JP4848171B2 - Labeling device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a label affixing device that affixes a label attached with a so-called RFID tag having an IC chip for storing various information to an article.

In recent years, RFID (Radio Frequency IDentification) tags comprising an IC chip for storing various information and a communication antenna connected to the IC chip are attached to labels attached to various articles, and the RFID tag is attached to the RFID chip. A technique for using wireless and non-contact automatic identification is widely used.
FIG. 16 shows a label L to which an RFID tag T is attached. The label L includes a display layer U and an adhesive layer B. The RFID tag T is attached to the back surface of the display layer U, and a strip-like mount D It is temporarily attached to.
The RFID tag T is composed of an IC chip Ta and a communication antenna Tb, and is protected by a film layer P covering the whole.
As such a label sticking device for sticking the label L with the RFID tag T attached to an article, for example, one previously proposed by the applicant of the present application is known (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2005-104521). Published). This is because the label L is transported in a temporarily attached state on the mount D, and the label L peeled off from the mount D is sucked by a suction plate at a predetermined suction position, and the label L sucked by the suction plate is placed at a predetermined sticking position. It is affixed to an article.

JP-A-2005-104521

  By the way, in the label L stuck by such a conventional label sticking apparatus, although it changes also with frequencies, especially in the RFID tag T of UHF band, the material and contents of the article which sticks the label L inhibit electromagnetic waves. If the product contains a liquid such as metal or water, the electromagnetic wave is absorbed by the product due to the influence of the liquid such as metal or water of the product, or the electromagnetic wave is disturbed by irregular reflection, so that the information on the IC chip Ta There is a problem that reading / writing may not be possible with a reader / writer.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems. A part of a label provided with an RFID tag is protruded and attached to an article in a mountain shape, and the RFID tag is separated from the article. It is an object of the present invention to provide a label sticking device that can reduce the influence from an article to which a tag is attached, and thus can ensure stable reading and writing of data.

  Therefore, the label sticking device of the present invention is a label sticking device for sticking a label, to which an RFID tag comprising an IC chip and a communication antenna is attached, to an article, including the tag attaching portion to which the RFID tag of the label is attached. A part of the label is folded in a chevron shape from the back side to the front side to form a bent portion having one side surface and the other side surface formed with the top portion as a boundary, and the bent portion is A folding sticking means for sticking the formed label to the article, the bending sticking means comprising a suction plate for holding a surface side of the label, the suction plate being adjacent to a part of the label; One side body that adsorbs the side part, another side body that is provided so as to be movable close to the one side body and adsorbs the other side part adjacent to a part of the label, and the one side body and the other side body One of the labels provided between An intermediate body that adsorbs the label, and the intermediate body has a flat surface that adsorbs the label by continuously adsorbing the adsorbing surface of the one side body, the adsorbing surface of the intermediate body, and the adsorbing surface of the other side body. The one side body and the other side body are movable to two positions: a position and a retracted position where the center is bent and retracted along with the close movement to the one side body of the other side body and sucks a part of the label. The bending sticking means includes a drive unit that moves the intermediate body.

According to the above invention, when the suction plate sucks the label, the driving unit moves the intermediate body backward. As a result, the other side body moves closer to the one side body, and the intermediate body is bent at the center from the plane position, retreats to the retreat position, and is folded while adsorbing a part of the label. In this case, since the intermediate body is connected to the one side body and the other side body, it is possible to move the other side body and the intermediate body with one drive unit, and accordingly, the structure can be simplified and the operation efficiency can be improved. Can be improved.
Then, when the intermediate body moves from the planar position to the retracted position, the surfaces of the one side surface and the other side surface, which are part of the label, are pushed, thereby forming a bent portion.
In this case, since the bent portion is formed only by retreating the intermediate body, the formation time of the bent portion is extremely short, so that the label sticking time can be shortened and the sticking efficiency is improved.

  Thereafter, the label on which the bent portion is formed is pressed against the article and pasted by the bending pasting means. Therefore, a part of the label attached with the RFID tag can be projected in a mountain shape with respect to the article, and the RFID tag can be separated from the article, so that the material and contents of the article with the RFID tag attached can be changed. In the case of a liquid such as metal or water, the influence can be reduced, so that information can be reliably transmitted and received.

According to invention of Claim 2, the said intermediate body adsorb | sucks one side surface among a part of said labels, and while being rotatably connected with the said one side body via a hinge, The said intermediate body, The other intermediate body that adsorbs the other side surface of a part of the label and is rotatably connected to the other side body via a hinge, and the hinge mechanism that rotatably connects the one intermediate body and the other intermediate body It is characterized by comprising.
According to this invention, when the label is folded, one intermediate body of the intermediate body adsorbs one side surface of a part of the label and the other intermediate body moves backward while adsorbing the other side surface of a part of the label. A portion of the label is pulled to the surface side (display layer side), and a portion of the label is reliably bent into a chevron. In this case, the one intermediate body and the other intermediate body are connected to the one side body and the other side body via a hinge, and are also connected to each other via a hinge mechanism. The body and the intermediate body can be moved, and accordingly, the structure can be simplified and the operation efficiency can be improved.

