This application claims priority to, and the benefit of, Japanese Patent Application No. P2022-089782, filed Jun. 1, 2022, the contents of which are incorporated by reference herein in their entirety.
The present invention relates to a packaging apparatus.
Conventionally, packaging apparatus, such as disclosed in JP 2010-036933A, are known. The packaging apparatus use a film, which is a packaging material, to package packaging articles. The packaging apparatus also include a printing device that prints on the film.
In packaging apparatus, the conveyance speed of the film sometimes changes. In order to ensure the quality of printing on the film, conventional packaging apparatus performs printing when the film is stopped or when the conveyance speed of the film does not change.
However, when there are restrictions on the timing of printing on the film, the operating efficiency of the packaging apparatus is sometimes reduced.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a packaging apparatus that can raise operating efficiency.
A packaging apparatus of a first aspect uses a film to package articles and includes a conveyance unit, a laser printing device, a first information acquisition unit, and a control unit. The conveyance unit conveys the film. The laser printing device applies light to the film to print the film. The first information acquisition unit acquires first information relating to the conveyance speed of the film. The control unit links the operation of the laser printing device when printing the film to the conveyance speed of the film based on the first information.
In this packaging apparatus, the operation of the laser printing device is linked to the conveyance speed of the film, so the film can be printed while maintaining printing quality even at a timing when the conveyance speed of the film changes. Consequently, limitations on the timing of printing that had existed in conventional packaging apparatus are eliminated, and it becomes possible to raise the operating efficiency of the packaging apparatus.
A packaging apparatus of a second aspect is the packaging apparatus of the first aspect, wherein the conveyance unit has a rotating member. The first information acquisition unit acquires the rotational speed of the rotating member as the first information.
Here, the rotational speed of the rotating member of the conveyance unit that conveys the film is acquired as the first information relating to the conveyance speed of the film. The rotational speed of the rotating member is information whose reliability is high as the first information, and according to this packaging apparatus, the quality of the printing on the film can be raised.
A packaging apparatus of a third aspect is the packaging apparatus of the first aspect, further including a first member. The first member contacts the film and rotates in accompaniment with the conveyance of the film. The first information acquisition unit acquires the rotational speed of the first member as the first information.
Here, the packaging apparatus is provided with the first member that contacts the film, and the rotational speed of the first member that rotates in accompaniment with the conveyance of the film is acquired as the first information. According to this packaging apparatus, the first member that contacts the film is used to directly obtain the first information relating to the conveyance speed of the film, so the reliability of the first information becomes higher and the quality of the printing on the film can be raised.
A packaging apparatus of a fourth aspect is the packaging apparatus of the third aspect, wherein the first member is pressed against the film near a printed portion of the film printed by the laser printing device.
Here, the first member is disposed near the printed portion of the film, and the rotational speed of the first member is acquired as the first information relating to the conveyance speed of the film. According to this packaging apparatus, the operation of the laser printing device is controlled so as to be linked to the conveyance speed of the film near the printed portion, so the quality of the printing on the film can be raised even more.
A packaging apparatus of a fifth aspect is the packaging apparatus of any of the first aspect to the fifth aspect, wherein when the conveyance speed of the film when the laser printing device starts printing the film changes in the middle of printing the film, the laser printing device changes the operation of printing the film in accordance with the change in the conveyance speed of the film.
Here, whether or not the conveyance speed of the film has changed in the middle of printing the film is monitored, and when the conveyance speed of the film changes, the operation of the printing the film is changed in accordance with the change. According to this packaging apparatus, the operation of printing the film finely changes, so the quality of printing on the film can be raised even more.
According to the packaging apparatus pertaining to the present invention, operating efficiency can be raised.
A bagmaking and packaging apparatus 102 pertaining to an embodiment of the invention and a weighing, bagmaking, and packaging system 100 including the bagmaking and packaging apparatus 102 will be described below with reference to the drawings.
