JPH0134850B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides a product labeling device, more specifically, a product transfer path is provided below a label printer equipped with a label applicator, and two guides are provided on the transfer path to guide the product below the label printer. This invention relates to an improvement in a device in which rails are movably provided so as to adjust their spacing.

Generally, it is preferable that the label be attached to a product at a constant position from the standpoint of appearance and automatic barcode reading function, and is usually located at either the bottom corner or the top corner of the product surface.

However, in the above device, if the size of the product to which the label is affixed changes, the label affixing position will inevitably shift if no adjustment means are taken.
Conventionally, this has been accomplished by setting the pasting position in advance in accordance with the code number, by detecting the position of the product and moving the pasting device, or by manually setting the pasting position.

However, all of the above conventional methods have drawbacks such as requiring new settings or adjustment operations for position adjustment, or requiring additional configurations such as position detection and drive devices.

Therefore, in view of the above-mentioned conventional circumstances, the present invention is designed to simultaneously move the label pasting position in conjunction with the operation that is inevitably taken when changing to a product of a different size, that is, to adjust the width of the guide rail. This invention aims to solve the above-mentioned conventional problems by attaching an engaging member to the label printer and engaging the engaging member with one end of the guide rail.

This labeling device can be applied to any type of product, such as packaged products that are packaged or boxed products that do not require product packaging.However, in the case of packaged products that require packaging, the packaging machine It is effective to install the device on the exit side of the section.

Labels generally include the unit price, weight, and
Price, date of processing, date of validity, tare weight, product name,
In addition to tags with all or part of a bar code printed on them, they also include price tags with only the price printed on them, and may also have a pre-printed part such as a store name.

Furthermore, when this label pasting device is incorporated into the packaging machine, it is more effective if a weighing unit having a weighing section and an input operation section and operated by the label printer is also integrally assembled.

The labeling of packaged products in which the embodiment of the present invention is incorporated into the above-mentioned packaging machine will be explained with reference to the drawings. Fig. 1 is an external view of packaging machine A, Fig. 2 shows the movement route of product a, and 1 2 is a weighing unit, 2 is a packaging section, 3 is a product inlet, 4 is a transfer path leading out from the packaging section 2, and 10 is a label printer.

The weighing unit 1 consists of a weighing section 5 and an input operation section 6, and the weighing section 5 converts the weight of the product a placed on the weighing pan into a predetermined electric signal and performs arithmetic processing incorporated in the input operation section 6. Send to the department.

The input operation unit 6 includes various input keys 6' such as a numeric keypad.
and a display field 6'', and when necessary data of the product, such as unit price, date of processing, barcode data, etc., is input by key operation, those input signals are sent to the arithmetic processing section, and the arithmetic processing is performed. The label printer 10 performs a printing operation based on input signals from the weighing section 5 and the input operation section 6 sent to the section.

Although the operation section 6 is illustrated as being installed at the top of the packaging machine A, its position may be arbitrary, such as installing it at the rear end.

The packaging section 2 has a belt conveyor 7 communicating with the product inlet 3 at the front stage, and a belt conveyor 4' constituting the transfer path 4 is installed on the exit side.
When the product a weighed by the weighing unit 1 is placed on the belt conveyor 7 through the product inlet 3 manually or by a mechanical transfer means that operates in conjunction with a signal generated by the weighing operation, the product a is is carried into the packaging section 2.

In the packaging section 2, the product a is automatically wrapped using a stretch film 8 having extensibility.

The transfer path 4 is a path through which products automatically wrapped with the stretch film 8 (referred to as packaged products a') are carried out from the packaging section 2, and its roadbed is constituted by the belt conveyor 4'.

In the transfer path 4, two guide rails 11, 11' are installed which stand on both sides of the belt conveyor 4' and face each other in parallel on the belt conveyor 4'. A label printer 10 is installed. (Figure 3).

