JP7300641B2 - Sealing device and sealing device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a sealing device and a sealing device.

Conventionally, there has been developed a sealing device that automatically applies glue, forms folds on a flap, folds the flap, and sticks it to the body of an envelope (Patent Document 1).

The sealing device includes, for example, an envelope feeding section for feeding envelopes, a crease forming section for forming creases in the flaps, a glue applying section for applying glue to the flaps, and a sealing section for folding the flaps and attaching them to the body of the envelope. and a stop.

JP 2006-151518 A

A sealing device such as that disclosed in Patent Document 1 includes a flap folding portion of an envelope and a sealing portion that seals the folded flap by pressing it with a transfer roller. Since the flap folding part and the sealing part are arranged at a certain distance, depending on the type of paper of the envelope, the flap may be lifted up after folding the flap and before sealing, and wrinkles may occur at the sealing part. can also occur. Also, the size of the machine becomes large.

The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to prevent the occurrence of wrinkles when sealing after folding back the flap of an envelope, and to reduce the machine size. To provide a small sealing device and a sealing device.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the invention according to claim 1 provides a conveying section for conveying an envelope, a sealing section for folding back and sealing the flap of the envelope, and holding the envelope body during the sealing. A sealing device comprising an envelope holding section,
The sealing section includes a pair of sealing rollers for sandwiching the flap together with the envelope body, and at least one sealing roller of the pair of sealing rollers is moved around the other sealing roller. and a sealing roller moving section for continuously folding back and sealing the flap of the envelope , wherein the sealing roller moving section moves at least one sealing roller of the pair of sealing rollers to the other sealing roller. It is characterized in that the folding and sealing of the flap of the envelope are continuously performed by rotating the roller about 90 degrees from the initial horizontal position on the circumference of the roller.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a sealing device according to the first aspect, wherein the envelope holding portion is provided with a stopper against which the rear end of the envelope body is abutted during sealing. be.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a sealing device according to the first aspect, wherein the envelope holding portion includes an abutment member that abuts against the envelope body portion from above during the sealing, and a contact member that contacts the envelope body. It is characterized in that an abutting member moving portion is provided for moving the body portion between the abutting position and the retracted position.

Further, the invention according to claim 4 is the sealing device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein at least one of the pair of sealing rollers rotates around the rotation of the other sealing roller. It is characterized in that it moves on the circumference of the other sealing roller with reference to the center coaxial with the center.

The invention according to claim 5 is the sealing device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the sealing roller moving section moves the one of the flaps in the direction of folding back the flap toward the envelope body side. It is characterized by moving one sealing roller on the circumference of the other sealing roller.

The invention according to claim 6 is the sealing device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the sealing roller moving on the circumference of the other sealing roller It is characterized in that it is press-contacted to the roller via an elastic member so as to be contactable and detachable.

The invention according to claim 7 is the sealing device according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the pair of sealing rollers are made of materials having different hardnesses. It is something to do.

The invention according to claim 8 is the sealing device according to any one of claims 1 to 7 , further comprising a crease part for creasing the crease line of the flap in the envelope, wherein the crease part is a crease. a creased blade; a receiving portion for thrusting the creased blade; and a creased blade moving portion for moving the creased blade to a pressure contact position and a retracted position with respect to the receiving portion; It is characterized by being a concave groove formed on the surface of one of the pair of sealing rollers facing the blade.

According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a sealing device according to the eighth aspect of the present invention, wherein the crease portion forms a crease line of the flap on the envelope as a pretreatment for folding back and sealing the flap by the pair of sealing rollers. It is characterized by incision.

Further, the invention according to claim 10 is the sealing device according to any one of claims 1 to 9 , further comprising a sealing agent applying unit for applying a sealing agent to the envelope conveyed by the conveying unit. It is characterized by

Further, the invention according to claim 11 comprises a pair of sealing rollers for sandwiching the flap of the envelope together with the body of the envelope, and at least one sealing roller of the pair of sealing rollers circling the other sealing roller. and a sealing roller moving part that moves at least one of the pair of sealing rollers to an initial horizontal position on the circumference of the other sealing roller. It is characterized in that the folding back and sealing of the flap of the envelope are continuously performed by rotating the flap by about 90 degrees from the original position . According to a twelfth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a conveying section for conveying the envelope, a sealing section for folding back and sealing the flap of the envelope, and an envelope holding section for holding the envelope body during the sealing. A sealing device, wherein the sealing unit includes a pair of sealing rollers for sandwiching the flap together with the envelope body, and at least one sealing roller of the pair of sealing rollers circling the other sealing roller. a sealing roller moving part that continuously folds back and seals the flap of the envelope by moving the sealing roller moving part above, and the sealing roller moving part is at least one sealing roller of the pair of sealing rollers on the circumference of the other sealing roller from the initial horizontal position to a position further moved by a predetermined amount from directly above the other sealing roller, thereby continuously folding back and sealing the flap of the envelope. do.

