Patent Application
20170247134
The present invention relates to a packaging machine for a package having a package body, and a lid part for a housing space of the package body, and a packaging method therefor.
Recently, as a package for a cigarette, a large number of lid packages are adopted. In the lid package, a lid part is hinged to a body side of the lid package, so that a filter cigarette in the inside on the body side can be satisfactorily protected from the outside. Additionally, with the lid part closed, dust in the package is inhibited from falling outside. Therefore, the lid package preferably includes a locking mechanism for the lid part in order to prevent the lid part from opening accidentally. For example, the locking mechanism is implemented by utilizing engagement of a tongue piece foamed by being cut and raising from an inner frame of the package, and an edge formed in an inner flap of the lid part. In this case, the lid part needs to be opened by force for disengaging the tongue piece from the edge in order to open the lid part, and therefore accidental opening of the lid part is prevented.
Herein, a packaging machine that manufactures a lid package having such a locking mechanism which controls opening and closing a lid part is disclosed in, for example, Patent document 1. In the packaging machine, in order to manufacture a tongue piece which is a part of the locking mechanism, a function of forming a tongue piece forming part is added to a notch which forms a blank from a web, while a folding protrusion and a folding hole for folding the tongue piece forming part are provided in a folding tacker and a tacker receiver used for folding of the blank.
In a lid package disclosed in Patent document 2, magnet members are utilized for a locking mechanism for a lid part and a body side. More specifically, the lid part is locked to the body side by magnetic attraction of a magnetic material on an inner flap, and a magnetic material on a lid part side, to such an extent that accidental opening of the lid part is prevented. Patent document 2 mentions that these magnet members are magnetized during manufacturing of the package.
In the prior arts, in a case where attraction of the magnetic materials is utilized as the locking mechanism of the lid part of the lid package, how the magnetic materials are magnetized at which timing is not specifically studied. The magnetization of the magnetic materials needs to be performed such that suitable locking between the lid part and the package body is formed, namely, suitable relative positional relation is formed so as to bring the lid part into contact with the package body without deviating the relative position of the lid part and the package body. However, in the prior arts, a magnetization aspect of the magnetic materials is not specifically disclosed.
Particularly, in a case where a large number of lid packages are manufactured by a packaging machine, time necessary for magnetizing magnetic materials needs to be reduced as short as possible in order to enhance manufacturing efficiency. However, when the time necessary for the magnetization is reduced, it becomes difficult to form desired magnetic distributions in the magnetic materials, and it becomes difficult to obtain a locking state of the suitable relative positional relation between the lid part and the package body.
The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a packaging machine that forms desired magnetic distributions in magnetic materials as quickly as possible in a manufacturing step of a lid package having a locking mechanism between a lid part and a package body by utilizing the magnetic materials in the packaging machine.
In order to solve the above problems, a packaging machine of the present invention adopts a configuration in which respective magnetic regions each coated with a magnetic material containing a magnetic material are foamed on a lid part and a package body side, and magnetizing rollers that magnetize the magnetic materials while coming into contact therewith are utilized. The magnetizing rollers magnetize the magnetic materials by coming into contact with the magnetic regions, and therefore each magnetic region can be magnetized while the package blank is conveyed, and it is possible to quickly and stably form a magnetic distribution in each magnetic region.
More specifically, the present invention is a packaging machine for a package, the package having a package body having a housing space for housing an object to be housed, and a lid part formed so as to cover an opening of the housing space of the package body, wherein the lid part is provided with a lid-side magnetic region that is coated with an unmagnetized magnetic material, and the package body is provided with a body-side magnetic region that is coated with an unmagnetized magnetic material, at such a predetermined position on the package body as to face the lid-side magnetic region in a complete state of the package where the lid part covers the opening of the housing space. Additionally, the packaging machine includes: a conveying machine that conveys a package blank for the package, while in the package blank, at least a first blank portion related to the lid-side magnetic region, and a second blank portion related to the body-side magnetic region are in a predetermined unfolded state; a lid-side magnetizing roller that is supported so as to be able to come into contact with the lid-side magnetic region of the package blank being conveyed in the predetermined unfolded state by the conveying machine, and so as to be rotatable when coming into contact, and has a permanent magnet which magnetizes the magnetic material of the lid-side magnetic region; and a body-side magnetizing roller that is supported so as to be able to come into contact with the body-side magnetic region of the package blank being conveyed in the predetermined unfolded state by the conveying machine, and so as to be rotatable when coming into contact, and has a permanent magnet for magnetizing the magnetic material of the body-side magnetic region so as to form a predetermined magnetic distribution corresponding to a magnetic distribution in the lid-side magnetic region formed by the lid-side magnetizing roller.
