Patent Description:
Examples of such a banding and packaging device are described in the patent documents <NUM> and <NUM> filed by the applicant of the present invention. As described in these documents, a piece of band-shaped film is held and transported by a film piece transporting mechanism to a predetermined position, released at the position, and then carried onto an article to be packaged. Then, the article and the piece of film attached to the article are vertically held together by an upper transport belt and a carry-in belt of an article transport apparatus and then transported to a packaging position.

In the device described in the patent document <NUM>, a packaging position P is set to locate between the end of a carry-in belt <NUM> and the beginning of a carry-out belt <NUM>, as schematically illustrated in the side view of <FIG>. As illustrated with arrow A in the drawing, an article "w" and a piece of film (not illustrated in the drawing) attached to this article are vertically held together by the carry-in belt <NUM> and an upper transport belt <NUM> and then transported to the packaging position P. The transport of the article "w" by the carry-out belt <NUM> and the upper transport belt <NUM> is suspended when the article arrives at the packaging position P.

As schematically illustrated in the front view of <FIG>, a film piece pressing mechanism is disposed at a position in the upper direction of the packaging position P. The film piece pressing mechanism is equipped with a pair of pressing members <NUM> used to press parts of the piece of film "f" downward that are hanging out from the left and right sides of the article "w". A film piece attaching mechanism is disposed at a position below the packaging position P. The film piece attaching mechanism is equipped with a pair of attaching members <NUM> that are allowed to move leftward and rightward.

As illustrated in <FIG>, the pressing members <NUM> on the left and right sides move downward toward the article "w" at the packaging position P between the end of the carry-in belt <NUM> and the beginning of the carry-out belt <NUM>, and both end sides of the piece of film "f" hanging out from the left and right sides of the article "w" are pressed downward by the pressing members <NUM> along the surfaces of the article "w" on its lateral sides.

After that, the attaching members <NUM> on the left and right sides move in the horizontal direction and arrives at positions for attaching the piece of film underneath the article "w", as illustrated in <FIG>. Then, the piece of film "f" hanging downward from the article "w" is pressed by the attaching members <NUM> and thereby wound around the bottom surface of the article "w". Lastly, starched parts on both end sides of the piece of film are elastically pressed against and attached to the bottom surface of the article "w".

The article, after the piece of film "f" is wound around and attached to its bottom surface, starts to be transported by the carry-out belt <NUM> and the upper transport belt <NUM>. The banding-completed article "w" is then carried out of the device.

Thus, when one end and the other of the film-attached article "w" are situated on the end of the carry-in belt <NUM> and the beginning of the carry-out belt <NUM>, i.e., when the lateral and bottom surfaces of the article "w" are being exposed, both end sides of the piece of film "f" are pressed downward and then pressed against and attached to the bottom surface of the article "w". This is considered to be an efficient way of successfully banding and packaging target articles.

<CIT> discloses a packaging machine of copying paper, which is characterized in that: besides an electric control device, the machine also has a front machine body, a middle machine and a rear machine body, a front machine body device for conveying packaging paper and the middle machine body having a device for conveying copying paper, a device for folding a hemline and a device for gumming the hemline. The device for conveying the copying paper is arranged vertically to the middle machine body, the rear machine body is a device for folding a side and a device for gumming the side. As the copying paper is packaged by machine instead of by hand, the working efficiency is greatly improved and due to the machine gumming in a pipeline, the package objects are quite solid.

<CIT> discloses a strip-wrapping packaging machine for automatically wrapping a pasted film around a container. A strip film pasted at both edges thereof and carried to the packaging position is held by a pair of right and left rollers. A tray waiting for the film below the strip film is supported by a tray push-up part. When a plurality of projecting pins is elevated, the strip film is elevated together with the tray while being pulled at both edges to the center side. The strip film with both edges thereof supported by the pair of roller bodies and the center portion thereof pushed out upward is stack to a lower side of the tray with one edge detached from the roller body by a film and carrying part at an elevated end of the tray. When the tray is moved by a tray carrying part, the other edge is detached from the roller body.

In the banding and packaging devices described in the earlier documents, however, the upper transport belt <NUM> may be an indispensable means in order for the film-attached article "w" to be vertically held and transported to the packaging position P, often resulting in higher facility costs.

Supposing that the upper transport belt <NUM> is not used in such devices, the article "w", without being vertically supported by this belt, may be difficult to retain its horizontal position when arriving at the packaging position P between the end of the carry-in belt <NUM> and the beginning of the carry-out belt <NUM>. As a result, an edge of the article "w" may get caught in between these belts <NUM> and <NUM> and fail to be further transported.

Taking for instance the article "w" relatively small in length in the direction of transport, it may be only a limited area of the article "w" that can rest on the end of the carry-in belt <NUM> and on the beginning of the carry-out belt <NUM>. When the carry-in belt <NUM> and the carry-out belt <NUM> are driven after the packaging is over, the packaged article "w" may happen to slip on the belts <NUM> and <NUM> in the absence of the upper transport belt <NUM>, failing to depart from the packaging position for further transport.

To address these issues of the known art, the present invention is directed to providing a banding and packaging device allowed to smoothly transport and reliably band articles to be packaged without vertically holding the articles.

To this end, the present invention provides the following technical features.

In the banding and packaging device according to the present invention, a piece of band-shaped film is transported by the film piece transporting mechanism onto an article that has been transported by the article carry-in mechanism. Then, the film piece pressing mechanism presses the piece of film downward against the article and further presses lateral ends on both sides of the piece of film downward. Then, the film piece attaching mechanism winds the pressed-down ends of the piece of film around the bottom surface of the article and attaches the ends to the bottom surface. After the article to be packaged is thus wound with the piece of film, the packaged article is transported by the article carry-out mechanism to depart from the packaging position.

Between the article carry-in mechanism and the article carry-out mechanism where the packaging position is located, the relaying mechanism receives and supports the article being transported from below. Thus, an edge of the article transported by the article carry-in mechanism may be prevented from getting caught in between the article carry-in mechanism and the article carry-out mechanism. This may ensure smooth transport of the article from the article carry-in mechanism to the article carry-out mechanism without having to vertically hold and transport the article as in the known art. At the packaging position between the article carry-in mechanism and the article carry-out mechanism, therefore, the article to be packaged may be successfully wound with the piece of film by the film piece pressing mechanism and the film piece attaching mechanism.