According to the first aspect of the invention, the sealing roller moving portion moves at least one sealing roller of the pair of sealing rollers on the circumference of the other sealing roller, so that the flap folding portion and the sealing It is not necessary to arrange the parts at a distance more than necessary, and the folding and sealing of the flap of the envelope can be performed continuously. Therefore, it is possible to provide a sealing device that can prevent the occurrence of wrinkles during sealing after the flap of the envelope is folded back, and that has a small machine size. Further, the sealing roller moving section rotates at least one sealing roller of the pair of sealing rollers by about 90° from the initial horizontal position on the rotation of the other sealing roller, thereby moving the envelope. The folding and sealing of the flap are configured to be performed sequentially. Therefore, the flap can be tightly crimped to the envelope body.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the envelope holding portion is provided with a stopper against which the rear end of the envelope barrel is abutted during sealing. Therefore, when the flap of the envelope is folded back and sealed, it is possible to prevent the envelope body from being dislocated, and the flap of the envelope can be folded back and sealed accurately.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the envelope holding portion includes a contact member that contacts the envelope body from above, and a position where the contact member contacts the envelope body and a retracted position when the envelope is sealed. A contact member moving portion is provided to move the contact member. Therefore, when the flap of the envelope is folded back and sealed, it is possible to prevent the envelope body from being displaced, and the flap of the envelope can be folded back and sealed accurately.

According to the fourth aspect of the invention, at least one sealing roller of the pair of sealing rollers moves on the circumference of the other sealing roller with reference to the center coaxial with the rotation center of the other sealing roller. configured to
Therefore, the configuration is simple, and the folding and sealing of the flap of the envelope can be performed with high accuracy.

According to the fifth aspect of the invention, the sealing roller moving section is configured to move the one sealing roller on the circumference of the other sealing roller in the direction in which the flap is folded back toward the envelope body. be. Therefore, folding back and sealing of the flap of the envelope can be performed with high accuracy.

According to the sixth aspect of the invention, the sealing roller moving on the circumference of the other sealing roller is pressed against the other sealing roller via an elastic member so as to be able to contact and separate. Configured. Therefore, even if the enclosure is thick, it can be neatly sealed without wrinkles. It is possible to accurately fold back and seal the flap of the envelope.

According to the seventh aspect of the invention, the pair of sealing rollers are made of materials having different hardnesses. Therefore, even if the enclosure is thick, it can be neatly sealed without wrinkles. It is possible to accurately fold back and seal the flap of the envelope.

According to the eighth aspect of the present invention, the envelope further comprises a crease portion for creasing the crease line of the flap, wherein the crease portion comprises a creased blade, a receiving portion for thrusting the creased blade, and the creased blade. to the pressure contact position and the retracted position with respect to the receiving portion, the receiving portion facing the creased blade and on the surface of one sealing roller of the pair of sealing rollers It is characterized by being a formed concave groove. Therefore, folding back and sealing of the flap of the envelope can be performed more accurately.

According to the ninth aspect of the invention, the crease portion creases the fold line of the flap in the envelope as a pretreatment for folding back and sealing the flap by the pair of sealing rollers. Therefore, folding back and sealing of the flap of the envelope can be performed more accurately.

According to the tenth aspect of the present invention, the apparatus further includes a sealing agent application unit that applies a sealing agent to the envelope conveyed by the conveying unit. Therefore, when using an envelope E whose flap F has not been pre-applied with glue or adhesive, the sealing agent can be conveniently applied to the envelope by the sealing agent application unit.

According to the invention of claim 11 , a pair of sealing rollers for sandwiching the flap of the envelope together with the body of the envelope, and at least one sealing roller of the pair of sealing rollers circling the other sealing roller. By moving upward, it is not necessary to dispose the flap folding part and the sealing part with an excessive distance therebetween, and the folding and sealing of the flap of the envelope can be performed continuously. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of wrinkles during sealing after folding back the flap of the envelope, and to provide a sealing device with a small machine size. According to the twelfth aspect of the present invention, the sealing range of the flap to the envelope body can be ensured, and the flap can be firmly sealed to the envelope body.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows schematic structure of the sealing device which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a top view of the said sealing device. It is a side enlarged view of the sealing portion of the sealing device. It is a side view enlarged drawing of the sealing part of the said sealing device. It is a perspective view which shows operation|movement of the sealing part of the said sealing apparatus. It is a perspective view which shows operation|movement of the sealing part of the said sealing device. It is a schematic diagram which shows operation|movement of the sealing part of the said sealing apparatus. It is a schematic diagram which shows operation|movement of the sealing part of the said sealing apparatus. It is a schematic diagram which shows operation|movement of the sealing part of the said sealing apparatus. It is a schematic diagram showing the operation of the sealing unit of the sealing device according to another embodiment. It is a schematic diagram showing the operation of the sealing unit of the sealing device according to another embodiment. It is a schematic diagram showing the operation of the sealing unit of the sealing device according to another embodiment. It is a schematic diagram showing the operation of the sealing unit of the sealing device according to another embodiment. It is a schematic diagram showing a sealing portion of a sealing device according to another embodiment. It is a side enlarged view of a conveying portion of the sealing device.

