TECHNICAL FIELD
[0001] The present invention relates to an article transfer device for transferring an article
to a form-fill-seal machine, and a packaging system provided with the same.
BACKGROUND ART
[0002] Conventionally, there have existed form-fill-seal machines for producing bags by
shaping a sheet of a packaging material into a tube and, in a state where the interior
thereof has been filled with a snack food or other article, laterally sealing the
upper and lower end parts of the packaging material. For example, an upright form-fill-seal
machine shapes a sheet of a packaging material into a tube, and then vertically seals
both vertically overlapping edges of the tubular packaging material. During a state
where a dropped article is positioned in the interior space of the tube of packaging
material, the upper and lower end parts of a portion of the tube of packaging material
serving as a single bag are laterally sealed in sequence, forming a lower sealed part
and an upper sealed part in a state where the article is present within the tubular
packaging material. To be specific, a lateral seal is made across the leading portion
of the bag serving as the upper end part and the following portion of the bag serving
as the lower end part, and immediately thereafter (or, alternatively, at the same
time) the middle of the laterally sealed portion is vertically separated by a cutter,
thus forming the tube of packaging material into a lower sealed part and an upper
sealed part. By repeating such an operation, a form-fill-seal machine continuously
produces bags filled with articles.
[0003] In a case where potato chips or other articles having a low specific gravity are
the article with which the bag is filled, articles in a group may undergo greater
vertical separation as they fall, and the articles may get caught in the laterally
sealed portions. Various companies have been devoted to innovations for preventing
the poor sealing caused by this "catching" phenomenon, such as the technology disclosed
in
JP 61-190410 A.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0004] It is an obj ect of the present invention to provide an article transfer device such
that articles being dropped into a form-fill-seal machine can be compactly collected
in the form-fill-seal machine.
<Solution to Problems>
[0005] The above-mentioned problem is solved by an article transfer device according to
claim 1. Further advantageous effect can be achieved by the subject-matter of the
dependent claims. An article transfer device according to a preferred embodiment of
the present invention is a device for dropping articles into a form-fill-seal machine.
The form-fill-seal machine is a machine that forms a tubular packaging material and
seals laterally extending portions of the tubular packaging material so as to produce
a bag filled with the dropped articles. The article transfer device is provided with
a tubular part and a gaseous material outlet part. The tubular part is provided with
an upper end opening adapted to receive the articles being dropped in from above,
a lower end opening adapted to direct the articles to drop into the form-fill-seal
machine. An inner space is defined within the tubular part between the upper end opening
and the lower end opening. An upper part of the inner space of the tubular part has
a greater cross-sectional area than the cross-sectional area of a lower part of the
inner space. The tubular member includes plurality of holes open to the inner space,
the plurality of holes being arranged with respect to one another defining a helical
shape pattern (the shape of a wound wire) about an inner peripheral surface the tubular
part. Pressurized gaseous material is provided from the gaseous material outlet part
to the plurality of holes of the tubular part and into the inner space of the tubular
part.
[0006] Herein, gaseous material is spouted out through the gaseous material outlet part
and into the inner space of the tubular part from the plurality of holes arranged
in a helical shape on the inner peripheral surface thereof. In so doing, the gaseous
material moves in a helically shaped flow within the inner space, and rotational force
(gyrational force) along the inner peripheral surface of the tubular part acts on
the articles dropping through the inner space of the tubular part. The dropped articles
are thereby made to move through to the form-fill-seal machine while undergoing a
gyrating motion, improving the process of filling of the bag with the articles in
the form-fill-seal machine.
[0007] The gaseous material may be made either to spout continuously or to spout intermittently
through the gaseous material outlet part from the plurality of holes of the tubular
part toward the inner space thereof.
[0008] Also, the cross-sectional area of the inner space of the tubular part preferably
has a gradual increase from the lower end opening toward the upper end opening. In
other words, the tubular part has an overall funnel-shape. In such a case, the inner
peripheral surface will not have any steeply stepped parts or the like, thus providing
a greater reduction in damage to the articles caused when the articles collide with
the inner peripheral surface.