The weighing apparatus 101 is a combination weigher with a known configuration. Articles that are the object of packaging by the bagmaking and packaging apparatus 102 are a snack food such as potato chips, for example, and they are supplied to the central upper portion of the weighing apparatus 101. The articles supplied to the central upper portion are dispersed to plural radial paths and are thereafter supplied via plural pool hoppers 24 disposed at terminal ends of the paths to corresponding weigh hoppers 25 below. The weights of the articles weighed by the weigh hoppers 25 are combined, and an optimum combination of the weigh hoppers 25 forming a fixed weight of the articles is selected. The selected weigh hoppers 25 discharge the articles to a collection chute 26 based on a discharge request signal from the bagmaking and packaging apparatus 102. The discharged articles form long vertical lines while falling down the collection chute 26, pass through a funnel member 11 of the bagmaking and packaging apparatus 102, and fall to an inside space of a tube 12. The group of articles fall through the inside space of the tube 12 as packaging articles C. The bagmaking and packaging apparatus 102 performs bagmaking by containing the packaging articles C inside a tubular film TF and transversely sealing the lower end portion of the tubular film TF and the upper end portion of a preceding bag B at the same time (see
The bagmaking and packaging apparatus 102 is configured by a packaging unit 5 that packs the packaging articles C in bags to make products, a film supply unit 6 that supplies a film F to the packaging unit 5, a printing unit 7 (see
The packaging unit 5 includes a forming mechanism 13 that forms the sheet-like film F into the tubular film TF, pull-down belt mechanisms 14 that convey downward the film formed in the tubular shape (the tubular film TF), a longitudinal sealing mechanism 15 that longitudinally seals, on the front side, an overlapping portion TF-1 where both edges of the tubular film TF overlap, and a transverse sealing mechanism 17. The transverse sealing mechanism 17 transversely seals bags B made of the tubular film TF and heat-seals the upper end portion of a bag B and the lower end portion of a trailing bag (the tubular film TF) at the same time. Furthermore, the packaging unit 5 has a tube 12 around whose outer periphery the tubular film F becomes wrapped and which guides the packaging articles C into the tubular film TF.
The forming mechanism 13 comprises the tube 12 and a former 13a disposed surrounding the lower portion of the tube 12. The former 13a has a shape that allows the sheet-like film F to become wrapped around the periphery of the tube 12 (see
The pull-down belt mechanisms 14, which have a pair of belts 14c disposed on both right and left sides of the tube 12, are mechanisms that suck hold of and convey downward the tubular film TF wrapped around the tube 12. As shown in
The pull-down belt mechanisms 14, together with the film supply unit 6, function as a conveyance unit that conveys the film F.
The longitudinal sealing mechanism 15 applies heat to and seals, while pressing with a fixed pressure against the tube 12, the overlapping portion TF-1 where both edges of the tubular film TF overlap. The longitudinal sealing mechanism 15 is configured by a heater block and a metal belt that travels, synchronously with the tubular film TF, around the heater block.
The transverse sealing mechanism 17 transversely seals the tubular film TF, in a state in which the packaging articles C have fallen through the tube 12 into the tubular film TF, to form the bags B filled with the packaging articles C. The transverse sealing mechanism 17 is configured by a pair of sealing jaws 51, which have built-in heaters, and drive mechanisms (not shown in the drawings), which move the pair of sealing jaws 51 toward and away from each other relative to the tubular film TF. One of the sealing jaws 51 has a built-in cutter (not shown in the drawings) that is activated to vertically separate the bag B on the lower end of the tubular film TF from the trailing tubular film TF.
The film supply unit 6, which functions as a conveyance unit that conveys the film F, mainly has a film roll retention unit 60a and rollers 61a to 61g, 65a, 65b that guide the film F.
The film roll retention unit 60a is a shaft that retains a film roll FR around which is wound the sheet-like film F that is the material (packaging material) of the bags B. As shown in
Of the rollers 61a to 61g, 65a, 65b, the rollers 65a, 65b fulfill the role of adjusting the magnitude of tension acting on the film F. The rollers 65a, 65b are rotatably supported by shafts on two distal end portions of an arm 63, and the shafts move in accordance with the rotation of the arm 63. The arm 63 pivots about a rotational shaft 63a secured to a frame.