According to a third aspect of the invention, there is provided an urging means for urging the one intermediate body and the other intermediate body in the backward direction when moving from the planar position to the backward position. In this case, since the one intermediate body and the other intermediate body are urged in the backward direction by the coil spring, the backward movement is performed smoothly and reliably.
According to invention of Claim 4, the said label sticking apparatus drives the said bending sticking means, and the bending control means which controls whether a part of said label is folded in a mountain shape from the back surface side to the front surface side. It is characterized by comprising.
According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, the bending sticking means has a moving mechanism for moving the suction plate to two positions: a suction position where the suction plate sucks the label and a sticking position where the sucked label is stuck to the article. It is characterized by having.

  According to the label sticking device of the present invention, the folding sticking means can stick a part of the label attached with the RFID tag so as to protrude in a mountain shape with respect to the article, and the RFID tag can be separated from the article. When the material or contents of the article to which the RFID tag is attached is a metal or liquid, the influence can be reduced, so that information can be transmitted and received reliably.

  Further, when the bent portion is bent, the drive unit moves the intermediate body backward, but since the intermediate body is connected to the one side body and the other side body, the one side body and the other side body are connected. The intermediate body can be moved, and accordingly, the structure can be simplified and the operation efficiency can be improved. Further, since the bent portion can be formed only by retreating the intermediate body, the formation time of the bent portion is extremely short, and therefore the label applying time can be shortened and the attaching efficiency can be improved.

Hereinafter, based on an accompanying drawing, a label sticking device concerning an embodiment of the invention is explained in detail.
First, the target label in the label sticking apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention shown in FIGS. 1 to 11 will be described. 4 and 13 to 15 show an example of a label L targeted by the label sticking apparatus.

  The tag attaching part 1 to which the RFID tag T of the label L shown in FIGS. 13 to 15 is attached is a predetermined horizontal width Ha in the carrying direction R of the mount D and a direction orthogonal to the carrying direction R of the mount D This is a rectangular area having a predetermined vertical width Hb extending between a pair of sides of the label L facing.

  The label L in a state of being affixed to the article W is such that a part 2 of the label L including the tag attaching portion 1 to which the RFID tag T of the label L is attached is from the back side (adhesive layer B side) to the front side (display). The bent portion M is bent to the side of the layer U, protruded in a mountain shape, and formed into a bent portion M having one side surface 3 and the other side surface 4 each having a bent portion 7 formed with the top portion 6 as a boundary. Moreover, the tag attachment site | part 1 comprises either the one side surface 3 and the other side surface 4 which are formed on the boundary of the top part 6 of the part 2 of the label L protruded in the mountain shape (the other side surface 4 in the figure). . On the other hand, the side surface 3 is a rectangular area having a size corresponding to the tag-attached portion 1, and is opposite to the predetermined lateral width Ha in the transport direction R of the mount D in a direction orthogonal to the transport direction R of the mount D. It has a predetermined vertical width Hb extending between a pair of sides of the label L. Reference numeral 8 in the drawing is an affixing surface to which the label L projected in a mountain shape is affixed to the article W. The symbol 3 a is one side adjacent to the part 2 of the label L, and the symbol 4 a is one side adjacent to the part 2 of the label L.

  In the label L shown in FIG. 13, a part 2 of the label L including the tag attaching part 1 to which the RFID tag T of the label L is attached is located at an intermediate portion closer to the front side in the transport direction R of the label L than the center of the label L. Is formed. Then, in a state where the part 2 of the label L is bent from the back side to the front side, protruded in a chevron shape and formed in the bent part M, the label L is attached to both sides of the part 2 of the label L. Surface 8 is formed.

  The label L shown in FIG. 14 is substantially the same as the label L shown in FIG. 13. However, in the part 2 of the label L projected in a chevron, the perforations 5 are formed in the top part 6 and the curved part 7 that are bent in the chevron. Is formed. Since the perforation 5 is formed, bending can be facilitated.

The label L shown in FIG. 15 is a label in which a part 2 of the label L including the tag attachment site 1 to which the RFID tag T of the label L is attached is formed at the end of the label L and protruded in this mountain shape. In a part 2 of L, a perforation 5 is formed at a top portion 6 that is bent into a mountain shape. Then, in a state where the part 2 of the label L is bent from the back side to the front side and protruded in a chevron shape, the sticking surface 8 of the label L is formed on one side of the part 2 of the label L.
Further, it is needless to say that perforations may be formed in the curved portion 7 in the mountain-shaped part 2 of the label L shown in FIG.

