JP7500281B2 - Label delivery device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a label delivery device that is applied to a labeler or the like.
This label transfer device is particularly suitable for transferring long labels, but can be applied to all labels.

A typical labeler is one that feeds the release paper with a label temporarily attached to it to a peel plate, and then uses the peel plate to invert the release paper, thereby feeding out the label and attaching it to the substrate.
Although this labeler is suitable for attaching small labels, if the label is long or has a large surface area, the label may become wavy or bent during attachment to the substrate, which may impair the appearance of the attached label.

To solve the above problem, a configuration has been proposed in which the label with the release paper removed is first fed onto a belt, and then the label on the belt is attracted from above by a suction mechanism and affixed to the adherend. (See, for example, Patent Documents 1 and 2.)

Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 4-43454 Japanese Patent No. 4848232

In the configurations described in Patent Documents 1 and 2, a round belt with a circular cross section is often used to prevent the label from sticking to the belt. Since the contact area between the label placed on the round belt and the round belt is small, when the suction mechanism is pressed against the label from above, the label may be folded or wrinkled.
In Patent Document 2, air is blown from below onto the labels on the round belt, separating them from the round belt and adsorbing them to the suction mechanism. However, with long labels in particular, the labels may become wavy due to the wind, and may be adsorbed in a misaligned or wrinkled state, or the adsorption may fail altogether.

In light of the above, the present invention aims to provide a label transfer device that can reliably transfer labels placed on a belt to a suction mechanism without damaging the appearance.

The present invention is a label transfer device that includes a label supply unit that pays out labels while removing separators, a label mounting unit on which the labels supplied from the label supply unit are placed, an suction unit that is configured to be able to suction support the labels and is movably provided above the label mounting unit, and an inspection unit that is provided on the path from the label supply unit to the suction unit .
The label placement section has a plurality of conveyor belts extending in the label conveying direction and spaced apart in the width direction perpendicular to the conveying direction, and a plurality of push-up plates disposed between the conveyor belts in the width direction and extending in the conveying direction.
The upper surfaces of the multiple lifting plates are configured to be movable between a position lower than the upper end of the conveyor belt and a position higher than the upper end of the conveyor belt.
The inspection unit includes a plurality of second lift plates disposed between the conveyor belts in the width direction and extending in the conveying direction, the upper surfaces of the second lift plates being movable independently of the upper surfaces of the plurality of lift plates between a position lower than an upper end of the conveyor belt and a position higher than an upper end of the conveyor belt.

According to the present invention, labels placed on a belt can be reliably moved to the suction mechanism without damaging the appearance.

1 is a schematic diagram of a label delivery device according to a first embodiment of the present invention. 3 is a schematic diagram of the label delivery device as viewed from a different direction. FIG. 11A to 11C are diagrams showing a process when the label delivery device is used. 11A to 11C are diagrams showing a process when the label delivery device is used. 11A to 11C are diagrams showing a process when the label delivery device is used. FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of a label delivery device according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

A first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
1 is a schematic diagram showing a label delivery device 1 of the present embodiment. The label delivery device 1 is incorporated in a labeler and constitutes a part of the labeler.
The label delivery device 1 includes a label supply unit 10 , a label placement unit 20 , and a suction unit 50 .

The label supply unit 10 includes a roll 11 around which a label body is wound, and a peeling unit 12 .
The label body wound around the roll 11 has a known configuration in which a label L having an adhesive layer is temporarily attached onto a separator S. The labels L may be continuous with a gap therebetween, or may be arranged at intervals in the payout direction.
The peeling section 12 has a winding roll (not shown). One end of the separator S is attached to the winding roll.
In the peeling section 12, the label L is peeled off from the label body unwound from the roll 11, and only the label L is supplied to the label loading section 20, while the separator S is taken up by the take-up roll.

