U.S. patent application number 10/953594 was filed with the patent office on 2005-03-31 for bag supplying apparatus for a bag-filling packaging machine.
This patent application is currently assigned to Toyo Jidoki Co., Ltd.. Invention is credited to Koga, Shoichi, Shigenaga, Nobuyuki.
Application Number | 20050067754 10/953594 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 34309003 |
Filed Date | 2005-03-31 |
United States Patent
Application |
20050067754 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Shigenaga, Nobuyuki ; et
al. |
March 31, 2005 |
Bag supplying apparatus for a bag-filling packaging machine
Abstract
A bag supplying apparatus for a bag-filling packaging machine,
including a vibrating feeder that involves a trough in which bags
are placed in a cascade fashion and a vibration driver which
vibrates the trough so as to cause the bags to be conveyed forward,
a positioning stopper provided at a final end of a conveying path
of the bags so that the tip end of a leading bag being conveyed
comes into contact with the stopper, and a suction disk that
suction-chucks and lifts a bag positioned by the position stopper
and feeds the bag to another location.
Inventors: |
Shigenaga, Nobuyuki;
(Iwakuni-shi, JP) ; Koga, Shoichi; (Iwakuni-shi,
JP) |
Correspondence
Address: |
KODA & ANDROLIA
2029 CENTURY PARK EAST
SUITE 1430
LOS ANGELES
CA
90067-3024
US
|
Assignee: |
Toyo Jidoki Co., Ltd.
|
Family ID: |
34309003 |
Appl. No.: |
10/953594 |
Filed: |
September 29, 2004 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
271/30.1 ;
271/146 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B65H 1/22 20130101; B65H
3/0816 20130101; B65H 2701/191 20130101; B65B 43/14 20130101; B65H
2301/441 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
271/030.1 ;
271/146 |
International
Class: |
B65H 003/08 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Sep 30, 2003 |
JP |
2003-339056 |
Claims
1. A bag supplying apparatus for a bag-filling packaging machine,
comprising: a vibrating feeder that is a conveying means and
includes: a trough in which bags that are stacked are placed so
that a bag on another bag is shifted on a forward side, and a
vibration driver that causes said bags to convey forward by
vibrating said trough; a positioning stopper with which a tip end
of a leading bag comes into contact, said positioning stopper being
provided at substantially a final end of a conveying path of said
conveying means; and a suction disk that suction-chucks and lifts a
bag positioned by said stopper and feeds said bag to another
location.
2. The bag supplying apparatus for a bag-filling packaging machine
according to claim 1, wherein said trough includes side plates, and
a gap between said side plates is adjustable.
3. The bag supplying apparatus for a bag-filling packaging machine
according to claim 1, wherein said vibrating feeder further
includes an adjustment means for adjusting an angle of inclination
of said trough in a forward-rearward direction.
4. The bag supplying apparatus for a bag-filling packaging machined
according to claim 1, wherein a vibration frequency and/or
amplitude of said trough of said vibrating feeder is variable.
5. The bag supplying apparatus for a bag-filling packaging machine
according to claim 1, further comprising a detector which detects
remaining quantity of bags in said trough.
6. The bag supplying apparatus for a bag-filling packaging machine
according to claim 1, further comprising a fast-feeding belt which
contacts upper surfaces of said bags conveyed in said trough and
fast-feeds said bags in a forward direction.
7. The bag supplying apparatus for a bag-filling packaging machine
according to claim 1, further comprising another conveying means
which is provided at a feeding end of said vibrating feeder so as
to convey said bags that have been fed out from said vibrating
feeder even further forward.
8. The bag supplying apparatus for a bag-filling packaging machine
according to claim 7, wherein said another conveying means is a
belt conveyor.
9. The bag supplying apparatus for a bag-filling packaging machine
according to claim 7, wherein said another conveying means is a
vibrating feeder.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] 1. Technical Field
[0002] The present invention relates to a bag supplying apparatus
that separates a single bag from a group of stacked bags in which
the bags on the upper part of the stack are shifted in the
longitudinal direction so that these bags are located on the
forward side, thus supplying these bags to a bag-filling packaging
machine.
