JP2006038458A - Apparatus and method for checking seal - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an apparatus and a method for checking seals capable of improving inspection reliability while maintaining high-speed processing. <P>SOLUTION: A thickness HL along the transferring direction of a packing bag X is detected by a light-shielding-type line sensor extended in the direction perpendicular to a transferring surface. The thickness HL is sampled at a prescribed period Δt. The sum of products of the amount ΔL of transfer of the packing bag X corresponding to the period Δt and a thickness HL<SB>i</SB>(i=1 to n) inputted at each sampling is determined to compute a cross-sectional area SL. Then the cross-sectional area SL is compared with a preset reference cross-sectional area to determine seal defectives. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a seal check device and a seal check method for inspecting a sealing failure of a packaging bag, and belongs to the technical field of quality inspection of a packaging bag.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a packaging bag in which contents such as snacks are packaged may be inspected for defective seals in order to find what may cause the contents to deteriorate quickly due to defective seals. For example, there is a seal check device disclosed in Patent Document 1 as such an inspection. This seal check device presses the packaging bag with the pressing plate assembled to the upper conveying conveyor in the process of conveying the packaging bag while being sandwiched between the upper and lower conveying conveyors, and the displacement amount of the pressing plate or the pressing plate at that time By detecting the pressing reaction force acting on the packaging bag, the sealing failure of the packaging bag is inspected.

  However, in the seal check device of such a system, the preceding packaging bag passes through the pressing plate because the packaging bag presses the packaging bag while passing under the pressing plate extending in the conveying direction to inspect the sealing failure. The subsequent packaging bag cannot be supplied under the pressing plate, and there is a problem in terms of high-speed processing. In addition, if a large size pressing plate is used to check the seal of a small packaging bag, there is an increase in the number of two, that is, two packaging bags may enter under the pressing plate and hinder proper inspection. Therefore, in order to maintain the processing speed in this case, it is necessary to use a pressing plate having a size corresponding to the packaging bag, which may increase the inspection cost. And since it is a system which presses a packaging bag with a press plate, when there are few gas, such as enclosed air and inert gas, a content may be damaged.

  As a system that does not use a pressing plate that may cause such a problem, there is a seal check device disclosed in Patent Document 2, for example. As shown in FIG. 15, this seal check device is a large number that can move in the vertical direction on the conveyance surface provided on the upper conveyor B in the process of conveying the packaging bag X in the arrow direction by the lower conveyor A. The lower ends of the probes C... C are brought into contact with the upper surface of the packaging bag X and pressed to trace the upper surface shape of the packaging bag X. As a result, the position of each probe C. The area S ′ of the region indicated by the oblique lines in the figure formed between the upper surface of the conveyor and the conveying surface of the lower conveying conveyor A is detected, and a seal failure is detected based on the area S ′. .

JP 2003-156403 A JP 2002-148136 A

  By the way, in the above-described seal check device that does not use the pressing plate, the detected area S ′ tries to reflect the shape along the conveyance direction of the packaging bag X. Regardless of the reason, the inspection is performed based on the detection result that is governed only by the shape of the upper surface or includes the area other than the cross-sectional area of the packaging bag, which is problematic in terms of reliability of the inspection. In addition, the arrangement structure of the probes C ... C for detecting the area S 'is extremely complicated, and is not considered to realize high speed processing and low cost.

  Accordingly, in view of the above situation, it is an object of the present invention to provide a seal check device and a seal check method that can improve the reliability of inspection while maintaining high-speed processing.

  In order to solve the above problems, the present invention is configured as follows.

  First, the invention according to claim 1 relates to a seal check device for inspecting a sealing failure of a packaging bag, and detects a cross-sectional area of a transporting means for transporting the packaging bag and a packaging bag transported by the transporting means. A cross-sectional area detecting means for determining a seal failure by comparing a cross-sectional area detected by the detecting means with a preset reference cross-sectional area.

