Patent Grant
8474226
The present application relates to and claims the benefit of Japanese Patent Application No. 2009-177852 filed Jul. 30, 2009.
The present invention is related to thermal sealing packaging systems intended to package by loading an item to be packed (hereinafter referred to as “package item”) in a container (a cavity part), and to cover an opening of the container with a capping film.
A thermal sealing device is already known from the unexamined Japanese Patent Application H7-315310, where a film is warmed with a heater plate, a container (a cavity part) is molded by pressing the warmed film into a mold with compressed air, a package item is load in the container, the container's opening is covered with a capping film in a downstream stage, and the capping film's periphery is thermally sealed onto the container to complete the packaging process. However, it is impossible to measure the weight of the package item, whose weight is not uniform, during the packaging process. Therefore, it is usual to measure the weight of the product, including the container, after packaging it, to take the weight of the container away from the weight to calculate the weight of the package item, to print the calculated weight onto a label, and to stick the label on the container.
However, sticking the label after completing the packaging as described above in a prescribed position can be difficult, since it is possible that a portion of the top surface (capping film) of the heat-sealed container protrudes upwardly as the size and shape of the package item vary. Moreover, when a guide member is used to control the position of the container when the container is transferred by a conveyor, in order to control the label sticking position on the top surface of the container in case of sticking the label after completion of the packaging process as described above, the capping film and the container itself wrapped by the capping film may be soft, so that the container may not be able to be controlled to be transferred to the desired position even if the container comes in contact with the guide member, consequently causing a problem that it is difficult to stick the label printed with a weight on a uniform position of the package item after completion of the packaging process.
The present invention is intended to solve the aforementioned problem existing in the packaging technology of known prior art, and its task is to provide a thermal sealing packaging device and a method for thermally sealing a package capable of securely showing measurement information of the package item at a specified location of the thermally sealed package.
In order to accomplish the aforementioned task, in one implementation a thermal sealing packaging system is provided that comprises a container transfer unit for transferring a container adapted for containing a package item; a measuring unit for measuring the weight of the package item that is loaded in the container before it is loaded into the container; a capping film supply unit for supplying a capping film to cover the opening area of the container; an indication means for indicating the measurement data of the measurement unit on the capping film; and a sealing unit for thermal-sealing an opening area of the container, into which the package item is loaded, with the capping film, wherein the opening area of the container, into which the item is loaded, is covered by the capping film on which the corresponding measurement data is indicated. The container transportation by the container transfer unit can be either in a format of transferring a container film, molding the container film while it is being transferred into a container (cavity part) shape with a certain interval using a mold, and transporting the container, or in a format of supporting and transferring a preformed container with a transport unit. Moreover, the container transport unit can be arranged in any arbitrary way, e.g., single row and multiple rows (double, triple rows, etc.).
The measurement of the weight of the package item only needs to be done before the package item is loaded into the container, and does not require any particular location for the measurement unit. For example, if a particular supply unit is specified for loading the package item into a container that is transferred by the container transfer unit that comprises the thermal sealing packaging device, the measurement unit can be located either on the upstream side of the particular supply unit or in the vicinity of the supply unit. The measurement unit does not have to be limited to one, but rather a plurality of measurement units can be used as well.
A supply unit for the capping film can be constituted in such a way as to rotatably support a film that is wound in a roll shape, and to cause the capping film to be fed as a result of the transfer of the container, because it is thermally sealed on the top opening of the container in the sealing unit located on the downstream side, or to have a separate drive unit, independent from the container transfer unit, and to synchronize its drive with that of the container transfer unit, or to have a timing offset between the transfer of the container containing the measured package item and the transfer of the capping film on which the measurement data is indicated, or in other ways; in any event, the film printed with the weight of the item is thermally sealed on the container in the sealing unit while it is properly matched with the particular item.
The indication means is intended to indicate the measurement data available from the measurement unit as well as the product data of the package item on the capping film, and its indication method can be either a direct indication method of printing the data directly on the capping film, or an indirect indication method of printing the data on a label and sticking the label on the capping film.
