JP2005247386A - Packaging and pricing apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a packaging and pricing apparatus capable of attaching labels with applicators that freely shift without restraint while not interfering with each other at the same place when sticking two pieces of labels to a package. <P>SOLUTION: The packaging and pricing apparatus loads an object G' to be packaged on an elevator 2 and pushes it up from under a film 4 spanning a packaging portion 3 in tension so that the top surface of the object to be packaged is covered with the film, then, of the end portions of the film, the right and left end portions, and rear end portion are folded to the object's bottom face side, after which the object is discharged from the packaging portion, causes the front end portion of the film to be folded inside, to a heat sealing portion 10, then sticks the labels to the discharged packaged object G. In the apparatus, a first label issuing portion B1 is disposed on one of the sides that sandwich a discharge passage through which the object G is pressed for movement to be discharged, while a second label issuing portion B2 is disposed on the other side, and a first applicator C1 is provided that receives the label from the first label issuing portion and sticks the label while moving it to one of the sides in the direction of the width of the discharged packaged object, while a second applicator C2 is provided that receives the label from the second label issuing portion and sticks the label while moving it to the other side in the direction of the width of the discharged packaged object. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a packaging price device, and more particularly to an improvement of a packaging price device provided with a label issuing unit and an applicator for attaching two labels to the surface of a package packaged and discharged with a film.

From the lower side of the film stretched on the packaging part, the object to be packaged is placed on an elevator and pushed up to cover the upper surface of the object to be packaged with the film, and the left and right end parts and the rear end part of the film end part are to be packaged. Folded to the bottom side of the film, and then discharged from the packaging part, folded the front edge of the film and discharged to the heat seal part, and put two labels (price label, POP label, etc.) on the discharged package When pasting, since the two labels are pasted at positions specified by the user, the first label issued from the first label issuing unit is controlled on the heat seal unit by controlling the applicator. Next, the second label issued from the second label issuing unit is ejected from the heat seal unit and pasted on the package on another connected conveyor.
That is, when two labels are attached to one package, at least two applicators are arranged so as to be able to operate freely in different places that do not interfere with each other (for example, see Patent Document 1).

  For this reason, the conventional packaging pricing device uses a package discharged from the heat seal portion so that the place where the second label is attached is different from the place where the first label is attached (heat seal portion). A conveyor is needed to transport things to another location. As a result, there has been a problem that the entire apparatus is increased in size and cost.

JP 2001-97544 A

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems of the prior art. When two labels are pasted on a package, the applicators move freely without interfering with each other in the same place, and the labels are placed. It is an object of the present invention to provide a packaging pricing device that can be attached.

The technical means taken by the present invention in order to solve the above problems is to cover the upper surface of the article to be packaged with the film by placing the article to be packaged on the elevator from below the film stretched on the packaging part, Fold the left and right edges and the rear edge of the film edge to the bottom side of the package, and then evacuate from the packaging to fold the front edge of the film and discharge it to the heat seal area. In the packaging pricing apparatus for affixing a label to a product, a first label issuing unit is disposed on one side across a discharge path for discharging the package, and a second label issuing unit is disposed on the other side, and the first label The first applicator that receives the label from the issuing unit and moves to one side in the width direction of the discharged package, and the width of the discharged package after receiving the label from the second label issuing unit Move to the other side of the direction And wherein configuration with a second applicator for affixing (claim 1).
Each of the first label issuing unit and the second label issuing unit is not limited to a single label issuing unit, and may be configured by a plurality of units. When configured by a plurality of label issuing units, Any of them may be used by switching.

  According to the above means, since the first label issuing unit and the second label issuing unit are arranged across the discharge path through which the package packaged with the film is discharged, the label is issued by each label issuing unit. The label can be attached to each side (for example, the left and right sides in the width direction of the package) at the same position with the center of the package as a boundary.

As a place where the first applicator and the second applicator attach a label, a position up to the heat seal portion can be cited (Claim 2).
According to the above means, since the heat seal part is a position where the packaging is performed and discharged without changing the direction as it is, the left and right positions of the package are stable, and therefore the left and right positions of the package are stable. Two labels can be affixed in the state of being.