The label placement unit 20 has a chamber 21 , a plurality of conveyor belts 22 , a negative pressure generating unit 23 , and a label push-up mechanism 30 .
The inside of the chamber 21 is generally sealed, and gas can enter and exit only through an opening at the top and the negative pressure generating section 23 .

The conveyor belt 22 is an endless round belt having a circular cross section, and is looped around a roller 25 disposed within the chamber 21 .
2 is a schematic diagram of the label delivery device 1 as viewed from a different direction. The multiple transport belts 22 are arranged at approximately equal intervals in a width direction W perpendicular to the transport direction MD (see FIG. 1).
The surface of the conveyor belt 22 is non-adhesively treated so that the adhesive layer of the label L supplied from the label supply unit 10 does not easily stick to the surface. Examples of the non-adhesive treatment include embossing and non-adhesive coating. The roller 25 is driven by a motor (not shown) or the like, so that the conveyor belt 22 can feed the label L supplied from the label supply unit 10 in the direction MD and stop the label L at a desired position.

The negative pressure generating unit 23 is disposed, for example, at the bottom of the chamber 21, and can be constituted by a known fan or the like. When the negative pressure generating unit 23 exhausts the gas in the chamber 21 to the outside, the chamber 21 becomes under negative pressure, which encourages the inflow of outside air from between the conveyor belts 22 disposed at the upper opening of the chamber 21.

The label lifting mechanism 30 has a plurality of lifting plates 31 and a cylinder 32 that drives the lifting plates 31. As shown in Fig. 2, the lifting plates are disposed below the conveyor belts 22 within the chamber 21 and extend in the conveying direction MD.
The lower portion of each lifting plate 31 is supported by a common support member 33, which is connected to a cylinder 32. By driving the cylinder 32 up and down, the plurality of lifting plates 31 can be moved up and down simultaneously.
The upper surface of the lifting plate 31 is treated so that the adhesive layer of the label L does not stick to it, since the upper surface of the lifting plate 31 comes into contact with the adhesive layer of the label L when the label delivery device 1 is in use. This treatment can be performed by the same method as the surface treatment of the conveyor belt 22, or by forming fine irregularities on the surface to reduce the contact area with the adhesive layer. The upper surface of the lifting plate 31 can be moved to a position higher than the upper end of the conveyor belt 22 by driving the cylinder 32.

The suction unit 50 has a known structure having a plurality of air intakes (not shown) on the suction surface, and can suction-hold the object by covering the air intakes.
The area and dimensions of the adsorption surface can be determined appropriately depending on the shape and dimensions of the label L, which is the object.
The suction unit 50 of this embodiment has a first suction unit 51 and a second suction unit 52. The first suction unit 51 and the second suction unit 52 each have an suction surface on the side facing the label mounting unit 20. The second suction unit 52 has an attachment roller 53 and is configured to be movable relative to the first suction unit 51.
The suction unit 50, with the above-mentioned configuration, can affix the label L across two adjacent faces of a cubic or rectangular parallelepiped object to be adhered. Specifically, the second suction unit 52 moves in a state where only the first suction unit 51 is pressed against the first face of the object to adhere a part of the label L to the object, and the adhering roller 53 moves along a second face adjacent to the first face. As a result, the remaining part of the label L is affixed while being pressed against the second face.
In the present invention, the above-mentioned configuration of the suction portion is not essential and may be provided as necessary.

The operation of the label delivery device 1 configured as above when in use will be described.
First, the separator S of the label L unwound from the roll 11 is removed in the peeling section 12 , and the label L is supplied onto the conveyor belt 22 of the label loading section 20 .
In the label placement unit 20, the negative pressure generating unit 23 is driven, and the negative pressure generated in the chamber 21 keeps the label L placed on the label placement unit 20 in contact with the conveyor belt 22. In this state, the roller 25 rotates, so that the label L is conveyed on the label placement unit 20 in the conveying direction MD.

