JP2001055213A - Label sticking apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To control a posture of an article even if both sides for controlling the posture of the article are of curved shapes. SOLUTION: The label sticking apparatus comprises a pair of stoppers 23 which are provided to be capable of advancing/retreating toward between guide members 12 on the middle of a lengthwise direction of the guide member 12 wherein both front sides of an article 10 being carried are brought into contact with the stoppers 23 while the article 10 is made to protrude between the guide members 12. A contact face 23a of each stopper 23 in contact with the article is curved to align with a curved form of the article.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a label sticking apparatus, and more particularly to a label sticking apparatus in which articles to be labeled are conveyed by a conveyor while labels are sequentially applied to these articles. It is.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a label sticking device of this kind,
The structure shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 is known. The label sticking apparatus shown in these figures has a conveyor 2 on which articles 1 are sequentially fed and which sequentially conveys these articles 1.
Are arranged in parallel above the conveyor 2 at a predetermined interval (interval slightly larger than the width of the article 1), and guide the both sides of the article 1 to be conveyed to control its posture. A label 4 is attached to a pair of guide members 3 and an article 1 arranged near the downstream end of the guide members 3 and above the transport conveyor 2 and adjusted in posture by the guide members 3. And a label sticking device 5.

[0003] In the vicinity of the downstream side of the guide member 3, there is provided a sticking sensor 6 for detecting the article 1 sent from the guide member 3 and outputting a label sticking signal.

[0004] The label sticking apparatus is used for the article 1
On the conveyor 2 from the upstream end thereof, and transported downstream by the conveyor 2, and pass the article 1 between the two guide members 3 on the way. The posture control is performed by guiding both side portions of the article 1 by the two guide members 3. Article 1 whose posture is controlled in this way
Is sent out from the guide member 3 and the article 1 is detected by the sticking sensor 6 to output a label sticking signal. The label sticking device 5 is operated based on the label sticking signal, and A label 4 is attached.

[0005]

However, such a conventional label sticking apparatus has the following problems to be improved.

That is, when the planar shape of the article 1 is rectangular and both sides for controlling the posture by contacting the guide member 3 are parallel surfaces, the longitudinal direction of the article 1 and the guide member 3 Are made parallel, and the attitude control is performed reliably. However, as shown in FIG. 7, when both sides used for controlling the attitude of the article 1 are curved surfaces, the article 1 is tilted with respect to the transport direction as shown in FIG. When the article 1 is conveyed between the guide members 3, the article 1 is passed between the two guide members 3 in an inclined state, causing a problem that the posture control is not performed well.

[0007] If the attitude control of the article 1 is disturbed in this way, the label 4 attached to the article 1 will be distorted and attached, resulting in a problem that the appearance is deteriorated.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of such a conventional problem, and it is intended to surely control the attitude of an article even if the shape of both sides for controlling the attitude of the article is curved. It is an object of the present invention to provide a label sticking device that can be used.

[0009]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a label sticking apparatus for achieving the above object.
An article having a curved shape on both sides in the conveyance direction is supplied to and conveyed on a conveyor, and both sides of the article are guided by a pair of parallel guide members arranged in parallel above the conveyor. A label sticking apparatus that feeds the article to the label sticking section while controlling the posture of the article, whereby the article can move forward and backward between these guide members in the longitudinal direction of the guide member. And a pair of stoppers are provided for abutting the front both sides of the article to be conveyed in a state of being protruded between the guide members, and each of these stoppers is in contact with the article. The contact surface is curved so as to follow the curved shape of the article. The label sticking device according to claim 2 of the present invention is a stopper sensor that detects the passage of the article and projects the stoppers between the guide members upstream of the stopper according to claim 1. Is provided.
Furthermore, the label sticking apparatus according to claim 3 of the present invention,
The stopper according to claim 2, wherein the stopper is retracted from between the guide members after a lapse of a predetermined time from a point in time when the article is detected by the stopper sensor, so that conveyance of the article is restarted. Features.

[0010]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIG.
This will be described with reference to FIG. First, a schematic configuration of the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. The label sticking apparatus according to the present embodiment is configured such that articles 10 are sequentially fed, and a conveyor 11 for sequentially transporting the articles 10 is provided in parallel with a predetermined interval above the conveyor 11. A pair of guide members 12, a label applicator 14 that is provided above the vicinity of the downstream ends of these guide members 12 and applies a label 13 to the article 10, and a downstream end of the guide members 12. And articles 10 sent out from these guide members 12
And a sticking sensor 15 for generating a sticking signal for operating the label sticker 14. The shape of both sides of the article 10 is a curved shape.

The label applicator 14 includes a band-shaped backing sheet 1 on which a large number of the labels 13 are temporarily attached at predetermined intervals.
6 is wound around the supply roll 17 and the sticking sensor 15
And a peeling member 18 that peels off the label 13 from the band-shaped mount 16 by folding the band-shaped mount 16, and the label 1
The transport path of the band-shaped backing sheet 16 between the peeling member 18 and the supply roll 17, and between the separating member 18 and the winding roll 19, between the take-up roll 19 for winding the band-shaped backing sheet 3 from which the strip 3 has been removed. And a plurality of guide rollers 20 that are provided upstream of the winding roll 19.
A mount pulling mechanism 21 that includes a rubber roller and a nip roller for sandwiching the band-shaped mount 16 and pulls the band-shaped mount 16
And a label sensor 22 for detecting the label 13 temporarily attached to the band-shaped mount 16.