Further, the discharge from the packaging part is performed by a discharge pusher, and two labels are stuck to the package being moved by the discharge pusher by the first applicator and the second applicator (claim). Item 3).
According to the above means, since the package is supported and pushed by the discharge pusher, the posture of the package is stable. Therefore, even when the label application timings of the first applicator and the second applicator are different, the label can be stably and accurately applied to the package.

In order to affix two labels on one package, the packaged item needs to have a certain width, and in the case of a package that does not have a width that allows two labels to be affixed, only one of them can be used. Make sure to attach a label.
Therefore, when the width of the packaged object to be packaged is equal to or smaller than a predetermined value, the sticking operation of one of the first and second applicators is prohibited (Claim 4). .
By this means, when the width of the object to be packaged is less than or equal to the predetermined value, of the two applicators, the application operation of one applicator is prohibited. Can be prevented. Although the applicator sticking operation is prohibited, since the label is issued, the label can be manually attached.

The first or second applicator is controlled to move based on the set position data on the package and the position of the other applicator.
According to the above means, when only one label is attached to the package, the restriction of the application location is released and the applicator is moved to an arbitrary position on the package to apply the label. Can do.

  The packaging pricing apparatus according to the present invention has the configuration according to claim 1, and separates the two labels from the left and right with respect to the package so that the first and second applicators do not interfere with each other. It can be moved. Accordingly, the two labels can be applied at the same place, and a conveyor for making the place where the second label is attached different from the place where the first label is attached as in the conventional apparatus is not required. The whole can be downsized and the cost can be reduced.

Moreover, according to the structure of Claim 2, two labels can be affixed in the state where the left-right position of the package immediately after packaging is stable. Moreover, when sticking in the position, even if it arrange | positions two label issuing parts and two applicators, it can prevent the vertical and horizontal dimension of the whole apparatus being expanded.
Furthermore, according to the configuration of the third aspect, the package to be pushed and discharged is stably supported by the discharge pusher, so that two labels can be accurately attached.

Further, according to the configuration of claim 4, when the width of the article to be packaged is equal to or smaller than the predetermined value, both applicators do not perform the sticking operation. Can be prevented. Further, even if the applicator sticking operation is prohibited, the label is issued, so that it is easy to perform hand sticking.
When only one label is pasted on the package according to the configuration of claim 5, the label is pasted by removing the restriction of the pasting place and moving the applicator to any position on the package. can do.

Hereinafter, an example of implementation of the packaging pricing apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
1 and 2 are schematic diagrams showing the entire weighing and packaging apparatus, A is a stretch film packaging machine, B1 is a first label issuing unit (weighing label printer), and B2 is a second label issuing unit (weighing) Label printer), C1 receives a label issued from the first label issuing unit B1 and applies it to a package, and C2 issues from the second label issuing unit B2. Is a second applicator (label applicator) that receives the applied label and attaches it to the package. The first label issuing unit B1 and the second label issuing unit B2 discharge the package in the stretch film packaging machine A. The first applicator C1 and the second applicator C2 are disposed above the discharge path so as to face each other on the side upper part across the path.

In the stretch wrapping machine A, a product placing part 13 for placing an article to be packaged (product) G ′ is disposed in front of the machine frame 14, and the article G ′ placed on the product placing part 13 is pushed by a pusher conveyor. 1 to the elevator 2 provided inside the machine frame. In addition, the case where the packaged goods G ′ are conveyed in a state of being accommodated in a tray which is a container is illustrated, and the product placement unit 13 is configured as a weighing pan of the weighing unit 15.
A wrapping section 3 is provided above the elevator 2, a film roll 4 is set on the side of the wrapping section 3 (a direction perpendicular to the pusher conveyor), and a film 4 ′ fed out from the film roll 4 is placed. It is pulled out by the film feed mechanism 5 and cut to a predetermined length and then transferred to the packaging unit 3.

