JP2023043262A - Label attaching device - Google Patents

Abstract

To suppress that a member around a conveyance path gets wet by steam leaking out of an inlet or an outlet of a steam tunnel while the conveyance path is shortened.SOLUTION: A label attaching device 100 comprises a steam tunnel 30 which an attached object X attached with a label L passes through, and heats the label L by steam supplied in the steam tunnel 30 to attach it to the attached object X. The label attaching device further comprises a blower mechanism 70 for sending air from a passage port being an inlet 30a or an outlet 30b of the steam tunnel 30 into the steam tunnel 30.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

There is an application for the application of Article 30, Paragraph 2 of the Patent Law.

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a label attaching device that heats a label such as a shrink label and attaches it to an article to be attached.

As shown in Patent Document 1, this type of label attaching apparatus includes a steam tunnel through which an object covered with a label passes, and the label is heated by high-temperature steam discharged into the steam tunnel. It is known to attach to an article to be attached by heat shrinking.

In such a label attaching apparatus, the articles to be attached are conveyed by a conveying path such as an endless belt, and a sensor or the like for counting the number of articles to be attached may be provided around the conveying path.

In addition, in a configuration in which an object to be worn is transferred from one transport path to another transport path having a different transport speed, an auxiliary belt may be provided at the joint of these transport paths to prevent the object to be worn from falling over. be.

In this way, there is a limit to the installation space of the label attachment device in the apparatus in which peripheral members such as sensors and auxiliary belts are provided around the conveying path, and there are cases where it is requested to shorten the conveying path. .

However, if the conveying path is shortened, it becomes impossible to dispose the above-mentioned peripheral members away from the steam tunnel. I don't get it.

As a result, the peripheral members are wetted by the steam leaked from the steam tunnel, which causes various problems related to the peripheral members such as erroneous sensor detection and malfunction of the auxiliary belt.

In order to prevent the peripheral members from getting wet, the inventors of the present application have studied a configuration in which the steam leaking from the steam tunnel is sucked up by a fan and exhausted. , in fact, cannot solve the above-mentioned wetting problem.

JP-A-2021-4091

Therefore, the present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems at once. The main task is to suppress the

That is, the label attaching apparatus according to the present invention comprises a steam tunnel through which an object covered with a label passes, and the label is heated by steam supplied into the steam tunnel and attached to the object. The label attaching device is characterized by comprising an air blowing mechanism for blowing air into the inside of the steam tunnel from a passage port, which is an entrance or an exit of the steam tunnel.

With such a label attaching device, the air blowing mechanism sends gas into the steam tunnel from the entrance or the exit of the steam tunnel, so that the steam leaking from the entrance or the exit of the steam tunnel can be suppressed.
As a result, while the transport path is shortened, it is possible to greatly suppress the wetness of the members around the transport path due to the steam leaking from the inlet or outlet of the steam tunnel compared to the conventional case.

As an embodiment for suppressing steam leakage, for example, it is conceivable to send air to the inlet or outlet from a large fan installed near the steam tunnel. is not realistic.
Therefore, it is preferable that the blower mechanism includes a fan provided in the upper part of the steam tunnel on the passage port side.
With such a configuration, since the fan is installed above the steam tunnel, there is no need for installation space for the fan. can be sent without

It is desirable that the air blowing mechanism further includes an air guiding member that guides air from the fan to the passage port.
With such a configuration, the wind from the fan can be guided to the entrance or the exit of the steam tunnel, so that the steam leaking from the steam tunnel can be suppressed more reliably.

It is preferable that the fan blows air downward, and that the air guide member has an air guide surface that approaches the passage port from the upstream side of the air from the fan toward the downstream side.
With such a configuration, the wind from the fan can be reliably guided to the inlet or outlet of the steam tunnel without complicating the device configuration.