Between the article carry-in mechanism and the article carry-out mechanism, the relaying mechanism receives and supports the article from below in a center part of the bottom surface of the article in the direction of width. That is, since the relaying mechanism receives and supports the article in this center part of the bottom surface of the article in the direction of width, an open space is provided around the article other than below the center part of the bottom surface of the article in the direction of width. This open space may allow the film piece pressing mechanism and the film piece attaching mechanism to smoothly perform their operations without interference of the relaying mechanism, i.e., operation of the film piece pressing mechanism to press the piece of film against the article and to press both ends of the piece of film downward, and operation of the film piece attaching mechanism to wind the ends of the piece of film pressed downward by the film piece pressing mechanism around the bottom surface of the article and to attach the ends to the bottom surface.

<NUM>) According to the present invention, the relaying mechanism includes a relaying belt conveyer that transports the article. The relaying belt conveyer includes a transport belt small in width that supports the center part in the direction of width.

According to the present invention that provides the relaying belt conveyer for transport of the article, the article, if relatively small in length along the direction of transport, may be smoothly transported by
the relaying belt conveyer to and from the packaging position between the article carry-in mechanism and the article carry-out mechanism.

Because a relatively small belt in width is used as the transport belt of the relaying belt conveyer to receive and support the center part of the bottom surface of the article in the direction of width, lateral sides of the bottom surface of the article in the direction of width at the packaging position are left exposed. This may avoid any interference with the operation of the film piece attaching mechanism in which the ends on both sides of the piece of film are wound around and attached to the lateral sides of the bottom surface of the article in the direction of width.

<NUM>) According to the present invention, the article carry-out mechanism includes a carry-out belt conveyer. The transport belt small in width is wound around a pulley of the carry-out belt conveyer to have the relaying belt conveyer driven by the carry-out conveyer.

Accordingly, the relaying belt conveyer of the relaying mechanism is driven by the carry-out belt conveyer of the article carry-out mechanism. As a result, a driving mechanism solely used to drive the relaying belt conveyer may become unnecessary, allowing the device to be structurally simplified.

According to the present invention, characterized in that the transport belt of the relaying belt conveyer is wound around the pulley of the carry-out belt conveyer, the relaying belt conveyer and the carry-out belt conveyer are continuous in the direction of transport with no gap therebetween.

The bottom surfaces of some articles may not be flat. For example, some articles may have projections on their bottom surfaces that are protruding downward along widths of the articles. This embodiment seeking to avoid any gap between the relaying belt conveyer and the carry-out belt conveyer may prevent the risk of such projections on bottom surfaces of article getting caught in between the relaying belt conveyer and the carry-out belt conveyer. allowing smooth transport of any articles.

<NUM>) According to the present invention, the article carry-in mechanism includes a carry-in belt conveyer, and a support plate that receives and supports the article from below is disposed between the carry-in belt conveyer and the relaying belt conveyer.

According to the present invention, providing the support plate between the carry-in belt conveyer and the relaying belt conveyer to receive and support the article from below, articles with projections on their bottom surfaces, for example, may be received and supported well by the support plate. Thus, such projections of the articles, if any, may be prevented from getting caught in between the article carry-in mechanism and the relaying belt conveyer.

<NUM>) In one embodiment of the present invention, the film piece pressing mechanism includes an upper surface pressing member that presses, under own weight, the piece of film against an upper surface of the article, and lateral side pressing members that press down both end sides of the piece of film pressed against the upper surface by the upper surface pressing member along lateral surfaces of the article.

In this embodiment, the piece of film that has been transported to and put on the article is lightly pressed against the upper surface of the article by the upper surface pressing member under its own weight. The piece of film pressed by this pressing member may remain in contact with the upper surface without even partly floating off the upper surface. The lateral ends of the piece of film thus pressed against the upper surface of the article are then pressed down by the lateral side pressing members along surfaces of the article on its both sides. While articles to be packaged may differ in height, the upper surface pressing members that move downward under their own weight may be allowed to apply a constant pressing force to the article "w". Thus, the pressing force may be unlikely to become variable; too strong or too weak, depending on the height of the article "w".

<NUM>) In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the film piece pressing mechanism includes a support bracket allowed to move upward and downward. The lateral side pressing members are immovably coupled to the support bracket, the upper surface pressing member is supported by the support bracket in a vertically movable manner under own weight, and the upper surface pressing member approaches the upper surface of the article earlier than the lateral side pressing members in response to the downward movement of the support bracket.

In this embodiment, simple downward and upward movements of a single member; support bracket, may successfully invite the upper surface pressing member to act upon the upper surface of the article, and then invite the lateral side pressing members to act upon the lateral surfaces of the article. Thus, the respective pressing members may be driven in a more simplified manner than being driven independently.

<NUM>) In yet another embodiment of the present invention, the upper surface pressing member of the film piece pressing mechanism presses the piece of film against lateral sides of the upper surface of the article in the direction of width.

A belt relatively small in width is used as the transport belt of the relaying belt conveyer to receive and support the center part of the bottom surface of the article. The article received and supported by such a narrow transport belt may easily lose balance in the direction of width. In this embodiment, the upper surface pressing member of the film piece pressing mechanism presses, through the piece of film, both sides of the article in the direction of width from above. The article thus supported at three points; center part of the bottom surface and parts on both sides of the upper surface in the direction of width, may be stabilized in its position and direction.

The device provided by the present invention is equipped with the article relaying mechanism that relays the transport of the article between the article carry-in mechanism and the article carry-out mechanism. Thus, an edge of the article transported by the article carry-in mechanism may be prevented from getting caught in between the article carry-in mechanism and the article carry-out mechanism. This may ensure smooth transport of the article from the article carry-in mechanism to the article carry-out mechanism without having to vertically hold and transport the article as in the known art.

The relaying mechanism is structured to receive and support the article from below in a center part of the bottom surface of the article in the direction of width. Thus, an open space is provided around the article except where the relaying mechanism is located, supporting the center part from below. This open space may allow the respective mechanisms to smoothly perform their operations, i.e., operation of the film piece pressing mechanism to press the piece of film against the article and to press both ends of the piece of film downward, and operation of the film piece attaching mechanism to wind the ends of the piece of film pressed downward by the film piece pressing mechanism around the bottom surface of the article and to attach the ends to the bottom surface.

An embodiment of the present invention is hereinafter described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

<FIG> is a side view of a banding and packaging device according to an embodiment of the present invention. <FIG> is a schematic plan view of the banding and packaging device.

The banding and packaging device according to this embodiment may be for use in banding and packaging an article "w" such as a container with a lid containing, for example, food.

