JP3437077B2 - Label supply device - Google Patents

Description

Description: BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method of forming a label by sequentially cutting a label forming base material to which a label attached to a container or the like is continuously connected, and forming the label. The present invention relates to a label supply device for sequentially supplying a label to a predetermined delivery position. 2. Description of the Related Art A label is formed by sequentially cutting a label forming base material in which labels to be mounted on a container or the like are continuously connected, and the label is formed and supplied to an apparatus for mounting the container in the next step. FIG. 5 shows an example of a label supply device that sequentially conveys a label to a predetermined delivery position. As shown in FIG. 1, a label supply device 50 includes a substrate supply means (not shown) for continuously feeding a long label-forming substrate M, and a label-forming substrate supplied by the substrate supply means. A substrate cutting means 51 including a rotary blade 51a and a fixed blade 51b for sequentially forming an independent label L by sequentially cutting the material M, and a label L formed by being cut by the substrate cutting means 51 To
And a label transporting means 52 for sequentially transporting to the delivery position below the base material cutting means 51. [0004] The label transport means 52 is shown in FIGS.
As shown in FIG. 5, a pair of transport rollers 53 that are disposed immediately below the base material cutting means 51 and sandwich the cut label L and send out the label L, and transfer the label L sent by the transport roller 53 to the delivery position And a supply nozzle 55 for blowing air downward from the upper end of the guide 54 to assist the movement of the label L falling along the guide 54 to the delivery position. Further, a stopper 56 for positioning the label L conveyed by the label conveying means 52 is provided at the delivery position. Therefore, in the label supply device 50, the label L sent out while being accelerated downward by the transport roller 53 is delivered along the guide 54 while being accelerated by the air blown out from the air supply nozzle 55. It falls to the position and comes into contact with the stopper 56 provided at the delivery position to be positioned at the delivery position. However, the above-described label supply device 50 transports the label L sent downward by the transport roller 53 to the delivery position by dropping the label L along the guide 54. 6B, the falling posture of the label L falling along the guide 54 is not always regulated to a constant state. If the falling posture collapses for some reason, one point is shown in FIG. As shown by the chain line, there is a problem that the label L is caught by the guide during the drop and is not conveyed to the delivery position.
In particular, in recent years, since the thickness of the label L attached to the container tends to be extremely thin, the label L does not have a rigidity, and the label L is easily caught by the guide 54 during the drop. It is. Further, when the label L comes into contact with a stopper 56 provided at the delivery position as the thickness of the label L becomes thinner, as shown in FIG. Is bent, so that a constant delivery posture cannot be maintained at all times, and there is a problem that the label L cannot be mounted in a constant state in the subsequent step of mounting the label L. Further, when the height (cut length) of the label L changes, the supplied label forming substrate M
In order to adjust the cutting position, it is necessary to change the installation position of the base material cutting means 51, and there is a problem that it takes time to change the setup. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In view of the above-mentioned problems, it is an object of the present invention to provide a label which can be reliably supplied to a delivery position at a constant delivery posture without being affected by factors such as the thickness of the label. To provide a supply device. [0010] In order to solve the above problems, the present invention forms a label while sequentially cutting a long label-forming base material, and sequentially places the label at a predetermined delivery position. In the label supply device for supplying, the substrate supply means for supplying the long label-forming substrate, the substrate cutting means for sequentially cutting the supplied label-forming substrate, and the label-cutting material cut by the substrate cutting means. Label transport means for sequentially transporting the label formed by the label transfer means to the delivery position, wherein the label transport means circulates between the cutting position of the label forming base material and the delivery position, in parallel. a conveyor belt arranged two, the cutting position of the label formation base material and the label is sucked and held on the conveyor belt between said delivery position, its along the conveyor belt of the two
And a suction means having suction boxes arranged respectively , wherein a label delivery device is opened between the two conveyor belts so that a label delivery device can pass therethrough. Things. In the label supply apparatus configured as described above, the label formed by cutting the label-forming base material by the base material cutting means is kept in a state where the label is always sucked and held by the transport belt in a constant posture. It is transported to the delivery position. Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows a label mounting system 1 for mounting a cylindrical shrink label (hereinafter, label) L on a PET bottle (hereinafter, bottle) B.