In the packaging machine according to the present invention, the package having the package body and the lid part is manufactured from the package blank. Herein, the package blank includes the lid-side magnetic region that is a magnetic region on the lid part side, and the body-side magnetic region that is a magnetic region on the package body. Placement on the package blank is determined such that both the magnetic regions face each other in a completed state as a package after magnetization. Herein, as both the magnetic materials included in the magnetic regions, for example, a coating material containing a ferrite-based magnetic material or a neodymium-based magnetic material can be adopted. Both the magnetic regions only need to be not yet magnetized (unmagnetized state) at a point of time before magnetization processing described below. As to magnetic region forming time, the magnetic regions may be already coated on the package blank before the package is manufactured by the packaging machine, or the magnetic regions may be coated in a stage before the magnetization processing which is a process of package manufacturing by the packaging machine.
The magnetization of the lid-side magnetic region and the body-side magnetic region formed on the package blank is implemented by actions of the lid-side magnetizing roller and the body-side magnetizing roller corresponding to the respective magnetic regions on conveyance of the package blank in the predetermined unfolded state by the conveying machine. More specifically, the conveying machine conveys the package blank in the predetermined unfolded state. This predetermined unfolded state is such a state where the first blank portion related to the lid-side magnetic region, and the second blank portion related to the body-side magnetic region are unfolded such that the lid-side magnetizing roller and the body-side magnetizing roller can come into contact with the respective magnetic regions. Accordingly, a blank portion other than the first blank portion and the second blank portion in the package blank may be folded to some extent in order to manufacture the package as long as each magnetic region can be magnetized, or may be unfolded like the first blank portion and the like.
As the conveyance form by the conveying machine, various forms can be adopted, as long as magnetization of the respective magnetic regions by the lid-side magnetizing roller and the body-side magnetizing roller, described below, is possible. For example, a conveying machine that conveys the package blank on a straight line may be adopted, or a drum-type conveying machine that conveys the package blank along a predetermined circumference may be adopted.
Both the rollers are disposed with respect to the package blank being conveyed in the predetermined unfolded state by the conveying machine such that the lid-side magnetizing roller comes into contact with the lid-side magnetic region on the first blank portion, and the body-side magnetizing roller comes into contact with the body-side magnetic region on the second blank portion. The permanent magnets are rotatably supported on the support shafts. Therefore, when the respective magnetizing rollers come into contact with the corresponding magnetic regions on the package blank being conveyed, the permanent magnets rotate, so that the package blank is conveyed downstream while the contact states between the permanent magnets and the respective magnetic regions are maintained. Therefore, the respective magnetic regions are magnetized without preventing conveyance of the package blank, and the contact states between the magnetic regions and the respective magnetizing rollers are maintained. Accordingly, it is possible to stably form a desired magnetic distribution in each magnetic region.
In each of the magnetized lid-side magnetic region and the magnetize body-side magnetic region, a predetermined magnetic distribution in which the magnetic distribution in the body-side magnetic region corresponds to the magnetic distribution in the lid-side magnetic region is formed such that both the magnetic regions are locked to each other by magnetic attraction. That is, the magnetic distributions in the both the magnetic regions are formed such that suitable locking by magnetic attraction between magnetic N poles and S poles is possible. For example, the S pole is formed in a portion of the lid-side magnetic region which faces a portion, where the N pole is formed in the body-side magnetic region, in the completed state of the package. From a broad view, the N pole portions and the S pole portions in the respective magnetic regions are disposed corresponding to each other such that the locking state of the lid part and the package body becomes a suitable locking state with no deviation.
Herein, in the above packaging machine, contact with the lid-side magnetic region by the lid-side magnetizing roller, and contact with the body-side magnetic region by the body-side magnetizing roller may be performed in at least a partially overlapped period. Additionally, as another method, contact with the lid-side magnetic region by the lid-side magnetizing roller, and contact with the body-side magnetic region by the body-side magnetizing roller may be performed in different periods which are not overlapped. In either contact form, the lid-side magnetizing roller and the body-side magnetizing roller perform magnetization processing by coming into contact with the lid-side magnetic region and the body-side magnetic region, respectively, and therefore it is possible to stably form the magnetic distribution in each magnetic region.