This device is equipped with an article transporting mechanism <NUM>, an article positioning mechanism <NUM>, a film feeder <NUM>, a printing processor <NUM>, a film piece former <NUM>, a film piece transporting mechanism <NUM>, a film piece pressing mechanism <NUM>, and a film piece attaching mechanism <NUM>. The article transporting mechanism <NUM> receives the article "w" and transports the article "w" put thereon along a horizontally extending transport path illustrated with arrow A in <FIG>. The article positioning mechanism <NUM> locates and retains the transported article "w" at a packaging position P which is an intermediate position on the article transport path. The film feeder <NUM> feeds a wide sheet of raw film F. The printing processor <NUM> prints what is to be printed on the raw film F. The film piece former <NUM> cuts the printed sheet of raw film F at a constant pitch to form a piece of band-shaped film "f" described later. The film piece transporting mechanism <NUM> feeds the piece of film "f" onto the article "w" located at the packaging position P. The film piece pressing mechanism <NUM> presses a center part of the piece of film "f" in its lateral direction against the upper surface of the article "w", presses ends of the piece of film "w" on both sides downward, and then folds the piece of film "f" downward along lateral surfaces of the article "w". The film piece attaching mechanism <NUM> winds the folded ends of the piece of film "f" around the bottom surface of the article "w" and attaches the ends to the bottom surface.

In the description given below, "forward" may be used to express an upstream side in a direction of transport A of the article "w" (left on the drawings <FIG> and <FIG>), "rearward" may be used to express a downstream side in the direction of transport A (right on the drawings <FIG> and <FIG>), and "lateral" may be used to express a direction horizontally orthogonal to the direction of transport A.

The article transporting mechanism <NUM> includes an article carry-in mechanism 1A and an article carry-out mechanism 1B. The article carry-in mechanism 1A receives the article "w" and horizontally transports the article "w" put thereon to the packaging position P located rearward. The article carry-out mechanism 1B horizontally transports the article "w" further rearward after the article "w" is banded and packaged at the packaging position P. In this article transporting mechanism <NUM>, an article carry-in path and an article carry-out path are linearly extending and continuous to each other.

The article carry-in mechanism 1A is equipped with a carry-in belt conveyer in which a wide transport belt <NUM> is wound around a rear driving pulley <NUM> and a front driven pulley <NUM> that are driven by a motor and respectively disposed at positions rearward and forward. The article carry-out mechanism 1B is equipped with a carry-out belt conveyer in which a wide transport belt <NUM> is wound around a rear driving pulley <NUM> and a driven pulley <NUM> that are driven by a motor and respectively disposed at positions rearward and forward.

The end of the belt conveyer of the article carry-in mechanism 1A and the beginning of the belt conveyer of the article carry-out mechanism 1B are spaced apart with an interval greater than the length of the piece of film "f". The packaging position P is located in the interval. The article "w" is wound with a piece of film to be packaged at the packaging position P.

In this embodiment, the article transporting mechanism <NUM> is further equipped with a relaying mechanism 1C. The relaying mechanism 1C is disposed between the article carry-in mechanism 1A and the article carry-out mechanism 1B to ensure smooth transport of the article "w" without having to vertically hold the article "w".

<FIG> is a side view illustrating the relaying mechanism 1C. <FIG> is a plan view illustrating the relaying mechanism 1C.

The relaying mechanism 1C according to this embodiment is equipped with a relaying belt conveyer in which a small transport belt <NUM> in width is wound around three pulleys; the driven pulley <NUM> of the article carry-out mechanism 1B serving as driving pulley, and a driven pulley <NUM> at a forward position and a tension pulley <NUM> disposed below the driven pulley <NUM>.

The transport belt <NUM> of the article carry-out mechanism 1B is split at a center position in the lateral direction into two belt portions. These two belt portions are engaged with guiding grooves 14a of the driven pulley <NUM> and thereby positioned in the lateral direction. There is a small interval formed at a center position in the lateral direction between the belt portions, and the narrow transport belt <NUM> of the relaying mechanism 1C is wound around the driven pulley <NUM> in this small interval. The transport belt <NUM> of the relaying mechanism 1C is engaged with guiding grooves 14b of the driven pulley <NUM>, guiding grooves 16a of the driven pulley <NUM>, and guiding grooves 17a of the tension pulley <NUM>, and thereby positioned in the lateral direction.

The narrow transport belt <NUM> of the relaying mechanism 1C is thus disposed at a position at the center in the lateral direction and transports the work "w" while receiving and supporting, from below, a center part of the bottom surface of the work "w" in the lateral direction. The surface of the transport belt <NUM> that supports the bottom surface of the article "w" has a flat shape in the lateral direction. The transport belt <NUM> supports the article "w" on this flat surface.

The width N1 of the narrow transport belt <NUM> may be thus defined; width N1 of transport belt <NUM> ≤ distance L1, where L1 is a distance between both ends of a piece of film "f" wound around the work "w", as illustrated in the front view of an article banding and packaging step of <FIG> described later. When the piece of film "f" is attached to the work "w" by the "film piece attaching mechanism" according to the present invention, a part of the bottom surface of the article "w" is left unwound with this this piece of film. Such a film-missing part of the bottom surface, however, may be supported well by the transport belt <NUM> insofar as the dimension of the width N1 is less than or equal to the distance L1 between the both ends of the piece of film "f" wound around the work "w".

The width N1 of the transport belt may be defined otherwise, as in the formula below, using diameters D1 of roll-type attaching members <NUM>.

Width N1 of transport belt <NUM> ≤ (distance L1-diameters D1), where D1 is the diameter of each attaching member, and L1 is a distance between both ends of the piece of film "f" wound around the work "w". As described in this embodiment, the "film piece attaching mechanism" according to the present invention has a pair of roll-type attaching members <NUM>, and the attaching members <NUM> each have the diameter D1. When the attaching members <NUM> are brought into contact with both ends of the piece of film "f" wound around the bottom surface of the article "w", these attaching members enter a film-missing inner region of the bottom surface, each by a radial dimension (D1/<NUM>), i.e., by a diametrical dimension (D1) altogether, from one end side of the piece of film "f".

The width of the film-missing inner region corresponds to the distance L1 between both ends of the piece of film "f" wound around the work "w". The largest possible dimension of the width N1 of the transport belt <NUM> is, therefore, equal to a distance calculated by subtracting the diameters (D1) of the attaching members <NUM> from the distance L1, i.e., (distance L1 between both ends of piece of film "f" wound around work "w")-(diameters L1 of attaching members <NUM>).

Thus defined, the transport belt <NUM> supporting the work "w" may be prevented from interfering with the attaching members <NUM> moving toward the ends of the piece of film "f" when the piece of film "w" is wound around and attached to the bottom surface of the article "w".

The width N1 of the transport belt <NUM>, though desirably greater in order to more reliably support the work "w", may preferably be set to a dimension suitable for any piece of film "f" having a large width in the lateral direction. i.e., any piece of film "f" with a smaller distance L1 between its both ends when wound around the work "w". The upper-limit value of the width N1 of the transport belt <NUM>, therefore, may preferably be <NUM>, or more preferably be <NUM>.

