JP4696833B2 - Labeling device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a label affixing device for affixing a printed label to a product packaged with a stretch film. More specifically, the applicator adsorbing unit adsorbs and holds a printed label issued from a label issuing unit. The present invention relates to a label affixing device that affixes a label by pressing the suction part against a product by movement.

  The label sticking device generally uses a label roll in which a label paper with a label attached to a long strip of paper so that it can be peeled at regular intervals is wound into a roll. The label roll is peeled off from the mount and issued from the label issuing unit. The printed label to be printed is supported by a label receiving surface (standby portion) in which abacus ball-shaped contacts are arranged, and the printed label waiting on the label receiving surface is sucked and held by the suction portion of the applicator. There is known a label sticking device for sticking a label that is sucked and held on a product by moving an applicator and pressing the suction part against the product (for example, see Patent Document 1).

However, when the length of the printed label (the length in the issuing direction) is long (for example, about 150 mm) in such a labeling device, the diameter of the label roll around which the label paper is wound becomes smaller with use. When a curl is attached to the label, the label issued from the label issuing unit to the label receiving surface may be warped.
Then, when the applicator moves to the printed label that has been warped on the label receiving surface and the suction part starts the label suction operation, the standby printed label surface of the applicator There is a case where the label adsorbing portion is not uniformly contacted, and as a result, the printed label may not be adsorbed correctly by the applicator.

  An example of the problem will be described with reference to FIG. 7. For example, for a printed label on which a warp waiting on the label receiving surface 33 is generated, the applicator moves and the label suction operation by the suction portion starts. Then, the lower part of the label holding part 31 ′ of the applicator 31 that moves as shown in FIG. 7A contacts the adhesive surface (back surface) at the tip of the label L ′ that warps upward. When the applicator 31 moves to a predetermined position on the label receiving surface 33 in the contacted state, the label to which the adhesive surface is adhered is dragged toward the label issuing unit 32 side by the horizontal movement, and the label receiving surface 33 is moved. As shown in FIG. 7B, the label L ′ issued and waiting is bent into a substantially U shape, and is held by suction with the adhesive surface on the back surface of the label L ′ facing upward. As shown in FIG. 7C, the printed label L ′ attracted and held with the adhesive surface facing upward moves the applicator 31 above the product W ′ and descends to display the printed label L on the product W ′. Even if 'is pressed, it cannot be attached to the product because the adhesive surface is facing up. That is, it becomes a sticking failure.

Japanese Patent No. 3589121

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems of the conventional technology. When the length of the printed label is long, the diameter of the label roll is reduced, the printed label is curled, and the label It is an object of the present invention to provide a label applying apparatus that can adsorb and hold a printed label in a normal state and can apply a label correctly even when warping occurs.

The technical means taken by the present invention in order to solve the above-mentioned problem is that a label roll in which a label sheet on which a label is releasably attached at a predetermined interval on a long strip-like base sheet is wound in a roll shape is applied to a label roll set unit. Set, pull out the label paper from the label roll set part, perform predetermined printing, discharge the printed label from the label issuing part to the standby part, and the applicator sucks the printed label waiting in the standby part, In a label sticking apparatus for sticking a label sucked and held by the operation of the applicator to a product, the printed label discharged on one side or both sides of the label width direction orthogonal to the discharge direction immediately above the standby part the label pressing piece covering the discharge direction and parallel edges provided, wherein one side of the label presser piece, abutting the insertion direction rear side of the label roll for the label roll set unit Characterized in that it is arranged on the line of position (Claim 1).
When the label pressing pieces are arranged on both sides in the label width direction, the label pressing pieces on both sides may be either an independent type or an integrated type in which the label pressing pieces on both sides are connected.
Further, the label sticking device of the present invention may be either a label sticking device with a built-in printing means or a label sticking device without a built-in printing means. Therefore, a printed label issued to the standby unit is printed with the built-in printing means. It is not limited to those issued and includes labels that have been printed in advance with a predetermined print attached to the mount and peeled off from the label roll wound in a roll.