[0003] 2. Description of the Related Art
[0004] In the past, conveyor magazine type bag supplying
apparatuses have been known as bag supplying apparatuses of the
above-described type.
[0005] As is disclosed in, for instance, Japanese Utility Model
Registration No. 2603966 and Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open
(Kokai) No. 5-51016, a conveyor magazine type bag supplying
apparatus generally includes: a belt conveyor which conveys stacked
bags with the bag mouths facing forward and with the bags on the
upper part of the stack shifted in the longitudinal direction so
that these bags are located on the forward side; a fast-feeding
belt which separates the bag on the uppermost part of the belt
conveyor from the group of bags and fast-feeds this bag in the
forward direction; a positioning stopper that is contacted by the
tip end of each bag that is fed; a suction disk that suction-chucks
the bag that has contacted this stopper; and a reciprocating motion
driving means that causes the suction disk to make a vertical
reciprocating motion between a suction chucking position at the
lower end and a transfer position where transfer to a next
apparatus is performed.
[0006] In the above structure, a bag that has been positioned by
contacting the stopper is lifted by the suction disk, and this bag
is transferred to the suction disk or chuck, etc., of the next
apparatus. If necessary, furthermore, a claw wheel which has
projections that can contact the upper surfaces of the bags around
the circumference of this wheel, and which rotates at a
circumferential speed that is faster than the speed of the
above-described belt conveyor, is disposed in front of the
above-described fast-feeding belt, and the bags are fed out in the
forward direction by this claw wheel.
[0007] In-the above-described conveyor magazine type bag supplying
apparatus, in order to ensure that the bags on the belt conveyor
are reliably and stably separated from the group of following bags
and fast-fed in the forward direction by the fast-feeding belt, it
is indispensable that the group of bags be carried on the belt
conveyor so that the bags are arranged in the above-described
configuration (i.e., a state in which the bags are shifted
substantially uniformly in the longitudinal direction). In cases
where the bags are not carried in a state in which the bags are
thus arranged (and especially in cases where the spacing between
the bags is reduced), the work of separating the bags on the upper
part one at a time from the group of following bags and
fast-feeding these bags by the fast-feeding belt is hindered.
[0008] Placing of bags on the belt conveyor is generally performed
by an operator. However, such placing of bags as in a state in
which the bags are arranged in the above-described configuration is
extremely bothersome and requires experience. This fact is
especially conspicuous in cases where bags with locally varying
thicknesses are handled, as in the case of bags attached with
chucks or spouts (see, for instance, Japanese Patent Application
Laid-Open (Kokai) Nos. 2000-168729 and 10-194238). As a result, the
structure of the bag supplying apparatus also becomes unavoidably
complicated.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0009] The present invention is to overcome the problems
encountered in a conveyor magazine type bag supplying apparatus
that supplies bags to a bag-filling packaging machine.
[0010] It is an object of the present invention to reduce the
burden on the operator by making it possible to supply bags to the
bag-filling packaging machine without any problem even if the bags
are not carried in a completely arranged state in cases where the
operator places the stacked bags in specified positions of the bag
supplying apparatus with the bags on the upper part shifted in the
longitudinal direction so that these bags are located on the
forward side.
[0011] It is another object of the present invention to realize
such an effect by means of a simple mechanism.
[0012] A vibrating feeder in which vibration is mechanically
applied to a horizontal or inclined trough so that an associated
motion that throws products in the trough obliquely forward is
applied to these products, thus conveying the products, is in
itself universally known. However, the use of such a vibrating
feeder as a part of the bag supplying apparatus in a bag-filling
packaging machine is unknown.