  Next, the invention according to claim 2 is the seal check device according to claim 1, wherein the cross-sectional area detecting means detects a cross-sectional area along the conveyance direction of the packaging bag.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the seal check device according to the second aspect, the cross-sectional area detecting means is provided at a predetermined position of the conveying means so as to extend in a direction perpendicular to the conveying surface. A line sensor that detects the thickness of the package from the highest position and the lowest position of the packaging bag when passing through the position, and a detection signal from the line sensor is input at a constant period, And a calculation means for calculating a cross-sectional area along the conveyance direction of the packaging bag based on the conveyance amount of the packaging bag and the thickness.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the seal check device according to any one of the first to third aspects, a flexible pressing member is used from above on the packaging bag upstream of the cross-sectional area detecting means. And a gas leakage means for leaking the internal gas from the poorly sealed portion by pressing.

  Moreover, the invention according to claim 5 is the seal check device according to claim 4, wherein the pressing member is provided in a predetermined range along the conveyance direction of the packaging bag.

  The invention according to claim 6 is the seal check device according to claim 4, wherein the pressing member is provided on a reciprocating member that reciprocates within a predetermined range along the conveying direction of the packaging bag, It is characterized by moving in synchronism with the conveying means at the time of going.

  Further, the invention according to claim 7 is the seal check device according to claim 4, wherein the pressing member circulates and moves in a predetermined range along the carrying direction of the packaging bag in synchronization with the carrying means. It is provided in the member.

  The invention according to claim 8 relates to a seal check method for inspecting a sealing failure of a packaging bag, and detects a cross-sectional area of the transported packaging bag and a detected cross-sectional area and a preset reference. A seal defect is determined by comparing the cross-sectional area.

  First, according to the first aspect of the invention, the cross-sectional area of the packaging bag conveyed by the conveying means can be detected by the cross-sectional area detecting means, and the seal failure can be determined by the determining means based on the cross-sectional area. . That is, since it is a seal check device of a system that does not use a pressing plate, the above-described problems such as double riding do not occur, and high-speed processing is maintained.

  In addition, since the cross-sectional area of the packaging bag is detected, the conventional seal check is performed based on the area including the area other than the cross-sectional area of the packaging bag, using the above-described pressing plate. Compared with the apparatus, the reliability of the inspection is improved.

  Next, according to invention of Claim 2 and Claim 3, a cross-sectional area detection means is further actualized, and can detect the cross-sectional area along the conveyance direction of a packaging bag.

  In particular, according to the third aspect of the present invention, the seal check device is realized with a relatively simplified equipment configuration using the line sensor and the calculation means. In addition, the length of the machine can be shortened compared to the method using a pressure plate, and it is not necessary to prepare a pressure plate of a size corresponding to the packaging bag, resulting in an unnecessarily high inspection cost. There is no. In addition, since the seal failure is inspected in a non-contact manner, the contents are not damaged even if the inspection object is a packaging bag with a small amount of, for example, enclosed air or inert gas.

  In addition, according to the invention described in claim 4, since the gas leakage means is provided, when the packaging bag has a sealing failure, gas such as air or inert gas can be leaked from the inside of the packaging bag. Therefore, it becomes possible to detect the seal failure reliably by making the cross-sectional areas of the non-defective product and the defective product remarkably different, and the reliability of the inspection is further improved.

  Then, by using a flexible pressing member such as a brush or a sponge to press the packaging bag, the pressing member is deformed to conform to the shape of the packaging bag. Therefore, since the packaging bag can be pressed efficiently and evenly, leakage of the internal gas is promoted when the packaging bag has a poorly sealed portion. Moreover, damage to the contents is suppressed.

  Furthermore, since the pressing member is deformed so as to conform to the shape of the packaging bag at the time of pressing, the pressing member can be pressed correspondingly to some thickness variation of the supplied packaging bag. Therefore, for example, even if the thickness of the packaging bag fluctuates to the excessive side, it is not excessively pressed and the packaging bag is not accidentally damaged.

  When there is a large sealing failure in the packaging bag, or when there is a sealing failure in the packaging bag in which gas is sealed with an internal pressure of 1 atm or higher, the gas will be introduced from the inside until the cross-sectional area detection means is reached. Since it leaks and the cross-sectional area of a packaging bag reduces, it is not essential to provide a gas leakage means in such a case.

  Moreover, according to any of the inventions of claims 5 to 7, the installation structure of the pressing member in the gas leakage means is further embodied, and the gas inside the packaging bag when the packaging bag has a seal failure Surely leaks out.

