BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
[0001] The present invention relates to a packaging system that comprises two intermittent
rotation-type bag filling and packaging apparatuses disposed in close proximity to
each other.
2. Description of the Related Art
[0002] An intermittent rotation-type bag filling and packaging apparatus is an apparatus
that holds two lateral edges of each one of bags using a pair of left and right grippers
and intermittently conveys the bags along a circular conveying path in equiangular
steps while successively performing packaging operations to each bag during the conveyance
such as opening the mouth of the bag, filling the bag with the material to be packaged,
sealing the mouth of the bag, and unloading a product bag (bag on which the packaging
operations have been completed).
[0003] The intermittent rotation-type bag filling and packaging apparatus includes a rotary
table which, for each of these packaging operations, has multiple pairs of right and
left grippers disposed around the periphery of the table. The rotary table intermittently
rotates, thereby causing the grippers to intermittently travel along circular travel
paths in equiangular steps.
[0004] Other various packaging devices of the intermittent rotation-type bag filing and
packaging apparatus include an empty bag supplying device that supplies empty bags
to the grippers, a mouth-opening device that opens the mouths of the bags held by
the grippers, a packaged material filling device that fills the bags held by the grippers
with material to be packaged, a mouth-sealing device that seals the mouths of the
bags held by the grippers, a product bag-unloading device that receives sealed product
bags from the grippers and removes them from the conveying path. These packaging devices
are disposed in the vicinity of the respective stop positions in the travel path of
the grippers and successively perform the above-mentioned packaging operations.
[0005] The intermittent rotation-type bag filling and packaging apparatuses generally comprises
two types. One type of intermittent rotation-type bag filling and packaging apparatus
uses a pair of right and left grippers to hold bags in an upright (vertical) orientation
so that the bag mouth faces upward (see Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (Kokai)
No.
2007-126208), and the other type uses a pair of right and left grippers that hold bags in a horizontal
attitude (see Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (Kokai) No.
H6-144403).
[0006] Intermittent rotation-type bag filling and packaging apparatuses have the following
advantages.
- (1) The packaging operations are carried out to grippers that have come to a stop
in the travel path or to bags that have come to a stop in the conveying path. Accordingly,
packaging can be performed in a reliable and stable manner.
- (2) Unlike continuous transport-type bag filling and packaging apparatuses (see Japanese
Patent Application Laid-Open (Kokai) No. 2001-72004), there is no need to provide follow-up mechanisms or synchronization mechanisms
for each packaging device. Accordingly, the construction of each packaging device
and the entire packaging apparatus can be made simpler and more compact, and costs
can be reduced.
- (3) Bags are conveyed along a circular conveying path in generally the bag width direction.
Accordingly, bag swing motions are less likely to occurs during bag conveying process
in comparison with intermittently conveying-type bag filling and packaging apparatuses,
in which bags are conveyed along a rectilinear conveying path in the thickness direction
of the bags (see Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (Kokai) No. 3-29650). In addition, various problems due to the swinging of the bags, such as, for example,
downward slippage of heavy bags filled with the material to be packaged from the initial
holding position of the grippers, the spilling of liquid substances that the bags
are filled with, and adhesion of liquid substances to the portion to be sealed on
the inner surface of the mouth, are less likely to occur.
- (4) Each packaging device can be disposed around the periphery of the rotary tables,
namely, in the vicinity of the peripheral edges of the packaging apparatus. Accordingly,
it is easy to perform part replacements, to make adjustments, etc. associated with
changes in the type of the product to be handled. For this reason, intermittent rotation-type
bag filling and packaging apparatuses are highly versatile and easy to maintain and
clean. By contrast, in intermittently conveying-type bag filling and packaging apparatuses
(see Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (Kokai) No. 3-29650), the packaging devices are disposed in the vicinity of the central portion of the
packaging apparatus; accordingly, part replacements, adjustments, maintenance, cleaning,
and the like are relatively difficult.
- (5) The bag conveying path is circular. Accordingly, intermittent rotation-type bag
filling and packaging apparatuses can effectively utilize substantially all of the
conveying path for packaging and can provide space-saving and effective packaging
operations. To the contrary, in intermittently conveying-type bag filling and packaging
apparatuses (see Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (Kokai) No. 3-29650), no packaging operations can be performed in the return portion of the chain conveyor.
