JP7546971B1 - Stacking device and packaging device - Google Patents

Abstract

A stacking device capable of stacking a plurality of packaged products in a neat and aligned manner, and a packaging device including the stacking device are provided.
[Solution] The packaging device 100 includes a discharge control unit 110 in front of a stacker 106. The stacker 106 accumulates a plurality of packaged products W, which are packaged items P wrapped in films F1 and F2. The stacker 106 has a front wall 11, a rear wall 12, and a bottom wall 13. The front wall 11 abuts against the leading end of the packaged product W discharged from a housing 101 of the packaging device 100, and bounces it back in the opposite direction. The rear wall 12 abuts against the rear end of the packaged product W bounced back by the front wall 11, and positions it. The bottom wall 13 is disposed between the front wall 11 and the rear wall 12, and stacks and places the packaged products W that have been bounced back by the front wall 11 and have their rear ends aligned by the rear wall 12. The discharge control unit 110 has flexible sheet materials 117, 118 that can be selectively positioned on the path of the packaged products W fed into the stacker 106.
[Selected figure] Figure 6

Description

The present invention relates to a stacking device that stacks packaged products, such as newspapers, wrapped in film, and a packaging device equipped with this stacking device.

A packaging device that wraps newspapers in film typically sandwiches the newspaper between two rolls of film and heat seals the film together around the newspaper. The film is then cut at the same time as the heat seal is completed, and the device waits for the next newspaper to be inserted. The newspapers wrapped in film are then accumulated in a stacker.

JP 2022-178993 A

Newspapers are wrapped in film, with multiple sheets of newspaper overlapping and folded in four. For this reason, if these packages are stacked in the same orientation in a stacker, the side where the folds overlap will be thicker, and the stacking posture will be easily distorted. In addition, because the surface of the packages is covered in film, they are slippery, and it is not easy to neatly align the edges of the packages that are ejected with force and stack them.

The present invention has been made in consideration of the above points, and aims to provide a stacking device that can neatly align and stack multiple packaged products, and a packaging device equipped with this stacking device.

One aspect of the stacking device of the present invention stacks a plurality of packages in which flat, thick objects are wrapped in a packaging material. The stacking device has a first wall, a second wall, a bottom wall, and a discharge control unit. The first wall strikes the leading end of the package in the first direction of the package sent in the first direction through a path intersecting the vertical direction, and bounces it in a second direction opposite to the first direction. The second wall strikes the trailing end of the package bounced in the second direction by the first wall, and positions it. The bottom wall is disposed between the first wall and the second wall, and stacks and places the packaged products that have been bounced in the second direction by the first wall and have their trailing ends aligned by the second wall. The discharge control unit is capable of selectively arranging at least one flexible friction-imparting member on the path along which the packaged products are sent in the first direction.

One aspect of the packaging device of the present invention includes a packaging means for packaging a flat, thick object with a packaging material, and a stacking device for stacking the packaged products packaged by the packaging means. The stacking device includes a first wall, a second wall, a bottom wall, and a discharge control unit. The first wall strikes the leading end of the packaged product in the first direction, which is fed in a first direction through a path intersecting the vertical direction, and bounces it in a second direction opposite to the first direction. The second wall strikes the trailing end of the packaged product in the first direction, which is bounced in the second direction by the first wall, and positions it. The bottom wall is disposed between the first wall and the second wall, and stacks and places the packaged products that have been bounced in the second direction by the first wall and have their trailing ends aligned by the second wall. The discharge control unit is capable of selectively arranging at least one flexible friction-imparting member on the path along which the packaged products are fed in the first direction.

According to one aspect of the present invention, it is possible to provide a stacking device capable of stacking multiple packaged products in a neatly aligned manner, and a packaging device equipped with this stacking device.

FIG. 1 is an external perspective view showing a packaging device according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing the internal structure of the packaging device of FIG. FIG. 3 is a side view showing a state in which the stacking device is pulled out from the packaging device of FIG. FIG. 4 is an enlarged view showing a discharge control section of the packaging device of FIG. FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a main part of the discharge control unit of FIG. FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the packaging device showing a state in which one resin sheet of the discharge control section in FIG. 5 is arranged on the transport path of the packaged products. FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the packaging device showing a state in which two resin sheets of the discharge control section in FIG. 5 are arranged on a transport path for packaged products.