The direct indication method can be accomplished by typing specified items on the capping film by applying heat on ribbon ink with a thermal head or printing the same with an ink jet method. The items to be printed include information defined in a product file referred to a specific product number that specifies the package item (e.g., product name, unit price, additives, etc.) and the measurement data from the measurement unit.
A sealing unit is intended to complete a package by thermally fusing the capping film on the opening of the container containing the package item, and its packaging method can be either an air-filled packaging (to cover the top opening of a container transferred to a sealing mold with a capping film, thermally fusing the periphery of the capping film), a vacuum packaging (to cause a vacuum state by sucking out air of the container inside the sealing mold, and thermally fusing the periphery of the capping film), or a gas-filled packaging (to cause a vacuum state by sucking out air of the container inside the sealing mold, and to inject a gas (oxygen, carbon dioxide, nitrogen, etc.) to improve the environment inside the container).
According to the above means, the package item is loaded into the container to be transferred by the container transfer unit after the package item is measured at the measurement unit, and then the container containing the package item is transferred to the sealing unit by the container transfer unit. The measurement value obtained by the measurement unit is transmitted to the indication means located on the transfer route of the capping film upstream of the sealing unit, the measurement data and product information being indicated (printed or labeled) on the capping film by means of the indication means. The opening of the container containing the package item is covered with the capping film, on which the measurement data and product information of the item contained in the container are indicated, and the capping film is thermally sealed on the container to complete the packaging. Therefore, the cap of the container can indicate securely the product information also including the measurement data of the packaging item contained. After the packaging is completed, any unnecessary part of the film is cut off from the seal unit in a cutting unit located in the downstream.
A supply unit for loading a package item into the container can be constituted in such a way that it receives a plurality of containers from the container transfer unit and is provided with a container assignment unit for assigning a particular container for each measured packaging item, and for storing indication position information for indicating the measurement data on the capping film in correspondence with each container assignment unit. The container assignment unit can be based on either a method of assigning a container by lighting a LED placed beneath the container, a method of irradiating the container with a lamp placed above it, a method of placing shutters (rotating top to bottom, sliding horizontally, etc.) and opening only a shutter located above the container to which the package item is loaded, or other methods.
According to the above means, a user can work more efficiently as he doesn't have to think to which one of the containers he has to load the package item because the container, to which the item needs to be loaded in the supply unit after it is measured, is indicated clearly. Moreover, since the indication position information corresponding to each container assignment unit is stored, the measurement data of a package item is indicated on the cap of the particular container securely by simply loading the item to the assigned container. Further, a package item detection unit for detecting whether a container is loaded with a package item or not can be provided in the vicinity of the container detection unit. The package item detection unit can be based on either a method of detecting with a sensor whether or not the hand holding the package item is located above the opening of the container, a method of taking a picture of the container from above and judging from the picture, or other methods. In this case, it is constituted in such a way that the assignment of the container assignment unit is canceled based on the detection signal of the package item detection unit. According to the means, it can be judged securely whether or not the package item is loaded in the assigned container, while the container to which the item to be loaded is assigned by the container assignment unit provided in the supply unit.
The assignment cancellation of the container assignment unit can be canceled when the loading of the package item to the assigned container is detected by the package item detection unit. However, in a case where one unit of package item consists of several blocks, for example blocks of meat, it can happen that not all the meat pieces (blocks) are loaded into the container from the measurement unit (measurement tray), but rather loaded in two or three portions. In such a case, if the instruction is canceled mistakenly based on a judgment that the entire product is loaded at the first load and the container is moved toward the sealing unit, it can result in packaging of a partially loaded product. In order to prevent such a problem, the system can be constituted in such a way that the next process is executed only when it is detected that the entire amount of the package item placed on the measurement unit is removed in addition to the detection signal of the package item detection unit. The next process means either the process of turning off the light of the container assignment unit, or assigning the next operation without turning off the light of the container assignment unit, or transferring the film when one row of products are loaded, etc.
The detection (judgment) of whether or not the entire amount of package item is removed from the measurement unit (measurement tray) can be made either by detecting that the measurement value is “0” or by judging the picture taken of the measurement tray of the measurement unit, etc.