The RFID tag T of the label L shown in FIGS. 13 to 15 has been described using the one attached in the adhesive layer B. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the RFID tag T is attached to the display layer U. It may be provided between the layers B or on the lower surface of the adhesive layer B (mounting paper D side). Further, the same effect can be obtained by attaching to the surface of the display layer U (the surface opposite to the surface in contact with the adhesive layer B). Play.
However, by covering the tag attachment site 1 with the display layer U and the adhesive layer B of the label L to form a double structure, the strength of this portion can be increased and the RFID tag T can be prevented from being easily damaged. It is desirable to attach the label L including the tag attachment site 1 to which the RFID tag T is attached to the inside (on the adhesive layer B side) of the one side surface 3 or the other side surface 4 of the part 2 of the label L.

1 to 3 and 5 show a label sticking device according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIGS. 4, 13 and 14, the label L targeted by the label sticking apparatus according to this embodiment is basically a part 2 of the label L including the tag attachment portion 1 is a label. It is formed in the middle part of L.
The label sticking apparatus 100 according to the embodiment sticks a label L to an article W that is transported along a predetermined transport direction by a conveyor C.
The label sticking device 100 includes a label transport means 10 and a bending sticking means 20.

As shown in FIG. 2A, the label transport unit 10 includes a peeling plate 11 that peels the label L from the mount D, a sensor 12 that detects that the label L has been transported to a predetermined position, and an RFID tag T It comprises a reader / writer 13 that rewrites data to the IC chip Ta, transports the mount D on which a label L sent from a roll (not shown) is temporarily attached, and folds it back by the peeling plate 11 to peel off the label L. The folded mount D is wound around a reel (not shown).
As the label L is transported, the sensor 12 measures the timing for operating the bending sticking means 20 based on the detection of the label L, and the reader / writer 13 rewrites the data to the IC chip Ta of the RFID tag T. And verifying by writing and reading information.

  The bending sticking means 20 includes a suction plate 21, and the suction plate 21 includes a part 2 of the label L including the tag attachment site 1 to which the RFID tag T of the label L peeled off by the release plate 11 is attached. Adsorbs the front side of the label L so that it can protrude from the back side to the front side. The suction plate 21 is provided with a plurality of small holes 21a for sucking air for sucking the surface of the label L.

Specifically, the suction plate 21 is provided so as to be able to move close to the one side body 22 that adsorbs the one side portion 3a adjacent to the part 2 of the label L and adjacent to the part 2 of the label L. The other side body 23 that adsorbs the one side portion 4a to be absorbed, and the intermediate body 24 that is provided between the one side body 22 and the other side body 23 and adsorbs a part 2 of the label L are configured.
The one side body 22 is fixed to the base 25 via a support member 26. The other side body 23 is slidably provided on the base 25 via the support member 27, and can move close to the one side body 22 by this sliding. As shown in FIG. 1B, a pin 28 protrudes from the lower surface of the support member 27 of the other side body 23, and a guide hole 29 for guiding the pin 28 is formed in the base 25.

The intermediate body 24 has a planar position H for adsorbing the conveyed label L, and the other side body, in which the suction surface of the one side body 22, the suction surface of the intermediate body 24, and the suction surface of the other side body 23 are continuously planar. 23 is connected to the one side body 22 and the other side body 23 so as to be movable to two positions, that is, a retracted position J where the center is bent and retracts while adsorbing the part 2 of the label L. It is installed.
The intermediate body 24 adsorbs one side surface 3 of the part 2 of the label L and is connected to the one side body 22 via a hinge 31 so as to be rotatable, and the intermediate body 24a and the part 2 of the label L. The other intermediate body 24b that adsorbs the other side face 4 and is rotatably connected to the other side body 23 via a hinge 32, and the hinge mechanism 30 that rotatably connects the one intermediate body 24a and the other intermediate body 24b. And is configured.

  As shown in FIG. 1A, the hinge mechanism 30 includes a protruding plate 33 that protrudes from the side portions of the one intermediate body 24a and the other intermediate body 24b to the sides. The projecting plate 33 includes tip portions 34 that are bent in a direction perpendicular to the suction surface of the suction plate 21 and overlap each other. Each tip 34 is provided with a hole (not shown) communicating with each other, and a connecting pin 35 is inserted through this hole with a slight clearance. By the hinge mechanism 30, the one intermediate body 24a and the other intermediate body 24b are bent from the planar position H and retracted to reach the retracted position J.