The wind guide member includes a blowing space into which wind from the fan is sent, a first opening formed in a wall facing the passage opening and through which the object to be attached passes, and a first opening that overlaps the passage opening and the cover. A casing having a second opening through which an attachment passes; and a flange provided on the side of the second opening. It is desirable to be
With such a configuration, since the flange portion of the casing is attached to the wall surface on which the entrance or the exit of the steam tunnel is formed, the wind from the fan does not leak from between them and the entrance or the exit of the steam tunnel is prevented. It is possible to secure the air volume leading to

It is desirable that the blower mechanism be detachable from the steam tunnel.
With such a configuration, it can be applied to an existing label mounting apparatus, and it is possible to shorten the conveying path of the label attaching apparatus and prevent the members around the conveying path from getting wet.

It is desirable that the apparatus further comprises a transport path for transporting the object to be worn, and a sensor provided on one side or both sides of the transport path for detecting the object to be worn.
With such a configuration, it is possible to prevent the sensor from getting wet while enabling the sensor to count, for example, the objects to be worn.

a first transport path for transporting the object, a second transport path receiving the object from the first transport path and having a transport speed different from that of the first transport path, and the first transport path It is desirable to further include an auxiliary belt provided on one side or both sides of the joint with the second conveying path to guide the conveying of the article to be worn.
With such a configuration, it is possible to prevent the auxiliary belt from getting wet while preventing the object to be worn from falling at the joint between the first conveying path and the second conveying path. .

According to the present invention configured in this way, it is possible to suppress the members around the conveying path from being wet by the steam leaking from the entrance or the exit of the steam tunnel while shortening the conveying path.

1 is a schematic diagram showing the overall configuration of a label attaching apparatus according to the present embodiment; FIG. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of the label attaching device of the present embodiment viewed from above. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of the preheating chamber of the embodiment; FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of the main heating chamber of the present embodiment; FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of the air blowing mechanism of the embodiment; Sectional drawing which shows the structure of the air blowing mechanism of this embodiment.

An embodiment of a label attaching apparatus according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

<Device configuration>
As shown in FIG. 1, the label attaching apparatus 100 of the present embodiment heats a shrink label L (hereinafter simply referred to as label L) covered by an object X to attach the label L to the object X. It is used to attach to X. Note that the label L of the present embodiment is, for example, a cylindrical film made of resin or the like and having heat shrinkability. Also, the object to be attached X is, for example, a container made of resin, glass, or metal.

As shown in FIG. 1, the label mounting apparatus 100 includes a conveying mechanism 10 for conveying an object X to be applied, a label covering mechanism 20 for covering the object X with a label L, and an object X covered with the label L. a steam tunnel 30 through which the

The conveying mechanism 10, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, carries in and out at least the steam tunnel 30 of the object X to be attached. , the object X covered with the label L is transported to the steam tunnel 30 .

Specifically, the transport mechanism 10 includes a transport path 11 such as an endless belt on which the object X is placed, and a drive unit 12 such as a motor for moving the transport path 11 .

The transport mechanism 10 of this embodiment has a first transport path 11a that transports the object X to be worn and a second transport path 11b that receives the object X from the first transport path 11a.

More specifically, the first conveying path 11a conveys the object X to be attached to the label covering mechanism 20, and then sends out the object X covered with the label L to the second conveying path 11b. .

On the other hand, the second transport path 11b transports the object X covered with the label L received from the first transport path 11a to the steam tunnel 30, and transports the object X with the label L attached from the steam tunnel 30. It is to be carried out.

That is, the first transport path 11a and the second transport path 11b transfer the object X to be attached from the first transport path 11a to the second transport path 11b at a predetermined position between the label covering mechanism 20 and the steam tunnel 30. are arranged as

In this configuration, the first transport path 11a is set to a transport speed that matches the time interval for the label covering mechanism 20 to successively cover the label L on the object X, and the second transport path 11b is set to the The conveying speed is set so that the time required for the object X to pass through the steam tunnel 30 is a desired passing time. Accordingly, the first transport path 11a and the second transport path 11b of the present embodiment are set to transport speeds different from each other.

As a result, there is a possibility that the object X to be mounted overturns when it is transferred from the first conveying path 11a to the second conveying path 11b having a different conveying speed.