[0007] Although the intermittent rotation-type bag filling and packaging apparatuses possess
the above-described advantages, they have structural limitations on their speed of
operation, and their processing power is inferior to that of continuous transport-type
bag filling and packaging apparatuses. In addition, since intermittent rotation-type
bag filling and packaging apparatuses convey bags in the bag width direction, they
have a longer single conveying distance (conveying distance between the intermittent
stop positions) than intermittently conveying-type bag filling and packaging apparatuses,
which convey bags in the thickness direction (see Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open
(Kokai) No.
3-29650), and their processing power is inferior to that of intermittently conveying-type
bag filling and packaging apparatuses. Therefore, in order to achieve improvements
in processing capacity while exploiting the advantages of intermittent rotation-type
bag filling and packaging apparatuses, multiple-bag intermittent rotation-type bag
filling and packaging apparatuses (see United States Patent No.
5,845,466 and Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (Kokai) No.
H10-77120) have been proposed, in which multiple empty bags are simultaneously fed to multiple
pairs of grippers on rotary tables, and, while the multiple bags are being conveyed,
the same packaging operations are simultaneously performed on the multiple bags in
each stop position.
[0008] However, in multiple-bag intermittent rotation-type bag filling and packaging apparatuses,
the diameter of the rotary tables, i.e., the diameter of the bag conveying path, is
inevitably larger, and the conveying distance between the intermittent stop positions
is also longer. This results in that even if the speed of rotation of the rotary tables
is the same, the speed of bag conveyance and their acceleration/deceleration are high
in comparison with ordinary single-bag intermittent rotation-type bag filling and
packaging apparatuses. Accordingly, the bag swinging associated with intermittent
transport increases, and there is a risk that various problems may arise due to such
swinging (see (3) above). The problem is that, for this reason, in multiple-bag intermittent
rotation-type bag filling and packaging apparatuses the speed of rotation of the rotary
tables has to be made slower in comparison with single-bag intermittent rotation-type
bag filling and packaging apparatuses, and, as a result, their processing power cannot
be significantly improved. Consequently, in multiple-bag intermittent rotation-type
bag filling and packaging apparatuses, improvement in the processing capacity is made
by designing them such that the width dimensions of the bags being fed are limited
to relatively small sizes and the diameter of the rotary tables is not excessively
large.
[0009] On the other hand, installation of multiple intermittent rotation-type bag filling
and packaging apparatuses has also been practiced in the past in order to achieve
improvements in the processing capacity while exploiting the advantages of intermittent
rotation-type bag filling and packaging apparatuses (see Japanese Patent Application
Laid-Open (Kokai) No.
H10-77120). However, the problem therein is that installing multiple intermittent rotation-type
bag filling and packaging apparatuses requires a great amount of space for installation,
and each packaging apparatus requires an operator (mainly for replenishing the supply
of empty bags). In addition, each intermittent rotation-type bag filling and packaging
apparatus needs to be provided with its own drive source, and moreover if product
bags from individual intermittent rotation-type bag filling and packaging apparatuses
are merged into a single stream, it is necessary to install dedicated equipment to
deal with it, which makes the product bag carry-out line more complicated.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0010] The present invention is devised in view of the current state of the art in the field
of intermittent rotation-type bag filling and packaging apparatuses, and it is an
object of the invention to provide a packaging system that accomplishes improvements
in processing capacity with a pair of intermittent rotation-type bag filling and packaging
apparatuses and further contributes installation space reduction and power savings
in comparison with the existing art while at the same time simplifies product bag
carry-out lines for such two packaging apparatuses.
[0011] The above object is accomplished by a unique structure of the present invention for
a packaging system that includes:
two intermittent rotation-type bag filling and packaging apparatuses which are disposed
in close proximity to each other so as to, while holding two lateral edges of each
of bags using a pair of left and right grippers and intermittently conveying the bags
along a circular conveying path in equiangular steps, successively perform the same
packaging operations during the conveyance of the bags such as opening the mouth of
the bag, filling the bag with the material to be packaged, sealing the mouth of the
bag, and unloading product bags, and
each intermittent rotation-type bag filling and packaging apparatus is provided with:
a rotary table that has multiple pairs of right and left grippers disposed around
its periphery and intermittently rotates, thereby causing the grippers to intermittently
travel along a circular travel path in equiangular steps;
an empty bag supplying device that supplies empty bags to the grippers;
a mouth-opening device that opens the mouths of the bags held by the grippers;
a packaged material filling device that fills the bags held by the grippers with material
to be packaged;
a mouth-sealing device that seals the mouths of the bags held by the grippers; and
a product bag unloading device that receives sealed product bags from the grippers
and removes the bags from the conveying path, and
the empty bag supplying device, mouth-opening device, packaged material filling device,
mouth-sealing device, and product bag unloading device are disposed in the vicinity
of stop positions in the travel path of the grippers, and
in this packaging system,
the two rotary tables are disposed adjacent each other on a common base and connected
to a common drive source so as to intermittently rotate in mutually opposite directions
in the same intermittent indexing mode,
for each rotary table, an empty bag supplying device, a mouth-opening device, a packaged
material filling device, a mouth-sealing device, and a product bag unloading device
are provided on the base, and
the empty bag supplying devices and product bag unloading devices are disposed adjacent
each other between the two rotary tables.