The container into which the measured package item is loaded does not necessarily be constituted to be assigned by the container assignment unit provided at the supply unit. For example, the system can be constituted in such a way as to have a measurement data storage unit for storing measurement data outputted by the measurement unit, wherein the outputted measurement data is stored in conjunction with the detection information from the package item detection unit recognized when the package item is loaded into the container. The package item detection unit is intended for detecting to which container among the containers located in the supply unit the package item is loaded, and it is based on either a method of detecting the operator's action involved in gripping the item in order to load it into the container, i.e., detecting the hand holding the item being positioned over the opening of the container by a sensor, or a method of taking a picture of the container from above and judging from the picture, or other methods.
According to the above means, the operator can freely select the container to load the package item, and the location of the container can be identified as the loaded container is detected by the package item detection unit. The location information and the measurement date of the package item are stored in conjunction. The data indicated on the capping film by the indication means is indicated securely on a responding position of the capping film that encloses the opening of the container to which the package item is loaded.
Furthermore, the system can be constituted in such a way as to have an error reporting unit for reporting an error when the package item is loaded mistakenly into a container different from the container assigned by the container assignment unit. The error reporting unit can be a buzzer, an error reporting lamp, or others.
Since an error signal is issued if the package item is loaded mistakenly into a container different from the assigned container, according to the means, it prevents a wrong measurement data from being indicated on the capping film of the container to which the item is loaded. In other words, it prevents errors on the corresponding relation between the container to which the package item is loaded and the product information including the measurement data to be indicated on the capping film of the particular container.
The system can also be constituted in such a way that the transfer of the container by the container transfer unit and the supply of the capping film by the capping film supply unit are intermittently driven, and the indication on the capping film by means of the indication means is executed when the package item is loaded into the container when it is stopped as mentioned above using the measurement data of the item measured by the measurement unit prior to the loading of the item into the container. The measurement data of the item to be indicated by the indication means, which is the measurement data of the item measured prior to the item currently being loaded into a container of the supply unit, can be either the measurement data of the item one piece before (immediately before) the item currently being loaded into the container, or the measurement data of the item two pieces or more before, etc. However, it may be preferable that the supply (transport) of the capping film be driven separately from the container transfer means if the measurement data of the two pieces or more before is to be indicated.
According to the above-mentioned means, thermal seal packaging can be done efficiently in a shorter time, as the indication (printing or label sticking) can be completed while a previous package item is measured and loaded in a container, so that the capping film is transferred for loading of the next package item without having to wait, and the measurement data of the item previously measured is printed using the time the film is stopped for loading the item, thus eliminating the need to wait at least in measuring and loading a first product until the indication of the measurement data of the particular product is completed.
Moreover, in one implementation the method of thermal seal packaging is a method of where the container to contain the package item and the capping film for covering the opening of the container are transferred separately, the opening of the container being covered by the capping film at the packaging stage after the package item is loaded into the container, and the periphery of the capping film being thermally sealed, the method comprising a measuring process for measuring the weight of the item prior to the loading of the item into the container, and an indicating process for indicating the measurement data obtained in the measuring process on the capping film to be supplied to the packaging stage, wherein the capping film indicated with the measurement data is controlled to cover the opening of the particular container containing the corresponding item respectively. The transfer of container and capping film can be done either synchronously or not.
The measuring process can be done so long as the package item is loaded into the container and the location of measurement (location of measurement unit) is preferably on the container transfer line or the side of the container transfer line in consideration of loading the item into the container after the measurement.
The indicating process can be based on a method of directly printing the product information including the measurement data on the capping film by the printer, or a method of printing the product information including the measurement data on a label, and sticking the label on the capping film.
According to the above-mentioned means, it is possible to indicate the product information including the measurement data neatly on a specified location on the capping film, as the weight of the package item is measured prior to loading the item into the container, its measurement data being indicated on the capping film for covering the opening area of the container before thermically sealing it, and the capping film with the product information including the measurement is thermically sealed in correspondence with the container containing the particular item.