When the entire label L is positioned on the label loading section 20, the roller 25 stops.
The state at this time is shown diagrammatically in Fig. 3. The label L is biased toward the conveyor belt 22 by the negative pressure, so that the portion in contact with the conveyor belt 22 is slightly wavy and convex upward. If the suction unit 50 is pressed against the label L in this state, the label L may be folded or wrinkled.
3, the upper surface 31a of the lifting plate 31 is located lower than the upper end of the conveyor belt 22. At this time, the upper surface 31a may come into contact with the label L biased by negative pressure.

Next, the cylinder 32 is driven to raise the multiple lifting plates 31. In parallel with this, the suction unit 50 descends. As a result, the suction surface of the suction unit 50 approaches the upper surface of the lifting plate 31. The raised lifting plate 31 comes into contact with the lower surface of the label L. When the lifting plate 31 rises further, the label L is supported by the lifting plate 31 and moves away from the conveyor belt 22 while remaining flat.

When the suction surface of the suction part 50 and the upper surface 31a of the lifting plate 31 come close enough to each other, the suction surface 50a of the suction part 50 comes into contact with the label L, as shown in Fig. 4. As a result, the air intake of the suction surface 50a is covered by the label L, and the label L is suction-held by the suction part 50.
5, the suction unit 50 rises while holding the label L, and the push-up plate 31 descends. The suction unit 50 approaches an adherend (not shown), presses the label L against the adherend to affix it, and then returns to above the label placement unit 20.
By repeating the above series of operations, the label delivery device 1 continuously attaches the labels L to the substrates.

As described above, in the label transfer device 1 of this embodiment, multiple push-up plates 31 arranged between the conveying belts 22 hold the label L in a flat state while moving it above the conveying belts 22, so that the label L is less likely to bend or wrinkle when held in the suction section 50, and can be supported by suction while maintaining a good appearance.
The surface of the conveyor belt 22 and the upper surface of the push-up plate 31 are treated with a non-adhesive coating to prevent the adhesive layer of the label from sticking thereto, thereby preventing the label from sticking to the conveyor belt 22 or the push-up plate 31 during the above-mentioned operation.

Labels printed with tracking barcodes or the like are attached to cardboard boxes and the like, and are sometimes attached in an L-shape across two adjacent sides of the cardboard box so that the code can be read regardless of the position of the cardboard box on the conveyor. Since such labels span two sides, they can be long, for example, 200 mm or more. Furthermore, if wrinkles or folds occur during attachment, this can cause problems with reading the code, so the label must be attached to the adherend without wrinkles or folds.
With the label transfer device 1, even with such long labels, the dimensions and shape of the suction section 50 and the push-up plate 31 can be appropriately set to match the label, allowing the label to be suction-supported without being bent or wrinkled, thereby contributing to the label being affixed to the substrate while maintaining a good appearance.

In this embodiment, the operation of each part of the label transfer device 1 may be performed manually by an operator, or may be performed automatically by the device itself. For example, a sensor equipped with a light emitting part and a light receiving part may be disposed in the chamber 21 to detect that the label L has been placed at a predetermined position on the label placement unit 20, and the detection signal of the sensor may be input to a control unit such as a computer, software, or logic circuit connected to each part of the label supply unit 10, the label placement unit 20, and the suction unit 50, thereby automatically controlling the operation of the label transfer device 1.
The device may be automatically controlled based on other parameters, such as the amount of rotation of the roller 25, instead of the output of the sensor that detects that a label has been placed.

The second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. 6. In the following description, components that are common to those already described will be given the same reference numerals and duplicate descriptions will be omitted.

Figure 6 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of the label transfer device 101 according to this embodiment. The label transfer device 101 includes an inspection unit 110 on the path from the label supply unit 10 to the suction unit 50.

