JP6819120B2 - Marking device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a marking device that transfers a predetermined mark to a target surface, and more particularly to an inverted stamp type marking device that marks the side surface of an automobile tire.

Generally, in the inspection process of manufactured vehicle tires, unbalance measurement and uniformity measurement are performed. As a result of the inspection, for example, the position where the weight is the lightest (light point) in the circumferential direction of the tire and the part where the outer diameter of the tire is the largest are marked with an arbitrary color. When applying such a mark to the sidewall of a tire, a method of transferring a mark having a predetermined shape by a stamp method has been adopted. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a marker pen in which the tip of a pen core has the same stamp surface shape as the mark.

However, in the conventional method in which the ink is directly permeated into the pen core, the ink on the core tip becomes excessive due to repeated use and oozes out on the stamp surface, or conversely, the ink on the stamp surface dries due to long-term non-use and marks. May adversely affect quality. Therefore, in order to maintain good mark quality for a long period of time, it has been studied to always keep the amount of ink supplied to the stamp optimal by applying, for example, an inversion structure as described in Patent Document 2.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2006-150899 Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2013-256031

The above-mentioned reversible stamp includes a porous ink pad that occludes liquid ink stored in a tank, and ink is supplied to the stamp surface by bringing a non-water-absorbing stamp surface into contact with the ink pad. The structure in which the stamp surface of the stamp body is pressed against the ink pad can effectively prevent ink leakage and drying from the ink pad. However, when the internal pressure of the tank for storing ink increases due to a sudden temperature change or the like, ink may be ejected when the stamp surface is separated from the ink pad at the time of stamping, which may cause ink leakage.

The present invention has been made in view of such a problem, and in an inverted stamp type marking device that abuts on an ink pad that occludes ink and supplies ink to a stamp surface, the liquid leakage from the ink pad is efficiently leaked. The purpose is to provide the technology to store.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention comprises a tank for storing ink, an ink pad for storing ink in the tank, an inner cylinder for supporting the stamp body with the stamp surface facing the ink pad, and the above. The inner cylinder is provided with an outer cylinder that pivotally supports the stamp body and slidably accommodates the inner cylinder via the elastic body, and presses the outer cylinder against the repulsive force of the elastic body to press the inner cylinder. It is a reversing type marking device that can perform marking by reversing the stamp body inside the cylinder, and is composed of a slit-shaped groove in contact with the peripheral edge of the ink pad in the accommodating member accommodating the ink pad. It is a marking device characterized by forming an ink pool.

In the above configuration, a plurality of folds extending radially from the inner wall of the accommodating member toward one central axis may be formed, and the slit-shaped grooves may be formed by the gaps between the folds adjacent to each other. preferable.

Further, it is preferable that the ink pool formed of the slit-shaped groove is in contact with the surface region of the lower surface of the ink pad excluding the surface desired by the stamp surface.

Further, an ink pool formed of the slit-shaped groove may be in contact with the outer peripheral side surface of the ink pad.

According to the marking device of the present invention, even when the internal pressure of the tank increases and the ink leaks from the ink pad, the ink sump can be absorbed and a certain amount of ink can be retained. Further, since the capillary force of the ink pad is stronger than that of the ink sump, when the internal pressure of the tank returns to normal, the leaked ink accumulated in the ink sump can be quickly returned to the ink pad.

It is external perspective view of the marking apparatus according to 1st Embodiment. It is sectional drawing of the marking apparatus of FIG. It is a plan view (a) and a side view (b) of a stamp body and an inverted piece. It is an outer side view (a) and an inner side view (b) of the inner frame member which constitutes an inner cylinder body. It is a side view (a) and the cross-sectional view (b) of the outer cylinder body. It is sectional drawing of the ink cartridge. It is a figure for demonstrating the method of attaching and detaching an ink cartridge according to 1st Embodiment. It is a side view (a) and the bottom view (b) of the partition member. It is sectional drawing of the partition member. It is a figure for demonstrating one Example of the through hole formed in a partition member. It is a top view (a) and the sectional view (b) of the accommodating member according to one Example. It is sectional drawing of the accommodating member by another Example. It is sectional drawing for demonstrating operation by the marking apparatus of FIG. It is a figure for demonstrating the reversing operation of a stamp body. It is a figure for further explaining the reversing operation of a stamp body. It is a figure for further explaining the reversing operation of a stamp body. It is a figure for further explaining the reversing operation of a stamp body. It is a figure for demonstrating the effect in the case of the arcuate inner cylinder by the Example, and the case of the case of the comparative example in comparison. It is a side view of the marking apparatus according to 2nd Embodiment. It is sectional drawing of the marking apparatus of FIG. It is an exploded side view for demonstrating the separation structure of an outer cylinder body. It is an exploded side view for demonstrating the structure of an ink cartridge.