Therefore, the transport mechanism 10 of the present embodiment is provided on one side or both sides of the joint C between the first transport path 11a and the second transport path 11b to assist in guiding the transport of the object X to be worn. An auxiliary belt 13 is further provided as a member.

In this embodiment, the auxiliary belts 13 are provided on both sides of the joint C to sandwich the object to be worn X from the outside in the radial direction, and are specifically endless belts.

As shown in FIG. 1, the label covering mechanism 20 uses a plurality of rollers 21 to feed out a label material in which a large number of labels L are arranged in a long shape, and a cutter 22 removes one label L from the label material. It cuts. Then, the cut tubular label L is passed through a tubular body 23 called a mandrel, opened, and dropped onto an object to be attached X conveyed below the mandrel 23 to cover it.

However, the label attaching apparatus 100 according to the present invention does not necessarily have to include the label covering mechanism 20. For example, an operator may manually cover the object X with the label L. FIG.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the steam tunnel 30 includes a preheating chamber 40 in which the label L is preheated so as to be slightly shrunk or easily shrunk, and a preheating chamber 40 in which the preheated label L is further heated to be covered. and a main heating chamber 50 that is brought into close contact with the object X to be attached. Although FIGS. 1 and 2 show a configuration in which one preheating chamber 40 is provided, two or more continuous preheating chambers 40 may be provided, and the preheating chambers 40 may be It does not have to be provided.

The preheating chamber 40 is a chamber in which the label L is preheated to be slightly shrunk or to be easily shrunk. As shown in FIG. and a preheating chamber heating mechanism 42 for generating high-temperature gas for heating the label L.

The first housing 41 has an inlet and an outlet for loading and unloading the object to be mounted X, and hot air is sent into the preheating space 4S from air blowing holes 41h formed in the side wall. More specifically, the inner wall surfaces of the left wall 413 and the right wall 414 of the side walls of the first housing 41 that face each other in the direction orthogonal to the transport direction are provided with punching metal, for example. As a result, a large number of blowing holes 41h are formed in the inner wall surfaces of the left wall 413 and the right wall 414, and high-temperature air is blown out from these blowing holes 41h.

The preheating chamber heating mechanism 42 heats air supplied by, for example, a pumping mechanism (not shown) to a high temperature, and specifically includes a heater 421 such as a cartridge heater with fins. More specifically, as shown in FIG. 3, a supply space 4P to which pressure-fed air is supplied is provided above the preheating space 4S in the first housing 41. A plurality of heaters 421 are arranged, for example, in a zigzag pattern (see FIG. 2).

The main heating chamber 50 is a chamber in which the label L is heated to a temperature higher than that in the preheating chamber 40 so as to be thermally shrunk and attached to the object to be attached X. As shown in FIG. 4, the inside is formed as a heating space 5S. A second housing 51 and a heating chamber heating mechanism 52 for generating high-temperature gas for further heating the label L are provided.

The second housing 51 is formed with an entrance and an exit for loading and unloading the object X, and the object X is sent into the heating space 5S through a plurality of ventilation holes 51h formed in the side wall. More specifically, each ventilation port 51h has a slit-like shape extending along the height direction of the object to be attached X. Here, the left wall 513 and the right wall 514 each have an inner wall surface extending from the lower end portion to the upper central portion thereof. is formed over

The heating chamber heating mechanism 52 heats air supplied by, for example, a pumping mechanism (not shown) to a high temperature, and specifically includes a heater 521 such as a cartridge heater with fins. More specifically, as shown in FIG. 4, a supply space 5P to which pressure-fed air is supplied is provided above the heating space 5S in the second housing 51. A plurality of heaters 521 are arranged, for example, in a zigzag pattern (see FIG. 2).

In this way, the steam tunnel 30 is composed of the preheating chamber 40 and the main heating chamber 50 as shown in FIG. 30b is the exit of the main heating chamber 50;

As shown in FIG. 1, the label attaching apparatus 100 of the present embodiment further includes a sensor 60 provided near the entrance 30a of the steam tunnel 30 to detect the attached object X. The number of objects X to be worn can be counted.