  In particular, according to the invention described in claim 5, since the packaging bag is pressed by a pressing member provided in a predetermined range along the conveyance direction of the packaging bag, the support mechanism is simple when the pressing member is a permanent type. It ’s easy.

  Further, according to the invention described in claim 6, the packaging bag is conveyed while cooperating with the lower conveying means and the pressing member provided on the upper reciprocating member over a predetermined range at the time of going. Therefore, a sufficient pressing time is secured, gas leakage is further ensured, and the transport pitch of the packaging bag is stabilized. In addition, there is an advantage that the moving speed can be made different between the forward time and the backward time, for example, the moving speed at the time of returning after the end of pressing is faster than the forward time.

  Further, according to the invention described in claim 7, by providing a plurality of pressing members on the circulation moving member, the packaging bags supplied at a short conveying pitch are sequentially pressed to reduce the cross-sectional area of the packaging bag with poor sealing. Therefore, further high-speed processing can be achieved.

  According to the invention described in claim 8, a seal check method having the same effect as that of the invention described in claim 1 is realized.

  Hereinafter, a packaging bag inspection line including a seal check device according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described.

  As shown in FIG. 1, this packaging bag inspection line 1 is arranged between a vertical bag making and packaging machine (not shown) and a boxing device, and is manufactured by a bag making and packaging machine in order from the upstream side. The chute 2 that receives and slides the packaging bag X filled with the contents falling in the direction, and presses the packaging bag X that is transferred from the chute 2 and is conveyed in the direction of the arrow b from above, from the defective seal portion. A seal check device having a gas leakage part 3A for leaking gas such as internal air and inert gas, and an inspection part 3B for detecting a cross-sectional area of the packaging bag X pressed in advance by the leakage part 3A and inspecting a seal failure 3, a sorting device 4 that sorts the packaging bags X delivered from the seal check device 3 based on the inspection result, and an operation unit 5 that is operated to operate the inspection line 1. Each of these devices 3 to 5 is assembled on a mount 1a, and in particular, the seal check device 3 is generally accommodated in a box-shaped case 1b.

  The chute 2 is connected to the upstream end of the seal check device 3, and the packaging bag X manufactured by vertical sealing and horizontal sealing by the bag making and packaging machine has a concave shape of the chute 2 with the vertical sealing portion facing upward. After being dropped on the conveying surface that is curved to slide down, it is transferred to the seal check device 3.

  The gas leakage part 3A constituting the upstream side of the seal check device 3 which is a characteristic part of the present invention is a flat belt type transport conveyor 12 driven by a motor 11 and a press disposed opposite to the transport conveyor 12 Device 13.

  The pressing device 13 includes two sets of front and rear sprockets (only the front side are shown) 21, 21, 22, and 22 that are paired on the front side and the back side in the example of the figure that are rotatably installed in the case 1b. Endless chains 23 and 23 are wound around a pair of front and rear sprockets 21 and 22 and a pair of front and rear sprockets 21 and 22, respectively.

  A motor 24 is installed in the upper part of the case 1b. A timing belt 25 is wound between a pulley 24a assembled to the output shaft of the motor 24 and a pulley 21a coaxially assembled with the sprockets 21 and 21, and the driving force of the motor 24 is applied to the sprocket 21. , 21 so that the endless chains 23, 23 circulate as indicated by arrows c. The traveling speed in that case is set to synchronize with the conveying speed of the conveying conveyor 12.

