JP2007223320A - Assembly for embossing - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent a strip of packing material from curling by itself after embossing. <P>SOLUTION: An assembly for an embossing has two embossing rollers (6, 7), rotating about their respective axes of rotation (9, 10) to emboss the strip (5) of packing material which, in use, is fed along an embossing plane (A), substantially tangent to the two rollers (6, 7), and through an embossing passage (13) defined between the two rollers (6, 7); the axes of rotation (9, 10) being skewed with respect to each other and substantially parallel to the embossing plane (A). <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an embossing assembly for embossing a packaging material, a packaging machine including the embossing assembly, and a packaging material embossed using the embossing assembly. .

  The present invention is suitably used for cigarette packaging. The present invention will be described below.

  An embossing assembly of the type to which the invention belongs has first and second embossing rollers that rotate in opposite directions about the first and second rotational axes, respectively. The first and second embossing rollers are arranged to define an embossing passage through which the packaging material passes and embosses when embossing the packaging material, and the first and second embossing rollers The embossing roller is configured to be substantially tangent to an embossing surface substantially parallel to the first and second rotation axes in the embossing passage.

  The efficiency alone is reasonably good, but known embossing assemblies of the type described above will naturally round into the processed packaging when embossed on a relatively hard packaging. Give a trend.

  In this way, the embossed packaging material is naturally rounded and hard, so its handling (eg, transport, cutting and product packaging) is rather difficult.

  Furthermore, in the case of the above-mentioned type of embossing assembly, it may not be possible to satisfactorily emboss the central portion of the packaging material using an embossing roller (particularly a relatively long embossing roller).

  An object of the present invention is to provide an embossing assembly, a packaging machine, and a packaging material that can completely or at least partially eliminate the above-described drawbacks and that can be easily manufactured at low cost.

The embossing assembly of the present invention is an embossing assembly for embossing a packaging material,
Each having first and second embossing rollers (6, 7) rotating in opposite directions about the first and second rotational axes (9, 10);
The first and second embossing rollers (6, 7) are arranged to define an embossing passageway (13) through which the packaging material passes and is embossed when the packaging material is embossed. Has been
Furthermore, a portion of the first and second embossing rollers (6, 7) facing the embossing passage (13) is embossed substantially parallel to the first and second rotation shafts (9, 10). In the embossing assembly formed so as to be substantially tangent to the processing surface (A),
The first and second rotating shafts (9, 10) are characterized by being offset from each other.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  Reference numeral 1 in FIG. 1 indicates a part of the packaging machine. The packaging machine 1 includes an embossing assembly 2, which has an embossing unit 3, a traction unit 4 that functions as an extension or deformation means, and a known cutting unit (not shown). When the embossing is actually performed, the strip 5 of the packaging material is supplied in the direction of the conveyance path P. The embossing unit 3 embosses the strip 5 at the embossing portion, and the traction unit 4 is elastically deformed by pulling the strip 5 at the traction portion. The strip 5 is then sent to a cutting unit (not shown).

  The embossing unit 3 includes two embossing rollers 6 and 7 that are attached to the frame 8 and rotate about the rotation shafts 9 and 10, respectively. The embossing rollers 6 and 7 have a large number of teeth 11 and 12 (FIGS. 4 to 6) that mesh with each other in an embossing passage 13 (FIGS. 1 and 2) defined between the embossing rollers 6 and 7. Each has a substantially cylindrical peripheral surface. The peripheral surfaces of the embossing rollers 6 and 7 are substantially parallel to the rotation shafts 9 and 10, respectively.

  When the embossing is actually performed, the strip 5 of the packaging material is fed into the embossing passage 13 and is embossed on the strip 5 by the embossing rollers 6 and 7 that are substantially tangent to the embossing surface A in the embossing passage 13. Applied.

  In order to make it easy to understand, the distance between the embossing rollers 6 and 7 and the thickness of the strip 5 shown in FIG. As described above, more specifically, when the embossing rollers 6 and 7 come into contact with each other, the embossing surface A is tangent to the (ideally flat) peripheral surface of the embossing rollers 6 and 7. In this way, the teeth 11 and 12 mesh.