In the packaging part 3, the upper folding member 6 and the left and right folding members 7, 7 ′ are folded above the film feed mechanism 5 and the end of the film 4 ′ covering the upper surface of the package G ′ is folded to the bottom side of the product. A discharge pusher 8 for discharging a packaged article (package) that is positioned above the left and right folding members 7, 7 ′, and a front folding roller 9 is disposed at a front position in the movement direction of the discharge pusher 8. Yes.
The film feed mechanism 5 includes a pair of upper and lower endless elastic belts 5a and 5b that sandwich a side end in the width direction of the film, and a clamp plate 5c that presses the lower elastic belt 5b toward the upper elastic belt 5a. They are arranged on the front and back with the packaging part 3 in between.

  Further, in front of the front folding roller 9, a heat seal portion 10 for heating and bonding the overlapping portion of the end portion of the film folded on the bottom side of the article to be packaged, and a discharge means 11 are disposed at the front portion thereof. The console section 12 is on the machine frame 14, and the first label issuing section (weighing label printer) B1 is on the other side (on the right side in the drawing) sandwiching the heat seal section (discharge path) 10. A second label issuing unit (weighing label printer) B2 is provided in the upper part of the left side in the drawing, and a first applicator C1 is disposed above the heat seal unit 10 and between the first and second label issuing units B1 and B2. And a second applicator C2.

In the stretch wrapping machine A, the article to be packaged G ′ conveyed onto the elevator 2 is pushed up with respect to the film 4 ′ stretched on the packaging part 3 by the elevator 2 rising, and the upper surface of the article to be packaged G ′. The end of the film 4 ′ covering the fold is folded to the bottom side of the package by the rear folding member 6 and the left and right folding members 7, 7 ′.
Next, the front end portion of the film 4 ′ is moved to the bottom side of the package G ′ by the front folding roller 9 while horizontally pushing the package G ′ toward the heat seal portion 10 by the discharge pusher 8. The overlapping part of the film end part folded and folded to the bottom side is heat-sealed by the heat-seal part 10, and the package G is obtained.

The first label issuing unit B1 prints predetermined items on a label sheet, which is affixed to a strip-like mount so that the label can be peeled at regular intervals, by a printing unit including a thermal head and a platen roll, and the printed label is a dispenser. 2 is peeled off from the mount and discharged to the label holding unit 16, and the mount is wound around a mount take-up shaft.
One of the two label printers prints and issues a normal price label such as the price, name, weight, unit price, and barcode of the product, and the other prints and issues a price label with a POP. Is set to The operation switching of the two label printers is set so as to be automatically switched depending on the package. In the drawing, the first label issuing unit B1 issues a label L1.

  Like the first label issuing unit B1, the second label issuing unit B2 is composed of a well-known label printer today, and special information that is not printed by the first label issuing unit B1, such as “bargain”, “special sale” Information other than the product data such as “product” is printed and issued. Therefore, it is preferable that the label used in the second label issuing unit B2 is not a general rectangle, but an eye-catching variant such as an ellipse or a rhombus is used (see FIG. 4). In the drawing, the second label issuing unit B2 issues a label L2.

  The first label issuing unit B1 and the second label issuing unit B2 configured as described above will be described later on the side of the label holding unit (label issuing port) 16 so as to sandwich the heat seal unit 10 described above. It arrange | positions toward the 1st and 2nd applicator C1, C2 side (packaging machine inner side).

  The first applicator C1 that receives the label from the first label issuing unit B1 and automatically sticks it to the package G is a label that sucks the label that is issued and held by the label holding unit 16 of the first label issuing unit B1. The suction unit 17 includes a drive mechanism 18 that moves the suction unit 17, and control means (not shown) that controls the operation of the drive mechanism 18. Further, the second applicator C2 that receives the label from the second label issuing unit B2 and automatically sticks it to the package G is the label holding unit of the second label issuing unit B2, as with the first applicator C1 described above. 16 includes a label adsorbing unit 17 that adsorbs the label issued and held, a drive mechanism 18 that moves the adsorbing unit 17, and a control unit (not shown) that controls the operation of the drive mechanism 18. The drive mechanism 18 of the first applicator and the drive mechanism 18 of the second applicator are independent on the left and right, and are configured to operate freely.