Hereinafter, as a preferred embodiment of the present invention, a marking device for transferring a mark to a sidewall of a vehicle tire will be exemplarily described with reference to the drawings.

(First Embodiment)
FIG. 1 is an external perspective view of the marking device 10 according to the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the marking device 10. The marking device 10 slides the stamp body 20 having a predetermined mark shape such as a light point, for example, a circular stamp surface, the inner cylinder body 30 that rotatably supports the stamp body 20, and the inner cylinder body 30 up and down. It is provided with an outer cylinder 40 that is movablely accommodated.

FIG. 3 shows a plan view and a side view of the stamp body 20 and the reversing piece 21 that inverts the stamp body 20. First, the stamp body 20 is formed of a columnar elastic body having a stamp surface that comes into contact with the marking object, and a non-porous body without bubbles or a sponge body (porous body) with closed cells can be used. In order to prevent stickiness (overcoating) of the ink, it is preferable to use a non-absorbent material rather than a sponge body of open cells. Further, in order to improve the followability due to deformation at the time of imprinting on the mark target surface and to obtain an appropriate repulsive force, a closed cell sponge body is preferable.
The stamp 20 can be obtained by kneading rubber, a vulcanizing agent, a filler, a softening agent, a coloring agent, an antiaging agent, other additives, and the like, and then vulcanizing the stamp. As the material, ordinary rubber can be used without any problem, and rubbers such as natural rubber, NBR, SBR, BR, IR, EPDM, ACM, IIR, silicone rubber, and polyurethane rubber should be used alone or in combination. Can be done. The vulcanizing agent can also be used without any problem as long as it is usually used for vulcanizing the rubber, and sulfur, sulfur compounds, peroxides and the like can be used. Further, it is preferable to add additives such as a filler, a softener, a colorant, and an anti-aging agent in the same manner as a general rubber molded product. Examples of the filler include barium sulfate, calcium carbonate, silicic acid, magnesium silicate, calcium silicate and the like, and examples of the softening agent include paraffin-based process oil and naphthen-based process oil. , Carbon black, titanium white, ultramarine, phthalocyanine, red iron oxide, lead chromate and the like can be mentioned, and as an antiaging agent, phenol, wax and the like can be mentioned. In addition, as vulcanization aids, zinc stearate, stearic acid, zinc white, zinc oxide, magnesium oxide, etc., and as vulcanization accelerators, thiazoles, thiraums, sulfenamides, dithiocarbamates, etc. Additives may be added. When a closed-cell sponge body is used, it can be obtained by kneading with a foaming agent, a foaming aid, or the like and vulcanizing this.
As a method of forming the stamp surface, it is created by processing the stamp surface on one side surface by engraving, laser processing, press processing, or the like.
In the case of a solid mark in which the stamp surface is completely filled, a closed-cell sponge body is preferable. In this case, clear stamping is possible on a flat surface having a flat surface to be marked or a deformed surface having irregularities.
Further, since the closed-cell sponge body is soft and the imprint is easily crushed, when the stamp surface is a character (number, alphabet, etc.), a pattern, etc., a non-porous body in which the imprint is not easily crushed is preferable.

In the stamp body 20, the opposite side surface of the stamp surface is fixed to the upper surface of the reversing piece 21 via a screw portion. The reversing piece 21 that inverts the stamp body 20 can be formed by, for example, die casting of an aluminum alloy. Shaft portions 22 pivotally supported by bearing portions 46 of the outer cylinder 40, which will be described later, are formed on the left and right side portions of the reversing piece 21. In addition, semicircular grooves 23a and 23b are formed on both left and right sides of the shaft portion 22 as a center, and a circular head protrusion 24 is formed directly below the shaft portion 22. These semicircular grooves 23a and 23b and the circular head protrusion 24 engage with the reversing guide 36 of the inner cylinder 30 described later to form a reversing mechanism for reversing the stamp body 20 together with the reversing piece 21. Further, around the reversing piece 21, an O-ring 25 for ensuring a sealing property with the ink pad 55 described later is provided (see FIG. 2).

