JP4755452B2 - Adhesive coating apparatus, label sticking apparatus using the same, and adhesive film thickness measuring method - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a label sticking apparatus such as an apparatus for applying an adhesive to an object such as a label of a container, and an adhesive film thickness measuring method suitable for them.

  As an apparatus for attaching a label on which a trademark or information about contents is displayed to a container such as a beer bowl, an adhesive is supplied to the outer peripheral surface of the rotating roller while rotating the rotating roller around its center line, The adhesive is smoothed to a predetermined film thickness by a leveling means such as a scraper disposed opposite to the outer peripheral surface of the rotating roller, and the outer peripheral surface of the rotating roller on which the adhesive film is formed is brought into contact with the pallet. Widely used is a label sticking device that applies an adhesive onto the pallet, applies a label to the pallet, applies the adhesive to the label application surface, and applies the label with the adhesive applied to the container. ing. In this type of label applicator, since the amount of adhesive applied to the label greatly affects the adhesive quality of the label, it is essential to properly manage the amount applied. The amount of adhesive applied can be adjusted by the amount of clearance between the outer peripheral surface of the rotating roller and the leveling means, but it is necessary to grasp the film thickness of the adhesive during the adjustment. In view of this, several adhesive application devices for labeling have been proposed that include means for measuring the film thickness of the adhesive formed on the outer peripheral surface of the rotating roller.

As the above-mentioned adhesive coating apparatus, a measuring beam is irradiated in the tangential direction of the rotating roller from a light transmitter disposed on the side of the rotating roller so that a part of the measuring beam is blocked by the outer peripheral surface of the rotating roller. An apparatus has been proposed in which the measurement beam is received by a light receiver arranged on the side, and the film thickness is measured based on the received light quantity (see Patent Document 1). Laser light is irradiated toward the outer peripheral surface of the rotating roller supplied with the adhesive, and the distance when the laser light is focused on the surface of the adhesive and the laser light is focused on the outer peripheral surface of the rotating roller. A device has also been proposed in which the distance between the two is measured and the film thickness of the adhesive on the rotating roller is obtained from the difference between the distances (see Patent Document 2). In addition, a technique for detecting the amount of adhesive using an infrared moisture meter or a high-frequency type, photoelectric type, or capacitance type inspection device has been proposed (see Patent Document 3).
Japanese National Patent Publication No. 8-508229 JP-A-11-189228 JP-A-6-91212

  However, in the measurement apparatus of Patent Document 1, it is necessary to compare the light amount of the light receiver with an appropriate reference value to specify the film thickness, but there is no means for acquiring the reference value during actual measurement work. . For this reason, when the light transmitter or the rotating roller is displaced by heat, vibration, or the like, a change in the amount of light corresponding to the displacement may be superimposed on the measured value of the film thickness, resulting in a measurement error. On the other hand, in the measuring device of Patent Document 2, the measuring instrument or the rotating roller is displaced by measuring both the distance to the outer peripheral surface of the rotating roller and the distance to the surface of the adhesive at one measurement opportunity. In addition, the displacement is reflected almost equally in both measured values, and the film thickness can be measured with high accuracy by offsetting the influence of the displacement. However, the process of measuring the distance by receiving the reflected light on the surface of the adhesive film and the laser beam reaching the outer peripheral surface of the rotating roller through the adhesive film formed on the outer peripheral surface of the rotating roller. Since it is necessary to perform a process of measuring the distance by receiving the reflected light on the outer peripheral surface, the adhesive or the light source used for the measurement may be restricted. Further, it is necessary to configure the optical system so that the laser beam is focused on each of the adhesive surface and the outer peripheral surface of the rotating roller.

  Therefore, the present invention can measure the film thickness with high accuracy while suppressing the influence of the displacement of the measuring system or the rotating roller, and the film is formed in the state where the adhesive film is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the rotating roller. It is an object of the present invention to provide an adhesive application device, a label application device, and a film thickness measurement method that do not require measurement of the distance to the outer peripheral surface of the rotating roller.