[0012] In this system, the product bag unloading devices can be disposed adjacent each other
in the most mutually proximate stop positions among stop positions of the grippers
disposed on both rotary tables, and the empty bag supplying devices are disposed adjacent
each other in mutually proximate stop positions that follow, in terms of the direction
of rotation of the two rotary tables, the most mutually proximate stop positions.
[0013] Furthermore, the empty bag supplying devices can be disposed adjacent each other
in the most mutually proximate stop positions among stop positions of the grippers
disposed on both rotary tables, and the product bag unloading devices are disposed
adjacent each other in mutually proximate stop positions that precede, in terms of
the direction of rotation of the two rotary tables, the most mutually proximate stop
positions.
[0014] It should be noted that "the same intermittent indexing mode" means that for both
rotary tables, the duration of a single cycle of motion and stationary state, the
distribution of travel time and stationary time during a single cycle, and the indexing
angles are identical during the intermittent indexing motion of the rotary tables.
[0015] The packaging system according to the present invention can take the form of the
following embodiments listed as examples:
- (1) The timing of stop and rotation of the intermittent rotation of the two rotary
tables is set to be substantially inverse to each other.
- (2) In the above structure in which the tables rotate in opposite directions, the
two intermittent rotation-type bag filling and packaging apparatuses have a common
carry-out conveyor installed to discharge product bags supplied by each product bag
unloading device in an alternating manner.
- (3) In the two intermittent rotation-type bag filling and packaging apparatuses, the
empty bag supplying devices, mouth-opening devices, packaged material filling devices,
mouth-sealing devices, and product bag unloading devices are disposed in linearly
symmetrical positions so that a line perpendicular to the line that connects the rotary
shafts of the two rotary tables serves as an axis of symmetry.
- (4) The grippers disposed on the rotary tables are of the duplex type, in which two
pairs constitute a single set, and the holding surfaces of the two pairs of grippers
of the same set used when holding a bag are disposed substantially in the same plane.
When two bags held by two pairs of grippers of the same set are intermittently moved
along the travel path, the above-described packaging operations are simultaneously
performed on these two bags.
- (5) The bags held by the grippers are in an upright orientation, with the bag mouths
facing upward.
[0016] As seen from the above, in the packaging system according to the present invention,
the two rotary tables are rotated in opposite directions, and two empty bag supplying
devices and two product bag unloading devices are disposed adjacent each other on
a common base between the two rotary tables. With this arrangement, the spacing between
the two rotary tables can be narrower, and installation space reduction can be achieved
for the entire packaging system.
[0017] In addition, such an arrangement as described above allows the direction of empty
bag to be supplied to the two adjacent empty bag supplying devices to be the same.
As a result, the burden of the operator who replenishes the supply of empty bags to
the empty bag supplying device is greatly mitigated, and even a single operator can
take care of the operation and management of the entire packaging system (that comprises
two intermittent rotation-type bag filling and packaging apparatuses).
[0018] Furthermore, since the two product unloading devices are disposed adjacent each other,
the product bags unloaded from the two intermittent rotation-type bag filling and
packaging apparatuses are collected in a single location. Accordingly, the product
bag transport line used to transport the product bags for post-processing is shared
by the two intermittent rotation-type bag filling and packaging apparatuses and thus
can be simplified, which also leads to installation space reduction.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS
[0019]
FIG. 1 is a top view illustrating an example of a packaging system according to the
present invention.
FIG. 2 is a top view illustrating another example of a packaging system according
to the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a top view illustrating yet another example of a packaging system according
to the present invention.
