JPH044202B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a tube mounting method and a mounting device for sequentially mounting a flattened long flexible tube into a container or the like while cutting the tube into a required length.

A flexible tube made of a long heat-shrinkable synthetic resin film that has been folded flat and wound onto a reel is attached to the outer periphery of containers such as bottles and cans, and other articles (hereinafter referred to as ``articles to be attached''). To do this, it is necessary to unwind the tube from the reel, cut it to the required length, and unfold it from the folded flat state into a cylindrical shape.

Conventional tube mounting devices have a built-in vacuum suction mechanism with multiple pairs of left and right suction discs for this purpose, and each pair of suction discs sucks the flat tube from both sides of the outside and pulls it apart to the left and right. As a result, it is expanded and held in that state until it reaches directly above the article to be attached, and after being fitted into the outer periphery of the article, the vacuum suction is stopped and the article is removed from the suction disk (for example, Special Publication No. 57-52276).

However, even if you try to expand a flattened tube using vacuum suction, it is difficult to expand it due to the strong electrostatic attraction of the flattened surface, and if you try to forcefully expand it, the tube itself will twist. etc. occur. In addition, a complex control mechanism is required to appropriately and repeatedly perform various operations such as suction holding, expansion, transfer to the article to be attached, and suction stop for each tube that is continuously fed. However, the disadvantage is that the Ikioi device is complicated, large-sized, and has high equipment costs.

Unlike conventional vacuum suction systems, the present invention has a simple structure and allows tubes to be attached to a large number of articles reliably and efficiently.

In the present invention, a long soft tube that has been folded flat and wound onto a reel is unwound from the reel and fed along a tube transfer line, and the flat surface of the tube is opened to form an opening pattern, and then a predetermined opening pattern is formed. A flexible tube is manufactured by repeatedly cutting a unit tube of the same length, shaping it into a circular or other cylindrical shape that is easy to fit into an article such as a container, and then fitting it into the article. In the installation method, the tube is passed through a tube expansion jig, which is an appropriately shaped block held in a space within the transfer line, so as to surround it, and by passing through the expansion jig, the flat surface is turned inward. By pressing the expanded tube in a direction perpendicular to the original flat surface and folding it back, an opening groove with an approximately rhombic cross section is given to the tube, and a predetermined opening groove is formed from the tip of the tube provided with the opening groove. A unit tube of the same length is cut, and then a tube passage hole is formed in which the tube reception opening is approximately diamond-shaped, the tube outlet opening has a desired opening shape, such as a circular shape, and the opening shape gradually changes from the reception opening to the outlet. The unit tube is accommodated in a tube guide jig having a tube guide jig, and the unit tube accommodated in the passage hole of the tube guide jig is pushed down and passed through the passage hole. It is characterized in that it is delivered from the delivery port as a cylindrical body shaped into an opening shape that is substantially the same as the opening shape.

The tube mounting device of the present invention for carrying out the above-mentioned tube mounting is carried by a pair of rolls oriented perpendicularly to the flat plane of the tube fed along the tube transfer line, and placed in the inner space of the tube. A tube expansion jig is a block of an appropriate shape that is held, and the tube, which is pushed out from the inside by passing through the tube expansion jig, is folded back in a direction perpendicular to the original flat plane to form an opening with a roughly rhombic cross section. A folding press roll that presses the tube from both sides in a direction perpendicular to the original flat surface to give the opening cursor, and a unit tube of a predetermined length is cut from the tip of the tube that has been given the opening cursor. A cutter for receiving the cut unit tube and shaping it into a desired cylindrical shape, such as a circle, from the tube receiving opening, which is approximately diamond-shaped, to the tube outlet, which forms the desired opening shape, such as circular. A tube guide jig consisting of a split mold having a tube passage hole whose opening shape gradually changes; each time a unit tube is received in the tube passage hole of the tube guide jig, the split mold is The apparatus is characterized in that a tube extrusion device is provided with an arm that repeatedly moves down between the divisions and pushes down the unit tube and sends it out from the outlet. To show the transition of the shape change of the tube in the present invention, as shown in FIG. (Figure), and is then folded back in a direction substantially perpendicular to the original flat plane by a pressure roll 5 or the like (Figure). This folding creates an opening that appears to have a roughly rhombic cross-sectional shape when the force applied to the tube is removed (). When this is fed through the guide jig 11, it is sent out from the guide jig in a state in which it is shaped into, for example, a circular cross section along the opening shape of the passage hole of the guide jig (~).
The tube sent out from the guide jig may be inserted into the article as it is, or it may be transferred via a mardrel to a standby position for the article to be attached, and then pulled out from the mandle and inserted into the article at the same time. It's okay.