The sensor 60 has a light emitter for emitting detection light such as laser light, and a light receiver for detecting the detection light. placed on both sides.

Here, a sensor 60 for detecting the upper portion of the object to be worn X and a sensor 60 for detecting the lower portion of the object to be worn X are provided. I have made it possible for you to do so.

1, 2, and 5, the label attaching apparatus 100 of the present embodiment further includes a blowing mechanism 70 for blowing air into the steam tunnel 30 from the entrance 30a of the steam tunnel 30. ing.

The blower mechanism 70 includes a fan 71 provided on the side of the inlet 30a of the steam tunnel 30, and is configured to send air from the fan 71 to the inlet 30a of the steam tunnel 30. As shown in FIG.

More specifically, as shown in FIG. 6, the fan 71 is arranged above the inlet 30a of the steam tunnel 30 in a downward blowing posture. is provided to the inlet 30a.

The air guide member 72 is configured using a casing 73 having an air blowing space 70s into which the air from the fan 71 is sent.

As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the casing 73 covers the entrance 30a of the steam tunnel 30 and overhangs the transfer path 11, and the fan 71 is attached to the upper wall 731. is.

The casing 73 has a first opening h1 formed in a wall 732 facing the entrance and through which the object X passes, and a second opening h2 overlapping the entrance and through which the object X passes. Further, an air outlet 731h is formed through the upper wall 731 at a position facing the fan 71 in the upper wall 731 of the casing 53 .

A flange portion 74 is provided on the side of the second opening h2 of the casing 73, and the flange portion 74 is attached to the wall surface 30x where the inlet 30a of the steam tunnel 30 is formed.

More specifically, as shown in FIG. 5, the flange portion 74 extends outward from at least a top wall 731 and a pair of side walls 733 of the casing 73, and has screw holes at a plurality of locations.

As a result, the blower mechanism 70 of the present embodiment is detachably attached to the steam tunnel 30 via screws passed through the screw holes of the flange portion 74 .

Here, as shown in FIG. 6, the above-described facing wall 732 facing the inlet 30a has a wind guide surface 75 that guides the wind from the fan 71 to the inlet 30a.

More specifically, the opposing wall 732 has a hanging portion 734 extending vertically downward from the upper wall 731 and a bent portion 735 bending from the lower end of the hanging portion 734 toward the steam tunnel 30 side. The surface forming the air blowing space of the bent portion 735 is the air guiding surface 75 described above.

The air guide surface 75 has a shape that approaches the inlet 30a from the upstream side to the downstream side of the air from the fan 71, in other words, from the top to the bottom. It is an inclined surface that approaches the entrance 30a as it goes to the side.

In the above-described configuration, as shown in FIG. 5, the bent portion 735 of the present embodiment is arranged so as to face peripheral members arranged around the transport path 11, such as the auxiliary belt 13 and the sensor 60 described above. there is That is, the surface of the bent portion 735 opposite to the wind guide surface 75 faces at least a portion of one or more peripheral members.

<Effect>
According to the label attaching apparatus 100 configured in this way, the air blowing mechanism 70 sends the gas into the steam tunnel 30 from the inlet 30a of the steam tunnel 30, so that the steam leaking from the inlet 30a of the steam tunnel 30 can be suppressed. can.
As a result, while shortening the conveying path 11, it is possible to greatly suppress the members around the conveying path 11 from being wetted by the steam leaking from the inlet 30a of the steam tunnel 30 compared to the conventional art. It is possible to prevent erroneous detection of 60 and malfunction of the auxiliary belt 13 .

Further, since the fan 71 constituting the air blowing mechanism 70 is provided in the upper part of the steam tunnel 30 on the side of the passage port, the installation space for the fan 71 is not required. The wind can be sent to the entrance 30a of the steam tunnel 30 without difficulty.

Furthermore, since the blower mechanism 70 includes the air guide member 72 that guides the air from the fan 71 to the inlet 30a, the steam leaking from the steam tunnel 30 can be suppressed more reliably.