[0009] There is an angle of inclination of the inner peripheral surface of the tubular part,
relative to a vertical line, that is preferably 3° to 25°. The reason for this is
that when the angle of incline is greater than 25°, the articles will physically collide
with the inner peripheral surface with greater frequency and the articles will inevitably
suffer a certain degree of damage, even though, for example, the gaseous material
is spouted to the inner space from the plurality of holes formed in the inner peripheral
surface. In cases addressing potato chips and other articles having a low specific
gravity, it is further preferable to set the angle of incline within the range of
3° to 20°.
[0010] A bag-making system according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention
is a bag-making system composed of the article transfer device according to the preferred
embodiment of the present invention described above as well as of a form-fill-seal
machine. The form-fill-seal machine has a former part for shaping a sheet of a packaging
material into a tube, and a lateral sealing part for laterally sealing the tubular
packaging material in a state where articles have been dropped into the packaging
material that has been made into a tube by the former part. The form-fill-seal machine
also produces a bag filled with the articles. The article transfer device is positioned
above the former part of the form-fill-seal machine and allows the articles to drop
through to the interior space of the tubular packaging material.
<Advantageous Effects of Invention>
[0011] According to the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the articles will
drop through to the form-fill-seal machine while engaging in a gyrating motion, and
the articles are compactly collected in the form-fill-seal machine.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0012] FIG 1 is a schematic perspective view of an article transfer device according to
an embodiment of the present invention, as well as of a form-fill-seal machine and
a weighing machine.
[0013] FIG 2 is a block diagram representing schematically the control connections between
the article transfer device, the form-fill-seal machine, and the weighing machine.
[0014] FIG 3 is a schematic perspective view illustrating the arrangement of the article
transfer device relative to the primary components of the form-fill-seal machine.
[0015] FIG 4 is a schematic view of the article transfer device, including a side view of
the funnel-shaped structure.
[0016] FIG 5 is a plan view of the funnel-shaped structure.
[0017] FIG 6 is a cross-sectional view along arrow VI-VI of FIG 5.
[0018] FIG 7 is a drawing illustrating the state of the articles when being dropped into
the article transfer device and the form-fill-seal machine with the form-fill-seal
machine beginning to form laterally extending sealed portions on the packaging material.
[0019] FIG 8 is a drawing illustrating the state of the articles when being dropped into
the article transfer device and the form-fill-seal machine with the form-fill-seal
machine completing the laterally extending sealed portions on the packaging material
and cutting off a formed bag with the dropped articles inside the bag.
DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS
(Overall Schematic)
[0020] FIG 1 illustrates a bag-making system composed of an upright form-fill-seal machine
3 as well as an article transfer device 4 according to an embodiment of the present
invention, together with a weighing machine 2 disposed thereabove. The bag-making
system produces a bag by shaping a film into a tube, dropping potato chips or other
articles (food products) having a low apparent specific gravity, serving as the articles,
into the tube shaped film, and then vertically and laterally sealing the film to form
a bag filed with the articles.
[0021] The articles are dropped in by predetermined amounts from the weighing machine 2
above the article transfer device 4 of the bag-making system. The weighing machine
2 is a combination weighing device constituted of a feeder, a pool hopper 24, a weighing
hopper 25, an aggregate discharge chute 26, and other elements.
[0022] To increase the efficiency with which the articles are filled in the form-fill-seal
machine 3, the article transfer device 4 applies pressure to the articles such that
the articles are turned along an inner peripheral surface 40c of an inner funnel member
41 to be described later, and spouts air from the inner peripheral surface 40c so
as to reduce damage to the articles (which, in a case where the articles are potato
chips, could be cracking of the potato chips) caused by the contact between the inner
peripheral surface 40c and the articles.
[0023] The articles, which have been dropped from the weighing machine 2 into the article
transfer device 4, and are then dropped further downward from the article transfer
device 4, enter the form-fill-seal machine 3. The form-fill-seal machine 3 is provided
with a form-fill-seal unit 5, which is a body component for bagging the articles (see
FIG 3); a film supply unit 6 for supplying the form-fill-seal unit 5 with a film F
to be made into a bag; and a control device 90 for controlling the movements of the
actuated portions of both units 5, 6 (see FIG 2). The form-fill-seal machine 3 continuously
produces bags B filled with the articles (see FIGS. 3 and 8) by covering the articles
with a film and then vertically sealing and laterally sealing the tube of the film.
