JP2012012094A - Sealing apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a sealing apparatus allowing straight forwardly conveying an envelope accurately in the conveying direction without skewing or jamming even when contents with varying thickness in the conveying width direction are sealed, and precisely performing starching work or crease forming work.SOLUTION: A conveying roller mechanism, for example a second conveying roller mechanism 12, includes a drive roller 41, and a presser roller 42 spaced apart from or come close to the drive roller 41. The plurality of presser rollers 42 is provided in the conveying width direction perpendicular to the conveying direction at intervals, is constituted so as to each independently come close to or separate from the drive roller 41, and is each separately biased toward the drive roller 41 by each independent spring 47.

Description

  The present invention relates to a sealing device that seals an envelope in which contents such as a note paper, a document, or a booklet are sealed.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a sealing device has been developed that automatically applies glue, forms a crease in a flap, folds the flap, and adheres it to the envelope body side in contrast to manual sealing (Patent Documents 1 and 2). .

  The sealing device includes, for example, an envelope supply unit that supplies an envelope, a crease forming unit that forms a fold in the flap, a glue application unit that applies glue to the flap, and a seal that folds the flap and attaches it to the envelope body And a plurality of transport roller mechanisms for transporting the envelope.

  FIG. 20 shows an example of a conveying roller mechanism of a conventional sealing device, which includes a driving roller 200 and a pressing roller 201 facing the driving roller 200 from above, and the pressing roller 201 is a driving roller 200. Are held in the holding case 205 so as to be able to approach and separate from each other, and are urged toward the driving roller 200 by the spring 203. The envelope N is sandwiched between both rollers 200 and 201, and the drive roller 200 is rotated by a drive source such as an electric motor, thereby conveying the envelope N.

  The dimension D1 of the driving roller 200 in the conveyance width direction W is set to the extent that it can correspond to the largest dimension among the envelopes N of various sizes to be sealed, and the dimension of the pressing roller 201 in the conveyance width direction W. D2 is also set to a dimension substantially the same as the width D1 of the driving roller 200.

JP 2006-151518 A JP-A-9-175089

  In the conveyance roller mechanism of the conventional sealing device shown in FIG. 20, if the thickness of the contents is substantially uniform over the entire width in the conveyance width direction W of the envelope N, the pressing roller 201 becomes substantially the entire width of the envelope N. It abuts substantially evenly over this, whereby the envelope N can be transported straight in the transport direction.

  However, as shown in FIG. 21, when the thickness of the contents changes in the conveyance width direction W, the pressing roller 201 is driven to a height (roller interval) corresponding to the thickest portion N1. Since it is separated from the roller 200, the pressing roller 201 clamps the envelope N only at the location N1, and does not clamp the envelope N at the remaining thin portion. When the driving roller 200 rotates in this state, the possibility that the envelope N is skewed is extremely high. If the envelope N is skewed, the gluing position, the crease forming position or the direction may be out of order, or the envelope may be clogged during conveyance.

  The object of the present invention is to convey the envelope straightly in the conveying direction without skewing and without clogging, even when the contents whose thickness changes in the conveying width direction are enclosed, and An object of the present invention is to provide a sealing device capable of performing a gluing operation and a crease forming operation with high accuracy.

  In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention is provided with an envelope supply unit that supplies unsealed envelopes one by one, a glue application unit that applies glue to a predetermined portion of the supplied envelope, and glue applied In the sealing device comprising: a crease forming part that forms a fold in the flap of the envelope; a sealing part that folds the flap and adheres to the envelope body side; and a plurality of transport roller mechanisms that transport the envelope; Each transport roller mechanism includes a drive roller and a pressing roller that can approach and separate from the drive roller, and at least one of the transport roller mechanisms is orthogonal to the transport direction. The plurality of pressing rollers are provided at intervals in the conveying width direction, and the plurality of pressing rollers are configured to be able to approach and separate from the driving roller in an independent state. And it is urged individually driven roller side by standing the spring.