In addition, the fan 71 is attached in a downward blowing posture, and the air from the fan 71 is directed toward the inlet 30a by the air guide surface 75, so that the air from the fan 71 can be directed without complicating the device configuration. can be reliably guided to the inlet 30 a of the steam tunnel 30 .

In addition, since the flange portion 74 of the casing 73 is attached to the wall surface 30x on which the inlet 30a of the steam tunnel 30 is formed, the wind from the fan 71 does not leak from between them and is guided to the inlet 30a of the steam tunnel 30. Air volume can be secured.

In addition, since the blowing mechanism 70 is detachable from the steam tunnel 30, it can be applied to the existing label mounting apparatus, shortening the conveying path 11 of the label mounting apparatus and reducing the number of members around the conveying path 11. Wetness can be prevented.

<Other embodiments>
It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments.

For example, the air blowing mechanism 70 may be one that blows air into the steam tunnel 30 from at least one of the inlet 30 a or the outlet 30 b of the steam tunnel 30 .

That is, the blowing mechanism 70 sends air into the steam tunnel 30 from the inlet 30a of the steam tunnel 30 in the above-described embodiment, but blows air into the steam tunnel 30 from the outlet 30b of the steam tunnel 30. It can be anything.

The label attaching apparatus 100 also includes a first air blowing mechanism 70 for blowing air into the steam tunnel 30 from the inlet 30a of the steam tunnel 30, and an air blowing mechanism 70 for blowing air into the steam tunnel 30 from the outlet 30b of the steam tunnel 30. A second air blowing mechanism 70 for sending in may also be provided.

Further, the blower mechanism 70 may be a large fan installed near the steam tunnel 30 .

Further, the wind guide surface 75 may be a curved surface that curves toward the inlet 30a from the upstream side of the wind from the fan 71 toward the downstream side.

Although the sensor 60 uses detection light in the above embodiment, it is not limited to this and various types of sensors may be used.

Although the auxiliary belts 13 are arranged on both sides of the transport path 11 in the above embodiment, they may be arranged on only one side of the transport path 11 .

In addition, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and it goes without saying that various modifications are possible without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 100 Label mounting device X Object L Label 10 Conveying mechanism 11 Conveying path 11a First conveying path 11b Second conveying path 13 Auxiliary belt 30 Steam tunnel 30a Entrance 30b Exit 60 Sensor 70 Blower mechanism 71 Fan 72 Wind guide member 73 Casing 74・Flange portion 75 ・・・ Wind guidance surface

Claims (8)

A label attaching apparatus comprising a steam tunnel through which an object covered with a label passes, heating the label by steam supplied into the steam tunnel and attaching the label to the object,
A label attaching apparatus comprising an air blowing mechanism for blowing air into the steam tunnel from a passage port, which is an entrance or an exit of the steam tunnel. 2. The label attaching apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said blower mechanism comprises a fan provided in an upper portion of said steam tunnel on a passage side thereof. 3. The label mounting apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said air blowing mechanism further comprises an air guiding member for guiding air from said fan to said passage port. The fan blows air downward,
4. The label attaching device according to claim 3, wherein the air guide member has an air guide surface that approaches the passage port as the wind from the fan goes from the upstream side toward the downstream side. The air guide member is
a blowing space into which the wind from the fan is sent; a first opening formed in an opposing wall facing the passage opening through which the object to be attached passes; a casing having two openings;
A flange portion provided on the second opening side,
5. A label attaching apparatus according to claim 4, wherein said flange portion is attached to a wall surface of said steam tunnel formed with said passage opening. 6. The label attachment device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the blower mechanism is detachable from the steam tunnel. a transport path for transporting the object to be worn;
7. The label attaching apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6, further comprising a sensor provided on one side or both sides of said conveying path for detecting said attached object. a first transport path for transporting the object to be worn;
a second transport path that receives the object to be attached from the first transport path and has a transport speed different from that of the first transport path;
8. The apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 7, further comprising an auxiliary belt provided on one side or both sides of a joint between the first conveying path and the second conveying path for guiding the conveying of the article to be worn. A label applicator according to any one of the preceding claims.

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