The guide rails 11, 11' guide the package a' carried out from the packaging section 2 to a predetermined position below the label printer 10, and the package a' transferred by the belt conveyor 4' has its left and right edges along the guide rails. 11, 11' so that it moves by lightly sliding into contact with them.

The guide rails 11, 11' are connected in a penetrating manner through a feed screw 12 suspended horizontally below the belt conveyor 4' at approximately the center thereof, and the feed screw 12 is threadedly engaged with each of the left and right rails 11, 11'. Part 13,1
At 3', a reverse winding screw is formed so that by rotation of the feed screw 12, both guide rails 11, 11' move toward or away from each other while maintaining parallelism. In other words, the distance between the guide rails 11 and 11' varies as the feed screw 12 rotates.

One end of the feed screw 12 is made to protrude from one side of the packaging machine A, and an operating handle 14 is attached to the end.

Therefore, by rotating the operating handle 14, the guide rails 11, 11' move in the opposite direction along the feed screw 12, and the rail width L is adjusted. The rail width L is adjusted according to the size of product a.

The tips of the guide rails 11 and 11' are bent outward in a square shape so that the rail width increases.

Support plates 15, 15 facing each other across the transfer path 4 are installed in front of the tips of the guide rails 11, 11', and two support shafts 16, 1 span between both plates 15, 15.
6 are hung horizontally in parallel at intervals in the front and back, and the support shaft 1
Ball spline bearings 17, 1 to 6, 16
The label printer 10 can be slid freely via the
erected.

In the label printer 10, a connecting leg 18 is integrally projected downward, and a notch groove 18' is formed at the lower end of the leg 18, and the notch groove 18' is connected to one guide rail (11 in the drawings of the embodiment). Fit and connect to the tip.

Therefore, when adjusting the rail width L mentioned above, the label printer 10 moves along the support shafts 16, 16 by the same distance in conjunction with the guide rail 11.

The label printer 10 includes a printing section 20 and a label applicator 21. (Figure 6).

The printing unit 20 consists of a feeding mechanism for a strip-shaped mount 22 to which labels b are removably attached at regular intervals, and a printing head 23 provided at an appropriate location on the mechanism. A feed roller 24 that intermittently feeds out a predetermined length and a dispenser 25 that peels off the printed label b' from the mount 22
and guide roller 26, and furthermore print head 23.
A plantain roller 27 or the like that presses the mount 2 with a predetermined pressure is appropriately disposed, and the mount 2
2 is wound as shown in the figure.

In the embodiment, a thermal head is used as the printing head, and thermal paper is used for the label b.

The label applicator 21 is arranged near the dispenser 25 so as to be able to adjust its vertical position, and has a suction hole in its lower end surface that constantly sucks air, and a discharge hole that blows out air with a force greater than the suction force of the label applicator 21. Then, the dispenser 25 adsorbs the label b' peeled off from the mount, and then blows out air from the discharge hole to attach the label b' to the surface of the pack product a' that has been sent downward.

The label printer 10 is connected to the guide rail 11 via the connecting leg 18 so that the label pasting device 21 is located within the rail width L of the guide rails 11, 11' and directly above the guide rail 11.

The label pasting operation timing of the label pasting device 21 is set by the product detector 30.

The product detector 30 is composed of a light emitter 31 and a light receiver 32 installed on both sides of the transfer path 4 in front of the label printer 10. The rear end is detected, and after a certain period of time set by a timer from the detection, the label applicator 21 blows air from the discharge hole to blow the label b' downward.

The printing command to the printing unit 20 of the label printer 10 is issued using the product detector 30.
The front end of a' may be detected and a print command may be issued upon detection, or another detector may optionally be provided.

In this embodiment, the packaged products a' are transferred on the transfer path 4 in an arrangement such that the guide rail 11' side is the upper edge and the guide rail 11 side is the lower edge, and the label applicator 21 of the label printer 10 The timer of the product detector 30 and the label applicator 21 are set so that the label b' is pasted on the lower right corner of the surface of the product a'.
The positional relationship between the guide rail 11 and the guide rail 11 is set (solid line in FIG. 7).

