JP4575671B2 - Label feeding method and label sticking apparatus - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a label feeding method and a label sticking apparatus, and more specifically, when intermittently feeding a label base material on which a label is temporarily attached to a strip-shaped release sheet at regular intervals, The present invention relates to a label feeding method capable of maintaining a stop position with high accuracy, and a label sticking apparatus capable of sticking a label to an adherend with high accuracy using the feeding method.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there has been known a label sticking apparatus that can automatically stick and peel off labels one by one on an adherend transported on a transport device such as a belt conveyor. This label sticking device is provided with a feeding means for feeding out a label base material in which a label is temporarily attached to one surface of a strip-like release sheet wound in a roll shape, and the labels are sequentially peeled off in the course of feeding out the label base material. Then, a peeling means composed of a peel plate or the like to be adhered to the adherend, a driving means composed of a servo motor or the like that applies intermittent feed output at a predetermined pitch to the label base material, and one pitch of the label are detected. There is known a device provided with a detecting means. In order to detect one pitch, control is performed by detecting from the leading end of the temporarily attached label to the leading end of the next label, or from the trailing end of the label to the trailing end of the next label.

  According to such a label sticking apparatus, it is possible to control the feeding of the label while adjusting the timing with the adherend transported through the transport apparatus, and automatically sticks the label to the adherend. It becomes possible.

However, as shown in FIG. 2B, the label sticking device is controlled based on the relative position with respect to the adherend when it sequentially detects the adherend to be conveyed (see point a). When the means drives the servo motor to feed out the label substrate and the front end of the label is detected, the control means instructs the servo motor to stop when the detection means detects the front end of the next label (see point b). In general, a configuration is adopted in which the vehicle stops at a position advanced by the deceleration time T1. In the case of detecting the trailing edge of a label, the label is set to be fed out by one pitch by detecting from the trailing edge of the label to the trailing edge of the next label. In short, control is generally performed to allow for one pitch in anticipation of the deceleration time T1.
However, in such an apparatus, while it is ideal that the feeding is stopped at the deceleration time T1, it is indicated by the hatched area in FIG. 2B due to the scan time (clock frequency) St unique to the control means. The label stop position tends to vary along the time axis T in the area to be printed, and the label stop position cannot be controlled with high accuracy. As a result, the label sticking position is greatly displaced. Invite you. The scan time is the time required for the control means to issue an operation command (output) to a specific device in response to an input from a specific sensor or the like. As the program of the control means becomes longer, the scan time also becomes longer, so that the interval of input information capture timing becomes longer. Even if there is an input from a sensor or the like during execution of the program, the control means can process only in the next scan, and a time lag occurs there. If the time lag is constant, it can be set in anticipation of the time lag, but since it is unknown where the timing signal is input during program execution, the output timing to a specific device varies.

  In Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H10-228707, when printing on a label is completed, the label is fed out at a high speed, and when the trailing end of the fed out label is detected, the motor is driven at a low speed. A label feeding device is disclosed that stops the motor when the front end of the label is detected. According to this, there are two modes in which the label feeding speed is relatively high and low, and it is possible to maintain the label stop position with higher accuracy than the feeding speed consisting of a single mode.

JP-A-6-127772

  However, in the label feeding device described in Patent Document 1, as shown in FIG. 2C, the feeding speed is set to the low speed mode on condition that the rear end side of the label is detected (see point c). Therefore, when the label-to-label pitch along the label feeding direction is very small and the label feeding speed is very fast (for example, a feeding speed of 100 m to 300 m per minute), the feeding measure can be slowed down. The front end of the next label is detected before the time (see point d), and a sufficient deceleration time cannot be obtained. Therefore, the stop position cannot be controlled with high accuracy by the above-described scan time (clock frequency) St. 2 (C) The stop position varies greatly in the middle hatched area. As a result, there is an inconvenience that the label sticking accuracy is lowered and it is difficult to apply to a label sticking apparatus that requires high-speed processing using a label base material with a small inter-label pitch.