According to the above means, the label presser that covers the edge parallel to the discharge direction of the discharged printed label on one side or both sides of the label width direction orthogonal to the label discharge direction (issue direction) in the standby unit. Since the strip is provided, the warping of the printed label discharged to the standby portion is pressed by the label pressing piece, and the warping of the printed label is reduced. Thereby, the label suction operation by the movement of the applicator is correctly performed.
In addition, the operation of setting the label roll in the label roll setting portion can be set (reference alignment) by abutting on the back side in the insertion direction, and the label pressing piece is arranged in the label discharge direction on the extension line of the abutment. Therefore, even when label rolls with different label widths (widths in the direction orthogonal to the discharge direction) are set, the side edges in the width direction of the printed labels that are discharged always pass under the label pressing pieces. . Therefore, it is not necessary to change the position of the label pressing piece according to the change of the label roll having a different label width.

  And the said label sticking apparatus is set as the structure provided with the control means to move the applicator which adsorbed and hold | maintained the label substantially horizontally in the said waiting | standby part (Claim 2).

  According to the above means, the applicator holding the printed label by suction moves horizontally in the same direction as the discharge direction of the printed label, so that the label pressing piece does not get in the way when the applicator moves. Allows efficient movement of data.

Furthermore, the label presser piece, the rear of the distal end side facing the label is discharged to the standby unit may be provided with a guide portion cambered upwardly away from the waiting area surface (claim 3).
According to the above means, since the rear part of the label pressing piece is warped upward, the leading end of the printed label discharged to the standby part smoothly enters the lower side of the label pressing piece.

Further, the standby unit, along the length of the label presser piece, the rotating roller member is more effective when configured in parallel arranged in the width direction of the label (claim 4).
According to the above means, since the roller member of the standby portion rotates in the label discharge direction, the contact resistance between the label and the standby portion is small, and the horizontal movement of the applicator is performed smoothly.

Further, the movement of the applicator and the position of the label pressing piece in the standby portion are, for example, the applicator moves substantially horizontally toward the standby portion where the label is issued, and descends at a predetermined position to move the label. adsorbed, the label presser piece, it may be located in at least hold the tip position of the issued label to the standby unit (claim 5).

  According to the above means, since the leading end of the discharged printed label is pressed by the label pressing piece, the leading end of the label does not warp upward, and the applicator holds and holds the label for that purpose. Therefore, it does not come into contact with the leading end of the label while moving on the standby part. Therefore, the label is correctly sucked and held by the sucking portion of the applicator.

Also, the label presser piece may be movable variable along the arrangement position in accordance with the length of the label to be issued to the standby unit in the discharging direction (claim 6).
According to the above means, since the label pressing piece is movable along the discharging direction of the label, according to the length of the label to be discharged, by adjusting the movement to the position for pressing the leading end of the label, It is possible to reliably prevent the leading end side of the label from warping regardless of the label length.

According to the label sticking device of the present invention, since one or both of the edge portions parallel to the discharge direction of the label discharged onto the standby portion are covered with the label pressing piece according to the configuration described in claim 1, the warp of the discharged label Is held down. Accordingly, the label waiting in the standby section does not warp upward, and is correctly attracted and held by the applicator, so that it is possible to reliably prevent label sticking to the product. Further, even when the label roll is changed to a different label width, the side edge in the width direction of the discharged label is always located under the label pressing piece. Therefore, even when switching to a label roll having a different label width, the operation of changing the position of the label pressing piece in the label width direction is unnecessary and very efficient.
According to the second aspect of the present invention, the label pressing piece for suppressing the warping of the label does not obstruct the movement of the applicator, and the applicator can be moved efficiently.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the label discharged to the standby portion is smoothly entered between the standby portion and the label pressing piece, and the warping of the label is reliably suppressed.
Further, the configuration of claim 4, the roller member of the standby unit to rotate in the discharging direction of the label, the contact resistance is small label and a standby unit, the horizontal movement of the applicator can be smoothly.
Further, according to the configuration of claim 5, the leading end of the label waiting in the standby portion does not warp upward, and for this reason, the applicator moves on the standby portion to attract and hold the label. There is no contact with the leading edge of the label. Therefore, the label can be correctly sucked and held by the suction portion of the applicator.
Furthermore, according to the structure of claim 6 , the label pressing piece is moved and adjusted to a position for pressing the leading end of the label according to the length of the discharged label, so that the leading end of the label can be controlled regardless of the label length. It is possible to reliably prevent the side from warping up.

Hereinafter, an example of implementation of the label sticking device according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 shows an outline of a label sticking apparatus assembled to a stretch wrapping apparatus, in which A is a stretch wrapping machine and B is a label sticking apparatus.
The stretch wrapping apparatus A is used by being installed in a back yard or the like of a supermarket or a retail store, and wraps articles (packaged items) such as products such as fresh food with a stretch film, and has a well-known structure today.

