JPH0139595Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] "Industrial Application Field" The present invention relates to an envelope sealer that seals an envelope by applying heat-melting glue (so-called hot melt) to the back side of the flap of the envelope using a coating member.

``Prior art and its problems'' As an envelope sealer of this type, the one described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 172629/1980 is a device in which the entire glue container is placed on a hot plate heated by a heater. Place it,
The entire bottom plate of the glue container was heated via a hot plate to constantly dissolve all the glue in the glue container.

For this reason, there were problems such as the large amount of heat generated, the entire sealing device being excessively heated and producing smoke and odor, the preheating time required before the application operation was long, and the power consumption being high.

In addition, because the application member itself is not configured to heat, the glue does not cut easily, and the glue that adheres to it hardens and hardens, resulting in uneven application amount.
There were problems such as adding too much material than necessary or adding it to areas other than the flap of the envelope.

The purpose of the present invention is to eliminate such problems.

"Means for Solving the Problems" The present invention has the following features: a heater is installed below the glue container to partially heat and melt the glue in the glue container in the area where the application part of the application member is immersed; The present invention is characterized in that a coating member heating means for heating the coating member is provided.

"Operation" The glue in the glue container is dissolved only in the part where the application part of the application member is immersed. The heater that heats the glue is
It is sufficient to have enough heat to partially dissolve the glue in this way. Since the application member itself is also heated by the heating means, the adhesive can be easily removed.

"Embodiment" An embodiment of the present invention will be described below in detail based on the drawings.

As shown in Figures 1 to 3, this envelope sealer has a single-piece structure with all components installed inside the housing 1, and can be used on a desk.
It's portable. A supply guide stand 2 is attached to the front outside of the housing 1, and an envelope 3 (e.g. long size 3, long size 4, square size 8, etc.) is passed on this feed guide stand 2 with its bottom end first. It is inserted into the housing 1 through the insertion port 4 while being guided. Insertion port 4
On the lower side, as shown in FIG. The paper is sent between a lower conveyance roller 6 and an upper presser roller 7, which are pivotally supported. In this embodiment, one motor 8 installed at the lower side of the housing 1 drives the conveyance roller 6 and various drive means described later.

A pulley 9 is fixed to the output shaft 8a of the motor 8. Further, a pulley 13 is fixed to one end of the main shaft 12 which is horizontally supported on the left and right sides of the housing 1 by front and rear bearings 10 and 11, and a belt 14 is stretched between these pulleys 9 and 13. , the rotation of the motor 8 is first transmitted to the main shaft 12.

A feeding side small bevel gear 15 and a return side small bevel gear 16 are rotatably fitted in the main shaft 12 in opposite directions, and a worm 17 is also rotatably fitted therein. On the outer periphery of the main shaft 12, a clutch 18 for reversing feed and return, and a worm 17 are installed between both small bevel gears 15 and 16.
A cam actuating clutch 19 is attached to one side of the cam. Both small bevel gears 15 and 16 mesh with one large bevel gear 20. This large bevel gear 20
A transmission shaft 21, which is fixed to one end, extends left and right inside the housing 1, and has a pulley 22 fixed to the other end. A belt 24 is stretched between this pulley 22 and a pulley 23 fixed to the shaft 6a of the conveyance roller 6, and the rotation of the motor 8 is transmitted to the conveyance roller via a small bevel gear 15 on the feeding side or a small bevel gear 16 on the return side. 6.

The feeding/returning clutch 18 is connected to the lever 25.
It is connected to the plunger 27 of the feeding/returning electromagnet 26 via the electromagnet 26, and is switched by the electromagnet 26. Normally, the feeding/returning clutch 18 is set on the feeding side, and the rotation of the main shaft 12 is transmitted to the small bevel gear 15 on the feeding side, so that the conveying roller 6 is rotated in the direction of the arrow in FIG.
The envelope 3 inserted as described above is fed further into the housing 1. A photocent 28 for insertion detection is disposed close to the presser roller 7, and the envelope 3 is placed close to the presser roller 7.
Immediately after passing between the transport roller 6 and the transport roller 6, the insertion is detected by the photocent 28, and
It is also detected when it is ejected.

