Abstract: A rotary and flow meter type liquid filling apparatus including a liquid reservoir tank that stores and supplies liquid to filling nozzles, and air supply paths for different amount of air supply and air discharge paths for different amount of air discharge being connected to the liquid reservoir tank. An air compressor is connected to the air supply paths, and the air discharge paths open into the atmosphere. A liquid pressure sensor disposed near the filling nozzles sense the increase or decrease of the liquid pressure inside a pipe that connects the liquid reservoir tank and liquid filling nozzles, and the electromagnetic valves provided on the air supply and air discharge paths are opened or closed, thus supplying air to and discharging air from the liquid reservoir tank so as to control the air pressure inside the liquid reservoir tank and the liquid pressure near the liquid filling nozzles.

Abstract: An empty bag supplying apparatus used in a continuous conveying type bag-filling packaging machine in which the empty bag supplying apparatus receives empty bags and transfers these empty bags to gripper pairs of the bag-filling packaging machine that are moved continuously at a constant speed. The empty bag supplying apparatus includes downward-facing bag holding members and a reciprocating movement mechanism. The bag holding members hold the upper portions of bags. The reciprocating movement mechanism causes the bag holding members to reciprocate along an arc-shaped path and keeps the empty bags held by the holding members to be parallel to the direction of movement of the gripper pairs during the reciprocating motion. In a bag transfer region established in the arc-shaped path path, the speed of the bag holding members holding the empty bags is equal to the moving speed of the gripper pairs.

Abstract: A guide device for loading a solid matter into a bag including: an upper hopper which performs a reciprocating swinging motion along the conveying direction of the bag and about a supporting shaft located in the center of the upper portion of the upper hoppers, and a lower hopper which is positioned beneath the upper hopper and performs a reciprocating horizontal motion along the conveying direction of the bags and also moved toward and away from the upper hopper. The upper hopper's swing motion and the lower hopper's horizontal motion along the conveying direction of the bag are made in synchronization with the movement of the bag, and the lower hopper is lowered so that its lower opening is inserted into the mouth of the bag.

Abstract: An ultrasonic sealing device and method, in which an ultrasonic sealing device is disposed near a bag take-out position of a rotary type vacuum processing device that has a plurality of vacuum chambers disposed at equal intervals on the circumference of an intermittently rotating table, a degassed bag is taken out of the interior of a vacuum chamber stopped at the bag take-out position and is transported to and positioned in the sealing position of the ultrasonic sealing device, a horn element and an anvil are caused to advance and press-hold a predetermined position on the bag mouth and perform ultrasonic sealing to the bag. The temporary sealing to the bag mouth is preferably performed in the rotary type vacuum processing device so that the degassed state inside the bag is maintained when the vacuum chamber is placed in an atmospheric pressure state.

Abstract: A bag-making and packaging machine equipped with a stocker apparatus which receives bags that are successively fed out from a bag-making apparatus, stacks a predetermined number of bags, and supplies the stacked groups of bags to a packaging apparatus. The stocker apparatus has stocking sections that are capable of stocking bags in groups, and such stocking sections as a whole can be raised and lowered simultaneously. When the operation of the packaging apparatus is temporarily stopped, groups of bags are successively stocked in the stocking sections of the stocker apparatus; as a result, the operation of the bag-making apparatus can be continued.

Abstract: A rotary type transfer apparatus used in a continuous manufacturing apparatus for spout-equipped bags. The transfer apparatus includes a transfer rotor and a driving device and installed next to an extraction apparatus. The transfer rotor has spout holding members on its circumference, and the driving device causes the transfer rotor to rotate intermittently in a cycle of stopping, acceleration, constant-speed rotation, deceleration and stopping and causes the speed of the spout holding members of the transfer apparatus to coincide with the speed of the spout holding members of the extraction apparatus during the period of constant rotation and causes the spout holding members to run side by side. During the constant-speed rotation, spouts are transferred from the spout holding members of the continuously rotating extraction apparatus to the spout holding members of the rotary type transfer apparatus via a guide member.

Abstract: A bag-making apparatus of a bag-making and packaging machine, the bag-making apparatus being changeable in its bag-making speed and including a sealing device that performs sealing on a film that is to be formed into bags. The sealing device is made of a pair of hot plates and a driving mechanism that causes the hot plates to contact and separate from each other at an operating speed that is linked to the bag-making speed via a transmission mechanism, and the hot plates are caused to contact with and separate from each other with a stroke that is adjusted by the transmission mechanism, and a contact time of the hot plates is maintained at a constant value by way of adjusting the stroke when the operating speed of the driving mechanism is changed.

