JP2000211615A - End-seal device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an end-seal device which can control the pressure in heat- sealing a film, and unifying the sealing condition of the film. SOLUTION: In a box-motion type end-seal device in which an upper sealer 12 and a lower sealer 14 are arranged opposite to each other across a thermal- bond type film, seal surfaces of both sealers are moved in a constantly opposite manner to each other, and at the same time, both sealers are moved synchronous with the film for the specified period in a condition where the film is held by both sealers with the specified pressure, the upper sealer is interlocked with a cylinder rod of an air cylinder 51. A solenoid valve 55 to regulate the quantity of supply and a pressure sensor 56 to measure the pressure of the supplied gas are provided in the middle of an air supply pipe 54 to the air cylinder. The sensor output of the pressure sensor is given to a controller 57 and the controller regulates the solenoid valve so that the sensor output is constant.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an end seal device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, in a horizontal automatic packaging machine,
The packaged article is transported at predetermined intervals, and the heat-meltable film is folded, overlapped, or formed into a predetermined shape in the middle of the transport, and surrounds the packaged article, and then,
A package is manufactured by heat sealing the overlapping edge of the film and cutting a predetermined portion. As the sealing device, a vertical sealing device that thermally seals in the same direction as the film traveling direction and a horizontal sealing device (a pair of upper and lower sealers) that seals in a direction perpendicular to the traveling direction are usually used. ), And a cutter means is incorporated in the end seal device so that cutting is performed simultaneously with the lateral sealing.

As the above-mentioned end seal device, a so-called box motion type end seal device is used in order to ensure a long sealing time and to obtain a desired seal strength by heat sealing. This box motion type end seal device consists of upper and lower sealers,
A predetermined locus, in which the lower sealer is always in a state where the respective seal surfaces are always opposed to each other, that is, the lower sealer is horizontally moved in a state in which both seal surfaces are in contact with each other, and then is rotated in a substantially arc shape while returning apart from each other. The trajectory is taken.

[0004] The movement for taking such a trajectory may be, for example, a method in which groove cams are matched to the ends of both sealers, and the groove cams are moved along the trajectories. Further, the film is interposed between the seal surfaces in a state where the seal surfaces of both sealers are in contact with each other, so that the film is pressurized at a predetermined pressure and heated to fuse the film.

[0005] The pressurization uses the elastic force of a coil spring. In other words, at least one of the sealers (assuming it is installed on the upper sealer side)
Contact one end of the coil spring to the mounting base. Then, the upper sealer is pushed up against the coil spring provided on the upper sealer when the two sealers abut each other so as to sandwich the film.

[0006] Then, due to the elastic restoring force of the coil spring, the upper sealer is urged toward the lower sealer with a predetermined pressure, thereby thermally sealing the film. Therefore, as the pressure (elastic force) of the coil spring is increased, the pressure at which the film is sandwiched by both sealers is increased.

[0007]

However, the above-mentioned conventional end seal device has the following problems. That is, the state of the heat seal is determined by the pressure at which the film is sandwiched between the sealers, the heating temperature, and the time during which the film is pressed and heated. The time is a time during which the two sealers are in contact with each other, so that the temperature can be controlled with high accuracy. The heating temperature can be controlled with relatively high accuracy by a heater built in the sealer.

However, since the pressure is determined by the elastic force of the coil spring, it is not possible to grasp how much pressure is actually applied, and the film is affected by the reaction force when both sealers come into contact with each other. It could not be controlled depending on the pressure and the material of the film.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above background, and has as its object to solve the above-mentioned problems, to control the pressing force at the time of heat-sealing the film, and to change the sealing state of the film. An object of the present invention is to provide an end seal device that can be made uniform.

[0010]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, in an end seal device according to the present invention, an upper sealer and a lower sealer are arranged opposite to each other with a heat-fusible film interposed therebetween, and both sealers are arranged. In the end seal device, the sealer is moved in a state where the seal faces are always opposed to each other, and the sealer moves in synchronization with the film for a certain period of time while holding the film at a predetermined pressure. And pressure adjusting means for adjusting the pressure for holding the film between the two sealers in accordance with the detection result of the pressure detecting means (claim 1).

The two sealers generate the predetermined pressure by receiving an urging force from a fluid cylinder (corresponding to an “air cylinder” in the embodiment) connected to at least one of the sealers. The means detects a fluid pressure supplied to the fluid cylinder,
The pressure adjusting means may be configured to include a pressure adjusting valve for keeping the fluid pressure constant (claim 2).

The pressure when the film is actually held is measured by the pressure detecting means, and the pressure is controlled so as to be constant. As a result, the film can be pressed at a desired pressure, and a desired sealing strength and sealing state can be obtained. At this time, when the film is held at a predetermined pressure by urging the sealer with the fluid cylinder as described in claim 2, if the pressure supplied to the fluid cylinder is kept constant, Since the clamping pressure is also constant, control becomes easy.