The present invention can employ the following configuration in the sealing device.
(A) The plurality of pressing rollers arranged at intervals in the conveyance width direction are arranged on the envelope outlet side of the envelope supply unit, and by friction with an envelope sandwiched between the corresponding driving rollers, It is a pressing roller for the separation that separates and supplies the envelopes of the envelope supply unit one by one.

(B) The plurality of pressing rollers arranged at intervals in the conveyance width direction hold and hold the envelope at the predetermined conveyance direction position at the time of glue application by the glue application unit and the crease formation by the crease formation unit. It is a pressing roller for positioning.

(C) Preferably, three or more pressing rollers arranged at intervals in the transport width direction are arranged in parallel.

(1) According to the present invention, even when the envelope in which the contents are enclosed is transported, the envelope can be securely inserted at a plurality of positions spaced in the transport width direction even if the thickness of the contents changes in the transport width direction. Since the paper can be nipped and transported, the envelope can be prevented from being skewed, whereby the envelope can be prevented from being clogged during transport, and the glue application operation and the crease forming operation can be performed with high accuracy.

(2) By adopting a structure in which a plurality of pressing rollers arranged at intervals in the conveyance width direction are individually operated in a rolling roller mechanism, the envelopes stacked on the envelope supply unit can be reliably Can be separated one by one and transported without skew.

(3) By adopting a structure for individually operating a plurality of pressing rollers arranged at intervals in the conveyance width direction in a positioning roller mechanism for stopping and holding an envelope during glue application and crease formation, At the time of the said process, an envelope can be reliably hold | maintained in a predetermined position, and the gluing and crease formation work precision can further be improved.

(4) By arranging three or more of the plurality of pressing rollers side by side, the envelope can be securely clamped even if the envelope thickness changes in a complicated manner in the conveyance width direction.

1 is an overall perspective view of a sealing device according to the present invention. It is a top view inside the sealing apparatus of FIG. FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line III-III in FIG. 2. FIG. 4 is a side view of the sealing device as seen in the direction of arrow IV in FIG. 2. FIG. 5 is an enlarged VV cross-sectional view of FIG. 3. It is a partial expansion perspective view of a roller mechanism (first transport roller mechanism). FIG. 7 is an enlarged sectional view taken along the line VII-VII in FIG. 3. FIG. 8 is a partially enlarged perspective view of the transport roller mechanism shown in FIG. 7. It is IX-IX sectional drawing of FIG. It is XX sectional drawing of FIG. It is the expanded side view seen in the arrow XI direction of FIG. It is the XII-XII cross-sectional enlarged view of FIG. FIG. 13 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the same portion as FIG. 12 showing a state where an envelope containing contents whose thickness varies in the conveyance width direction is sandwiched. It is a perspective view which shows an example of the envelope before sealing work. It is a perspective view which shows the state of the envelope at the time of a rolling and conveyance process. It is a perspective view which shows the state of the envelope at the time of a paste application | coating process. It is a perspective view which shows the state of the envelope at the time of a crease | fold formation process. It is a perspective view which shows the state of the envelope at the time of a sealing process. It is a perspective view which shows the modification of a sealing part. It is sectional drawing of the conventional conveyance roller mechanism. It is a cross-sectional enlarged view of the same part as FIG. 20 which shows the state which clamped the envelope which stored the content which changes thickness in a conveyance width direction.

[Configuration of sealing device as a whole]
1 to 4 show the overall configuration of the sealing device according to the present invention. Based on these drawings, an outline of the entire sealing device will be described first.

  In FIG. 1, which is a perspective view, the transport path of the envelope N is a reciprocating type (or switchback type) having a forward path and a return path, and the forward transport direction is indicated by an arrow F1, and the backward transport direction is indicated by an arrow F2. Is shown. For convenience of explanation, the forward conveyance direction F1 side will be referred to as “front side” of the apparatus, and the conveyance width direction W orthogonal to the conveyance direction F1 (and F2) will be appropriately referred to as “left-right direction” of the apparatus. .