Next, as shown in FIG. 4, the inner cylinder 30 is assembled by facing two inner frame members 34F and 34R which are symmetrical to each other and screwing them together. Note that FIG. 2 shows a state in which the inner frame member 34F on the front side of the paper surface is removed in order to help understanding the structure of the marking device 10.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, the stamp body movable portion 31, which is a space that allows the stamp body 20 and the reversing piece 21 to move and rotate, is formed so as to penetrate the inside of the inner cylinder body 30 vertically. Has been done. A cartridge fitting portion 32 for detachably fitting the niple 52 of the ink cartridge 50, which will be described later, is formed on the upper portion of the inner cylinder 30 communicating with the stamp movable portion 31. By fitting the niple 52 accommodating the ink pad 55 into the cartridge fitting portion 32, the stamp body 20 in the inner cylinder 30 is supported so that the stamp surface and the ink pad 55 face each other.

On the other hand, in the lower part of the inner cylinder 30, a stamp face opening 33 is formed which communicates with the stamp movable portion 31 and exposes the stamp 20 downward at the time of marking. The periphery of the stamp surface opening 33, which is the lower end edge 33a of the inner cylinder 30, is a portion that abuts on the sidewall of the tire, which is the target surface for marking. Although details will be described later, one of the features of the marking device 10 is that the lower end edge 33a of the inner cylinder 30 is curved.

The inner frame members 34F and 34R have elongated holes 35 that are long along the vertical direction, which is the sliding direction in the outer cylinder 40. The shaft portion 22 of the reversing piece 21 is inserted through the elongated hole 35. That is, in the inner cylinder 30, the shaft portion 22 of the reversing piece 21 is guided to the elongated hole 35 in conjunction with the pressing operation of the outer cylinder 40, so that the reversing piece 21 moves up and down. Further, the reversing piece 21 is also allowed to rotate around the shaft portion 22 in the stamp body movable portion 31 of the inner cylinder body 30. As a matter of course, the stroke range in which the reversing piece 21 can move up and down is limited by the length of the elongated hole 35.

Further, a reversing guide 36 is formed along the elongated hole 35 on the inner wall portion of the inner frame members 34F and 34R. The reversing guide 36 of the present embodiment is formed by having a substantially semicircular middle groove 36c between two columnar upper and lower small protrusions 36a and 36b. However, if the gear body or cam mechanism meshes so as to invert the inverted piece 21 as the inverted piece 21 having the stamp body 20 moves up and down, the inverted guide is limited to the embodiment described here. is not it.

The inner cylinder 30 is slidably inserted into the lower open portion of the outer cylinder 40 in a state where the inverted piece 21 having the stamp 20 is housed inside.

Next, the structure of the outer cylinder 40 will be described in detail. FIG. 5A is a side view of the outer cylinder 40, and FIG. 5B is a vertical cross-sectional view of the outer cylinder 40. The outer cylinder 40 is an accommodating body for accommodating the ink cartridge 50 for accommodating ink, and is a member that also functions as a handle portion thereof when manually marking. When the marking device 10 is incorporated into an automated line, it is attached, for example, by fixing the outer cylinder 40 to the tip of an articulated robot arm or by gripping the outer cylinder 40 to a manipulator.

The outer cylinder 40 has two outer frame members 41 that are symmetrical to each other facing each other, and these outer frame members 41 are screwed together to form a substantially square cylinder. Inside the outer cylinder 40, there is a tank accommodating portion 42 which is a space for accommodating a part of the tank 51 of the ink cartridge 50, and a spring accommodating portion 43 which is a space for accommodating the coil spring 60 which is an elastic body. The inner cylinder sliding portion 44 that slidably accommodates the cylinder 30 is formed in communication with each other. The inner cylinder sliding portion 44 is provided with a bearing portion 46 that rotatably supports the shaft portion 22 of the reversing piece 21.

Next, FIG. 6 shows a cross-sectional view of the ink cartridge 50 mounted in the outer cylinder 40. The ink cartridge 50 includes a tank 51 for storing ink and a niple 52 for holding an ink pad 55 and the like. The tank 51 according to the present embodiment has a substantially V-shaped or substantially U-shaped front view. A niple 52 is attached to the bottom of the tank 51. In the ink cartridge 50, the niple 52 is inserted into the cartridge fitting portion 32 of the inner cylinder 30, and the right portion of the tank 51, for example, is accommodated in the tank accommodating portion 42. An opening 45 is formed on one side of the outer cylinder 40 (for example, the left side in FIG. 2), from which a part of the left side of the tank 51 of the ink cartridge 50 is exposed to the outside.

Then, the ink cartridge 50 is sandwiched between the coil spring 60 in the compressed state and the inner cylinder 30 in the outer cylinder 40. The elastic rebound force of the coil spring 60 acts in the direction of pressing the ink cartridge 50 downward with the recess in the center of the tank 51 as the point of action. Therefore, the inner cylinder 30 is pressed by the niple 52 of the ink cartridge 50 and is held in a state of being urged in a direction in which it always protrudes from the outer cylinder 40.