The system can also be constituted in such a way that the container and the capping film that encloses the opening of the container are transferred intermittently in synchronization, and that the measuring process of measuring and loading the package item and the indicating process of indicating the measurement data of the item measured in the previous step on the capping film are executed in the same step in which the container and the capping film are both stopped in each step of transfer.
In case of molding the container during the process of transferring the container film, the system is constituted in such a way that the container and the capping film that encloses the opening of the container are transferred intermittently in synchronization, and that the molding process of molding the container on the container film, the measuring process of measuring and loading the package item, the indicating process of indicating the measurement data of the item measured in the previous step on the capping film, and the sealing process for enclosing the opening of the container containing the item with the capping film and thermically sealing together are executed in the same step in which the container and the capping film are both stopped in each step of transfer.
According to the above-mentioned means, thermal seal packaging can be done efficiently in a shorter time, as the indication (printing or sticking of a label printed with the measurement data) of the measurement data of the measured item in a previous cycle is executed using the time the container is stopped for measuring and loading the package item, thus eliminating the need to wait at least in measuring and loading a first product until the indication of the measurement data of the particular product is completed.
Implementations of the invention disclosed and herein possess, among others, one or more of the following advantages: (a) the capability to securely indicate a product information, including weight, on a specified location of the capping film that encloses the opening of the container; (2) the ability of a user to work more efficiently as he doesn't have to think to which one of the containers he has to load the package item because the container, to which the item needs be loaded, is clearly indicated. Moreover, since the indication position information corresponding to each container assignment unit is stored, the measurement data of a package item is indicated on the cap of the particular container securely by simply loading the item to the assigned container; (3) the ability to determine if the package item is surely loaded into the assigned container or not can be securely judged as described in claim 3. Thus, packaging errors can be securely prevented; (4) a correct packaging becomes possible as it prevents erroneously proceeding to the next process after loading only a portion of the product placed on the weighing dish, as it makes a judgment that the package item placed on the weighing dish is completely removed to be loaded in the container before proceeding to the next process; (5) data indicated on the capping film by the indication means is indicated securely on a responding position of the capping film that encloses the opening of the container to which the package item is loaded. Thus, it prevents a problem of a mismatch between the item contained in the container and the indication contents indicated on the capping film of the container; (6) the prevention or reduced possibility of a mismatch between the container being loaded with the package item and the product information including the measurement data indicated on the capping film enclosing the opening of the particular container, since an error signal is issued if a mistake occurs in the loading position; (7) thermal seal packaging can be done efficiently in a shorter time, as the indication of the measurement data of the package item measured in a previous cycle is executed using the time the film (or the container) is stopped for loading the package item this time, thus eliminating the need to wait at least in measuring and loading a first product until the indication of the measurement data of the particular product is completed; (8) the ability to indicate neatly the product information including the measurement data at the specified location of the capping film in thermal seal packaging; and (9) thermal seal packaging can be done efficiently in a shorter time, as indicating of the measurement data of the package item measured in a previous cycle, thermal sealing of the container and the capping film, and molding of the container are executed using the time the container is stopped for loading the package item this time, thus eliminating the need to wait at least in measuring and loading a first product until the indication of the measurement data of the particular product is completed.
Embodiments of a thermal sealing packaging system according to the present invention are described below, with reference to the accompanying Figures. In the embodiments a device is described wherein a container (cavity part) is formed using a mold during the process of transferring the container film, a package item is loaded into the container, the opening of the container is covered with a capping film, and the capping film is thermally sealed to the container to complete a packaging process.
The container transfer unit A that pulls out the film from the container film 1 wound in a roll shape is equipped with grippers 5 placed with a certain interval on a pair of endlessly rotating front and rear chains 4 as shown in
In one implementation the container transfer unit A extends to a position where the packed container is cut off from the container film 1 in the cutting unit F. The grippers 5 keep closed to hold both edges of the width direction of the container film 1 during the forward track of the endlessly rotating chains 4 to feed the film 1, open to release the clamping of the container film 1 at the point of switching from the forward track to the return track, and close again to clamp the container film 1 at the point of switching from the return track to the forward track.