[0013] The inventors of the present application discovered that in
cases where bags are stacked in a cascade fashion, in other words,
in cases stacked bags are placed in a trough of a vibrating feeder
with the bags on the upper part of the stack shifted in the
longitudinal direction so that these bags are located on the
forward side, the bags are not only conveyed forward, but also,
even if the bags are not placed in a completely arranged state
(i.e., even if the bags are placed at random), the irregularity in
the amount of shifting is evened out in the process of the forward
conveying of the bags, and at the same time, the amount of shifting
of the bags increases in a more or less regular manner with the
adjacent bags overlapped "as is" as the bags proceed in the forward
direction. The present invention is made based on this finding.
[0014] The above objects are accomplished by a unique structure of
the present invention for a bag supplying apparatus used in a
bag-filling packaging machine, and the bag supplying apparatus of
the present invention includes:
[0015] a vibrating feeder that is a conveying means and is
comprised of a trough, in which bags that are stacked are placed so
that a bag on another bag is shifted so that the bag on anther bag
is located on a forward side, and a vibration driver, which conveys
the bags forward by vibrating the trough;
[0016] a positioning stopper with which a tip end of a leading bag
comes into contact, the positioning stopper being provided at a
final end of a conveying path of the conveying means; and
[0017] a suction disk that suction-chucks and lifts a bag
positioned by the stopper and feeds the bag to another
location.
[0018] In order to ensure the reliable and stable separation of the
bags that are fed forward from the group of following bags, a
fast-feeding belt can be installed that contacts the upper surfaces
of the bags, which are conveyed in the trough, and fast-feeds these
bags in the forward direction.
[0019] A claw wheel which has projections that can contact the
upper surfaces of the bags can be disposed in front of the
fast-feeding belt, thus allowing the leading (first) bag to be fed
out further in the forward direction.
[0020] In the present invention, the amount of shifting of adjacent
bags in the group of bags conveyed in the trough becomes greater as
they are moved in the forward direction. Accordingly, the
fast-feeding belt and claw wheel that are generally disposed in a
conventional conveyor magazine type bag supplying apparatus (in
which the amount of shifting between adjacent bags in the group of
bags carried on the belt conveyor does not vary during conveying)
are not essential in the present invention.
[0021] In the above-described bag supplying apparatus of the
present invention, the conveying means can be the vibrating feeder
alone, and it is also possible that the supplying apparatus
includes another conveying means in addition to this vibrating
feeder. When another conveying means is involved, it is preferable
that the vibrating feeder is disposed at the beginning of the
conveying path. In cases where such another conveying means that
conveys the bags that are fed out from the vibrating feeder even
further in the forward direction is installed, such another
conveying means can be, for example, a belt conveyor or another (or
separate) vibrating feeder. It is also preferable that the
conveying speed of such another conveying means be set at a speed
that is greater than that of the vibrating feeder.
[0022] Furthermore, it is also preferable to install a fast-feeding
belt in the vicinity of the front end of the vibrating feeder so
that the leading (first) bag in the trough is separated from the
group of following bags and fed out to another conveying means.
[0023] In the bag supplying apparatus of the present invention, any
type of known electromagnetic type driving device or vibration
motor type driving device can be used as the vibration driver of
the vibrating feeder. In any case, it is preferable that the
vibration frequency and/or amplitude of the trough be variable so
that a conveying speed that matches the required bag supply speed
(bags/minute) can be realized.
[0024] Furthermore, since the angle of inclination of the trough in
the forward-rearward direction (downward inclination toward the
front--horizontal--upward inclination toward the front) affects the
conveying speed, it is preferable that an adjustment means for
adjusting this angle of inclination of the trough be provided. The
left and right side plates of the trough function to guide the
conveying of the bags in the forward direction, and they are set in
accordance with the lateral width of the bags so that the gap
between these plates is slightly larger than the lateral width of
the bags. It is, however, preferable that the gap between the left
and right side plates be made adjustable so that bags of various
sizes can be handled.