Abstract: A bag-making and packaging machine equipped with a stocker apparatus which receives spout-equipped bags that are successively fed out from a bag-making apparatus, stacks a predetermined number of bags, and supplies the stacked groups of bags to a packaging apparatus. The stocker apparatus has stocking sections made of rails that are capable of stocking bags in groups, and such stocking sections as a whole can be raised and lowered simultaneously. When the operation of the packaging apparatus is temporarily stopped, groups of bags are successively stocked in the stocking sections of the stocker apparatus; as a result, the operation of the bag-making apparatus can be continued.

Abstract: With a use of a transfer rotor that has gripping claws on its circumference, spouts are received by the gripping claws and conveyed and transferred to spout holding members of a continuously rotating rotor. The transfer rotor rotates intermittently 60° in a cycle consisting of stopping, acceleration, constant speed, deceleration and stopping. When the transfer rotor is stopped, spouts are received by gripping claws. During the constant rotation, the gripping claws are matched with the speed of the spout holding members, and the gripping claws and the spout holding members run side by side. During this side-by-side running, the spouts are transferred from the gripping claws to the spout holding members. At a transfer position, the gripping claws open, and the spouts move along a guide member as the spout holding members rotate, so that the spouts are pushed into the interiors of holding grooves of the spout holding members.

Abstract: A deaerating method and deaerating apparatus in a bag-filling packaging machine, using a pair of press-holding members with one of them having a main body and a slide element that fits in the main body. A vacuum passage is formed between the upper portion of the slide element and the main body, and a groove is formed on a press-holding surface side when the slide element is moved backward; and with this groove, a passage leading from the inside to the outside of a bag is formed. Air and excess liquid matter inside the bag are sucked out of the bag through the passage and are removed through the vacuum passage. When the slide element is moved forward and press-holds the portion of the mouth that corresponds to the passage, the liquid matter inside such portion is pushed and is removed through the vacuum passage.

Abstract: A bag conveying apparatus including a sprocket continuously rotated on a horizontal plane, a fixed guide member having a guide section of a semicircular shape, and an endless chain mounted between the sprocket and the guide section of the guide member. The endless chain is comprised of a plurality of links connected by connecting shafts. Guide rollers rotatable about their own vertical axes are disposed on and under each connecting shaft, and an inside guide roller rotatable about its own horizontal axis is disposed on the inner side of each link. The guide section of the guide member has roller guide sections that contact the guide rollers of the endless chain, and the guide section also has a guide groove in which the inside guide rollers of the endless chain are fitted. Grippers that grip both edges of a bag are installed on each link.

Abstract: In a device that opens the mouth of each one of the bags that are suspended with the mouths facing upward and conveyed in a vertical state at a uniform speed and uniform spacing in a straight line, a pair of suction disks revolve continuously in mutually opposite directions on circular tracks on the horizontal plane so that the suction-chucking surfaces of the suction disks are always caused to face each other. The suction disks revolve at a constant speed while maintaining substantially symmetrical positions relative to each other and revolve at the same speed as the speed the bags are conveyed.

Abstract: A method of sealing an opening portion of a packaging container by utilizing fusion bonding of the base material, together with an apparatus and method for inspecting the sealed portion. The container material has a welding layer as the innermost layer. The welding layer is melted at a seal portion defined along the edge of the opening portion of the container. A part of the melt from the welding layer is allowed to flow out from the edge of the opening portion, thereby sealing the seal portion and also forming an efflux layer outside the opening portion by the melt flowing out and solidified. An image of at least a part of the sealed portion and its vicinities is taken. At least a part of the image is defined as an inspection region. The image of the inspection region is subjected to predetermined image processing to calculate data concerning the efflux layer formed outside the sealed portion.

Abstract: A bag supplying device including a conveying arm that has a fixed clamping element and a movable clamping element, a reciprocating-rotating assembly that causes the conveying arm to make a back-and-forth rotational movement between a downwardly-facing clamping position and a substantially horizontal intermediate position, a slide frame on which the rotational shaft is rotatably supported, a reciprocating movement assembly that reciprocates the slide frame horizontally so that the conveying arm advances toward and retracts from a transfer position (where bags are transferred) to a gripper, and an opening-and-closing assembly that opens and closes the movable clamping element. With the bag mouth of an empty bag clamped by the clamping element, the conveying arm rotates upward and then advances to the transfer position, then the movable clamping element opens so as to transfer the empty bag, which is in a vertical attitude, to the gripper.