Herein, in the above packaging machine, the lid-side magnetizing roller may be formed by alternately supporting a plurality of lid-side magnet disks each formed of the permanent magnet, and a plurality of lid-side magnetic substance disks each formed of a magnetic substance on a support shaft rotatably, the body-side magnetizing roller may be famed by alternately supporting a plurality of body-side magnet disks each having the same width as each of the lid-side magnet plates and each formed of the permanent magnet, and a plurality of body-side magnetic substance disks each having the same width as each of the lid-side magnetic substance disks and each formed of a magnetic substance on a support shaft rotatably. In this case, a belt-shaped magnetic distribution is formed in the lid-side magnetic region by the lid-side magnetizing roller, and the predetermined magnetic distribution may be formed in a belt shape in the body-side magnetic region by the body-side magnetizing roller.
Thus, the lid-side magnetizing roller and the body-side magnetizing roller are each formed by alternately disposing the magnet disks and the magnetic substance disks, so that the respective corresponding belt-shaped magnetic distributions can be foamed in the lid-side magnetic region and the body-side magnetic region. That is, the width of the belt-shaped magnetic distribution in each magnetic region is formed by contact of side surfaces of the corresponding magnet disk and magnetic substance disk and each magnetic region. Thus, the belt-shaped magnetic region is formed, such that it is possible to improve magnetic attraction that acts between the lid-side magnetic region and the body-side magnetic region.
Furthermore, a diameter of each of the lid-side magnetic substance disks may be not less than a diameter of each of the lid-side magnet disks, and a diameter of each of the body-side magnetic substance disks may be not less than a diameter of each of the body-side magnet disks. Thanks to diligent efforts of the inventor of this application, it is found that magnetic distribution formation in the corresponding magnetic regions can be suitably performed by making the respective diameters of the lid-side and body-side magnetic substance disks to be equal to or larger than the diameters of the corresponding magnet disks. In a case where the diameter of each magnetic substance disk is made larger than the diameter of each magnet disk, the different amount of the diameters only need to be suitably determined by considering magnetic force and the like in the magnetic distributions formed in the magnetic regions.
The packaging machine described above further includes: a lid-side counter roller that is formed of a nonmagnetic substance, is located on a side opposite to the lid-side magnetizing roller with the package blank sandwiched between the lid-side counter roller and the lid-side magnetizing roller when the lid-side magnetizing roller comes into contact with the package blank, and is similarly supported so as to be able to come into contact with the package blank, and so as to be rotatable when coming into contact; and a body-side counter roller that is formed of a nonmagnetic substance, is located on a side opposite to the body-side magnetizing roller with the package blank sandwiched between the body-side counter roller and the body-side magnetizing roller when the body-side magnetizing roller comes into contact with the package blank, and is similarly supported so as to be able to come into contact with the package blank, and so as to be rotatable when coming into contact.
As described above, the lid-side counter roller is disposed so as to be paired with the lid-side magnetizing roller, and the body-side counter roller is disposed so as to be paired with the body-side magnetizing roller, so that in magnetization in each magnetic region, the corresponding magnetic region is sandwiched between each magnetizing roller and each counter roller, and a contact property between each magnetizing roller and each magnetic region can be made more satisfactory. As a result, it is possible to more suitably form the desired magnetic distributions in the lid-side magnetic region and the body-side magnetic region.
Herein, the lid-side counter roller and the body-side counter roller are each formed of a nonmagnetic substance material. As a result, only a magnetic field foamed by the corresponding magnetizing roller acts in the magnetization in each magnetic region. The lid-side magnetic region and the body-side magnetic region are formed by being coated with respective magnetic materials, and therefore the thickness of each region is relatively thin. The inventor of this application finds that in a case where such a relatively thin magnetic material is magnetized, when a magnetic field that reaches the counter roller from the magnetizing roller is utilized, the magnetic material is not suitably magnetized, and on the other hand, when the counter roller is the nonmagnetic substance, and only a magnetic field formed by the magnetizing roller acts on the magnetic material, the magnetic material is effectively magnetized. Accordingly, formation of the counter roller side formed of the nonmagnetic substance material suitably contributes to solution of the problems of the present invention. As the nonmagnetic substance material that forms each of the counter rollers, a resin material can be exemplified.