In the stretch wrapping apparatus A, a product placing portion 2 for placing the product W is placed in front of the machine frame 1, and the product W placed on the product placing portion 2 is provided inside the machine frame by the pusher conveyor 3. It is conveyed to the elevator 4. In addition, the case where the goods W are conveyed in the state accommodated in the tray which is a container is illustrated, and the goods mounting part 2 is comprised as a measuring pan of a measurement part.
A packaging part 5 is provided above the elevator 4, and the packaging part 5 has a rear folding plate 7 above the film feed mechanism 6, and an end of the film covering the top surface of the product W is folded to the bottom side of the product. A left and right folding plate 8, a discharge pusher 9 for discharging a packaged product located above the left and right folding plate 8, and a front folding roller 10 are disposed at a forward position in the moving direction of the discharge pusher 9.

  In addition, a heater 11 and a product reservoir 12 are disposed in front of the front folding roller 10, and a label attaching device B is formed on the sides of the heater 11 and the product reservoir 12. An applicator (label sticking mechanism) B2 is arranged on the label issuing unit B1 above the heater unit 11 and on the side of the label issuing unit B1.

In the stretch wrapping apparatus A, the product W placed on the product placement unit 2 is conveyed onto the elevator 4 by the pusher conveyor 3, and the product W is stretched on the packaging unit 5 by the elevator 4 rising. The end of the film that is pushed up from below and covers the top surface of the product W is folded to the bottom side of the product by the rear folding plate 7 and the left and right folding plates 8.
Next, the product W is pushed horizontally toward the heater unit 11 by the discharge pusher 9, and the front end of the film is folded to the bottom surface of the product W by the front folding roller 10, and the film end folded to the bottom side is folded. The overlapping part is heat-sealed by the heater part, and the packaged product W is obtained. A predetermined label is pasted on the upper surface of the product W pushed to the heater unit 11 by the label pasting device B, and the product is discharged to the product reservoir 12 by the discharge pusher 9.

Next, the label sticking apparatus B will be described.
As described above, the label sticking device B includes the label issuing unit (label printer) B1, and the applicator (label sticking mechanism) B2 for sticking the printed label L issued from the label issuing unit B1 to the product W. It is comprised by.

As shown in FIG. 1, the label issuing unit (label printer) B1 has two issuing units, that is, a first issuing unit 13 and a second issuing unit 14 arranged side by side, and these two issuing units are guides. The mechanism 15 is installed so as to be movable along the product discharge direction.
The first issuing unit 13 is a label printer that is arranged on the back side and prints and issues a price label, and the second issuing unit 14 is a label issuer that is arranged on the front side and issues a security label.

  The first issuing unit 13 and the second issuing unit 14 include a print head 26 that prints data (information), and a label roll set that accommodates a label roll 25 in which a label is attached to a mount so that the label can be peeled off. Section 24, a winding section for winding the mount, a dispenser 27 for peeling the printed label from the mount, and standby sections (label receiving surfaces) 15 and 16 for holding the printed label substantially horizontally. Is. Therefore, description of the details of the first issuing unit 13 and the second issuing unit 14 will be omitted, and the standby units (label receiving surfaces) 15 and 16 related to the present invention will be described below. Since the standby unit 15 of the first issuing unit 13 and the standby unit 16 of the second issuing unit 14 have the same structure, the standby unit 15 of the first issuing unit 13 will be described and the standby unit 16 of the second issuing unit 13 will be described. Description of is omitted.

  The standby unit 15 is configured by rotatably attaching a abacus ball-shaped roller member 15a to a support shaft 15b arranged to be orthogonal to a frame 15c arranged in parallel in the same direction as the label discharging direction. The roller members 15a are arranged at intervals in the width direction so as to stick and hold both side portions and the vicinity of the center portion in the width direction (width in the direction orthogonal to the discharge direction) of the adhesive surface on the back side of the discharged label. The receiving surface width is configured to be changeable so as to cope with replacement of label rolls having different label widths. As a mechanism for changing the receiving surface width, the support shaft 15b of the roller member 15a arranged at intervals in the width direction is separated into right and left, and at least one roller member 15a is moved toward and away from the other roller member 15a. Configure as possible.

  The standby unit 15 having the above-described configuration includes the printed label L discharged immediately above the standby unit 15 and on one side (the back side in the drawing) in the label width direction orthogonal to the label discharge direction. A label pressing piece 17 is attached to cover the edge portion La on the inner side in the width direction parallel to the discharge direction.