The container molding unit B is, as shown in
With the constitution described above, the container film 1 is blown upward with compressed air from below within the mold 6a and contacts with the heater plate 6b to be heated. The heated container film 1 is molded as it comes in contact with the inner surface of the mold 6a blown by the compressed air from the injection holes provided on the heater plate 6b for a specified period of time, to mold a container (cavity part) 2. After molding, the air inside the mold is changed, the mold 6a is lowered, and the molded container 2 is moved by the action of the container transfer unit A toward the forward direction of the transfer from the container molding unit B. Thus, with the intermittent drive of the container transfer unit A, the container 2 is formed with a certain interval along the lengthwise direction of the container film 1. The number of containers 2 to be formed by each cycle motion of the container molding unit B is not limited to be a pair aligned in parallel with the width direction of the film as shown in the drawing, but also can be one, or three (three columns), or multiple rows and multiple columns (e.g., 2×2=4).
In one implementation a measurement unit C is provided on top of the container molding unit B for measuring the weight of the package item W, which is to be loaded into the container 2 formed in the container molding unit B. The measurement unit C may be a publicly known electronic scale, comprising a RAM 8, a ROM 9, a display unit 10, an operating unit 11, a measurement unit 12, and INF (interface) 13 connected via a bus 7a to a CPU 7, which controls various blocks, as shown in
The display unit 10 may comprise a liquid crystal touch panel and the like, so that a part indicated on the screen can be selected by simply touching it with a finger. The operating unit 11 may be a keying input unit comprising a ten-key set, a clear key, a zero/reset key, etc. The measurement unit 12 may be a publicly known type comprising a measuring dish placed on top of a load cell, and issues a digital output signal by converting an analog signal output of the load cell.
A location one step downstream side of the container molding unit B, i.e., a location where the container 2 formed in the container molding unit B stops after having been transferred one step portion by the intermittent motion of the container transfer unit A, is where a package item supply unit K loads the package item W measured in the measurement unit C into the container 2. The location of the package item supply unit K is not limited to the one step downstream side of the container molding unit B as shown, but also can be set in the vicinity of the measurement unit C depending on its location. At the location of the package item supply unit K are also provided a container assignment unit H that assigns the container 2 to which the package item W is to be loaded, and a package item detection unit I that detects whether or not the package item W is loaded into the container 2.
The container assignment unit H is intended to assign a particular container 2 to which the measured package item W among the containers 2 that stop at the location of the package item supply unit K as shown in
The package item detection unit I is intended for detecting whether or not the package item W is loaded into the container 2 as shown in
The capping film supply unit D is intended to supply the capping film 3 for covering the opening are of the container 2 to which the package item is loaded as shown in
At a certain distance upstream from the sealing unit E on the supply route of the capping film 3 an indication means G is located, for printing (indicating) the product information including the measurement data (weight) of the package item W on the capping film 3. The indication means G may comprise a publicly known printer 17 that prints on the capping film 3 by means of applying heat on a ribbon ink using a thermal head, and a receiving plate 18 that keeps the capping film 3 in a flat condition is provided on the backside (plane opposite to the printing plane) of the capping film 3 that faces the printer 17 for the entire width direction of the capping film 3. The printer 17 comprises a RAM 20, a ROM 21, a printing unit 22, a moving unit 23 to cause the printing unit 22 to travel horizontally, and INF (interface) 24 connected via a bus 19a a to a CPU 19, which controls various blocks, as shown in
In one implementation the printer 17 moves horizontally from one side to the other side (Assignment 1 side to Assignment 2 side in case of the drawing) of the width direction of the capping film 3 to print data for a portion of containers formed on the container film 3 (two rows in case of the drawing). The printer 17 executes printing as it comes in contact with the printing plane side of the capping film 3 after moving a certain distance, moving in the width direction of the film, being moved away from the film when printing is finished, and being returned to the initial position (the one side of the film). In one implementation the printed items P the printer 17 prints on the capping film 3, as shown in
The sealing unit E is intended for covering the opening area of the container 2 loaded with the package item W transferred by the container transfer unit A with the capping film 3 printed with the product information concerning the package item W loaded in the particular container, and heat-seal it to the container 2.