[0025] It is further preferable that a detector that detects the
remaining quantity of bags that are conveyed in the trough be
provided. When such a detector is provided, it is preferable that
the operator be informed by a monitor display, alarm, etc. in cases
where the remaining quantity of bags detected by the detector has
dropped below a specified quantity.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS
[0026] FIG. 1 is a sectional side view of the bag supplying
apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention;
[0027] FIG. 2 is a sectional side view of the bag supplying
apparatus according to another embodiment of the present
invention;
[0028] FIG. 3 is a sectional side view of the bag supplying
apparatus according to still another embodiment of the present
invention; and
[0029] FIG. 4 is a sectional side view of the bag supplying
apparatus according to still another embodiment of the present
invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0030] Below the bag supplying apparatus of the present invention
will be described in concrete terms with reference to FIGS. 1
through 4.
[0031] The apparatus shown in FIG. 1 is a bag supplying apparatus
in which the conveying means is an electromagnetic feeder (one type
of vibrating feeder) only; and this apparatus includes an
electromagnetic feeder 1, a positioning stopper 2, a suction disk 3
that suction-chucks and lifts a leading (first) bag W1 positioned
by the stopper 2, and detectors 4 and 5.
[0032] The electromagnetic feeder 1 includes a trough 6 and a
vibration drive section (or a vibration driver) 7. The trough 6 is
comprised of a bottom plate 6a, left and right side plates 6b (only
one of which is shown in the drawings), and a rear closing plate
6c; and the stopper 2 is disposed in the foremost part of the
trough 6. The gap between the side plates 6b can be adjusted in
accordance with the lateral width of the bags that are to be
conveyed. The vibration driver 7 is comprised of an electromagnet 9
that is fastened to a supporting stand 8, a controller 11 that
excites the electromagnet 9 in a pulsating manner, an attachment
stand 12 to which the trough 6 is fastened, plate springs 13 that
connect the electromagnet 9 and attachment stand 12, and a movable
element 14 that is fastened to the undersurface of the attachment
stand 12. The supporting stand 8 is attached to a base stand 16 via
coil springs 15, and the base stand 16 is fastened to the upper
surface of a machine base 18 via a stand 17.
[0033] The controller 11 alters the frequency and voltage of the
power that is supplied to the electromagnet 9. The controller 11
thus varies the vibration frequency and amplitude of the trough 6.
The vibration amplitude of the trough 6 can also be varied by
altering the number of plate springs 13 or changing these springs
to other springs having different spring constants.
[0034] In the above-described bag supplying apparatus, a slit 19 is
formed in one side of the stand 17, and the inclination of the base
stand 16, i.e., the inclination or angle of the bottom plate 6a of
the trough 6, is adjustable within a specified range of angle by
moving a fastening bolt 20 attached the base stand 16 along the
slits 19. In the shown embodiment, the bottom plate 6a is inclined
downward in the forward direction (leftward in FIG. 1). In this
case, the conveying speed is greater than in cases where the bottom
plate is horizontal or inclined upward in the forward
direction.
[0035] The suction disk 3 makes a vertical reciprocating motion
between a suction chucking position (shown by solid lines) and a
transfer position (shown by dotted lines) where transfer of bags to
a next apparatus is performed. The suction disk 3 is lowered to the
suction chucking position, where the suction disk 3 suction-chucks
a leading (first) bag W1; then, the suction disk 3 is raised, and
transfers the bag to the next apparatus to another location. For
example, the next apparatus is a transfer apparatus (suction disk
or chuck, etc., that can swing upward and downward) which is
disposed between the suction disk 3 and, for example, the grippers
of a rotary type bag-filling packaging machine. After receiving the
bag from the suction disk 3 in the above-described transfer
position, the suction disk 3 swings upward and transfers the bag to
the grippers. The combination of this suction disk 3 and the
above-described next apparatus is in itself the same as in the
above-described conveyor magazine type bag supplying apparatus (see
Patent References 1 through 4). The suction disk 3 itself may also
transfer the bag directly to the above-described grippers.