(Film supply unit of the form-fill-seal machine)
[0024] The film supply unit 6 is a unit for supplying a shaping mechanism 13 of the form-fill-seal
unit 5 with a sheet of the film F, and is provided adjacent to the form-fill-seal
unit 5. A film roll 6b around which the film F is wound is positioned in the film
supply unit 6, and the film F is reeled out from the film roll 6b.
[0025] The film F reeled out from the film roll 6b is conveyed by being dispensed by the
operation of a dispensing motor 6a for causing the film roll 6b to rotate (see FIG
2), and then stretched out toward the form-fill-seal unit 5 by the operation of a
pull-down belt mechanism 14 of the form-fill-seal unit 5, to be described later. The
movements of the dispensing motor 6a and the pull-down belt mechanism 14 are controlled
by the control device 90.
(Form-fill-seal unit of the form-fill-seal machine)
[0026] The form-fill-seal unit 5, as illustrated in FIG 3, has the shaping mechanism 13
for shaping the film F, which is issued in a sheet, into a tube; the pull-down belt
mechanism 14 for downwardly conveying the film F that has taken a tubular shape (hereinafter
called the tubular film Fm); a vertical sealing mechanism 15 for vertically sealing
the overlapping portions of both edges of the tubular film Fm; and a lateral sealing
mechanism 17 for heat-sealing the upper and lower end parts of a bag B by laterally
sealing the tubular film Fm.
(Shaping mechanism 13)
[0027] The shaping mechanism 13 has a tube 13b and a former 13a. The tube 13b is a cylindrical
member, the upper and lower ends of which are open. A round opening at the upper end
of the tube 13b is connected to a lower end opening 40b of a funnel-shaped structure
of the article transfer device 4, to be described later.
[0028] The former 13a is disposed so as to surround the tube 13b. The former 13a shapes
a sheet of the film F so as to be wound around the circumference of the tube 13b (see
FIG 3). The sheet of the film F reeled out from the film roller 6b is shaped into
a tube upon passing between the former 13a and the lower tube 13b; the upper surface
of the film F becomes an inner peripheral surface of the tubular film Fm, and the
lower surface of the film F becomes an outer peripheral surface of the tubular film
Fm.
(Pull-down belt mechanism 14)
[0029] The pull-down belt mechanism 14 is a mechanism for chucking and downwardly conveying
the tubular film Fm that has been wound around the tube 13b, and, as illustrated in
FIG 3, has belts 14c provided to each of the left and right sides thereof across the
tube 13b. In the pull-down belt mechanism 14, the belts 14c, which function so as
to perform chucking, are turned by an actuation roller 14a and a driven roller 14b,
thus bearing the tubular film Fm downward. However, FIG 3 omits an illustration of
a roller actuation motor, which causes the actuation roller 14a and the like to rotate.
(Vertical sealing mechanism 15)
[0030] The vertical sealing mechanism 15 is a mechanism for vertically sealing the overlapping
portions of the tubular film Fm that has been wound around the tube 13b, using heating
while pressing down on the tube 13b with a predetermined amount of pressure. The vertical
sealing mechanism 15 is positioned at the front side of the tube 13b and has a heater,
as well as a heater belt, which is heated by the heater and is in contact with the
overlapping portions of the tubular film Fm. The vertical sealing mechanism 15 is
also provided with an actuation device (not shown) adapted to bring the heater belt
closer to or farther away from the tube 13b.
(Lateral sealing mechanism 17)
[0031] The lateral sealing mechanism 17 is disposed below the shaping mechanism 13, the
pull-down belt mechanism 14, and the vertical sealing mechanism 15. The lateral sealing
mechanism 17 is a mechanism that includes a pair of sealing jaws 51 having a built-in
heater (see FIGS. 3, 7 and 8).
[0032] The pair of sealing jaws 51 gyrate in a substantially D-shaped manner while tracing
mutually symmetrical trajectories. The actuation mechanism used for the gyrating movement
is, for example, the technique disclosed in
U.S. Patent No. 5,881,539 (which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety), and is provided with
a jaw-pushing motor 51a and a gyrating motor 51b, which are illustrated in FIG 2.
