JPH06293065A - Device for attaching printed label to plastic container produced by thermoformer - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To accurately attach a label to the predetermined position of a container by adapting the label to the contour of the cavity of a mold before inserting the label by the inside contour of a label mold to internally connect the same to the transparent plastic of the container to allow the label to correspond to the contour of the container. CONSTITUTION: During a period when a plastic container 56 is molded by a foil deep drawing machine or a thermoforming machine when a lower mold 5 is moved upwardly, label molds 21 thrown into two groups bring a new label 18 from a magazine rack 23. In this case, at first, the first group of the label molds 21 takes out the label 18 from the magazine rack 23 and the label 18 is fixed to the periphery of a label shaft 14. Next, the vacuum of a vacuum suction plate 48 is cut off to allow a vacuum to act on the label shaft 14 at the same time. As a result, the label 18 molded so as to be fitted to a contour is bonded to the label shaft.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention is for mounting a printed label (cutting material), for example, a content display label on at least a side wall of a plastic container having a bottom and side walls, which is manufactured by a thermoforming machine by a deep drawing method. Of the thermoforming machine, a quantity of labels corresponding to the quantity of cavities of the mold of the thermoforming machine are taken out from the magazine by vacuum using a movable distributor, and the cavities are connected via a rotating unit connected in the middle. The present invention relates to the device as described above.

[0002]

2. Description of the Prior Art Pressing a printing layer (for example, a label) onto the inner surface of a container wall by a diaphragm during deep drawing of a plastic container is described in EP-A-038.
It became known from Japanese Patent No. 7883. In this configuration, the container consists of two closed walls, namely the diaphragm wall and the original container wall, between which the printed printing layer is enclosed. Not only is this device complicated to operate and prone to failure, but it also suffers from the entrapment of air between the diaphragm wall and the container wall.

Techniques are known for constructing a content label from plastic that is easily installed in a mold and covers at least the side walls of the plastic container so that the plastic container can be easily and reasonably manufactured. The inner side of the plastic is joined with the outer wall of the container and is used together with the plastic of the container. In this case, the plastic required for forming the container is provided as a foil, which foil is withdrawn from the roll and fed to the preheating station. The plastic foil is then inserted into the original deep-drawing device, which has a plurality of deep-drawing recesses. The content label or cutting material is placed in the deep-draw recess using an installation device prior to deep-drawing the plastic foil. The content label installation device generally consists of a rotating cross with a plurality of arms arranged in a vertical plane. The arm is arranged so as to be movable in the longitudinal direction. In the lateral direction of the rotary cross, a quantity of such arms is arranged which corresponds to the quantity of the mold cavities of the thermoforming machine. The rotating cross cooperates with a lateral carrier carrying one or two height-adjustable suction elements. In this case, the suction unit takes out the content display label from the two magazines that are stacked in parallel and supplies it to the arm of the rotary cross.

[0004]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The object of the invention is to design a device of this kind in such a way that the operation of the thermoforming machine can be improved, in particular the supply of labels.

[0005]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides a distributor having a label forming die, and the inner contour of the label forming die on the side of the label stocked in the magazine is a circle. It is characterized in that it conforms to the contour of the label shaft of the dynamic unit and represents the negative of the mold of the thermoforming machine. Thus, due to the inner contour of the label forming mold, the label already conforms to the contour of the mold cavity before inserting the label and internally bonding with the clear plastic of the container, and thus corresponds to the contour of the container. .

In order to take out the label from the magazine, the label forming die may have a vacuum suction plate which is arranged so as to be linearly movable.

If the vacuum suction plate is biased by the position adjusting drive unit and is guided through the guide bar, the vacuum suction plate is moved from the label forming die into the magazine by using, for example, a pneumatic position adjusting drive unit. In the magazine, the vacuum suction plate pulls the label by vacuum from the label stacking portion stocked in the magazine.

According to the advantageous configuration of the present invention, the vacuum suction plate can be elastically supported. During transfer for inserting the label attached to the vacuum suction plate into the mold of the thermoforming machine, the label shaft pushes the vacuum suction plate into the label forming mold against the force of the spring. In this case the label obtains the outline of the label axis or the cavity of the mold.