[0013]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, an end seal device 10 of the present embodiment is arranged in a direction orthogonal to a traveling direction of a film in which an article to be packaged is stored.
Upper sealer 1 placed vertically above and below the film
2 and a lower sealer 14.
2 and 14 are both sealers 12 and 14 in contact with the film.
While the seal surfaces 12a and 14a are always opposed to each other, they rotate and move along a trajectory shown by a two-dot chain line in FIG. That is, both sealing surfaces 12a, 1
At 4a, the film is moved in parallel along the conveyance of the film in a certain section while nipping a predetermined portion of the film.

The specific mechanism by which the two sealers 12, 14 move along a predetermined trajectory is as follows. That is, first, a machine frame 15 having a rectangular cross section is arranged so as to cover the periphery of the film, and extends at a predetermined position below the film 11 in the machine frame 15 in a direction orthogonal to the traveling direction. Thus, the elongated substantially flat plate-shaped sealer receiving base 16 is arranged.

The sealer receiver 16 is movable in the front-rear direction and the vertical direction. The lower sealer 14 is attached to the upper surface of the sealer receiving base 16. Further, both ends 16 of the sealer pedestal 16
Disk cam floors 18, 18 are attached to a, and the cam floors 18 are formed in cam grooves 19 a formed in lower plate cams 19 provided on the inner surfaces of both side walls of the machine frame 15.
And restricts the movement of the sealer pedestal 16 so that the sealer pedestal 16, that is, the lower sealer 1
4 is moved.

In the vicinity of both ends of the sealer pedestal 16, through holes 20 which penetrate vertically are formed, and guide rods 22, 22 are fixedly arranged in the through holes 20, 20 in an upright state. Have been. A slide cylinder (ball bush) 24 is mounted on the pair of guide rods 22 so as to be vertically movable. Further, both ends 24a of the slide cylinder 24 are provided with the cam floor 2
6 and 26 are provided, and the sealer cradle 1 described above is provided.
As in the case of 6, the slide cylinder 24 is connected to a cam groove 28a formed in an upper plate cam 28 which is movably disposed in a substantially vertical plane in a state of being close to the inner surfaces of both side walls of the machine frame 15 and will be described later. The upper sealer pedestal 25 is rotated and moved along a predetermined trajectory.

On the upper side of the slide cylinder 24,
The upper sealer pedestal 25 is attached and integrated. As a result, the upper sealer pedestal 25 moves up and down integrally with the slide cylinder 24. Further, in the upper sealer receiving table 25, a guide roller 30 attached to the tip of an L-shaped plate 29 provided at an upper end of the upper sealer support 25 is linked to the guide rod 22, and the guide roller 30 is connected to the guide rod 22. It will move up and down along. As described above, the slide roller 24 and the guide roller 30 make contact with the guide rod 22 at two upper and lower positions, so that the upper sealer pedestal 25 stably moves up and down while maintaining the upright state.

The upper sealer 12 is fixed to the lower surface of the upper sealer pedestal 25. Thereby, the upper and lower sealers 12 and 14 are connected to the guide rod 2.
Guided by 2, 22, it is possible to move back and forth and up and down synchronously in a stable state.

On the other hand, a mechanism for synchronously rotating the respective sealers 12 and 14 is as follows. That is, at the center position of the lower plate cam 19 and the upper plate cam 28,
Rotation shafts 31 and 32 penetrating the machine frame 15 are provided. Gears 33 and 34 are fixed to the outside of the rotating shafts 31 and 32, respectively, and the two gears 33 and 34 arranged above and below are engaged with each other to rotate synchronously. The two gears 33 and 34 are
The motor rotates in synchronization with the rotational force of a drive motor (not shown).

Further, the rotating shafts 3 arranged above and below the rotating shaft 3
The inside tips of the first and second projections 32 project inside the machine frame 15, and working discs 35a and 35b are attached to the tip ends thereof. Around the periphery of these two working disks 35a, 35b, the sealer pedestal 16 to which the above-mentioned cam floors 18, 26 are attached and both ends 16a, 24a of the slide cylinder 24 are arranged while allowing movement in the radial direction. I have.

As a result, when the working disks 35a and 35b rotate, both ends 16a and 24a, and furthermore, the cam floors 18 and 26 rotate along with them. And cam floor 1
The reference numerals 8 and 26 correspond to the cam grooves 19a and 28a, and are movable in the radial direction, so that they move along the cam grooves 19a and 28a.

Further, in this embodiment, the upper sealer 12
In addition, window holes 36 and 37 which are opened up and down at predetermined positions of the upper sealer pedestal 25 are formed, and the window holes 36 and 37 are formed.
So that the cutter 38 can move up and down
Is inserted and arranged. And this cutter 38
In normal times, it is stored and arranged in the upper sealer 12,
At a predetermined timing, the upper sealer 12 projects downward from the lower end surface (seal surface 12a). The mechanism for moving the cutter 38 up and down is as follows.