The adhesive application device of the present invention is provided with a rotating roller (8) to which an adhesive (AD) is supplied to an outer peripheral surface (8a), and an outer peripheral surface of the rotating roller so as to be able to advance and retreat. Leveling means (11) for leveling the film thickness according to the gap between the outer peripheral surface and the rotating roller at a coating position (Pc) downstream of the leveling means in the rotational direction. An adhesive application device for applying an adhesive on the outer peripheral surface to the application target by bringing the outer peripheral surface into contact with the application target (7a), the rotary roller provided separately from the leveling means An adhesive removing device (12) capable of removing the adhesive from a predetermined range (8b) set on the outer peripheral surface of the non-contact type, and a non-contact type provided so that the measurement point (Pm) is located in the predetermined range distance measuring device (13), wherein the adhesive removal device out of the rotary roller A scraper (17) provided to be contacted and spaced relative to the surface, the adhesive application device and a driving device for advancing drive (16) of the scraper with respect to the outer circumferential surface of the rotating roller by (40) The above-described problems are solved.

  In the adhesive applicator of the present invention, while the rotating roller is rotated and the adhesive supplied to the outer peripheral surface is leveled by the leveling means, the adhesive is removed and the adhesive is removed. The adhesive removal device is operated so that each of the prohibited states occurs, and the distance measuring device is operated in both states, the distance to the outer peripheral surface of the rotating roller when the adhesive is removed, and the bonding By obtaining the difference from the distance to the surface of the adhesive film formed in a predetermined range when the removal of the agent is prohibited, the film thickness of the adhesive can be measured. By operating the distance measuring device while switching between the state where the adhesive is removed and the state where the removal is prohibited, the time interval between the measurements performed in each state can be shortened. For this reason, the influence which the measurement system or the displacement by the heat | fever, vibration, etc. of a rotating roller has on a measurement is suppressed, and a film thickness can be measured with high accuracy. In addition, since there is no need to measure the distance to the outer peripheral surface of the rotating roller through the adhesive film formed on the outer peripheral surface of the rotating roller, there are few restrictions on the material of the adhesive, the measuring method of the distance measuring device, etc. .

Further, since the adhesive removing device is provided separately from the leveling means, it is not necessary to operate the leveling means in order to remove the adhesive. Therefore, the measurement can be performed without affecting the film thickness adjustment state by the leveling means. Further, the removal of the adhesive and the prohibition of the removal can be switched by a simple operation of moving the scraper forward and backward with respect to the rotating roller. Therefore, it is advantageous for shortening the measurement time and improving the measurement accuracy.

  In the above embodiment, the contact length (X) of the scraper with respect to the outer peripheral surface is set shorter than the leveling range of the adhesive by the leveling means with respect to the direction of the rotation center line of the rotary roller. May be. In this case, the scraper removes the adhesive only for a part of the outer peripheral surface of the rotating roller, but the measurement as described above is performed as long as the measurement point of the distance measuring device is included in the removal range. be able to. In addition, since the scraper can be reduced in size and weight, it is possible to increase the drive speed of the scraper and improve the responsiveness, thereby enabling quicker switching between the removal of the adhesive and the prohibition of the removal. It becomes. Therefore, it is possible to shorten the measurement time and further improve the measurement accuracy. Occurrence of vibration associated with the reciprocating motion of the scraper can be suppressed, and measurement errors caused by vibration can be further suppressed. As the scraper is reduced in size and weight, the drive device can also be reduced in size, so that the space required for installing the adhesive removal device can be reduced, and the adhesive removal device can be easily arranged in the limited space around the rotating roller. it can.

  In one form of the adhesive application device of the present invention, the predetermined range in which the adhesive is removed by the adhesive removal device is the rotation with respect to the contact range between the outer peripheral surface of the rotating roller and the application target object. It may be shifted in the direction of the rotation center line of the roller. If the adhesive removal range is set in this way, the adhesive is removed from the predetermined range of the rotating roller by the adhesive removing device while leaving the adhesive film in the contact range between the rotating roller and the object to be applied. Can be removed. Therefore, while applying the adhesive from the rotating roller to the object to be applied, in parallel with this, the adhesive can be removed from the outer peripheral surface of the rotating roller by the adhesive removing device, and the film thickness can be measured. That is, the film thickness can be measured without interrupting the adhesive application process. For this reason, the film thickness can be measured without impairing the efficiency of the adhesive application process.

  In one form of the adhesive coating device of the present invention, the measurement point of the distance measuring device is upstream of the leveling means with respect to the rotation direction of the rotating roller and the position where the adhesive is removed by the adhesive removing device. It may be set on the downstream side. According to this aspect, after the adhesive is removed from the predetermined range by the adhesive removing device, the predetermined range passes through the gap between the leveling means and the outer peripheral surface of the rotating roller, and the adhesive film is re-formed. It is possible to correctly measure the distance to the outer peripheral surface of the rotating roller by performing the measurement by the distance measuring device before being performed.