The packaging device 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In each drawing, the direction indicated by the arrow X is the rear (second direction), and the direction opposite to the X direction is the front (first direction). In each drawing, the direction indicated by the arrow Y is the rightward direction, and the direction opposite to the arrow Y is the leftward direction. In each drawing, the direction indicated by the arrow Z is the vertical upward direction, and the direction opposite to the arrow Z is the vertical downward direction. In other words, in the following description, the front-rear direction, left-right direction, and up-down direction are defined when the packaging device 100 is viewed from the direction of the arrow X.

As shown in FIG. 1, the packaging device 100 has a housing 101 that forms the outer shell of the device. The housing 101 has an opening at the top that opens up the top of the packaging device 100. The housing 101 has a top plate 102 for opening and closing this opening. The top plate 102 is rotatably mounted via a hinge (not shown) provided at the rear of the housing 101. The top plate 102 has a handle 102a at its front end away from the hinge that is held by an operator. The top plate 102 can be opened and closed between a closed position shown in the figure and an open position (not shown).

The top plate 102 has a slit-shaped insertion opening 103 through which the packaged item P (FIG. 2), which is, for example, several sheets of newspaper stacked and folded, is inserted. The packaged item P is an example of a "flat item with thickness" and may be referred to as a "newspaper" in this embodiment. The insertion opening 103 has a size and shape that allows the packaged item P to be inserted. The insertion opening 103 is an opening that penetrates the top plate 102. The newspaper, which is the packaged item P, is inserted into the insertion opening 103 with the folds facing down. In addition to newspapers, the packaged item P may be a booklet or a flat box. The insertion opening 103 is provided in the center of the front-rear direction of the packaging device 100 and extends in the left-right direction, and the top plate 102 may be provided with a shutter for opening and closing the insertion opening 103.

An operation/display panel 104 is provided on the top surface of the housing 101 to the right of the input port 103, which accepts various operational inputs from the worker and displays various operational instructions to the worker. A power switch 105 is provided on the right front surface of the housing 101.

A stacker 106 is provided below the housing 101 for receiving and accumulating packaged products W (Fig. 3) in which packaged items P are wrapped in films F1 and F2 (Fig. 2). The films F1 and F2 are an example of "packaging material." The stacker 106 can be arranged in a state shown in Fig. 1 in which it is housed inside the housing 101, or in a state shown in Fig. 3 in which it is pulled out forward from the housing 101. The housing 101 is provided with casters 107 at its bottom for movement. The stacker 106 will be described later.

As shown in FIG. 2, the housing 101 contains a roll R1 in which a long resin film F1 is wound around a cylindrical core C1, and a roll R2 in which a long resin film F2 is wound around a cylindrical core C2. The films F1 and F2 are made of a heat-sealable material with a thickness of about 7 to 10 μm. The cores C1 and C2 of the rolls R1 and R2 have an inner diameter that allows the shafts S1 and S2 to pass through with a slight amount of play inside. The shafts S1 and S2 are supported at both ends by support parts (not shown) in a state in which they can move up and down relative to the housing 101.

The shafts S1 and S2 extend in the left-right direction perpendicular to the paper surface, and the rolls R1 and R2 are attached to the housing 101 at positions spaced apart from each other by a distance that does not interfere with each other. Specifically, one roll R1 is positioned in front of the input port 103, and the other roll R2 is positioned behind the input port 103. The rolls R1 and R2 are freely rotatable about the shafts S1 and S2, respectively. The rolls R1 and R2 can be replaced by opening the top plate 102 and removing both ends of the shafts S1 and S2 from the housing 101.

In Figure 2, the roll R1 on the left (front) is attached inside the housing 101 in such a direction that it rotates counterclockwise as film F1 is pulled out. The roll R2 on the right (rear) is attached inside the housing 101 in such a direction that it rotates clockwise as film F2 is pulled out. Rolls R1 and R2 rotate about axes S1 and S2 when the packaged item P is inserted, i.e., when films F1 and F2 are pulled out.

Support rollers 9a and 9b are provided below the rolls R1 and R2, respectively, which support the rolls R1 and R2 from below by contacting their outer circumferential surfaces with the outer circumferential surfaces of the rolls R1 and R2. The rotation shafts of the support rollers 9a and 9b extend in the left-right direction perpendicular to the paper surface. Both ends of the rotation shafts of the support rollers 9a and 9b are rotatably attached to the housing 101.

As described above, each of the rolls R1 and R2 is supported on both ends of its shaft S1 and S2 so that it can move up and down relative to the housing 101, and therefore presses its outer circumferential surface against the corresponding support rollers 9a and 9b due to its own weight. Therefore, the support rollers 9a and 9b can rotate in a driven manner relative to the rolls R1 and R2, respectively.