In the marking device 10, the ink cartridge 50 is removable via one opening 45 of the outer cylinder 40. That is, as shown in FIG. 7, the niple 52 is moved by slightly moving the ink cartridge 50 in a direction that opposes the elastic rebound force of the coil spring 60, starting from the left portion of the tank 51 exposed from the opening 45. It can be detached from the fitting portion 32. Then, by pulling out the left portion of the tank 51 to the upper left at the moved position, the ink cartridge 50 can be easily taken out from the opening 45 of the outer cylinder 40.
On the contrary, by installing the coil spring 60 in the recess in the center of the tank 51 while inserting the right portion of the tank 51 into the tank accommodating portion 42 first, the niple 52 is moved to the cartridge fitting portion 32 by the elastic rebound force of the coil spring 60. Automatically moves to fit. As a result, the ink cartridge 50 can be easily mounted in the marking device 10.

As described above, according to the marking device 10 of the present embodiment, the ink cartridge 50 can be easily attached to and detached from the outer cylinder 40 simply by performing a series of moving operations on the ink cartridge 50. In the process of marking each of the mass-produced tires, the amount of ink consumed by the marking device 10 is large, and it is necessary to frequently check and replenish the amount of ink. However, according to the marking device 10, the ink cartridge 50 that has been emptied due to ink consumption can be easily replaced with one that has been replenished with ink, so that the marking work efficiency is not lowered. Further, since the ink cartridge 50 can be attached to and detached from the marking device 10 only by a series of moving operations, it is easy to automate the replacement of the ink cartridge 50, and the efficiency of the marking work can be further improved.

The ink used in the marking device 10 can be appropriately used regardless of whether it is a pigment-based ink, a dye-based ink, an oil-based ink, or an aqueous ink-based ink. For example, as an ink for marking an automobile tire, an oil-based ink in which a colorant, a resin, or the like is dissolved and mixed in a quick-drying solvent can be used.
In this case, as the quick-drying solvent, an existing volatile organic solvent can be used, and for example, an alcohol solvent, an alicyclic hydrocarbon, an aliphatic hydrocarbon, an aromatic hydrocarbon, a ketone, a glycol ether or the like is used. be able to.
As the colorant, the dye may be an oil-soluble dye, and is an oil-soluble dye such as niglosin-based, azine-based, monoazo-based, disazo-based, metal complex salt-type monoazo-based, anthraquinone-based, phthalocyanine-based, or triallylmethane-based, and oil-soluble. Salt-forming dyes and oil-soluble gold-containing dyes can be used, and the pigments are organic pigments such as condensed azo, isoindolinone, quinacridone, diketopyrrolopyrrole, anthraquinone, dioxazine, phthalocyanine, thioindico, carbon black, titanium oxide, etc. Inorganic pigments such as iron oxide, bright pigments obtained by coating mica or glass with titanium oxide or iron oxide, metal pigments such as aluminum powder or brass powder can be used. In addition, existing UV curable inks and the like can also be used.

The niple 52 provided at the bottom of the ink cartridge 50 will be described in more detail.
As shown in FIG. 6, the niple 52 is composed of two parts, a bottomed hollow cylindrical partition member 53 and a bottomless hollow cylindrical accommodating member 54 for accommodating the ink pad 55. The outer diameters of the partition member 53 and the accommodating member 54 are substantially the same. In the niple 52, the fitting portion 533 (see FIG. 8A) of the partition member 53 is fitted to the fitted portion 541 (see FIG. 11B) of the accommodating member 54, and both members are joined together. It is a member.

In this way, the Nipple 52 integrates the accommodating member 54 accommodating the ink pad 55 and the partition member 53, but when the ink pad 55 deteriorates over time or the like, the ink storage performance deteriorates. By separating the accommodating member 54 from the partition member 53, the ink pad 55 inside can be easily replaced.

As shown in FIG. 6, a partition member 53 is interposed between the ink discharge port 511 of the tank 51 and the ink pad 55 accommodated by the accommodating member 54. Here, FIG. 8A is a side view of the partition member 53, and FIG. 8B is a bottom view of the partition member 53. Further, FIG. 9 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the partition member 53.
A female screw portion 534 is formed on the inner wall of the partition member 53. The niple 52 is detachably attached to the tank 51 by screwing the female screw portion 534 of the partition member 53 into the male screw portion 512 formed in the ink discharge port 511 at the lowermost portion of the tank 51.