FIG. 4 is a top view illustrating still another example of a packaging system according
to the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0020] Below, a packaging system according to the present invention will be described in
detail below with reference to Figures 1 to 4.
[0021] The packaging system illustrated in FIG. 1 is comprised of two intermittent rotation-type
bag filling and packaging apparatuses 2, 3 which are installed adjacent each other
on a common base 1. The intermittent rotation-type bag filling and packaging apparatuses
2, 3 include rotary tables 5, 6, respectively, that have multiple pairs (8x2 sets)
of right and left grippers 4 disposed around their periphery. The rotary tables 5,
6 intermittently rotate, thereby causing the grippers 4 to intermittently travel along
the circular travel paths in equiangular steps. The diameters of the travel paths
of the grippers 4 of the rotary tables 5, 6 are set to be the same.
[0022] The intermittent rotation-type bag filling and packaging apparatuses 2, 3 make a
duplex intermittent rotation-type bag filling and packaging apparatus (see Japanese
Patent Application Laid-Open (Kokai) No.
2005-67644), in which two empty bags are simultaneously supplied to two pairs of grippers of
the rotary tables 5, 6 and various packaging operations are simultaneously performed
on the supplied two bags in each stop position while the two bags are being conveyed
along the predetermined conveying paths.
[0023] A drive motor, etc. (not shown), which serves as a common drive source to rotate
the rotary tables 5, 6, is provided in the base 1. The drive force of the drive motor
is transmitted to the index devices (not shown) of the rotary tables 5, 6 through
reduction gears (not shown) and is then transmitted to the rotary tables 5, 6. The
transmission of the drive force to the index devices of the rotary tables 5, 6 can
be individually enabled or blocked using, e.g., a clutch.
[0024] The intermittent indexing modes of the rotary tables 5, 6 (or the duration of a single
cycle of motion and stationary state, the distribution of travel time and stationary
time during a single cycle, and the indexing angles) are set using the indexing devices
such that they are identical. In addition, the rotary tables 5, 6 are intermittently
rotated in mutually opposite directions (the rotary table 5 of the intermittent rotation-type
bag filling and packaging apparatus 2 is rotated counterclockwise while the rotary
table 6 of the intermittent rotation-type bag filling and packaging apparatus 3 is
rotated clockwise) and, at the same time, the timing of moving (rotation) and stopping
is set to be substantially inverse to each other. In FIG. 1, the rotary table 5 is
at a stop while the rotary table 6 is moving (rotating). In this manner, since the
timing of moving and stopping of the rotary tables 5, 6 is set to be substantially
inverse to each other (the timing of moving and stopping is shifted by a half-cycle),
the load applied to the drive source is evened out, and it is possible to render the
drive source more compact and improve its durability without reducing the processing
power of the packaging system.
[0025] During each complete revolution, the rotary tables 5, 6 stop eight times at equiangular
intervals, respectively. The position of closest proximity between the travel path
of the grippers 4 of the rotary table 5 and the travel path of the grippers 4 of the
rotary table 6 is selected as one of the stop positions (stop position H of the table
5 and stop position h of the table 6) of the grippers 4 in the travel path, and seven
other stop positions (A-G of the table 5 and a-g of the table 6) are set at angular
intervals of 45° from the stop positions H, h along the travel paths.
[0026] Product bag unloading devices 8, 9, which removes the product bags 7A out of the
conveying path, are disposed so as to be adjacent each other on the base 1 in the
vicinity of the most proximate stop positions H, h among the stop positions A-H and
stop positions a-h, respectively. In addition, empty bag supplying devices 10, 11,
which supply bags 7 (which are also called "empty bags 7") to the grippers 4, are
provided adjacent each other on the base 1 in the vicinity of the next (in terms of
the direction of rotation of the tables) stop positions A, a, respectively.
[0027] Further provided on the base 1 so as to surround the rotary tables 5, 6, respectively,
are:
bag height sensors 12 (for table 5), 13 (for table 6), which are disposed in the vicinity
of stop positions B, b to detect the height of the bags 7 held by the grippers 4;
mouth-opening devices 14 (for table 5), 15 (for table 6), which are disposed in the
vicinity of stop positions C, c to open the mouths of the bags 7 held by the grippers
4;
packaged material filling devices 16 (for table 5), 17 (for table 6), which are disposed
in the vicinity of stop positions D, d to fill the bags 7 with the materials to be
packaged (solid materials);
packaged material filling devices 18 (for table 5), 19 (for table 6), which are disposed
in the vicinity of stop positions E, e to fill the bags 7 with the materials to be
packaged (liquid materials);
steam degassing devices 20 (for table 5), 21 (for table 6), which are disposed in
the vicinity of stop positions F, f to degas the inside of the bags 7 by blowing steam
into the bags 7; and
ultrasonic sealing devices 22 (for table 5), 23 (for table 6), which are disposed
in the vicinity of stop positions G, g to seal the mouths of the bags 7.