The printing unit 7 performs printing by continuously oscillating laser light, moving the spot of the laser light, and causing a printing layer of the film F to emit light. The printing unit 7 mainly has a laser emitter 71, an optical mechanism including a mirror drive motor 72, and a data storage unit 73 (see
The printing unit 7 is disposed so that the laser light is emitted from back to front relative to a printed portion F-1 of the film F bridging the roller 61e and the roller 61f (see
The laser absorption plate 79 is a member that forms a pair with the printing unit 7, and is disposed on the opposite side of the printing unit 7 across the printed portion F-1 of the film F extending in the vertical direction (see
The speed detector 80, which performs measurements relating to the conveyance speed of the film F, has a wheel 81 that contacts with the film F as shown in
The speed detector 80 is a device that measures the rotational speed of the wheel 81 and outputs the obtained measurement data. The speed detector 80 sends to the control unit 110 the measurement data relating to the conveyance speed of the film F. That is, the speed detector 80 acquires, as the measurement data, the rotational speed of the wheel 81 rotating in accompaniment with the conveyance of the film F and sends the measurement data to the control unit 110.
The control unit 110, which controls the bagmaking and packaging apparatus 102, will be described below. The control unit 110 doubles as a control unit for the weighing apparatus 101 as mentioned above.
The control unit 110 controls the drive units of the packaging unit 5 and the film supply unit 6 in accordance with operating conditions and parameters set using the touch panel 111 or the like. The control unit 110 also controls feeders, the pool hoppers 24, and the weigh hoppers 25 of the weighing apparatus 101. Specifically, the control unit 110 imports necessary information from various sensors installed in the weighing apparatus 101 and the bagmaking and packaging apparatus 102 and performs various types of control based on the information. The control unit 110 also receives the measurement data from the speed detector 80 and performs control to link the operation of the printing unit 7 when printing the film F to the conveyance speed of the film F.
Each operation described below is an operation executed as a result of the control unit 110 controlling each mechanism and each part.
As shown in
When the film F is continuously or intermittently conveyed and the printed portion F-1 of the film F needing to be printed reaches a position opposing the printing unit 7, it is determined in step S11 that the printed portion F-1 has arrived at a printing start position, and then the control flow moves to step S12.
In step S12, the control unit 110 acquires the measurement data being sent from the speed detector 80 and computes the conveyance speed of the film F based on the measurement data. In step S13, the control unit 110 decides the operating speed of the mirror drive motor 72 based on the conveyance speed of the film F it has found by computation. The operating speed of the mirror drive motor 72 decided in step S13 is a reference operating speed serving as a reference when tracing the path of the laser light represented by the printing data. The operating speed of the mirror drive motor 72 decided in step S13 is set to a slower speed if the conveyance speed of the film F is slower, and is set to a higher speed if the conveyance speed of the film F is higher.
In step S14, the laser oscillation by the laser emitter 71 and the mirror driving by the mirror drive motor 72 are controlled by the control unit 110 based on the printing data stored in the data storage unit 73.
When the film F is intermittently conveyed and the film F does not move between the start of printing and the end of printing, the conveyance speed of the film F is zero, and in step S16 the determination is always that there is no change in the film conveyance speed. When it is determined in step S15 that printing on the film by the printing unit 7 has ended, the flow temporarily stops. Thereafter, the next printing operation control flow is started because whether or not the next printed portion F-1 of the film F has arrived at the printing start position is monitored.
When the film F is continuously conveyed and the film F continues to move between the start of printing and the end of printing, the conveyance speed of the film F is constant or changes. In step S16, it is determined whether or not there has been a change in the conveyance speed of the film F based on the measurement data of the speed detector 80. If there has been a change in the conveyance speed of the film F, the control flow returns to step S13 and the reference operating speed of the mirror drive motor 72 is reset based on the conveyance speed of the film F after the change. In step S14 control of the laser oscillation and the mirror driving is performed using the newly set reference operating speed of the mirror drive motor 72. That is, when the conveyance speed of the film F when the printing unit 7 starts printing the film F changes in the middle of printing the film F, the printing unit 7 changes the operation of printing the film F in accordance with the change in the conveyance speed of the film F.