The label pressing piece 17 is formed of a strip-shaped metal flat plate, and the length thereof is substantially the same as the length of the standby portion 15 in the label discharge direction, and is formed in one half (outer half) of the width direction of the strip. A mounting portion 17a that supports the frame 15c of the standby portion 15 is formed, and the other half portion (inner half portion) in the width direction has a predetermined distance S (for example, less than 1 mm) from the top surface of the roller member 15a. The edge pressing portion 17b that opposes and presses the warp of the printed label L to be discharged is formed. The distance S between the top surface of the roller member 15a and the label pressing piece 17 can be changed by moving the block of the roller member 15a up and down, and the position can be changed by a screw.
The edge holding portion 17b has a guide portion 23 in which the inner corner portion of the rear portion facing the front end side of the label L discharged to the standby portion 15 is curved upward away from the surface of the standby portion 15. Is formed. Thus, the printed label L discharged onto the standby unit 15 is smoothly inserted and guided to the lower side of the label pressing piece 17.

  The method of attaching the label pressing piece 17 to the frame 15c of the standby unit 15 is, for example, as shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, in which a screw hole 20 for screwing a set pin 18 and a fixing screw 19 into the frame 15c has a frame. Are formed at predetermined intervals in the length direction, and a hole 21 that fits into the set pin 18 and a fixing screw 19 that is screwed into the screw hole 20 pass through the mounting portion 17a of the other label pressing piece 17. A plurality of holes 22 (two in the illustrated example) are formed at predetermined intervals. Thereby, the label pressing piece 17 is configured so that the attachment position in the longitudinal direction of the standby portion 15 can be varied.

  Further, the label pressing piece 17 is positioned on the one end of the printed label L regardless of the width of the label so that the label pressing piece 17 is positioned at the abutting position X on the inner side of the label roll 25 in the insertion direction of the label roll 25. It is arranged on the line. Thereby, even when changing to a label roll having a different label width, by setting the label roll 25 to abut against the abutting position on the back side in the insertion direction, the edge on the back side in the width direction of the label fed out from the label roll Is positioned within the width of the edge pressing portion 17b of the label pressing piece 17, and the warping of the label is reliably pressed.

The printed label L that is discharged onto the standby unit 15 and is waiting is sucked and moved to the application position, and the applicator (label application mechanism) B2 that is applied to the product W is printed on the standby unit 15 (or 16). A label holding unit 28 that sucks the used label L and a drive mechanism 29 that moves the holding unit 28 are configured.
The label holding unit 28 includes a suction unit that sucks and holds a label, and a suction box unit that is disposed above the suction unit and generates a label suction force in the suction unit.
The drive mechanism 29 moves the label holding unit 28 in a direction perpendicular to the carry-out direction of the product W, specifically, the width direction on the heater unit 11 of the stretch wrapping apparatus A, and the label holding unit 28. A driving mechanism for moving the label holding unit in a vertical direction; and a driving mechanism for rotating the label holding unit in a horizontal plane.
The label holding unit 28 and the driving mechanism 29 are configured to be controlled by a control unit 30 configured by a computer.
The detailed configuration of the applicator (label sticking mechanism) B2 described above is described in, for example, Japanese Patent No. 3589121, and thus detailed description thereof is omitted.