  Further, the bending sticking means 20 includes a drive unit 36 that moves the intermediate body 24. The drive unit 36 is composed of an air cylinder device 37, and the air cylinder device 37 is composed of two pistons 38 attached to the support member 27 of the other side body 23 and a cylinder 39 fixed to the base 25.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 2A, the one intermediate body 24a and the other intermediate body 24b are moved from the planar position H to the retracted position J as shown in FIG. A coil spring 36a is provided as an urging means for urging in the backward direction during movement.

Further, the bending sticking means 20 moves the suction plate 21 to two positions: a suction position X for sucking the label L peeled by the peeling plate 11 and a sticking position Y for sticking the sucked label L to the article W. Means 40 are provided.
The moving means 40 includes an air cylinder device 43 including a piston 41 to which the base 25 is attached and a cylinder 42 on the machine base (not shown) side. Reference numeral 44 is a support plate provided at the tip of the piston 41, and reference numeral 45 is a plurality of coil springs provided between the support plate 44 and the base 25 to absorb the impact at the attaching position.

FIG. 5 is a circuit configuration diagram of the label sticking device according to the embodiment.
The label affixing device 100 has a CPU 80 that controls the label affixing device 100, a non-volatile memory 81 such as a ROM or a flash memory that stores programs of various control units, and a rewritable and holds various settings of the label affixing device. EEPROM 82 (Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory), RAM 83 used as a work area of the CPU 80, an external interface 85 that communicates with an external device (host 84) in a wired or wireless manner, and a transport motor that transports the mount D 86 of the conveyance motor control part which controls 86, the operation control part 89 which sets the information regarding operation | movement of the label sticking apparatus 100, and controls the operation part 88 which consists of various buttons and a display panel, and the sensor 12 which detects the label L For the sensor control unit 90 that performs control and the IC chip Ta of the RFID tag T A reader writer control unit 91 for controlling the reader-writer 13 to rewrite over data, control labeling control unit 92 for controlling the folding sticking means 20 and a (folding control unit) via a system bus 93. A scanner 94 for reading a barcode attached to the article W is connected to the host 84.

The EEPROM 82 is provided with an operation flag area for the label sticking control unit 92 to determine whether or not to operate the air cylinder device 37. This operation flag area is set by setting from the operation unit 88 (A), setting by a command received by the external interface 85 (B), or a normal label or RFID tag T to which the reader / writer 13 does not attach the RFID tag T. This is performed by any one of the settings (C) performed by detecting the attached label L.
In the label sticking control unit 92, when ON (1) is set in the operation flag area of the EEPROM 82, the air cylinder device 37 is operated during the sticking operation of the label L, and OFF (0) is set. In such a case, the air cylinder device 37 is controlled so as not to operate.

Therefore, when the label L is pasted by the label pasting apparatus 100 according to this embodiment, it is as follows.
Here, a case will be described in which the operation flag is set by setting (A) from the operation unit 88 in the operation flag area of the EEPROM 82. In the case of this setting, for example, an article W having the same content is continuously conveyed by the conveyor C. When the label L loaded in the label applying apparatus 100 at the change of the article W is a normal label, The operation flag is set to OFF (0), and when the label L attached with the RFID tag T is loaded, the operation flag is set to ON (1).

First, the operation of the label affixing device 100 when the operation flag in the operation flag area of the EEPROM 82 is set to ON (1) by the operation unit 88 will be described with reference to FIGS. 1, 2, 3, and 6. To do.
As shown in FIG. 2A, the label L is conveyed by the label conveying means 10 (FIG. 6 (S10)), and the sensor 12 detects that the label affixing control unit 92 is based on the detection of the label L. Measure the timing to operate. Next, when the mount D is folded back by the peeling plate 11 and the label L is peeled off, the suction plate 21 sucks the label L at the suction position X (FIG. 6 (S11)).

Since ON (1) is set in the operation flag area of the EEPROM 82 (FIG. 6 (S12 ON)), the label sticking control unit 92 operates the air cylinder device 37 of the drive unit 36 during the label L sticking operation. (FIG. 6 (S13)).
As a result, the other side body 23 moves close to the one side body 22, and the intermediate body 24 bends from the plane position H and retreats to reach the retreat position J, while adsorbing the part 2 of the label L. Fold it in. That is, one intermediate body 24a of the intermediate body 24 adsorbs one side surface 3 of the part 2 of the label L and the other intermediate body 24b moves backward while adsorbing the other side surface 4 of the part 2 of the label L. Part 2 of L is pulled to the surface side (display layer U side), and part 2 of label L is reliably bent into a mountain shape. In this case, the one intermediate body 24a and the other intermediate body 24b are urged in the backward direction by the coil spring 36a, so that the backward movement is performed smoothly and reliably. Further, the one intermediate body 24a and the other intermediate body 24b are connected to the one side body 22 and the other side body 23 via the hinges 31 and 32, and are also connected to each other via the hinge mechanism 30. The other side body 23 and the intermediate body 24 can be moved by one drive part 36, the structure can be simplified and the operation efficiency can be improved.