The position of the product at the time when the above label is affixed is where the rear end of packaged product a' is located at a certain distance Y' from the detector 30, and the rear end position is constant regardless of the size of packaged product a'. It is a pack product
The label pasting position on a' is a distance Y from the product detector 30 and a distance X from the guide rail 11.

The distance Y is constant regardless of the size of the product because the label printer 10, that is, the label applicator 21 is fixed in the product transport direction.

Further, the distance X is also constant because the label printer 10 is connected to the guide rail 11 and the positional relationship between the two is fixed.

Therefore, when packaging products of different sizes, for example large products, the guide rails 11, 11' are expanded by rotating the operation handle 14 in order to widen the rail width L according to the product. However, the label printer 1 is moved in conjunction with the guide rail 11.
0 also moves along the support shafts 16, 16, keeping the aforementioned distance X constant.

Therefore, in the case of a large packaged product a'', the label is attached at the lower right corner as in the case of the packaged product a' (as indicated by the two-dot chain line in FIG. 7).

Furthermore, since the same applies when changing to a smaller product packaging, the explanation thereof will be omitted.

In the above embodiment, the product detector 30 detects the rear end of the packaged product a' to be transported, and after a certain period of time, the label applicator 21 operates to apply the label. The label pasting operation may be performed by detecting the front end of a'. In this case, the position of the product at the time of labeling is such that the front end of packaged product a' is a constant position regardless of its size, and the label b' is attached to the lower left corner of the product.

Next, Figures 8 to 10 show the label printer 10.
A modified example of the support part for improving the sliding property of the label printer 10 is shown, in which one side is configured so that rollers 41 provided in the label printer 10 roll on a flat race 40 suspended horizontally on the transfer path, and the other side is In this case, a groove wheel 43 with a bearing is made to roll on the chevron-shaped guide rail 42 (Fig. 8), or a roller 4 held by a cage 44 is provided.
5 to roll (Fig. 9), or to restrict the lateral direction to the flat rail 46.
and a bearing 48 that regulates the height direction are engaged with each other in a rolling manner (FIG. 10).

As explained above, according to the present invention, the engaging member is attached to the label printer that attaches labels to products, and is engaged with one end of the guide plate that positions the transport of the product, so that when the guide plate is moved, The label printer also moves the same amount, so even if the size of the product changes, you can simply adjust the guide plate.
Labels can always be attached to the same position from the side of the product.

Furthermore, since the structure is simple, even if this mechanism is incorporated, there will be little impact on cost.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an external perspective view of a packaging machine equipped with the device of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a schematic side view showing the movement route of the product.
Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the main part, Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken along the - line, Fig. 5 is a sectional view showing the support part of the label printer, Fig. 6 is a partially cutaway side view of the label printer part, Fig. 7 The figure is a plan view explaining the label pasting position, and FIGS. 8 to 10 are cross-sectional views showing modifications of the label printer support section. In the figure, A is a packaging machine, a is a product, a' is a packaged product, b is a label, b' is a printed label, 4 is a transport path, 10 is a label printer, 1
1 and 11' are guide rails, 12 is a feed screw, 1
4 is an operating handle, 20 is a printing unit, 21 is a label applicator, and 30 is a product detector.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A guide plate movable in opposite directions on both sides of a conveyor that conveys products, a label printer that attaches a label to the product guided by the guide plate, and a detection device that detects the product near the label printer. In the product labeling apparatus, a rail member is constructed in a direction transverse to the conveyor, the label printer is slidably disposed on the rail member, and an engaging member is attached to the label printer, A product label pasting device characterized in that the engaging member and one end of the guide plate are engaged with each other so that the label printer can be moved by the same amount as the guide plate.