The opening shape of the tube sent out from the guide jig is not necessarily circular, but guides in which the cross-sectional shape of the outlet side of the tube's passage hole is triangular, square, etc. depending on the external shape of the article to be attached. By using the jig, it is possible to send out the cylindrical body from the guide jig as a cylindrical body having an opening shape convenient for fitting onto the article to be mounted.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described based on the drawings. In FIG. 2, numeral 4 is an expansion jig for opening the tube by pushing out the flat surface of the tube T from the inside, and 5 is the expansion jig. 4 in a space within the tube transfer line.

The roll 5 is arranged in a direction substantially perpendicular to the flat plane of the tube T, and the expansion jig 4 is located within the inner space of the tube T and supported on the roll 5 from the outside.

The roll 5 in the illustrated example has the role of holding the expansion jig 4, and is a press roll for folding the expanded tube T in a direction substantially perpendicular to the original flat plane to give the tube an opening groove. Although it has a dual role, it does not necessarily have to be, and a roll that holds the expansion jig 4 and a pressure roll that folds back the tube that has passed through the expansion jig 4 are arranged in two stages, one above the other. It may also be a configuration.

8 is a cutter for cutting a long tube into unit tubes of required length.

Reference numeral 11 designates two split guide jigs for once receiving the cut unit tube t, shaping the tube into a substantially cylindrical shape, and sending it out downward.

Reference numeral 12 denotes a push-out arm for pushing down the tube t received in the guide jig and sending it out from the lower end outlet.

13 is a container B prepared below to receive the tube t sent out from the lower end outlet of the guide jig 11.
A tube T is fitted into each of a plurality of mandrels 15 arranged around the axis of a horizontal rotary drive shaft 14 and perpendicular to the axis.

Reference numeral 16 denotes a feed arm for pushing down the unit tubes t fitted into each mandrel 15 of the rotary feeder to remove them from the mandrels by pushing them down just above the containers B, and to fit them into the containers.

In addition, 17 is a limit switch for detecting the presence or absence of a long film to be fed and stopping the line when the film feeding is interrupted, and 18 is for carving a score line for breaking the seal on the tube. These are cutters, and these are attached as necessary.

In the above device, the long tube T fed out from the take-up reel 1 by the rotational drive of the feed roll 2 passes through the guide roll 3 in a folded and flat state, and then passes around the expansion jig 4 while slidingly contacting it. As a result, it is automatically expanded from the inside, and then pinched and pressed from both sides by a pair of pressing rolls 5 immediately below. As a result of this pressure roll, the tube T is folded back in a direction substantially perpendicular to the original flat surface, and as a result, an opening groove having a substantially rhombic cross-sectional shape is provided.

The expanding jig 4 is a block made of plastic or the like having an appropriately shaped shape that allows the flat surface of the tube T to be expanded without difficulty as the tube T passes through. In the illustrated example, the expansion jig 4 has an upper ridge 41 parallel to the original flattened plane of the tube, and a lower ridge 4.
2 by using a tetrahedral block that is parallel to the new plane of folding
In addition to stabilizing the upper supporting position, the tube's flattened plane can be pushed out and folded back in the orthogonal direction smoothly.

The block shape of the expanding jig 4 is not limited to this, and for example, a spherical shape or the like can also be suitably used. In the case of a spherical block, if a protruding piece corresponding to the edge 42 of the tetrahedral block is formed on the lower surface of the sphere, the block can be stably supported on the roll 5 and the original flat surface can be Folding in the direction perpendicular to can be easily made.

Note that an adjustment jig may be provided below the press roll 5 to stabilize the opening curl.
The opening skew adjustment jig may be a simple one, for example, as shown in FIG. , 40 is installed in the tube transfer line. By doing this, even if the folding pattern applied to the tube T by the pressure roll 5 is too strong and causes flattening due to the folding pattern, when the tube passes around the adjustment jig 30, the flat surface will be By coming into contact with the spring plate and being pushed out from the inside, the opening curl is corrected and stabilized.