Abstract: A rotary type transfer apparatus used in a continuous manufacturing apparatus for spout-equipped bags. The transfer apparatus includes a transfer rotor and a driving device and installed next to an extraction apparatus. The transfer rotor has spout holding members on its circumference, and the driving device causes the transfer rotor to rotate intermittently in a cycle of stopping, acceleration, constant-speed rotation, deceleration and stopping and causes the speed of the spout holding members of the transfer apparatus to coincide with the speed of the spout holding members of the extraction apparatus during the period of constant rotation and causes the spout holding members to run side by side. During the constant-speed rotation, spouts are transferred from the spout holding members of the continuously rotating extraction apparatus to the spout holding members of the rotary type transfer apparatus via a guide member.

Abstract: A chain conveying apparatus for spouts or bags having spouts, including a pair of annular chains. The attachment plates are provided on the respective oppositely-rotating annular chains so that the attachment plates have play in a vertical direction. Centering guide members are disposed so as to be close to the axial portions of the spouts so as to regulate the movements of the spouts in the direction perpendicular to the attachment plates' moving direction; upper-side guide members and lower-side guide members are disposed above and below the attachment plates so as to regulate the height position of the attachment plates; and flange regulating members are disposed so as to be above the flanges of the spouts, which is being conveyed, with a narrow gap between the flange regulating members and the flanges so as to regulate an upward movement of the spouts.

Abstract: A continuous container-supplying apparatus in which a plurality of container holding assemblies, each comprising right-side and left-side holding members are provided on conveyor belts that run as an integral unit along an annular track that has a pair of parallel sections. Containers are intermittently supplied to the container holding assemblies on one side of the parallel sections, and then converted into a continuous movement in a single row on another side of the parallel sections so that containers are continuously supplied to a filling and packaging system. The right-side holding members are provided on the upper conveyor belt, and the left-side holding members are provided on the conveyor belt. When containers of different width are to be supplied, the relative positional relationship of the upper and lower conveyor belts in the conveying direction is adjusted so as to change the spacing between the right-side and left-side holding members.

Abstract: A conveying apparatus for spouts or bags with spouts thereon, including: a circular rotating body which is driven rotationally, a guide rail disposed around the circumference of the rotating body with a predetermined spacing in between, and a plurality of grippers disposed on the rotating body and rotated with the rotating body. The rotating body has an outer circumferential edge that supports the flanges of the spouts, and the guide rail has on its inner edge an arc-shaped guide portion that also supports the flanges of the spouts. During the rotation of the rotating body, the grippers close to hold the spouts at the flanges and then opens to release the spouts. A rotational force is imparted by the rotating body to the spouts while spouts are held at the flanges by the grippers.

Abstract: An apparatus for supplying spouts (or bags attached with spouts) to spout holding members provided on the edge of a circular rotor, including a pair of guide rails that engage with the groove portions of spouts, a timing screw that conveys spouts along the guide rails, and a pushing pawl that pushes out at a high speed a leading spout among the spouts, which are being conveyed along the guide rails, from the guide rails into the holding section of each spout holding member. The pushing pawl is disposed beneath the guide rails, and it is retracted so as not to interfere with the leading spout and then rotated inward so as to be behind the leading spout, advances and overtakes the leading spout, and then contacts the leading spout from behind, thus pushing the spout out in the forward direction and to the spout holding member.

Abstract: A liquid filling nozzle including: a tubular nozzle main body having a liquid supply opening and a liquid discharge port, a center rod disposed inside the nozzle main body and raised and lowered, and an opening-and-closing valve body which opens the liquid discharge port when the center rod is lowered and closes the liquid discharge port when the center rod is raised. A throttle valve mechanism formed by a throttle valve seat, which is disposed on the inside wall surface of the nozzle main body, and a throttle valve body, which is disposed on the center rod, is provided in the filling nozzle so that the throttle valve mechanism opens when the center rod is lowered, and, when the center rod is raised, the throttle valve mechanism closes before the opening-and-closing valve body closes off the liquid discharge port, thus constricting the flow path for a liquid.