It will be noted that, also in a case where the film F is being continuously conveyed, the flow temporarily stops when it is determined in step S15 that the printing on the film F by the printing unit 7 has ended. Thereafter, the next printing operation control flow is started because whether or not the next printed portion F-1 of the film F has arrived at the printing start position is monitored.
In conventional packaging apparatus, printing quality sometimes drops due to changes in the conveyance speed of the film. For this reason, conventional packaging apparatus perform printing when the film is stopped or when the conveyance speed of the film does not change.
Furthermore, in vertical pillow bagmaking and packaging apparatus, conventionally, thermal printers have been frequently used as printing devices. Additionally, in the case of a bagmaking and packaging apparatus that can switch between a continuous bagmaking mode in which the film is continuously conveyed and an intermittent bagmaking mode in which the film is intermittently conveyed, a rubber member (a board or a roller) that forms a pair with the thermal printer needs to be changed in conformity with the switch in the mode. This leads to a reduction in the operating efficiency of the packaging apparatus.
These problems in the conventional packaging apparatus can be eliminated by the bagmaking and packaging apparatus 102 of the present embodiment.
(8-1)
In the bagmaking and packaging apparatus 102 of the present embodiment, the operation of the printing unit 7 that is a laser printing device is linked to the conveyance speed of the film F (see step S16 and step S13 of
(8-2)
In the bagmaking and packaging apparatus 102 of the present embodiment, the speed detector 80 is provided with the wheel 81 that contacts the film F, and the speed detector 80 acquires, as the measurement data, the rotational speed of the wheel 81 that rotates in accompaniment with the conveyance of the film F. According to this bagmaking and packaging apparatus 102, the wheel 81 that contacts the film F is used to directly obtain the measurement data relating to the conveyance speed of the film F, so the reliability of the measurement data is high and the quality of the printing on the film F can be kept high.
(8-3)
In the bagmaking and packaging apparatus 102 of the present embodiment, the wheel 81 is disposed near the printed portion F-1 of the film F, and the rotational speed of the wheel 81 is acquired as the measurement data relating to the conveyance speed of the film F. According to this bagmaking and packaging apparatus 102, the operation of the printing unit 7 is controlled so as to be linked to the conveyance speed of the film F near the printed portion F-1, so the quality of the printing on the film F becomes extremely high.
(8-4)
In the bagmaking and packaging apparatus 102 of the present embodiment, as shown in step S16 of
An embodiment of the present invention has been described above, but the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and changes may be made thereto without departing from the spirit of the invention.
In the bagmaking and packaging apparatus 102 of the above embodiment, the control unit 110 is shared by the weighing apparatus 101 and the bagmaking and packaging apparatus 102, but each apparatus may be individually provided with its own control unit. Furthermore, instead of a configuration where the packaging unit 5, the film supply unit 6, and the printing unit 7 are all controlled by the control unit 110, a configuration where each of the units 5, 6, 7 is individually provided with its own control unit can also be employed.
In the bagmaking and packaging apparatus 102 of the above embodiment, the speed detector 80 that presses the wheel 81 against the film F is employed, but instead of this an encoder 180 shown in
The encoder 180 is disposed on an end portion of the roller 61e of the film supply unit 6 functioning as a conveyance unit of the film F, and is a device that measures the rotational speed of the roller 61e. In example modification B, a cylindrical rubber is fitted on the outer peripheral surface of the roller 61e, and the roller 61e rotates in accompaniment with the conveyance of the film F. The encoder 180 is, for example, an optical rotary encoder, measures the rotational angle of the roller 61e, and sends the obtained measurement data to the control unit 110 as data relating to the conveyance speed of the film F.
Also in a case where the encoder 180 is employed instead of the speed detector 80 in this way, the control unit 110 can perform in the same way control of the printing operations shown in
Although here the encoder 180 is attached to the end portion of the roller 61e, the encoder may be attached to another roller of the film supply unit 6, and the encoder may be attached to a motor for conveying the film F.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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2022-089782 | Jun 2022 | JP | national |