  The sealing device is provided with an envelope supply unit 2 for loading an unsealed envelope N on the upper rear side of the main body case 4 and an envelope receiving unit 3 for loading the envelope N discharged after sealing. It has been. An operation panel 5 is provided on one end of the main body case 4 in the transport width direction W.

  2 is a plan view of the inside of the apparatus, FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line III-III in FIG. 2, and FIG. 4 is a side view as viewed in the direction of arrow IV in FIG. In order from the side, a rolling roller mechanism 11 that also serves as a first transport roller mechanism, a second transport roller mechanism 12, a sealing unit 13 that also serves as a third transport roller mechanism, a glue application unit 14, and a fold line A forming roller 15 and a positioning roller mechanism 16 that also serves as a fourth transport roller mechanism are provided.

(Envelope supply unit 2)
2, the envelope supply unit 2 includes a supply base 21 on which a large number of envelopes are stacked, a pair of left and right side guide plates 22, and a plurality of supply rollers 23 that protrude upward from openings formed in the supply base 21. On the surface of the supply roller 23, a large number of cut grooves extending in the conveyance width direction W are formed. The position of the side guide plate 22 in the conveyance width direction W can be adjusted according to the size of the envelope. A light transmission type envelope detection sensor 28 that detects the presence or absence of an envelope on the supply table 21 is provided at the center of the supply table 21.

  In FIG. 3, the envelope supply unit 2 is provided with a thick plate-shaped resin weight 29 to prevent the loaded envelope N from floating. The envelope detection sensor 28 is made of a transparent resin material so as not to hinder the detection operation.

  In FIG. 4, the rotation shaft 23 a of each supply roller 23 is connected to a first drive motor 26 via a gear transmission mechanism 24 and a first belt transmission mechanism 25, and the first drive motor 26 makes a total. All the supply rollers 23 rotate synchronously.

(Rolling roller mechanism 11)
FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the whirling roller mechanism 11 that also serves as the first transporting roller mechanism. FIG. 6 is a partially enlarged perspective view of the whirling roller mechanism 11. In FIG. The driving roller 31 is disposed on the lower side of the driving roller 31, and the separating roller (pressing roller) 32 is disposed on the upper side of the driving roller 31. Four roller rollers 32 are also arranged at positions corresponding to the respective drive rollers 31 at intervals in the conveyance width direction W.

  The four drive rollers 31 are fixed to a common drive shaft 33 (shown by phantom lines), and the drive shaft 33 is rotatably supported by the left and right side walls 35 of the main body case 4 and has a shaft. One end of the direction is connected to the gear transmission mechanism 24. That is, the four drive rollers 31 are configured to rotate integrally with a common drive shaft 33 and to rotate synchronously with the supply roller 23 via the gear transmission 24 as shown in FIG. Yes.

  On the other hand, the four roller rollers 32 shown in FIG. 5 are supported by four independent roller support shafts 34 through a one-way clutch 35 so as to be rotatable only in one direction. Each is fixed to a roller holder 36. The dimension of each roller 32 in the conveying width direction W is smaller than the dimension of the driving roller 31 in the conveying width direction W, and the outer peripheral surface of each roller 32 is provided with ribs at both ends in the conveying width direction W. It is formed in a U-shaped cross section having a portion.

  In FIG. 6, the drive roller 31 is rotationally driven in the direction of the arrow A1 together with the drive shaft 33 so as to send the envelope in the forward conveyance direction F1.

  The roller support shaft 34 of the roller 32 is supported by the front lower end portion of the roller holder 36, and the roller 32 can rotate only in the direction of the arrow B2 around the roller shaft 34 by the action of the one-way clutch 35. , It is configured not to rotate in the direction of arrow B1. The roller holder 36 is supported at its lower end by a swinging support shaft 38 so that the roller holder 36 and the roller support shaft 34 can be rotated independently of each other. It can swing up and down. That is, with respect to the driving roller 31, the four roller rollers 32 can be moved toward and away from each other independently.