(First embodiment)
1 and 2 show the overall configuration of a sealing device according to the present invention. FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a schematic configuration of the sealing device 1. As shown in FIG. FIG. 2 is a plan view showing the internal configuration of the sealing device 1. As shown in FIG. In each figure, the sealing device 1 includes a conveying section 3 for conveying envelopes. The transport section 3 has a substantially horizontal transport path 4 . A feeding section 2 for the envelopes E is provided on the upstream side of the transport path 4 . A stacking unit 6 is provided on the downstream side of the transport path 4 . The transport path 4 is provided with a sealing agent application unit 7 , a sealing unit 8 , and a skew correction unit 9 . A plurality of envelope detectors 11 are installed on the transport path 4 . The envelope conveying device is composed of the sealing device 1 .

(supply unit 2)
The supply unit 2 supplies the unsealed envelope E to the transport path 4 . The supply unit 2 includes a supply table 21 , a supply belt 22 and a handling unit 23 . A plurality of unsealed envelopes E are stacked on the upper surface of the supply table 21 . Placement positions corresponding to the sizes of the envelopes E are marked on the supply table 21 . The placement position of the envelope E is such that the folding line formation position of the flap F is in the width direction W orthogonal to the transport direction H by the transport unit 3 and a predetermined position on the pair of sealing rollers 81 (for example, the first sealing roller described later). This position is on the same line as the position directly above the outer circumference of the roller 41).

As described above, since the envelope E is horizontally fed from the supply section 2 to the transport path 4, the space of the transport path as a whole can be minimized, and therefore the size of the machine can be reduced.

The supply belt 22 is embedded in the downstream position of the supply table 21 . A plurality of supply belts 22 are arranged side by side in the width direction W perpendicular to the supply direction of the envelopes E. As shown in FIG. The supply belt 22 is stretched over a pair of front and rear supply rollers 24 . The supply roller 24 is installed below the surface on which the envelope E is placed. The supply roller 24 is installed at a predetermined distance in the direction in which the envelope E is supplied. Of the pair of supply rollers 24 around which the supply belt 22 is stretched, one supply roller 24 is connected to a supply drive section 26 via a drive transmission mechanism 25 provided at one end in the width direction W. As shown in FIG. By driving the supply drive unit 26, the supply roller 24 is rotated and the supply belt 22 is run.

The separating section 23 prevents the envelopes E from being double-fed. The handling unit 23 includes a handling roller 28 and a contact plate 29 . FIG. 2 shows the case where one separating roller 28 is provided. The separating roller 28 is installed above the downstream end of the supply belt 22a installed near the center in the width direction W perpendicular to the supply direction of the envelopes E so as to face it. Incidentally, a plurality of the separating rollers 28 may be arranged in the width direction W side by side. The separating roller 28 is urged downward by an urging means (not shown). The contact plate 29 is installed upstream of the separating roller 28 . The contact plate 29 is contacted by the side edge of the envelope E. As shown in FIG. The contact plate 29 is erected above the supply belt 22 with a predetermined distance therebetween.

In the supply unit 2, instead of the above-described method of using the supply belt 22, as means for supplying the unsealed envelope E to the transport path 4, the envelope E is transported using one or a plurality of paper feed rollers. It may also be configured to feed into the path 4 .

(Conveyor 3)
The transport section 3 transports the envelope E supplied from the supply section 2 to the stacking section 6 . The transport unit 3 includes transport rollers 31 , a transport belt 32 , and a transport driving unit 35 . A pair of conveying rollers 31 are installed on the upper and lower sides of the conveying surface of the envelope E so as to face each other.
The conveying belt 32 is stretched over a pair of belt rollers 33 that are spaced apart from each other by a predetermined amount in the forward and rearward directions.

On each of the three conveyor belts 32 shown in FIG. 2, a discharge guide 113 having one end fixed to a shaft 112 as shown in FIG. 15 is installed. The ejection guide 113 is composed of a thin metal plate, a resin plate, or the like, and presses the conveyed envelope E against the conveying belt 32 from above. Therefore, the envelope E is given a stable conveying force by the conveying belt 32 .

(Sealant application unit 7)
When using an envelope E whose flap F is not pre-applied with glue or adhesive, the sealing agent applicator 7 can be used. Therefore, when using an envelope E whose flap F has not been pre-applied with glue or adhesive, the sealing agent can be conveniently applied to the envelope by the sealing agent application unit.
The sealing agent application unit 7 applies the sealing agent to the envelope E. As shown in FIG. Examples of the sealing agent include glue, adhesive, water, and the like. Water is used when sealing the envelope E, which has been previously coated with an adhesive component at the sealing position of the envelope E. As shown in FIG. The sealant may be in liquid, solid, or gel form. Also, the sealing agent may be held on a tape or may be sprayed in the form of a mist.