[Object of invention]
The present invention has been devised by paying attention to such inconveniences, and an object of the present invention is to provide a label feeding method having versatility capable of keeping the label stop position with high accuracy. .
Another object of the present invention is to maintain a label stop position with high accuracy and accurately label a predetermined adherend even when high-speed feeding is performed using a label base material having a small pitch between labels. It is providing the label sticking apparatus which can be stuck.

To achieve the above object, the present invention includes a feeding means for feeding the one surface of the release sheet of the strip label is temporarily stuck label substrate, intermittent one by one label for the label substrate Drive means for applying a feed output, a detection means for detecting a front end side along the feed direction of the label, and a control means for controlling the drive means with a scan time based on the output of the detection means. In the label feeding method,
The control means arbitrarily sets and stores a label feeding amount with a length shorter than the total length of the label,
When the control means detects that the adherend has reached a predetermined label attaching position, the control means causes the drive means to feed out at a first feed speed that is the same as the transport speed of the adherend. On the other hand, when the label feeding amount having a length set in advance by the first feeding speed is detected, the feeding is performed at the second feeding speed that is lower than the first feeding speed. Control the driving means,
When the detection means detects the front end side of the label positioned next to the label, the label base material is stopped within a distance determined by the control means multiplying the second feeding speed by the scan time. The driving means is stopped.

In the method, it is preferable to apply a feeding resistance when the label base material is fed and to apply a certain tension to the fed label base material .
Furthermore, the label feeding amount in the control means may be set as a percentage with respect to the total length of the label.

Furthermore, the label feeding amount of the preset length is the length between the front end of the label and the front position along the feeding direction from the rear end of the label, and the label feeding amount is the first amount while that will be detected by the timing signal from the time of driving the drive means at a feeding speed,
While the label base material is being fed, the speed is switched from the first feeding speed to the second feeding speed on condition that the detection means outputs an ON signal for detecting the label, and the detection means does not detect the label. A method may be adopted in which the control means stops the driving means when the signal is inverted to the ON signal .

Further, the present invention provides a feeding means for feeding out a label base material on which a label is temporarily attached to one surface of a strip-like release sheet, and the labels are sequentially peeled during the feeding of the label base material and conveyed at a predetermined timing. that a stripping means for attaching to an adherend, and drive means for imparting an intermittent feeding force one by one label for the label substrate, detecting means for detecting a front end side along the feeding direction of the label And a label sticking device comprising a control means for predetermined control of the drive means with a scan time based on the output of the detection means,
The control means has a built-in memory which can arbitrarily set and store a label feeding amount with a length shorter than the total length of the label, and a predetermined sticking position of the adherend and a front end side position of the label. In the detected state, the label is attached to the adherend by controlling the driving means so that the label base material is fed out at a first feeding speed that is the same as the conveyance speed of the adherend. The driving means is controlled to feed at a second feeding speed that is lower than the first feeding speed when the label feeding amount of a preset length is detected by one feeding speed. Attach the rear end of the label to the adherend,
When the detection means detects the front end side of the label next to the label, the control means stops the label substrate within a distance determined by multiplying the second feeding speed by the scan time. The drive means is stopped.

In the apparatus, the feeding means may apply a feeding resistance when the label base material is fed and apply a certain tension to the fed label base material.
Furthermore, it is preferable that the control means is provided so that the label feeding amount can be set as a percentage of the total length of the label .

Further, the label feed amount of the preset length is the length between the front end of the label and the front position along the feed direction from the rear end of the label, and the label feed amount is the first while that will be detected by the timing signal from the time of driving the drive means at a feeding speed,
The control means switches the speed from the first feeding speed to the second feeding speed on condition that the detection means outputs an ON signal for detecting the label during the feeding of the label base material, and the detecting means can be taken when inverted to the oN signal from the OFF signal is not detected a label, a drive means Ru is stopped, the configuration of.