Two guide rollers 2a, 2b extending to the left and right are provided downstream of the inlet 103 along the insertion direction of the packaged item P. One guide roller 2a is disposed in front of the inlet 103, and the other guide roller 2b is disposed behind the inlet 103. The packaged item P is inserted in the direction of gravity, from top to bottom. The guide rollers 2a, 2b wrap around the films F1, F2 that are pulled out from the rolls R1, R2 in directions approaching each other, and guide them downward.

The guide rollers 2a, 2b are arranged near the inlet 103, spaced apart from each other in the front-to-rear direction at a distance greater than the thickness of the packaged item P and slightly narrower than the width of the inlet 103 in the front-to-rear direction. The films F1, F2 guided between the guide rollers 2a, 2b are pulled downward. The packaged item P inserted into the housing 101 through the inlet 103 is passed between the two films F1, F2. A transport path H is provided in approximately the center of the housing 101 in the front-to-rear direction, passing between the guide rollers 2a, 2b and leading to the stacker 106.

A welding and cutting section 4 that welds and cuts the two films F1 and F2 is provided downstream of the guide rollers 2a and 2b along the pull-out direction of the films F1 and F2. The welding and cutting section 4 has a blade 41 arranged in front of the film F1 pulled downward from the roll R1, a heater 42 that heats the blade 41, and a receiving member 43 arranged behind the film F2 pulled downward from the roll R2, facing the blade 41. The blade 41 and receiving member 43 have a length that at least exceeds the width of the films F1 and F2 in the left-right direction. The heater 42 is attached in contact with the upper surface of the blade 41 as shown.

The laminate T, in which the packaged item P is sandwiched between the two films F1, F2, is transported via the transport path H and stopped at the welding position shown in FIG. 2, and the blade 41 is moved rightward (rearward) from the position shown toward the receiving member 43, whereupon the two films F1, F2 are sandwiched between the blade 41 and the receiving member 43 and come into contact with each other, and the two films F1, F2 are welded together by the heat of the blade 41. When the packaged item W downstream of the welded portion of the films F1, F2 is transported downward toward the stacker 106, the films F1, F2 are torn off at approximately the vertical center of the welded portion.

As a result, the rear ends in the pull-out direction of the two films F1, F2 of the packaged product W that have passed through the welding and cutting section 4 are welded together, and the leading ends in the pull-out direction of the two films F1, F2 on the upstream side of the welding and cutting section 4 along the pull-out direction are welded together. After the blade 41 is moved to the home position in Figure 2 away from the receiving member 43, the leading ends in the pull-out direction of the two films F1, F2 on the upstream side of the welding and cutting section 4 stick to the surface of the receiving member 43 on the conveying path H side.

The packaging device 100 has two welding units (not shown) that weld two films F1, F2 at positions that sandwich the laminate T from the left and right when the laminate T is stopped at the welding position. The welding units have blades and receiving members that sandwich the two films F1, F2 from the front and back, and weld the two films F1, F2 on the outside of the left and right ends of the packaged item P of the laminate T. In other words, the packaging device 100 welds the films F1, F2 so as to surround the four sides of the packaged item P. The welding units that weld the left and right ends of the films F1, F2 have the same configuration as the welding and cutting unit 4 described above and function in the same way as the welding and cutting unit 4 (welding the two films F1, F2 without cutting them), so a detailed description of them will be omitted here.

A sensor 5 for detecting the passage of the packaged item P is provided upstream of the welding and cutting section 4 and downstream of the guide rollers 2a and 2b along the withdrawal direction of the films F1 and F2. In addition, a sensor 6 for detecting the passage of the packaged item P is provided downstream of the welding and cutting section 4 along the withdrawal direction of the films F1 and F2. The sensors 5 and 6 are each a transmission type photoelectric sensor having a light emitting element and a light receiving element on both the front and rear sides sandwiching the transport path of the packaged item P therebetween.

In other words, sensor 5 is positioned upstream of welding and cutting section 4 at a position where its light beam crosses the transport path of packaged item P, and sensor 6 is positioned downstream of welding and cutting section 4 at a position where its light beam crosses the transport path of packaged item P. Note that the light beams of sensors 5 and 6 pass through films F1 and F2, and therefore can detect the passage of packaged item P sandwiched between films F1 and F2. Sensors 5 and 6 may be reflective photoelectric sensors that detect light reflected by packaged item P.