Then, as shown in FIG. 2C, when the intermediate body 24 moves from the planar position H to the retracted position J, the one side surface in which the suction surfaces of the one intermediate body 24a and the other intermediate body 24b are part 2 of the label L. 3 and the surface of the other side surface 4 (display layer U) are pressed, and the back surfaces of the one side surface 3 and the other side surface 4 are joined to each other, whereby the bent portion M is formed.
In this case, since the bent portion M is formed simply by operating the air cylinder device 37 and retracting the intermediate body 24, the formation time of the bent portion M is extremely short, and therefore the labeling time is shortened. This improves the efficiency of application.

  That is, as shown in FIG. 12 (a), the applicant of the present application previously proposed, and there is a way of bending without providing the intermediate body 24. Can do. Specifically, when the intermediate body 24 is not provided, when the suction plate 21 sucks the label L (FIG. 12B), the other side body 23 is once separated from the one side body 22 (FIG. 12C). A space e is formed between the one side body 22 and the other side body 23 so that a part 2 of the label L protruding from the back surface side to the front surface side can enter. Next, the other side body 23 is moved to the one side body. 22 is moved to the trap (FIG. 12D). As a result, the one side body 22 and the other side body 23 suck and hold both ends of the label L in the transport direction R, respectively, while the back surfaces of the one side surface 3 and the other side surface 4 of the label L are close to each other. The bent portion 7 and the bent portion 7 on the other side surface 4 are pressed to form a bent portion M (FIG. 12E). In the case where the intermediate body 24 is not provided, the other side body 23 must be once separated from the one side body 22 after the label is adsorbed. However, in the present embodiment, since the other side body 23 does not have to be once separated from the one side body 22 after the label is adsorbed, the bending time is shortened accordingly, and the sticking efficiency is improved.

  After that, as shown in FIG. 3, the label sticking control unit 92 operates the air cylinder device 43 of the moving means 40 to move the suction plate 21 from the suction position X to the sticking position Y (S14 in FIG. 6). Thereby, the adsorbed label L is affixed to the article W. In this case, since the sticking surfaces 8 of the label L are formed on both sides of the bent portion M, which is the portion 2 of the label L that is protruded in a chevron shape, the article is formed by the one side body 22 and the other side body 23. Pressed by W, the label L is securely attached to the article W. After sticking the label, the suction plate 21 is returned to the suction position X. Further, the air cylinder device 37 of the drive unit 36 is operated to return the other side body 23 from the retracted position J to the planar position H.

Next, a description will be given of a case where a normal label without an RFID tag T is attached. In this case, in the operation unit 88, the operation flag in the operation flag area of the EEPROM 82 is set to OFF (0). Referring to the flowchart shown in FIG. 6, as shown in FIG. 2A, the label L is conveyed by the label conveying means 10 (FIG. 6 (S10)), and the sensor 12 is based on the detection of the label L. The label sticking control unit 92 measures the timing for operating the bending sticking means 20. Next, when the mount D is folded back by the peeling plate 11 and the label L is peeled off, the suction plate 21 sucks the label L at the suction position X (FIG. 6 (S11)).
Since OFF (0) is set in the operation flag area of the EEPROM 82 (FIG. 6 (S12 OFF)), the label sticking control unit 92 operates the air cylinder device 37 of the moving means 40 without operating the air cylinder device 37. 43 is operated, and the suction plate 21 is moved from the suction position X to the sticking position Y (FIG. 6 (S14)).
Thereby, the adsorbed normal label is stuck on the article W in a planar shape. As described above, according to the setting (A) from the operation unit 88, it is possible to easily introduce the system into a small system that performs simple sorting with few types of articles.

  Next, the case where the operation flag is set by the command received by the external interface 85 (B) will be described using the flowchart shown in FIG. For example, when the label L to which the RFID tag T is attached is loaded in the label affixing device and the articles W having different contents are conveyed by the conveyor C in a mixed manner, this setting depends on the type of the article W. An article W is provided with a barcode on which an instruction is attached to the label L with the RFID tag T attached thereto in a flat shape (operation flag OFF) or bent into a chevron shape (operation flag ON). The label L is affixed according to the instructions of the code.