On the other hand, the lower-limit value of the width N1 of the transport belt <NUM> may preferably be <NUM>, or more preferably be <NUM> in the context of better support for the work "w".

The width N1 of the transport belt <NUM>, therefore, may preferably be in the range of <NUM> to <NUM>, or more preferably be in the range of <NUM> to <NUM>.

In the relaying belt conveyer of the relaying mechanism 1C, the transport belt <NUM> is wound around the pulleys including the driven pulley <NUM>, serving as driving pulley, of the carry-out belt conveyer of the article carry-out mechanism 1B. The relaying belt conveyer is thus driven by the carry-out belt conveyer.

A driving mechanism solely used to drive the relaying mechanism 1C may be accordingly unnecessary, allowing the device to be structurally simplified.

Some articles "w" may have flat bottom surfaces, while the others may have projections protruding downward along their widths in the lateral direction. Smooth transport may possibly fail with such an article "w" with a projection(s) on its bottom surface due to the risk of the projection getting caught in between two transport belts disposed forward and rearward in the direction of transport when the article currently transported on one of the transport belts is carried onto the other.

In this embodiment, the transport belt <NUM> of the relaying mechanism 1C is wound around the driven pulley <NUM> of the article carry-out mechanism 1B, and the transport belt <NUM> of the relaying mechanism 1C and the transport belt of the article carry-out mechanism 1B are continuous forward and rearward in the direction of transport.

Thus, any articles "w" with projections may be smoothly transported without the risk of the projections getting caught in between the two transport belts.

As illustrated in <FIG>, there is a gap between the end of the transport belt <NUM> of the article carry-in mechanism 1A and the beginning of the transport belt <NUM> of the relaying mechanism 1C. In this embodiment, a fixed support plate <NUM> is disposed between the transport belts <NUM> and <NUM> to receive and support the article "w" from below. As illustrated in <FIG>, the support plate <NUM> is located at a position in the upper direction of the end of the transport belt <NUM> of the article carry-in mechanism 1A and is extending along the lateral direction. The support plate <NUM> has a pair of support pieces 19a extending rearward so as to hold therebetween the beginning of the transport belt <NUM> of the relaying mechanism 1C from both sides in the lateral direction. With this support plate <NUM>, the transport belt <NUM> of the article carry-in mechanism 1A and the transport belt <NUM> of the relaying mechanism 1C are gapless and continuous forward and rearward in the direction of transport.

The device thus structured may ensure smooth transport of the article "w" with a projection(s) protruding downward on its bottom surface without the risk of the projection getting caught in between the transport belts <NUM> and <NUM> transports belts.

In the case of the article "w" relatively small in the direction of transport, for example, it may be only a limited area of the article that can rest on the end of the transport belt <NUM> of the article carry-in mechanism 1A and on the beginning of the transport belt <NUM> of the article carry-out mechanism 1B when the article is at the packaging position P between the end and the beginning of these transport belts.

In the absence of the relaying mechanism 1C, such a small article "w" in the direction of transport, if transported on the transport belt <NUM>, <NUM> being driven after the packaging is completed, may happen to slip on the transport belt <NUM>, <NUM>, failing to depart from the packaging position P for further transport. In this embodiment, however, the relaying belt conveyer of the relaying mechanism 1C is provided to ensure reliable and smooth transport of the article "w".

As illustrated in <FIG>, transport guides 21a and 21b are disposed on the carry-in belt conveyer of the article carry-in mechanism 1A to guide the article "w" from both sides in the lateral direction. The transport guides 21a and 21b are supportably coupled respectively to movable frames 24a and 24b that are allowed to slide in the lateral direction along guiding shafts <NUM> disposed at positions forward and rearward in the direction of transport and horizontally supported across fixed frames <NUM>. An operating shaft <NUM> horizontally supported across the fixed frames <NUM> has a left threaded shaft portion 25a and a right threaded shaft portion 25b having opposing lead angles. The left threaded shaft portion 25a and the right threaded shaft portion 25b are inserted through and engaged with the movable frames 24a and 24b. The operating shaft <NUM> is rotated in forward and reverse directions by manipulating a handle 25c disposed on one end side in the lateral direction to allow the movable frames 24a and 24b to move on the threads in opposite directions. Thus, the transport guides 21a and 21b are allowed to move toward and away from each other in accordance with the width of the article "w" in the lateral direction.

The transport guides 21a and 21b and the movable frames 24a and 24b are respectively split into two portions that are spaced apart at two positions forward and rearward in the direction of transport. In a space formed as a result of the transport guides and the movable frames being split into two portions, braking stoppers <NUM> are disposed at positions on both sides in the lateral direction. The braking stoppers <NUM> are allowed to laterally move toward and away from the transport path between the transport guides 21a and 21b. Actuators <NUM>, an example of which is air cylinder, are mounted to rearward movable frame 24a' and 24b' split from the movable frames 24a and 24b. The braking stoppers <NUM> are driven by these actuators <NUM> to move toward and away from the transport path. When one of the articles "w" is in the process of being packaged at the packaging position P, the braking stoppers <NUM> are used to arrest the transport of a next one of the articles "w" to be on standby.

As illustrated in <FIG>, the film piece pressing mechanism <NUM> is disposed at a position in the upper direction of the packaging position P between the end of the article carry-in mechanism 1A and the beginning of the article carry-out mechanism 1B, and the film piece attaching mechanism <NUM> is disposed at a position below the packaging position P.

As illustrated in <FIG>, the article positioning mechanism <NUM> is mounted on the back side of a driving case <NUM> of the film piece pressing mechanism <NUM> described later. The article positioning mechanism <NUM> has a positioning stopper <NUM> at a position in the upper direction of the article carry-out mechanism 1B. The positioning stopper <NUM> is driven to move upward and downward by an actuator <NUM>, an example of which is air cylinder.

The positioning stopper <NUM> has a front end that receives the article "w". This front end is horizontally extending forward from its base portion coupled to the actuator <NUM> and is bending downward. When the article "w" arrives at the packaging position P, the positioning stopper <NUM> moves downward onto the article transport path and receives an edge of the article "w" in the direction of transport. The positioning stopper <NUM>, through this contact with the article "w", controls and maintains the position and direction of the article "w" in the direction of transport. The positioning stopper <NUM>, by moving upward away from the article transport path, allows the article "w" to further travel in the direction of transport.