Sensor 5 detects the downstream end (leading end) of the packaged item P in the conveying direction that is inserted through the insertion port 103, and detects that the packaged item P has been inserted into the packaging device 100. Sensor 6 detects the upstream end (rear end) of the packaged item P in the conveying direction, and detects that the packaged item P has passed through the welding and cutting section 4. Sensor 6 may be omitted, and sensor 5 may detect the rear end of the packaged item P in the conveying direction, and detect that the packaged item P has passed through the welding and cutting section 4.

Further downstream of the sensor 6 along the pulling direction of the films F1, F2 is a conveying mechanism 8 that clamps and restrains the laminate T, which has the packaged item P sandwiched between the two films F1, F2, and conveys it through the conveying path H, stopping it at the welding position shown in FIG. 2. The conveying mechanism 8 has conveying units 8F, 8R of approximately the same structure at the front and rear of the conveying path H (on both the left and right sides in the figure). The conveying mechanism 8 and the welding and cutting section 4 are an example of a "packaging means".

The transport unit 8F at the front of the transport path H (left side in the figure) has two belt units 80 (only the right one is shown in FIG. 2) spaced apart from each other. Each of the two belt units 80 of the transport unit 8F has a structure in which an endless transport belt 8c is wound around a drive roller 8a and a driven roller 8b that are spaced apart from each other in the direction of gravity. The rotation axes of the drive roller 8a and the driven roller 8b of the two belt units 80 extend in the left-right direction perpendicular to the paper surface, and are arranged coaxially. The drive roller 8a is located above the driven roller 8b and slightly behind the driven roller 8b. The transport unit 8F that defines the front side of the transport path H is arranged at a position where the transport belt 8c of each belt unit 80 runs in contact with the surface of the laminate T on the left side in the figure (the outer surface of the film F1).

The transport unit 8R at the rear of the transport path H (on the right side in the figure) has two belt units 80' (only one on the right side is shown in FIG. 2) that face the rear of the two belt units 80 of the transport unit 8F described above. The two belt units 80' of the transport unit 8R have a structure that is approximately the same as the belt unit 80 of the transport unit 8F, and have a structure in which an endless transport belt 8c is wound around a drive roller 8a and a driven roller 8b. The rotation axes of the drive roller 8a and the driven roller 8b of the two belt units 80' are extended in the left-right direction perpendicular to the paper surface and are arranged coaxially.

The drive roller 8a is located below and slightly forward of the driven roller 8b. The transport unit 8R, which defines the rear side of the transport path H, is located on the opposite side of the laminate T from the transport unit 8F, at a position where the transport belt 8c runs in contact with the surface of the laminate T on the right side in the figure (the outer surface of the film F2). The drive roller 8a of this transport unit 8R may be connected to the drive shaft of the transport unit 8F via a pulley or timing belt (not shown), and is driven in synchronization with the transport unit 8F.

The running direction of the conveyor belt 8c of the conveyor unit 8F is clockwise in FIG. 2, and the running direction of the conveyor belt 8c of the conveyor unit 8R is counterclockwise. The conveyor path H between the conveyor units 8F and 8R is slightly inclined leftward (forward) from top to bottom in FIG. 2. Packaged products W that have been inserted into the conveyor path H and wrapped with films F1 and F2 are discharged via the conveyor path H toward a stacker 106 disposed below the housing 101 by driving the conveyor mechanism 8. The stacker 106 sequentially stacks and stores the packaged products W sent through the conveyor path H.

As shown in FIG. 3, the packaging device 100 is provided with a conveying guide 109 between the conveying mechanism 8 and the stacker 106. The conveying guide 109 guides the leading end of the packaged product W conveyed by the conveying mechanism 8 in the conveying direction and leads it to the stacker 106. The conveying mechanism 8 conveys the packaged product W through a conveying path H that is slightly inclined forward of the packaging device 100 toward the direction of gravity. The conveying guide 109 is disposed at an incline forward toward the direction of gravity, and directs the conveying direction of the packaged product W conveyed by the conveying mechanism 8 further forward. Therefore, the packaged product W guided by the conveying guide 109 is conveyed flying in an approximately horizontal direction toward the front wall 11 of the stacker 106.

The stacker 106 has a front wall 11, a rear wall 12, and a bottom wall 13. The front wall 11 is an example of a "first wall," and the rear wall 12 is an example of a "second wall." When the stacker 106 is arranged in the state shown in FIG. 1, the rear wall 12 can be folded so as to overlap the bottom wall 13. The height of the rear wall 12 is shorter than the front-to-rear width of the bottom wall 13, and is a height that does not reach the height of the conveying guide 109 when arranged in the state shown in FIG. 3. The height of the front wall 11 is a height at which its upper end is substantially opposed to the lower end of the conveying guide 109. The width between the front wall 11 and the rear wall 12 (i.e., the width of the bottom wall 13) is longer than the width of the packaged product W in the conveying direction. After the stacker 106 is pulled forward from the housing 101, the rear wall 12 rotates to a state where it is substantially perpendicular to the bottom wall 13. In this state, the rear wall 12 is substantially parallel to the front wall 11.