  The rear upper end portion of each roller holder 36 is engaged with a rear end portion of a coil spring 37. The spring 37 extends forward, and the front end portion is engaged with a fixed wall 39 fixed to the main body case 4. Yes. That is, a spring 37 is stretched between the rear upper end portion of the roller holder 36 and the front fixed wall 39, thereby urging each roller holder 38 around the swing shaft 38 toward the drive roller 31 in the direction of arrow C1. Then, it is in contact with the drive roller 31.

(Second transport mechanism 12)
7 is a cross-sectional view of the second transport roller mechanism 12, FIG. 8 is a partially enlarged perspective view of the second transport roller mechanism 12, and in FIG. 7, the second transport roller mechanism 12 is below the forward transport path. The drive roller 41 is arranged on the side, and the pressing roller 42 is arranged on the upper side of the drive roller 41. The drive roller 41 is formed so as to cover substantially the entire width in the conveyance width direction W of the conveyance path. The four pressing rollers 42 are arranged at intervals in the conveyance width direction W.

  A drive shaft (indicated by phantom lines) 43 of the drive roller 41 is rotatably supported by the left and right side walls 35 of the main body case 4, and one end in the axial direction is connected to the second belt transmission mechanism 45.

  The roller support shafts 44 of the four pressing rollers 42 are rotatably supported by roller holders 46, respectively.

  In FIG. 4, the second belt transmission mechanism 45 to which the drive shaft 43 is connected is connected to a second drive motor 49.

  In FIG. 8, the drive roller 41 is rotationally driven in the direction of the arrow A1 together with the drive shaft 43 so as to send the envelope in the forward conveyance direction F1.

  The roller support shaft 44 of the pressing roller 42 is rotatably supported by the front lower end portion of the roller holder 46, and the rear lower end portion of the roller holder 46 is swingably supported by the swing support shaft 48. Thus, each pressing roller 42 can swing independently in the vertical direction around the swing support shaft 48. That is, with respect to the drive roller 41, the four pressing rollers 42 are individually movable in the vertical direction.

  One end of a coil spring 47 is locked to the rear upper end of each roller holder 46, the spring 47 extends forward, and the front end of the spring is locked to the fixed wall 39. That is, a spring 47 is stretched between the rear upper end portion of the roller holder 46 and the front fixed wall 39 to urge each roller holder 46 around the swing shaft 48 toward the drive roller 41 in the direction of arrow C1. The drive roller 41 is in contact with the drive roller 41.

(Sealing part 13)
FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view of the sealing portion 13, which is composed of a driving roller 51 disposed below the forward / return conveying path and a pressing roller 52 disposed above the driving roller 51. The drive roller 51 and the pressing roller 52 are both formed so as to extend over substantially the entire width in the conveying width direction W of the conveying path, and the pressing roller 52 is formed of urethane rubber whose surface is elastic. The drive shaft 53 of the drive roller 51 is rotatably supported on the left and right side walls 35.

  Both ends in the axial direction of the roller support shaft 54 to which the pressing roller 52 is fixed are supported by a fixed holding case 56 so as to be movable in the vertical direction, and are urged downward by a compression spring 57 so as to be driven by the drive roller 51. It is in pressure contact.

  In FIG. 3, the sealing unit 13 includes two pairs of the driving roller 51 and the pressing roller 52 with an interval in the front-rear direction, and a light-transmitting envelope is provided between the front-rear roller pair. A detection sensor 58 is provided. As shown in FIG. 4, the drive shaft 53 of each lower drive roller 51 is connected to a third drive motor 56 via a third belt transmission mechanism 55. By switching the reverse rotation, it rotates in either of the arrows A1 and A2. That is, the envelope conveyance direction can be switched between the forward conveyance direction F1 and the backward conveyance direction F2.