[0028] The product bag unloading devices 8 and 9, empty bag supplying devices 10 and 11,
bag height sensors 12 and 13, mouth-opening devices 14 and 15, packaged material filling
devices 16 and 17, packaged material filling devices 18 and 19, steam degassing devices
20 and 21, and ultrasonic sealing devices 22 and 23 are disposed in substantially
linearly symmetrical positions with reference to line Z which is perpendicular to
an imaginary line connecting the rotary shafts (X, Y) (or connecting the centers)
of the rotary tables 5, 6 and serves as an axis of symmetry.
[0029] The drive source that intermittently rotates the rotary tables 5, 6 is also the drive
source that actuates the various packaging devices that are described above and provided
around the tables 5, 6. The transmission of drive force to the various packaging devices,
which is done in the same manner as to the rotary tables 5, 6, can be enabled or blocked
using the clutch.
[0030] Furthermore, on the base 1, a quadruplex conveyor magazine-type empty bag supplying
device 24 is provided so that it extends from the outside onto the base 1 with its
front end being near the empty bag supplying devices 10, 11. In addition, below and
between the adjacent product bag unloading devices 8, 9, a product bag carry-out conveyor
25 is provided so that it extends out to the outside of the base 1. These conveyor
magazine-type empty bag supplying device 24 and product bag carry-out conveyor 25
are shared by the intermittent rotation-type bag filling and packaging apparatuses
2, 3, and therefore only one conveyor magazine-type empty bag supplying device 24
and one product bag carry-out conveyor 25 is sufficient for both filling and packaging
apparatuses.
[0031] The conveyor magazine-type empty bag supplying device 24 has quadruplex conveyors
24a-24d aligned longitudinally in parallel to each other. The right-hand duplex conveyors
24a, 24b simultaneously supply a total of two empty bags 7 to the empty bag supplying
device 10 of the intermittent rotation-type bag filling and packaging apparatus 2,
and the left-hand duplex conveyors 24c, 24d simultaneously supply a total of two empty
bags 7 to the empty bag supplying device 11 of the intermittent rotation-type bag
filling and packaging apparatus 3. The product bag carry-out conveyor 25 receives
product bags 7A, which are alternatingly discharged from the two filling and packaging
apparatuses 2, 3 two at a time, by the product bag unloading devices 8, 9 and carries
them out of the system for post-processing (for example, disinfection, boxing, and
the like). The direction of transport of the bags 7 in the conveyor magazine-type
empty bag supplying device 24 and the carrying-out direction of the product bags 7A
in the product bag carry-out conveyor 25 is the same, and these directions are perpendicular
to the imaginary line that connects the rotary shafts of the rotary tables 5, 6 (and
extends from the front side towards the opposite side in FIG. 1), thus being parallel
to line Z
[0032] The packaging operations successively performed in the intermittent rotation-type
bag filling and packaging apparatuses 2, 3 will be described below.
- (1) Empty bags 7 positioned at the distal end of the conveyor magazine-type empty
bag supplying device 24 are adhered by suction cups, not shown, and picked up thereby
from the conveyors 24a-24d, with the orientation of the bags 7 changed to a vertical
orientation, in which the mouths of the bags are oriented (or facing) upward (bags
in such a vertical orientation are indicated with reference number "7a" in FIG. 1).
[0033] Subsequently, the chuck members (not shown) of the empty bag supplying devices 10,
11 clamp the empty bags 7 (7a), change the orientation of the empty bags 7 by a predetermined
angle, while conveying them, in a horizontal plane, and supply them to the grippers
4 that have come to a stop in stop positions A, a (see the packaged bag supplying
device S described in Patent No.
5,044,844, and the supplying device described in Utility Model Registration No.
3123709) of the tables 5, 6, respectively The chuck members of the empty bag supplying device
10 and the chuck members of the empty bag supplying device 11 operate in mutually
opposite directions (in a linearly symmetrical manner).
