JPH11348908A - Lid tightening ultrasonic-sealing device for lid fitted container - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To automatically tighten a lid, and at the same time, seal the lid and a container ultrasonically. SOLUTION: When a sensor 35 detects a container 1, an upper die 8 and a lower die 26 approach each other, and then, separate from each other again, and return to the original positions, and then, the upper die 8 and a horn 17 descend, and a lid 7 is received by the upper die 8, and at the same time, the lower die 26 ascends, and the lid 7 and the container 1 are fitted while supporting the container 1 by the lower die 26 and a tip, and at the same time, sealing faces of the lid 7 and the container 1 are pinched and pressed from the top and the bottom by the horn 17 and the tip, and an ultrasonic wave is oscillated, and thus, the lid 7 and the container 1 are sealed ultrasonically for the constitution.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an ultrasonic sealing device for a lid fitting container for automatically closing and ultrasonically sealing a lid fitting container used in the food manufacturing industry and other fields. It concerns the device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, ingredients such as prepared foods are provided in a container made of a foam material, wrapped around the material, and wrapped.
However, in recent years, consumer preferences have diversified, and refrigerators and microwave ovens have become widespread, making it easier to warm, thaw, or store them for long periods with these devices. Conventional foamed containers cannot respond to such trends. In order to cope with this, the material of the container is being changed to a container made of plastics. In addition, there has been a growing demand to save the added value of the product or to save the rest after eating, instead of transferring it to a ceramic container used at home and save it as it is. In part, plastic containers have rapidly become widely available on the market as lid-fitted containers with lids (hereinafter referred to as containers with lids fastened to containers with the ingredients inside). Have been.

In addition, when transferring or transporting the lid-fitted container with the lid closed, the lid should not be opened carelessly, or if someone had opened the lid at the store, and did not shift it. For this reason, for safety, an operator cuts an adhesive tape to an appropriate length and affixes it manually to both ends of the lid fitting container.

[0004]

However, at a production site using this plastic-fitted lid-fitting container, a change in the form of packaging raises problems that have not existed before.

[0005] That is, conventionally, the wrap was automatically wrapped by a wrap packaging machine. However, in the case of a lid-fitting container, the lid had to be manually tightened, which increased the labor. As a result, there has been a problem that productivity is extremely reduced.

Moreover, in order to prevent the lid from being accidentally detached and opened when transferring or transporting the lid-fitted container with the lid closed, or to prevent someone from opening the lid at the store. In addition, for safety, an operator has to cut the adhesive tape to an appropriate length and manually attach the tape to both ends of the lid-fitting container.

[0007] Further, it is troublesome for the consumer to peel off the adhesive tape each time the cover is opened, or if the carelessness is peeled off when the adhesive tape is peeled off, the lid pops out and the ingredients in the package pop out. Problems came up.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-described conventional problems. Instead of the conventional method of manually closing the lid and attaching an adhesive tape, the lid is automatically replaced. It is an object of the present invention to provide a lid-tightened ultrasonic sealing device for a lid-fitted container which solves the above-mentioned conventional problems by ultrasonically sealing the lid and the container at the same time.

[0009]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An ultrasonic automatic sealing apparatus for a lid-fitting container according to the present invention comprises a lid extracting portion for taking out the lids of the lid-fitting container one by one, and a lid positioning portion for receiving the lids taken out. A horn 7 that oscillates an ultrasonic wave that is configured to be integrated with the upper mold or separate from the upper mold so as to move up and down in conjunction with the upper mold. A lower die having a belt conveyor for transporting the container of the lid fitting container below the lid positioning portion, and being moved up and down in conjunction with the upper die below the belt conveyor. A chip is attached to the lower die at a position facing the horn, and a sensor is provided for detecting that the container has been conveyed to a position directly below the lid on the belt conveyor.When the sensor detects the container, Upper mold and lower mold Approach and return to each other again to return to the original position, so that the upper die and horn descend and receive the lid with the upper die, and the lower die rises and the lid and the container while receiving the container with the lower die and the tip. At the same time, the lid and the sealing surface of the container are pressed by the horn 7 and the chip from above and below, and the lid and the container are ultrasonically sealed by oscillating ultrasonic waves.

[0010] Further, in order to accurately position the lid-fitted container, it is preferable to provide a stopper that can be raised and lowered at the outlet side position of the lower die.

Incidentally, the horn may be provided separately from the mounting of the upper die, and fixed and kept on standby. Also, a spring is attached to at least one of the horn supports so that no impact is applied between the horn and the tip when the horn and the tip approach and press and hold the sealing surface of the lid fitted container.

The configurations of the lid take-out portion and the lid positioning portion may be those conventionally implemented, and are not particularly limited.

In any case, when the lid-fitting container senses with the sensor, the lower die rises, receives the edge of the container with the chip, lifts it up, and cooperates with the horn mounted above to form the lid-fitting container. It is sufficient if the lid and the container can be point-sealed by sandwiching the edges from above and below and simultaneously oscillating ultrasonic waves from the horn.