Herein, in the above packaging machine that includes the lid-side counter roller and the body-side counter roller, the conveyance state of the package blank includes two conveyance forms. First, in a first conveyance aspect, the predetermined unfolded state is a state where the first blank portion and the second blank portion are located on opposite sides in a direction perpendicular to a conveying direction of the package blank with a central portion of the package blank therebetween. This conveyance aspect is referred to as lateral conveyance.
In a case where the package blank is laterally conveyed by the conveying machine, the conveying machine may have a regulating member of a predetermined height, the regulating member being a member which forms a placement space for disposing the package blank in the predetermined unfolded state and regulate movement of the package blank at front and rear in the conveying direction of the package blank, and the regulating member may be disposed so as to come into contact with the package blank from the front and the rear in the conveying direction, and a chamfer may be formed on an upper edge of the regulating member on a side close to the placement space.
In a case of the lateral conveyance, when the lid part side and the package body side that are in a sandwiching state of the package blank for magnetization processing deviate from each other, frictional force by sandwiching acts on one side of the package blank being conveyed, and therefore there is a fear that the package blank is rotated on the conveying surface by this frictional force. However, as described above, the regulating material is disposed so as to come into contact with the package blank at the front and the rear in the conveying direction, so that even if force for rotating the package blank acts, positional deviation of the package blank can be suppressed by the state of contact with the package blank of the regulating material. However, when the regulating material is disposed so as to come into contact with the package blank, it is not easy to dispose the package blank in the placement space formed by the regulating material. Therefore, the chamfer is formed on the upper edge of the regulating material on the side close to the placement space, so that the package blank can be lowered from above with respect to the placement space and easily disposed at the position by a guide effect by the chamfer.
In the case where the package blank is laterally conveyed by the conveying machine as described above, as another method, the conveying machine may have a regulating member of a predetermined height, the regulating member being a member which foams a placement space for disposing the package blank in the predetermined unfolded state and regulate movement of the package blank at front and rear in the conveying direction of the package blank, and a pressing device that presses the package blank disposed in the placement space against a conveying surface from above. The package blank is pressed in the placement space by such a pressing device, so that even if the force for rotating the package blank acts, it is possible to suppress the positional deviation of the package blank.
As a second conveyance aspect, the predetermined unfolded state is a state where the first blank portion and the second blank portion are located along a conveying direction of the package blank. This conveyance aspect is referred to a longitudinal conveyance. In a case where this longitudinal conveyance is performed, the lid-side counter roller and the body-side counter roller are disposed such that one of the lid-side counter roller and the body-side counter roller is located on an upstream side with respect to the other counter roller along a conveying direction of the package, the lid-side counter roller has, on a roller periphery, a first protrusion enabling the first blank portion to be sandwiched between the lid-side magnetizing roller and the first protrusion in a period in which the lid-side magnetizing roller is in contact with the lid-side magnetic region, and the lid-side counter roller is formed such that the lid-side magnetizing roller is in non-contact with the package blank in a case where the lid-side counter roller is in contact with the package blank at a portion on the periphery other than the first protrusion, the body-side counter roller has, on a roller periphery, a second protrusion enabling the second blank portion to be sandwiched between the body-side magnetizing roller and the second protrusion in a period in which the body-side magnetizing roller is in contact with the body-side magnetic region, and the body-side counter roller is formed such that the body-side magnetizing roller is in non-contact with the package blank in a case where the body-side counter roller is in contact with the package blank at a portion on the periphery other than the second protrusion. Additionally, the first protrusion and the second protrusion are disposed in the lid-side counter roller and the body-side counter roller respectively such that the lid-side magnetic region comes into contact with the lid-side magnetizing roller, and does not come into contact with the body-side magnetizing roller, and the first protrusion and the second protrusion are further disposed in the lid-side counter roller and the body-side counter roller respectively such that the body-side magnetic region comes into contact with the body-side magnetizing roller, and does not come into contact with the lid-side magnetizing roller.
In a case where the package blank is longitudinally conveyed by the conveying machine, the first blank portion and the second blank portion are located to be lined along the conveying direction of the package blank. Therefore, there is a possibility that the one magnetic region is magnetized in an overlapped manner by the two magnetizing rollers depending on the placement relation between the lid-side magnetizing roller and the body-side magnetizing roller. When the one magnetic region is magnetized in the overlapped manner, the magnetic distribution formed therein becomes a disordered distribution, that is, becomes a distribution which is not the desired magnetic distribution, which is unpreferable.