The pair of sealing jaws 51 that gyrate in a substantially D-shaped manner clasp the
tubular film Fm in a state of being mutually pushed together, where (lateral) sealing
is performed by the application of pressure and heat to a portion of the tubular film
Fm that is to become the upper and lower end parts of the bag. In addition, a cutter
(not shown) is built into the interior of one of the sealing jaws 51. The cutter is
responsible for separating the bag B from the tubular film Fm that follows, at a central
position in the height direction of the portion laterally sealed by the sealing jaws
51. As illustrated in FIG 8, the lateral sealing forms a lower sealed part B1 and
an upper sealed part B2 on the bag B that has been separated.
(Article transfer device)
[0033] The article transfer device 4 is a device deployed with the objective of increasing
the compactness in the vertical direction of articles (see the group of articles C2
in FIG 8) that are dropped through the inside of the tubular film Fm toward the lower
sealed part B1. Deploying the article transfer device 4 improves the efficiency at
which the tubular film Fm following the lower sealed part B1 can be filled with the
group of articles, and reduces the amount of dead space (space in which there are
no articles) in the interior space of the tubular film Fm in the state where the group
of articles is present inside. Specifically, without the article transfer device 4,
the state of distribution of the group of articles in the interior space of the tubular
film Fm becomes an inverted cone shape, but deploying the article transfer device
4 causes the articles to also enter the two side portions of the space directly above
the lower sealed part B1.
[0034] The article transfer device 4 is constituted primarily of the funnel-shaped structure
40 and a high pressure air supply pipe 49.
[0035] The funnel-shaped structure 40, as illustrated in FIGS. 4 to 6, is a tubular structure
made of transparent plastic composed of the inner funnel member 41, an outer funnel
member 43, an upper circular lid member 45, and a lower circular lid member 47. The
funnel-shaped structure also has an upper end opening 40a formed at the upper end
thereof and a lower end opening 40b formed at the lower end thereof.
[0036] The inner funnel member 41, which opens both above and below, is a funnel-shaped
member surrounding an inner space S2 of the funnel-shaped structure 40, and the inner
peripheral surface thereof serves as the inner peripheral surface 40c of the funnel-shaped
structure 40. A plurality of air ejection holes 41c lined up in a helical shape are
formed in the inner peripheral surface 40c, from the upper part to the lower part.
Herein, 30 or more of the air ejection holes 41c are formed, as illustrated in FIG
5, which is a top plan view. As seen in this plan view, the air ejection holes 41c
are lined up along a curved line (see FIG 5) that approaches closer and closer to
the center while gyrating (a spiraling line), being herein lined up along a spiraling
line that wraps twice around the inner surface of the inner funnel member 41 in the
spiral or helical shape. The opening at the lower end of the inner funnel member 41
serves as the lower end opening 40b of the funnel-shaped structure 40. Also, as illustrated
in FIGS. 4 to 6, the inner space S2 of the funnel-shaped structure 40, which is the
space inside the funnel-shaped inner funnel member 41, has a greater cross-sectional
area at the upper part than the cross-sectional area at the lower part, and the cross-sectional
area of the inner space S2 gradually increases from the lower end opening 40b toward
the upper end opening 40a.
[0037] The outer funnel member 43 is a funnel-shaped member having a greater outer diameter
than the inner funnel member 41 at any height position. The inner peripheral surface
and outer peripheral surface of both the outer funnel member 43 and the inner funnel
member 41 all have an equivalent angle of incline relative to a vertical line, the
angle of incline being set within the range of 3° to 25°. A round hole is formed in
the outer funnel member 43, and a socket at the distal end of the high pressure air
supply pipe 49 (described below) is mounted in this round hole.
[0038] The upper circular lid member 45 and a lower circular lid member 47 are members provided
in order to block off, from both above and below, the tubular space sandwiched by
the tubular inner funnel member 41 and outer funnel member 43. The upper circular
lid member 45 and the lower circular lid member 47 may be shaped integrally with the
inner funnel member 41 or the outer funnel member 43, or may be separate bodies. The
tubular space sandwiched between the inner funnel member 41 and the outer funnel member
43, which is blocked off by the upper circular lid member 45 and the lower circular
lid member 47, is hereinafter referred to as a high pressure air supply space S1 (see
FIGS. 4 and 6) and serves as a manifold. An opening of the upper circular lid member
45 serves as the upper end opening 40a of the funnel-shaped structure 40.