The cam actuating clutch 19 is also connected to a plunger 31 of a cam actuating electromagnet 30 via a lever 29. When this electromagnet 30 is turned on and the cam actuating clutch 19 is actuated,
Rotation of the main shaft 12 is transmitted to the worm 17.

The envelope 3 fed by the conveyance roller 6 as described above is transferred to the housing 1 as shown in FIG.
It rides on the placement guide plate 32 stretched inside. A horizontally long slit 33 is formed in the middle of this placement guide plate 32, and within this slit 33, the relay roller 3
4 is axially mounted on the housing 1, and an auxiliary roller 35 is mounted above it. The relay roller 34 is connected to the transmission shaft 21 in the same way as the conveyance roller 6, and is rotated at the same time. The auxiliary roller 35 is pivotally supported by a roller holder 37 fixed to the shaft 36. A lever 38 is fixed to one end of the shaft 36.
This lever 38 is connected to a plunger 40 of a return electromagnet 39, and when this electromagnet 39 is turned on, the auxiliary roller 35 is pressed against the auxiliary roller 35 by the urging of the electromagnet 39.

In order to prevent the envelope 3 from floating up on the placement guide plate 32, the base end of an envelope pressing rod 42, such as a resilient flat U-shaped wire, is supported on a support plate 41 inside the front wall of the housing 1. has been done. The envelope 3 is pressed onto the placement guide plate 32 by the V-shaped bent free end 42a of the envelope pressing rod 42, and guided by the placement guide plate 32, the envelope 3 is pushed onto the relay roller 3.
4 and the auxiliary roller 35. Then, the relay roller 34 takes over from the conveying roller 6 and continuously conveys in the same direction, with a portion protruding outward from the back surface of the housing 1. In order to also guide this protruding part of the envelope 3, the rear part 32b of the placement guide plate 32 extends to the outside of the back surface of the housing 1, and in order to prevent this protruding part from curling up, the shaft A warping prevention plate 43 is rotatably supported at 36 .

A movable stop plate 44 consisting of a horizontal portion 44a and a vertical portion 44b is provided below the warping prevention plate 43.
is attached so as to be slidable back and forth by an adjustment screw 46 that moves along the slit 45 of the warping prevention plate 43. Vertical portion 4 of movable stop plate 44
4b is in contact with the upper surface of the placement guide plate 32, and as mentioned above, the envelope 3 conveyed by the relay roller 34 is prevented from further movement by its bottom end engaging with this vertical portion 44b. transportation is prevented.
The blocking position can be adjusted by pinching the knob 46a of the adjustment screw 46 and moving the movable stop plate 44 back and forth. Section 44
On the upper surface of a, there is an indicator line 47 and a warping prevention plate 43.
A scale 48 is provided along the slit 45, respectively. Further, a stop photo sensor 49 is attached to the lower side of the warping prevention plate 43. When the envelope 3 is detected by the photo sensor 49, the cam operating electromagnet 30 is turned on, and the worm 17 is rotated as described above.

A worm wheel 50 meshes with the worm 17, and its rotation is transmitted to a switching cam 51 coaxial with the worm wheel 50, causing it to rotate counterclockwise in FIG. This switching cam 51
is engaged with a pin or small roller 53 protruding from the lower end of the cam lever 52 having a Y-shaped side surface.
When the switching cam 51 rotates counterclockwise, the cam lever 52 is first rotated clockwise by a predetermined amount about the shaft 54, and then rotated back counterclockwise. Elongated holes 55 are provided at both upper ends of the cam lever 52.
is formed, one long hole 55 has a pin 57 projecting from a flap guide lever 56, and the other long hole 55 has a pin 57 projecting from a gluing lever 58.
9 are fitted together.

In the middle part of the flap guide shaft 60 to which the flap guide lever 56 is fixed to one end,
As shown in FIG. 4, a horizontally long flap guide 61 is fixed. The flap guide 61 is composed of a horizontally long plate bent in a F-shape, and forms an upwardly inclined envelope bottom end guide portion 61a and a downwardly inclined flap guide portion 61b. The flap guide 61 normally rotates when no rotation is transmitted to the worm wheel 50, that is, at the home position.
As shown in the figure, the bent portion 61c is located slightly above the placement guide plate 32. Therefore, the envelope 3 carried in by the transport roller 6 is slightly lifted by the envelope bottom guide portion 31b of the flap guide 61, so that even if it is thin and bends, it can be accurately placed on the placement guide plate 32. will be guided to. The flap guide 61 is connected to the worm wheel 5
When the rotation is transmitted to the cam lever 52 and the cam lever 52 is rotated clockwise, it is rotated downward.