Therefore, as described above, the first protrusion is provided on the periphery of the lid-side counter roller, and the second protrusion is provided on the periphery of the body-side counter roller. Consequently, in a state where the first blank portion is sandwiched between the lid-side magnetizing roller and the lid-side counter roller (first protrusion) due to existence of the first protrusion, the lid-side magnetizing roller comes into contact with the lid-side magnetic region on the first part, and the sandwiching state is eliminated by rotation of the lid-side counter roller, the contact of the lid-side magnetizing roller with lid-side magnetic region is also eliminated. Similarly, in a state where the second blank portion is sandwiched between the body-side magnetizing roller and the body-side counter roller (second protrusion) due to existence of the second protrusion, the body-side magnetizing roller comes into contact with the body-side magnetic region on the second part, and the sandwiching state is eliminated by rotation of the body-side counter roller, the contact of the body-side magnetizing roller with body-side magnetic region is also eliminated. Accordingly, with such a configuration, even in a case where the longitudinal conveyance is performed, only the lid-side magnetizing roller comes into contact with the lid-side magnetic region, and only the body-side magnetizing roller comes into contact with the body-side magnetic region, so that it is possible to avoid the above state where the one magnetic region is magnetized in the overlapped manner.
Additionally, the present invention can be grasped from an aspect of a packaging method for a package. In this case, the present invention is a packaging method for a package, the package having a package body having a housing space for housing an object to be housed, and a lid part foamed so as to cover an opening of the housing space of the package body, wherein the lid part is provided with a lid-side magnetic region that is coated with an unmagnetized magnetic material, the package body is provided with a body-side magnetic region that is coated with an unmagnetized magnetic material, at such a predetermined position on the package body as to face the lid-side magnetic region in a complete state of the package where the lid part covers the opening of the housing space. The packaging method includes: a conveying step of conveying a package blank for the package, while in the package blank, at least a first blank portion related to the lid-side magnetic region, and a second blank portion related to the body-side magnetic region are in a predetermined unfolded state, a lid-side magnetizing step of bringing a lid-side magnetizing roller having a permanent magnet and rotatably supported into contact with the lid-side magnetic region of the package blank being conveyed in the predetermined unfolded state, and magnetizing the magnetic material of the lid-side magnetic region; and a body-side magnetizing step of bringing a body-side magnetizing roller having a permanent magnet and rotatably supported into contact with the body-side magnetic region of the package blank being conveyed in the predetermined unfolded state, and magnetizing the magnetic material of the body-side magnetic region so as to form a predetermined magnetic distribution corresponding to a magnetic distribution in the lid-side magnetic region formed by the lid-side magnetizing roller. According to this packaging method, it is possible to stably form a magnetic distribution in each magnetic region, similarly to the case of the above packaging machine.
In the above packaging method for a package, contact with the lid-side magnetic region by the lid-side magnetizing roller in the lid-side magnetizing step, and contact with the body-side magnetic region by the body-side magnetizing roller in the body-side magnetizing step may be performed in at least a partially overlapped period. As another method, contact with the lid-side magnetic region by the lid-side magnetizing roller in the lid-side magnetizing step, and contact with the body-side magnetic region by the body-side magnetizing roller in the body-side magnetizing step may be performed in different periods which may be not overlapped.
Furthermore, in the above packaging method for a package, in the conveying step, the package blank may be conveyed such that the first blank portion and the second blank portion are located along a conveying direction of the package blank, and the magnetization of the magnetic material of the lid-side magnetic region in the lid-side magnetizing step, and the magnetization of the magnetic material of the body-side magnetic region in the body-side magnetizing step may be sequentially performed in accordance with conveyance of the package blank such that in a state where the lid-side magnetic region and the body-side magnetic region face each other at a time of formation of the package, magnetic fields formed in one portion of the lid-side magnetic region and one portion of the body-side magnetic region that face each other may be different from each other. In the present invention, which magnetization is first performed is not limited. In addition, as long as technical discrepancy is not caused, the technical ideas disclosed in the above packaging machine can be applied to the packaging method for a package of the present invention.