  In FIG. 2, a pair of the envelope detection sensors 58 are arranged at intervals in the transport width direction W, and by detecting the passage of the rear end (or front end) of the envelope, in addition to the presence or absence of the passage of the envelope, The skew of the envelope due to the difference in detection timing between the left and right detection sensors 58 and the count start position for determining the envelope stop position in the crease forming unit 15 and the glue applying unit 14 are detected.

(Glue application part 14)
10 is a cross-sectional view of the glue application unit 14 and the crease forming unit 15, FIG. 11 is an enlarged side view of the glue application unit 14 and the crease formation unit 15, and in FIG. A slider 63 movably supported by the upper and lower guide rails 61, 62, a cassette holder 64 movably supported by the slider 63, and a tape glue cassette 65 detachably attached to the cassette holder 64 And a gluing table 66 disposed below the tape glue cassette 65. The guide rails 61 and 62 are supported on the left and right side walls of the holding case 60. The slider 63 is connected to a belt-type drive mechanism 67 laid in parallel with the guide rail 62, and the cassette holder 64 is connected to a lift drive motor 68 disposed in the slider 63. 10 shows the cassette holder 64 with the cover member 75 (see FIG. 11) removed.

  In the tape glue cassette 65, a supply reel 72 around which unused tape glue 71 is wound and a take-up reel 73 for winding up the used tape are provided. A pressure roller 75 is rotatably provided.

  The tape glue 71 is obtained by adhering the glue to the surface of the tape main body so as to be peeled off. The tape glue 71 extends downward from the supply reel 72 and is wound around the pressure roller 75, and then U-turns upward to the take-up reel 73. It is wound up. The supply reel 72 rotates only in the rotation direction X1 for supplying the tape glue. Further, the supply reel 72 and the take-up reel 73 are wound by the take-up reel 73 in accordance with the amount of the tape glue 71 drawn from the rotating supply reel 72, as in the known correction tape mechanism for erasing ink. The gear-type interlocking mechanism is interlocked so as to rotate in the direction Y1.

  In FIG. 11, the tape glue cassette 65 is housed in the cover member 75, and the tape glue cassette 75 can be replaced by opening the front wall of the cover member 75. The holding case 60 is provided with a slide drive motor 79 for driving the belt-type drive mechanism 67.

  The holding case 60 can be manually changed in the front-rear direction position, whereby the front-rear direction position (distance) of the gluing region M2 with respect to the root (crease formation position) M1 of the crease forming part 15 to be described later is set. It can be changed according to the size of the envelope flap.

  FIG. 16 shows a gluing process by the glue applying unit 14, and the tape glue cassette 65 is lowered from the rising position (operation start position) P0 on one end side in the conveyance width direction W, and the pressure roller at the lowered position P1. 75 presses the tape glue 71 against the upper surface of the gluing table 66, and then moves the tape glue cassette 65 to the other end side in the conveyance width direction W, thereby rotating the pressure roller 75 by friction and tape glue. 71 glue is applied to the flap Na of the envelope N. Then, after reaching the other end end position P2 in the conveyance width direction W, the position rises to a position P3, moves from the position P3 in the conveyance width direction W, and returns to the work start position P0.

(Fold forming part 15)
In FIG. 11, the crease forming unit 15 includes a lower die 81 disposed so as to be adjacent to the pasting direction F <b> 1 side of the gluing table 66 of the glue applying unit 14, and an upper die 82 that faces the lower die 81 from above. The lower die 81 is formed with a substantially V-shaped crease forming recess 81a, and the upper die 82 is formed in a thick plate shape that can be fitted into the recess 81a. The upper mold 82 is fixed to the upper end of an elevating frame 83 that can be raised and lowered.

  In FIG. 10, the elevating frame 83 integrally has side walls 83a extending in the conveyance width direction W and extending downward from both ends in the conveyance width direction W. A pair of left and right slide bosses 86 are formed via the connecting bar 85, and both the slide bosses 86 are fitted to the pair of left and right guide rods 87 so as to be movable up and down.