  In one form of the adhesive removing device of the present invention, the state in which the adhesive is removed and the removal of the adhesive while the rotating roller rotates and the adhesive is leveled by the leveling means. The adhesive removal device is operated so that each of the prohibited states occurs, the distance to the outer peripheral surface of the rotating roller when the adhesive is removed, and the removal of the adhesive is prohibited. A measurement control device (30) may be further provided that acquires a difference from the distance to the surface of the adhesive film formed in the predetermined range from the distance measurement device as a film thickness. According to this form, the film thickness measurement according to the above-described procedure can be automated.

  The adhesive application device of the present invention can be applied to various applications. As a suitable application example thereof, a label sticking device (a) for applying an adhesive to a label (LB) as an object to be attached to an article (4) to be applied using the adhesive applying device according to the present invention ( 1). According to such an application example, it is possible to appropriately manage the amount of adhesive applied to the label using the film thickness obtained by the adhesive application device of the present invention.

In the adhesive film thickness measuring method of the present invention, the adhesive (AD) is supplied to the outer peripheral surface (8a) of the rotating roller (8), and the adhesive is leveled by the leveling means (11). During the operation, the scraper (17) of the adhesive removing device (12) provided separately from the leveling means and capable of contacting and separating from the outer peripheral surface of the rotating roller is provided with the rotating roller. The state where the adhesive is removed from the predetermined range (8b) on the outer peripheral surface of the rotating roller and the state where the removal of the adhesive is prohibited are caused by moving forward and backward with respect to the outer peripheral surface of the rotating roller, and the measurement point (Pm) By operating a non-contact type distance measuring device (13) provided so as to be located in the predetermined range in a state where the adhesive is removed and a state where the removal is prohibited, When the agent is removed The difference between the distance to the outer peripheral surface of the adhesive and the distance to the surface of the adhesive film formed in the predetermined range when the removal of the adhesive is prohibited is measured as the film thickness of the adhesive This solves the above-described problem.

  According to the film thickness measuring method of the present invention, for the reasons already described in connection with the adhesive application device of the present invention, the influence of the measurement system or displacement due to heat, vibration, etc. of the rotating roller on the measurement is suppressed. Can be measured with high accuracy. Moreover, since there is no need to measure the distance to the outer peripheral surface of the rotating roller through the adhesive film formed on the outer peripheral surface of the rotating roller, there are few restrictions on the material of the adhesive, the measurement method of the distance measuring device, etc. Furthermore, the measurement can be performed without affecting the film thickness adjustment state by the leveling means.

  In addition, in the above description, in order to make an understanding of this invention easy, the reference sign of the accompanying drawing was attached in parenthesis, but this invention is not limited to the form of illustration by it.

  As described above, according to the present invention, the adhesive removing device is provided separately from the leveling means, and the state where both the state where the adhesive is removed and the state where the removal of the adhesive is prohibited are switched. By measuring the difference in measured values obtained by operating the distance measuring device as the film thickness, the film thickness can be increased with high accuracy by suppressing the influence of the measurement system or the displacement of the rotating roller due to heat, vibration, etc. on the measurement. Can be measured. Moreover, since there is no need to measure the distance to the outer peripheral surface of the rotating roller through the adhesive film formed on the outer peripheral surface of the rotating roller, there are few restrictions on the material of the adhesive, the measurement method of the distance measuring device, etc. Furthermore, the measurement can be performed without affecting the film thickness adjustment state by the leveling means.

  FIG. 1 is a plan view of a label sticking apparatus in which an adhesive application device according to one embodiment of the present invention is incorporated. The label sticking device 1 has three label sticking portions 5A and 5B arranged around the turntable 3 while turning and conveying the plurality of bottles 4 in the direction of arrow A by the turntable 3 provided on the base 2. In each of 5C, an appropriate label, for example, a shoulder label, a torso label, and a back label are sequentially attached to the bottle 4. The label pasting portions 5A, 5B, and 5C basically have the same configuration except that the labels to be pasted are different, and these may be referred to as the label pasting portion 5 below.