The sealing agent application unit 7 shown in FIG. 1 shows a case where the sealing agent is glue held in a glue cassette 71 . The glue cassette 71 accommodates a tape holding glue. A transfer section 72 for transferring the glue to the envelope E is provided at the lower end of the glue cassette 71 . The transfer section 72 includes a transfer roller 721 . In the transfer section 72, the adhesive holding surface of the tape faces the receiving roller 722 below. The transfer roller 721 pinches the flap F of the envelope E between itself and the receiving roller 722 .

The glue cassette 71 is held by a cassette holding portion 74 . The cassette holding portion 74 holds the glue cassette 71 detachably. The cassette holding portion 74 is moved up and down by the lifting portion 75 . The elevating unit 75 elevates the glue cassette 71 between the standby position and the sealing agent applying position.

(sealing part 8)
The sealing unit 8 seals the flap F to the envelope body T of the envelope E. As shown in FIG. The sealing part 8 constitutes a sealing device. The sealing unit 8 includes a pair of sealing rollers 81, a conveying belt 32, and the like. The envelope E conveyed from the supply unit 2 and the conveying unit 3 and transferred to the conveying belt 32 is placed on the conveying belt 32 so that the folding line formation position of the flap F is aligned with the predetermined position of the pair of sealing rollers 81 . is stopped at

The pair of sealing rollers 81 is composed of the first sealing roller 41 and the second sealing roller 42 and extends along the conveying direction H of the envelope E by the conveying belt 32 . The pair of sealing rollers 81 seals the flap F to the envelope body T by nipping the flap F together with the envelope body T at the nip portion between the first sealing roller 41 and the second sealing roller 42 . do.

Preferably, the pair of sealing rollers 81 are made of materials having different hardnesses. Therefore, even if the enclosure is thick, it can be neatly sealed without wrinkles. It is possible to accurately fold back and seal the flap of the envelope.

At least one of the pair of sealing rollers 81 is moved in a predetermined direction by the sealing roller moving portion 87 during sealing. 3 and 4 are enlarged views of the sealing portion 8 viewed from the downstream side. 3 shows the state before the flap F is sealed to the envelope body T of the envelope E, and FIG. 4 shows the state after the flap F is sealed to the envelope body T. FIG. 5 and 6 are perspective views of the sealing portion 8. FIG. 5 is a diagram corresponding to the state of FIG. 3, and FIG. 6 is a diagram corresponding to the state of FIG. The sealing roller moving unit 87 moves the second sealing roller 42 in the R direction, for example. As shown in FIGS. 3 to 6, the sealing roller moving section 87 moves the second sealing roller 42 along the circumference of the first sealing roller 41 in the direction in which the flap F is folded back toward the envelope body T. Let Therefore, folding back and sealing of the flap of the envelope can be performed with high accuracy.

The sealing roller moving portion 87 includes a base member 60, a swing member 51, and the like. The swinging member 51 is a member having a substantially U-shaped cross section that supports the pair of sealing rollers 81 therebetween, and is rotatably supported by the base member 60 . Specifically, the swinging member 51 moves the second sealing roller 42 around the rotation shaft 61 of the first sealing roller 41 while rotating the first sealing roller 41 .

As shown in FIGS. 3 to 6, the rotating shaft 61 of the first sealing roller 41 is non-rotatably fixed to the base member 60 (the rocking member 51 is rotatable with respect to the rotating shaft 61), and the second sealing roller 41 A rotation shaft 67 of the stop roller 42 is rotatably supported by the swing member 51 . The rotating shafts 61 and 67 pass through the rocking member 51 and extend to the opposite side.

Next, a mechanism for transmitting rotational driving force from the drive motor 86 to the pair of sealing rollers 81 will be described.
A pulley 62 attached to the rotating shaft 61 through a bearing so as to rotate idle and a pulley (not shown) attached to the rotating shaft of the drive motor 86 are connected via a timing belt 65 .

Further, a timing belt 66 is stretched over a pulley 62 together with the timing belt 65. The timing belt 66 includes the pulley 62, a pulley 64 fixed to a rotating shaft 67, and a pulley 63 that applies tension to the timing belt 66. It is stretched between them, and transmits the rotational driving force of the driving motor 86 to the rotating shaft 67 (second sealing roller 42). The rotational driving force of the driving motor 86 is not transmitted to the rotating shaft 61 (first sealing roller 41) because the pulley 62 idles.

The tension applied to the timing belt 66 is such that the pulley 63 is rotatably supported by the tension arm 53, and the tension arm 53 is rotatably supported by the rocking member 51 about the rotating shaft 54.
It is applied by applying a downward force by the second biasing member 56 .

A first biasing member 55 is attached between the rotating shaft 67 and the swinging member 51 , and the first biasing member 55 causes the second sealing roller 42 to contact and separate from the first sealing roller 41 . pressure contact possible. Therefore, even if the enclosure is thick, it can be neatly sealed without wrinkles. It is possible to accurately fold back and seal the flap of the envelope.