The tube with the opening groove formed by folding is held between the feeder roll 6 and the presser roll 7 and sent downward, and is cut into unit tubes t having a predetermined length by the horizontal drive of the cutting edge of the cutter 8. In order to obtain a predetermined cutting length, for example, an optical mark sensor 19 is installed near the feeder roll 6, and the surface of the tube passing in front of the sensor (the surface of the tube is usually marked with a period corresponding to the unit tube). It is sufficient to repeat the operation of stopping the rotation of the feeder roll and cutting with the cutter 8 every time a certain mark (in which the same characters, designs, etc. are repeatedly printed in the longitudinal direction) is detected.

The unit tube t cut to a predetermined length falls onto the receiving plate 9 directly below it, and slides into the passage hole of the split guide jig 11 by the forward drive of the pusher 10 located at the back. accepted. When the tube t is received into the guide jig, the tube push-out arm 12 installed on the side of the guide jig moves horizontally to enter the upper part of the tube inside the guide jig, and then moves downward to remove the tube from the guide jig. The tube is pushed down while passing through the gap between the divided surfaces of the split molds 11.1, 11.2 of the jig, and the tube is pushed out from the rear end outlet of the jig, and at the same time, it is fitted into the mandrel 15 waiting just below. Dress up.

After fitting the tube into the mandrel 15, the extrusion arm 12 moves horizontally and retreats to the side, then moves upward to return to its original position, and is further received into the guide jig 11. Repeat the horizontal and vertical movements to push down the next tube.

Each split mold 11, 1, 11, of the guide jig 11 mentioned above
The tube passage hole defined by 2 has a rhombic cross section that substantially corresponds to the cross-sectional shape of the tube t into which the tube receiving port on the front end side is received, and the outlet port on the rear end side has a substantially circular cross section, It has a cross-sectional shape that gradually transitions from a diamond shape at the top to a circle at the bottom. Therefore, it is easy to receive the tube provided with the diamond-shaped opening groove, and at the same time, as the tube is pushed down, the cross section of the tube changes to a circular shape and is extruded from the lower end outlet of the jig in an almost cylindrical shape.
It is also easy to install.

The rotary feeder 13 at the bottom of the guide jig 11 is
The tube t is received on each mandrel 15 while being rotated intermittently in synchronization with the extrusion operation of the tube by the extrusion arm 12, and
This is transferred directly above container B below. Each mandrel 15 of the rotary feeder may be a simple cylinder, but as shown in the figure, it is a two-split cylinder (or an elliptical cylinder), and a cam mechanism is provided to connect the rotating shaft 14.
As the mandrel 15 rotates, it is preferable that when the mandrel 15 reaches directly below the guide jig, the split surfaces of the split molds 15.1, 15.2 approach each other, and when the mandrel 15 leaves the position directly below, the split surfaces move away from each other. . In this way, the cross-sectional diameter of the mandrel becomes smaller directly under the guide jig 11, so it is easy to fit the tube extruded from the guide jig onto the mandrel, and the cross-sectional diameter becomes larger after the tube is fitted. Therefore, even when the mandrel is positioned facing downward, the tube can be prevented from accidentally falling off. Note that the cross-sectional shape of the mandrel 15 is not limited to a circle or an ellipse, but may be a polygonal cross-section such as a triangle or a quadrangle.

As the feeder 13 rotates, each time the mandrel in which the tube is fitted reaches a position directly above the container B and stops, the tube feed arm 16 disposed on the side of the feeder moves horizontally to move the tube directly above the upper end surface of the tube. By entering the tube and then moving downward to push the tube down, the tube is removed from the mandrel and at the same time inserted into the container B immediately below. After the tube is fitted into the container, the feed arm 16 moves horizontally and retreats, moves upward and returns to its original position, and then moves vertically and horizontally to push down the tube of the next mandrel. repeat the movement. The feed arm 16 and the push-down arm 12 may be connected as shown. Further, the containers B below the rotary feeder 13 are sequentially fed along the line flow 21 by, for example, a feeder screw 20.

From the delivery of the long tube in the above device,
The operations of each component up to fitting the tube into the container are continuously and repeatedly performed in conjunction with each other. The containers with the tubes attached are sequentially sent to the process and undergo necessary treatment (for example, heat shrinking treatment of the tubes) to complete the containers in the desired attachment state.