[0036] A group of stacked bags W0 is placed in the trough 6 with
the bag mouths facing forward (left side in FIG. 1) and with the
bags shifted in the longitudinal direction so that the bags on the
upper part of the stack are located on the forward side, so that
the bags are stacked in a cascade fashion. When the electromagnet 9
is excited (actuated), vibrations that are oriented upward toward
the front and oriented in the opposite direction (as shown by the
arrow in FIG. 1) are applied to the trough 6, and these vibrations
are also applied via the trough to the respective bags of the group
of bags W0 placed in the trough 6; as a result, the bags W0 are
conveyed or moved forward, and the irregularity in the amount of
shifting of the bags is evened out in the process of this
conveying, and in addition, as the bags proceed in the forward
direction, the amount of shifting between adjacent bags increases
in a more or less regular manner.
[0037] When the leading (first) bag W1 comes into contact with the
positioning stopper 2, this contact is detected by the detector 4,
and the suction disk 3 is lowered to the suction chucking position
by the command of a control device (not shown in the drawings)
based upon the signal from the detector 4. The suction disk 3 then
suction-chucks the bag W1 and is raised to the transfer position,
so that the bag W1 is transferred to the next apparatus.
[0038] The above action is repeated so that the number of bags in
the trough 6 decreases; and when the last bag W2 of the group of
bags W0 passes through the position of the detector 5 so that the
detector 5 no longer detects bags, a control device (not shown in
the drawings) informs the operator of an insufficiency in the
remaining quantity of bags by means of a monitor display, alarm
signal, etc. based upon the non-detection signal.
[0039] The apparatus shown in FIG. 2 (the same reference numbers
are assigned to parts that are substantially the same as those in
the apparatus of FIG. 1) is similarly a bag supplying apparatus in
which the conveying means is only an electromagnetic feeder 1, and
a fast-feeding belt 21 is disposed above the trough 6, which is the
difference from the apparatus of FIG. 1.
[0040] The fast-feeding belt 21 is the same as that used in a
conventional conveyor magazine type bag supplying apparatus. The
belt is mounted on a pair of pulleys 22 and 23 and is set so as to
be free to swing upward and downward about the axial center of the
upper pulley 23. The belt 21 is driven by a motor 24, so that the
belt rotates at a circumferential speed that is greater than the
conveying speed of the trough 6. The reference number 25 is a
detector that is disposed directly above the pulley 22, and it
detects the height of the fast-feeding belt 21.
[0041] The fast-feeding belt 21 is ordinarily at its lower swing
end path by gravity, and there is a small gap between the lower end
of the fast-feeding belt 21 and the bottom plate 6a of the trough
6. When bags are conveyed in the trough 6, and the amount of
shifting between adjacent bags has increased in a regular manner so
that a bag arrives in the position beneath the fast-feeding belt
21, the fast-feeding belt 21 contacts the upper surface of the bag
and feeds this bag out in the forward direction (left side in FIG.
2), so that the bag is separated from the following group of bags
W0.
[0042] If there should happen to be areas in which the spacing
between adjacent bags is reduced in the group of bags W0 so that
numerous bags enter the area beneath the fast-feeding belt 21 at
one time, the fast-feeding belt 21 swings upward. When the detector
25 detects this rise of the fast-feeding belt 21, a control device
(not shown in the drawings) issues a command to the controller 11
based upon the detection signal of the detector 25, so that the
electromagnetic feeder 1 is stopped.
[0043] Subsequently, when the bags beneath the fast-feeding belt 21
are successively fed out and this fast-feeding belt 21 swings back
downward, the detector 25 detects this downward movement of the
fast-feeding belt 21, and the control device issues a command to
the controller 11 based upon the detection signal of the detector
25, so that the electromagnetic feeder 1 is re-started.
[0044] Matters other than those described above are the same as in
the apparatus shown in FIG. 1.
[0045] The apparatus shown in FIG. 3 (the same reference numbers
are assigned to parts that are substantially the same as those in
the apparatuses shown in FIGS. 1 and 2) is a bag supplying
apparatus in which the conveying means comprises an electromagnetic
feeder 1 and a belt conveyor 26, which are disposed in a series
configuration.