  The embossing roller 6 is a drive roller mounted on a shaft 14 disposed coaxially with the rotary shaft 9, and the shaft 14 is supported by a bearing 15 attached to the frame 8. Driving torque from the motor 16 (schematically illustrated) is transmitted via a shaft 14 that is connected to the output shaft (not shown) of the motor 16 fixed to the frame 8 at an angle.

  The embossing roller 7 is rotatably mounted on a shaft 17 disposed coaxially with the rotary shaft 10 via a storage bearing (not shown), and is supported by an inclined support unit 18. The embossing roller 7 is also rotationally driven by the friction between the side surfaces of the teeth 11 and 12 generated by the embossing roller 6.

  The cross sections when the embossing rollers 6 and 7 are cut in a direction perpendicular to the rotary shafts 9 and 10 have substantially the same diameter. In another embodiment, not shown, these cross sections have different diameters.

  With particular reference to FIG. 6, the teeth 11 form a row D that is substantially parallel to the rotation axis 9, and that the center of each of the formed substantially circular rings C is located on the rotation axis 9. The embossing roller 6 is disposed on the peripheral surface. The teeth 12 form a row D ′ (FIGS. 4 and 5) similar to the row D, and the embossing roller 7 so as to form a ring C ′ (not shown) located in the same manner as the ring C. It is arranged on the peripheral surface.

  In the embodiment, the number of teeth 11 of a specific ring C is a prime number with respect to the number of teeth 12 of the specific ring C ′. Further, the tooth 11 of the specific ring C meshes at least partially with the tooth 12 of the specific ring C ′. As a result, all the teeth 11 and 12 formed on each of the specific rings C and C ′ can be worn almost uniformly.

  The truncated pyramidal tooth 11 having the square base of FIG. 6 is larger than actual and is shown deformed.

  In another embodiment, not shown, the teeth 11 and 12 may be different from the previously described shape, for example, a shape selected from the group consisting of a cone, a truncated cone, a pyramid and a truncated pyramid. It is.

  This will be described with particular reference to FIG. As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the embossing rollers 6 and 7 are rotated so that the positions of the teeth 11 with respect to the teeth 12 vary in the length direction of the embossing rollers 6 and 7 in the embossing passage 13. It should be pointed out that the shafts 9 and 10 are mounted offset. In FIGS. 4 and 5, tooth 11 is indicated by “X” and tooth 12 is indicated by “O”. More specifically, in the embodiment shown in FIG. 4, the tooth 12 a adjacent to the end of the embossing roller 7 is in a position surrounded by the four teeth 11, but the center of the embossing roller 7. The part tooth 12 b is simply located between the two teeth 11. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 5, the tooth 12 a adjacent to the end of the embossing roller 7 is simply located between the two teeth 11, but the central tooth 12 b of the embossing roller 7 is four teeth 11. It is in the position surrounded by.

  4 and 5 are intended to schematically show the relative positions of the teeth 11 and 12 arranged over the entire length of the embossing rollers 6 and 7 when facing the embossing passage 13. It is necessary to point out. In reality, the teeth 11 and 12 are clearly more numerous and smaller in size than in FIGS. 4 and 5, and are arranged consecutively (as shown in FIG. 6). The center spacing of each of the two adjacent teeth 11 or 12 is selected from the group consisting of 0.25 mm, 0.3 mm and 0.4 mm, but is typically about 0.4 mm. The length of the peripheral surface on which the teeth of the embossing roller are formed is in the range of 140 to 150 mm and can be 300 mm or more, but is typically 148 mm.

  By arranging the teeth 11 and the teeth 12 unevenly, it is possible to suppress the strip 5 from being naturally rounded. This is assumed to be because the fibers constituting the strip 5 of the packaging material can be prevented from being bent only in a certain direction. In other words, the embossing itself is performed unevenly.

  The important point to keep in mind is that the rotating shafts 9 and 10 are arranged in a biased manner, so that the embossing is surely performed even in the central portions of the embossing rollers 6 and 7 that are deformed when embossing is performed. (In particular, in the case of the relatively long embossing rollers 6 and 7, it is easily curved, and the concave surfaces are generated so as to face each other.)