On the other hand, as shown in the figure, a horizontally elongated application member 63 made of a metal plate with good thermal conductivity is fixed to the middle part of the gluing shaft 62 to which the gluing lever 58 is fixed at one end. This applicator 63 has a proximal half 63a that is gently sloped downward, a distal half 63b that is steeply sloped downward, and a free end of the applicator 6 that is bent into a V-shape.
It's becoming 3c. In addition, a large number of notch holes 63d are formed at regular intervals in the left and right directions in the distal end half 63b of the applicator 63c, excluding the distal edge. An electric heater 64 is attached to the proximal half 63a of the coating member 63 as a coating member heating means, and the heater 64 is protected by a cover 65. Application member 63
is fixed to the gluing shaft 62 below the placement guide plate 32 as described above, and is normally in the lower position where the application part 63c is immersed in the glue 68 as shown in the figure, but the cam lever 52 is If you rotate it clockwise, it will rotate upward.

Note that the heater 64 may be installed at an appropriate location other than the coating member 63 to indirectly heat the coating member 63, or alternatively, the heat of the glue heating heater 69 may be transferred to a member with good thermal conductivity. It is also possible to heat the coating member 63 indirectly and omit a dedicated heater for the coating member 63.

A glue container 66 is removably installed below the application member 63. This glue container 66 is independent of the housing 1 and is removably loaded into a casing 67 disposed at an intermediate portion within the housing 1. A hot melt glue 68 is contained in the glue container 66, and when the application member 63 is in the lower position, at least the application portion 63c of the application member 63 is contained.
is dipped into this glue 68. An electric heater 69 for heating the glue is attached to the outer bottom surface of the glue container 66 below the portion where the application member 63 is immersed, and the heater 69 is also protected by a cover 70 . This heater 69 is not large enough or has enough heat to heat the entire bottom surface of the glue container 66 and melt all the glue therein, but only partially heats the glue 68 in the area where the applicator 63 is immersed. The size and calorific value are such that it can be melted.

On the other hand, a bender 72 is detachably attached to a bender shaft 71 horizontally suspended above the placement guide plate 32 with a set screw 73. This bender 72 has a hanging plate portion 74b at the tip of the upper plate portion 74a.
A horizontally long splint plate 7 is attached on the inside of the L-shaped horizontally long plate 74 which is bent and hung down, that is, on the inside surface of the hanging plate part 74b.
5 is attached to the lower edge 74 of these hanging plate portions 74b.
A substantially inverted V-shaped fitting groove 72a that widens downward is formed between the bottom edge 75a of the splint plate 75 and slits 74d and 75b that allow the envelope pressing rod 42 to be inserted therethrough. It has been established. At one end of the bender shaft 71, there is a switch operating cam 7 that operates a micro switch 76.
7 is fixed, and the bender shaft 7 is fixed to the other end.
A rotary switch 78 is installed that turns on when 1 rotates a certain amount. The switch operating cam 77 is connected to the worm wheel 50 via a link 79, and its rotation is transmitted thereto. Normally, when rotation is not transmitted to the worm wheel 50, the bender 72 is held at the upper home position as shown in FIG. 4, but when the rotation is transmitted to the worm wheel 50 as described above, As the rotation is further transmitted to the bender shaft 71 via the link 79, it rotates downward toward the front edge of the placement guide plate 32.

Note that the oblong plate 74 and splint plate 75 of the bender 72 may be integrally formed.

A flap bent protrusion 32a is provided on the front edge of the placement guide plate 32, forming an obtuse angle with respect to the upper surface thereof and protruding obliquely upward. The flap bent protrusion 32a has a size that allows it to be removably fitted into the fitting groove 72a of the bender 72.

Next, the overall operation of this envelope sealer will be explained.