With reference to FIGS. 8 and 9, the partition member 53 has a plurality of through holes (ink supply hole 531 and air vent hole 532) penetrating the bottom plate portion (hereinafter, simply referred to as “partition plate portion”) 530. There is. These through holes (531, 532) can facilitate the replacement of the air remaining in the ink pad 55 in the form of bubbles with the ink supplied from the tank 51.

An example of through holes 531 and 532 formed in the partition plate portion 530 is shown in FIG. According to this embodiment, the partition plate portion 530 has a disk shape. The through hole is composed of at least one ink supply hole 531 and a plurality of air vent holes 532, and a plurality of air vent holes 532 are arranged radially around the ink supply hole 531 in the partition plate portion 530. It is formed.

Here, the opening diameter of the ink supply hole 531 on the ink pad side (lower side) is defined as a, and the opening diameter on the tank side (upper side) is defined as a1. Further, the opening diameter of the air vent hole 532 on the tank side (upper side) is defined as b, and the opening diameter on the ink pad side (lower side) is defined as b1. It should be noted that the plurality of air vent holes 532 are all the same in shape except for the difference in radial orientation. Further, the "opening diameter" means the maximum opening diameter of the through hole. That is, the opening diameter of the circular ink supply hole 531 corresponds to the diameter of the hole, and the opening diameter of the air vent hole 532 corresponds to the opening length in the radial direction of the partition plate portion 530.

In this case, the opening diameter a of the ink supply hole 531 is preferably larger than the opening diameter b of the air vent hole 532 (conditional expression (1)).
a> b ... (1)

Further, in addition to the conditional expression (1), the opening diameter a1 on the tank side of the ink supply hole 531 is preferably larger than the opening diameter a on the ink pad side (conditional expression (2)).
a1> a ... (2)

Further, in addition to the conditional formula (1), the opening diameter b1 on the ink pad side of the air vent hole 532 is preferably larger than the opening diameter b on the tank side (conditional formula (3)).
b1> b ... (3)

The partition member 53 in which the ink supply hole 531 and the air vent hole 532 are formed as described above can facilitate the replacement of air and ink in the ink pad 55. Therefore, not only the initial ink is supplied to the ink pad 55, but also the ink from the tank 51 can be occluded in the ink pad 55 in just proportion within a short period of one stamping process.

The ink pad 55 is housed and held in the housing member 54. The ink pad 55 can be, for example, a non-woven fabric made of synthetic resin fibers or a felt-processed body as long as it has pores capable of storing non-viscous liquid ink. As the material, for example, polyolefin fibers made of polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP) can be adopted. Further, the ink pad 55 can be formed of a porous body such as a sponge made of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) or the like.

Further, in order to improve the continuous stamping property, the ink pad 55 may have a multilayer structure having a different basis weight (fiber density). For example, when the ink pad has a two-layer structure, the basis weight of the side layer in contact with the stamp surface can be made larger than the basis weight of the ink supply side layer. These layers can be bonded, for example, by heat fusion processing. With such a multi-layer structure, it is possible to adjust the ink flow without impairing the initial ink supply to the ink pad 55 by causing a difference in the capillary force, so that the stamp surface is made into characters, patterns, etc. It is particularly preferable when the stamp body 20 is a non-porous body.

Here, FIG. 11A is a plan view of the accommodating member 54, and FIG. 11B is a vertical sectional view of the accommodating member 54. In the accommodating member 54, the lower portion of the fitted portion 541 formed on the upper portion of the inner wall of the cylindrical body serves as an accommodating space 542 for accommodating the ink pad 55.

Further, below the accommodating space 542, an ink reservoir 544 that absorbs ink leaks from the ink pad 55 is formed. In the embodiment of FIG. 11, the ink reservoir 544 is formed by grooves 543a, 543a, ..., Which adsorb liquid ink by utilizing the slit-shaped gap. That is, in the accommodating member 54, a plurality of folds 543, 543, ... Are formed so as to radiate from the inner wall thereof toward the central axis. The folds 543, 543, ... Are arranged at the same interval in the circumferential direction of the accommodating member 54, and are formed to have the same length in the radial direction. Such a fold-like body 543 preferably has an affinity with the ink used in order to hold the liquid ink to some extent.