[0034] The operation to supply the bags 7 (two at a time) to the grippers 4 of the intermittent
rotation-type bag filling and packaging apparatus 2 by the empty bag supplying device
10 and the operation to supply the bags 7 (two at a time) to the grippers 4 of the
intermittent rotation-type bag filling and packaging apparatus 3 by the empty bag
supplying device 11 are performed in an alternating manner.
[0035] In the above, the operation to supply the bags 7 to the two intermittent rotation-type
bag filling and packaging apparatuses 2, 3 (or to the empty bag supplying devices
10, 11) is executed using one conveyer magazine-type empty bag supplying device 24.
Accordingly, it is possible to render the packaging system more compact and reduce
its installation space, and the operation to replenish the supply of empty bags on
the conveyors 24a-24d can be easily performed by the operator. In addition, since
there is no need to provide two conveyer magazine-type empty bag supplying devices,
the entire packaging system can be simplified, and installation space can be reduced.
(2) In stop positions B, b, the height of the bags 7 held by the grippers 4 is checked
by the bag height sensors 12, 13, and the results are sent to a controller (not shown).
In this checking of the height of the bags 7, if the height of any bag(s) deviates
from the standard height by a specified value or more, then the controller (not shown)
designates such bag(s) 7 as defective, and in the subsequent stop position no packaging
operations are performed on such defective bag(s) 7. For example, in stop positions
G, g, the grippers 4 are opened and such defective bag(s) 7 is discharged from the
system through a chute and the like. Alternatively, packaging operations can still
be performed on such defective bag(s) 7 in the subsequent stop position such that
the elevation of the ultrasonic horn and anvil (not shown) of the ultrasonic sealing
devices 22,23 is adjusted depending on the deviation of the height from the standard
height.
(3) In stop positions C, c, the mouths of the bags 7 held by the grippers 4 are opened
by the mouth-opening devices 14, 15.
(4) In stop positions D, d, the bags 7 held by the grippers 4 are filled with the
material to be packaged (solid material) by the packaged material filling devices
16, 17.
(5) In stop positions E, e, the bags 7 held by the grippers 4 are filled with the
material to be packaged (liquid material) by the packaged material filling devices
18, 19.
(6) In stop positions F, f, steam is injected into the bags 7 held by the grippers
4 by the steam degassing devices 20,21 in order to degas the inside of the bags.
(7) In stop positions G, g, the mouths of the bags 7 held by the grippers 4 are sealed
by the ultrasonic sealing devices 22, 23.
(8) In stop positions H, h, the chuck members (not shown) of the product bag unloading
devices 8, 9 clamp the product bags 7A held by the grippers 4 and, after the grippers
4 are opened, convey the product bags 7A in a horizontal plane to the product bag
carry-out conveyer 25, and then release the product bags 7A onto the carry-out conveyer
25. While the product bags 7A are being conveyed, their orientation is changed 90°
in a horizontal plane. The product bag unloading devices 8, 9 are substantially the
same as the empty bag supplying devices 10, 11. The chuck members (not shown) of the
product bag unloading device 8 and the chuck members (not shown) of the product bag
unloading device 9 operate in mutually opposite directions (in a linearly symmetrical
manner).
[0036] The timing of the grippers 4 of the rotary table 5 coming to a stop in stop position
H and of the grippers 4 of the rotary table 6 coming to a stop in stop position h
are relatively shifted by a half-cycle, as a result of which the unloading of the
product bags 7A by the product bag unloading devices 8, 9 is carried out in an alternating
manner. Accordingly, the product bags 7A are transported out from the system in two
rows by the product bag carry-out conveyer 25 and sent to the next step (disinfection,
boxing, etc.).
[0037] Since the product bag unloading devices 8, 9 are disposed adjacent each other and
the product bags 7A are discharged onto a common product bag carry-out conveyer 25,
the product bag transport line is simplified and installation space can be reduced.
[0038] FIG. 2 shows another packaging system that differs from the packaging system illustrated
in FIG. 1
[0039] The difference of the packaging system of FIG. 2 from that of FIG. 1 is that the
timing of moving and stopping of the rotary tables 5, 6 is synchronized and, at the
same time, ordinary chutes (not shown; see the product discharge (14) described in
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (Kokai) No.
2007-126208), are provided adjacent each other in the vicinity of stop positions H, h as product
unloading devices instead of the product unloading devices 8, 9. In other respects,
the packaging system of FIG. 2 is essentially identical to the packaging system illustrated
in FIG. 1. In FIG. 2, parts that are substantially the same as the parts of the packaging
system illustrated in FIG. 1 are assigned the same reference numerals.