  The label adsorbing unit 17 includes a label adsorbing surface 17a that adsorbs and holds a label, and a suction box unit 17b that is disposed above the label adsorbing surface 17a and generates a label adsorbing force on the label adsorbing surface 17a. As the fan 17c rotates, the inside of the box becomes negative pressure, and an adsorption force is generated on the label adsorption surface 17a.

  The drive mechanism 18 for moving the label adsorbing unit 17 includes a heat seal unit 10 that discharges the label adsorbing unit 17 in a direction orthogonal to the conveying direction of the package G, that is, the discharge unit 11 connected to the heat seal unit 10. A first drive mechanism 18a that moves in the width direction, a second drive mechanism 18b that moves the label suction portion 17 in the vertical direction with respect to the transport surface of the package G, and a label suction surface 17a in the label suction portion 17 The third drive mechanism 18c is configured to rotate in a horizontal plane parallel to the transport surface of the package G.

  The first drive mechanism 18a is fitted with two guide rods 19 that are horizontally fixed at an upper position of the packaging unit 3 of the packaging machine in a direction orthogonal to the pushing direction of the discharge pusher 8, and the guide rods 19 A slidable case 20, an endless belt 21 arranged in parallel along the guide rod 19, a stepping motor (horizontal movement motor) 22 that moves the endless belt 21 in the forward and reverse directions, and a pulley 23. The case 20 is connected and fixed to an endless belt 21, the guide rod 19 is attached to the machine frame 14 via a bracket, and the case 20 is moved along the guide rod 19 by the operation of the stepping motor 22. .

The label adsorbing portion 17 is attached to the distal ends of a pair of upper and lower parallel arms 24 and 24 'whose proximal ends are attached to a case 20 that is moved along the guide rod 19 as shown in FIG. The pair of parallel arms 24 and 24 'are supported by the second drive mechanism 18b so as to move the label adsorbing portion 17 with respect to the package G in the vertical direction.
The pair of parallel arms 24 and 24 ′ holding the label adsorbing portion 17 can be rotated by two pins 25 and 25 ′ whose base end sides are horizontally mounted at a predetermined interval with respect to the case 20. The other end side (front end side) of the upper parallel arm 24 is connected to a pin 28 that is movably fitted and mounted in an arc groove 27 of an attachment cylinder 26 that is connected to the upper portion of the label suction portion 17. The other end side (front end side) of the lower parallel arm 24 ′ is attached to a rotating shaft 29 that is positioned on the lower side of the pin 28 and is rotatably mounted on the mounting cylinder 26. Therefore, the label adsorbing portion 17 can swing and swing in the transport direction of the package G around the rotation shaft 29, and the swing swing range is regulated by the arc groove 27 (swing mechanism). The second drive mechanism 18b is attached to the base end side of the upper parallel arm 24, and the label suction surface of the label suction portion 17 is rotated around the lower parallel arm 24 'in a horizontal plane. A third drive mechanism 18c is attached. Furthermore, an angle maintaining means is provided in the case 20 for maintaining the swinging tilt angle when the label adsorbing portion 17 swings.

In the second drive mechanism 18 b, a gear 30 is fixed to a pin 25 that supports the base end side of the upper parallel arm 24, and a gear 31 that engages and rotates with the gear 30 is placed and fixed on the upper surface of the case 20. The support arm 33 is fixed to the rotating shaft of the motor (vertical movement motor) 32, and the support arm 33 is integrally fixed to both sides of the pin 25 projecting outward from the case 20. The lower side surface of the upper parallel arm 24 supported so as to be rotatable with respect to the pin 25 is configured to be supported.
As a result, when the motor 32 rotates, the second driving mechanism 18b rotates the pin 25 via the gear 31 and the gear 30, and the rotation of the pin 25 causes the support arm 33 to rotate in the vertical direction. The parallel arm 24 supported so as to be rotatable with respect to 25 is supported from below by the support arm 33, and is moved up and down in conjunction with the vertical rotation of the support arm 33, and the parallel arm 24 is supported by the support arm 33. It is possible to rotate upward about the pin 25 apart from the contact with the pin 25.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the third drive mechanism 18 c has a gear 35 fixed to one side end of a pin 25 ′ on which the base end side of the lower parallel arm 24 ′ is supported, and meshes with the gear 34. Is fixed to a rotating shaft of a motor (horizontal rotation motor) 36 attached to the outside of the case 20 via a bracket, and a sprocket 37 is fixed to the other end of the pin 25 ′. Further, a sprocket 38 is fixed to one end of a rotary shaft 29 rotatably mounted on the mounting cylinder 26 fixed to the label adsorbing portion 17, and the sprocket 38 and the sprocket 37 are toothed. A belt 39 is wound, and a gear 40 is fixed to an intermediate portion of the rotary shaft 29, and a gear 41 that meshes with the gear 40 is fixed to a support shaft that engages and supports the label suction surface integrally. It is configured. (For details of the drive mechanism, see Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 9-323720)