As means for detecting the rotational position (angle) of the swinging member 51, for example, an optical sensor (such as a photointerrupter) and a light blocking plate are used. FIG. 5 shows the state (home position) before the flap F is sealed to the envelope body T of the envelope E. At this position, the detection sensor 101 is attached to the rocking member 51 at a predetermined position on the light blocking plate. 102 is detected. FIG. 6 shows the state after the flap F is sealed to the envelope body T. At this position, the detection sensor 103 detects light shielding by the light shielding plate 104 attached to the rocking member 51 at a predetermined position. are doing.

(Skew Correcting Section 9) The skew correcting section 9 corrects the skew of the envelope E. FIG. The skew correcting section 9 includes an abutment plate 91 , a support shaft 92 and an abutment plate moving portion 94 . The abutment plate 91 extends in a direction orthogonal to the conveying direction H of the envelope E by the conveying belt 32 . The side edge of the envelope E abuts against the abutment plate 91 .

The abutment plate 91 is configured to be able to block the transport of the envelope E. As shown in FIG. The upper end of the abutment plate 91 is fixed to a support shaft 92 above the conveying surface. The support shaft 92 is rotatably supported by the side plates 13 and 14 . The abutment plate 91 is moved between the standby position and the skew correction position by the abutment plate moving portion 94 . In FIG. 1, the solid line indicates that the abutment plate 91 is at the standby position, and the broken line indicates that it is at the skew correction position. At the standby position, the abutment plate 91 is inclined at a predetermined angle. At the standby position, the envelope E can pass through the transport path toward the stacking section 6 . At the skew correction position, the abutment plate 91 extends in the vertical direction, and the conveyance of the envelope E is interrupted.

The abutment plate moving unit 94 swings the abutment plate 91 from the standby position in the vertical direction to close the envelope E transport path. The abutment plate moving portion 94 includes a solenoid 95 , a link member 96 and an urging member 97 . FIG. 1 shows a case where the link member 96 is formed of a rectangular plate material. A central portion in the longitudinal direction of the link member 96 is connected to the solenoid 95 . One end of the link member 96 is fixed to the support shaft 92 . The other end of the link member 96 is biased downward by a biasing member 97 .

When the solenoid 95 is driven, the link member 96 swings counterclockwise around the support shaft 92 against the biasing force of the biasing member 97 to the skew correction position indicated by the chain double-dashed line in FIG. be. As a result, the abutment plate 91 swings from the inclined posture to the posture extending in the vertical direction, and closes the conveying path 4 .

Instead of swinging the abutment plate 91 about the support shaft 92, the abutment plate moving unit 94 may be configured to move the abutment plate 91 vertically, horizontally, or in an inclined direction.

(Loading unit 6)
The stacking unit 6 stacks envelopes E after sealing. A plurality of stacking units 6 are provided. The stacking section 6 is composed of a first stacking section 68 and a second stacking section 69 . The first stacker 68 is installed on the side of the transport path 4 . The second stacking unit 69 is installed on the downstream side in the conveying direction H of the conveying belt 32 . Ejection paths for ejecting the envelopes E to the first stacking section 68 and the second stacking section 69 are respectively provided.

The envelope detector 11 has a light-emitting element and a light-receiving element arranged vertically with the envelope conveying surface sandwiched therebetween. The envelope detection unit 11 detects the downstream side edge and the upstream side edge of the envelope E. As shown in FIG. A detection signal from the envelope detection unit 11 is sent to the control unit 10 .

(control unit 10)
The control unit 10 controls the operation of the sealing device 1 as a whole. The control section 10 receives a detection signal from the envelope detection section 11 and drives the driving section at a predetermined timing. Based on the detection signal from the envelope detection section 11, the control section 10 starts counting for determining the operation timing of each section.

(sealing work)
Envelopes E are stacked on the supply table 21 during the sealing operation. The downstream side edge of the envelope E is brought into contact with the contact plate 29 .
The fold line forming position of the flap F is positioned so as to be the same as the predetermined position of the pair of sealing rollers 81 . For example, it is set just above the outer circumference of the first sealing roller 41 . The flap F of the envelope E is laid open. When the supply drive unit 26 is driven, the supply belt 22 runs via the drive transmission mechanism 25 and the supply roller 24 . Envelopes E are supplied downstream in order from the bottom, and separated sheet by sheet by separating rollers 28 .

The control section 10 receives the detection signal from the envelope detection section 11 . At a predetermined timing when the envelope E reaches the sealing agent application unit 7, the control unit 10 drives the lifting unit 75 to lower the glue cassette 71 to the sealing agent application position. At the sealing agent application position, the transfer roller 721 presses the paste held by the tape onto the upper surface of the flap F. As shown in FIG. When the envelope E is transported downstream by the transport unit 3, the transfer roller 721 is rotated by friction with the envelope E, and glue is applied to the flap F of the envelope E. FIG. At the timing when the upstream side edge of the envelope E reaches the position where the transfer roller 721 is installed, the lifting section 75 starts lifting the glue cassette 71 to the waiting position.