[0039] The high pressure air supply pipe 49 has a tip that connects to the round hole formed
in the outer funnel member 43 via the socket, and sends high pressure air into the
high pressure air supply space S1 of the funnel-shaped structure 40. The high pressure
air is supplied to the high pressure air supply pipe 49 from a high pressure air supply
source 100 (see FIG 4), which is high pressure air supply equipment within a factory
such as a blower or other fan mechanism. The high pressure air supply pipe 49 is also
equipped with an air shut-off valve 4a. The instruction to open or close the air shut-off
valve 4a comes from the control device 90, described below.
(Control device)
[0040] The control device 90 is intended to control the weighing machine 2 and the opening
and closing of the air shut-off valve 4a of the article transfer device 4 and also
to control the form-fill-seal machine 3, and has a CPU, ROM, RAM, and other elements.
The control device 90 controls the actuated portions and the like of each of the mechanisms
of the film supply unit 6 and the form-fill-seal unit 5, in accordance with an operation
and/or setting inputted from an operation switch 7 and/or a touch panel display 8
illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2. The control device 90 also controls the actuation of
the feeder, the pull hopper 24, the weighing hopper 25, and other elements of the
weighing machine 2. The control device 90 further takes required information from
various sensors positioned on the weighing machine 2 and the form-fill-seal machine
3, and uses the information in various different controls.
[0041] The control device 90 is responsible for issuing instructions to open or close to
the pull-down belt mechanism 14, vertical sealing mechanism 15, and lateral sealing
mechanism 17 of the form-fill-seal unit 5, as well as to the air shut-off valve 4a
of the article transfer device 4.
(Roles and features of the article transfer device for dropping articles through to
the form-fill-seal machine)
(1)
[0042] The article transfer device 4 receives, from the upper end opening 40a of the funnel-shaped
structure 40, a group of articles dropped in from the weighing machine 2 (see the
group of articles C in FIG 3). Thereafter, as the group of articles drops through
the inner space S2 of the funnel-shaped structure 40 (see the group of articles C3
in FIG 7), the group of articles falls through into the tube 13b of the form-fill-seal
machine 3 from the lower end opening 40b of the funnel-shaped structure 40 (see the
group of articles C3 in FIG 8). At the time the group of articles is dropping through
the inner space S2 of the funnel-shaped structure 40, high pressure air is sent into
the high pressure air supply space S1 of the funnel-shaped structure 40 from the high
pressure air supply pipe 49, and the high pressure air present in the high pressure
air supply space S1 is spouted into the inner space S2 from the plurality of air ejection
holes 41c lined up in a helical shape. The bags B are continuously produced by the
form-fill-seal machine 3, and an air flow that flows downward from above is also created
in the inner space S2 of the article transfer device 4, which is connected to the
tube 13b of the form-fill-seal machine 3. The air being spouted from the air ejection
holes 41 lined up in a helical shape converges with this air flow, whereby, in the
inner space S2 of the funnel-shaped structure 40, there is created a downwardly oriented,
helically shaped spinning flow of air along the inner peripheral surface 40c of the
funnel-shaped structure 40, as illustrated by the double-dotted lines in FIGS. 7 and
8.
[0043] Because of the helically shaped spinning air flow created in the inner space S2 of
the funnel-shaped structure 40, the group of articles being dropped in from the weighing
machine 2 will form a line and will fall through to the form-fill-seal machine 3 in
a state where centrifugal force is being applied. The articles are thereby made to
also enter the two side portions of the interior space of the tubular film Fm directly
above the lower sealed part B1 in the form-fill-seal machine 3, thus reducing the
amount of dead space (space in which there are no articles) in the interior space
of the tubular film Fm. That is, the efficiency with which the articles are filled
is improved by the creation of the helically shaped spinning flow in the inner space
S2 of the funnel-shaped structure 40.
[0044] It is also possible to employ a configuration in which the spinning flow is generated
in the space below the former 13a of the form-fill-seal machine 3, but at such a height
position, there is almost no effect even when the spinning flow hits the group of
articles, the result being that dead space still remains, without any change. By contrast,
in the bag-making system of the present embodiment, which deploys the article transfer
device 4 above the form-fill-seal machine 3, because the helically shaped spinning
flow of air hits the group of articles at such a height position, it is possible to
reduce the amount of dead space in the interior space of the tubular film Fm in a
state where the group of articles is present inside.