The drive mechanism 18 for moving the label adsorbing unit 17 described above is the same for both the first applicator C1 and the second applicator C2, but the first applicator C1 is a package that is pushed and discharged through the discharge path. A label is applied to the range from the center in the width direction of G to the right half, and the second applicator C2 applies a label to the range from the center in the width direction to the left half of the package G that is pushed and discharged through the discharge path. Therefore, the first drive mechanism 18a in the first applicator C1 and the first drive mechanism 18a in the second applicator are arranged separately on the left and right at a substantially central position in the width direction of the discharge path. Both applicators are designed to interfere slightly when moved to the center. However, the limit value in the central direction is stored so that the two do not interfere with each other, and movement control is performed so as not to exceed the limit value.
Thereby, the first applicator C1 and the second applicator C2 do not interfere with each other in the operation of applying the label.

  The timing of labeling of the first applicator C1 and the second applicator C2 is such that when the discharge pusher 8 starts to push and reaches a predetermined position, two timers are started, The pasting operation is started as time passes. It should be noted that the labeling timing by the first applicator C1 and the labeling timing by the second applicator C2 are the same timing and are affixed on substantially the same line on the left or right of the package G, or the left and right labels are attached with a time difference. The pasting position can be appropriately shifted, for example, in the front-rear direction (see FIG. 4).

In order to affix two labels with the first applicator C1 and the second applicator C2 described above, the package G needs to have a width dimension that allows at least two labels to be affixed. When the width dimension is equal to or smaller than the predetermined width, only one of the first applicator C1 and the second applicator C2 is set to operate, and the other applicator is set not to operate.
For this purpose, it is necessary to detect the width of the article to be packaged G ′. As a detecting means for this, a reflection type optical sensor is provided in the vicinity of the article placing portion 13 on which the article to be packaged (product) G ′ is placed. A method of measuring the width dimension of the article to be packaged on the product placement section by moving the sensor so as to be movable in the width direction (refer to Japanese Patent No. 2770774 for details), or width data of the article to be packaged May be entered in advance in the product data and called.

  The first applicator C1 or the second applicator C2 is configured such that the movement is controlled based on the position data on the package relating to labeling set in advance and the position of the other applicator. Has been. For example, when only one label is pasted on the package G, only one of the first applicator C1 and the second applicator C2 is activated, and therefore the label is pasted by the actuating applicator. Can be moved to any position on the package G and pasted.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing the electrical configuration of the above-described apparatus. The control unit of the packaging machine, the label issuing unit, and the control unit of the applicator are electrically linked. Control of various operations in the packaging machine is performed by microcomputer control. In the figure, reference numeral 42 denotes a CPU (central processing unit) constituted by a microcomputer. The CPU 42 is connected to a ROM 44, a RAM 45, a console unit 12, a packaging mechanism unit 47, a first applicator C1, a second via a bus 43. The applicator C2, the first label issuing unit (printing units 2 and 3) B1, and the second label issuing unit (printing unit 1) B2 are connected.
The ROM 44 stores a control program executed by the CPU 42. In addition to the various register and flag areas used when the CPU 42 executes the control program stored in the ROM 44, the RAM 45 includes a preset data area in which various data are stored in advance for each package. In the preset data area, “product name” and “unit price”, which are data for price calculation and label printing, corresponding to the packaged item G ′, designation of the label issuing unit and its label affixing position, and the packaged item Various tables for determining control data based on the dimension data are stored.
The console unit 46 includes an operation unit including a keyboard and a touch panel, and a display unit configured by a liquid crystal display. Input of various data and commands, or display of input data based on commands of the CPU 42, preset data It displays and displays various messages.