If the rotating unit is provided with an arm carrying a vacuum suction portion in a diagonal direction with respect to the label forming die, following the delivery of a new label,
The already finished and printed plastic container can be removed from the cavity. In this case, when the rotary unit is operated, the label shaft reaches the front of the cavity together with the label to be newly loaded, and the completed plastic container is ready to be discharged.

According to an advantageous configuration of the invention, the magazine has a plurality of elongated inserts used as label stocks in the magazine box. This facilitates label handling. That is, the label can first be loaded into the insert outside the magazine before inserting the insert into the magazine box.

The insert body is assembled in a rectangular shape from four corner rods. The corner rod accommodates a head plate having a take-out hole at the front end on the label forming die side and is held by a bridge at the rear end. Has been done. Thus, the insert is generally composed of an open framework defined by the corner members and stabilized by the bridge and head plate. The bridge can be removably coupled to the corner member using a slotted screw that is screwed into the end of the corner member.
Therefore, loading the label on the label stock defined by the corner members requires only loosening the slotted screws by hand. Then you can remove the bridge and load the label from the back.

Advantageously, a support plate is arranged in the label stock section between the corner rods. In particular,
According to an advantageous configuration of the invention, if each insert in the magazine box is provided with a drive, preferably a pneumatic drive, for moving the label stack towards the head plate, a label forming mold is provided. The label stacking unit is prevented from falling when the drive unit is returned before inserting the label into the magazine. That is, when the label forming die is inserted into the head plate or the insert body by slightly returning the driving portion which is disposed below the insert body and acts on the label stacking portion by the vertical strip portion, It is not necessary to overcome the frictional resistance of the pneumatic drive, and preferably also the frictional resistance of the vertical strip guided by the sliding rod.

Advantageously, the ejection hole is somewhat smaller than the label. This makes selective retrieval convenient.

If at least one elastic scraper facing the label stack is arranged in the take-out hole, the label can be taken out without trouble, which is convenient. That is, it is unavoidable that the edges of the label become entangled when the label is punched out from the foil, which is an obstacle when pulling out the label from the head plate. This is because the separation resistance is too high to suck the labels one by one. The scraper is integrated in the head plate as follows: the label flank of the scraper made of elastic material carries out a circular movement as the label advances towards the head plate, and this circular movement Is installed in the scraper to separate the first label each time.

According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, in particular
When feeding a thermoforming machine mold having a row of cavities, the label stacks are arranged horizontally at a distance of twice the effective distance from each other and vertically offset from one another. . In this case, the effective distance is the distance between the central axis of one cavity and the central axis of the adjacent cavity. This achieves a continuous feeding operation and eliminates the inability to place the labels as a stack in the magazine at the mold's effective spacing due to the size of the label. For example, by means of inserts or label stacks which are inserted according to the invention in the upper and lower rows of a magazine box (wherein the lower row insert is located in the gap between the two inserts in the upper row), The label can be accurately fed into the mold cavity even if the label size is larger than the effective spacing. In order to prevent the label from being pulled out from the unnecessary insert or label stack, it is sufficient to move the magazine box by an amount corresponding to the effective interval. In any case, it is guaranteed that the label will be provided in alignment with the cavity.

If the rotating unit is movable in the horizontal direction and the stacking plate having a through hole for the vacuum suction section is arranged in front of the stacking section in the moving direction away from the mold. After removing the molded container from the mold and displacing the rotating unit away from the mold to insert the label into the mold, the container can be stacked on a plate. Containers are selectively supplied to the plates through through holes in the stacking plates which are spaced apart at intervals corresponding to the arms.