  Yet another point to note is that when embossing is performed using the embossing unit 3, the portion adjacent to the edge of the strip 5 is embossed relatively loosely, so that it is embossed. The strip 5 is curved in the lateral direction, but can be transported relatively easily along the transport path P to the downstream side of the embossing unit 3.

  According to experiments conducted in this regard, particularly good results have been obtained when the rotary shafts 9 and 10 are offset from each other by an angle of 0.05 ° to 0.40 °. The deflection angle is preferably 0.10 ° to 0.30 °, more preferably 0.15 ° to 0.25 °, and still more preferably 0.20 ° (in FIG. The deflection angles of the shafts 9 and 10 are exaggerated for the sake of clarity.)

  The embossing roller 7 is supported by a support unit 18 so as to be able to swing about an instantaneous rotation shaft 19 that can move substantially parallel to the rotation shaft 10. The instantaneous rotation shaft 19 is orthogonal to the surface B on which the rotation shaft 10 is disposed (in FIG. 2, the surface B is shown parallel to the surface of the paper). Further, the surface B is substantially orthogonal to the embossed surface A.

  The support unit 18 is arranged between the embossing roller 7 and the pressing assembly 20. In addition, the pressing assembly 20 interposed between the support unit 18 and the frame 8 always transmits the pressure F to the embossing roller 7 via the instantaneous rotation shaft 19, and the rotation applied to the embossing roller 6. The strip 5 is sandwiched between the embossing rollers 6 and 7 by the pressure F in a direction substantially orthogonal to the shaft 9.

  The rotating shafts 9 and 10 are substantially parallel to the embossed surface A. More precisely, the rotary shafts 9 and 10 are substantially parallel to the embossed surface A at least in the initial equilibrium state at the start of embossing.

  In the illustrated embodiment (FIG. 2), the support unit 18 includes a transverse member 22 disposed on the opposite side of the embossing rollers 6, 7, and substantially orthogonal to the transverse member 22 and at the end of the embossing roller 7. It has a U-shaped fork 21 constituted by two arms 23 arranged in close proximity.

  The support unit 18 is a “oscillation” unit joined like a joint. For this purpose, both ends of the shaft 17 are fixed to the free ends of the arms 23, and the surface 24 of the transverse member 22 is formed on the base 26. It is configured to swing on the surface 25. The surface 24 of the transverse member 22 may be a flat surface as in the illustrated embodiment, or may be a concave surface facing upward as in a modified example although not illustrated. A base portion 26, which is linked to the fork 21 and constitutes the support unit 18, is connected to the frame 8 via the pressing assembly 20 and moves in the direction of the applied pressure F. In the illustrated embodiment, the surface 25 is curved so that its convex surface faces the lateral member 22, but in a modification (not shown) where the surface 24 is curved, Opposite concave surfaces may be used. Although not shown, in the modification, the surface 24 is a concave surface facing the base portion 26, and the surface 25 is a convex surface facing the transverse member 22.

  When the embossing is actually performed, the surfaces 24 and 25 rub against each other without sliding, and the contact point between the transverse member 22 and the surface 25 defines the instantaneous rotation axis 19. It moves on the surfaces 24 and 25 as a function of the angular position of the embossing roller 7 centered.

  In another embodiment, not shown, a quadrilateral support unit 18 joined like a joint is used instead of the “oscillation” unit joined like a joint.

  More specifically, support unit 18 is similar to and operates in substantially the same manner as the support unit described in Italian Patent Application No. 2004BO000519.

  The support unit 18 having the structure as described above can correct all disturbances such as lateral movement of the strip 5 generated at the position where the reaction force R (by the strip 5) is applied to the applied force F. It is important to note that

  It should be pointed out that the support unit 18 also exhibits its advantages in particular by biasing the rotating shafts 9, 10 of the embossing rollers 6, 7. Also, by making at least one of the embossing rollers 6 and 7 (or both embossing rollers 6 and 7 in another embodiment) swingable, the teeth 11 and 12, especially the embossing rollers 6 and 6. It is possible to more effectively realize the meshing at the portions close to the both ends of 7.

  The traction unit 4 (FIG. 1) has a traction roller 27 that rotates around a rotation shaft 28 and has a number of suction nozzles 29 communicating with a known suction force generation source (not shown) formed on the periphery. .