  As shown in more detail in FIG. 2, each label sticking unit 5 faces the label magazine 6 that pays out one label LB to be stuck to the bottle 4 one by one, and faces the label magazine 6 in the label payout direction. A pallet table 7 arranged, a glue roller 8 as a rotating roller arranged around the pallet table 7 at a distance from the label magazine 6, and a label carrier 9 for attaching the label LB to the bottle 4 It has. The pallet table 7, the glue roller 8, and the label carrier 9 rotate at the same peripheral speed in directions indicated by arrows in the drawing. A plurality of pallets 7a are provided on the outer periphery of the pallet table 7 at appropriate intervals in the circumferential direction. FIG. 2 shows only a part of the pallets 7a. Each pallet 7 a can swing around a turning shaft 7 b parallel to the rotation center line of the pallet table 7. A film of adhesive AD is formed on the outer peripheral surface 8a of the glue roller 8, the adhesive AD is applied to the surface of the pallet 7a, and the label LB is supplied from the label magazine 6 to the pallet 7a to which the adhesive has been applied. Then, an adhesive is applied to the application surface of the label LB. The label LB coated with the adhesive is peeled off by a gripper (not shown) provided on the label carrier 9 and held by the gripper, and the label LB held by the gripper is a bottle 4 on the turntable 3 (FIG. 1). Affixed to

  Around the glue roller 8, there are an adhesive supply pipe 10 for supplying the adhesive AD to the outer peripheral surface 8a of the glue roller 8, a scraper 11 as leveling means facing the outer peripheral surface 8a, and a predetermined on the outer peripheral surface 8a. An adhesive removing device 12 that removes the adhesive from the range 8b and a non-contact type distance measuring device 13 that measures the distance to the glue roller 8 are provided. As shown in detail in FIG. 3, the scraper 11 is provided so as to be swingable about a support shaft 11 a parallel to the rotation center line of the glue roller 8, and its tip end portion 11 b is relative to the outer peripheral surface 8 a of the glue roller 8. It is possible to advance and retreat. As is clear from FIG. 2, the tip end portion 11 b of the scraper 11 extends over substantially the entire length of the outer peripheral surface 8 a in the direction of the rotation center line of the glue roller 8. That is, the leveling range of the adhesive by the scraper 11 extends over almost the entire length of the outer periphery of the glue roller 8. On the other hand, the contact range 8c between the outer peripheral surface 8a of the glue roller 8 and the pallet 7a is limited to a partial range with respect to the direction of the rotation center line of the glue roller 8.

  A coil spring 14 and a micrometer 15 are provided at the rear end portion 11 c of the scraper 11 so as to sandwich the scraper 11. The coil spring 14 pushes the rear end portion 11 c so that the rear end portion 11 c of the scraper 11 is in close contact with the micrometer 15. By operating the micrometer 15, the position of the rear end portion 11 c of the scraper 11 changes around the support shaft 11 a, and accordingly, the gap amount between the front end portion 11 b of the scraper 11 and the outer peripheral surface 8 a of the glue roller 8 is increased. Change. The adhesive AD supplied from the adhesive supply pipe 10 to the outer peripheral surface 8a of the glue roller 8 is removed by the front end portion 11b of the scraper 11, so that the front end portion 11b and the outer peripheral surface 8a of the scraper 11 are removed. It is leveled to a film thickness according to the gap amount between the two. Excess adhesive removed from the outer peripheral surface 8a of the glue roller 8 by the scraper 11 flows down below the glue roller 8 and is collected by a collecting device (not shown).