In this embodiment, the ink sump 544 is in contact with the surface region of the lower surface of the ink pad 55 excluding the surface in contact with the stamp body 20 with the ink sump 544 composed of slit-shaped grooves 543a, 543a, ... There is. The folds 543, 543, ... Are adjacent to each other at a short distance, and the slit-shaped grooves 543a, 543a, ..., Which are the gaps between them, have a weaker capillary force than the ink pad 55. Have. The capillary force of the ink reservoir 544 is greater toward the center side where the intervals between the radial grooves 543a, 543a, ... Are narrower, that is, the side where the stamp 20 is present.

When the internal pressure of the tank 51 increases due to a sudden temperature change or the like, the ink occluded by the ink pad 55 may leak to the outside. However, according to this embodiment, the ink sump 544 can absorb the ink leaked from the ink pad 55 and can maintain a certain amount. Therefore, even when the internal pressure of the tank 51 is high, it is possible to avoid a situation in which ink is ejected when the stamp 20 separates from the ink pad 55 at the time of stamping.
In particular, in the radial ink reservoir 544, the intervals between the grooves 543a, 543a, ... Are narrowed toward the center, and the capillary force is increased. Therefore, the ink leaking to the stamp body 20 side at the center of the ink pad 55 is preferentially absorbed so that excess ink does not adhere to the stamp surface.

Further, since the capillary force of the ink pad 55 is stronger than that of the ink reservoir 544, when the internal pressure of the tank 51 returns to normal, the peripheral portion of the ink pad 55 quickly absorbs the leaked ink accumulated in the ink reservoir 544. Can be returned.

As another embodiment, as shown in FIG. 12, an ink reservoir 545 that contacts the outer peripheral side surface of the ink pad 55 may be formed on the accommodating member 54. Also in this embodiment, the slit-shaped grooves 546a, 546a, ... Are formed by the plurality of folds 546, 546, ... Radiating toward the central axis. Even with the ink reservoir 545 of such an aspect, the ink leakage from the ink pad 55 can be efficiently accumulated. Further, in order to secure the capacity of the leaking ink, the folds 546, 546, ... May be extended to the periphery of the stamp 20 as shown in FIG.

In any of the embodiments shown in FIGS. 11 and 12, the stamp body 20 enters the internal space of the accommodating member 54 defined by the ink reservoirs 544 and 545, and the stamp surface abuts against the ink pad 55. It has a structure. Then, the reversing piece 21 urged by the coil spring 60 presses the lower end of the accommodating member 54 via the O-ring 25 around the stamp body 20. With such a closed structure of the accommodating member 54, volatilization and drying of the ink in the ink pad 55 can be effectively prevented. Further, since the O-ring 25 relieves the contact pressure between the ink pad 55 and the stamp 20, it is possible to prevent the ink pad 55 from being deformed or settled over time.

Next, the marking operation by the marking device 10 having the above-described configuration will be described. Here, as shown in FIG. 13, an example of transferring the light spot mark to the sidewall of the tire T will be described.

When the marking device 10 is not in use, the inner cylinder 30 protrudes from the outer cylinder 40 due to the action of the elastic rebound force of the coil spring 60, and the entire marking device 10 is in a stretched state. In this initial state, the stamp body 20 is inside the accommodating member 54 as described above, and the stamp body 20 is in contact with the ink pad 55 in order to adhere the ink for transfer to the stamp surface.

Next, when starting marking, the unbalanced peak position (light point) of the tire T measured in advance is targeted, and the lowest point of the lower end edge 33a of the inner cylinder 30 is aligned with that position. Make contact. Then, when the outer cylinder 40 is pushed down against the repulsive force of the coil spring 60, the entire body shrinks so that the inner cylinder 30 enters the outer cylinder 40. At this time, the reversing piece 21 pivotally supported by the outer cylinder 40 is guided by the vertically long elongated hole 35 of the inner cylinder 30 and moves downward in the inner cylinder 30.

When the reversing piece 21 on which the stamp body 20 is installed descends in conjunction with the pressing operation of the outer cylinder 40, the first semicircular groove 23a on the right side of the reversing piece 21 first moves the reversing guide 36 of the inner cylinder 30. It comes into contact with the constituent upper small protrusion 36a (FIG. 14A). At this time, the right side of the reversing piece 21 is pushed up by the small protrusion 36a, and the reversing piece 21 starts rotating around the shaft portion 22 (FIG. 14B).

When the rotation angle of the reversing piece 21 becomes 90 °, the central circular head protrusion 24 engages with the reversing guide 36 so as to enter the middle groove 36c (FIG. 14C). As the rotation of the reversing piece 21 further progresses, the lower small protrusion 36b pushes up the circular head protrusion 24 this time. As a result, the reversing piece 21 is finally inverted by 180 ° at the lower end position of the inner cylinder 30, and the stamp surface of the stamp body 20 faces the mark target surface side (FIG. 14D). If the outer cylinder 40 is further pushed down, the pressing pressure is applied to the stamp 20. As a result, the stamp surface of the stamp body 20 is pressed against the tire T, and the ink is transferred there.