[0017]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

The thermoforming machine 1 shown in FIGS. 1 to 3.
Has a stationary upper mold 2 and a stationary lower mold 5. The lower mold 5 is
It has a plurality of cavities 3 arranged side by side in two rows and can move up and down in the direction of arrow 4. Further, the lower mold 5 has an arrow 6
90 around the horizontal pivot axis 7 in the direction of (see FIG. 2)
° It is rotatably supported. 10 is a robot.
The robot 10 has a rotation unit 11 capable of traveling on the guide 8 in the direction of the double arrow 9. Rotating unit 1
1 accommodates a lateral carrier 13 which is rotatable about a horizontal shaft 12. The horizontal carriers 13 are arranged in two rows according to the number of cavities 3 juxtaposed in the lower mold 5, each side has a label shaft 14 and the other side has an arm 15 corresponding thereto. There is. The arm 15 has a vacuum suction portion 16 at its free end. The contour of the head end portion 17 of the label shaft 14 is configured to correspond to the contour of the cavity 3. A vacuum can be applied to the head end 17 to suck the label 18.

A distribution unit 19 is attached to the rotating unit 11. The distribution unit 19 includes label forming dies 21 in a quantity corresponding to the quantity of the label shafts 14, and is arranged on the linear guide 22 so as to be vertically movable. As the dispensing part 19 moves, the label mold 21 is positioned in front of a magazine 24, which in the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 comprises two magazine boxes 23, in order to remove the label 18. After removing the label 18 from the magazine 24, as shown in FIG.
Can be aligned and positioned in front of the. As shown in FIG. 10 and FIG. 11, a plurality of insertion holes 25 are provided in the magazine box 23 according to the number of the label molding dies 21 of the distributor 19. Insert 2 through insertion hole 25
6 is inserted into the magazine box 23, and the insert 26
Is locked by a pin or a pin (not shown) inserted into the hole 27 provided in the magazine box 23 or the insert 26. Below each insert 26, a pneumatic drive 28 is provided in the magazine box 23. The pneumatic drive unit 28 acts on the vertical strips 32 guided on the slide rods 31 by the blocks 29, so that the label stacking unit 33 stacked on the insert body 26 (see FIG. 13), Push forward as individual labels 18 are removed.

As shown in detail in FIG. 10, the four elongated corner rods 34 form the open skeleton of the insert 26 which defines the label stock 35. A head plate 37 having a take-out hole 36 is attached to the front end of the corner rod 34.
A bridge 38 is attached to the rear end. The bridge 38 is fixed by a grooved screw 39 screwed into the end of the corner rod 34. Further, a support plate 41 is arranged between the corner rods 34. The support plate 41 moves toward the head plate 37 under the action of the vertical strip portion 32 by the drive unit 28.

As shown in FIGS. 13 and 14, in the take-out hole 36 of the head plate 37, two scrapers 42 made of an elastic material are arranged as follows, that is, the flanks 43 from which the scrapers 42 protrude. The magazine box 23 is arranged so as to face the label stacking portion 33 in the insert 26. When the label stacking part 33 is moved toward the head plate 37 by the driving part 28, the flank 43 of the scraper 42 performs a circular motion due to its elasticity. By this circular movement, the label 18 at the foremost end of the label stacking portion 33 is separated from the next label (see FIG. 14).
Eight selective retrievals are performed.

As can be seen from the illustrations of FIGS. 8 and 9, the magazine box 23 has three inserts 26 in the upper row.
Alternatively, the label laminated portion 33 is arranged, and the two inserts 26 are arranged together with the label laminated portion 33 in the row below the label laminated portion 33. Both the upper row of inserts 26 and the lower row of inserts 26 are separated from each other by a double effective spacing 45. In this case, the inserts 26 in the lower row are each arranged in the center of the gap between the two inserts in the upper row. The effective interval 45 corresponds to the interval between the center axes of the two adjacent label forming dies 21 or the two cavities 3 arranged in parallel. Due to the size of the label 18, the effective spacing 4 of the upper mold 2 or the cavity 3
It is not possible to place labels 5 but if the labels are arranged as shown in FIG. 8 or without 9, all cavities 3 can be provided with labels 18. Because all 8
The individual label forming molds 21 first take out one label 18 from the inserts in the upper row from the inserts a and c, and then take out one label 18 from the inserts c'and d'in the lower row,
Next, when the magazine box 23 is moved by the effective distance 45 (see the home position shown by the alternate long and short dash line in FIG. 9), the label forming mold 21 is moved from the inserts b and d in the upper row to
And labels 18 from the inserts a'and c'in the bottom row, respectively.
This is because one by one is taken out.