  The adhesive removing device 12 is disposed upstream of the scraper 11 with respect to the rotation direction of the glue roller 8 and downstream of the application position Pc of the adhesive AD on the label LB. The application position Pc is a position where the outer peripheral surface 8a of the glue roller 8 is in contact with the pallet 7a. The adhesive removing device 12 includes an air cylinder 16 as a driving device, a scraper 17 attached to a movable portion 16a of the air cylinder 16, and a cylinder driving circuit that switches a supply direction of a working fluid, that is, compressed air, to the air cylinder 16. 18. The scraper 17 is driven to reciprocate between a position in contact with the outer peripheral surface 8 a of the glue roller 8 and a position away from the outer peripheral surface 8 a by the air cylinder 16. The amount of clearance between the scraper 17 and the outer peripheral surface 8a when the scraper 17 is separated from the outer peripheral surface 8a is set so as not to contact the adhesive film leveled by the scraper 11 as leveling means. Further, as apparent from FIG. 2, the contact length X (see FIG. 2) of the adhesive removing device 12 with respect to the outer peripheral surface 8 a of the scraper 17 is shorter than the leveling range of the adhesive by the scraper 11. In other words, the scraper 17 is provided so as to be able to contact only the predetermined range 8b limited to a part of the outer peripheral surface 8a with respect to the direction of the rotation center line of the glue roller 8. The predetermined range 8b is set so as to be shifted below the contact range 8c between the outer peripheral surface 8a of the glue roller 8 and the pallet 7a with respect to the direction of the rotation center line of the glue roller 8. The cylinder drive circuit 18 may be appropriately configured using a pneumatic device such as an electromagnetic on-off valve, similarly to a general air cylinder drive circuit.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the distance measuring device 13 emits a laser beam toward the measurement target and receives reflected light from the measurement target, and is emitted from the sensor head 20. A control unit 21 that obtains a distance from a predetermined measurement reference position to a measurement point, that is, a reflection point of the laser light, based on the correlation between the laser light and the reflected light, and displays the measurement result.

  The sensor head 20 is such that the measurement direction thereof faces the radial direction of the glue roller 8 and the measurement point Pm is a predetermined range 8b on the outer peripheral surface 8a of the glue roller 8, in other words, the adhesive by the adhesive removing device 12. It is provided so that it may be located in the removal range. However, in the vicinity of the scraper 11, the adhesive AD removed by the scraper 11 flows down across the predetermined range 8b. The measurement point Pm is set to avoid the range where the adhesive AD flows down. The measurement point Pm is a reflection position of the laser beam. The laser light emitted from the sensor head 20 has a property of reflecting on the surface of the adhesive AD. Therefore, when the predetermined range 8b of the glue roller 8 is covered with the film of the adhesive AD, the measurement point Pm is located on the surface of the film, and when the adhesive AD is removed from the predetermined range 8b, the outer peripheral surface. The measurement point Pm is located on 8a.

  The measurement point Pm of the sensor head 20 is located upstream of the scraper 11 in the rotational direction of the glue roller 8 and downstream of the adhesive removal position (contact position of the scraper 17) by the scraper 17 of the adhesive removal device 12. is doing. Further, the sensor head 20 is provided sufficiently away from the outer peripheral surface 8a in the radial direction of the glue roller 8 so that the adhesive AD scattered from the outer peripheral surface 8a of the glue roller 8 does not adhere. As an example, the distance between the sensor head 20 and the outer peripheral surface 8a of the glue roller 8 is set to 80 mm or more. The distance measurement resolution of the distance measuring device 13 is preferably in the order of microns in order to enable precise film thickness management. As a laser type distance measuring apparatus that satisfies such conditions, for example, a product name “Smart Sensor” manufactured by OMRON Corporation, a ZS-LD80 type controller, a ZS-LDC11 type controller that can be combined with this, and the like can be used. it can.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the label sticking device 1 is further provided with a measurement control device 30 for controlling the operations of the adhesive removing device 12 and the distance measuring device 13. In the label sticking device 1 of the present embodiment, the pallet table (including the pallet 7a) 7, the glue roller 8, the scraper 11, the adhesive removing device 12, the distance measuring device 13, and the measurement control device 30 are the adhesive applying device. Included as 40 components.

  The measurement control device 30 executes a film thickness measurement process shown in FIG. 4 in order to measure the film thickness of the adhesive AD formed on the outer peripheral surface 8a of the glue roller 8. Hereinafter, the procedure of the film thickness measurement process will be described. The film thickness measurement process is executed in parallel while the adhesive is being applied from the glue roller 8 to the pallet 7a. Therefore, during the film thickness measurement process, the adhesive AD is supplied from the adhesive supply pipe 10 to the outer peripheral surface 8a of the glue roller 8, and the glue roller 8 rotates at a speed suitable for the application of the adhesive to the pallet 7a. Driven. For this reason, on the outer peripheral surface 8a of the glue roller 8, a film of the adhesive AD having a thickness corresponding to the gap amount between the outer peripheral surface 8a of the glue roller 8 and the scraper 11 is formed. Further, laser light is continuously emitted from the sensor head 20 of the distance measuring device 13 toward the glue roller 8, and the control unit 21 sequentially displays measured values of distance (film thickness).