  The configuration of the pressing device 13 will be described in more detail. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the pressing device disposed above the transport conveyor 12 that transports the packaging bag X filled with the contents M... M in the direction of arrow b. 13, the lower portions of the opposing link members 23 a... 23 a of the pair of left and right endless chains 23, 23 are respectively bent and extended in an L shape, and between the extending portions 23 a ′ 23 a ′ facing each other. The elongated attachment members 26... 26 are erected. And the brush 27 provided with many flexible bristle materials 27a ... 27a is provided in the lower surface of each attachment member 26. As shown in FIG. For example, as shown in FIG. 3, the brush 27, that is, the bristle material 27 a... 27 a is set to have a length and a diameter that can press the packaging bag X while deforming along the outer shape of the packaging bag X.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the inspection unit 3B constituting the downstream side of the seal check device 3 includes a flat belt type relay conveyor 32 driven by a motor 31, an upstream end portion of the relay conveyor 32, and the transfer conveyor. 12 and a line sensor 33 installed between the downstream end portions of the twelve downstream ends.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the line sensor 33 installed between the transport conveyor 12 and the relay conveyor 32 extends in a direction perpendicular to the transport surface, and a plurality of light emitting elements 33a ′. The provided light emitting portion 33a and a light receiving portion (not shown) provided with the same number and the same number of light receiving elements as the light emitting elements 33a ′... 33a ′ are arranged to face each other across the conveyance surface. In that case, if the light emitted from the light emitting element 33a 'is shielded, the output of the corresponding light receiving element is turned off. On the other hand, if the light is not shielded, the output of the corresponding light receiving element is turned on, and thus the light is conveyed in the direction of arrow b. When the packaging bag X passes through this position, the highest position and the lowest position of the packaging bag X, that is, the thickness HL is detected.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the sorting device 4 is disposed on one side of the conveyor 4b at a location near the upstream end of the conveyor 4b and a flat belt type carry-out conveyor 4b driven by a motor 4a. And an air jet 4c. Thereby, based on the inspection result by the seal check device 3, the non-defective product is passed through to the downstream boxing device or the air jet 4c is operated to discharge the defective product to the side along the transport direction b. be able to.

  In addition to the power switch (not shown), the operation unit 5 includes an operation panel 5a for performing various settings and operations necessary for the operation of the packaging bag inspection line 1, and a printer 5b for printing out the inspection results, for example. Have.

  Next, a control system of the packaging bag inspection line 1 will be described.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the control unit 40 for comprehensively controlling the packaging bag inspection line 1 includes a motor 11 for driving the transport conveyor 12 of the gas leakage part 3A, a motor 24 for driving the pressing device 13, and an inspection part. While outputting a control signal to the motor 31 for driving the 3B relay conveyor 32, the motor 4a for driving the unloading conveyor 4b of the sorting device 4, and the air jet 4c for discharging defective products to the side in the transport direction b. A signal is exchanged with the operation unit 5.

  Further, the control unit 40 inputs a detection signal from the line sensor 33, that is, the detected thickness HL of the packaging bag X at a constant period, and stores it in the memory 40a. The control unit 40 calculates a cross-sectional area along the transport direction b of the packaging bag X based on the transport amount of the packaging bag X corresponding to the cycle and the thickness HL read from the memory 40a, and the cross-sectional area A seal defect is determined by comparing with a preset reference cross-sectional area.

  Here, the operation of the packaging bag inspection line 1 will be described.

  That is, as shown in FIG. 1, when the packaging bag X filled with the contents M... M is manufactured by the upstream bag making and packaging machine, the dropped packaging bag X is received by the chute 2 and slides down. The product is delivered to the seal check device 3 with the vertical seal portion facing upward.

  The packaging bag X delivered to the seal check device 3 is first supplied to the gas leakage part 3A. The supplied packaging bag X is conveyed in the direction of the arrow b while being sandwiched and pressed by the lower conveying conveyor 12 and the brushes 27... 27 provided on the upper endless chain 23 that circulates. In that case, when there is a seal failure in the vertical seal portion or the horizontal seal portion of the packaging bag X, as shown by an arrow III or a chain line in FIG. 3, gas such as air or inert gas in the packaging bag X leaks, As a result, the thickness HL, that is, the cross-sectional area of the packaging bag X decreases.

  The packaging bag X that has passed through the gas leakage part 3A is then transferred to the inspection part 3B and inspected for defective sealing. An example of the determination operation by the control unit 40 at this time is shown in the flowchart of FIG.

  First, when the light shielding line sensor 33 detects the packaging bag X in step S1, the thickness HL of the packaging bag X based on the light shielding signal is sampled and inputted in a predetermined cycle in step S2.