As shown in FIG. 12, the magazine 24 is composed of two magazine boxes 23a and 23b (see the position indicated by the alternate long and short dash line). The magazine box 23a is in the production position, that is, the operating position, and the other magazine boxes 23a
b is in the filling standby position. When the magazine box 23a is empty, both magazine boxes 23a, 23b move to the left, so that the magazine box 23b reaches its operating position and the magazine box 23a reaches a position suitable for a new filling. Therefore, the left side and the right side are alternately filled. Therefore, the magazine boxes 23a and 23b are connected to the bridge 4
6 can be displaced by the distance between the magazine boxes via a common linear drive unit 47 connected to the magazine boxes 23a, 23b. The advantage of providing the two magazine boxes 23a and 23b is that the molding process can be performed without interruption even if one magazine box becomes empty. That is, the label 18 can be taken out from another magazine box, and at the same time, an empty magazine box can be newly filled. In order to displace one magazine box 23 or 23a, 23b, a pneumatic linear drive arranged between this magazine box and the bridge 46 is used.

The label molding die 21 is a magazine box 2
3; 23a, 23b have a vacuum suction plate 48 at the end of the insert 26 on the side of the take-out hole 36 or at the end of the label shaft 14 on the side of the head end 17 (see FIGS. 4 and 5). .
The vacuum suction plate 48 has a spring 49 in the embodiment of FIGS.
It is urged by and is extruded from the label forming die 21. When the label shaft 14 enters the accommodation portion 51 of the label forming die 21, the vacuum suction plate 48, and hence the label 18 carried by the vacuum suction plate 48, is removed from the accommodation portion 51 against the force of the spring 49. Is pushed to. The housing 51 has an inner contour 52 at its front end, which inner contour 52
Since it corresponds to the contour of the head end 17 of 4 and thus to the contour of the cavity 3, the label 18 pressed into the housing 51 is shaped accordingly (see FIG. 5). Next, the vacuum action of the vacuum suction plate 48 is released, and a vacuum is applied to the label shaft 14 to remove the label 18 formed according to the contour of the cavity 3 and supply it to the lower mold or the cavity 3. it can.

In the embodiment of the label forming die 21 shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 (the label forming die 21 is shown in the position moved to the front of the label stacking portion 33 of one magazine box 23), the vacuum suction plate is used. The position of 48 is adjusted by the pneumatic drive unit 53. In order to guide the vacuum suction plate 48 so as not to incline, the vacuum suction plate 48 is guided by the slide rod 54 provided in the die guide portion 55. Vacuum suction plate 48
Is moved into the magazine box 23 by the pneumatic drive unit 53, and the frontmost label 18 (see FIG. 6) is sucked by the vacuum suction plate 48 by vacuum. Next, the pneumatic drive unit 53 takes out the vacuum suction plate 48 from the magazine box 23, draws the label 18 deeper into the label forming die 21, and fits the inside contour 52 of the label forming die 21 so that the label is formed. The label shaft 14 or the contour of the cavity 3 is provided at 18.

While the lower die 5 is moving upward as shown in FIG. 1, while the foil deep drawing machine or thermoforming machine 1 is forming the plastic container 56 (in FIG. 3, arm 1).
5 of the finished plastic container 56 carried by the vacuum suction part 16), two groups (a,
The label forming mold 21 which is assembled into b ′, c, d ′ and a ′, b, c ′, d) brings a new label 18 from the magazine rack 23. In this case, first, the label forming mold 21
The first group of the labels removes the label 18 from the magazine rack 23, while the second group of the labels is still in the loading position with the vacuum suction plate 48 pulled back. Next, the label forming die 21 moves vertically downward on the linear guide 22. When the dispenser 19 or the label mold 21 is in the lower position shown in FIG. 1 by driving the vacuum suction plate, the pneumatic drive 53 (see FIGS. 6 and 7) is switched without pressure. Next, the head end 17 of the label shaft 14
Enters the label forming mold 21. Label mold 21
The label 18 is fixed around the label shaft 14 because the inner contour 52 of the label corresponds to the outer contour of the head end 17 of the label shaft 14. Next, the vacuum of the vacuum suction plate 48 is cut off, and at the same time, the vacuum is applied to the label shaft 14. As a result, the label 18 shaped so as to conform to the contour adheres to the label shaft 14. At this point, the label shaft 14 is ejected from the label forming die 21, and the label forming die 21 moves vertically on the linear guide 22 to reach the magazine rack 23 for taking out a new label (see FIG. 2).
Since the groups a ', b, c', d of the label forming mold 21 did not acquire the label 18 in the first passage, the magazine rack 23 is moved laterally by the effective distance 45. Next, the second group of vacuum suction plates of the label forming die 21 enters into the magazine rack 23 to take out the label 18.