The front wall 11 extends in a substantially vertical direction. The front wall 11 may be arranged at an angle such that its upper end is slightly inclined toward the housing 101. The bottom wall 13 connects the lower end of the rear wall 12 and the lower end of the front wall 11. The bottom wall 13 is slightly inclined downward toward the rear. On the bottom surface near the front end of the bottom wall 13, there is a protrusion 14 for inclining the bottom wall 13. There are two protrusions 14 spaced apart on both sides of the front end of the bottom wall 13 in the left-right direction. The protrusions 14 have a protruding height such that the front end side of the bottom wall 13 of the stacker 106 is slightly inclined upward when the lower end of the protrusions 14 is in contact with the installation surface F. As described above, the front wall 11 of the stacker 106 is arranged in a substantially vertical direction, and the bottom wall 13 is extended in a direction in which its front end is slightly inclined upward, so that the angle between the front wall 11 and the bottom wall 13 is an obtuse angle.

When packaging the packaged item P with the films F1 and F2, the worker turns on the power switch 105 of the packaging device 100 and inserts the packaged item P through the inlet 103. Then, the sensor 5 detects the presence of the packaged item P, and the conveying mechanism 8 is driven. After that, when the rear end of the packaged item P is detected through the sensor 6, the conveying mechanism 8 is stopped and the packaged item P is placed at the welding position. In this state, the welding and cutting unit 4 and the two welding units are operated, and the two films F1 and F2 are welded and cut. After cutting the films F1 and F2, the conveying mechanism 8 is operated again, and the packaged item W is conveyed toward the stacker 106. The worker inserts multiple packaged items P through the inlet 103. Multiple packaged items W, in which the packaged items P are wrapped with the films F1 and F2, are stacked and accumulated in the stacker 106.

Here, the behavior of the packaged product W from when it is discharged from the housing 101 via the conveying mechanism 8 until it is stacked in the stacker 106 will be described.
The packaged product W conveyed in the direction of gravity by the conveying mechanism 8 heads toward the conveying guide 109 at a constant speed and is guided by the conveying guide 109 to be discharged from the housing 101. At this time, the discharge direction of the packaged product W is changed by the conveying guide 109 and the packaged product W is conveyed flying in a substantially horizontal position. The leading end of the packaged product W in the conveying direction hits the front wall 11 of the stacker 106 and bounces back. The force with which the packaged product W hits the front wall 11 and bounces back increases as the conveying speed and/or weight of the packaged product W increases.

The packaged product W that hits the front wall 11 and bounces back is aligned by hitting its rear end against the rear wall 12. The packaged product W, whose rear end has been aligned by the rear wall 12, is then stacked on the bottom wall 13. The mounting angle of the conveying guide 109 relative to the housing 101, the conveying speed of the packaged product W by the conveying mechanism 8, the distance between the housing 101 and the front wall 11 of the stacker 106, and other factors are designed to allow the rear end of a standard-weight packaged product W that has bounced back by the front wall 11 to just abut against the rear wall 12 and be aligned.

In contrast, if the conveying speed or weight of the packaged product W discharged from the housing 101 and accumulated in the stacker 106 is greater than the design value, the packaged product W may bounce back further forward after its leading edge hits the front wall 11 and its rear end hits the rear wall 12. In this embodiment, the bottom wall 13 of the stacker 106 is inclined downward (in the direction of FIG. 3) toward the rear wall 12 in order to return the packaged product W that moved forward and separated from the rear wall 12 due to the rebound of its rear end to the rear, or to make it difficult for the packaged product W that bounced off the rear wall 12 to return to the front.

If the bottom wall 13 of the stacker 106 is tilted in the opposite direction to that of this embodiment (tilting the front end downward), and the leading end of the packaged product W sent to the stacker 106 by flying transport is abutted against the front wall 11 to be aligned, the leading end of the packaged product W may curl upward, or the packaged product W may bounce back and become skewed relative to the transport direction, causing the stacking posture to be easily disturbed. Newspapers, which are the packaged items P, are inserted through the inlet 103 with the folds facing downward, so that the stacking height of the front end side is higher than the rear end side when stacked in the stacker 106. Therefore, when a certain number of packaged products W are stacked in the stacker 106, the front end of a packaged product W that is newly sent to the stacker 106 is likely to curl upward. In addition, newspapers, which are the packaged items P, are manually inserted through the inlet 103 by an operator, so they are likely to tilt when inserted, and may be packaged and stacked while tilted relative to the transport direction. In this case, the stacking posture in the stacker 106 is likely to be disturbed.