The packaging mechanism unit 47 is a circuit for driving each mechanism unit of the stretch wrapping machine when packaging is performed, specifically, a motor for driving the elevator 2, a motor for a conveyor for carrying an article to be packaged, There are a motor for a film transport mechanism, a motor for moving a folding member that folds an end of the film, and the like.
The first applicator C1 and the second applicator C2 each have the configuration shown in FIG. 6, whereby each applicator can be operated independently.
The first label issuing unit B1 (arranged on the right side of the discharge path in FIG. 2) includes two printing units: a printing unit 2 that prints and issues a normal priced label, and a printing unit 3 that prints and issues a priced label with POP. The printer comprises a label printer, and the printing unit 2 and the printing unit 3 are configured to automatically switch according to settings.
The second label issuing unit B2 (arranged on the left side of the discharge path in FIG. 2) prints and issues special labels (for example, “bargain”, “sale items”, etc.).

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and can be changed without changing the gist of the present invention.
(1) The method of moving the package that has been packaged by the film to the discharge means side is not limited to the illustrated pusher, and may be performed by a conveyor.
(2) The label printer constituting the label issuing unit is not limited to the weighing type, but may be a fixed amount label printer or a type that does not have a printing function and issues a preprinted label.
(3) The second label issuing unit B2 may issue and affix printing when there is print information that cannot be printed on the label of the first label issuing unit B1. Or you may use for the printing of the additive information from which printing amount changes with goods.
(4) When it is set that the label is not issued from the second label issuing unit when the product data is called, the movement control may be performed ignoring the movement limit value of the first applicator. .
(5) The label application position may be before the heat seal portion.

The longitudinal section side view which shows the outline of the packaging pricing apparatus which concerns on this invention. FIG. The enlarged side view which shows a label sticking apparatus. The top view which shows the state in which two labels were affixed on the package. The block diagram which shows the electric constitution of a control means. The block diagram which shows the drive structure of an applicator.

Explanation of symbols

B1 ... 1st label issuing part B2 ... 2nd label issuing part
C1 ... first applicator C2 ... second applicator
G: Package G ': Package
L1: Label attached by the first applicator
L2: Label attached by the second applicator
2 ... Elevator 3 ... Packing part
4 '... film 6 ... rear folding member 7, 7' ... left / right folding member 8 ... discharge pusher
9 ... Front folding roller 10 ... Heat seal part
11. Discharge means

Claims (5)

From the lower side of the film stretched on the packaging part, the object to be packaged is placed on an elevator and pushed up to cover the upper surface of the object to be packaged with the film, and the left and right end parts and the rear end part of the film end part are to be packaged. In the packaging pricing device for folding the front end of the film by discharging it from the packaging part and then discharging it to the heat seal part, and attaching a label to the discharged package,
A package in which a first label issuing unit is arranged on one side across a discharge path for discharging a package, a second label issuing unit is arranged on the other side, and a label is received from the first label issuing unit and discharged. A first applicator that moves and sticks to one side in the width direction, and a second applicator that receives the label from the second label issuing unit and moves and sticks to the other side in the width direction of the discharged package A packaging pricing device comprising an applicator. The packaging pricing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein both the first applicator and the second applicator perform labeling on the package at a position up to the heat seal portion. The discharge from the packaging unit is performed by a discharge pusher, and two labels are attached to the package being moved by the discharge pusher by a first applicator and a second applicator. The packaging pricing apparatus according to 1. The packaging value according to claim 1, wherein when the width of the packaged object to be packaged is equal to or smaller than a predetermined value, the pasting operation of either the first or second applicator is prohibited. Attachment device. The package pricing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first or second applicator is controlled to move based on the set position data on the package and the position of the other applicator.

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