When the detection of the packaging bag X by the line sensor 33 is completed in step S3, that is, when the packaging bag X has passed through the installation position of the line sensor 33, in step S4, the disconnection along the conveyance direction b of the packaging bag X is performed. The area SL is calculated. That is, as shown in FIG. 7 and Formula 1, the sum of the products of the transport amount ΔL of the packaging bag X corresponding to the above-described sampling period Δt and the thickness HL _i (i = 1 to n) input at each sampling is obtained. The cross-sectional area SL is calculated by obtaining this. In that case, as shown in Formula 2, the transport amount ΔL of the packaging bag X is obtained by the product of the transport speed v of the transport conveyor 12 and the period Δt. As is apparent from FIG. 4, the sampling period Δt is shorter as the distance between the light emitting elements 33a ′... 33a ′ adjacent to each other and the light receiving elements of the line sensor 33 is smaller. The cross sectional area SL can be obtained with higher accuracy.

And again back to FIG. 6, at step S5, it is determined whether or not the cross-sectional area SL is large compared to the reference cross-sectional area SL ₀ set in advance. In that case, the reference cross-sectional area SL ₀ is set based on preliminary tests made to advance good or defective.

  If the determination in step S5 is YES, it means that there is no gas leakage or even if it is smaller than the standard. In that case, it is determined that the packaging bag X is a non-defective product, and the process proceeds to step S6. Determine whether or not. And if it determines with YES at step S6, while complete | finishing all the test | inspections, if it determines with NO, it will return to said step S1 and will continue a test | inspection.

  On the other hand, if NO is determined in the step S5, it means that the gas leakage is larger than the standard. In that case, the packaging bag X is determined to be defective and the process proceeds to step S7, and an error signal is output. In step S8, the air jet 4c of the sorting device 4 is operated, and the packaging bag X is discharged in a predetermined direction.

  By configuring as described above, first, the sectional area SL of the packaging bag X conveyed by the conveying conveyor 12 and the relay conveyor 32 is detected by the line sensor 33 constituting the sectional area detecting means, and based on the sectional area SL. Thus, it is possible to determine the seal failure by the control unit 40 as the determining means. That is, since the inspection unit 3B is of a type that does not use a pressing plate, problems such as double riding under the pressing plate do not occur, and high-speed processing is maintained.

  In addition, since the cross-sectional area SL of the packaging bag X is detected, it is a method that does not use the above-described pressing plate, and inspects based on the area including the region other than the cross-sectional area of the packaging bag X. Compared to the seal check device or seal check method, the reliability of inspection is improved.

  In addition, the inspection unit 3B is realized with a relatively simplified equipment configuration by the line sensor 33 and the control unit 40 as a calculation means. Further, the length of the machine can be shortened as compared with the type using a pressing plate, and it is not necessary to prepare a pressing plate having a size corresponding to the packaging bag X, resulting in an unnecessarily high inspection cost. There is nothing. Moreover, since the sealing failure is inspected in a non-contact manner, the contents M... M are not damaged even if the inspection object is, for example, the packaging bag X with a small amount of enclosed air, inert gas, or the like.

  In addition, since the gas leakage portion 3A, that is, the pressing device 13 is provided, when the packaging bag X has a sealing failure, gas such as air or inert gas can be leaked from the packaging bag X. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 3, it becomes possible to detect the seal failure reliably by making the cross-sectional area SL of the non-defective product indicated by the solid line and the defective product indicated by the arrow III and the chain line significantly different. Is further improved.

  Further, by using a flexible pressing member such as the brush 27 to press the packaging bag X, the brush 27 is deformed so as to conform to the shape of the packaging bag X. Therefore, since the packaging bag X can be pressed efficiently and evenly, the leakage of the internal gas is promoted when the packaging bag X has a poorly sealed portion. Moreover, damage to the contents M ... M is suppressed.

  Further, at the time of pressing, the brush 27 is deformed so as to be adapted to the shape of the packaging bag X, so that it can be pressed in a good manner corresponding to a slight thickness variation of the supplied packaging bag X. Therefore, for example, even if the thickness of the packaging bag X fluctuates excessively, the packaging bag X is not excessively pressed and the packaging bag X is not accidentally damaged.