When the envelope 3 inserted by the conveying roller 6 is conveyed by the relay roller 34 and detected by the stop photo sensor 49, the cam actuating electromagnet 30 is turned on, and the cam actuating clutch 19 is turned on. The rotation of the main shaft 12 is transmitted to the worm 17, and the rotation is further transmitted to the switching cam 51 via the worm wheel 50.
The cam lever 52 first rotates clockwise in FIG. As a result, the flap guide lever 56 rotates counterclockwise and the flap guide 61
is rotated downward from the home position shown in FIG. 4, the gluing lever 58 is rotated counterclockwise, and the application member 63 is rotated upward.
At the same time, the rotation of the worm wheel 50 is transmitted to the switch operating cam 77 via the link 79, and as the switch operating cam 77 rotates clockwise, the bender 74 is rotated downward. The micro switch 76 is turned off as shown in FIG. 5 from being on.

During this time, the electromagnet 26 for feeding/returning is still in the OFF state, so the clutch 18 for feeding/returning/reversing remains set to the feeding side, and the relay roller 34 continues to move in the same direction (counterclockwise in Figure 4). ), even after the bottom end of the envelope 3 comes into contact with the movable stop plate 44 and stops, the envelope 3 receives a feeding force from the relay roller 34 and is maintained in this stopped state. At this time, the envelope 3 is moved by the movable stop plate 44
As a result of the position adjustment, the base end of the flap 3a is brought to exactly correspond to the upper edge of the flap bent protrusion 32a of the placement guide plate 32, as shown in FIG.

In this state, as shown in FIG. 5, when the bender 72 further rotates downward and its fitting groove 72a fits into the flap bending protrusion 32a, the flap 3a of the envelope 3 It is sandwiched between the groove 76 and the flap bending protrusion 32a and bent downward. At this time, the fitting groove 72a bends the base end of the flap 3a and fits into the flap bending protrusion 32a, but since the fitting groove 72a is widened downward, Fitting is done smoothly. Furthermore, due to the wide width, even if the flap 3a is interposed, the flap bending protrusion 32a and the inner surface of the fitting groove 72a can be easily connected in areas other than the upper edge of the flap bending protrusion 32a. There remains a gap that gradually widens toward the bottom, so
Even in the case of a thick envelope, the flap 3a is subjected to a bending force concentrated on the upper edge of the flap bending protrusion 32a, forming a crease along the upper edge and being bent sharply.

When the flap 3a is bent in this manner, the flap guide 61 rotates downward to a retracted position where it does not come into contact with the flap guide 61, as shown in the figure. On the other hand, the applicator 63 rotates upward and the applicator 6 at the tip thereof
3c from the glue 68, and further rotates the application part 63c upward with the glue still attached to the flap 3a which has already been bent or is being bent as described above.
Slide it onto the back side of the board and apply glue to it. At this time, the application member 63 is not only heated by the heater 64, but also has its application portion 63c bent in a V-shape, and has many notched holes 63.
d, the glue cuts very easily, but the glue that adheres to it hardens and hardens, causing uneven application amounts or applying too much glue than necessary.
Apply only the appropriate amount evenly and neatly without getting it on parts other than the flap of the envelope 3.

In this way, as the cam lever 52 rotates clockwise, the bender 72, flap guide 61, and application member 63 rotate until they are in the state shown in FIG. 5, and then the cam lever 52 rotates counterclockwise. As a result, the flap guide lever 56 rotates clockwise to return the flap guide 61 upward, and the gluing lever 58 rotates clockwise to return to the application member 63.
returns and rotates downward. Also, at the same time,
Since the switch actuating cam 77 rotates counterclockwise, the micro switch 76 is turned from OFF to ON, and the bender 72 is rotated upward again so that its fitting groove 72a is disengaged from the flap bending protrusion 32a. When the bender 72, flap guide 61, and application member 63 return to the home position shown in FIG. 4, the rotary switch 78 is turned on (at this time, the micro switch 76 is turned on as described above). While the cam actuating electromagnet 30 is turned off, the feeding/returning reversing electromagnet 26 and the returning electromagnet 39 are turned on.