  In the above state, when a predetermined film thickness measurement start signal is given to the measurement control device 30, the measurement control device 30 starts the process of FIG. The film thickness measurement start signal may be generated by an operation of a film thickness measurement switch (not shown) installed at an appropriate position of the label sticking apparatus 1 or may be automatically generated by the measurement control apparatus 30 itself. May be. For example, the film thickness measurement start signal may be generated at regular time intervals. Alternatively, the film thickness measurement start signal may be automatically generated using parameters such as the cumulative rotation speed of the glue roller 8.

  When the film thickness measurement process of FIG. 4 is started, the measurement control device 30 first passes through the cylinder drive circuit 18 so that the scraper 17 for removing the adhesive advances toward the outer peripheral surface 8a of the glue roller 8 in step S1. The air cylinder 16 is operated. As a result, the scraper 17 comes into contact with the outer peripheral surface 8 a of the glue roller 8, and the adhesive AD is removed from the predetermined range 8 b as the glue roller 8 rotates. That is, the outer peripheral surface 8a is exposed in the predetermined range 8b, and the outer peripheral surface 8a is covered with the adhesive AD film in other ranges.

  The adhesive roller AD is removed from the predetermined range 8 b downstream of the scraper 17 by rotating the glue roller 8 in a state where the scraper 17 is in contact with the outer peripheral surface 8 a of the glue roller 8. When such a state is obtained, the measurement control device 30 proceeds to step S2 and outputs a zero reset signal to the control unit 21 of the distance measurement device 13. Upon receiving the zero reset signal, the control unit 21 resets the distance measurement value to zero. That is, in the distance measuring device 13, the reflection position of the laser beam on the outer peripheral surface 8a from which the adhesive AD has been removed is set as the measurement reference position.

  Next, the measurement control device 30 proceeds to step S3 and operates the air cylinder 16 via the cylinder drive circuit 18 so that the scraper 17 for removing the adhesive moves backward from the outer peripheral surface 8a of the glue roller 8. As a result, the scraper 17 is separated from the outer peripheral surface 8a of the glue roller 8, and the removal of the adhesive by the scraper 17 is prohibited, and the film of the adhesive AD is formed again in the predetermined range 8b of the glue roller 8. At this time, the laser light emitted from the sensor head 20 of the distance measuring device 13 is reflected by the surface of the adhesive AD film. Therefore, the distance measurement value displayed by the control unit 21 of the distance measuring device 13 indicates the film thickness of the adhesive AD.

  The measurement control device 30 determines whether or not the film thickness is normal by acquiring the film thickness measured by the control unit 21 in step S4 and comparing the measured value of the film thickness with a predetermined reference range in subsequent step S5. . When the film thickness is not normal, the occurrence of the film thickness abnormality is notified to the operator of the label sticking apparatus 1 using an appropriate display device or the like in step S6, and then the current film thickness measurement process is finished. When the film thickness is normal, step S6 is skipped and the film thickness measurement process ends. When the abnormality of the film thickness is notified, the operator can adjust the film thickness to an appropriate value by operating the micrometer 15 while referring to the film thickness displayed on the control unit 21.

  According to the label sticking device 1 described above, the distance measurement value of the distance measuring device 13 is reset to zero in a state where the adhesive AD is removed from the predetermined range 8b on the outer peripheral surface 8a of the glue roller 8, and then the scraper 17 is used. Since the distance measurement value immediately after the removal of the adhesive AD is released and the predetermined range 8b is covered with the film of the adhesive AD is obtained as the film thickness, the distance measurement value is reset to zero and the film thickness measurement thereafter The time interval is short. Therefore, the influence of the thermal displacement, vibration, etc. of the sensor head 20 or the glue roller 8 on the distance measurement value is small, and the film thickness can be measured with high accuracy. Incidentally, the time interval between the zero reset process and the subsequent film thickness measurement can be shortened up to the time until the film is formed as the adhesive removal device 12 is retracted. Since the time required for forming the film is shorter as the rotational speed of the glue roller 8 increases, the measurement error can be more effectively suppressed when the glue roller 8 is rotating at high speed.