The actuator <NUM> that drives the positioning stopper <NUM> to move upward and downward is supported along upper and lower guiding shafts <NUM> in a manner that this actuator is allowed to move in opposite directions. Further, the actuator <NUM> is engaged with a threaded shaft <NUM> horizontally supported in the direction of transport. The threaded shaft <NUM> is interlocked, through a bevel gear, with an operating shaft <NUM> horizontally supported in the lateral direction. When the operating shaft <NUM> is rotated in forward and reverse directions by rotating an operating handle 33a disposed on the front side of the device illustrated in the plan view of <FIG>, the actuator <NUM> is allowed to move on the threads in opposite directions. In this manner, the positioning stopper <NUM> is positionally adjustable in the direction of transport correspondingly to the length of the article "w" in the direction of transport, so that the center of the positioned article "w" in the direction of transport is coincident with the packaging position P.

As illustrated in <FIG> and <FIG>, the film feeder <NUM> has a roll support shaft <NUM> supported in a horizontally cantilevered manner to horizontally support a roll of raw film R in the lateral direction. A sheet of raw film F unwound from the roll of raw sheet R is guided on a predetermined path to the printing processor <NUM>. A roll of raw film R' for backup is storable at a position in the upper direction of the film feeder <NUM>.

Though not specifically illustrated in the drawings, the printing processor <NUM> has a thermal printer installed inside. This thermal printer is used to print various pieces of information inputted and set beforehand at predetermined positions on the upper surface of the sheet of raw film F. For example, the type, material(s) used, expiration date, price, and barcode of what is contained in the article "w" are printed at a constant pitch in the longitudinal direction of the sheet of raw film F.

As illustrated in <FIG> and <FIG>, the film piece former <NUM> has two motor-driven feeding rollers 36a and 36b and pushing rollers 37a and 37b that are disposed in a freely rotatable manner. The feeding rollers 36a and 36b are arranged in two rows and pivotally journaled horizontally in the lateral direction. The pushing rollers 37a and 37b are facing the feeding rollers 36a and 36b at positions in the upper direction of these feeding rollers. The film piece former <NUM> vertically holds and transports the sheet of raw film F using the feeding rollers 36a and 36b and the pushing rollers 37a and 37b. As illustrated <FIG>, the film transport path in the film piece former <NUM> is inclined downward in a lateral view.

A cutter <NUM> greater in width than the sheet of raw film F is disposed at a position between and below the feeding lowers 36a and 36b. The cutter <NUM> is allowed to move upward and downward when driven by an actuator <NUM>, an example of which is air cylinder. When the cutter <NUM> is elevated to a position higher than the film travelling path, the sheet of raw film F vertically held at two positions on its front and back sides is cut in the middle between these two positions. Thus, the sheet of raw film F is cut into pieces of band-shaped film "f".

The sheet of raw film F has lines of perforation "m" (see <FIG>); cutting marks, formed at a pitch correspondingly to the length of the piece of film "f" from its front to back side. When it is detected by, for example, an optical sensor that the line of perforation "m" is located immediately above the cutter <NUM> currently at a position below the film traveling path, the film feed by the feeding rollers 36a and 36b is suspended, and the cutter <NUM> is elevated to cut the sheet of film. Thus, the film position is detected, the feeding rollers 36a and 36b are driven, and the cutter <NUM> is moved upward and downward in a coordinated manner for cutting purpose.

When the circumferential speed of the feeding roller 36b on the back side is set to a slightly lower speed than that of the feeding roller 36a, a suitable degree of tension may be imparted to a part of the film between these rollers to be cut by the cutter <NUM>. This may be useful for the cutter <NUM> to precisely cut the film.

A backing plate <NUM> is disposed at a position on the film-outgoing side of the film piece former <NUM>. The cut piece of film "f" transported being inclined obliquely downward is directly received and supported by the backing plate <NUM>. The backing plate <NUM> has a lateral width smaller than the length of the piece of film "f" in the lateral direction. The transported piece of film "f" is, therefore, supported with its both ends hanging out from lateral sides of the backing plate <NUM>.

<FIG> illustrate structural details of the film piece transporting mechanism <NUM>.

The film piece transporting mechanism <NUM> is fitted to and supported by a frame plate <NUM> disposed vertically upright on a lateral side of the article transport path. The film piece transporting mechanism <NUM> is equipped with a rotary member <NUM>, a hollow support frame <NUM>, a pair of left and right support arms <NUM>, and chucking mechanisms <NUM>. The rotary member <NUM> is rotatable in reciprocating motion around an axis "x" horizontally extending from one side to the other perpendicularly to the frame plate <NUM>. The support frame <NUM> is coupled to the rotary member <NUM> and is extending in a horizontally cantilevered manner in the lateral direction. The support arms <NUM> are extending downward from the support frame <NUM>. The chucking mechanisms <NUM>; an example of the film piece holding mechanism, are mounted to lower parts of the respective support arms <NUM>.

A support shaft <NUM> is integrally coupled to the rotary member <NUM>. The support shaft <NUM> is penetrating through the frame plate <NUM> and protruding on the back side of the frame plate <NUM>. A transmission belt <NUM> is wound around the support shaft <NUM> and a reducer-attached motor <NUM> mounted on the back side of the frame <NUM> to allow the support shaft <NUM> and the motor <NUM> to interlock with each other. As the motor <NUM> is rotated in forward and reverse directions, the chucking mechanisms <NUM> are moved along an arc-shaped trajectory "s" centered on the axis "x" to and from respective upper positions for receiving the piece of film and lower positions for feeding the piece of film.

The chucking mechanisms <NUM> are mounted to inner edges of the support arms <NUM> in a manner that they are directed inward facing each other. The chucking mechanisms <NUM> each have a pair of nipping claws allowed to open and close through an oscillatory motion, and a driving case <NUM> that drives the nipping claws <NUM> to open and close using an actuator installed inside such as a motor or an electromagnetic solenoid. The rotary member <NUM> is rotated upward to move the chucking mechanisms <NUM> to the respective film piece receiving positions near the back side of the film piece former <NUM>. The nipping claws <NUM> of the chucking mechanisms <NUM> are thus allowed to hold both ends of the piece of film "f" inclining obliquely downward and supported on the backing plate <NUM> of the film piece former <NUM>.

The rotary member <NUM> are rotated downward to move the chucking mechanisms <NUM> to the respective film piece feeding positions immediately below, and the nipping claws <NUM> of the chucking mechanisms <NUM> are opened to release the piece of film "f" on the article "w" currently at the packaging position P.

When the chucking mechanisms <NUM> are located at the respective film piece receiving positions, film-catching surfaces of the nipping claws <NUM> are inclined obliquely downward in the same manner as the piece of film "f" on the support plate <NUM> of the film piece former <NUM>. When the chucking mechanisms <NUM> are located at the respective film piece feeding positions, the film-catching surfaces of the nipping claws <NUM> are horizontally positioned along the direction of transport. The piece of film "f" thus horizontally held by and released from the opened nipping claws <NUM> are carried onto the upper surface of the article "w".