  As shown in FIG. 7, first, the barcode of the article W is read by the scanner 94 (S21), and the host 84 folds the label L into a mountain shape and pastes the label L read by the scanner 94 (operation flag ON). ) Or a label L attached to a flat surface (operation flag OFF) (S21), and one of these commands is transmitted (S22, S23). The label sticking apparatus 100 sets the operation flag in the operation flag area of the EEPROM 82 to ON (1) or OFF (0) according to the received command (S24).

  Then, the label L is transported by the label transport means 10 (S25), and when the mount D is folded back by the release plate 11 and the label L is peeled off, the suction plate 21 sucks the label L at the suction position X ( S26). Next, when the operation flag in the operation flag area of the EEPROM 82 is ON (1) (S27 ON), the label sticking control unit 92 operates the air cylinder device 37 (S28). Thereafter, the label sticking control unit 92 operates the moving means 40 (S29), and the label L is bent and stuck on the article W in a mountain shape.

On the other hand, when OFF (0) is set in the operation flag area of the EEPROM 82 (S27 OFF), the label sticking control unit 92 operates the air cylinder device 43 of the moving means 40 without operating the air cylinder device 37. The suction plate 21 is moved from the suction position X to the sticking position Y (S29). Thereby, the adsorbed normal label is stuck on the article W in a planar shape.
According to the setting (B) by the command received by the external interface 85, the shape of the label L to which the RFID tag T to be affixed depending on the type and contents of the article W is affixed (in a flat shape or in a mountain shape). It is easy to change (bend and paste).

  In the above description, the barcode of the article W is read by the scanner 94, and the content of the barcode read by the scanner 94 is that the label L is bent and pasted into a mountain shape, or the label L is pasted in a flat shape. Although it has been described that one of these commands is transmitted and the scanner is an external device, the label attaching apparatus 100 receives the barcode data read by the scanner via the external interface 85, and the scanner The label sticking control unit 92 may be configured to operate the air cylinder device 37 in accordance with the content of the barcode read in.

  Next, using the flowchart shown in FIG. 8, the operation flag is set by detecting whether the reader / writer 13 is a normal label without the RFID tag T or a label L with the RFID tag T attached ( The case of C) will be described. In this setting, for example, the type of the label loaded in the label sticking apparatus 100 is discriminated at the time of conveyance by the reader / writer 13, and the operation flag is set to ON when an RFID label that needs to be bent in advance is detected. The operation flag is set to OFF when the label or the RFID label that does not need to be bent in advance is detected.

As shown in FIG. 8, when the label is conveyed (S30), the reader / writer 13 determines whether or not it is necessary to bend it into a chevron (S31), and when necessary (S31 YES), the operation flag is set to ON. If it is not necessary (S31 NO), the operation flag is set to OFF (S33). When the operation flag is ON (1) (S34 ON), the air cylinder device 37 operates (S35). Thereafter, the moving means 40 is activated (S36), and the label L is bent and attached to the article W in a mountain shape.
On the other hand, when the operation flag is OFF (0) (S34 OFF), the air cylinder device 37 does not operate, the moving means 40 operates (S36), and the label L is affixed to the article W in a planar shape.

  According to the setting (C) by the reader / writer 13, the reader / writer 13 determines whether the label is a normal label or an RFID tag T attached, and an operation flag is set. Since the air cylinder device 37 is automatically turned on and off simply by loading two types of labels according to the application, the working efficiency is good. Further, when setting the operation flag according to the type of the label L to which the RFID tag T is attached, the label to which the RFID tag T is attached according to the type of label to be attached or information stored in the IC chip in the RFID tag. The shape of L (applied in a flat shape or bent and attached in a chevron shape) can be changed, and the usage is expanded.

According to the above description, a part 2 of the label L to which the RFID tag T is attached is protruded and attached to the article in a mountain shape, and the RFID tag T is attached to the article by separating the RFID tag T from the article. Therefore, stable reading and writing of data can be ensured. Further, since the back surfaces of the one side surface 3 and the other side surface 4 of the bent portion M are joined by the bending means, the label L Since the display layer U and the adhesive layer B cover the tag attachment site 1 and have a double structure, the strength of this portion can be increased and the RFID tag T can be prevented from being easily damaged.
Further, by using the label L shown in FIG. 14 according to the usage, after the purpose of use of the article W is completed, the bent portion M projected in a mountain shape can be easily excised, and information leakage Can be prevented and separation and disposal can be easily performed.
Furthermore, according to the setting of the operation flag, whether the label L is applied to the article W in a flat shape or folded in a chevron can be switched according to the application and system, and the shape of the attached label L ( The contents and type of the article W can be easily visually recognized by attaching them in a flat shape or bending them in a mountain shape.