After that, the envelope E is transported to the sealing section 8 by the transport rollers 31 . The control section 10 drives the solenoid 95 at a predetermined timing when the envelope E is conveyed to the sealing section 8 . 1, which is biased by the biasing member 97 of the link member 96, swings upward against the biasing force of the biasing member 97 as indicated by the broken line. As a result, the abutment plate 91 is swung from the inclined posture to the upright posture. The abutment plate 91 interrupts the transport of the envelope E on the transport path 4 . The envelope E is transported by the transport belt 32, strikes the abutment plate 91, and is stopped. The controller 10 stops the conveying belt 32 from running after a predetermined time has elapsed after the abutting plate 91 interrupts the conveying of the envelope E. As shown in FIG.

The side edge of the envelope E comes into contact with the abutment plate 91, and the conveying belt 32 stops running after a predetermined time elapses from this contact, so that the side edge of the envelope E becomes parallel to the abutment plate 91. . As a result, the skew of the envelope E is corrected. As described above, the skew correction unit 9 is provided with the abutment plate 91 against which the side edge of the envelope E is abutted, so that the skew of the envelope E can be easily corrected.

In addition, since the abutment plate 91 is configured to be capable of interrupting the transport of the envelope E in the transport path 4, in order to form the folding line on the flap F of the envelope E, when the transport of the envelope E by the transport unit 3 is stopped, , the skew of the envelope E can be corrected. Therefore, skew correction can be performed efficiently. In addition, the skew of the envelope E can be corrected immediately before the folding line is formed on the flap F, and the folding line can be formed at a more appropriate position than when the skew is corrected at another timing.

In FIG. 3, the position (angle) of the swinging member 51 supporting the first sealing roller 41 and the second sealing roller 42 is a substantially horizontal home position, and the envelope E is placed on both rollers. Further, the folding line forming position of the flap F is positioned just above the outer periphery of the first sealing roller 41 .

The control unit 10 drives the drive motor 86 to rotate the second sealing roller 42 in order to form the folding line on the flap F. As shown in FIG. When the second sealing roller 42 is rotated, the second sealing roller 42 rides on the first sealing roller 41 (fixed roller) and moves around the first sealing roller 41 .

As the second sealing roller 42 rotates and moves on the circumference of the first sealing roller 41, as shown in FIG. The flap F is sandwiched together with the envelope body T by the portion, and the flap F is sealed to the envelope body T.

Next, the above-described sealing work will be described in more detail with reference to schematic diagrams shown in FIGS. 7 to 9. FIG. 7 to 9, the swinging member 51 is omitted.

In the present invention, the second sealing roller 42 is configured to move around the first sealing roller 41 with the center coaxial with the rotation center of the first sealing roller 41 as a reference. As a result, the configuration is simple, and the folding and sealing of the flap of the envelope can be performed with high accuracy. In addition, the folding and sealing of the flap of the envelope can be performed continuously, and there is no need to dispose the flap folding portion and the sealing portion with an excessive distance therebetween. Therefore, it is possible to provide a sealing device that can prevent the occurrence of wrinkles during sealing after the flap of the envelope is folded back, and that has a small machine size.

(Home position position)
FIG. 7 shows the home position before starting the sealing operation, where the first sealing roller 41 and the second sealing roller 42 are substantially horizontal. The envelope E is placed on both rollers, and is aligned so that the folding line formation position G of the flap F is directly above the outer periphery of the first sealing roller 41 .

At the lower end of the envelope E, a stopper 108 is provided as an envelope holding portion against which the lower end of the envelope body T is abutted during sealing. Therefore, when the flap of the envelope is folded back and sealed, the positional deviation of the envelope body T can be prevented, and the flap of the envelope can be folded back and sealed accurately.

As the envelope holding portion, instead of the stopper 108, a contact member 109 that contacts the envelope body T from above at the time of sealing, and a contact position and a retracted position of the contact member 109 with respect to the envelope body. A contact member moving portion 110 that moves the contact member may be provided. Moreover, you may comprise so that both may be used together. The contact member moving portion 110 is composed of a contact member 109, a spring, and a solenoid. Due to the attracting force of the solenoid, the abutting member 109 comes to abutting position against the envelope body against the biasing force of the spring.
Therefore, when the flap of the envelope is folded back and sealed, it is possible to prevent the envelope body from being displaced, and the flap of the envelope can be folded back and sealed accurately.

(Flap F folding position)
FIG. 8 shows the folding position of the flap F after the start of the sealing operation. It shows a state of moving in the vertical direction on the orbit. When the first sealing roller 41 reaches a position rotated by approximately 90° from the horizontal position, the folding of the flap F is completed. Therefore, the flap can be tightly crimped to the envelope body.