According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a packaging machine that forms a desired magnetic distribution in a magnetic material as quickly as possible in a manufacturing process of a lid package having a locking mechanism between a lid part and a package body by utilizing the magnetic material in the packaging machine.
Hereinafter, a specific embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The size, materials, shapes, and relative placement and the like of components described in the embodiment are not intended to limit the scope of the invention thereto, unless otherwise stated.
The package 30 is provided with magnetic regions 33, 37 as a locking mechanism of the tongue-lid part 32 (particularly, the tongue 38) to the package body 31. The magnetic regions 33, 37 are each formed by being coated with a magnetic material containing a ferrite-based magnetic material. In the closed state of the package 30 illustrated in
More specifically, the magnetic region 33 is formed below a cutout (not illustrated) of the front wall 31a included in the package body 31, as an oblong region extending to the sides of the package. On the other hand, the magnetic region 37 is formed near a leading end of the tongue 38 as an oblong region extending to the sides of the package, similarly to the magnetic region 33. The relative relation between the position of the magnetic region 33 in the package body 31, and the position of the magnetic region 37 in the tongue 38 is determined such that the above positions face each other in the above closed state.
In the package 30 thus formed, when the tongue-lid part 32 is closed from the state illustrated in
When the tongue-lid part 32 is opened from the state where the tongue-lid part 32 closes the opening of the housing space by the contact of the both the magnetic regions, the user needs to make force larger than the magnetic attraction between both the magnetic regions to act on the tongue-lid part 32, and to rotate the tongue-lid part 32. Accordingly, as long as force smaller than the magnetic attraction acts on the tongue-lid part 32 which is in the closed state, the closed state is maintained, and therefore it can be said that the magnetic attraction is resistance force for preventing the tongue-lid part 32 from opening accidentally. Accordingly, the magnetic attraction is requested to be force that is larger than necessary resistance force, and is smaller than predetermined force such that force for intentionally opening the tongue-lid part 32 by a user does not become excessive unnecessarily.
As illustrated in
As can be seen from
Now, a packaging machine that manufactures the package 30 will be described with reference to
The aluminum foil sheet S is obtained by being cut an aluminum foil web AW fed from an aluminum foil roller AR every predetermined length, and is sequentially supplied between the first wheel 8 and the second wheel 10. A similar aluminum foil roller (not illustrated) is disposed in the vicinity of the aluminum foil roller AR, and this aluminum foil roller is a standby roller. Thereafter, with the rotation of the second wheel 10, corners and side flaps of the aluminum foil sheet S that is longitudinally folded along the cigarette bundle in the bucket are sequentially folded, so that an inner wrapping body of the cigarette bundle is foamed.
A horizontal third wheel 16 is adjacent to the second wheel 10 on the opposite side of the first wheel 8. The third wheel 16 sequentially receives the inner wrapping body of the cigarette bundle in the bucket from the second wheel 10, and transfers the inner wrapping body with the rotation. Furthermore, a horizontal fourth wheel 18 is similarly disposed adjacent to the third wheel 16 on the opposite side of the second wheel 10. The fourth wheel 18 is located on the lower side of the third wheel 16, and receives the inner wrapping body IB from the third wheel 16.
Then, the fourth wheel 18 receives supply of the package blank BL illustrated in
Then, a vertical fifth wheel 20 is disposed directly above a supply position of the package blank BL as viewed in the periphery direction of the fourth wheel 18, and the fifth wheel 20 receives the inner wrapping body IB with the package blank BL bonded thereto in the bucket. Thereafter, with the rotation of the fifth wheel 20, the package blank BL is sequentially folded, so that the package 30 is manufactured. Thereafter, the package 30 is transferred onto a similarly horizontal seventh wheel 28 through a horizontal sixth wheel 26 adjacent to the fifth wheel 20. In the process of the transfer of the package 30 with the rotation of the seventh wheel 28, a gluing portion of the package 30 is dried, and thereafter is fed to a feed line through a vertical eighth wheel 29. The feed line sequentially supplies the package 30 to an external packaging machine (not illustrated), and the package 30 is further packaged by a film sheet by this external packaging machine.