Further, the means for transporting the unit tube sent out from the guide jig 11 to the standby position of the article to be mounted is not limited to the illustrated example, but may be any means that can hold the tube in a cylindrical shape and transport it. Furthermore, by omitting the tube transfer mechanism such as the rotary feeder, and installing an article conveyance line close to the guide jig to wait for the articles to be directed toward the outlet of the guide jig, the guide jig The tube sent out from the tube may be inserted into the article as it is.

As described above, the present invention uses a tube expansion jig and a folding pressure roll to open a flat tube and provide opening grooves, so a vacuum suction mechanism like the conventional one is not required and the tube can be expanded. The opening mechanism is simple. The expansion and folding of the flat plane of the tube can be done reliably without twisting, even if the tube is soft and weak, and even if it is stuck together by electrostatic adsorption. . In addition, since the unit tube with the opening groove attached to the tube is sent out as a cylindrical body with the desired opening shape via a guide jig, the operation control and mechanism for transferring and fitting to the item to be installed are simplified. Therefore, the tube can be installed efficiently and reliably.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram schematically showing an example of the transition of the cross-sectional shape of the tube according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 3 is a diagram showing main parts of another embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4: tube expansion jig, 5: folding press roll, 8: cutter, 11: guide jig, 12: push-down arm, 13: rotation feeder, 16: feed arm.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A long soft tube that has been folded flat and wound onto a reel is unwound from the reel and fed along a tube transfer line, while the flat surface thereof is opened and an opening pattern is provided. Thereafter, the operation of cutting a unit tube of a predetermined length, shaping it into a cylindrical shape such as a circular shape that is easy to fit into an article such as a container (an article to be attached), and fitting it into the article to be attached is repeated. In the installation direction of the soft tube, the tube is passed around a tube expansion jig, which is an appropriately shaped block held in the space within the transfer line, and the tube is deflected by passing through the expansion jig. By pressing the tube whose flat surface has been expanded from the inside and folding it back in a direction perpendicular to the original flat surface, an opening groove with an approximately diamond-shaped cross section is imparted to the tube, and the tip of the tube with the opening groove provided is A unit tube of a predetermined length is cut from the section, and then the tube feeder has a desired opening shape, such as the tube receiving port being approximately diamond-shaped and the tube outlet opening being circular, and the opening shape gradually changing from the receiving port to the outlet port. The unit tube is received in a tube guide jig having a through hole, and the unit tube received in the through hole of the tube guide jig is pushed down and passed through the through hole. A method for attaching a soft tube to an article, characterized in that the flexible tube is delivered from a delivery port as a cylindrical body shaped to have an opening shape substantially the same as the opening shape of the delivery port. 2. A long soft tube that has been folded flat and wound onto a reel is unwound from the reel, and while being fed along the tube transfer line, the flat surface is opened and an opening groove is provided, and then a long soft tube of a predetermined length is In a soft tube mounting device that repeats the operation of cutting a unit tube, shaping it into a circular or other cylindrical shape that is easy to fit into an article such as a container (an article to be attached), and then fitting it into an article to be attached. , a tube expansion jig, which is a suitably shaped block held within the inner space of the tube and supported by a pair of rolls oriented perpendicular to the flat plane of the tube fed along the tube transfer line; Direction perpendicular to the original flat plane in order to give an opening groove with a roughly rhombic cross section by folding the tube, which is expanded from the inside by passing through the expansion jig, in a direction perpendicular to the original flat plane. A folding press roll placed in the center of the tube presses the tube from both sides, a cutter that cuts a unit tube of a predetermined length from the tip of the tube with opening grooves, and a cutter that receives the cut unit tube and cuts it into a circular shape. It consists of a split mold having a tube passage hole whose opening shape gradually changes from a substantially diamond-shaped tube receiving opening to a tube outlet having a desired opening shape, such as a circular shape. Each time a unit tube is received in the tube passage hole of the tube guide jig, the unit tube is lowered from the upper part of the receiving opening through the space between the split molds and pushed down from the delivery port. 1. A device for attaching a soft tube to an article, characterized in that a tube extrusion device is provided with an arm that repeatedly performs a feeding operation.