  When there is a large seal failure in the packaging bag X or when there is a sealing failure in the packaging bag X in which gas is sealed with an internal pressure of 1 atm or more, the installation location of the line sensor 33 constituting the cross-sectional area detection means is Since gas leaks from the inside until it arrives and the cross-sectional area SL of the packaging bag X decreases, it is not essential to provide the gas leakage part 3A, that is, the pressing device 13 in such a case.

  Further, by providing a plurality of brushes 27... 27 on the endless chains 23 and 23 as circulation moving members, the packaging bags X supplied at a short conveying pitch are sequentially pressed to reduce the cross-sectional area SL of the packaging bag X with poor sealing. Since it can be reduced, further high-speed processing is achieved.

  Next, another embodiment of the present invention will be described. Note that the same or similar components as those in the above-described embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals unless confusing.

  First, a pressing device 13B shown in FIG. 8 includes flexible sponges 27B... 27B as pressing members on the pair of left and right endless chains (shown only on the front side) 23, 23 instead of the brushes 27.

  Also in this case, the packaging bag X is sandwiched and pressed by the transport conveyor 12 and the pressing device 13B and transported in the direction of the arrow b, and the gas in the packaging bag X having a poor seal is leaked well in the transport process. As shown by the arrow III and the chain line, the thickness, that is, the cross-sectional area can be reduced.

  Further, in the pressing device 13C shown in FIG. 9, the above-described brushes 27 ... 27 are not circulated through the endless chains 23, 23, but are permanently placed in a predetermined range along the transport direction b of the transport conveyor 12. .

  That is, in this pressing device 13C, four flexible brush rolls 27C... 27C are arranged along the conveyance direction b between a pair of U-shaped brackets 51, 51 attached to the left and right sides of the conveyor 12. As shown by d, it is supported rotatably.

  Also in this case, the packaging bag X transported on the transport conveyor 12 is pressed by the pressing device 13C installed over a predetermined range, that is, the brush rolls 27C. The gas leaks reliably. In addition, since the brush rolls 27C to 27C, which are pressing members, are permanent, the support mechanism is simple.

  The brush rolls 27C to 27C rotate freely, but may be configured to be rotationally driven. In that case, stable conveyance of the packaging bag X is achieved.

  In the pressing device 13D shown in FIG. 10, the brushes 27... 27 described above do not circulate through the endless chains 23 and 23, and the three brushes 27. A predetermined range is configured to reciprocate in the directions of arrows e and e ′.

  That is, the pressing device 13D is supported by a table 61 provided on one side of the conveyor 12, and a guide rail 62 fixed on the table 61 and a slidably fitted to the guide rail 62. It has a combined slider 63 and an arm member 64 extending from the slider 63 to the front side and back side in the figure. The front side of the arm member 64 suspends and supports the brushes 27... 27, while the back side supports a rack 65 that is long in the transport direction b. Further, a bracket 66 is erected on the platform 61, and a pinion 68 that meshes with the rack 65 is assembled to an output shaft of a motor 67 attached to the bracket 66.

  As a result, the slider 63 reciprocates along the guide rail 62 in the directions of the arrows e and e ′ through the meshing of the rack 65 with the pinion 68 that rotates in the directions of the arrows f and f ′ by the drive of the motor 67. . Therefore, when the slider 63 is moved in the direction of the arrow e in the direction of the arrow e in synchronization with the transport conveyor 12, it is provided on the lower transport conveyor 12 and the slider 63 as the upper reciprocating member over the predetermined range when going forward. Since the packaging bag X can be conveyed while being pressed in cooperation with the brushes 27... 27 which are pressing members, a sufficient pressing time is ensured and gas leakage is further ensured. The transport pitch of X is stabilized. In addition, there is an advantage that the moving speed can be made different between the forward time and the backward time, for example, the backward moving speed indicated by the arrow e ′ after the pressing is finished is faster than the forward time.

  In addition, in the said embodiment, although cross-sectional area SL along the conveyance direction b of the packaging bag X was detected, the cross-sectional area of the direction orthogonal to the conveyance direction b of the packaging bag X is detected, and it seals based on this You may make it determine a defect.

