer casing 1 is provided in the form of a generally rectangular parallelepiped, various parts are provided therein, a cover (not shown) is hinge-coupled at the top to replace a rolled film or inspect internal parts, and a front panel displays a control panel for operating the machine.

[0016] In addition, inside the outer casing 1, there is disposed a tray 5 on which a food container 3 made of a synthetic resin containing food to be sealed packaging the opening of the food container with a film. On the upper side of the tray 5, a heater unit 7 is provided for sealing the opening of the food container 3 with the film. The lower part of the tray 5 is provided with a heater unit driving portion 9 for operating the heater unit 7 up and down.

[0017] In addition, the tray 5 is provided with a jig panel 13 having a container receiving hole 11 at the center thereof to load the food container 3 that contains food and is to be seal-packaged in the container receiving hole 11.

[0018] In addition, a "

"-shaped guide rails 15 are attached to the left and right end portions of the jig panel 13 so that the "

"-shaped guide rails 15 may slide together back and forth being engaged with a "

"-shaped guides 17 provided on the inner wall of the outer casing 1. Also, a rack gear 19 is attached to the bottom of the guide rail 15, and is coupled to a pinion 21 provided inside the outer casing 1 so that the food container 3 loaded on the jig panel 13 may be loaded into and pulled out of the machine while the guide rail 15 is moved back and forth according to driving of the motor.

[0019] In addition, a container support plate 22 for supporting the lower part of the food container 3 seated is provided at a position on the lower side of the container receiving hole 11 of the jig panel. Accordingly, the food container 3 seated is configured to be moved up and down while the container support plate 22 is moving up and down automatically when the tray 5 is moved back and forth by the operation of a ball screw rotating by the driving of the motor. Since the operation of moving up and down of the container support plate 22 is the same as in the conventional art, a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

[0020] Also, the upper and lower parts of the tray 5 are provided with four bearings 23 fixed to the inner wall surface of the outer casing 1 in front, rear, left and right, respectively. In the bearings 23, a heater unit driving support shaft 25 with the bearing is inserted in a spring-tight state by a compression spring 26. The left and right heater unit driving portion support plates 27 are connected to the lower end of the heater unit driving support shaft 25 in the front and rear directions, respectively, and a roller bearing 29 is attached to the middle part thereof.

[0021] In addition, a heater unit driving portion 9 is configured such that an eccentric cam 31 is provided in contact with the upper part of the roller bearing 29, and is connected by a chain or gear to the motor 35 fixed to the lower frame 33 of the outer casing 1.

[0022] In addition, the left and right heater unit support plates 36 are provided at the upper end portion of the heater unit driving support shaft 25 in the front and rear directions, and a heater unit 7 of known manner is disposed between the left and right heater unit support plates 36. The heater unit 7 is configured to seal the opening of the food container 3 by heating and cutting the supplied film while being moved up and down by the operation of the eccentric cam 31 mounted on the heater unit driving portion 9.

[0023] The unexplained reference numeral 38 is a limit switch.

[0024] In the seal-packaging machine for a food container of the present invention configured as described above, when seal-packaging the opening of the food-carrying container 3 with a film, first, a switch for pulling out the tray is turned on and the pinion 21 connected to the motor is rotated, and then the rack gear 19 and the "

"-shaped guide rail 15 coupled thereto are engaged with the "

"-shaped guide 17 and moved forward, thereby allowing the tray 5 mounted on the jig panel 13 to be pulled out to the outside.

[0025] When the switch for pulling out the tray is turned on again after the food container 3 containing food is loaded on the container support plate 22 inside the container receiving hole 11 of the tray 5 pulled out as described above, the pinion 21 connected to the motor rotates in the opposite direction. Then, the rack gear 19 coupled to the pinion and the "

"-shaped guide rail 15 engage with the "

"-shaped guide 17 move reliably backward without swaying left and right. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 3, the tray 5 and the food container 3 loaded thereon are properly seated in the correct position inside the machine.

[0026] As the tray 5 enters in this way, an operation of lowering the container support plate 22 is linked at the same time, so that the food container 3 loaded on the container support plate 22 is fully seated in the container receiving hole 11, and the entry of the tray 5 is completed simultaneously.

[0027] When the food container 3 is seated in an designated position in this way, the motor 35 fixedly provided on the bottom frame 33 of the lower side of the tray 5 is operated to rotate the eccentric cam 31 of the heater unit driving portion 9, and the roller bearing 29 which is provided in contact with the lower side of the eccentric cam 31 rotates. Then, the left and right heater unit driving portion support plate 27 provided with the roller bearing 29 and the heater unit driving support shaft 25 connected to the heater unit driving portion support plate 27 slidingly moves with the help of the bearings of four bearings 23 provided in front, rear, left, and right in a stably supported state without swaying. At the same time, the heater unit 7 provided between the left and right heater unit support plates 36 at the upper end of the heater unit driving support shaft 25 is lowered as shown in FIG. 4. Accordingly, a sealing operation is performed wherein the heated heater of the heater unit 7 heat-bonds and cuts the entire opening of the food container 3 seated in the container receiving hole 11 of the tray 5 evenly with a film, and thus the food container 3 will be sealed.

[0028] Accordingly, by the hot heater of the heater unit 7, a sealing operation for thermosetting evenly with a film the entire opening of the food container 3 seated in the container receiving hole 11 of the tray 5 and cutting the finished film is performed, and thus the food container 3 will be sealed.