When the cam actuating electromagnet 30 is turned off, the cam actuating clutch 19 is disengaged and rotation transmission to the worm wheel 50 and the switching cam 51 is stopped. Also, by turning on the electromagnet 26 for reversing the feed/return, the clutch 1 for reversing the feed/return is turned on.
8 is switched to the return side, and the rotation of the main shaft 12 is transmitted to the large bevel gear 20 via the return side small bevel gear 16. Therefore, the relay roller 34 and the conveyance roller 6 are rotated as shown in FIG. 6, contrary to the case shown in FIG. Rotated in the direction of the arrow. Further, by turning on the return electromagnet 39, the auxiliary roller 35 is pressed against the relay roller 34. Therefore, the envelope 3 that was stopped and held on the placement guide plate 32 as described above is returned along the placement guide plate 32.

At this time, the flap guide 61 has already returned to its home position, its bent portion 61c is at a higher position than the upper edge of the flap bent protrusion 32a, and the flap guide portion 61b is located at a higher position than the upper edge of the flap bent protrusion 32a.
Since the flap 3a slopes down to a lower position than 2a, when the envelope 3 is returned, the flap 3a
Slanted flap guide portion 6 of flap guide 61
1b, the envelope 3 is folded at the fold formed at the proximal end as described above.
It can be stacked on the back of the main body. Therefore, flap 3
The envelope 3 is attached by the glue applied to the back side of the envelope.
It is lightly attached to the back of the main body. Also, at this time, the opening end of the main body of the envelope 3 is also connected to the flap guide 6.
Since the envelope 3 is lifted by the first flap guide 61b, the envelope 3 is prevented from falling into the glue container 66 or below the conveying roller 6.

Thereafter, the envelope 3 is immediately sent between the conveyance roller 6 and the press roller 7, and is pinched by these to firmly adhere the flap 3a to the back surface of the envelope 3 and seal it. These rollers discharge the material from the insertion port 4 to the outside of the housing 1.

In addition, in the above embodiment, the flap guide 61
Although the plug guide shaft 60 is configured to rotate up and down about the fulcrum, it may be configured to slide up and down. Alternatively, the envelope bottom guide portion 61a may be of a fixed type, and only the flap guide portion 61b may be vertically displaced. Further, in the above embodiment, the envelope 3 is ejected from the insertion port 4, but a separate ejection port may be provided and the envelope 3 may be ejected from there.

"Effects of the Invention" As detailed above, the envelope sealer of the present invention has the following effects.

A heater was installed below the glue container to partially heat and melt the glue in the area where the application part of the application member is immersed.
Only a device with enough heat to partially melt the glue is needed, and the use of a smaller heater saves power consumption compared to conventional heaters that melt all the glue in the glue container. At the same time, it is possible to prevent the generation of smoke and odor.

Since the coating member is heated, the preheating time can be shortened by partially heating the glue as described above, and the adhesive can be prevented from hardening and adhering to the coating member, and the adhesive can be easily removed.

When a heater is attached to the application member itself, heating can be performed without any problem in vertical movement of the application member.

If the application part of the application member is bent into a V shape,
The glue comes off even better, and there are no longer problems with uneven application, applying too much glue, or getting glue on areas other than the flap of the envelope.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

The drawings show an embodiment of the present invention, in which FIG. 1 is a partially cutaway side view, FIG. 2 is a plan view of the same, and FIG. 3 is a front view of the same. Figures 4 to 6 are explanatory diagrams of the operation, with Figure 4 showing the inserted envelope being stopped and held, Figure 5 showing the glued state, and Figure 6 showing the envelope being returned. . 3...Envelope, 3a...Flap, 63...Applying member, 63a...Applying section, 64...Heater for heating application member, 66...Glue container, 69...Heater for heating glue.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claim for Utility Model Registration] 1. A coating member is provided that can be moved up and down between a glue container and an envelope positioned above the glue container, and the application member is lowered to apply the heat-soluble material in the glue container to the application portion. In an envelope sealer that applies glue to the back side of the flap of an envelope by raising the applicator after applying glue, a portion of the adhesive container is placed below the glue container in which the applicator is immersed. 1. An envelope sealer comprising: a heater for partially heating and melting the coating member; and a coating member heating means for heating the coating member. 2. The envelope sealer according to claim 1, wherein the application member heating means is a heater provided on the application member. 3. The envelope sealer according to claim 1, wherein the application portion of the application member is formed into a substantially V-shape.