Gas-Filliing Packaging Method and Packaging Machine Therefor

Abstract

A gas-filling packaging method using a track type gas-filling packaging machine includes a bag placing step in which a number of packaging bags set in a magazine in a stacked state are turned up one by one by a sucker and picking up and then passing the bag to a bag chuck, a bag opening/inflating step of opening the bag mouth and inflating the bottom of the bag by suckers, a bag filling step of lowering a synchronous funnel to be inserted into the bag and applying a receiving member of a bottom tapping unit to the bag, so that the bag is filled with a predetermined amount of article while the bottom is tapped, a deaeration/temporarily sealing step of inserting a deaeration nozzle into the bag to remove air in the bag and holding the bag mouth by a temporary heater.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A gas-filling packaging method using a track type gas-filling packaging machine in which a number of grip units each horizontally moved along an annular passage including two linear sections and semicircular sections located at opposite ends of the linear sections, the grip units being intermittently moved for every one of a plurality of work steps, and a packaging bag supported by grips of each grip unit in a suspended manner with a bag mouth up is filled with an article and then with a gas, and the bag mouth is heat-sealed, wherein the packaging bag includes a larger-sized gusset bag having two side edges including respective folded portions, a larger-sized standing pouch having a bottom including a folded portion or a larger-sized zippered bag which is the gusset bag provided with a zipper or the standing pouch provided with a zipper, and a size and a type of the packaging bag and a type of the article are entered on an operation panel, the method comprising:
 a bag feeding step in which a number of packaging bags set in a magazine in a stacked state are turned up one by one from a top by a sucker of a bag replenishing unit thereby to be picked up and then passed to a bag chuck, the sucker being controlled so as to be moved in an up-down direction, and the packaging bag grasped by a bag chuck of a bag supply unit is transferred to an adjacent bag positioning unit to be thrown into a guide of the positioning unit, and the packaging bag is positioned by automatically adjusting a position of a side guide corresponding to a bag width of the guide and positions of a front end guide and a rear end guide at the bag mouth side corresponding to a bag length based on the entered data, and the packaging bag in the guide is gripped by a chuck of the bag supply unit and is held by a cramp of a cramp unit standing by above and having a bag height compensating function to be sent from the cramp to the grips standing by at the bag placing step;   a bag opening/inflating step of opening the bag mouth by an adsorption action of suction discs and inflating the bottom of the bag by the adsorption action of the suction discs;   a bag filling step of lowering a synchronous funnel which is controlled for up-down movement and horizontal movement in synchronization with transfer of the bag to be inserted into the bag and applying a receiving member of a bottom tapping unit, whereby the bag is filled with a predetermined amount of article while the bottom is tapped so that the article is prompted to fall,   wherein an inert gas is continuously discharged from a gas discharge nozzle provided on the synchronous funnel into the bag, during a period from a last moment of the filling operation to a plurality of subsequent steps;   wherein the bag is shaped into a desired shape by a joint work between the bag tapping unit and a shaping unit provided with at least a pair of conveyor units which are controlled so as to hold one or a plurality of packaging bags and so as to be controlled so that a rotational speed synchronizes a transfer speed of the packaging bag, during a period from the bag filling step and to the deaeration/temporally sealing step;   wherein the funnel and the gas nozzle are caused to get out of the bag and a part of the bag mouth is kept open by the adsorption action of the suction discs, while the bag is moved to the deaeration/temporarily sealing step, the method further comprising:   the deaeration/temporarily sealing step of inserting a deaeration nozzle into the bag to remove air remaining in the bag, causing the deaeration nozzle to get out of the bag, holding the bag mouth by a temporary heater so that a temporary seal is applied to the bag mouth;   a bag mouth sealing step of heat-sealing the temporarily sealed part; and   a seal cooling/bag removing step of cooling the heat-sealed part and subsequently removing the bag outside the system.   
     
     
         2 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the bag replenishing unit includes a plurality of magazines each of which has an accommodation space automatically adjustable according to a size of the bag, wherein the magazines are circulated from a supply position where the magazines are charged with bags to a replenishing position where the bags are taken out of the magazines by the bag chuck. 
     
     
         3 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the paired right and left holding portions of the grip supporting the bag has a distance therebetween, and the distance is automatically adjusted according to a size of the bag. 
     
     
         4 . The method according to  claim 2 , wherein the paired right and left holding portions of the grip supporting the bag has a distance therebetween, and the distance is automatically adjusted according to a size of the bag. 
     
     
         5 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein when the bag is the zippered gusset bag, after the bag has been supplied, the bag is unzipped and a point seal is applied to overlapping portions of the front or the back of the bag and one of V-shaped folded portions of both side edges of the bag, whereby the overlapping portions are fixed together. 
     
     
         6 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein in the bag mouth sealing step, the bag mouth is heat-sealed in a first sealing substep and thereafter, the bag mouth is also heat-sealed in a second sealing substep. 
     
     
         7 . The method according to  claim 2 , wherein in the bag mouth sealing step, the bag mouth is heat-sealed in a first sealing substep and thereafter, the bag mouth is also heat-sealed in a second sealing substep. 
     
     
         8 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein all the steps from the bag placing step to the seal cooling/bag removing step are arranged at one of the linear sections constituting the annular passage. 
     
     
         9 . The method according to  claim 2 , wherein all the steps from the bag placing step to the seal cooling/bag removing step are arranged at one of the linear sections constituting the annular passage. 
     
     
         10 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein when the bag is a paper bag, the paper bag is formed into a shape such that a front and a back thereof include respective bag mouth portions having different heights, and the paper bag has an inner surface coated with a resin; and
 in the deaeration/temporarily sealing step, the temporary seal is applied to the bag mouth and thereafter, a part of the bag located above the seal is folded and sewn by a sewing unit installed outside the system.   
     