[0046] A fast-feeding belt 21 is disposed in the vicinity of the
front end of the electromagnetic feeder 1, a claw wheel 27 is
disposed on the belt conveyor 26, and a positioning stopper 2 is
disposed in the vicinity of the front end of the belt conveyor 26.
The belt conveyor 26 is rotated by a motor 28. The conveying speed
of this conveyor is set at a higher speed than the conveying speed
of the electromagnetic feeder 1. The claw wheel 27 is the same as
that used in a conventional conveyor magazine type bag supplying
apparatus, and it is rotated by a motor 31 via a pulley 29 and a
belt 30. The circumferential speed of this claw wheel is higher
than the speed of the belt conveyor 26, and the claw wheel 27 is
controlled so that it is rotated when the leading (first) bag W1 is
not in contact with the stopper 2 and it stops its rotation when
the leading (first) bag W1 contacts the stopper 2.
[0047] The bags that are separated from the group of bags W0 and
fed out to the belt conveyor 26 by the fast-feeding belt 21 are
conveyed forward by the belt conveyor 26, and then they are fed out
in the forward direction (left side in FIG. 3) by the claw wheel 27
so that the bags contact the stopper 2. The detector 4 detects the
contacts of the bags, and the claw wheel 27 is stopped by a command
from a control device (not shown in the drawings) based upon the
signal of the detector 4. Furthermore, as described above, the
suction disk 3 is lowered to the suction chucking position and
suction-chucks the bag WI, and then it is raised to the transfer
position, where the suction disk 3 transfers the bag W1 to the next
apparatus. When the detector 4 detects bags, the claw wheel 27 is
again rotated by a command from the control device based upon the
non-detection signal of the detector 4, so that bags are fed out in
the forward direction. The claw wheel 27 can be set so that it
rotates intermittently for a short time at an appropriate
timing.
[0048] Matters other than those described above are the same as in
the apparatuses shown in FIGS. 1 and 2.
[0049] The apparatus shown in FIG. 4 (the same reference numbers
are assigned to the parts that are substantially the same as those
in the apparatuses shown in FIGS. 1 and 2) is a bag supplying
apparatus in which the conveying means is comprised of an
electromagnetic feeder 1 and another electromagnetic feeder 32,
which are installed in a series configuration. The electromagnetic
feeder 32 is provided at the feeding end of (or in front of) the
electromagnetic feeder 1 with a space in between, and the
electromagnetic feeder 32 is provided with a trough 6'.
[0050] The electromagnetic feeder 32, which has thereon the trough
6', has substantially the same construction as the electromagnetic
feeder 1, which has thereon the trough 6, except that the conveying
speed of the secondary electromagnetic feeder 32 is set at a higher
speed than that the electromagnetic feeder 1. The fast-feeding belt
21 and the detectors 5 and 25 are provided in association with the
electromagnetic feeder 1; and the positioning stopper 2, the
suction disk 3 and the detector 4 are provided in association with
the electromagnetic feeder 32.
[0051] The bags that are separated from the following group of bags
W0 and fed out onto the trough 6' disposed on the electromagnetic
feeder 32 by the fast-feeding belt 21 are conveyed forward (left
side in FIG. 4) by the electromagnetic feeder 32, and the leading
bag W1 contacts the stopper 2.
[0052] Matters other than those described above are the same as in
the apparatuses shown in FIGS. 1 and 2.
[0053] As seen from the above, according to the bag supplying
apparatus of the present invention, even if bags are randomly
placed in the trough, the irregularity in the amount of shifting
between the bags is evened out as the bags are conveyed forward in
the trough, and at the same time, the amount of shifting between
adjacent bags more or less regularly increases as the bags proceed
in the forward direction in the trough. Accordingly, the supply of
bags to a bag-filling packaging machine is accomplished without any
problems, and the operator has a reduced burden on the operation.
The same is true in cases where bags with locally varying thickness
are handled, as in bags attached with chucks and bags attached with
spouts. Furthermore, the above functions are realized by a simple
mechanism of a vibrating feeder of the present invention.
* * * * *