The inspection unit 110 has a camera 111 and a label push-up mechanism 30A. The configuration of the label push-up mechanism 30A is similar to that of the label push-up mechanism 30, and has multiple push-up plates (second push-up plates) 31A and a cylinder 32A. The label push-up mechanism 30A is disposed in the chamber 21, and the conveyor belt 22 is installed in an area including the label push-up mechanism 30A and the label push-up mechanism 30. Since the label push-up mechanism 30A has its own cylinder 32A, it can operate independently of the label push-up mechanism 30.

The camera 111 is installed above the label push-up mechanism 30A. A first sensor 112 is installed between the label supply unit 10 and the label push-up mechanism 30A. A second sensor 113 is installed between the label push-up mechanism 30A and the label push-up mechanism 30. The first sensor 112 and the second sensor 113 only need to be able to detect the passage of the label L, and for example, a known sensor equipped with a light-emitting unit and a light-receiving unit can be used.
Each part of the label delivery device 101 , including the camera 111 , the label supply unit 10 , and the suction unit 50 , is connected to a control unit (not shown) that controls the operation of the entire label delivery device 101 .

The operation of the label delivery device 101 during use will be described.
First, the label L is fed while being printed from the label supply unit 10. The label L is transported by the transport belt 22.

When the first sensor 112 detects the label L, the label push-up mechanism 30A is driven at a predetermined timing, and the second push-up plate 31A lifts the label L toward the camera 111. The camera 111 captures an image of the printed surface of the label L, and the acquired image is sent to the control unit. Based on the image, the control unit determines whether printing of the label L, including characters, barcodes, etc., has been performed appropriately. During this time, the conveyor belt 22 continues to drive without stopping.
After the camera 111 finishes capturing the image, the label push-up mechanism 30A descends to its original position. Then, the label L comes into contact with the conveyor belt 22 and is conveyed by the conveyor belt 22 to below the suction unit 50.

When the label L is detected by the second sensor 113, the label push-up mechanism 30 is driven in the same manner as in the first embodiment, and the label L is delivered to the suction unit 50.
The suction unit 50 operates based on the judgment result received from the control unit. If the judgment result of the control unit is "OK", the suction unit 50 approaches the adherend and affixes the label L. If the judgment result of the control unit is "NG", the suction unit 50 does not move toward the adherend, but approaches a processing plate (not shown) to affix the label L, and returns to above the label push-up mechanism 30. Labels L judged as NG are sequentially affixed to the processing plate, and are discarded and replaced at appropriate times. Furthermore, the control unit causes the label supply unit 10 to reprint and resupply a label with the same print content as the label judged as NG.

According to the label transfer device 101 of this embodiment, the conveyor belt 22 continues to drive even while the label push-up mechanism 30A is moving upward, so the conveyance of the label L that has been inspected in the inspection unit 110 is not stopped by the inspection of the subsequent label L. Therefore, even if the distance between labels changes due to a change in the printing content, etc., the labels can be inspected and attached to the substrate efficiently, and strict management of the pitch between the labels is not required.

In addition, because the inspection unit 110 is equipped with a label lifting mechanism 30A, the label L can be inspected in a flat state after being lifted by the second lifting plate 31A. As a result, even printed content such as a barcode, which may have reduced accuracy due to waviness on the conveyor belt, can be inspected with high accuracy.

In this embodiment, the method of disposing of labels that are determined to be NG is not limited to using the disposal plate described above. For example, a waste box may be placed at the end of the conveyor belt, and the label push-up mechanism 30 and suction unit 50 may be controlled not to operate for labels that are determined to be NG, so that the labels are transported by the conveyor belt to the waste box and discarded.

In this embodiment, in addition to the inspection unit 110, a second inspection unit that does not have a label push-up mechanism may be provided. For example, for characters and the like that do not lose inspection accuracy even when the label is imaged while moving on a conveyor belt, the label may be inspected in the second inspection unit without stopping. This makes it possible to shorten the inspection time for long labels, etc.