Next, when the second label set is also conveyed to the label shaft 14, the rotating unit 11 takes out the label shaft 14 from the label mold 1. At this time, the lower mold 5 is moved downward and rotated to the position shown in FIG. 3, and the rotation unit 11 uses the vacuum suction section 16 to complete the completed container 5 in the lower mold 5.
Ready to take out 6. When the completed container 56 adheres to the vacuum suction unit 16, the rotating unit 11 moves to the double arrow 14 direction.
Move in the direction of the arrow indicating the right side of. In this case, the rotating unit 11 simultaneously rotates 180 °, so that the arm 15 carrying the completed plastic container 56 reaches from the position shown in FIG. 2 to the position shown in FIG. During this period distributor 1
Since 9 is in front of the magazine box 23 together with the label forming mold 21, the rotating unit 11 can travel on the guide 8 to the stacking section 57.

While the arm 14 is moving, the accumulating portion 57 is provided.
To the inside of the through hole 59 of the stacking plate 61 provided in front of. The through hole 59 conforms to the shape of the plastic container 56, and when the through hole 59 penetrates the integrated plate 61,
Container 5 carried by upper and lower arms 15
Select 6. Therefore, the containers 56 can be separately loaded as the container cartons 63 on the upper and lower laminated thin plates 62. So you can manually take out the container 56 and count,
Alternatively, another treatment can be performed by a known method. Next, the operating direction of the rotating unit 11 is reversed, and the label shaft 14 previously provided with the label 18 is moved into the cavity 3 of the lower mold 5. Next, the label 18 is fixed to the lower mold 5 by applying a vacuum to the lower mold 5. Therefore, the vacuum state of the label shaft 14 can be shut off, and the rotating unit 11 can be taken out of the mold region in the horizontal direction by 180 °.
It can be rotated. As a result, the label shaft 14 is ready to take out a new label 14. The lower mold 5 is vertically returned and rotated, and is returned to the upper position shown in FIG.

Next, the advantageous configurations of the present invention will be listed.

(1) An apparatus characterized in that a label molding die (21) has a vacuum suction plate (48) arranged so as to be linearly movable.

(2) The vacuum suction plate (48) is urged by a position adjusting drive section (53) and is guided through a guide bar (54), as described in the above item 1. Equipment.

(3) The apparatus according to the above item (1), wherein the vacuum suction plate (48) is elastically supported.

(4) The rotating unit (11) is arranged in a diagonal direction with respect to the label forming die (21) in a vacuum suction portion (1).
6) A device according to any one of the preceding paragraphs 1 to 3, characterized in that it comprises an arm (15) carrying 6).

(5) The magazine (24) has a plurality of elongated inserts (26) used as label stock parts (35) in the magazine box (23; 23a, 23b).
The device according to any one of items 1 to 4 above.

(6) The insert body (26) is assembled in a rectangular shape from the four corner rods (34), and the corner rods (34) are provided at the front end on the label forming die (21) side with a take-out hole ( 36) head plate (3)
7. Device according to claim 5, characterized in that it contains 7) and is held at its rear end by a bridge (38).

(7) The device as described in the above item 6, wherein the support plate (41) is arranged between the corner rods (34) in the label stock portion (35).

(8) The take-out hole (36) has the label (1
8) characterized in that it is somewhat smaller than
The apparatus according to any one of items 1 to 7.