That is, the upper end of the cutter 38 is connected to the strip-shaped ceiling plate 40 (the machine frame 15) via the cutter mounting plate 39.
(Fixed to the top surface of the camera). More specifically, the lower end of the suspension rod 41 is connected to the center of the upper surface of the cutter mounting plate 39, and the upper part of the suspension rod 41 is made to penetrate through the ceiling plate 40 and protrude upward. And in the upper part of the suspension rod 41,
The spring 42 is inserted and arranged, and the spring 4 is fixed by a nut 43 fixed to the upper end of the suspension rod 41.
2 is locked at the upper end. As a result, the suspension rod 41
Is urged upward, and the cutter 38 is lifted.

One end of an operating punch 45 is rotatably mounted on the cutter mounting plate 39. The operating punch 45 is rotatable in the normal and reverse directions around a fulcrum 46 provided on the upper surface of the upper sealer pedestal 25, and the other end of the operating punch 45 has a push-up pin 47 attached to the sealer pedestal 16. And is urged upward. That is, the upper portion of the push-up pin 47 can penetrate through the through hole 48 provided in the upper sealer pedestal 25 and can protrude upward.
And the other end (where a roller is provided) acts to push it up. As a result, the operating punch 45 rotates counterclockwise and one end thereof descends.
Also descends and enters the lower sealer 14 so that the film can be cut.

When the sealers 12 and 14 are separated from each other, the push-up pin 47 is also separated from the operating punch 45.
Rises and returns to its original position. Further, a spring 49 is disposed between the push-up pin 47 and the upper surface of the sealer pedestal 16, so that when the reaction force from the operating punch 45 increases, the push-up pin 47 descends and escapes. It has become.

Further, two power transmission rods 50 are formed upright on the top surface of the upper sealer pedestal 25.
An upper portion of the power transmission rod 50 penetrates the ceiling plate 40 and protrudes upward. The power transmission rod 50 is movable up and down with respect to the ceiling plate 40.

The upper end of the power transmission rod 50 is linked to the cylinder rod 52 of the air cylinder 51, and is urged downward by the cylinder rod 52. That is, when a predetermined pressure is supplied to the air cylinder 51, the power transmission rod 50 is urged downward according to the pressure, and at this time, both the sealers 12, 14 are already in contact. In this case, the upper sealer 12 cannot be further moved downward.
The film interposed between 2 and 14 is pressed.

And, this air cylinder 51 is provided in FIG.
The operation is controlled by the control system as shown in FIG.
That is, the supply pipe 54 to the pressure chamber of the air cylinder 51
, A solenoid valve 55 and a pressure sensor 56 are inserted and arranged in this order from the upstream side. Approximately 5 kg / cm ² of compressed air is supplied to the supply pipe 54 from an upstream pressure supply source (not shown).

The opening or opening / closing of the solenoid valve 55 is controlled by a controller 57. That is, since the controller 57 receives the sensor output signal (pressure value) from the pressure sensor 56, the opening of the solenoid valve 55 is adjusted so that the sensor output value becomes the set value. Thereby, the pressure of the air cylinder 51 becomes constant, and the pressing force at the time of holding the film can be controlled to a desired value.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the example in which the cutter 38 is built in the upper sealer 12 has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this.
The present invention can also be applied to an end sealer that is not provided. In other words, the present invention can be applied not only to a device in which the cutter device is separately provided from the end seal device but also to an end seal device using a so-called fusing type sealer having both sealing and cutting functions as the sealer.

In the above-described embodiment, the pressure is adjusted electrically. However, for example, a pressure valve that opens when a certain pressure or more is applied and closes when a certain pressure or less is provided may be provided. Good. In that case, the detecting device for detecting the pressure and the pressure adjusting device are shared by one device.

[0032]

As described above, in the end seal device according to the present invention, the pressure when the film is sandwiched and pressed by both sealers is measured directly or indirectly, and the measured value becomes constant. In order to control the pressure of the sealer as described above, by keeping the pressure on the film constant, the sealing state of the film can be made uniform,
Moreover, by setting the pressure to an appropriate value suitable for the film, the best sealing state can be obtained.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view showing a first embodiment of an end seal device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side view showing the first embodiment of the end seal device according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a main part of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 12 Upper Sealer 14 Lower Sealer 51 Air Cylinder 54 Supply Pipe 55 Solenoid Valve 56 Pressure Sensor 57 Controller

Claims (2)

[Claims] An upper sealer and a lower sealer are disposed opposite to each other with a heat-fusible film interposed therebetween, and the sealers are moved while the sealing surfaces of both sealers always face each other. In an end seal device configured to move in synchronization with the film for a certain period in a state of being sandwiched by pressure, a pressure detection unit that detects the predetermined pressure, and the both sealers according to a detection result of the pressure detection unit. An end seal device comprising: a pressure adjusting unit that adjusts a pressure for holding the film. 2. The two sealers generate the predetermined pressure by receiving an urging force from a fluid cylinder connected to at least one of the sealers, and the pressure detecting means includes a fluid pressure supplied to the fluid cylinder. 2. The end seal device according to claim 1, wherein the pressure adjustment unit includes a pressure adjustment valve that keeps the fluid pressure constant. 3.