[0040] The packaging system illustrated in FIG. 2 is designed such that a total of four
(4) product bags 7A (two at a time) are simultaneously released from the grippers
4 that have come to a stop in stop positions H, h and fall onto the product bag carry-out
conveyer 25 through the chutes, and then the product bags 7A, aligned in two rows,
are transported out of the system and sent to the next step (disinfection, boxing,
etc.). In this packaging system of FIG. 2, the orientation of the product bags 7A
transported on the product bag carry-out conveyer 25 differs from the orientation
of transport in the packaging system illustrated in FIG. 1 by 90°, and the product
bags 7A are transported in the width direction.
[0041] FIG. 3 shows still another packaging system that differs from the packaging system
illustrated in FIG. 1
[0042] The difference of the packaging system of FIG. 3 from that of FIG. 1 is that the
timing of moving and stopping of the rotary tables 5, 6 is synchronized, and at the
same time the spacing between the rotary tables 5, 6 is set larger or slightly expanded
and the width of the product bag carry-out conveyer 25 is set also larger or increased.
In other respects, the packaging system of FIG. 3 is essentially identical to the
packaging system illustrated in FIG. 1. In FIG. 3, parts that are substantially the
same as the parts of the packaging system illustrated in FIG. 1 are assigned the same
numerals.
[0043] The packaging system illustrated in FIG. 3 is designed such that the two product
bags 7A held by the grippers 4 that have come to a stop in stop position H of the
table 5 are clamped by the chuck members (not shown) of the product bag unloading
device 8, and the two product bags 7A held by the grippers 4 that have come to a stop
in stop position h of the table 6 are clamped by the chuck members (not shown) of
the product bag unloading device 9. After the grippers 4 of both intermittent rotation-type
bag filling and packaging apparatuses 2, 3 are opened, the product bags 7A are conveyed
in a horizontal plane to the product bag carry-out conveyer 25, and, after reaching
the conveyor, the product bags 7A are released onto the carry-out conveyer 25. While
the four product bags 7A are being conveyed, their orientation is changed 90° in a
horizontal plane, and they are lined up in one row in the bag width direction on product
bag carry-out conveyer 25, such that the two product bags 7A clamped by the chuck
members of the product bag unloading device 8 fall on the right-hand side relative
to the center of the product bag carry-out conveyer 25 and, simultaneously, the two
product bag 7A clamped by the chuck members of the product bag unloading device 9
fall on the left-hand side relative to the center of the product bag carry-out conveyer
25. Consequently, the product bags 7A are transported out from the system in four
rows by the product bag carry-out conveyer 25 and sent to the next step (disinfection,
boxing, etc.).
[0044] In the above-described packaging systems, the two intermittent rotation-type bag
filling and packaging apparatuses 2, 3 are both operated; however, it is also possible
to operate only one of the apparatuses.
[0045] In addition, while in the above-described packaging systems the intermittent rotation-type
bag filling and packaging apparatuses are of a type in which the bags are held by
a pair of right and left grippers in an upright orientation with the bag mouth facing
upward, the present invention is also applicable to bag filling and packaging apparatuses
of the type in which the bags are held by a pair of right and left grippers in a horizontal
attitude (see Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (Kokai) No,
H6-144403).
[0046] Furthermore, while in the above-described packaging systems, the product bag unloading
devices 8, 9 are disposed adjacent each other in the vicinity of the most proximate
stop positions H, h, and the empty bag supplying devices 10, 11 are disposed adjacent
each other in the following stop positions A, a (located on the downstream side of
the stop positions H, h in terms of the direction of rotation of the tables), it is
also possible to provide the empty bag supplying devices 10, 11 in the vicinity of
stop positions H, h and provide the product bag unloading devices 8, 9 in the vicinity
of the preceding stop positions G, g (located on the upstream side of the stop positions
H, h in terms of the direction of rotation of the tables). One example of this structure
is shown in FIG. 4.