The nipping claws <NUM> of the chucking mechanisms <NUM> are opened, i.e., the piece of film "f" thereby held is released, after the piece of film "f" on the article "w" at the packaging position P is pressed against the upper surface of the article "w" by upper surface pressing members <NUM>, which will be described later, of the film piece pressing mechanism <NUM>. The piece of film "f", after being carried onto the article "w" by the film piece transporting mechanism <NUM>, is released being pushed against a predetermined part of the upper surface of the article "w".

A detection piece <NUM> is mounted to the rotary member <NUM>. An optical sensor <NUM> is fitted to the support plate <NUM> mounted to the frame plate <NUM>. The optical path of the optical sensor <NUM> is blocked by the detection piece <NUM>. The motor <NUM> is driven in response to the rotation of the rotary member <NUM> being detected by the detection piece <NUM>. The movable ranges and stop positions of the chucking mechanisms <NUM> are thus controllable.

The piece of film "f" has starched parts "n" (see <FIG>) at ends on both sides on its back surface. The nipping claws <NUM> respectively have hook-shaped edges; nippers, that allow the chucking mechanisms <NUM> to nip inner parts of the piece of film "f" than the starched parts "n". On the inner back side of the nippers of the closed nipping claws <NUM> is some space that invites the ends of the piece of film "f". Further, positions of the chucking mechanisms <NUM> in the lateral direction need to be adjusted for the device to accept various pieces of films "f" that differ in width in the lateral direction. To this end, the device includes the following technical features.

In the support frame <NUM> extending from the rotary member <NUM> and supported in a horizontally cantilevered manner in the lateral direction, an operating shaft <NUM> is horizontally supported in the lateral direction along the whole length of the support frame <NUM>, and left and right guiding shafts <NUM> are disposed in two pairs at positions on the front and back sides of the operating shaft <NUM>, as illustrated in <FIG>. The guiding shafts <NUM> are respectively inserted through the movable frames <NUM> to which the support arms <NUM> are coupled, and the movable frames <NUM> are supported in a manner that they are movable in the lateral direction along the guiding shafts <NUM>. The operating shaft <NUM> is inserted through and engaged with the movable frames <NUM>.

The operating shaft <NUM> has a left threaded shaft portion 51a and a right threaded shaft portion 51b having opposing lead angles. The operating shaft <NUM> is rotatable by manipulating a handle <NUM> disposed at one end of this operating shaft. The left threaded shaft portion 51a and the right threaded shaft portion 51b are respectively inserted through and engaged with the movable frames <NUM>. By rotating the operating shaft <NUM> in forward and reverse directions, the movable frames 24a and 24b are equally movable toward and away from each other, providing an adjustable interval between the chucking mechanisms <NUM>. Then, the chucking mechanisms <NUM> are allowed to nip suitable parts of the piece of film "f" correspondingly to the length of the piece of film "f" in the lateral direction.

The frame plate <NUM> mounted with the film piece transporting mechanism <NUM> is supported by a device frame <NUM> (see <FIG>) in a manner that this frame plate is movable upward and downward through a pair of vertical rails <NUM> disposed at positions forward and rearward in the direction of transport. When a threaded shaft <NUM> is moved in forward and reverse directions by manipulating a handle 56a disposed at an upper end of this threaded shaft, the frame plate <NUM> is allowed to move on the threads upward and downward. Thus, the height of the film feeding position in the film piece transporting mechanism <NUM> is suitably adjustable in accordance with the height of the article "w". The printing processor <NUM> and the film piece former <NUM> are also supported by the frame <NUM>. Any change of the height of the frame plate <NUM> does not affect relative positions of the film piece former <NUM> and the film piece transporting mechanism <NUM>, allowing the piece of film to be received as expected from the film piece former <NUM>.

<FIG> illustrate detailed structural features of the film piece pressing mechanism <NUM> disposed at a position in the upper direction of the packaging position P.

The film piece pressing mechanism <NUM> has a driving case <NUM> coupled to the frame plate <NUM>, and a pair of left and right support arms <NUM>. The support arms <NUM> are driven by a driving means installed inside to move upward and downward at positions below the driving case <NUM>. The film piece pressing mechanism <NUM> further has support brackets <NUM> coupled to front ends of the support arms <NUM>, and upper surface pressing members <NUM> and lateral side pressing members <NUM> mounted to and supported by the support brackets <NUM>.

The upper surface pressing members <NUM> each have a flat plate-like shape and are used to press the piece of film "f" on the article "w" at the packaging position P against the upper surface of this article.

A pair of guiding shafts <NUM> are disposed vertically upright at positions forward and rearward in the direction of transport of the upper surface pressing member <NUM>. A braking shaft <NUM> is disposed vertically upright at a middle position in the direction of transport. The guiding shafts <NUM> and the braking shaft <NUM> are inserted through a support bracket <NUM> in a manner that these shafts are slidable upward and downward, and the upper surface pressing member <NUM> is slidable downward under its own weight. A downward movement preventive collar <NUM> is anchored to an upper protruding end of the braking shaft <NUM> to allow the upper surface pressing member <NUM> to move downward under its own weight until the downward movement preventive collar <NUM> contacts the upper surface of the support bracket <NUM>.

The lateral side pressing members <NUM> are used to press parts of the piece of film "f" downward that are hanging out from the left and right sides and to fold the pressed parts further downward along lateral sides of the article "w". The lateral side pressing members <NUM> are formed in a block-like shape, and inner surfaces of these members are bending downward. The lateral side pressing member <NUM> is coupled to a lower part of the support bracket <NUM>.

In the support arms <NUM>, the support brackets <NUM> are coupled to parts on the front side, and parts on the back side are coupled to lower ends of a pair of slidable support shafts <NUM> disposed at positions forward and rearward in the direction of transport. The slidable support shafts <NUM> are inserted through and supported by movable tables <NUM>. The movable tables <NUM> are mounted to a lower part of the driving case <NUM> in a laterally movable manner. The slidable support shafts <NUM> are supported by the movable tables <NUM> in a vertically slidable manner. The slidable shafts <NUM> are allowed to slide upward and downward. Upper ends of the slidable shafts <NUM> are coupled to movable blocks <NUM>.

A crank arm <NUM> is disposed in an upper part of the driving case <NUM>. The crank arm <NUM> is driven by a reducer-attached motor <NUM> to rotate around a laterally horizontal fulcrum "y". An upper end <NUM> of an operating link <NUM> is pivotally coupled to a free end of the crank arm <NUM>. A vertically movable shaft <NUM> is horizontally penetrating through and fixed to a lower end of the operating link <NUM> in the lateral direction. The movable blocks <NUM> are loosely fitted to and supported by the vertically movable shaft <NUM> in a manner that these movable blocks are slidable in the lateral direction.