The shape of the tip of the horn and the tip can be formed in accordance with a desired seal shape, so that a good-looking seal surface can be formed.

[0015]

The operation will be described. The lids of the lid-fitting containers are taken out one by one from the lid take-out part and stand by at the lid positioning part.
The container with the ingredients inside is transported on a belt conveyor. When the container is sent to a predetermined position where the lid waits, the sensor detects it. The upper mold descends based on the signal from this sensor. (If the horn is integrally attached to the upper mold, the upper mold and the horn descend simultaneously at the same time, and the upper mold and the horn are attached separately. When the horn is fixed, only the upper die lowers in conjunction with it) and simultaneously the lower die rises in conjunction with it. Then, the container is received by the lower mold, the edge of the container is supported by the chip from below, and the container rises. Then, the fitting edge of the lid and the container is sandwiched and pressed from above and below by the upper mold and the horn that have descended from above. When ultrasonic waves are oscillated from the horn before and after being sandwiched, the sealing surface of the fitting edge is welded. When the lower die rises to the top dead center, it continuously descends and stops the oscillation of the ultrasonic wave before and after the horn and the tip separate. When the chips are evacuated below the conveyor surface of the belt conveyor and returned to the original position, the stoppers which have risen to the lower side of the lower mold and waited at the same time are also lowered and evacuated below the conveyor surface of the belt conveyor. The lid-fitted container with the lid closed is put on a belt conveyor, transported and discharged out of the system. Again, the stopper rises and waits until the next lid fitting container comes.

The above operation is repeated to ultrasonically seal the containers successively sent.

[0017]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS As shown in the drawings, an embodiment will be described in which two rounded lid-fitting containers 37 are sealed on both sides.

First, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a belt conveyor 2 composed of a round belt is attached to a side plate 10 for transporting a container 1 having prepared foods and other ingredients therein. Guide plates 3 for guiding the container 1 are attached to both sides of the belt conveyor 2. The guide plate 3 is configured to be movable left and right according to the width of the container 1 by operating a handle.

Further, a lid positioning section 5 is provided above the belt conveyor 2. The lid positioning section 5 is connected to an adjacent lid take-out section 6 and is configured to receive the lids 7 taken out one by one from the lid take-out section 6. As an example of the lid removing section 6, there is Japanese Patent Application No. 5-78856 filed by the present applicant.

A cover 7 is provided above the cover positioning section 5.
A box-shaped upper die 8 conforming to the above shape is attached to a support frame 9, and the support frame 9 is supported by two slide shafts 12 on the left and right sides via slide bearings 11 fixed to a side plate 10. The connection is made by the support plate 13.
A crank 36 is mounted between the center of the support plate 13 and the disk 15 mounted on the rotating shaft 14.

The base plate 16 is mounted on the support frame 9.
Is mounted horizontally, and a horn mounting base 18 of a horn 17 that oscillates ultrasonic waves is fixed to both ends. The horn mounting base 18 has a hole at the center as shown in FIG. 2, into which the horn 17 integrally fixed by an insulating plate 19 is inserted. The horn 17 is connected via a cable 20 to an ultrasonic oscillation unit (not shown) provided in a control panel (not shown). further,
Attach the slide guide rod 22 to the base plate 16,
The slide guide bar 23 attached to the base plate 16
And insert the collar 24
Attach. A compression spring 35 is inserted into each slide guide bearing 23 between the support frame 9 and the base plate 16.

On the other hand, the upper die 8 sandwiching the belt conveyor 2
And a lower die mounting base 25 is provided at a position opposite to the above, and the lower die 2 is placed at a position symmetrical with the belt conveyor 2 interposed therebetween.
6 is attached. The lower die mounting base 25 is fixed to a slide shaft supported by a slide bearing (not shown) fixed to the side plate 10, and a crank 31 is provided between the central portion and a disk 30 mounted on the rotating shaft 14. Attach. The rotating shaft 14 is connected to a motor 33 via a chain 32. When the rotating shaft 14 rotates by the rotation of the motor 33, the crank 31 operates in conjunction with the movement, and the upper die 8 and the horn 17, In addition, the lower mold 26 is configured to move up and down relatively to each other. Chips 34 are mounted on both sides of the lower die 26 attached to the lower die mounting base 25, and the lower die 26 and the upper die 8 are mounted such that their left, right, front and rear central axes coincide with each other.

Further, a sensor 35 is attached to the guide plate 3. When the sensor 35 detects that the container 1 has been conveyed to the position of the lower mold 26 by the belt conveyor 2, the motor 33 operates, and when the crank 36 rotates, the support frame 9 and the lower mold mounting base 25 are relatively moved. , And is separated again to return to the original position.