According to the label feeding method of the present invention, when it is detected that the adherend has reached a predetermined label sticking position, the feed is performed at the same speed as the adherend, and the set feed amount is fed. This is a step-by-step feed stop control in which the feed is switched to a low speed feed after that and then the feed is stopped. That is, the control unit controls the driving unit so that the set feeding amount can be fed in a length shorter than the length of the label in the state of feeding at the same speed as the adherend which is the first feeding speed. It will be. Then, when it is detected that the feeding of the set feeding amount is completed, the driving means is controlled via the control means so as to reach the second feeding speed, and the label base material is further fed at a low speed. Further, the control means stops the driving means on condition that the detection means detects the front end of the next label. Thus, prior to the stop of the feeding of the label base material, it is possible to reliably secure the deceleration time T1 by performing the low-speed feeding from the front position with respect to the rear end of the preceding label, and after complete deceleration. Since the feeding is stopped, the variation in the stop position of the label base material due to the scan time can be avoided or minimized.
Therefore, when the method is applied to a label sticking apparatus, the relative pitch with the transport speed of the adherend is set in advance even if the inter-label pitch is small and high-speed feeding is performed. It becomes possible to maintain the label sticking position with respect to the adherend with high accuracy.
It should be noted that the configuration in which the label detection by the detection means is set at the front end makes it possible to detect the position with high accuracy while simplifying the detection structure. As the label detection means, various sensors such as a light transmission type, a reflection type, and a contact type can be used.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 shows a schematic plan view according to an embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a label sticking apparatus. In this figure, the label sticking apparatus 10 is supported by the frame F and feeds the label base material K on which the label L is temporarily attached to one surface of the strip-like release sheet S at equal intervals. Means 11, peeling means 12 for sequentially peeling and sticking the label L to the adherend W in the course of feeding the label base material K, and drive means for applying intermittent feed force to the label base material K at a predetermined pitch 13 and the detecting means 14 for detecting the position of the label L, and the peeling sheet S after being peeled off by the peeling means 12 are not shown in the drawing. A winding roller 16 that is rotationally driven by a motor in synchronization with the driving unit 13 and a control unit 17 that performs predetermined control of the driving unit 13 and the like by using the output of the detection unit 14 and the like as input. .
The adherend W is transported to a transport device 18 such as a belt conveyor, and the label L is attached to the outer peripheral surface portion thereof. Here, the transport device 18 detects a fact that the adherend W has been transported to a position immediately before label sticking at a position near the tip of the peeling means 12 and outputs a signal to the control means 17. 19 is arranged. Although not particularly limited, in the present embodiment, the label substrate K is provided so that it can be intermittently paid out in accordance with the state in which the adherend W is conveyed at a speed of 100 m to 300 m per minute. It has been.

  The frame F has a plate-like shape that is substantially trapezoidal, and is supported by passing a support shaft 21 (not shown) on the column frame side through a block 20 fixed to the upper end of the frame F in the figure. Yes.

  The feeding means 11 is constituted by a reel 23 rotatably provided on a support arm 22 projecting obliquely upward from the upper part of the frame F, and makes the reel 23 support a roll-shaped label base material K. Thus, the label substrate K can be fed out. Although not shown here, the reel 23 provides a feeding resistance when the label base material K is fed out, whereby a constant tension is applied to the fed label base material K. The

  The label base material K fed from the feeding means 11 is supplied to the peeling means 12 through the guide rollers 24 and 25. The peeling means 12 is constituted by a peel plate 27 fixed to a plate-like support member 26 fixed to the lower part of the frame F and projecting outward from the lower part. The peel plate 27 is provided with a tapered tip, and the label L on the release sheet S can be peeled sequentially by abruptly reversing the feeding direction of the label base material K at the tip position. Yes.

  The detection means 14 is disposed between the upper and lower guide rollers 24 and 25. In the present embodiment, the detection means 14 is constituted by a light transmission type label sensor including a light emitting element and a light receiving element. The detecting means 14 is attached so that the vertical position can be adjusted along a slot hole F1 formed in the plane of the frame F and extending in the vertical direction.