When the crank arm <NUM> is rotated around the fulcrum "y", the vertically movable shaft <NUM> moves upward and downward. Then, the movable blocks <NUM>, slidable support shaft <NUM>, and support arms <NUM> supported by the vertically movable shaft <NUM> are moved upward and downward altogether, and the upper surface pressing members <NUM> and the lateral side pressing members <NUM> coupled to the front ends of the support arms <NUM> through the support brackets <NUM> are correspondingly moved upward and downward at a certain stroke.

An interval between the upper surface pressing members <NUM> and between the lateral side pressing members <NUM> on the left and right sides is suitably adjustable in accordance with the width of the article "w" in the lateral direction. An operating shaft <NUM> and a pair of guiding shafts <NUM> disposed at positions forward and rearward in the direction of transport are horizontally supported in the lateral direction in a lower part of the driving case <NUM>. The guiding shafts <NUM> are inserted through the movable tables <NUM> to support and guide the movable tables <NUM> in a laterally movable manner along the guiding shafts <NUM>. The operating shaft <NUM> is inserted through and engaged with the movable tables <NUM>.

The operating shaft <NUM> has a left threaded shaft portion 77a and a right threaded shaft portion 77b. The operating shaft <NUM> is rotatable by manipulating a handle 77c disposed at one end of this operating shaft. These threaded shaft portion 77a and threaded shaft portion 77b are inserted through and engaged with the respective movable frames <NUM>. When the operating shaft <NUM> is rotated in forward and reverse directions, the movable tables <NUM> move toward and away from each other, providing an adjustable interval between the upper surface pressing member <NUM> and the lateral side pressing member <NUM> respectively on the left and right sides.

The driving case <NUM> of the film piece pressing mechanism <NUM> is also mounted to the frame plate <NUM>. By adjusting the vertical position of the frame plate <NUM>, the height of the film piece pressing mechanism <NUM> is suitably adjustable correspondingly to the height of the article "w", as in the case of the printing processor <NUM>, film piece former <NUM>, and film piece transporting mechanism <NUM>. As the frame plate <NUM> is vertically adjusted in position, the article positioning mechanism <NUM> moves upward and downward, and the height of the positioning stopper <NUM> is accordingly adjustable.

<FIG> illustrate detailed structural features of the film piece attaching mechanism <NUM> disposed at a position below the packaging position P.

The film piece attaching mechanism <NUM> is mounted to a support frame <NUM> disposed at a lower position in a space formed between the end of the article carry-in mechanism 1A and the beginning of the article carry-out mechanism 1B. The film piece attaching mechanism <NUM> has a pair of left and right attaching members <NUM> movable leftward, rightward, upward and downward, and a driving means that drives these members to move in the lateral direction.

The attaching members <NUM> each include an elastic roller. The surface of the roller is covered with a piece of rubber or sponge having a suitable degree of elasticity. The attaching members <NUM> are mounted to support brackets <NUM> in a freely rotatable manner. The support brackets <NUM> are driven to move upward and downward by actuators <NUM>, an example of which is air cylinder or electromagnetic solenoid. Left and right guiding shafts <NUM> are fixedly disposed in two pairs, with a support table <NUM> interposed therebetween, at positions on the front and back sides in the upper direction of the support frame <NUM>. Movable tables <NUM> are mounted to the pairs of guiding shafts <NUM> in a laterally slidable manner, and the actuators <NUM> are supported by the movable tables <NUM>.

Support shafts 86a extending downward from the movable tables <NUM> are inserted through elongated holes <NUM> formed on the left and right sides of the support table <NUM>. A driving arm <NUM> is disposed at a laterally central position of the support frame <NUM>. The driving arm <NUM> is allowed to rotate around a vertical fulcrum "z". Ends of the driving arm <NUM> on both sides are pivotally coupled to the support shafts 86a through a push-pull link <NUM>. The driving arm <NUM> is interlocked, through a crank linkage mechanism <NUM>, with a reducer-attached motor <NUM> disposed at a position below the support frame <NUM>. When the driving arm <NUM> is oscillated back and forth through a predetermined angle smaller than <NUM> degrees, the movable tables <NUM> move toward and away from each other at a predetermined stroke.

When the movable tables <NUM> are at standby positions away from each other, the attaching members <NUM> have been elevated to and are staying at a film piece-attachable height corresponding to a level of height of the transported article "w". When the movable tables <NUM> move toward each other and are staying at positions for attaching the piece of film, the attaching members move to underneath the article "w", and then elastically contact the bottom surface of the article "w" under a suitable pressure.

The banding and packaging device according to this embodiment is configured as described thus far. Next, steps of banding and packaging an article carried out by this device are hereinafter described referring to <FIG>.

When it is detected by, for example, an optical sensor that the article "w" transported by the article carry-in mechanism 1A has passed a predetermined position, the support arms <NUM> oscillate obliquely downward toward the rear side, and the chucking mechanisms <NUM> move downward to the film piece feeding positions. Immediately before the chucking mechanisms <NUM> arrive at the film piece feeding positions, the transported article "w" is received by the positioning stopper <NUM> and thereby located at the packaging position P. Then, the transport of the article "w" by the belt conveyers of the article carry-out mechanism 1B and the relaying mechanism 1C is temporarily suspended. When it is detected that one of the articles "w" has passed the predetermined position, the braking stoppers <NUM> of the article carry-in mechanism 1A advance onto the article transport path to prevent further transport of the other articles "w" that follow.

<NUM>) When the article "w" is thus stopped at the packaging position P, and the chucking mechanisms <NUM> holding the piece of film "f" arrive at the film piece feeding positions, as illustrated in <FIG>, the film piece pressing mechanism <NUM> is activated. Subsequent to the initial downward movement of the support brackets <NUM> of the film piece pressing mechanism <NUM>, the upper surface pressing members <NUM> contact two parts of the piece of film "f" in the lateral direction. Then, the upper surface pressing members <NUM>, under their own weight, lightly press the piece of film "f" against upper edges of the article "w". In response to the piece of film "f" being lightly pressed by the upper surface pressing members <NUM>, the nipping claws <NUM> of the chucking mechanisms <NUM> release the piece of film "f". As a result, the piece of film "f" is pushed by the upper surface pressing members <NUM> against the upper surface of the article "w" currently at the packaging position P, specifically, in a near-center part on the upper surface in the direction of transport, while both end sides of the piece of film "f" are free and left untouched.

The film piece pressing mechanism <NUM> is thus allowed to lightly press the piece of film "f" against the upper surface of the article "w" under the weight of the upper surface pressing members <NUM>. This may prevent that a pressing force to be applied to the article "w" becomes variable; too strong or too weak, depending on the height of the article "w". Thus, the piece of film "f" may be pressed under a constant pressing force against the upper surface of the article "w".