When the pressure on the outer cylinder 40 is released after the marking is completed, the inner cylinder 30 returns to the initial position due to the repulsive force of the compressed coil spring 60. In conjunction with this, the reversing piece 21 also moves upward in the inner cylinder 30 and returns to the initial position. At this time, the stamp surface is inverted upward by an operation opposite to the above-mentioned engagement operation with the inversion guide 36.

In the marking device 10 of the present embodiment, the lower end edge 33a of the inner cylinder 30 that abuts on the tire surface, which is the marking target surface, is formed in an arc shape. Further, the center of curvature of the lower end edge 33a that bends in an arc shape is on the extension line in the sliding direction of the outer cylinder 40 and the inner cylinder 30 that passes through the shaft portion 22 (the pivot axis of the stamp body) of the reversing piece 21. Is preferable.

As described above, since the inner cylinder 30 has the arc-shaped lower end edge 33a, it is possible to improve the followability of the stamp surface approaching the mark target surface.
FIG. 15 shows a diagram comparing the effects of the case where the inner cylinder has the arc-shaped lower end edge 33a according to the embodiment and the case where the inner cylinder has the linear lower end edge (indicated by the broken line) according to the comparative example. According to FIG. 15, in the case of the embodiment, if the inclination of the marking device 10 with respect to the mark target surface is equal to or less than the maximum allowable angle Ra on one side, the entire stamp surface of the stamp body 20 can be transferred to the target surface with good followability. doing. On the other hand, in the case of the comparative example, since the corner of the inner cylinder interferes with the marking target surface, the maximum permissible angle Ro on one side of the marking device that allows transfer of the entire stamp surface is smaller than the maximum permissible angle Ra of this embodiment. Is understood (Ra> Ro).

Even if the marking device 10 is slightly tilted with respect to the normal direction of the marking target surface and pressed, if the tilt is equal to or less than the maximum allowable angle Ra, a clear mark can be made without causing a part of the mark to be missing. It can be transferred to the tire surface. This means that even when marking an uneven target surface having a curved surface or an inclined surface such as a tire sidewall, the posture of the marking device main body does not need to be considered so much. That is, when automating the marking work, it is not necessary to accurately control the attitude of the marking device 10, so that the work efficiency can be improved.

Further, by providing the center of curvature of the lower end edge 33a of the inner cylinder on the extension line in the sliding direction of the inner cylinder 30 passing through the shaft portion 22 of the reversing piece 21, the pressing operation force applied to the outer cylinder 40 is dispersed. It is possible to concentrate on the stamp body 20 without causing it. As a result, if the lowest point of the lower end edge 33a of the inner cylinder is aligned with the light point position of the tire, a clear mark can be reliably transferred to the light point position.

(Second Embodiment)
Next, the marking device 70 according to the second embodiment will be described. In the drawings referred to below, the components common to or corresponding to those of the first embodiment are designated by the same reference numerals, and the detailed description thereof will be referred to the description in the first embodiment described above. Will be done.

FIG. 16 shows a side view of the marking device 70 according to the second embodiment. FIG. 17 shows a vertical cross-sectional view of the marking device 70. Similar to the first embodiment, the marking device 70 according to the present embodiment has a tank 91 for storing ink, an ink pad 55 for storing ink from the tank 91, and a stamp body with the stamp surface facing the ink pad 55. It includes an inner cylinder 30 that supports the 20 and an outer cylinder 80 that pivotally supports the stamp 20 and slidably accommodates the inner cylinder 30 via a coil spring 60. By pressing the outer cylinder 80 against the repulsive force of the coil spring 60, the stamp 20 can be inverted and marked in the inner cylinder 30.

As shown in FIG. 18, the outer cylinder 80 has a hollow cylindrical portion 81 which is an “upper frame portion” and a “lower frame portion” so that the ink cartridge 90 can be easily replaced. Similarly, it has a structure in which it is combined with and separated from the hollow square tubular portion 82. For example, a male screw portion 82a is formed on the upper portion of the square tubular portion 82, and the cylindrical portion 81 and the square tubular portion 82 can be attached and detached by screwing the male screw portion 82a into the female screw portion 81a below the cylindrical portion 81. It is combined.

The inner cylinder 30 has an arcuate lower end edge 33a as in the first embodiment. As a result, even when marking an uneven target surface having a curved surface or an inclined surface such as a tire sidewall, it is not necessary to perform accurate attitude control.