At a middle portion of the guide member 12 in the longitudinal direction, a constituent member of the present embodiment is provided. That is, the lower part of each guide member 12 and the conveyor 1
A stopper 23 (see FIG. 3) is provided which can advance and retreat from the gap between the upper part 1 and the gap between the two guide members 12. Each of these stoppers 23 is attached to an actuator 25 such as an air cylinder fixed to each of the guide members 12 via a bracket 24. And a position retracted from the gap. In addition, the distal end surface of each of the stoppers 23 is formed as a regulating surface 23a curved along a curved surface formed at a front portion of the both sides of the article 10 in the transport direction. In a state where the article 10 is projected into the gap between the members 12, the front portions on both sides of the article 10 in the middle of conveyance are brought into substantially surface contact.

On the other hand, on the upstream side of the stopper 23, a stopper sensor 26 for detecting the article 10 brought into contact with the stopper 23 is provided.

In the present embodiment, each of the stoppers 23 is located at the projecting position when the article 10 is detected by the stopper sensor 26, and is located at the retracted position after a predetermined time has elapsed. 10 are re-transported. Such control is
Along with the operation control of the label pasting device 14 by the pasting sensor 15, the operation is performed by a control unit (not shown).

Next, the operation of the label pasting apparatus according to the present embodiment thus configured will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.

When the apparatus is activated, the conveyor 11 is operated, and when the articles 10 are sequentially fed onto the conveyor 11, the articles 10 are transferred by the conveyor 11 as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. Guide member 1
It is sent between two. At this time, both actuators 25
Is turned off, both stoppers 23 are located at the retracted position.

When the apparatus is started in this way, it is determined in step S1 whether or not the stopper sensor 26 has been turned ON, and the process proceeds to the next step S2 on condition that the stopper sensor 26 is ON. This stopper sensor 26 is turned ON, as shown in FIG.
6 when the article 10 is detected.

As described above, the article 10 is connected to the stopper sensor 2.
6, both actuators (cylinders) 25 are turned on in step S2.
After the process proceeds to step S3 and the counting of the timer is started, the process proceeds to step S4, where both actuators 25
Is measured. By such a process, both stoppers 23 are made to protrude into the gap between both guide members 12 as shown in FIG. 3, and are held at the protruding position for a predetermined time. As shown in FIG. 4, the leading ends of both sides of the article 10 are brought into surface contact with the regulating surfaces 23 a of the respective stoppers 23 in the protruding state. The attitude is controlled.

By the processing in step S4, both stoppers 2
When the actuator 3 is held at the protruding position for a predetermined time, the actuator 25 is turned off in the next step S5, so that both stoppers 23 are located at the retracted position, and the conveyance of the article 10 whose attitude control has been completed is restarted. Is done.

When the conveyance of the article 10 is restarted in this way, the article 10 is detected by the sticking sensor 15, and it is determined in step S6 whether the article 10 is detected by the sticking sensor 15. Then, on the condition that the label is detected, a label sticking signal is sent to the label sticking device 14, and the label 13 is stuck to the article 10 (step S7), and the sticking process to one article is completed.

As described above, according to the label sticking apparatus according to the present embodiment, the posture of the article 10 is forcibly changed during the conveyance even if the article 10 is curved on both sides by the action of the stopper 23. Correction and reliable posture control, whereby the label 1 to be affixed in the subsequent stage
3 can be stuck with high accuracy to secure the appearance.

The various shapes, dimensions, and the like of the components shown in the above embodiment are merely examples, and can be variously changed based on design requirements and the like.

[0023]

As described above, the present invention is configured as described above, so that even if an article has a curved shape on both sides, the posture of the article is forcibly corrected during the conveyance by the action of the stopper. Reliable attitude control is performed, whereby a label to be affixed in the subsequent stage can be accurately affixed to ensure appearance.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 shows one embodiment of the present invention, and is a plan view of a main part showing an initial state of startup.

FIG. 3 illustrates one embodiment of the present invention, and is a plan view of a main part showing a state when an article is detected by a stopper sensor.

FIG. 4 shows one embodiment of the present invention, and is a plan view of a main part showing a state in which the posture of an article is controlled by a stopper.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a conventional example.

FIG. 7 is a plan view of a main part for explaining an attitude control operation of an article in a conventional example.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Article 2 Conveyor 3 Guide member 4 Label 5 Label sticker 6 Sticking sensor 10 Article 11 Transfer conveyor 12 Guide member 13 Label 14 Label sticker 15 Sticking sensor 16 Strip mount 17 Supply roll 18 Peeling member 19 Winding roll 20 Guide roller 21 backing paper pulling mechanism 22 label sensor 23 stopper 23a regulating surface 24 bracket 25 actuator 26 stopper sensor

Claims (3)

[Claims] An article having a curved shape on both sides in the transport direction is supplied onto a transport conveyor and transported, and the article is provided by a pair of parallel guide members disposed in parallel above the transport conveyor. A label sticking device that guides the article to the label sticking section while controlling its posture by guiding both sides of the guide member. A pair of stoppers are provided so as to be able to advance and retreat toward, and in a state protruded between the guide members, a pair of stoppers against which the front both sides of the conveyed article are brought into contact. A label sticking apparatus, wherein a contact surface with the article is curved so as to follow a curved shape of the article. 2. The label according to claim 1, further comprising a stopper sensor provided upstream of the stopper to detect the passage of the article and project the stoppers between the guide members. Sticking device. 3. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the stopper is retracted from between the guide members after a lapse of a predetermined time from a point in time when the article is detected by the stopper sensor, so that conveyance of the article is restarted. The label sticking apparatus according to claim 2, wherein