Next, an operation of attaching the printed label L discharged to the standby unit 15 and waiting to the product by the applicator (label application mechanism) B2 will be described with reference to FIG.
(1) The applicator B2 moves from the reference position (predetermined by setting) to the origin position set in the upper part of the standby unit 15 by horizontal movement (see FIG. 5A).
(2) It descends from the origin position on the standby unit 15 toward the standby unit 15 and presses the label holding unit 28 against the surface of the printed label L to attract the label L (see FIG. 5B).
(3) After the label holding part 28 sucks and holds the label L, the applicator (label sticking mechanism) B2 moves substantially horizontally and moves to the reference position (label sticking position), and is discharged onto the heat part 11. It is located almost immediately above the product W (the position of the phantom line in FIG. 5B). still. The horizontal movement of the applicator moves substantially horizontally while slightly rising in the vertical direction as shown in the figure. This is because when the label is sucked by the label holding portion of the applicator, the label holding portion is pressed against the label to be sucked, so that it is moved horizontally while being pulled upward to release the pressing force. When the label is moved horizontally without releasing the pressing force, especially when the label is a long label that protrudes at least in the front-rear direction from the label suction surface of the label holding portion 28 with respect to the traveling direction of the applicator. When the applicator B2 moves in the horizontal direction and is pressed downward until it exceeds the tip of the standby unit 15, the applicator tries to press downward while adsorbing the protruding label. As a result, the tip of the standby portion 15 and the end of the label protruding rearward from the label suction surface are struck upward and the label is subjected to a force that separates the front side of the label from the label suction surface. As a result, there is a possibility that the label is separated and dropped from the label adsorption surface.
(4) After reaching the reference position, it descends vertically downward and presses the label holding part 28 against the upper surface of the product W, and a printed label L is attached to the label holding part 28 with the adhesive surface facing down. The lowering operation of the applicator (label sticking mechanism) B2 is started after it is detected that the product W has been discharged to a predetermined position on the heat unit 11. As the detection method, for example, it may be detected by a sensor arranged on the side of the heat unit 11 or after a predetermined time after driving the discharge pusher 9 for discharging the product from the packaging unit 5 to the heat unit 11. .

  FIG. 6 shows another modified example of the label pressing piece. The label pressing pieces 30 are arranged on both sides of the standby portion 15 in the width direction so as to press both side edges of the printed label L discharged to the standby portion 15 in the width direction. This is an example of arrangement. In this case, the label pressing pieces 30 on both sides are not limited to the one connected by the connecting pieces 31 as shown in the figure, and the left and right label pressing pieces 30 may be separated and independent. In addition, there is a possibility that the type of pressing both sides of the label may cause the label to be caught slightly more than the type of pressing the one side edge of the label.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and can be changed without changing the gist of the present invention.
For example, although the illustrated label issuing unit B1 is disposed sideways with respect to the stretch wrapping apparatus A, it is disposed in parallel so that the label is discharged (issued) in the same direction as the product discharge direction in the stretch wrapping apparatus A. The applicator may move horizontally to receive the label.
In the embodiment, two label issuing units are installed as the label issuing unit. However, the label issuing unit may be a single issuing unit.

The top view which shows the state which incorporated the label sticking apparatus which concerns on this invention in the packaging apparatus. The enlarged plan view which shows the standby part in a label issuing part. The expanded sectional view which follows the (3)-(3) line | wire of FIG. The enlarged side view of FIG. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing the operation of the applicator, where (a) shows horizontal movement from the reference position onto the standby section, and (b) shows the applicator descending, sucking the label, and moving to the reference position after suction. The figure which shows the state to do. The top view which shows the other modification of a label pressing piece. Explanatory drawing which shows the label sticking operation | movement by the conventional label sticking apparatus.

Explanation of symbols

A ... Stretch packaging device B ... Label sticking device
B1 ... Label issuing unit B2 ... Applicator 15,16 ... Standby unit 17,30 ... Label presser piece
21 ... Guide

Claims (6)

Set a label roll, which is a roll of label paper with labels attached to a long strip of paper so that it can be peeled at regular intervals, in the label roll set section, and pull out the label paper from the label roll set section to print Labeling is performed by discharging the printed label from the label issuing unit to the standby unit, the printed label waiting at the standby unit being sucked by the applicator, and the label being sucked and held by the operation of the applicator being stuck to the product In the device
A label pressing piece that covers an edge parallel to the discharge direction of the discharged printed label is provided on one side or both sides of the label width direction orthogonal to the discharge direction immediately above the standby portion, and the one side portion The label pressing piece is arranged on the line of the abutting position on the back side in the insertion direction of the label roll with respect to the label roll set portion .   The label affixing device according to claim 1, further comprising: a control unit that moves the applicator that holds the label by suction substantially horizontally in the standby unit. The label presser piece, the rear of the distal end side facing the label is discharged to the standby unit, according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that it has a guide portion cambered upwardly away from the waiting area surface Labeling device. The standby unit, the roller member which rotates in the longitudinal direction of the label presser piece, labeling machine according to claim 1, characterized in that it is constituted by the parallel arrangement in the width direction of the label. The applicator moves substantially horizontally toward the standby unit where the label is issued, and adsorbs the label by descending at a predetermined position,
The label sticking device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the label pressing piece is disposed at a position for pressing at least a tip portion of a label issued to the standby unit . The label presser piece labeller according to claim 1, characterized in that a freely variable positions in accordance with the length of the label to be issued to the standby unit.

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