9 to 11 show a label sticking device 200 according to another embodiment of the present invention. This is configured in substantially the same manner as described above, but is different from the above in the way of supporting the other side body 23 and the mounting configuration of the air cylinder device 37 which is the drive unit 36. The other side body 23 is provided on the base 25 so as to be movable via a support member 46. The base 25 is provided with two guide rails 47 having an axis along the moving direction of the other side body 23, and the support member 46 is slidably provided on the guide rail 47.
In the air cylinder device 37 of the drive unit 36, the piston 38 is attached to the back side of the one intermediate body 24 a, and the cylinder 39 is fixed to the back side of the one side body 22.

  Therefore, according to the label sticking device according to this embodiment, when the label L is transported by the label transport means 10 as shown in FIG. The label L is sucked at the suction position X. Next, as shown in FIG. 10B, the air cylinder device 37 of the drive unit 36 is activated, whereby the intermediate body 24 is bent at the center from the plane position H and retracted to reach the retracted position J. The other side body 23 moves close to the one side body 22 and folds while adsorbing a part 2 of the label L. That is, one intermediate body 24a of the intermediate body 24 adsorbs one side surface 3 of the part 2 of the label L and the other intermediate body 24b moves backward while adsorbing the other side surface 4 of the part 2 of the label L. Part 2 of L is pulled to the surface side (display layer U side), and part 2 of label L is reliably bent into a mountain shape. In this case, the one intermediate body 24a and the other intermediate body 24b are connected to the one side body 22 and the other side body 23 via the hinges 31 and 32, and are also connected to each other via the hinge mechanism 30. The one drive part 36 can move the other side body 23 and the intermediate body 24, so that the structure can be simplified and the operation efficiency can be improved.

10C, when the one intermediate body 24a and the other intermediate body 24b are moved from the planar position H to the retracted position J, the suction surfaces of the one intermediate body 24a and the other intermediate body 24b are attached to the label L. The front surface (display layer U) of the one side surface 3 and the other side surface 4 that is the portion 2 is pressed, and the back surfaces of the one side surface 3 and the other side surface 4 are joined together, whereby the bent portion M is formed.
In this case, since the bent portion M is formed simply by operating the air cylinder device 37 and retracting the intermediate body 24, the formation time of the bent portion M is extremely short, and therefore the labeling time is shortened. This improves the efficiency of application.
Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 11, the air cylinder device 43 of the moving means 40 is operated, and the suction plate 21 is moved from the suction position X to the sticking position Y, whereby the sucked label L is stuck to the article W. . In this case, since the sticking surfaces 8 of the label L are formed on both sides of the bent portion M, which is the portion 2 of the label L that is protruded in a chevron shape, the article is formed by the one side body 22 and the other side body 23. Pressed by W, the label L is securely attached to the article W. After sticking the label, the suction plate 21 is returned to the suction position X. Further, the air cylinder device 37 of the drive unit 36 is operated to return the other side body 23 from the retracted position J to the planar position H.

  In addition, the label sticking apparatus according to the above-described embodiment can stick a label attaching portion 1 provided with an RFID tag T as shown in FIG. In this case, a part 2 of the label L including the tag attachment site 1 to which the RFID tag T of the label L is attached is stopped at the position of the intermediate body 24. Thereby, the label L in which the tag attachment site | part 1 is formed in an edge part can be stuck like the above.

  In the above embodiment, the description has been made so that the back surfaces of the one side surface 3 and the other side surface 4 which are the part 2 of the label L are bonded to each other. However, the present invention is not limited to this. The label L in a form in which a part 2 of the label L is bent into a chevron and protruded without bonding may be attached to the article. In this case, it can be easily realized by reducing the amount of movement of the air cylinder device 37. As a result, since the bent part 2 of the label L is maintained in a shape that is bent and projected into a chevron, the portable reader / writer is held over the IC chip Ta of the label L attached to the article W. When performing a reading operation, compared with the case where a flat label L is affixed to the article W, the communication angle is further widened, and the reading operation toward the label L can be efficiently performed.

  Furthermore, in the said embodiment, although the suction plate 21 was moved to the sticking position Y from the suction position X by the air cylinder apparatus 43, and the label L was pressed and stuck on the articles | goods W, it limited to this. Instead, it is needless to say that the present invention can also be applied to a label sticking apparatus (air jet method) in which air is ejected from the small holes 21a and 41a of the suction plate 21 and the label L is blown off toward the article W for sticking. In this case, the air cylinder device 37 can be easily realized simply by bending a part 2 of the label L into a mountain shape and then ejecting air from the small hole 21a of the suction plate 21 by the label sticking control unit 92.