(2)
[0045] Further, in the article transfer device 4 according to the present embodiment, the
cross-sectional area of the inner space S2 gradually increases from the lower end
opening 40b toward the upper end opening 40a, and the surface surrounding the inner
space S2, i.e., the inner peripheral surface 40c of the inner funnel member 41 has
an angle of incline set within the range of 3° to 25° relative to a vertical line.
Therefore, the inner peripheral surface 40c of the inner funnel member 41 has no steeply
stepped parts, and almost no damage to the articles caused when the articles collide
with the inner peripheral surface 40c will occur. The reason for this is that air
spouted from the air ejection holes 41c lined up in a helical shape and formed in
the inner funnel member 41 will assume a helically shaped spinning flow along the
inner peripheral surface 40c, and will mitigate or absorb the collision energy imparted
when the articles collide with the inner peripheral surface 40c.
[0046] The following illustrates specific experimental results relating to (1) and (2) described
above.
(Examples)
<Testing Conditions>
Sample (articles): Corn chips
[0047] Capacity: 120 bpm (120 bags/min) to 130 bpm at continuous bag production
[0048] Bag size A: 152 mm wide, 200 mm tall (140 mm wide, 190 tall)
[0049] Bag size B: 152 mm wide, 178 mm tall (140 mm wide, 170 mm tall)
[0050] The parentheses in A and B are the area occupied by the articles in the bag
<Weighing machine, article transfer device, and form-fill-seal machine used>
[0051] Weighing machine: CCW-R-214W made by Ishida Co., Ltd.
[0052] Form-fill-seal machine: ATLAS made by Ishida Co., Ltd.
[0053] The aforementioned article transfer device 4 illustrated in FIGS. 4 to 6
<Testing Summary and Evaluation Criteria>
[0054] Using the previously described small bag sizes, an unfavorable amount of 5% or more
of the corn chips are caught in the laterally sealed portion when the article transfer
device 4 is not deployed. Under these testing conditions, the article transfer device
4 was added to the bag-making system to evaluate whether the proportion of getting
caught in the laterally sealed portions (the poor sealing proportion) would fall within
an acceptable range.
<Testing Results>
[0055] The poor sealing proportion dropped to 1% or lower, which is an acceptable range.
(Modification Examples)
(A)
[0056] The description of the embodiment above assumed that the air shut-off valve 4a of
the article transfer device 4 is always open during the form-fill-seal process, but
it is also conceivable to open and close the air shut-off valve 4a according to the
timing of the lateral sealing operation of the form-fill-seal machine 3.
(B)
[0057] Also, in the embodiment described above, the high pressure air supply space S1 is
formed in the funnel-shaped structure 40, between the two funnel members 41, 43, and
high pressure air is supplied thereto, but a tube for supplying high pressure air
may also be directly connected to the air ejection holes 41c of the inner funnel member
41, without the use of the outer funnel member 43.
[0058] REFERENCE SIGNS LIST
- 2:
- Weighing machine
- 3:
- Form-fill-seal machine
- 4:
- Article transfer device
- 13:
- Shaping mechanism
- 13a: Former 13b:
- Tube
- 17:
- Lateral sealing mechanism
- 40:
- Funnel-shaped structure (tubular part)
- 40a:
- Upper end opening of the funnel-shaped structure
- 40b:
- Lower end opening of the funnel-shaped structure
- 40c:
- Interior peripheral surface of the funnel-shaped structure (= interior peripheral
surface of the inner funnel member)
- 41:
- Inner funnel member
- 41c:
- Air ejection holes of the inner funnel member, arrayed in a helical shape
- 43:
- Outer funnel member
- 45:
- Upper circular lid member
- 47:
- Lower circular lid member
- 49:
- High pressure air supply pipe (gaseous material outlet part)
- 90:
- Control device
- 100: High pressure air supply source B:
- Bag
- F:
- Sheet film (packaging material)
- Fm:
- Tubular film (tube of packaging material)
- S1:
- High pressure air supply space
- S2:
- Inner space of the funnel-shaped structure