     
         11 . The method according to  claim 2 , wherein when the bag is a paper bag, the paper bag is formed into a shape such that a front and a back thereof include respective bag mouth portions having different heights, and the paper bag has an inner surface coated with a resin; and
 in the deaeration/temporarily sealing step, the temporary seal is applied to the bag mouth and thereafter, a part of the bag located above the seal is folded and sewn by a sewing unit installed outside the system.   
     
     
         12 . A gas-filling packaging machine which is of a track type in which a number of grip units each horizontally moved along an annular passage including two linear sections and semicircular sections located at opposite ends of the linear sections, the grip units being intermittently moved for every one of a plurality of work stages, and a packaging bag supported by grips of each grip unit in a suspended manner with a bag mouth up is filled with an article and then with a gas, and the bag mouth is heat-sealed, wherein the packaging bag includes a larger-sized gusset bag having two side edges including respective folded portions, a larger-sized standing pouch having a bottom including a folded portion or a larger-sized zippered bag which is the gusset bag provided with a zipper or the standing pouch provided with a zipper, the machine comprising:
 an operation panel on which a size and a type of the packaging bag and a type of the article are entered;   a bag replenishing unit which turns up a number of packaging bags set in a magazine in a stacked state, one by one from a top by a sucker movable in an up-down direction, picks up and then passes the bags to a horizontally movable bag chuck, and transfers the bag grasped by the bag chuck to an adjacent bag positioning unit to throw the bag into a guide of the positioning unit;   the bag positioning unit automatically adjusting a position of a side guide corresponding to a bag width of the guide and positions of a front end guide and a rear end guide at the bag mouth side corresponding to a bag length based on the entered data;   a bag feeding unit which grips the bag in the guide by the chuck of a bag supply unit, causes a cramp of a cramp unit standing by above and having a bag height compensating function to hold the bag with the bag mouth up to send the bag to the grip standing by at a bag feeding step;   an opening unit which opens the bag mouth by an adsorption action of first suckers provided at both sides of the bag so that suckers are movable forward and backward;   a preshaping unit which inflates a bottom of the bag by an adsorption action of second suckers provided below both sides of the bag;   a filling unit which fills the bag with a predetermined amount of an article by a synchronous funnel which is controlled to be moved upward and downward and horizontally in synchronization with transfer of the bag, the filling unit also brings an inert gas into the bag by a gas nozzle provided on the funnel during a period from a last moment of the filling operation to a plurality of subsequent steps;   a shaping unit which shapes the bag into a desirable shape by a joint work between the bag tapping unit and at least a pair of conveyor units during a period from the bag filling step and to the deaeration/temporally sealing step, said bag tapping unit including a receiving member applied to the bottom of the bag and tapped so that the article is prompted to fall, said conveyor units being controlled so as to hold one or a plurality of bags and so that a rotating speed synchronizes with a transfer speed of the bag;   a movable bag mouth auxiliary opening unit which opens part of the bag mouth by the adsorption action of the suckers which are provided at both sides of the bag mouth so as to be movable forward and backward, so that a deaeration nozzle is insertable, the auxiliary opening unit being capable of closing the part of the bag other than the open part;   a temporarily sealing unit which holds the bag mouth by a temporary heater to apply a temporary seal to the bag mouth;   a main sealing unit which applies heat seal to the temporarily sealed part of the bag; and   a cooling unit which cools the heat-sealed part of the bag.   
     
     
         13 . The machine according to  claim 12 , wherein the bag replenishing unit includes a plurality of magazines each of which has an accommodation space automatically adjustable according to a size of the bag, wherein the magazines are circulated from a supply position where the magazines are charged with bags to a replenishing position where the bags are taken out of the magazines by the bag chuck. 
     
     
         14 . The machine according to  claim 12 , wherein the magazines are provided with chains which are disposed in parallel to each other in a horizontal direction and are driven by different drive units so as to be capable of normal rotation and reverse rotation;
 the side guides are attached to the respective chains, and rotating directions of the chains are opposed to each other so that a distance between the side guides is automatically adjusted to a predetermined bag width; and   when the chains are rotated in one and the same direction, the side guides are circulated with the predetermined bag width being maintained.   
     
     
         15 . The machine according to  claim 13 , wherein the magazines are provided with chains which are disposed in parallel to each other in a horizontal direction and are driven by different drive units so as to be capable of normal rotation and reverse rotation;
 the side guides are attached to the respective chains, and rotating directions of the chains are opposed to each other so that a distance between the side guides is automatically adjusted to a predetermined bag width; and   when the chains are rotated in one and the same direction, the side guides are circulated with the predetermined bag width being maintained.   
     
     
         16 . The machine according to  claim 12 , wherein the paired right and left holding portions of the grip supporting the bag has a distance therebetween, and the distance is automatically adjusted according to a size of the bag. 
     
     
         17 . The machine according to  claim 13 , wherein the paired right and left holding portions of the grip supporting the bag has a distance therebetween, and the distance is automatically adjusted according to a size of the bag. 
     
     
         18 . The machine according to  claim 12 , wherein when the bag is the zippered gusset bag, the chuck is opened at a chuck opening step after bag supply, the machine further comprising a one-point sealing unit which applies a one-point seal to overlapping portions of the front or the back of the bag and one of V-shaped folded portions of both side edges of the bag, thereby fixing the overlapping portions together. 
     
     
         19 . The machine according to  claim 12 , wherein the bag mouth sealing unit includes a first sealing unit and a second sealing unit. 
     
     
         20 . The machine according to  claim 12 , wherein all the steps from the bag feeding step to the seal cooling/bag removing step are arranged at one of the linear sections constituting the annular passage.