Herein, in the packaging machine illustrated in
First, magnetization processing in the supply line 22a will be described with reference to
Herein, in the conveying machine 50, a plurality of pushers 52 are arranged on a conveyor 51 that forms a conveying surface such that a plurality of package blanks BL can be laterally conveyed. The pushers 52 each are a rectangular parallelepiped member having a predetermined height, the longitudinal direction is along the width direction of the conveyor 51. A placement space where laterally conveyed each package blank BL can be disposed in a predetermined unfolded state is formed between the adjacent pushers 52. This predetermined unfolded state means a state where the blank portion corresponding to the front wall 31a provided with the magnetic region 33, and the blank portion corresponding to the tongue 38 provided with the magnetic region 37 are unfolded on the conveying surface so as to be capable of being magnetized by magnetizing rollers 55, 59 described below. In this embodiment illustrated in
In placement of the package blank BL into a placement section 52a (also refer to
Herein, when the package blanks BL are disposed in the placement spaces 52a fixed by the pushers 52, the magnetic regions 33, 37 on the package blanks BL are located at such positions as to protrude to the outside of the placement spaces 52a from ends of the pushers 52. As illustrated in
On the both lateral sides in the conveying direction of the conveyor 51, the magnetizing rollers 55, 59 are disposed at such positions as to be able to come into contact with the protruding magnetic regions 33, 37. More specifically, a vertical wall 57 provided on the left side in the conveying direction of the conveyor 51, on which the magnetic region 33 protrudes, is mounted with a support shaft 58 so as to horizontally extend in the direction perpendicular to the conveying direction, and the magnetizing roller 59 is rotatably mounted on the support shaft 58. Furthermore, a vertical wall 53 provided on the right side in the conveying direction of the conveyor 51, on which the magnetic region 37 protrudes, is mounted with a support shaft 54 so as to horizontally extend in the direction perpendicular to the conveying direction, and the magnetizing roller 55 is rotatably mounted on the support shaft 54. The vertical walls 53, 57 are fixed to a base portion of the supply line 22a, and therefore stays at a constant position regardless of the conveyance of the conveyor 51. Therefore, the magnetizing roller 59, 55 are disposed above the magnetic regions 33, 37 of the package blank BL laterally conveyed by the conveyor 51, respectively.
A counter roller 56 is disposed so as to face the magnetizing roller 55 below the magnetizing roller 55, and a counter roller 60 is disposed so as to face the magnetizing roller 59 below the magnetizing roller 59. The counter rollers 56, 60 are rotatably supported by the support shafts (not illustrated) similarly to the magnetizing rollers 55, 59. The package blank BL is laterally conveyed in an interval between the magnetizing roller 55 and the counter roller 56, and an interval between the magnetizing roller 59 and the counter roller 60, so that while the magnetic region 37 and the magnetic region 33 on the package blank BL come into contact with the magnetizing rollers 55, 59, respectively, the package blank BL is conveyed to the downstream side of the magnetizing rollers 55, 59.
Herein, a specific constitution of the magnetizing roller 55 will be described with reference to
The counter roller 56 facing the magnetizing roller 55 is a resin roller which is a nonmagnetic substance as described above. Therefore, the magnetic distribution formed on the surface of the magnetizing roller 55 is never disturbed due to existence of the counter roller 56. When the package blank BL is sent into the interval between the magnetizing roller 55 and the counter roller 56 by lateral conveyance, the magnetic region 37 efficiently comes into contact with the above surface of the magnetizing roller 55 due to the existence with the counter roller 56, and therefore the magnetic region 37 is magnetized in accordance with the magnetic distribution on the surface of the magnetizing roller 55. More specifically, in the light of a state where the longitudinal direction of the magnetic region 37 and the conveying direction of the package blank BL substantially coincide with each other, a belt-shaped magnetic distribution of the N poles and the S poles is formed along the longitudinal direction of the magnetic region 37.