  That is, as shown in FIG. 11, in the vicinity of the downstream end portion of the transport conveyor 12, the transport surface, that is, the packaging bag X to be transported, is sandwiched in the direction perpendicular to the transport direction b with the transport bag 12 interposed therebetween. A plurality of laser type distance measuring sensors 133a... 133a, 133b, 133b... 133b are attached to the upper and lower support members 134 and 135, respectively. The upper distance measuring sensors 133a... 133a indicate the distance from the upper position of the packaging bag X to the upper surface of the packaging bag X when passing through the position, while the lower distance measuring sensors 133b. The distance from the lower position to the lower surface of the packaging bag X is detected, and the thickness HT of each part of the packaging bag X is detected from these distances. In that case, the distance measuring sensors 133a, 133a, 133b, and 133b that are adjacent to each other are spaced apart by an interval Δd. As the distance measuring sensors 133a and 133b, known types such as an ultrasonic type and an optical type are applied in addition to the laser type.

  Thereby, the cross-sectional area ST in the direction orthogonal to the conveyance direction b can be calculated by detecting the thickness HT of the packaging bag X at the location corresponding to the installation position of each of the distance measuring sensors 133a ... 133a, 133b ... 133b. it can. That is, the cross-sectional area ST can be calculated by obtaining the total sum of the products of the thickness HL of each location and the interval Δd.

  FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing an example of a seal failure determination operation in this case.

  First, when the distance measuring sensors 133a ... 133a, 133b ... 133b detect the packaging bag X in step S11, the packaging bags X detected by the distance measuring sensors 133a ... 133a, 133b ... 133b in a predetermined cycle are detected in step S12. The cross-sectional area ST in the direction orthogonal to the transport direction b is sampled and input.

When the detection of the packaging bag X by the distance measuring sensors 133a... 133a, 133b. In step S14, the maximum cross-sectional area _STmax is specified.

Then, at step S15, it determines greater or not compared to the reference cross-sectional area ST ₀ to the cross-sectional area _{ST max} is preset. In that case, the reference cross-sectional area ST ₀ is set based on preliminary tests made to advance good or defective.

  If YES is determined in step S15, it means that there is no gas leakage or even smaller than the standard. In that case, it is determined that the packaging bag X is non-defective, and the process proceeds to step S16. Determine whether or not. And if it determines with YES at step S16, while complete | finishing all the test | inspections, if it determines with NO, it will return to said step S11 and will continue a test | inspection.

  On the other hand, if NO is determined in the step S15, it means that the gas leakage is larger than the standard. In this case, the packaging bag X is determined to be defective and the process proceeds to step S17, and an error signal is output. In step S18, the air jet 4c of the sorting device 4 is operated, and the packaging bag X is discharged in a predetermined direction.

  The sealing failure of the packaging bag X can also be determined by detecting the cross-sectional area ST in the direction orthogonal to the conveyance direction b of the packaging bag X configured as described above. Further, in this case, since the volume of the packaging bag X can be obtained, it is possible to determine a seal failure based on this volume.

  In other words, an example of a seal failure determination operation in this case is shown in the flowchart of FIG. Since steps S21 to S23 and steps S26 to S28 are the same as steps S11 to S13 and steps S16 to S18 described above, the description thereof is omitted.

In step S24, the volume V of the packaging bag X is calculated. That is, as shown in FIG. 14 and Formula 3, the sum of products of the transport amount ΔL of the packaging bag X corresponding to the above-described sampling period Δt and the cross-sectional area ST _j (j = 1 to m) input at each sampling time. To calculate the volume V. In this case, the transport amount ΔL is obtained by the product of the transport speed v of the transport conveyor 12 and the period Δt, as shown in Equation 2 described above. As is clear from FIG. 11, the smaller the interval Δd between the distance measuring sensors 133a, 133a, 133b, and 133b adjacent to each other, and the shorter the sampling period Δt, as clear from FIG. Volume V can be determined.

Then, at step S25, it determines whether or not large compared to the reference cross-sectional area V ₀ to said volume V is set in advance. In that case, the reference cross-sectional area V ₀ is set based on a preliminary inspection performed on a non-defective product or a defective product in advance.