The container, whose packaging process is completed with the container 2 and the capping film 3 having been thermal sealed together in the sealing unit E, is cut off from the container film 1 in the cutting unit F located on the downstream side of the transfer direction. The cutting unit F may comprise, as shown in
The transversal cutter 28 is intended to cut the area where the container film 1 and the capping film 3 are thermally sealed and comprises two cutting blades 28a and 28b placed to pinch the two films from top and bottom, wherein the bottom blade 28b moves up and down actuated by a cylinder and the like (not shown) relative to the stationary top blade 28a. The longitudinal cutter 29 comprises a plurality of rotary cutters (three cutters in case of the drawing), one in the middle and two on both sides of the film width direction, to separate the two containers formed in parallel in the film width direction and to cut off the unnecessary portions (wastes) on both edges of the film width direction, thus completing packaged merchandise. The unnecessary portions (wastes) 30 on both edges of the film width direction thus cut off are taken up on a film waste take-up shaft 31 to be separated from the packaging device, while the packaged merchandise W′ is discharged from the packaging device by means of a discharge conveyor 32.
The thermal sealing packaging system described above may comprise, as shown in
Next, an overall flow of the above-mentioned thermal sealing packaging system will be described below based on the flowchart of
First cycle:
Second time and thereafter:
In the total flow described above and as shown in
Since several independent control units may be used in the present invention, the control unit of the measurement unit C, the control unit of the packaging machine (controlling the transfers of the container film and the capping film, molding and sealing processes, etc.), and the control unit of the printer will be described below separately.
First, a flow of the control unit (CPU) of the measurement unit C will be described below based on
Next, a flow of the control unit (CPU) of the packaging machine (transfers of the container film and the capping film, container molding, sealing, etc.) will be described based on
Next, a flow of the control unit (CPU) of the printer 17 (indication means G) is described based on
In the embodiment described above, the number of containers molded on the container film 1 in a single transversal row is two, wherein Assignment 1 corresponds to LED number 1 and Assignment 2 corresponds to LED number 2 in the container assignment unit H, and the printer 17 of the indication means G prints in accordance with the preset format. Since the printer 17 has a printing format established in such a way that the weight of which LED number is to be printed and at which position of the capping film, it prints the weight corresponding with the LED number received from the measurement unit C accordingly.
The number of containers molded on the container film 1 in one step transfer can be, in addition to two shown in the embodiment of the drawing, three in a row, or multiple rows and multiple columns (e.g., 2×2=4). In this case, in addition to the method of instructing LED lighting (container assignment unit H) in a predetermined order as in the case of the embodiment, it can also be constituted in such a way as to control the loading container (position) and weight in combination without having the container assignment unit H. In such a case, the package item detection unit I is used for detecting the loading of the package item into the container. One method is to output the weight and store it in a temporary storage area (not shown) of the RAM 8 when the package item W is placed on the measurement unit C and the measurement value becomes stable. When loading of the package item is detected by the object detection sensor 38 (the package item detection unit I (sensors 15a, 15b)) within a certain period of time, the control unit (CPU 33) of the packaging machine transmits the sensor number (15a, 15b) of the sensor which detected it to the measurement unit C via the INF 45, and the measurement unit C stores the received sensor number in combination with the outputted weight. When loading of the package items into all the containers of a single row, the sensor numbers are transmitted in combination with the weight values to the printer 17 (indication means G). As the object detection sensors 38 are arranged in the order of numbers, the printer 17 (indication means G) prints the weight values in the order of sensor numbers. Thus, the package item loaded into the container is guaranteed to match with the product information including the weight printed on the capping film of the particular container.
The methods of thermal seal packaging, as described in reference to the thermal sealing packaging system shown in the drawings, involves methods where the container to contain the package item and the capping film for covering the opening of the container are transferred separately, the opening of the container being covered by the capping film after the item is loaded into the container, and the periphery of the capping film is thermal sealed. The methods comprise a measuring process for measuring the weight of the item prior to the loading of the item into the container and a indicating process of indicating the measurement data (weight) obtained in the measuring process on the capping film to be supplied to the packaging stage, wherein the capping film indicated with the measurement data (weight) is controlled to cover the opening of the particular container containing the corresponding item. The container for the package item is not limited to be provided by the method of molding it from a film (container film) during the transfer of the film and transferring as shown in the drawing, but also can be provided by a method of transferring a preformed container by a transferring method.