Further, the upper portion of the inner cylinder 30 is slidably inserted into the square tubular portion 82 constituting the lower frame portion of the outer cylinder 80. A bearing portion 46 is formed in the square tubular portion 82, and a shaft portion 22 of a reversing piece 21 (stamp 20) that reversely moves inside the inner tubular body 30 is rotatably pivotally supported by the bearing portion 46. .. Further, the inner cylinder 30 is formed with an elongated hole 35 for guiding the shaft portion 22 of the reversing piece 21 in the vertical direction, a reversing guide 36 for reversing the reversing piece 21, and the like, as in the first embodiment described above. ing.

As shown in FIG. 19, the ink cartridge 90 includes a cylindrical tank 91 for storing ink and a niple 52 attached to the lower part of the tank 91 as in the first embodiment. The tank 91 is housed in a cylindrical portion 81 that constitutes an upper frame portion of the outer cylinder 80. Similar to the first embodiment, the niple 52 can be composed of a partition member 53 that facilitates replacement of ink and air, and an accommodating member 54 that accommodates the ink pad 55. An ink reservoir 544 (or 545) similar to that of the first embodiment can be formed on the accommodating member 54.

In the outer cylinder 80, the niple 52 of the ink cartridge 90 penetrates the square tubular portion 82, and the tip of the accommodating member 54 is in contact with the upper portion of the inner cylinder 30. A compressed coil spring 60 is inserted into the cylindrical portion 81 to constantly press the niple 52 of the ink cartridge 90. That is, the ink cartridge 90 is elastically sandwiched between the coil spring 60 and the inner cylinder 30 in the outer cylinder 80.

When not in use (initial state), the elastic rebound force of the coil spring 60 acts on the ink cartridge 90, so that the inner cylinder 30 is pushed out from the outer cylinder 80, and the entire body is in an elongated state. In this initial state, the stamp body 20 in the inner cylinder 30 comes into contact with the ink pad 55 inside the accommodating member 54, and ink is supplied to the stamp surface.

As described above, the outer cylinder 80 can separate the cylindrical portion 81 (upper frame) from the square tubular portion 82 (lower frame), and the ink cartridge 90 can be easily taken out in that state. Is. As described above, according to the marking device 70, the ink cartridge 90 that has been exhausted and emptied of ink can be easily replaced with one that has been replenished with ink, so that the marking work efficiency is not lowered. In addition, it is easy to automate the replacement of the ink cartridge 90, and the efficiency of the marking work can be further improved.

10 Marking device (first embodiment)
20 Stamp 21 Reversing piece 22 Shaft 23a, 23b Semi-circular groove 24 Round head protrusion 25 O-ring 30 Inner cylinder 32 Cartridge fitting 33a Lower edge 34F, 34R Inner frame member 35 Long hole 36 Reversing guide 40 Outer cylinder 45 Opening 46 Bearing 50 Ink cartridge 51 Tank 52 Nipple 53 Partition member 531 Ink supply hole 532 Air vent hole 54 Ink pad accommodating member 543 Folded body 543a Slit-shaped groove 544 Ink reservoir 55 Ink pad 60 Coil spring 70 Marking device (Second Embodiment)
80 Outer cylinder 81 Cylindrical part 82 Square tubular part 90 Ink cartridge 91 Tank

Claims (3)

A tank for storing ink, an ink pad for storing ink in the tank, an accommodating member for accommodating the ink pad, an inner cylinder body for supporting the stamp body with the stamp surface facing the ink pad, and the stamp body. The inner cylinder is provided with an outer cylinder that pivotally supports the inner cylinder and slidably accommodates the inner cylinder, and by pressing the outer cylinder against the repulsive force of the elastic body, the inner cylinder is formed. It is a reversing type marking device that can perform marking by reversing the stamp body.
The ink pad receives ink supplied from the tank on its upper surface, and is housed in the accommodating member so that the lower surface opposite to the upper surface abuts on the stamp surface of the stamp body to supply ink.
The housing member, the seal face of the indicia member of the lower surface of the ink pad is in contact with the peripheral edge portion which does not contact, it has an ink reservoir having a slit-like groove, the marking device. The ink pool has a plurality of folds extending radially from the inner wall of the housing member toward the center .
Together said adjacent Apply predicates Tei groove of said ink reservoir is formed by a gap of each pleat-like body, the marking device of claim 1. The corrugated body of the ink reservoir is in contact with the outer circumferential surface of the ink pad, the marking device according to claim 2.

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