  The driving means 13 includes a driving roller 31 disposed in the vicinity of the guide roller 30 in the plane of the frame F, a pinch roller 32 that sandwiches the release sheet S between the outer peripheral surface of the driving roller 31, A driven pulley 34 that is fixed on the same axis as the rotary shaft 33 of the drive roller 31 and is located on the back side of the frame F, a servo motor M provided to the drive roller 31, and an output shaft 37 of the servo motor M. And a timing belt 40 wound around the main driving pulley 38 and the driven pulley 34.

  The pinch roller 32 is supported by an arm 42 that is rotatably supported in a cantilever posture on the back side of the frame F. The arm 42 is normally attached to the outer peripheral surface of the drive roller 31 via a coil spring 43. It is urged to be pressed. Further, on the free end side (left end side in FIG. 1) of the arm 42, an operation shaft 45 that protrudes from the surface of the frame F to the near side in the direction perpendicular to the paper surface is disposed through the slot hole 46. By grasping 45 and pulling it upward, a gap can be formed between the pinch roller 32 and the drive roller 31, whereby the release sheet S can be routed.

  The control means 17 is constituted by a sequencer or the like. The control means 17 inputs the output of the label sensor that constitutes the detection means 14 and controls the servo motor M as a predetermined, and also feeds the label base material K using the output of the work sensor 19 of the adherend W as an input. The timing is adjusted. The control means 17 has a built-in memory with a total length along the feeding direction of the label L and a label feeding amount for feeding at the first feeding speed as a length shorter than the total length of the label L from the front end of the label L. The length can be set arbitrarily and stored. In the present embodiment, the set length (label feed amount) is set to about 80% of the total length of the label L. In addition, when the control unit 17 sets, for example, 100 m / min as the first feeding speed, 20 m / min, which is 20 percent, is set as the second feeding speed, and the servo is used at these speeds. The motor M is configured to be controlled.

  Next, the operation in the above embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 2 (A) and FIGS.

  As an initial operation, the label base material K is pulled out from the reel 23, passed through guide rollers 24 and 25, and wound around the tip of the peel plate 27. After the label base material K is sandwiched between the drive roller 31 and the pinch roller 32, the lead The end is fixed to the winding roller 16. At this time, the front end side of the most advanced label L is set at the tip of the peel plate 27 so as to protrude a predetermined length in a range of 3 mm to 5 mm, for example, and the label sensor 14 sets the front end of the label L. The position of the detection means 14 is adjusted so as to detect and enter the ON signal output state (see FIG. 3). The first feeding speed is set to 100 m / min, which is the same as the conveying speed of the adherend W, and the second feeding speed is set to 20 m / min, and the control means 17 is set from the front end position of the label L to the rear end. As a label feed amount up to a front position along the feed direction, a length of 80% of the total length of the label L is set at the same time.

  In the above-described state, when the work sensor 19 detects the adherend W transported at the transport speed of 100 m / min via the transport device 18, the control means 17 outputs a drive signal to the servo motor M. Then, the servo motor M is rotated at a high speed at the first feeding speed (v = 100 m / min), and the label L is adhered to the surface of the adherend W while being peeled from the peel plate 27 (see FIG. 4). When the control means 17 detects that the set feed amount from the front end of the label L has reached 80% when the control means 17 counts the pulse signal from the driving start time at the first feeding speed, The control means 17 switches the speed so that the servo motor M rotates at a low speed at the second feed speed (v = 20 m / min). Due to the second feeding speed, the feeding speed of the label base material K becomes a relatively slow speed with respect to the transport speed of the adherend W. Therefore, when the rear end region of the label L is not completely attached to the adherend W, the label base material K on the upstream side in the feeding direction from the front end of the peel plate 27 receives a forced pulling force. Thus, the release sheet S on the downstream side from the tip of the peel plate 27 is slightly slackened (see FIG. 5).