As shown in FIG. 3, when the lower mold 26 rises, the container 1 rises while receiving the fitting edges thereof with the chips 34 attached to both sides of the lower mold 26. The fitting edge hits the horn 17 descending from above, and further rises, and the container 1 is held by the belt conveyor while holding the fitting edge between the horn 17 and the chip 34 from above and below against the compressing action of the compression spring 35. Ascend to a position away from 2. The ultrasonic wave is oscillated from the ultrasonic oscillation unit at a timing before and after the container 1 is sandwiched between the chip 34 and the horn 17 from above and below, so that the lid 7 and the container 1 can be sealed with ultrasonic waves.

In order to accurately position the container 1, a stopper 36 which can be moved up and down at an exit side of the lower mold 26 is provided.
Is preferably provided.

In another embodiment (not shown) in which the upper die 26 and the horn 17 are attached, the horn 17 is separated from the support frame 9 without moving the horn 17 integrally with the upper die 8. The tip 34 may be configured so as to be fixed and made to stand by at the upper side, and the tip 34 hits the horn 17 when the lower mold 26 rises and lifts the fitting edge of the container 1.

In any case, when the lid-fitted container 37 is detected by the sensor, the lower die rises, receives the fitting edge of the container with a chip, lifts it up, and raises the lid-fitted container 37 with the horn mounted above. Any structure may be used as long as the lid 7 and the container 1 can be sealed by pressing the fitting edge of the container from above and below and simultaneously oscillating ultrasonic waves from the horn.

The shape of the tip of the horn 17 and the tip 34 can be formed into a good-looking seal surface by manufacturing it according to a desired seal shape.

If the shape of the lid-fitting container 37 is changed, the lower die 26 is made detachable by forming a hole to be inserted into a pin mounted on the lower die mounting base 25, and the lower die 26 is provided with a hole. The lower mold 26 that matches the shape of the lid fitting container 37 can be easily replaced. The mounting position of the other horn 17 can be changed by opening a long hole in the horn mounting base 18 and sliding on the long hole to insert the tip 3 of the lower die 26.
What is necessary is just to comprise so that it may be fixed with a bolt according to the position facing 4.

[0030]

Since the present invention is configured as described above, it has the following effects.

First, since the lid is automatically closed by a machine, labor is not required and labor can be saved.

Further, since ultrasonic sealing is performed at the same time as the lid is tightened, there is no need to apply an adhesive tape as in the prior art, so that workability is improved and productivity is improved.

Further, even when the lid-fitted container 37 after the lid is closed is transferred or transported, the lid is inadvertently opened because the lid is inadvertently opened, or someone has opened the lid at the store. There is no danger of dropping, and safe packaging has become possible. Moreover, when consumers open the lid, there is no longer any trouble of peeling off the adhesive tape as usual.
In addition, the problem that the lid pops out when the adhesive tape is peeled off and the ingredients in the box pop out has been solved.

In addition, since the seal portion is hardly noticeable together with the lid fitting container 37 or the shape of the seal can be designed, the added value of the product is increased.

Furthermore, when the rest after eating is preserved, the opened lid can be closed and kept in the refrigerator, so that it is hygienic, and it is time-consuming to transfer it to a ceramic container at home. It became convenient without needing.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall front view of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a main part showing a mounted state of a horn.

FIG. 3 is a main part front view showing a state where the lid is fastened and an ultrasonic seal is being performed.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a sealed lid fitting container.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Container 2 Belt conveyor 5 Lid positioning part 6 Lid take-out part 7 Lid 8 Upper die 17 Horn 26 Lower die 34 Chip 35 Sensor 37 Lid fitting container

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A lid extracting part 6 for taking out the lids 7 of the lid fitting container 37 one by one, a lid positioning part 5 for receiving the lid 7 taken out, an upper die 8 on the upper part, and an upper die 8 8
A required number of horns 17 for oscillating ultrasonic waves configured to move up and down in conjunction with the upper mold 8 either integrally or separately are provided at required positions, while the lid positioning portion 5 A belt conveyor 2 for transporting the container 1 of the lid fitting container 37 is provided below, and a lower die 26 is provided below the belt conveyor 2 so as to move up and down in conjunction with the upper die 8. 26, a chip 34 is attached at a position facing the horn 17, and the container 1 is further conveyed by the belt conveyor 2.
Is provided with a sensor 35 for detecting that the upper mold 8 and the lower mold 26 have been conveyed to a position directly below the lid 7. When the sensor 35 detects the container 1, the upper mold 8 and the lower mold 26 approach each other and separate from each other again to the original position. So that the upper die 8 and horn 1
7 descends to receive the lid 7 with the upper mold 8 and the lower mold 26
Rises to fit the lid 7 and the container 1 while receiving the container 1 with the lower mold 26 and the chip 34, and at the same time, press the sealing surface of the lid 7 and the container 1 with the horn 17 and the chip 34 from above and below, A lid-tightening ultrasonic sealing device for a lid-fitting container, wherein the lid 7 and the container 1 are ultrasonically sealed by oscillating ultrasonic waves.