  Further, since the scraper 17 for removing the adhesive is provided separately from the scraper 11 for adjusting the film thickness, the distance measurement value zero reset process, that is, the measurement reference position is made to coincide with the outer peripheral surface 8 a of the glue roller 8. There is no need to operate the scraper 11 for processing. Therefore, it is possible to remove the adhesive and subsequently restore the adhesive film without affecting the adjustment of the film thickness by the scraper 11. For example, when the scraper 11 is operated for the purpose of zero reset when the film thickness is properly adjusted by the scraper 11, the film thickness when the scraper 11 is returned to the original position after that is the original film. There is a risk of deviation from the thickness. However, since the film thickness can be measured without operating the scraper 11 in the label sticking apparatus 1 of the present embodiment, there is no possibility that such inconvenience occurs.

  Furthermore, since the scraper 17 for removing the adhesive is provided so as to be in contact with only a part of the outer peripheral surface 8a with respect to the direction of the rotation center line of the glue roller 8, compared with the scraper 11 for adjusting the film thickness. The scraper 17 can be configured to be sufficiently small and lightweight. Therefore, the scraper 17 can be driven at a high speed by the small air cylinder 16, and the responsiveness to the reciprocating motion of the scraper 17 is also improved. Therefore, the removal of the adhesive AD and the subsequent restoration of the film of the adhesive AD can be performed quickly. Thereby, the time interval from zero reset to film thickness measurement can be further shortened, and measurement errors due to thermal displacement and the like can be further suppressed. The vibration associated with the reciprocating motion of the air cylinder 16 and the scraper 17 can be suppressed to a small level, and the measurement error due to the vibration can be further reduced. Further, by reducing the size of the air cylinder 16 and the scraper 17, the adhesive removing device 12 can be easily placed in a limited space between the scraper 11 and the position where the adhesive AD is applied to the label LB (see FIG. 3). Can be installed. The film thickness measurement point Pm is set downstream of the leveling position by the scraper 11 and upstream of the adhesive application position Pc with respect to the rotation direction of the glue roller 8, so that the film thickness measurement point Pm is set immediately before application to the label LB. The film thickness can be measured. Therefore, the correlation between the measured value of the film thickness and the amount of adhesive applied to the label LB is high, and the reliability of the film thickness measurement is also high.

  Furthermore, the adhesive removal range 8b by the adhesive removing device 12 is shifted in the direction of the rotation center line of the glue roller 8 with respect to the contact range 8c between the outer peripheral surface 8a of the glue roller 8 and the pallet 7a. The film thickness can be measured while the application of the adhesive AD from the glue roller 8 to the pallet 7a is continued. Therefore, it is possible to measure the film thickness without impairing the efficiency of the adhesive application process and, consequently, the efficiency of the label LB application process by the label application apparatus 1. In addition, since the film thickness can be measured while the adhesive AD is being applied, the reliability of the measured value is also increased.

  The present invention is not limited to the above form, and can be carried out in various forms. For example, the distance measurement procedure is the difference between the distance to the outer peripheral surface 8a when the adhesive AD is removed from the predetermined range 8b and the distance to the film surface when the predetermined range 8b is covered with the adhesive AD film. May be used as long as the thickness is measured as a film thickness, and the process of resetting the distance measurement value to zero is not necessarily required. Detect the distance measurement value when the adhesive is removed by the adhesive removal device and the distance measurement value when the adhesive removal is prohibited, and calculate the difference between the two measurement values to obtain the film thickness It may be. The measurement in a state where the film is formed may be performed first, and then the measurement in a state where the adhesive is removed may be performed to obtain the difference between the two measurement values as the film thickness.

  The leveling means is not limited to the scraper, and a roller arranged in parallel with the rotating roller may be used. The drive device of the adhesive removing device is not limited to an air cylinder, and may be appropriately changed as long as the scraper can be advanced and retracted with respect to the rotating roller. For example, a drive device combining a rotary drive source such as a linear actuator such as a linear motor, a rotary motor, or a rotary actuator and a conversion mechanism that converts the rotary motion into a linear motion may be used. Furthermore, the scraper is not limited to linearly reciprocating with respect to the rotating roller, but may be one that advances and retreats with respect to the rotating roller so as to draw an arcuate locus.

  In the above embodiment, the application object to which the adhesive is applied is the pallet 7a, the adhesive applied to the application object is further applied to the label LB as the application object, and the label LB is used as the article to be applied. However, the present invention is not limited to such an example. For example, a label sticking device is provided with a label holding portion on a pallet table, and an adhesive is applied to the label by bringing the label held out in the holding portion from the label magazine into contact with the glue roller. The structure to do may be sufficient. In this example, the application object is the application object itself to be applied to the article to be applied. In addition to this, the application object to be contacted with the rotating roller, the article to be adhered, and the object to be adhered to be adhered thereto may be appropriately selected.