In contrast, in this embodiment, by tilting the bottom wall 13 of the stacker 106 downward toward the rear, the sliding of the film F2 can be used to move the packaged products W stacked in the stacker 106 toward the rear wall 12, and the rear ends of the packaged products W can be abutted against the rear wall 12 and reliably aligned. Therefore, even if the packaged items P inserted through the insertion port 103 are skewed, the rear ends of the packaged products W can be aligned and stacked in the stacker 106. In addition, the curling problem that is likely to occur when the bottom wall 13 of the stacker 106 is tilted downward toward the front can be prevented, and the packaged products W can be neatly aligned and stacked.

Therefore, according to this embodiment, packaged products W accumulated in the stacker 106 can be easily removed from the stacker 106, and the problem of the packaged products W collapsing when being removed from the stacker 106 can be suppressed. In addition, since the front wall 11 of the stacker 106 extends in a substantially vertical direction, the front wall 11 is unlikely to interfere with the packaged products W when removing the multiple packaged products W that have been accumulated, and does not impede the work. The front wall 11 may be slightly tilted toward the housing 101 from the vertical direction, but in this case, it is desirable to position it at an angle that does not impede the removal of the accumulated packaged products W.

Incidentally, in the present embodiment, when the packaged item P processed by the packaging device 100 is a newspaper, the thickness of the packaged item P varies depending on the number of newspaper sheets (morning edition, evening edition), the number of leaflets, and the like. For this reason, the packaging device 100 of this embodiment allows the conveying speed of the conveying mechanism 8 that conveys the packaged item P to be selected from three levels. The worker selects the processing speed of the packaging device 100, i.e., the conveying speed of the packaged item W, from "high speed," "medium speed," and "low speed" via the operation/display panel 104. As a selection criterion, when packaging a newspaper of standard thickness or thinner, processing at "high speed" or "medium speed" is recommended, and when packaging a thicker and heavier newspaper such as a morning edition with a large number of leaflets, processing at "low speed" is recommended.

For example, when an operator selects "high speed" or "medium speed" processing, if the packaged product W is made of a newspaper that is significantly thinner than the standard, the force of the packaged product bouncing back from the front wall 11 is not so strong that the rear end can be neatly aligned, but as the newspaper becomes thicker than the standard, the force of the rebound increases. For this reason, when "high speed" or "medium speed" processing is selected, depending on the thickness of the newspaper, it may be difficult to neatly align the rear end. Therefore, the packaging device 100 of this embodiment is equipped with a discharge control unit 110 for adjusting the discharge speed of the packaged product W in three stages at the position where the packaged product W is discharged from the housing 101. The discharge control unit 110 is mainly used when "high speed" or "medium speed" processing is selected. The stacker 106 and the discharge control unit 110 are examples of a "stacking device".

As shown in Figures 4 to 7, the discharge control unit 110 is attached to the lower edge of the front panel 111 of the housing 101 via a bracket 112. The front panel 111 is formed in a rectangular plate shape that partially covers the front side of the housing 101. The lower edge of the front panel 111 is located slightly above the upper end of the conveying guide 109, and a discharge outlet 113 for the packaged product W is located below the lower edge. The packaged product W conveyed by the conveying mechanism 8 and guided by the conveying guide 109 is discharged from the housing 101 via the discharge outlet 113 and accumulated in the stacker 106.

The discharge control unit 110 has a fixing member 114 with an L-shaped cross section that is fixed to the bracket 112. The bracket 112 is fastened to the lower edge of the front panel 111 of the housing 101 by a screw 115. The fixing member 114 is fastened to the bracket 112 by a screw 116. The discharge control unit 110 has two sheet materials 117, 118 that are rotatably attached to the fixing member 114. The sheet materials 117, 118 are each rotatably attached to the fixing member 114 via a pivot 119 provided at the base end of the rotation. The sheet materials 117, 118 are, for example, approximately rectangular PET resin sheets with a thickness of 0.5 mm. The sheet materials 117, 118 are an example of a "friction-imparting member".