  When the embossing is actually performed, the strip 5 supplied along the conveyance path P is disposed on the downstream side of the embossing unit 3 for the guide roller 30 positioned further downstream than the pulling roller 27. It is wound around a circumferential surface of approximately 180 °. The traction roller 27 is rotated between the embossing unit 3 and the traction unit 4 by being rotated by a motor 31 (shown schematically in FIG. 1) at a tangential speed greater than the rotational speed of the embossing rollers 6, 7. The strip 5 is imparted with a controlled amount of permanent elongation, thereby suppressing undesirable deformation due to embossing.

  In an embodiment not shown, the embossing roller 6 and the pulling roller 27 are driven by the same motor 31.

  FIG. 1 merely illustrates one of the possible embodiments of the traction unit 4, and in actuality various modifications can be made to the traction unit 4, It is even possible to apply the teachings of application 2005BO000114.

  As described above, it has been found as a result of the test that the pulling unit 4 and the embossing unit 3 can be used to significantly suppress the tendency of the strip 5 to be rounded.

  The embossing unit 2 further has a sensor 32 connected to the central control unit 33 for detecting the reference point of the strip 5. The central control unit 33 adjusts the rotational speed of the embossing rollers 6 and 7 and the traction rotor 27 according to the input value from the sensor 32 and the operating position of the cutting unit (not shown).

FIG. 2 is a schematic front view showing only main components in order to facilitate understanding of a part of a packaging machine having an embossing assembly according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is a schematic side view with a part cut away to show FIG. 1 in detail. FIG. 3 is a schematic bottom view showing main components for easy understanding of the details of FIG. 2. It is a schematic diagram of the assembly for embossing of FIG. It is a schematic diagram of the assembly for embossing of embodiment different from FIG. It is a perspective view which shows the detail of a part of FIG.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Packaging machine 2 Embossing assembly 3 Embossing unit 4 Traction unit 5 Strip 6, 7 Embossing roller 8 Frame 9, 10 Rotating shaft 11, 12, 12 a, 12 b Teeth 13 Embossing passage 14 Shaft 15 Bearing 16 Motor 17 Shaft 18 Support unit 19 Instantaneous rotating shaft 20 Press assembly 21 Fork 22 Horizontal member 23 Arm 24, 25 Surface 26 Base 27 Pulling roller 28 Rotating shaft 29 Suction nozzle 30 Guide roller 31 Motor 32 Sensor 33 Central control unit P Conveying path A Embossed surface B Surface C, C 'Ring D, D' Row F Pressure R Reaction force

Claims (24)