  If it is determined as YES in the step S25, it means that there is no gas leakage or even smaller than the standard. In that case, the packaging bag X is assumed to be a non-defective product. It means that the leakage is larger than the standard. In this case, the packaging bag X is assumed to be defective.

  In this way, by detecting the volume V of the packaging bag X and inspecting the sealing failure based on the volume V, the shape of the packaging bag X can be detected more faithfully, and the inspection accuracy can be further improved. Can be planned.

  As described above, according to the present invention, a seal check device and a seal check method that can improve the reliability of inspection while maintaining high-speed processing are provided. That is, the present invention relates to a seal check device and a seal check method for inspecting a packaging bag for sealing failure, and is widely suitable for the technical field of quality inspection of packaging bags.

It is a side view which shows schematic structure of the packaging bag test | inspection line provided with the seal | sticker check apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a top view of a pressing device It is an arrow view by the II-II line of FIG. It is a principal part side view which shows the structure of a line sensor. It is a block diagram for demonstrating a control system. It is a flowchart which shows the example of a determination operation by a control unit. It is a somewhat schematic figure for demonstrating cross-sectional area calculation. It is a partially broken side view equivalent to FIG. 3 of the press apparatus using sponge instead of a brush. It is a side view of a permanent-type pressing device. It is a side view of a reciprocating-type pressing device. It is a principal part front view for demonstrating the cross-sectional area detection of the direction orthogonal to a conveyance direction. It is a flowchart which shows the example of a determination operation | movement based on the detected cross-sectional area similarly. It is a flowchart which shows the example of determination operation | movement based on the detected volume similarly. It is a somewhat schematic figure for demonstrating volume calculation. It is a side view for demonstrating the problem in the conventional seal | sticker check apparatus.

Explanation of symbols

3 Seal check device 12 Conveyor (conveying means)
13, 13B, 13C, 13D Press device (gas leakage means)
23 Endless chain (Circulating moving member)
27 Brush (Pressing member)
27B Sponge (Pressing member)
27C Brush roll (pressing member)
33 Line sensor (cross-sectional area detection means)
40 Control unit (determination means, calculation means)
63 Slider (reciprocating member)
133a, 133b Distance sensor (cross-sectional area detecting means)
SL, ST Cross section X Packaging bag

Claims (8)

  A seal check device for inspecting a sealing failure of a packaging bag, comprising: a conveying means for conveying the packaging bag; a cross-sectional area detecting means for detecting a cross-sectional area of the packaging bag conveyed by the conveying means; and the detecting means. A seal check apparatus, comprising: a determination unit that compares the detected cross-sectional area with a preset reference cross-sectional area to determine a seal failure.   The seal check device according to claim 1, wherein the cross-sectional area detection unit detects a cross-sectional area along a conveyance direction of the packaging bag.   The cross-sectional area detecting means is provided at a predetermined position of the conveying means so as to extend in a direction perpendicular to the conveying surface, and from the highest position and the lowest position of the packaging bag when passing the position, A line sensor for detecting the thickness and a detection signal from the line sensor are inputted at a constant cycle, and a cross-sectional area along the carrying direction of the packaging bag is calculated based on the packaging bag carrying amount corresponding to the cycle and the thickness. The seal check device according to claim 2, further comprising an arithmetic unit that performs the operation.   The gas leakage means is provided upstream of the cross-sectional area detection means for causing the internal gas to leak from a poorly sealed portion by pressing the packaging bag from above with a flexible pressing member. The seal check device according to any one of claims 1 to 3.   The seal check device according to claim 4, wherein the pressing member is provided in a predetermined range along a conveyance direction of the packaging bag.   5. The seal according to claim 4, wherein the pressing member is provided on a reciprocating member that reciprocally moves in a predetermined range along a conveying direction of the packaging bag, and moves in synchronization with the conveying unit when traveling. Check device.   The seal check device according to claim 4, wherein the pressing member is provided on a circulation moving member that circulates and moves in a predetermined range along the conveyance direction of the packaging bag in synchronization with the conveyance means. A seal check method for inspecting a seal failure of a packaging bag, and detecting a cross-sectional area of the transported packaging bag and comparing the detected cross-sectional area with a preset reference cross-sectional area to determine a seal failure. A seal check method characterized by:

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