The label mounting system 1 includes a bottle supply device 2 including a belt conveyor 2a, a screw conveyor 2b, and a star wheel 2c, and a long label forming base fed from a base roll by a base feeding part 3a. A label supply device 3 that sequentially forms the labels L while sequentially cutting the material M and sequentially supplies the labels L to the first label transfer position α, and is supplied to the first label transfer position α by the label supply device 3. A label transfer device 4 that receives the label L and transports it to a second label transfer position β, and receives the bottle B supplied by the bottle supply device 2 and transports the bottle B to a label mounting position γ. Received at the second label transfer position β and mounted on the bottle B at the label mounting position γ Star wheel 6a, screw conveyor 6b, and belt for transporting bottle B with label L mounted thereon to label mounting device 5 and a heating device (not shown) for thermally shrinking label L mounted on bottle B And a bottle conveying device 6 comprising a conveyor 6c. The label forming substrate M is a bottle B
Are continuously connected to each other, and are wound around a drum in a state of being folded into a sheet at the base material feeding portion 3a. Also, the base material feeding section 3
The sheet-shaped label-forming base material M fed out from a is folded at the time of rising once in the middle of the supply so as to reduce the folding habit so that the label L can be easily opened again when the label L is mounted on the bottle B. The position is changed (see FIG. 1). As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the label supply device 3 feeds a long label-forming base material M fed from the base material feeding section 3a continuously at a predetermined speed. Means 10, a substrate cutting means 20 for sequentially cutting the label forming substrate M sent out at a constant speed by the substrate supply means 10 to a predetermined length, and a label forming substrate M formed by being cut by the substrate cutting means 20. Label L
Transport means 30 for sequentially transporting the label to the label transfer position α
It is composed of As shown in FIG. 2, the substrate supply means 10 includes a driving roller 11 driven by a servomotor.
And a driven roller 12 for sandwiching a label-formed base material M folded in a sheet shape between the drive roller 11 and the driven roller 11. The label-formed base material M sandwiched between the two rollers 11, 12 is a drive roller. Due to the rotation of 11, the base material is sent out at a constant speed to the base material cutting position on the lower side where the base material cutting means 20 is provided. The substrate cutting means 20 comprises a fixed blade 21 fixedly installed at the substrate cutting position and a rotary blade 22 driven by a servomotor. Each time the rotary blade 22 makes one rotation, A predetermined label L is sequentially formed by sequentially cutting the label forming base material M continuously fed at a constant speed by the base material supply means 10. The label transport means 30 is wound around guide rollers 32 provided near the substrate cutting position and at a first label transfer position α, and a pulley 34 rotated by the drive of a servo motor (not shown). A certain tension is applied by the tension roller 35, and the drive of the servomotor causes the vicinity of the base material cutting position to be in the first position.
Two conveyor belts 31 circulating between the label transfer position α and the label transfer base material M at a speed higher than the supply speed of the label forming base material M.
And a suction mechanism 36 for sucking and holding the label L on the transport belt 31, and a suction of the label L onto the transport belt 31 by the suction mechanism 36 by sequentially adhering the label L to the transport belt 31 from the lower end to the upper end thereof. And a suction assisting means 38 for assisting the holding operation. As shown in FIG. 3, the transport belts 31 are arranged in parallel at a smaller interval than the width of the label L to be transported. Many suction holes 31a are formed at regular intervals along the direction. The suction mechanism 36, as shown in FIG.
A suction box 37 disposed between the guide rollers 32 along the respective conveyor belts 31 and a suction device (not shown) such as a compressor connected to a connection port 37b formed in the suction box 37 via a tube (not shown) or the like. A suction port 37a is opened at a contact surface of each suction box 37 with the conveyor belt 31 (see FIG. 3). As shown in FIG. 2, the suction assisting means 38 interposes each of the transport belts 31 across the transport line for the label L.
And a pair of two pressing rollers 39, two guide rollers 42a and 42b, and a pulley 44 rotated by the drive of a servo motor (not shown).
And a tension applying mechanism 46 for applying tension to the belt 45. The belt 45 is driven by the servomotor.
Is set to circulate at the same speed as the moving speed of the conveyor belt 31. The pressing roller 39 applies the label L via the belt 45 to the transport belt 3 in order to bring the label L sent from the substrate cutting position into close contact with the transport belt 31.
And is screwed to a ball screw 40 supported rotatably at a fixed position along the conveyor belt 31 near the base material cutting position.
Is attached to a nut member 41 which moves up and down with the rotation of. Therefore, by operating the handle 40 a attached to the ball screw 40 and rotating the ball screw 40, the pressing roller 39 can be moved up and down to be set at a predetermined position. As shown in FIG. 2, the setting position of the pressing roller 39 is such that when the base material cutting means 20 cuts the label forming base material M, the lower end of the label L formed by the cutting is cut. Is set so as to be sandwiched between the transport belt 31 and the upper pressing roller 39 via the belt 45. Therefore, the length (height)
When a different label L is attached to the bottle B, the setting position of the pressing roller 39 is changed by operating the handle 40a, and the lower end of the label L is positioned higher when the label forming base material M is cut as described above. Is adjusted so as to be sandwiched between the pressing roller 39 and the transport belt 31. When the pressing roller 39 is raised to the position shown by the one-dot chain line in FIG. 2, it interferes with the guide roller 42a. Therefore, the guide roller 42a is shown by the one-dot chain line in FIG. It is designed to retreat to a position. The tension applying mechanism 46 includes a motor 4
7 and a tension roller 4 attached to the tip of the rotation arm 48.