The top view of the label sticking apparatus with which the adhesive agent coating apparatus which concerns on one form of this invention was integrated. The perspective view of the label sticking part provided in the label sticking apparatus. The top view of a label sticking part. The flowchart which shows the film thickness measurement process which a measurement control apparatus performs.

Explanation of symbols

1 Labeling device 4 Bottle (Applied article)
5A, 5B, 5C Label sticking part 6 Label magazine 7 Pallet table 7a Pallet (application object)
8 Glue roller (rotating roller)
8a Outer peripheral surface of glue roller 8b Predetermined range on outer peripheral surface 8c Contact range between glue roller and pallet 9 Label carrier 11 Scraper (equalizing means)
12 Adhesive Removing Device 13 Distance Measuring Device 16 Air Cylinder (Drive Device)
17 Scraper 20 Sensor Head 21 Control Unit 30 Measurement Control Device 40 Adhesive Application Device AD Adhesive LB Label (Applicable Object)
Pc coating position Pm Measuring point

Claims (7)

A rotating roller to which an adhesive is supplied to the outer peripheral surface, and a rotary roller provided so as to be capable of advancing and retreating with respect to the outer peripheral surface of the rotating roller. And an outer peripheral surface of the rotating roller is brought into contact with an object to be applied at an application position downstream of the leveling means in the rotation direction, and the adhesive on the outer peripheral surface is applied to the application object. In the adhesive application device to apply,
An adhesive removing device that is provided separately from the leveling means and capable of removing the adhesive from a predetermined range set on the outer peripheral surface of the rotating roller;
A non-contact distance measuring device provided so that the measurement point is located in the predetermined range;
Equipped with a,
The adhesive removing device includes a scraper provided so as to be able to contact and separate from the outer peripheral surface of the rotating roller, and a driving device that drives the scraper to advance and retreat with respect to the outer peripheral surface of the rotating roller. An adhesive application device characterized by the above. With respect to the direction of the rotation center line of the rotating roller, to claim 1 where the contact length with respect to the outer peripheral surface of the scraper is characterized in that it is shorter than the leveling range of the adhesive by the smoothing means The adhesive application device described. The predetermined range in which the adhesive is removed by the adhesive removing device is shifted in the direction of the rotation center line of the rotating roller with respect to the contact range between the outer peripheral surface of the rotating roller and the application object. The adhesive coating apparatus according to claim 1 or 2 , wherein   The measurement point of the distance measuring device is set on the upstream side of the leveling means with respect to the rotation direction of the rotating roller and on the downstream side of the adhesive removal position by the adhesive removing device. The adhesive application device according to claim 1. While the rotating roller rotates and the adhesive is leveled by the leveling means, the state where the adhesive is removed and the state where the removal of the adhesive is prohibited are generated. While operating the adhesive removing device, the distance to the outer peripheral surface of the rotating roller when the adhesive is removed, and the predetermined range when the removal of the adhesive is prohibited The adhesion according to any one of claims 1 to 4 , further comprising a measurement control device that acquires from the distance measurement device the difference between the distance to the surface of the adhesive film and the film thickness. Agent applicator. It has an adhesive application device according to any one of claims 1 to 5 , and uses the adhesive application device to apply an adhesive to a label as an object to be attached to an article to be applied. A label affixing device characterized by: While the adhesive is supplied to the outer peripheral surface of the rotating roller and the adhesive is being leveled by the leveling means, it is provided separately from the leveling means and contacts the outer peripheral surface of the rotating roller. And a scraper of the adhesive removing device provided so as to be separated from the outer peripheral surface of the rotating roller so that the adhesive is removed from a predetermined range on the outer peripheral surface of the rotating roller, and the adhesive Resulting in a state where removal is prohibited,
By operating a non-contact type distance measuring device provided so that a measurement point is located in the predetermined range in a state where the adhesive is removed and a state where the removal is prohibited, The difference between the distance to the outer peripheral surface of the rotating roller when the adhesive is removed and the distance to the surface of the adhesive film formed in the predetermined range when the removal of the adhesive is prohibited Is measured as the film thickness of the adhesive,
A method for measuring the film thickness of an adhesive.

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