Before and after the label L is completely attached to the adherend W, the label sensor is inverted to an OFF signal, but at this time, the second feeding speed is still maintained and the feeding is continued. Continuing, slight slack generated in the release sheet S is absorbed (see FIG. 6).
When the label sensor 14 detects the front end of the next label L (see FIG. 7), that is, when the label signal is inverted from the OFF signal to the ON signal, the control means 17 outputs a drive stop signal to the servo motor M. Will be. At this time, as described above, the label L positioned at the forefront is maintained in a state where the length specified in the range of 3 mm to 5 mm protrudes from the tip of the peel plate 27, and the next adherend W Will stop and wait until it detects that has reached the predetermined sticking position.

  Note that the looseness of the release sheet S described above hardly causes a problem when the total length of the label L is short, but when the overall length of the label L is relatively long and the amount of looseness becomes large, the high-speed feeding setting is performed. This can be dealt with by increasing the length or temporarily increasing the number of rotations of the servo motor M to absorb it.

  Therefore, according to such an embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2A, when the label L is fed by 80% by the first feeding speed (see point e), the first feeding speed is reduced. Since the servo motor M is stopped at the time when the front end of the next label is detected (see point f) after being decelerated to the second feeding speed (0.2v) that becomes 20%, the ideal stop position T1 On the other hand, it is clear that the variation in the stop position due to the scan time St described above (the hatched portion in FIG. 2A) is minimized as compared with the conventional type shown in the shaded portion in FIG. Let's go.

Although the best configuration, method and the like for carrying out the present invention have been disclosed in the above description, the present invention is not limited to this.
That is, the invention has been illustrated and described primarily with respect to particular embodiments, but the embodiments described above are within the scope of the technical idea and purpose of the invention. On the other hand, those skilled in the art can make various changes in other detailed configurations such as shape, position, and component configuration.
Therefore, the description limited to the shape, position, etc. disclosed above is an example for easy understanding of the present invention, and does not limit the present invention. The description by the name of the member which remove | excluded the limitation of one part or all of such is included in this invention.

  For example, in the above-described embodiment, the case where the label feeding method is applied to a label sticking apparatus has been illustrated and described, but the present invention can also be applied to a feeding structure or the like when printing on the surface of the label L. In short, the present invention can be applied to a general apparatus that needs to accurately perform the stop position of the label when intermittently feeding the label.

  Further, the first and second feeding speeds and the label feeding amount at the time of switching from the first feeding speed to the second feeding speed do not limit the present invention and can be arbitrarily variably set. Is possible. Further, the detection position of the label is not limited to the front end of the label, but a mark is attached slightly inside the front end, and the label is fed out at the first feeding speed on condition that this mark is detected. Also good. Moreover, in the said embodiment, although the delivery speed | rate which can deliver the label base material K intermittently corresponding to the state in which the to-be-adhered body W is conveyed at the speed of 100-300 m / min was shown, this invention is high-speed. Of course, the present invention is not limited to feeding, and can be applied to a low-speed feeding label sticking apparatus. Specifically, even if the feeding speed is about several meters per minute, the label feeding can be performed using the first feeding speed and the second feeding speed. However, as described above, the present invention can be said to have a great practical advantage in high-speed feeding.

  INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The present invention can be used as a feeding device for a device that attaches a label to an outer surface of a container or the like that is transported on a transport device as an adherend.