Although each embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the technical scope of the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiments, and it is possible to change the combination of components, make various modifications to each component, or delete components without departing from the spirit of the present invention. Some modifications are illustrated below, but these are not all inclusive and other modifications are also possible. Two or more of these modifications may be combined as appropriate.

The dimension of the lifting plate in the width direction W is preferably as large as possible without interfering with the conveyor belt, since this improves the label support. For example, the dimension D1 of the lifting plate 31 in the width direction W shown in Fig. 3 is preferably 50% or more of the gap G1 of the conveyor belt 22. Alternatively, it is preferable that the dimension D1 be 10 mm or more, regardless of the value of the gap G1.
From the viewpoint of preventing unintended contact between the lifting plate and the conveyor belt, it is preferable that the dimension D1 be 90% or less of the gap G1.
The dimension of the push-up plate in the conveying direction MD is preferably 80% or more of the dimension of the label in the conveying direction MD, and more preferably is equal to or greater than the dimension of the label in the conveying direction MD (i.e., 100% or more).

- The manner in which the suction part and the lifting plate approach each other during the label transfer process is not limited to the above. In other words, as long as the suction part suctions the label with the upper surface of the lifting plate positioned above the upper surface of the conveyor belt, the two may approach each other by moving only the lifting plate, or the suction part may move after the lifting plate moves and stops, or vice versa, in which the two approach each other without moving at the same time.

The conveyor belts do not have to be spaced apart at equal intervals. In this case, the dimensions of some of the lifting plates may differ depending on the intervals between the conveyor belts.
Furthermore, some of the multiple conveyor belts may have different cross-sectional shapes or dimensions than the others.

As long as the suction portion is located above the label placement portion when the label is delivered, the initial position of the suction portion does not have to be above the label placement portion.
Instead of lifting the entire lift plate, the lift plate may extend upward so that only the upper surface of the lift plate can move to a position higher than the conveyor belt without moving the lower portion of the lift plate.

Reference Signs List 1, 101 Label delivery device 10 Label supply section 20 Label placement section 22 Conveyor belt 31 Push-up plate 31A Push-up plate (second push-up plate)
31a Upper surface (of the lifting plate) 50 Suction portion 110 Inspection portion D1 Width direction dimension of the lifting plate G1 Width direction interval of the conveyed label L Label MD Conveying direction W Width direction

Claims (4)

a label supply unit that delivers labels while removing the separator;
a label placement section on which the labels supplied from the label supply section are placed;
a suction unit configured to suction-support the label and movably provided above the label placement unit;
an inspection unit provided on a path from the label supply unit to the suction unit;
Equipped with
The label placement unit includes:
A plurality of conveyor belts extending in a label conveying direction and arranged at intervals in a width direction perpendicular to the label conveying direction;
a plurality of push-up plates provided between the conveyor belts in the width direction and extending in the conveying direction;
the upper surfaces of the plurality of push-up plates are configured to be movable between a position lower than an upper end of the conveyor belt and a position higher than an upper end of the conveyor belt;
the inspection unit includes a plurality of second lifting plates provided between the conveyor belts in the width direction and extending in the conveying direction,
The upper surfaces of the plurality of second lifting plates are configured to be movable independently of the upper surfaces of the plurality of lifting plates between a position lower than an upper end of the conveyor belt and a position higher than an upper end of the conveyor belt.
Label delivery device. a dimension of the plurality of push-up plates in the width direction is 50% or more and 90% or less of a spacing between the conveyor belts in the width direction;
The label delivery device according to claim 1 . At least one of the conveyor belt and the push-up plate has a surface that comes into contact with the label that is treated to be non-adhesive.
The label delivery device according to claim 1 . The label placement unit includes:
A chamber having an opening at an upper portion;
a negative pressure generating unit attached to the chamber to generate a negative pressure in the chamber,
The lift plate is disposed within the chamber;
The conveyor belt is disposed in the opening, and the label is configured to be urged toward the conveyor belt by the negative pressure.
The label delivery device according to claim 3.

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