As described above, when the pressing roller 39 rises, the belt 45 is slackened. Therefore, as shown by a dashed line in FIG. When the arm 48 rotates downward and the tension roller 49 presses the belt 45, a predetermined tension is constantly applied to the belt 45. The rotary blade 22, the conveyor belt 31,
The movements of the belt 45 and the label transfer device 4 are synchronized with each other, and as shown in FIG. 2, when the base material cutting means 20 cuts the label forming base material M, the previously formed label L The label transfer device 4 at the first label transfer position α
Is to be passed on. The label supply device 3 configured as described above
The long sheet-shaped label forming base material M fed from the base material feeding section 3a is continuously supplied to the base material cutting position at a predetermined speed by the base material supply means 10, and the base material cutting means 20
Are sequentially cut to form a predetermined label L. The label L thus formed is sequentially pressed by the suction belt 38 by the suction assisting means 38 from the lower end to the upper end thereof, so that the label L is always sucked and held by the conveyance belt 31 in a constant posture. The label is reliably conveyed to the first label transfer position α by the transfer belt 31, and is always transferred to the label transfer device 4 in the first label transfer position α in a constant posture. As described above, this label supply device 3
Since the formed label L is transported to the first label transfer position α while being suction-held by the transport belt, the label L is affected by factors such as the thickness of the label as in the conventional label supply device. The label can always be reliably supplied to the first label delivery position α in a constant delivery posture, and the entire label mounting system 1 can be operated smoothly and reliably. Further, as shown in FIG. 4A, from the state where the short label L is formed and supplied to the first label transfer position α, the long label L is formed and the first label transfer position α
When the setup is changed to the state of supplying the label forming substrate M, the supply speed of the label forming substrate M by the substrate supplying unit 10 is increased, and as shown in FIG.
As described above, it is only necessary to lower the setting position of the pressing roller 39 in accordance with the length (height) of the label L and delay the cutting timing by the rotary blade 22 of the base material cutting means 20. Therefore, as shown in FIG.
There is no need to perform a troublesome operation such as moving the installation position of the base material cutting means 20, that is, the base material cutting position upward, and it is possible to minimize the time loss and labor involved in the setup change. Further, unlike the conventional label supply apparatus which transports the label L by dropping the label, the label supply apparatus 3 forcibly transports the label L while holding the label L on the transport belt 31 by suction. So the label L
Can be set freely. As described above, the label supply device according to the present invention comprises a label transporting means for sequentially transporting labels formed by being cut by the substrate cutting means to the delivery position, the label forming means comprising: Since the transport belt circulates and moves between the cutting position of the base material and the delivery position, and the suction unit that sucks and holds the label on the transport belt between the cutting position of the label forming base material and the delivery position, it is always configured. The label is forcibly conveyed to the delivery position in a state where the label is suction-held by the conveyance belt in a constant conveyance posture. Therefore, the label can be reliably transported to the delivery position, and the label can be delivered to the next process while always maintaining a constant delivery posture.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view showing a label mounting system incorporating a label supply device according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a schematic side view showing the label supply device according to the first embodiment. FIG. 3 is a front view showing the transport belt according to the first embodiment; FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram for explaining a setup change of the label supply device. FIG. 5 is a schematic view showing a conventional example. FIG. 6 is a schematic view showing a guide portion of the above. [Description of Signs] 1 Label mounting system 2 Bottle supply device 3 Label supply device 4 Label delivery device 5 Label mounting device 6 Bottle transport device 10 Substrate supply means 20 Substrate cutting means 30 Label transport means 31 Transport belt 36 Suction mechanism 38 Suction assisting means L Label M Label forming base material α First label transfer position β Second label transfer position γ Label mounting position

Claims (1)

(57) [Claim 1] In a label supply apparatus for forming a label while sequentially cutting a long label-forming base material and sequentially supplying the label to a predetermined delivery position, Substrate supply means for supplying the label-forming substrate, substrate cutting means for sequentially cutting the supplied label-forming substrate, and delivery of the label formed by cutting by the substrate cutting means Label transport means for sequentially transporting to a position, the label transport means circulating between the cutting position of the label forming base material and the delivery position, two transport belts arranged in parallel, The label is moved along the two transport belts, and the label is sucked and held by the transport belt between the cutting position of the label forming base material and the delivery position.
And a suction unit having a suction box arranged and arranged , wherein a label delivery device is opened between the two conveyor belts so that the label delivery device can pass therethrough.