  Furthermore, in the label sticking apparatus of the above embodiment, printing having an ink jet or thermal type head that prints information about the article W and variable information such as a barcode on the surface side (display layer U side) of the label L. Needless to say, the present invention can also be applied to a labeling apparatus provided with means.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The label sticking apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention is shown, (a) is the principal part perspective view seen from the suction surface side of the suction plate, (b) is the principal part perspective view seen from the back side of the suction plate. It is a top view which shows the label sticking apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention with the effect | action. It is a top view which shows the label sticking apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention with the effect | action. It is a perspective view which shows the state of the label which the label sticking apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention stuck to the articles | goods. It is a circuit block diagram of the label sticking apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement of the label sticking apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows another operation | movement of the label sticking apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows another operation | movement of the label sticking apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention. The label sticking apparatus which concerns on another embodiment of this invention is shown, (a) is the principal part perspective view seen from the adsorption surface side of an adsorption | suction board, (b) is the principal part perspective view seen from the back side of the adsorption board. is there. It is a top view which shows the label sticking apparatus which concerns on another embodiment of this invention with the effect | action. It is a top view which shows the label sticking apparatus which concerns on another embodiment of this invention with the effect | action. It is a figure which shows another label sticking apparatus which is a comparison contrast with the effect | action, in order to demonstrate the advantage of the label sticking apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the label which the label sticking apparatus of this invention makes object. It is a figure which shows an example of another label which the label sticking apparatus of this invention makes object. It is a figure which shows an example of another label which the label sticking apparatus of this invention makes object. It is a figure which shows the general example of the label with which the RFID tag was attached.

Explanation of symbols

L Label T RFID tag U Display layer B Adhesive layer P Film layer D Mount Ta IC chip Tb Communication antenna Ha Horizontal width Hb Vertical width W Article R Transport direction 1 Tag attachment part 2 Part of label L 2
3 One side surface 3a One side portion 4 The other side surface 4a The other side portion 5 Perforation 6 Top portion 7 Bending portion 8 Attaching surface M Bending portion C Conveyor 10 Label conveying means 11 Peeling plate 12 Sensor 13 Reader / writer 20 Bending adhering means 21 Adsorption Plate 21a Small hole 22 One side body 23 Other side body 24 Intermediate body 24a One intermediate body 24b Other intermediate body 25 Base 30 Hinge mechanism 31 Hinge 32 Hinge H Plane position J Retraction position 36 Drive part 36a Coil spring (biasing means)
37 Air cylinder device 40 Moving means 43 Air cylinder device X Adsorption position Y Pasting position 80 CPU
81 Nonvolatile memory 82 EEPROM
83 RAM
84 Host 85 External interface 86 Conveyance motor 87 Conveyance motor control section 88 Operation section 89 Operation control section 90 Sensor control section 91 Reader / writer control section 92 Label sticking control section (bending control means)
93 System bus 94 Scanner 100 Label sticking device 200 Label sticking device

Claims (5)

In a label sticking device for sticking a label attached with an RFID tag comprising an IC chip and a communication antenna to an article,
One side surface and the other side surface, each of which has a curved portion formed at the top portion, projecting a part of the label including the tag attachment portion to which the RFID tag of the label is attached from the back side to the front side. And a bending sticking means for sticking a label on which the bent part is formed to an article.
The bending sticking means includes a suction plate that holds the surface side of the label, and the suction plate is attached to one side body that sucks one side portion adjacent to a part of the label, and the one side body. An other side body that is provided so as to be movable and adsorbs the other side part adjacent to a part of the label, and an intermediate body that is provided between the one side body and the other side body and adsorbs a part of the label. Configure and prepare
The intermediate body has a planar position where the adsorption surface of the one side body, the adsorption surface of the intermediate body and the adsorption surface of the other side body are continuously arranged in a planar shape, and the one side body of the other side body. The center side bends and retreats along with the close movement, and is connected to the one side body and the other side body so as to be movable to two positions, a retreat position where the part of the label is sucked and folded.
The label sticking device, wherein the bending sticking means includes a drive unit for moving the intermediate body.
  The intermediate body adsorbs one side surface of a part of the label and is rotatably connected to the one side body via a hinge, and adsorbs the other side surface of a part of the label. And the other intermediate body rotatably connected to the other side body via a hinge, and a hinge mechanism that rotatably connects the one intermediate body and the other intermediate body. The label sticking device according to claim 1.   3. The label sticking apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising a biasing unit that biases the one intermediate body and the other intermediate body in the backward direction when moving from the planar position to the retracted position. The label affixing device includes a fold control unit that drives the fold affixing unit and controls whether or not a part of the label is folded in a mountain shape from the back side to the front side. The label sticking apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3. The bending bending means includes a moving means for moving the suction plate to two positions: a suction position where the suction plate sucks the label and a sticking position where the sucked label is stuck to the article. The label sticking device according to any one of 1 to 4.

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