The schematic front view of the sticking apparatus which concerns on this embodiment. (A) is a time chart of feeding speed control in this embodiment, (B) is a time chart in conventional speed control, and (C) is a time chart of speed control of the label feeding device described in Patent Document 1. Explanatory drawing which shows the initial setting state of a label sticking apparatus. Explanatory drawing which shows a state when label feeding speed is switched to low speed. Explanatory drawing which shows the loose state of the peeling sheet by a 2nd feeding speed. Explanatory drawing which shows the state in which the said slack was absorbed. Explanatory drawing which shows the state which has detected the front end of the next label and is awaiting sticking to a to-be-adhered body.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Label sticking device 11 Feeding means 12 Peeling means 13 Drive means 14 Detection means 17 Control means 18 Conveying device 19 Work sensor 27 Peel plate K Label base material L Label S Release sheet

Claims (8)

And feeding means for feeding the one surface of the release sheet of the strip label is temporarily stuck label substrate, and a driving means for applying intermittent feeding force for the label substrate on one per label, the label In a label feeding method comprising: a detecting means for detecting a front end side along the feeding direction; and a control means for predetermined control of the driving means with a scan time based on an output of the detecting means.
The control means arbitrarily sets and stores a label feeding amount with a length shorter than the total length of the label,
When the control means detects that the adherend has reached a predetermined label attaching position, the control means causes the drive means to feed out at a first feed speed that is the same as the transport speed of the adherend. On the other hand, when the label feeding amount having a length set in advance by the first feeding speed is detected, the feeding is performed at the second feeding speed that is lower than the first feeding speed. Control the driving means,
When the detection means detects the front end side of the label positioned next to the label, the label base material is stopped within a distance determined by the control means multiplying the second feeding speed by the scan time. The label feeding method is characterized in that the driving means is stopped. 2. The label feeding method according to claim 1, wherein a feeding resistance is applied when the label base material is fed, and a constant tension is applied to the fed label base material. 3. The label feeding method according to claim 1, wherein the label feeding amount in the control means is set as a percentage with respect to the total length of the label. The label feed amount of the preset length is the length between the front end of the label and the front position along the feed direction from the rear end of the label, and the label feed amount is the first feed speed. While being detected by the timing signal from when the driving means is driven by
While the label base material is being fed, the speed is switched from the first feeding speed to the second feeding speed on condition that the detection means outputs an ON signal for detecting the label, and the detection means does not detect the label. 4. The label feeding method according to claim 1, wherein the control means stops the driving means when the signal is inverted to the ON signal. A feeding means for feeding out a label base material with a label temporarily attached to one surface of a strip-like release sheet, and a label is peeled off in the course of feeding out the label base material, and then attached to an adherend to be conveyed at a predetermined timing. a peeling means for wearing, drive means for imparting an intermittent feeding force one by one label for the label substrate, a detecting means for detecting a front end side along the feeding direction of the label, the detection means In a label sticking apparatus provided with a control means for predetermined control of the drive means with a scan time based on the output,
The control means has a built-in memory which can arbitrarily set and store a label feeding amount with a length shorter than the total length of the label, and a predetermined sticking position of the adherend and a front end side position of the label. In the detected state, the label is attached to the adherend by controlling the driving means so that the label base material is fed out at a first feeding speed that is the same as the conveyance speed of the adherend. The driving means is controlled to feed at a second feeding speed that is lower than the first feeding speed when the label feeding amount of a preset length is detected by one feeding speed. Attach the rear end of the label to the adherend,
When the detection means detects the front end side of the label next to the label, the control means stops the label substrate within a distance determined by multiplying the second feeding speed by the scan time. A label sticking device, characterized in that the driving means is stopped. 6. The label feeding apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the feeding means imparts a feeding resistance when the label base material is fed and applies a constant tension to the fed label base material. The label sticking apparatus according to claim 5 or 6, wherein the control means is provided so that the label feeding amount can be set as a percentage with respect to the total length of the label. The label feed amount of the preset length is the length between the front end of the label and the front position along the feed direction from the rear end of the label, and the label feed amount is the first feed speed. While being detected by the timing signal from when the driving means is driven by
The control means switches the speed from the first feeding speed to the second feeding speed on condition that the detection means outputs an ON signal for detecting the label during the feeding of the label base material, and the detecting means 8. The label sticking apparatus according to claim 5, 6 or 7, wherein when the signal is inverted from an OFF signal not detecting a label to the ON signal, the driving means is stopped.

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