In case the article "w" is relatively short in the direction of transport, the article "w" on the narrow transport belt <NUM> of the relaying mechanism 1C may lose balance in the direction of width. When two parts of the piece of film "f" in the lateral direction are pushed against the upper surface of the article "w" by the upper surface pressing members <NUM> of the film piece pressing mechanism <NUM> to release the piece of film "f" from the nipping claws <NUM> of the chucking mechanisms <NUM>, the article "w" is supported at three points, specifically, a center part of the bottom surface is supported by the transport belt <NUM>, and lateral two parts of the upper surface are supported by the upper surface pressing members <NUM>. The article "w" may be thus stably retained in a well-balanced manner and then subjected to the packaging process.

<NUM>) Along with the downward movement of the support brackets <NUM>, the lateral side pressing members <NUM> move downward, with the piece of film "f" being pushed against the upper surface of the article "w" under the weight of the upper surface pressing members <NUM>, as illustrated in <FIG>. At the time, the lateral side pressing members <NUM> alone move downward to certain positions, and lateral ends of the piece of film "f" hanging out from both sides of the article "w" are pushed downward and then pushed further downward along shoulder parts and lateral surfaces of the article "w", as illustrated in <FIG>.

The support arms <NUM> of the chucking mechanisms <NUM> that released the piece of film "f" held by the nipping claws <NUM> oscillate forward and upward, moving back to the film piece receiving positions. When it is detected by, for example, an optical sensor that the article "w" transported by the article carry-in mechanism 1A passed a predetermined position, the film piece former <NUM> is driven to feed a piece of film "f" onto the backing plate <NUM>.

<NUM>) As illustrated in <FIG>, the film piece attaching mechanisms <NUM> are then driven, and the attaching members <NUM> at laterally outward standby positions underneath the article transport path are moved horizontally to the film piece attaching positions below the article "w". Then, the piece of film "f" drooping down from the article "w" is pressed by the attaching members <NUM> and wound around the bottom surface of the article "w", and the starched parts "n" at both ends of the piece of film are elastically pressed against and attached to the bottom surface of the article "w".

As illustrated in <FIG>, transport belt <NUM> of the relaying mechanism 1C has a width small enough to avoid any interference with the attaching members <NUM> when these attaching members are moving to the film piece attaching positions underneath the article "w" and are attaching the lateral sides of the piece of film "f" to the bottom surface of the article "w".

<NUM>) When the piece of film "f" is wound around and attached to the article "w", the attaching members <NUM> are slightly pulled down from the current positions by the actuators <NUM> to depart from the bottom surface of the article "w", as illustrated in <FIG>. Then, the attaching members <NUM> recede laterally outward without touching the attached piece of film "f". The attaching members <NUM> at the standby positions are elevated to the former positions by the actuators <NUM>.

<NUM>) When the piece of film "f" is successfully wound around and attached to the article "w", the positioning stopper <NUM> on the article carry-out transporting mechanism 1B starts to recede upward. Then, the packaged article "w" (see <FIG>) starts to be transported rearward again by the belt conveyers of the article carry-out mechanism 1B and of the relaying mechanism 1C. At the same time, the braking stoppers <NUM> of the article carry-in mechanism 1A recede from the article transport path, and another piece of article "w" to be packaged is transported to the packaging position P. The positioning stopper <NUM> on the article carry-out transporting mechanism 1B is moved downward again after the packaged article "w" is transported away.

Thus far was described one round of the banding and packaging steps, which is repeatedly carried out for each new article "w" to be packaged.

According to this embodiment, the relaying mechanism 1C receives and supports the transported article "w" from below at the packaging position P between the article carry-in mechanism 1A and the article carry-out mechanism 1B. Then, an edge of the article "w" being transported by the article carry-in mechanism 1A may be prevented from getting caught in between the article carry-in mechanism 1A and the article carry-out mechanism 1B. This may allow smooth transport of the article "w" onto the article carry-out mechanism 1B without having to vertically hold the articles as in the known art. The upper transport belt <NUM> of the known art, as illustrated in <FIG>, may become unnecessary.

The relaying belt conveyer of the relaying mechanism 1C used to transport the article "w" may ensure smooth transport of the article "w", if relatively short in the direction of transport, to and from the packaging position P.

The relatively small transport belt <NUM> in width of the relaying mechanism 1C is used to receive and support the article "w" at its center part in the direction of width. Such a small width of the transport belt <NUM> may avoid interference with the attaching members <NUM> of the film piece attaching mechanism <NUM> when these attaching members are moving to underneath the article "w" and winds both ends of the piece of film "f" around the bottom surface of the article "w".

The present invention may be feasible in the following manner.

Claim 1:
A banding and packaging device, comprising:
an article carry-in mechanism (1A) configured to transport an article (W) to a packaging position (P);
a film piece transporting mechanism (<NUM>) configured to transport a piece of film (F) formed in a band shape onto the article (W) at the packaging position (P);
a film piece pressing mechanism (<NUM>) configured to press the piece of film (F) on the article (W) against the article (W) at the packaging position (P) and further to press ends of the piece of film (F) on both sides thereof downward;
a film piece attaching mechanism (<NUM>) configured to wind the piece of film (F) around a bottom surface of the article (W) and to attach the ends pressed downward by the film piece pressing mechanism (<NUM>) to the bottom surface;
an article carry-out mechanism (1B) configured to transport from the packaging position (P) the article (W) wound with the piece of film (F), with the ends thereof being attached to the bottom surface; and
a relaying mechanism (1C) configured to receive and support the article (W) being transported from below at a position between the article carry-in mechanism (1A) and the article carry-out mechanism (1B), wherein
the packaging position (P) is set to locate between the article carry-in mechanism (1A) and the article carry-out mechanism (1B),
and the relaying mechanism (1C) is configured to receive and support the article (W) in a center part of the article (W) in a direction of width of the article (W) orthogonal to a direction of transport of the article (W),
characterized in that the relaying mechanism (1C) comprises a relaying belt conveyer configured to transport the article (W),
the relaying belt conveyer comprises a transport belt (<NUM>) small in width configured to support the center part in the direction of width,
the article carry-out mechanism (1B) comprises a carry-out belt conveyer,
the transport belt (<NUM>) small in width is configured to wind around a pulley (<NUM>) of the carry-out belt conveyer to have the relaying belt conveyer driven by the carry-out conveyer,
the article carry-in mechanism (1A) comprises a carry-in belt conveyer, and
a support plate (<NUM>) configured to receive and support the article (W) from below is disposed between the carry-in belt conveyer and the relaying belt conveyer.