[0047] The packaging system shown in FIG. 4 differs from the packaging system of FIG. 3
in that the empty bag supplying devices 10, 11 are disposed adjacent each other in
the vicinity of the stop positions H, h, and the product bag unloading devices 8,
9 are disposed adjacent each other in the vicinity of the stop positions G, g that
precede the stop positions H, h. in terms of the direction of rotation of the rotary
tables 5, 6. In addition, in the packaging system shown in FIG. 4, the bag height
sensors 12 and 13, mouth-opening devices 14 and 15, packaged material filling devices
16 and 17, packaged material filling devices 18 and 19, steam degassing devices 20
and 21, and ultrasonic sealing devices 22 and 23 are disposed at locations shifted
45 degrees, in terms of the direction opposite (backward) to the direction of rotation
of the rotary tables 5 and 6, compared to the locations of those devices of the system
shown in FIG. 3. In FIG.4, parts that are substantially the same as the parts of the
packaging system illustrated in FIG. 1 are assigned the same reference numerals.
1. A packaging system wherein:
two intermittent rotation-type bag filling and packaging apparatuses, which are provided
in close proximity to each other, hold two lateral edges of each one of bags using
a pair of grippers to intermittently convey bags along a circular conveying path in
equiangular steps and successively perform, during conveyance of bags, same packaging
operations including opening mouths of bags, filling bags with material to be packaged,
sealing the mouths of the bags, and unloading product bags; and
each intermittent rotation-type bag filling and packaging apparatus comprises:
a rotary table that has multiple pairs of grippers disposed around a periphery thereof
and intermittently rotates, thereby causing the grippers to intermittently travel
along a circular travel path in equiangular steps;
an empty bag supplying device for supplying a bag to the grippers;
a mouth-opening device for opening a mouth of the bag held by the grippers;
a packaged material filling device for filling the bag held by the grippers with material
to be packaged;
a mouth-sealing device for sealing the mouth of the bag held by the grippers; and
a product bag unloading device that receives a sealed product bag from the grippers
and removes the product bag from the conveying path; and
the empty bag supplying device, mouth-opening device, packaged material filling device,
mouth-sealing device, and product bag unloading device are disposed in vicinity of
stop positions in the travel path of the grippers, and wherein:
said two rotary tables are disposed adjacent each other on a common base and connected
to a common drive source so as to intermittently rotate in mutually opposite directions
in a same intermittent indexing mode,
said empty bag supplying device, mouth-opening device, packaged material filling device,
mouth-sealing device, and product bag unloading device are provided on the base for
each one of said rotary tables, and
said empty bag supplying devices and product bag unloading devices are disposed adjacent
each other between said two rotary tables.
2. The packaging system according to claim 1, wherein said product bag unloading devices
are disposed adjacent each other in a most mutually proximate stop positions among
stop positions of the grippers disposed on both rotary tables, and said empty bag
supplying devices are disposed adjacent each other in mutually proximate stop positions
that follow, in terms of a direction of rotation of said two rotary tables, said most
mutually proximate stop positions.
3. The packaging system according to claim 1, wherein said empty bag supplying devices
are disposed adjacent each other in a most mutually proximate stop positions among
stop positions of the grippers disposed on both rotary tables, and said product bag
unloading devices are disposed adjacent each other in mutually proximate stop positions
that precede, in terms of a direction of rotation of said two rotary tables, said
most mutually proximate stop positions.
4. The packaging system according to any one of claims 1 through 3, wherein timing of
moving and stopping the intermittent rotation of said rotary tables is set to be substantially
inverse to each other.
5. The packaging system according to claim 4, wherein
said two intermittent rotation-type bag filling and packaging apparatuses are provided
with a common carry-out conveyor, and
said product bag unloading devices discharge the product bag in an alternating manner.
6. The packaging system according to claim 4 or 5, wherein in said two intermittent rotation-type
bag filling and packaging apparatuses, the empty bag supplying devices, mouth-opening
devices, packaged material filling devices, mouth-sealing devices, and product bag
unloading devices are disposed in linearly symmetrical positions with a line perpendicular
to a line that connects the rotary shafts of the two rotary tables serving as an axis
of symmetry.
7. The packaging system according to any one of claims 1 through 6, wherein
said grippers disposed on the rotary tables are of a duplex type, in which two pairs
of grippers constitute a single set, and
holding surfaces of said two pairs of grippers of a same set used when holding a bag
are disposed substantially in a same plane, and,
while two bags held by two pairs of grippers of the same set intermittently travel
along the travel path, the packaging operations are simultaneously performed on said
two bags.
8. The packaging system according to any one of claims 1 through 7, wherein the bag held
by said grippers is in an upright orientation with bag mouth thereof facing upward.