The sheet materials 117 and 118 are extended in the direction of gravity when rotated to the use position (first position) shown in FIG. 4 facing the discharge port 113. In this state, the sheet materials 117 and 118 are arranged on the "path" through which the packaged products W passing while being conveyed toward the stacker 106 pass. The sheet materials 117 and 118 can also be rotated to a substantially horizontal storage position (second position) that does not face the discharge port 113, as in the case of the sheet material 118 on the right side shown in FIG. 5. The sheet materials 117 and 118 are attached to the front panel 111 at an angle that makes them slightly tilted forward toward the direction of gravity when rotated to the use position. When rotated to the use position, the tip of the rotation of the sheet materials 117 and 118 is located below the front end of the conveying guide 109. In this state, there is a small gap S between the sheet materials 117 and 118 and the front end of the conveying guide 109.

The fixing member 114 has two screws 121 for fixing the sheet materials 117 and 118 to the use position and the storage position. The screw 121 is screwed into the fixing member 114 from the rear of the fixing member 114, and the tip of the shaft penetrates the fixing member 114 and protrudes forward. The amount by which the tip of the screw 121 protrudes from the fixing member 114 can be fine-tuned by adjusting the amount by which the screw 121 is screwed into the fixing member 114. The sheet materials 117 and 118 each have a hole 122 that fits into the tip of the screw 121 protruding forward of the fixing member 114 when rotated to the use position, and a groove 123 that engages with the tip of the screw 121 when rotated to the storage position. The holes 122 and grooves 123 in the sheet materials 117 and 118, and the screws 121 that screw into the fixing member 114 are an example of a "fixing means" that fixes the sheet materials 117 and 118 to their respective use and storage positions.

A method of using the discharge control unit 110 will now be described.
For example, when the packaged item P is the thinnest evening paper or the like, there is no need to slow down the discharge speed of the packaged product W, so the operator places the two sheet materials 117, 118 of the discharge control section 110 in the storage position. When the sheet materials 117, 118 are rotated to the storage position, the tip of the screw 121 engages with the groove portion 123 of the sheet materials 117, 118, and the sheet materials 117, 118 are fixed to the storage position. Since the sheet materials 117, 118 are flexible, the tip of the screw 121 can engage with the groove portion 123 accompanied by deformation of the sheet materials 117, 118. In this way, by fixing the sheet materials 117, 118 to the storage position, it is possible to prevent the sheet materials 117, 118 from rotating to the use position during the operation of the packaging device 100.

If the packaged product P is thicker than the thinnest one described above and bounces back to the front from the rear wall 12 of the stacker 106, the worker selects whether to place one sheet material 117 in the use position (FIG. 6) or two sheet materials 117 and 118 in the use position (FIG. 7) depending on the degree of bouncing in order to slow down the discharge speed of the packaged product W. When the sheet materials 117 and 118 are rotated to the use position, the tip of the screw 121 fits into the hole 122 of the sheet materials 117 and 118, and the sheet materials 117 and 118 are fixed in the use position. In this case, too, since the sheet materials 117 and 118 are flexible, the tip of the screw 121 can be fitted into the hole 122 with the deformation of the sheet materials 117 and 118.

For example, as shown in FIG. 6, when only one sheet material 117 is placed in the use position, the single sheet material 117 comes into sliding contact with the packaged product W discharged through the discharge port 113, a frictional force acts on the packaged product W, and the discharge speed of the packaged product W is slightly slowed. When the packaged product W bounces off the rear wall 12 to a greater extent, the worker places two sheet materials 117, 118 in the use position, as shown in FIG. 7. When the two sheet materials 117, 118 are placed in the use position, the two sheet materials 117, 118 come into sliding contact with the packaged product W, and the discharge speed of the packaged product W is slower than when the single sheet material 117 is placed in the use position.

As described above, according to this embodiment, the discharge speed of the packaged item W can be adjusted using the discharge control unit 110, so that the force with which the rear end of the packaged item W hits the rear wall 12 of the stacker 106 can be changed regardless of the thickness or weight of the packaged item W, making it possible to more stabilize the stacking posture in the stacker 106.

When the packaged product W slides against the sheet materials 117 and 118, the leading edge of the packaged product W in the ejection direction enters the gap S between the front end of the conveying guide 109 and the sheet materials 117 and 118, and the curved and deformed sheet materials 117 and 118 slide against the top surface of the packaged product W. At this time, since the sheet materials 117 and 118 are arranged at a slight forward incline facing downward, the sheet materials 117 and 118 tend to curve forward after the leading edge of the packaged product W comes into contact with the sheet materials 117 and 118, and the ejection speed of the packaged product W can be reliably and effectively reduced.