Similarly to the magnetizing roller 55, as illustrated in
As described above, in the packaging machine illustrated in
Herein, in the supply line 22a where the lateral conveyance is performed, as described above, the interval between the adjacent pushers 52 is set to be larger than the width in the lateral direction of each package blank BL such that the package blank BL is smoothly disposed from the hopper 24 in the placement space 52a on the conveyor 51. For example, as illustrated in
Herein, as illustrated in
A method for suppressing of such the rotational deviation of the package blank BL in the placement space 52a will be described with reference to
As another method for suppressing rotational deviation of the package blank BL in the placement space 52a, as illustrated in
Now, magnetization processing in the supply line 22b will be described with reference to
Herein, before the magnetization processing in the packaging machine of the present invention is described, problems of the magnetization processing in the longitudinal conveyance process will be described with reference to
As illustrated in
However, in a case where the longitudinal conveyance is performed, when the magnetizing roller 59 and the magnetizing roller 55 are lined along the conveying direction as illustrated in
This protrusion 60b is provided on the peripheral surface of the counter roller 60 such that the magnetic region 33 can come into contact with the magnetizing roller 59 by contact of a package portion provided with the magnetic region 33 with the protrusion 60b, and a package portion provided with no magnetic region 33 (including a package portion provided with the magnetic region 37) comes into non-contact with the magnetizing roller 59 by contact of the package portion with a peripheral portion 60a provided with no protrusion 60b, when the package blank BL is fed between the magnetizing roller 59 and the counter roller 60. Additionally, the protrusion 56b is provided on the peripheral surface of the counter roller 56 such that the magnetic region 37 can come into contact with the magnetizing roller 55 by contact of the package portion provided with the magnetic region 37 with the protrusion 56b, and the package portion provided with no magnetic region 37 (including the package portion provided with the magnetic region 33) comes into non-contact with the magnetizing roller 55 by contact of the package portion provided with a peripheral portion 56a provided with no protrusion 56b, when the package blank BL is fed between the magnetizing roller 55 and the counter roller 56.
With such configurations of the magnetizing rollers 55, 59, and the counter rollers 56, 60, a desired magnetic distribution can be reliably formed in each magnetic region as quickly as possible even in the longitudinal conveyance process.
The above magnetization processing is performed in the lateral conveyance process in the supply line 22a and the longitudinal conveyance process in the supply line 22b. Also in a place other than these places, the magnetization processing for the magnetic regions 33, 37 may be performed by use of the magnetizing rollers 55, 59. For example, the above magnetization processing can be performed on the fifth wheel 20 where the package blank BL in contact with the inner wrapping body IB is folded. On the fifth wheel 20, the package blank BL is rotationally moved on a periphery of the wheel, but the movement is substantially the same as the lateral conveyance. Accordingly, the magnetization processing on the fifth wheel 20 can be applied to the magnetization processing which is substantially the same as the magnetization processing in the above lateral conveyance process.
In the above embodiment, the manufacturing process of the tongue-lid package, particularly, the magnetizing process of the magnetic regions 33, 37 is described. However, in place of this package, also in a manufacturing process of a so-called hinge-lid package, a technical idea related to the packaging machine of the present invention can be applied.
More specifically, the magnetic region 45 is formed below a cutout 43b of an inner frame front surface 43a of an inner frame 43 included in the package body 41, as an oblong region extending to the sides of the package. On the other hand, the magnetic region 44 is famed on an inner flap 42a overlapped with an inner surface of a front panel of the lid part 42, as an oblong region extending to the sides of the package, similarly to the magnetic region 45. The relative relation between the position of the magnetic region 45 in the inner frame front surface 43a, and the position of the magnetic region 44 in the inner flap 42a is determined such that the above positions face each other in a state where the lid part 41 closes the opening of the housing space.
In the package 40 thus foamed, when the lid part 42 is closed from the state illustrated in
When the lid part 42 is opened by the contact of the both the magnetic regions from the state where the lid part 42 closes the opening of the housing space, the user needs to make force larger than the magnetic attraction between both the magnetic regions to act on the lid part 42, and to rotate the lid part 42. Accordingly, as long as force smaller than the magnetic attraction acts on the lid part that is in a closed state, the closed state is maintained, and therefore it can be said that the magnetic attraction is resistance force for preventing the lid part 42 from opening accidentally. Accordingly, the magnetic attraction is requested to be force that is larger than necessary resistance force, and is smaller than predetermined force such that force for intentionally opening the lid part 42 by a user does not become excessive unnecessarily.
In the package 40 thus formed, while the magnetic region 44 is disposed on the lid part 42, the magnetic region 45 is disposed on the inner frame 43. The lid part 42 is connected to the package body 41, and is a separated member from the inner frame 43. In magnetization of the magnetic regions 44, 45 in the package 40, in a case where the inner frame 43 is bonded to the package body 41 to form the package blank BL as illustrated in
This application is a continuation application of International Application PCT/JP2014/080119 filed on Nov. 13, 2014 and designated the U.S., the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | PCT/JP2014/080119 | Nov 2014 | US |
| Child | 15593902 | US |