(Sealing position of flap F)
FIG. 9 shows the sealing position of the flap F after the folding operation, and shows a state in which the second sealing roller 42 has moved further along the circumference of the first sealing roller 41 from the folding position of the flap F described above. showing. The first sealing roller 41 and the second sealing roller 42 seal the flap F to the envelope body T by nipping the flap F together with the envelope body T by the nip portion of both rollers. A sealing agent (glue, adhesive, etc.) is applied in advance to the flap F by the sealing agent application unit 7 .

Preferably, the range in which the second sealing roller 42 moves around the first sealing roller 41 is stopped at a position further moved by a predetermined amount from the position directly above the first sealing roller 41 (vertical position). good. By doing so, the sealing range of the flap F to the envelope body T can be ensured, and the flap F can be firmly sealed to the envelope body T.

(First stacking unit 68, second stacking unit 69)

If the thickness of the envelope E is thinner than the predetermined value, the envelope E is discharged to the first stacking section 68 . At this time, after the flap F is sealed, the control unit 10 drives the drive motor 86 for a predetermined period of time to continue the rotation of the pair of sealing rollers 81 . The envelope E is sent downstream from the nip N position by the pair of sealing rollers 81 and discharged to the first stacking section 68 .
In this case, the rotation shaft 61 of the first sealing roller 41 is provided with a drive clutch (not shown), and while the second sealing roller 42 moves from the home position to the sealing position of the flap F, During the sealing work, the drive clutch is disengaged and the rotating shaft 61 is idly rotated.

When the thickness of the envelope E is thicker than a predetermined value or when the contents of the envelope E are fragile, the sealing roller 81 pinches the envelope body T and should not be discharged to the first stacking unit 68.
After the flap F is adhered to the envelope body T and sealed, the pair of sealing rollers 81 are reversely rotated. Due to the reverse rotation of the pair of sealing rollers 81, the envelope E returns onto the conveying belt 32 and assumes a horizontal posture. The control unit 10 turns off the solenoid 95 of the skew correction unit 9 . The abutment plate 91 moves from the skew correction position to the standby position by the biasing force of the biasing member 97 . The control unit 10 causes the conveying belt 32 to run and eject the envelope E toward the second stacking unit 69 .

Since the abutment plate moving part 94 is provided for moving the abutment plate 91 between the standby position for passing the envelope E and the skew correction position for interrupting the conveyance of the envelope, the skew of the envelope E can be easily corrected. can be corrected. Since a plurality of stacking units 6 for stacking sealed envelopes E and multiple ejection paths for ejecting envelopes E to the stacking unit 6 are provided, the envelopes E can be properly folded according to the thickness of the envelopes E. and can be discharged to the required stacking unit 6.

As described above, the sealing device 1 of the present embodiment is provided with the skew correction unit 9 for correcting the skew of the envelope E. is installed, the skew of the envelope E can be properly corrected.

(Second embodiment)
Next, the sealing operation in the modified example of the sealing device 1 will be specifically described using the schematic diagrams shown in FIGS. 10 to 13. FIG. Since the basic operation is the same as that of the first embodiment (sealing operation shown in FIGS. 7 to 9), common parts between the two will be omitted, and different parts will be mainly described.

The sealing device 1 in the modified example further includes a crease portion 36 for creasing the folding line of the flap on the envelope E. The crease portion 36 includes a creased blade 58 and a receiving portion 37 for thrusting the creased blade 58. and a creased blade moving portion 59 (not shown) for moving the creased blade 58 to a pressure contact position and a retracted position with respect to the receiving portion 37, the receiving portion facing the creased blade 58, It is a concave groove formed on the surface of the first sealing roller 41 . According to this configuration, the folding and sealing of the flap of the envelope can be performed more accurately.

(Home position position)
FIG. 10 shows the home position before starting the sealing operation, where the first sealing roller 41 and the second sealing roller 42 are substantially horizontal. The envelope E is placed on both rollers, and the fold line formation position G of the flap F is positioned directly above the outer circumference of the first sealing roller 41 and directly above the receiving portion 37. It is

The crease portion 36 is configured to creas the fold line of the flap F in the envelope E as preprocessing for folding back the flap F by the pair of sealing rollers 81 . In FIG. 10, the creasing blade 58 is moved from the retracted position to the pressing position with respect to the receiving portion 37, thereby creasing the fold line of the flap F on the envelope E. As shown in FIG.

FIG. 11 shows the state after the crease 57 is formed by the creasing blade 58 at the home position. By forming the folding line portion 57, the later-described folding of the flap F can be performed easily and accurately.

(Flap F folding position)
FIG. 12 shows the folding position of the flap F after the start of the sealing operation. It shows a state of moving in the vertical direction on the orbit. Incidentally, when the first sealing roller 41 reaches the substantially vertical position on the rotation, folding back of the flap F with the folding line portion 57 as a reference is completed.

(Sealing position of flap F)
FIG. 13 shows the sealing position of the flap F after the folding operation, and shows a state in which the second sealing roller 42 has moved further along the circumference of the first sealing roller 41 from the folding position of the flap F described above. showing. The first sealing roller 41 and the second sealing roller 42 seal the flap F to the envelope body T by nipping the flap F together with the envelope body T by the nip portion of both rollers. A sealing agent (glue, adhesive, etc.) is applied in advance to the flap F by the sealing agent application unit 7 .