  The connecting bar 85 is connected to a crankshaft 90 via a pair of left and right links 88, and the crankshaft 90 is connected to a drive motor 92 for forming folds via a transmission gear 91. That is, by rotating the fold forming drive motor 92, the connecting bar 85 and the slide boss 86 are moved up and down via the crankshaft 90 and the link 88, thereby moving the lifting frame 83 and the upper die 82 up and down.

  The crease forming drive motor 92 is a stepping motor. As shown in the crease forming process diagram of FIG. 17, the upper die 82 is lowered from the raised position K0 and once at an intermediate position K1 where the envelope N is lightly contacted. With the envelope stopped at this intermediate position K1, the gluing operation shown in FIG. 16 is performed, and then it is lowered to the lowest position K2 shown in FIG. 17, and the crease is formed at the root (fold forming position) M1 of the flap Na. The operation is controlled to form

(Positioning roller mechanism 16)
In FIG. 3, a positioning roller mechanism 16 that also serves as a fourth transport roller mechanism is disposed on the front side of the crease forming portion 15. The pressing roller 102 is opposed to 101 from above.

  Two pairs of roller pairs of the driving roller 101 and the pressing roller 102 are provided at regular intervals in the front-rear direction.

  12 is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken along the line XII-XII of FIG. 3. Four drive rollers 101 are arranged at intervals in the conveyance width direction W, and the pressing roller 102 is also spaced at intervals in the conveyance width direction W. Four pieces are arranged at positions corresponding to the drive rollers 101.

  The four drive rollers 101 are fixed to a common drive shaft 103. The drive shaft 103 is rotatably supported on the left and right side walls 35 of the main body case 4 as shown in FIG. Is connected to the third belt transmission mechanism 55. That is, the two drive shafts 103 of the positioning roller mechanism 16 are configured to rotate in the same direction and synchronously with the drive shaft 53 of the sealing portion 13 via the third belt transmission 55. Yes.

  On the other hand, in FIG. 12, the roller support shafts 104 of the four pressing rollers 102 are rotatably supported by bearings 105, and each bearing 105 is an upper and lower formed on a roller holder 106 having a U-shaped cross section. It is supported in a long hole 106a (partially labeled) in such a way that it can move in the vertical direction and cannot rotate. Then, a spring 107 is contracted between the upper surface of each bearing 105 and the upper wall of each roller holder 106, and each pressing roller 102 is attached to the lower driving roller 101 side in an independent state by each spring 107. It is fast.

  The upper wall of the four roller holders 106 is fixed to the upper wall of the common U-shaped support case 108.

  That is, each pressing roller 102 can be moved toward and away from the driving roller 101 independently, and is urged toward the driving roller 101 by an independent spring 107.

  In FIG. 3, the positioning roller mechanism 16 is also provided with a light transmission type envelope detection sensor 110 for detecting the presence or absence of an envelope.

[Sealing work]
First, the outline of the sealing operation will be described with reference to FIG. 3. The envelope N loaded in the envelope supply unit 2 is supplied in the forward conveyance direction F1 from the lowest position by the rotation of the supply roller 23, and the And is conveyed to the sealing portion 13 by the second conveyance roller mechanism 12. The sealing portion 13 that also serves as the third transport roller mechanism is further transported in the forward transport direction F1 and passes through the paste applying portion 14 and the crease forming portion 15 so that most of the envelope N is located above and below the positioning roller mechanism 16. And the rear end flap of the envelope N is stopped at a predetermined position where it reaches the glue receiving table 66 of the glue applying unit 14.

  In the stop state, glue is applied to the flap of the envelope N by the glue applying unit 14, and a fold is formed in the flap by the crease forming unit 15. Thereafter, the rollers 101 and 102 of the positioning roller mechanism 16 and the rollers 51 and 52 of the sealing unit are reversed, whereby the envelope N is conveyed in the backward conveyance direction F2 and between the rollers 51 and 52 of the sealing unit 13. By passing, the flap is stuck to the envelope body and discharged to the envelope receiver 3.