The indicating process for indicating the measurement data (weight) on the capping film is not limited to be provided by a method of directly printing the product information including the measurement value on the capping film with a printer as shown in the drawing. It can also be provided by other methods, such as, for example, printing the product information including the measurement valued on a label and sticking the label on the capping film. The control of causing the container containing the package item and the capping film on which the product information including the measurement data of the package item can be accomplished by either a method of thermal sealing the indicated capping film to the container and intermittently transfer the capping film in coordination with the intermittent transfer of the container (synchronous transfer), or a method of transferring the container and the capping film asynchronously. Establishing the correspondence between the measurement data (weight) and the container (position) can be accomplished either by assigning the container (position) to which the measured package item to be loaded, or by using the sensor number of the package item detection unit I which detect the loading of the package item.
A thermal sealing packaging system according to the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described herein with reference to the drawings, it can be modified within the range of not exceeding the gist of the invention pursuant to the following non-limiting examples. (1) The measurement unit (scale) for measuring the weight of the package item is not limited to one, but can be several (e.g., two), and the location of installation of measuring means does not have to be above the container molding unit provided on the container transfer line; for example, it can be installed on the side of the container transfer line, or other suitable locations. (2) The assignment of containers for loading them with measured package items can be done, in addition to LED lighting or shutter control as shown in the drawings, with a color coordination method by coloring a plurality of measurement units (scales) with various colors as well as a plurality of lamps (LED) in colors matching with those of measurement units (scales). For example, it can be constituted in such a way that a package item measured by a red measurement unit is loaded into a container lighted by a red lamp (LED) while a package item measured by a green measurement unit is loaded into a container lighted by a green lamp (LED). (3) Although it was described in the aforementioned embodiments that the capping film is thermally sealed on the container film and the capping film is transferred together with the container film as the latter is transferred, the same effect can be achieved by transferring the capping film and the container film with separate drive means and synchronizing the two drive means. (4) It can also be achieved by providing marks at a specific interval denoting one step transfer of the capping film on an edge of the width direction of the capping film, and controlling the transfer of the capping film by detecting the marks with a sensor provided in the vicinity of the feed of the capping film. (5) Although the aforementioned embodiments showed that the containers are molded on the container film in the container molding unit while the container film is being transferred, it can also be constituted to transfer preformed containers by a container transfer unit. (6) Although the packaging process in the sealing unit has been described as a air-filled type packaging in the aforementioned embodiments, a vacuum packaging or gas-filled packaging can be used as well. (7) Although it has been described with reference to the flowchart shown in
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009-177852 | Jul 2009 | JP | national |
| Number | Name | Date | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3029007 | Hepner | Apr 1962 | A |
| 3238691 | Miller et al. | Mar 1966 | A |
| 3490196 | Sorensen | Jan 1970 | A |
| 3650773 | Bush et al. | Mar 1972 | A |
| 3662511 | Eliasberg | May 1972 | A |
| 3673760 | Canamero et al. | Jul 1972 | A |
| 4655026 | Wigoda | Apr 1987 | A |
| 4951444 | Epstein et al. | Aug 1990 | A |
| 5966908 | Philipp et al. | Oct 1999 | A |
| 6021629 | Sterner, Sr. | Feb 2000 | A |
| 6571530 | Hikita et al. | Jun 2003 | B1 |
| 6769231 | Danby | Aug 2004 | B2 |
| 7100345 | Send | Sep 2006 | B2 |
| 7603831 | Sperry et al. | Oct 2009 | B2 |
| 7762301 | Mathea | Jul 2010 | B2 |
| 7896792 | Natterer | Mar 2011 | B2 |
| 8122686 | Kollmuss | Feb 2012 | B2 |
| 20010047638 | Schmidt et al. | Dec 2001 | A1 |
| Number | Date | Country |
|---|---|---|
| 07315310 | Dec 2005 | JP |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20110023421 A1 | Feb 2011 | US |