[0029] When the seal-packaging operation of the food container is completed by this process, the eccentric cam 31 rotates continuously to raise the roller bearing 29 which contacts the eccentric cam 31. By this upward movement, the heater unit 7 is moved upward and returned to its original position by the elastic force of the compression spring 37 attached to the lower end portion of the heater unit driving support shaft 25. Then, the motor drives to move the pinion 21 of the tray 5 on which the food container 3 to be seal-packaged is loaded. Subsequently, the rack gear 19, the guide rail 15, and the jig panel 13 attached thereto are pulled forward, and the sealed packaging food container 3 loaded on the tray 5 is pulled out of the machine, and thus the seal-packaging operation is completed.

[0030] Therefore, according to the seal-packaging machine for a food container of the present invention, in a horizontal state along four heater unit driving support shafts 25 provided on the four sides, the heater unit 7 for sealing the film may be uniformly operated up and down according to the operation of the eccentric cam 31 of the heater unit driving portion 9. Thus, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of defects due to the imbalance of the heater unit 7.

[0031] In addition, the tray 5 for loading the container containing food into the seal-packaging machine is engaged with the "

"-shaped guide 17 by the "

"-shaped guide rail 15 to move stably back and forth without swaying left and right. Thus, the food container 3 is correctly seated in the designated position where the seal-packaging is made and the sealing operation may be performed properly.

[0032] In addition, the heater unit driving support shaft 25 of the heater unit driving portion 9 for operating the heater unit 7 up and down and the left and right heater unit driving portion support plate 27 connected thereto are operated up and down in a stably supported state by the two left and right roller bearings 29 and the two eccentric cams 31 in contact therewith, thereby being operated very smoothly without fear of malfunction despite wear or allowable tolerance of the support shaft 25 and the bearing 23.

[0033] In addition, the motor 35 which drives the heater unit driving support shaft 25 and the heater unit driving portion support plate 27 of the heater unit driving portion 9 up and down is fixed to the bottom frame 33 so that the load due to the initial rotating force may be prevented from being immediately transmitted to the heater unit driving support shaft 25 and the bearing 23, and thus there is a merit that the heater unit driving portion 9 may be operated more smoothly.

[0034] In the above description, the present invention has been described on the basis of a particular exemplary embodiment, but the above exemplary embodiment is only one example for explaining the technical idea of the present invention, and the technical scope of the present invention is not limited only to the above exemplary embodiment.

[0035] For example, "⊏"-shaped guide rails 15 attached to the left and right end portions of the jig panel 13 so as to move without swaying left and right during the forward and backward movement of the tray 5 and the "

"-shaped guides 17 provided on the inner wall surface of the outer casing 1 may also be substituted with other types of engagement structure. Therefore, all modifications and embodiments are included in the meaning and scope of the equivalents of technical spirit and claims of the present invention.

Industrial Applicability

[0036] The seal-packaging machine for a food container of the present invention may be applicable to seal-packaging of the opening of the food container containing food with a film in order to maintain the freshness, temperature, and cleanliness of the food when storing or delivering natural foods such as vegetables and fruits, and cooked foods at a cooking shop such as a restaurant.

Claims

1. A seal-packaging machine for a food container that is used to seal-package the food container with a film, the seal-packaging machine comprising:

a tray (5) having a "⊏"-shaped guide rail (15) that is attached to each of left and right end portions of a jig panel (13) and is engaged with a "

"-shaped guide (17) provided on an inner wall surface of an outer casing (1), and loading the food container (3) seated in a container receiving hole (11) into the seal-packaging machine and pulling the food container (3) out of the seal-packaging machine, while slidingly moving back and forth;

a plurality of heater unit driving support shafts (25) being inserted into a plurality of bearings (23) provided on the inner wall surface of the outer casing (1) at positions around the tray (5), the heater unit driving support shafts (25) being configured to slidingly move up and down and respectively connected at upper and lower end portions thereof to heater unit support plates (36) and heater unit driving portion support plates (27) that are provided at left and right sides of the outer casing and extend in front and rear directions; and

a heater unit driving portion (9) having a roller bearing (29) provided on each of the left and right heater unit driving portion support plates (27), and being configured to move the heater unit driving support shafts (25) up and down according to an operation of an eccentric cam (31) provided in contact with the roller bearing (29).

2. The seal-packaging machine for a food container of claim 1, wherein the tray (5) is coupled to a rack gear (19) attached to a bottom surface of the guide rail (15) and engaged with a pinion (21) provided inside the outer casing (1), so the tray (5) moves back and forth according to driving of a motor coupled to the pinion (21).

3. The seal-packaging machine for a food container of claim 1, wherein the tray (5) is provided with the jig panel (13) having the container receiving hole (11) provided in a center thereof, thus enabling the food container (3) to be seated and loaded inside the container receiving hole (11).

4. The seal-packaging machine for a food container of claim 1, wherein a heater unit (7) is mounted on bottom surfaces of the heater unit support plates (36) and is configured to seal-package an opening of the food container (3), while moving up and down according to an operation of the heater unit driving portion (9).

5. The seal-packaging machine for a food container of claim 1, wherein a motor (35) for driving the eccentric cam (31) is fixedly provided on a bottom frame (33) of the outer casing (1) so that a load resulting from initial rotating force of the motor (35) is prevented from being transferred directly to the heater unit driving support shafts (25) and the bearings (23).

Drawing