Each work process will be described in detail with reference to FIGS.
FIG. 14 shows a state of the envelope N before the supply, the flap Na in the opened state is located at the rear end, and the supply base 21 of the envelope supply unit 2 with the adhesive surface of the flap Na facing upward. Loaded on top.

  FIG. 15 shows a rolling process and a transporting process. In the rolling roller mechanism 11, the envelope N is sandwiched between the driving roller 31 and the rolling roller 32, and the driving roller 31 rotates in the direction of the arrow A1. On the other hand, the roller 32 does not rotate in the direction of the arrow B1. Thereby, even if the envelope N is double fed, only the lower envelope N is supplied and the upper envelope N is stopped. That is, the envelopes are separated one by one.

  In the second transport roller mechanism 12, the envelope N is quickly transported in the forward transport direction F1 by rotating the driving roller 41 in the direction of arrow A1 and rotating the pressing roller 42 in the direction of arrow B1.

  Even in the case where the thickness of the contents of the envelope N is changed in the conveyance width direction W in the separation step by the separation roller mechanism 11 and the conveyance step by the second conveyance roller mechanism 12, each separation roller 32. The four pressing rollers 42 are arranged at intervals in the conveyance width direction W, and can be moved toward and away from the driving rollers 31 and 41 independently, and as shown in FIGS. Since the springs 37 and 47 are independently biased toward the drive rollers 31 and 41, the envelope N can be securely sandwiched over the entire width in the transport width direction W and transported without skew. .

  16 shows a gluing process, and FIG. 17 shows a crease forming process. In FIG. 16, the flap Na of the envelope N is located on the glue receiving table 66 of the glue applying unit 14 and the base of the flap Na (fold forming position). ) The envelope N is stopped and held at a predetermined position by the rollers 101 and 102 of the positioning roller mechanism 16 so that M1 is positioned at the crease forming portion 14. First, the upper mold 82 of the crease forming portion 15 is lowered to the intermediate position K1 in FIG. 17, and the flap Na is stabilized in a horizontal state by lightly pressing the root of the flap Na. At the same time, as shown in FIG. Then, the tape glue cassette 65 of the glue application unit 14 is lowered to the lowered position P1 and moved in the conveyance width direction W to the opposite glue finish position P2, whereby the upper surface of the flap Na (glue area) Apply glue to M2).

  After completion of the gluing process, in FIG. 17, the upper mold 82 of the crease forming portion 15 is further lowered from the intermediate position K1 to the lowest position K2, thereby forming a crease at the root M1 of the flap Na and raising the flap Na upward. Tilt to.

  In these gluing and crease forming processes, four pressing rollers 102 of the positioning roller mechanism 16 are arranged at intervals in the conveyance width direction W as shown in FIG. Since each of the springs 107 is biased toward the driving roller 101 by the individual springs 107, the envelope N is securely clamped over the entire width in the conveyance width direction W of the envelope N, and the predetermined position Can be retained.

  Therefore, even if the thickness of the contents of the envelope N changes in the conveyance width direction W as shown in FIG. 13, each pressing roller 102 is not only in the highest portion N1 but also in the conveyance width direction W. The envelope can be held securely over the entire width.

  When the gluing step and the crease forming step are finished, in FIGS. 16 and 17, the rollers 101 and 102 of the positioning roller mechanism 16 are reversed in the directions of arrows A2 and B2, and the envelope N is conveyed in the backward conveyance direction F2. To do.

  FIG. 18 shows a sealing process, in which the driving roller 51 and the pressing roller 52 of the sealing portion 13 are also reversed in the directions of the arrows A2 and B2, and the bent flap Na is inserted between the rollers 51 and 52. Thus, the flap Na is folded and stuck so as to completely overlap the envelope body side.

  The attached envelope N is discharged and stacked in the envelope receiver 3 shown in FIGS.

