This invention relates to an apparatus for sequentially isolating and sealing a tube film storing a number of materials to be packaged at equal spaces in a column and moving between the respective materials to be packaged and simultaneously evacuating the interior of the tube film to continuously form a vacuum packaged body.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,601,159 discloses the technology where a longitudinally moving tube film is perpendicularly nipped by a pair of seal bars, and immediately before the respective materials to be packaged in the tube film are isolated and sealed, the tube film is cut by cutting edges incorporated in the seal bars, and the air in the tube film is removed through the cut portion to form a continuous vacuum packaged body.
The details of technology disclosed in the above specification are such that the tube film is cut between the front and rear materials to be packaged, the cut end parts are sucked to the dome-like wall inner surface to be largely opened, and the air in the tube film is removed from the opening parts. The positive opening of the cut end part is intended for heightening the efficiency of removing the air in the tube film, but unsuppressed opening for the tube film in the apparatus has high possibility of causing distortion at the open end part, so that even if the open edge is sealed by heat, the above distortion impairs air tightness of the sealed part to exert bad influence upon the sealing performance of the vacuum packaged body. Consequently, the above apparatus is adapted to cut a film opening part and remove the same, and heat-seal two new opposite cut ends of both sides of the removed part, resulting in the disadvantage of causing lowering of efficiency due to the waste of a film in cutting and removing the film and the complicatedness of operation process.
It is an object of the invention to heighten the packaging efficiency by restraining distortion of a film cut part due to air vibration and performing high airtight sealing without distortion for the cut part to prevent wasteful removal of the film due to distortion in the case of cutting a tube film, and removing the air in the tube film by suction action from the cut part.
The object of the invention is achieved by providing a packaging apparatus including a seal bar and a seal table for sealing a tube film in the direction right-angled to the direction of a track disposed in the midway of the track for transferring the tube film storing materials to be packaged at equal spaces in a column along the longitudinal direction, the apparatus being formed by:
I) a pair of seal blocks supporting the seal bar and the seal table outside the opposite surfaces of the seal bar and the seal table by the skirt parts thereof and supporting the same,
II) means for spot closing the tube film by plural intermittent teeth at the inner sides of the skirt parts as one points in the transfer direction of materials to be packaged while the respective skirt part edges of both seal blocks nip the tube film corresponding to the pitch transfer of the materials to be packaged,
III) a sub-vacuum line for applying vacuum suction force to each port formed on the faces of a standing gap to flare the tube film at the standing gap formed thin formed along the outside of the intermittent teeth,
IV) a main vacuum line for pushing a cutting edge slidably disposed in the middle of the interior of the seal bar into a receiving groove cut in the seal table to cut the tube film in the area surrounded by the skirt parts and sucking the air in the bag in front of the seal blocks through the spot nipping gap from between the seal bars and the seal table through the receiving groove in the seal table, and
V) means for welding the cut sides of the tube film by relative approach of the seal bar and the seal table after the above removal of air.
According to the invention, every time the respective materials to be packaged are moved by one pitch, the tube film for covering the materials to be packaged is nipped by the skirt part edges of the paired seal blocks. In this case, the plural intermittent teeth formed on the front side of the skirt parts as one points in the transfer direction of the material to be packaged spot close the tube film, and the vacuum suction force of the sub-vacuum line is applied to each port formed on the standing gap formed thin along the front side of the intermittent teeth to flare the tube film, so that the tube film forms a nipping gap between the respective intermittent teeth. The cutting edge provided on the seal bar installed in one seal block is forced into the receiving groove of the seal table in the other seal block to cut the tube film in the area surrounded by the skirt parts, and the air in the bag in front of the seal blocks is sucked through the spot closing gap from between the seal bar and the seal table into the main suction line through the receiving groove in the seal table.
The tube film is thus flared by the sub-vacuum suction force to stick the tube film to the faces of the thin standing gap, and the air in the tube film is removed through the spot gap between the respective intermittent teeth, whereby the vibration of the tube film due to the removed air impact is restrained to prevent the film from being distorted, and the above inhibition of distortion eliminates cut-down of the film so as to prevent waste of the film.
In one preferred embodiment of the invention, the sub-vacuum line and the main vacuum line are connected to a vacuum pump through a vacuum tank. The intermittent removal of air in the tube film corresponding to the pitch transfer of the material to be packaged is performed impulsively by pressure accumulation function of the vacuum tank so that the capability is not lowered.
In another preferred embodiment of the invention, cooling water is passed through the intermittent teeth formed by the skirt parts of the seal blocks to be cooled. In the case of spot nipping the film by the thus constructed intermittent teeth, there is possibility that dot-like cheloid is generated in the film by heat of the tips of the intermittent teeth conducted from the seal bar to spoil the beauty of sealing and sealing strength. Such problem is solved by the above cooling.
In still another embodiment of the invention, simultaneously with nipping the tube film by both seal blocks, the material to be packaged in front of the seal blocks is pressed and supported by a block made of urethane foam. Through the shrinkage of the tube film due to removal of air through the spot gaps between the respective intermittent teeth causes the material to be packaged to necessarily move, the material to be packaged is softly pressed and supported by the block made of urethane foam so that the shrinkage of the film more than needed is inhibited to restrain the generation of creases of the film and perform beautiful sealing. Thus, sealing strength can be increased.
A tube film 20 in
On the other hand, the rotation power transmitted from the outside to a pinion 31 of a main shaft 30 rotatably installed on the frame vertically moves the upper seal block 22 along the round post material 29 through a crank lever 32 and a connecting rod 33 fixed to the end of the main shaft 30, and the lower seal block 23 is vertically moved along the round post material 29 by the eccentric motion of a rod 34x tied round an eccentric cam 34 at the end of the main shaft 30. Accordingly, both movable blocks 22, 23 repeatedly execute movement along the dotted line track 24 of FIG. 1.
The front sides 39a, 40a of the respective skirt parts of the above both seal blocks in the transfer direction 38 of the material 21 to be packaged form a standing gap ranging from 1 mm to 2 mm between the opposite edges, the air 41 in the front tube film 20 can be circulated through the standing gap, and an embodiment of forming means for such a gap is shown in the drawings mentioned later.
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Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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000119807 | Jan 2001 | JP | national |
This application is a division of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/034,102, filed on Dec. 27, 2001, now abandoned.
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Number | Date | Country | |
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20040172924 A1 | Sep 2004 | US |
Number | Date | Country | |
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Parent | 10034102 | Dec 2001 | US |
Child | 10799067 | US |