In contrast, if the sheet materials 117, 118 placed in the use position were placed vertically without being tilted as in this embodiment, the sheet materials 117, 118 would be less likely to bend, and the frictional force applied to the packaged product W would be greater. In this case, for example, if the packaged product W is thin and light, the sheet materials 117, 118 may cause a blockage at the discharge outlet 113. Therefore, as in this embodiment, it is effective to tilt the sheet materials 117, 118 downward and forward while they are placed in the use position.

The sheet materials 117, 118 are not limited to the resin sheets of this embodiment, and may be any material that can apply a frictional force to the packaged product W. For example, the sheet materials 117, 118 may be made of other elastically deformable materials, or may not necessarily be elastically deformable (generate a spring force) and may be, for example, string-like. In any case, the material of the sheet materials 117, 118 is not limited to resin.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and can be modified in various ways in the implementation stage without departing from the gist of the invention. In addition, the above embodiment includes various inventions, and various inventions can be extracted by combining the disclosed multiple components. For example, if the problem can be solved and the effect can be obtained even if some components are deleted from all the components shown in the embodiment, the configuration from which the components are deleted can be extracted as an invention.
The invention as described in the claims of the present application as originally filed is set forth below.
[1]
A stacking device that stacks a plurality of packages each of which is a thick, flat object wrapped in a packaging material, comprising:
a first wall that strikes a leading edge of the packaged product in the first direction, the leading edge being fed in a first direction through a path intersecting a vertical direction, and bounces the leading edge in the first direction in a second direction opposite to the first direction;
a second wall that abuts against and positions a rear end of the package in the first direction, the rear end being bounced in the second direction by the first wall;
a bottom wall disposed between the first wall and the second wall, on which the packaged products are stacked and placed, the packaged products being bounced in a second direction by the first wall and having their rear ends aligned by the second wall;
a discharge control unit that is capable of selectively disposing at least one friction-imparting member having flexibility on the path along which the packaged product is fed in the first direction;
An integrated device having the above structure.
[2]
The friction-imparting member is a resin sheet.
The integration device described in [1].
[3]
The discharge control unit has a fixing means for fixing the resin sheet at a first position on the path and at a second position off the path.
The integration device described in [2].
[4]
The article is a packaged item made of multiple sheets of newspaper folded over each other.
The integration device described in [1].
[5]
The packaging material is a heat-sealable resin film.
The integration device according to [4].
[6]
A packaging means for packaging a flat, thick object in a packaging material;
The stacking device according to the item [1] stacks packaged products in which the article is packaged in the packaging material by the packaging means;
A packaging device having

4... welding and cutting section, 5, 6... sensor, 8... transport mechanism, 11... front wall, 12... rear wall, 13... bottom wall, 100... packaging device, 101... housing, 103... inlet, 106... stacker, 109... transport guide, 110... discharge control section, 111... front panel, 112... bracket, 113... discharge outlet, 114... fixing member, 117, 118... sheet material, F1, F2... film, H... transport path, P... packaged item, T... laminate, W... packaged product.

Claims (8)

A stacking device that stacks a plurality of packages each of which is a thick, flat object wrapped in a packaging material, comprising:
a first wall that strikes a leading edge of the packaged product in the first direction, the leading edge being fed in a first direction through a path intersecting a vertical direction, and bounces the leading edge in the first direction in a second direction opposite to the first direction;
a second wall that abuts against and positions a rear end of the package in the first direction, the rear end being bounced in the second direction by the first wall;
a bottom wall disposed between the first wall and the second wall, on which the packaged products are stacked and placed, the packaged products being bounced in a second direction by the first wall and having their rear ends aligned by the second wall;
a discharge control unit that is capable of selectively disposing at least one friction-imparting member having flexibility on the path along which the packaged product is fed in the first direction;
An integrated device having the above structure. The bottom wall is inclined downward in the second direction.
The integrated device according to claim 1 . The friction-imparting member is a resin sheet.
The integrated device according to claim 1 . The discharge control unit has a fixing means for fixing the resin sheet at a first position on the path and at a second position off the path.
The integrated device according to claim 3 . The resin sheet is inclined in the first direction toward the direction of gravity when placed at the first position.
The integrated device according to claim 4 . The article is a packaged item made of multiple sheets of newspaper folded over each other.
The integrated device according to claim 1 . The packaging material is a heat-sealable resin film.
The integrated device according to claim 6 . A packaging means for packaging a flat, thick object in a packaging material;
a stacking device according to claim 1, which stacks packaged products in which the articles are packaged in the packaging material by the packaging means;
A packaging device having