(Third Embodiment)
Next, the sealing work in the modified example of the sealing device 1 will be described with reference to FIG. 14 . A major difference in the modification is that a sealing member 43 is installed instead of the first sealing roller 41 in the first embodiment. Since the contact surface between the sealing member 43 and the second sealing roller 42 is basically the same combination of R surfaces as in the case of using the first sealing roller 41, the series of sealing operations is similar to that of the first sealing roller. The operation is the same as that of the embodiment (sealing work shown in FIGS. 7 to 9).

Although the embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the specific configuration is not limited to this embodiment. included. Moreover, the sealing device of the present invention is not limited to being a sealing device, and may be configured so that it can be used as a single sealing device.
According to this configuration, as described above, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of wrinkles during sealing after folding back the flap of the envelope, and it is possible to provide a sealing device with a small mechanical size.

1 sealing device 3 conveying unit 6 loading unit 7 sealing agent application unit 8 sealing unit 9 skew correction unit 41 first sealing roller 42 second sealing roller 51 swinging member 60 base member 62 pulley 63 pulley 64 pulley 65 timing Belt 66 Timing belt 81 Pair of sealing rollers 86 Drive motor 91 Abutment plate E Envelope F Flap G Folding line forming position T Envelope body

Claims (12)

A sealing device comprising: a conveying section for conveying an envelope; a sealing section for folding back and sealing a flap of the envelope; and an envelope holding section for holding the envelope body during sealing,
The sealing section includes a pair of sealing rollers for sandwiching the flap together with the envelope body, and at least one sealing roller of the pair of sealing rollers is moved around the other sealing roller. , a sealing roller moving unit for continuously folding back and sealing the flap of the envelope ,
The sealing roller moving unit rotates at least one sealing roller of the pair of sealing rollers by approximately 90° from an initial horizontal position on the circumference of the other sealing roller to move the flap of the envelope. A sealing device that continuously performs folding and sealing . 2. The sealing device according to claim 1, wherein the envelope holding portion is provided with a stopper against which the rear end of the envelope trunk is abutted during the sealing. The envelope holding section includes a contact member that contacts the envelope body from above and a contact member moving section that moves the contact member to a contact position and a retracted position with respect to the envelope body during the sealing. 2. The sealing device of claim 1, wherein a is provided. At least one sealing roller of the pair of sealing rollers moves around the other sealing roller with reference to a center coaxial with the rotation center of the other sealing roller. The sealing device according to any one of claims 1 to 3. The sealing roller moving unit moves the one sealing roller on the circumference of the other sealing roller in a direction in which the flap is folded back toward the envelope body. A sealing device according to any one of the preceding claims. 1. The sealing roller moving on the circumference of the other sealing roller is pressed against the other sealing roller via an elastic member so as to be able to contact and separate therefrom. 6. The sealing device according to any one of 5. 7. The sealing device according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the pair of sealing rollers are made of materials having hardnesses different from each other. The envelope is further equipped with a crease that creases the fold line of the flap.
The crease portion has a creased blade, a receiving portion for thrusting the creased blade, and a creased blade moving portion for moving the creased blade to a pressure contact position and a retracted position with respect to the receiving portion, and 8. The receiving portion is a concave groove formed on the surface of one of the pair of sealing rollers, facing the creased blade. sealing device. 9. The sealing device according to claim 8 , wherein the crease section creases the fold line of the flap in the envelope as a pretreatment for folding back and sealing the flap by the pair of sealing rollers. 10. The sealing device according to any one of claims 1 to 9, further comprising a sealing agent application unit that applies a sealing agent to the envelope conveyed by the conveying unit. A pair of sealing rollers for sandwiching the flap of the envelope together with the body of the envelope, and a sealing roller moving section for moving at least one sealing roller of the pair of sealing rollers on the circumference of the other sealing roller. The sealing roller moving unit rotates at least one sealing roller of the pair of sealing rollers by about 90° from an initial horizontal position on the circumference of the other sealing roller to move the envelope A sealing device that continuously folds and seals the flap . A sealing device comprising: a conveying section for conveying an envelope; a sealing section for folding back and sealing a flap of the envelope; and an envelope holding section for holding the envelope body during sealing,
The sealing section includes a pair of sealing rollers for sandwiching the flap together with the envelope body, and at least one sealing roller of the pair of sealing rollers is moved around the other sealing roller. and a sealing roller moving section for continuously folding back and sealing the flap of the envelope, wherein the sealing roller moving section moves at least one sealing roller of the pair of sealing rollers to seal the other sealing roller. On the rotation of the rollers, by rotating from the initial horizontal position to a position further moved by a predetermined amount from directly above the other sealing roller, the flap of the envelope is continuously folded back and sealed. A sealing device that

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