[Other embodiments]
(1) FIG. 19 shows a modified example of the pressing roller 52 of the sealing portion 13. For example, four pressing rollers 52 on the front side are arranged at intervals in the conveyance width direction W, and the pressing roller 52 on the rear side. Are arranged at intervals in the conveyance width direction W, and the rear pressing roller 52 is positioned between the front pressing rollers 52.

  Needless to say, the pressing rollers 52 arranged in parallel in the conveyance width direction W are configured to be urged toward the driving side by a spring in an independent state, similarly to the positioning pressing rollers in FIG.

  If comprised in this way, even if it is an envelope which enclosed the content from which thickness changes in the conveyance width direction W, flap Na can be reliably affixed on an envelope main body over the full width of the conveyance width direction W.

(2) Although the transparent resin plate is used for the weight 29 of the envelope supply unit in the above-described embodiment, an opaque resin or metal can be used. In this case, a notch or a hole is formed at a position corresponding to the envelope detection sensor so as not to hinder the function of the light transmission type envelope detection sensor.

(3) The present invention provides a roller mechanism 11, a second transport roller mechanism 12, a sealing section 13 that also functions as a third transport roller mechanism, and a fourth transport roller that also serve as a first transport roller mechanism. Among the positioning roller mechanisms 16 that also serve as a mechanism, at least one of the roller mechanisms includes a configuration in which a plurality of rolling rollers or pressing rollers are arranged in the conveyance width direction.

(4) In the above embodiment, the glue (adhesive) is applied in the glue application unit 14, but dry glue (dry adhesive) is applied in advance to the flap Na of the envelope N, and the glue application unit 14. In the above, by supplying water, moisture can be imparted to the dry glue to exhibit an adhesive function.

(5) In the above-described embodiment, the reciprocating sealing device having the forward path and the backward path is described. However, the present invention is also applicable to a sealing device having a through-type transport path having only one transport direction. It is.

2 Envelope supply unit 11 Rolling roller mechanism (first transport roller mechanism)
12 Second transport roller mechanism 13 Sealing portion (third transport roller mechanism)
14 glue application portion 15 crease forming portion 16 positioning roller mechanism (fourth transport roller mechanism)
31, 31, 51, 101 Driving roller 32 Rolling roller (an example of a pressing roller)
42, 52, 102 Pressing roller 37, 47, 107 Spring N Envelope Na Flap

Claims (4)

Envelope supply unit that supplies unsealed envelopes one by one, a glue application unit that applies glue to a predetermined portion of the supplied envelope, and a fold formation that forms a crease in the flap of the envelope to which glue has been applied In a sealing device comprising: a portion, a sealing portion that folds the flap and adheres to the envelope body side, and a plurality of transport roller mechanisms that transport the envelope,
Each of the conveying roller mechanisms includes a driving roller and a pressing roller that can approach and separate from the driving roller.
Of the plurality of transport roller mechanisms, at least one transport roller mechanism includes the plurality of pressing rollers spaced in the transport width direction orthogonal to the transport direction,
The plurality of pressing rollers are configured to be able to approach and separate from the drive roller in an independent state, and are individually urged toward the drive roller by an independent spring. The sealing device according to claim 1,
The plurality of pressing rollers arranged at intervals in the conveyance width direction are arranged on the envelope outlet side of the envelope supply unit, and are caused to friction with the envelope sandwiched between the corresponding drive rollers and the envelope supply unit A sealing device, which is a pressing roller for squeezing, supplying each envelope separately. The sealing device according to claim 1,
The plurality of pressing rollers arranged at intervals in the conveyance width direction are for positioning and holding the envelope at the predetermined conveyance direction position at the time of glue application by the glue application unit and the crease formation by the crease formation unit. Sealing device that is a pressure roller. The sealing device according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
A sealing device in which three or more of the plurality of pressing rollers arranged at intervals in the conveyance width direction are arranged in parallel.

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