An embossing assembly for embossing a packaging material,
Each having first and second embossing rollers (6, 7) rotating in opposite directions about the first and second rotational axes (9, 10);
The first and second embossing rollers (6, 7) are arranged to define an embossing passageway (13) through which the packaging material passes and is embossed when the packaging material is embossed. Has been
Furthermore, a portion of the first and second embossing rollers (6, 7) facing the embossing passage (13) is embossed substantially parallel to the first and second rotation shafts (9, 10). In the embossing assembly formed so as to be substantially tangent to the processing surface (A),
The embossing assembly characterized in that the first and second rotating shafts (9, 10) are offset from each other. Each of the first and second embossing rollers (6, 7) has substantially cylindrical first and second peripheral surfaces and is attached to the first and second rotating shafts (9, 10). Arranged in parallel,
Said first and second circumferential surfaces each have a given number of teeth (11, 12);
Further, the second circumferential surface takes at least one of the teeth (12) of the second circumferential surface to be positioned between the two teeth of the first circumferential surface of the teeth (11). The embossing assembly according to claim 1, wherein the teeth (12) of the peripheral surface mesh with the teeth (11) of the first peripheral surface. The second peripheral surface such that at least one tooth of the tooth (12) of the second peripheral surface is located between the four teeth of the tooth (11) of the first peripheral surface. The embossing assembly according to claim 2, wherein the teeth (12) are meshed with the teeth (11) on the first peripheral surface. The teeth (11) of the first circumferential surface are arranged to form at least one substantially circular first ring (C) centered on the first rotational axis (9). And
The teeth (12) of the second peripheral surface are arranged to form at least one substantially circular second ring (C ′) centered on the second axis of rotation (10). And
The teeth (11, 12) of the first and second rings (C, C ′) are at least partially engaged,
Furthermore, the number of said teeth (11) of said 1st ring (C) is different from the number of said teeth (12) of said 2nd ring (C '). Assembly. The embossing according to claim 4, wherein the number of teeth (11) of the first ring (C) is a prime number with respect to the number of teeth (12) of the second ring (C '). Assembly. The first and second embossing rollers (6, 7) have cross sections having substantially the same diameter when cut in a direction perpendicular to the first and second rotating shafts (9, 10). Item 6. The embossing assembly according to any one of Items 1 to 5. The first and second embossing rollers (6, 7) have cross sections having different diameters when cut in a direction perpendicular to the first and second rotating shafts (9, 10). The assembly for embossing of any one of -5. The expansion or deformation means (4) further disposed in the transport path (P) of the strip (5) of the packaging material on the downstream side of the first and second embossing rollers (6, 7). The assembly for embossing of any one of 1-7. The embossing assembly as claimed in claim 8, wherein the extension or deformation means (4) comprises at least one pulling roller (27) rotating about a third axis of rotation (28). The embossing assembly according to claim 9, wherein the at least one pulling roller (27) is a suction pulling roller. First driving means (16) for rotating the first and second embossing rollers (6, 7) at a first tangential speed;
The embossing assembly according to claim 9 or 10, further comprising second drive means (31) for rotating the pulling roller (27) at a second tangential speed. In order to extend the strip (5) of the packaging material in a part of the conveying path (P) between the first and second embossing rollers (6, 7) and the pulling roller (27), The embossing assembly according to claim 11, wherein the second tangential speed is greater than the first tangential speed. The embossing assembly according to claim 12, wherein the second tangential speed is slightly larger than the first tangential speed. At least one sensor (32) for detecting a reference point of the strip (5) of the packaging material;
In order to adjust the first and second tangential speeds according to the input value from the sensor (32), a central control unit (connected to the first and second drive means (16, 31)) 33). The embossing assembly of claim 13, further comprising: The cutting unit according to claim 8, further comprising a cutting unit arranged downstream of the first and second embossing rollers (6, 7) for cutting the strip (5) of the packaging material into pieces. The assembly for embossing of any one of Claims. A pressing assembly (20) for bringing the first and second embossing rollers (6, 7) into contact with each other and for applying a pressing force (F) when embossing to sandwich the packaging material. In addition,
At least one of the first and second rotating shafts (9, 10) swings about an instantaneous rotating shaft (19) parallel to the embossed surface (A);
Further, the instantaneous rotation shaft (19) swings in response to the parallel movement performed on the rotation shaft (10) where the load point of the reaction force (R) against the applied pressure (F) swings. The assembly for embossing of any one of Claims 1-15 which can move in parallel with the said rotating shaft (10). The embossing according to claim 16, wherein the instantaneous rotation axis (19) is orthogonal to the embossing surface (A) and substantially orthogonal to another surface (B) on which the rotating rotation shaft (10) is located. Assembly. The second embossing roller (7), which is one of the first and second embossing rollers (6, 7), rotates about the rotating shaft (10) that swings and swings. 18. A support unit (18) further comprising a support unit (18) disposed between the embossing roller (7) and the pressing assembly (20) for supporting the swinging embossing roller (7). Embossing assembly. 19. The embossing assembly according to claim 18, wherein the support unit (18) is a rocking unit joined like a joint. The embossing assembly according to claim 19, wherein the support unit (18) comprises a "swing" unit. The support unit (18) includes a base (26) including a first surface (25), a fork (21) including two arms (23), and a transverse member (22) including a second surface (24). ) And a shaft (17) coaxial with the rotating shaft (10) that swings,
At least one of the first and second surfaces (24, 25) is a curved surface that defines the instantaneous rotation axis (19) by contacting at least one point with the opposed first and second surfaces (24, 25). The embossing assembly according to claim 20. The embossing assembly according to claim 21, wherein the pressing assembly (20) is connected to the base (26). A packaging machine comprising the embossing assembly (2) according to any one of claims 1 to 22. The packaging material processed using the assembly (2) for embossing of any one of Claims 1-22.

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