(9) At least one elastic scraper (42) is arranged in the take-out hole (36) so as to face the label laminated portion (33), and the fifth paragraph is characterized. The apparatus according to any one of items 1 to 8.

(10) Magazine box (23; 23
A drive part (28) for moving the label stacking part (33) toward the head plate (37) is attached to each insert body (26) in a, 23b). The apparatus according to any one of items 1 to 9.

(11) The drive unit (28) is provided with an insert (2
6) is arranged below or above, and the vertical strip portion (3
Device according to item 10 above, characterized in that it acts on the label stack (33) according to 2).

(12) The first feature, characterized in that the vertical strip portion (32) is guided by a sliding rod (31).
The apparatus according to item 1.

(13) In particular, for supplying a mold of a thermoforming machine having two rows of cavities, the above items 1 to 1
In the apparatus according to any one of items 2 to 3, the label stacking portions (33) are arranged in the horizontal direction at an interval twice the effective interval (45) and are vertically offset from each other. A device characterized by the above.

(14) The magazine (24) is movable in the horizontal direction by the effective interval (45), and it is also movable by the interval of the magazine box to move the magazine boxes (23; 23a, 23b). The apparatus according to item 13 above.

(15) The rotating unit (11) is movable in the horizontal direction, and because of the vacuum suction section (16) in front of the stacking section (57) in the moving direction away from the molds (2, 5). Device according to any one of the preceding paragraphs 1 to 14, characterized in that an integrated plate (61) having a through hole (59) is arranged.

[0045]

According to the invention, the inner contour of the label mold ensures that the label already conforms to the contour of the mold cavity before it is inserted and internally bonded to the clear plastic of the container. Therefore, since it corresponds to the contour of the container, the label can be accurately attached to the predetermined position of the container.

[Brief description of drawings]

1 is a schematic side view of an apparatus according to the invention for producing plastic containers by deep drawing in a closed mold for producing containers.

FIG. 2 is a schematic side view of the apparatus of FIG. 1 with the lower mold lowered to remove the completed plastic container.

3 is a schematic side view of the apparatus of FIG. 1 with the lower mold in a ready position for a new label removal.

FIG. 4 is a detailed view of a label shaft arranged so as to be aligned with a label forming mold.

5 is a view showing the label shaft and the label forming die of FIG. 4 in an engagement position.

FIG. 6 is a detailed view of the label forming die which is in contact with the label laminated portion by the vacuum suction plate.

FIG. 7 is a view showing the vacuum suction plate of FIG. 6 at a position where the vacuum suction plate and the label enter the label forming mold.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an arrangement mode of labels arranged in a magazine at effective intervals of molds.

FIG. 9: FIG. 8 with the magazine moved by an effective interval
It is a figure which shows the arrangement | positioning aspect of the label of.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing an insert body used as a label stock portion and inserted into a magazine together with a drive portion attached thereto.

11 is a perspective view of a magazine box for accommodating a plurality of inserts of FIG. 10 arranged in an upper row and a lower row, one insert for the upper row and one insert for the lower row; It is the perspective view illustrated.

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing a magazine including a plurality of magazine boxes.

FIG. 13 is a detailed view of the insert's head plate with an elastic scraper in the advanced position towards the label stack.

FIG. 14 is a diagram showing the head plate of FIG. 13 together with a label taken out from a label laminating section by a scraper.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Thermoforming Machine 2 Upper Mold 3 Cavity 5 Lower Mold 11 Rotating Unit 14 Label Shaft 18 Label 19 Distributor 21 Label Mold 24 Mold

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A device for mounting a printed label on at least a side wall of a plastic container manufactured by a deep drawing method in a thermoforming machine and having a bottom and side walls, the number of mold cavities of the thermoforming machine. In the above-mentioned device, the quantity of labels corresponding to is taken out from the magazine by vacuum using a movable distributor, and is supplied to the cavity through a pivoting unit connected in the middle. Is provided with a label forming die (21), and the inner contour (52) of the label forming die (21) on the side of the label (18) stocked in the magazine (24) is the label of the rotating unit (11). Device adapted to the contour of the shaft (14), which represents the negative of the mold (5) of the thermoforming machine.