JPH0725198A - Enclosing-sealing machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide enclosing-sealing machine surely having a flap opening unit which can open a flap of an envelope irrespective of a material of the envelope. CONSTITUTION:In the case of an envelope made of a thin sheet, etc., a protrusion 8b of a supporting plate 8 is engaged with a hole of a book cover, and an elastic member 9 is so disposed as to insert its lower end to an opening 23a of a guide plate 23. An envelope H handled to one by a sheet feed roller 22 and a handling block 4 is pressed at a lateral center by the member 9 to be bent, and a gap is formed between an envelope body and an end of the flap. This envelope H is slid at the end of the flap along one surface of a gate member 26 while passing between an inverting roller 24 and an inverting guide 25 to be erected, and as the envelope is advanced, the flap is folded.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an enclosing and sealing machine for enclosing contents such as a letter in a Western envelope by folding it in three, for example, and enclosing the letter in a 10-inch size Western envelope and then attaching a flap adhesive portion. The present invention relates to an encapsulating and sealing machine for adhering a flap to an envelope body by moistening with water and sealing the flap, which is suitable for use as a tabletop type in an office.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a conventional enclosing and sealing machine, envelopes are conveyed one by one from a bundle of envelopes placed in a hopper, and the contents are inserted into the envelope in the middle of the conveying path. The flap is folded on the envelope body and the opening of the envelope is sealed.

By the way, the envelopes are stacked in the hopper with the flaps folded. Therefore, it is necessary for the envelope conveyed from the hopper to open the flap in the conveying path so that the contents can be inserted into the envelope.

FIG. 5 is a schematic view showing a flap opening portion of a conventional enclosing and sealing machine. The envelope sent from a hopper (not shown) and conveyed with the folded flap on the rear side moves along a guide 93 and rotates a reversing roller 91 and an inverting roller 91 which rotates about an axis parallel to the fold of the flap. The content is inserted (not shown) by being reversed by a reversing guide 92 arranged so as to face the peripheral surface of the reversing roller 91.
Sent to. The swing arm 94 is swingably provided about a support shaft 95 above the reversing roller 91, and a claw member 96 is provided at the rear end of the arm 94.
The front end of the arm 94 is bent like a key. In a state where there is no envelope, the hook-shaped portion is lowered and the claw member 96 is retracted above the guide 93. When the front end portion of the envelope conveyed along the guide 93 comes into contact with the key-shaped portion of the arm 94 and pushes the key-shaped portion upward, the arm 94 swings and the claw member 96 descends toward the envelope. . Then, the end of the claw member 94 is locked near the flap base end of the envelope moving on the guide 93, the flap is erected with the rear end edge of the envelope as a fulcrum, and the flap is further folded back. As a result, the flap of the envelope is opened and the opening is opened.

[0005]

However, the conventional enclosing and sealing machine described above has a problem that it may be difficult to open the flap depending on the material of the envelope.
That is, commonly used envelopes have sufficient properties (basis weight, thickness, tightness, etc.) to protect the inserted contents.
It is made of paper with. In the case of such an envelope, since the flap has a relatively high rigidity, the front end of the flap of the envelope conveyed from the hopper is slightly separated from the envelope body. Therefore, the above-mentioned claw member can easily enter between the front end of the flap and the envelope body to open the flap.

However, in the case of an envelope formed of paper whose basis weight is extremely small, since the flap has low rigidity, the flap tends to remain in close contact with the envelope body when it is conveyed from the hopper, and the above-mentioned claw member is used. Cannot enter between the flap and the envelope body, so that the flap may be sent to the contents insertion section without being opened.

Even if the envelope is made of standard paper having a relatively high rigidity, the flap applied to the flap in advance causes the flap to warp, and the flap tip portion is curled inward. There is. Even in such a case, the claw member cannot enter between the flap tip portion and the envelope body, so that the flap cannot be opened.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and provides an enclosing and sealing machine having a flap opening portion that can surely open the flap regardless of the material of the envelope and the curl of the flap. The purpose is to do.

[0009]

An enclosing and sealing machine according to the present invention comprises a conveying means for conveying an envelope with a flap on the rear side.
An elastic member capable of pressing the central portion in the width direction of the envelope conveyed by the conveying means.

[0010]

In the present invention, the elastic member capable of pressing the widthwise central portion of the envelope conveyed by the conveying means is provided. The elastic member is formed of, for example, a rubber plate or the like. The envelope is bent by being pressed by the elastic member, centering around the central portion. As a result, the flap tip portion that is in close contact with the envelope body is separated from the envelope body, and a gap is formed between the envelope body and the flap tip portion. Therefore, the flap can be easily opened by utilizing this gap.

In the case of a general envelope (envelope formed of paper having a relatively high rigidity and having a small amount of curl in the flap), the elastic member forces the space between the envelope body and the tip of the flap. There is no need to form a gap. Therefore, it is preferable that the elastic member is arranged at one of a first position for pressing the envelope and a second position separated from the envelope, depending on the type of the envelope. That is, in the case of a general envelope, the elastic member may be retracted to the second position.

[0012]

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

FIG. 1 is a schematic view showing an enclosing and sealing machine according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the enclosing and sealing machine of the present embodiment mainly includes a letter feeding unit 1, an envelope feeding unit 20, a paper folding unit 10, a content insertion unit 30, and a sealing unit 60. , The stacking unit 70. A large number of contents, which are the letters P, are stacked on the placing plate 2 of the letter feeding unit 1. The letter P is sent out from the letter feeding unit 1 by the sheet feeding roller 3. The letter P is guided by the guide and supplied to the paper folding section 10. In this paper folding unit 10, bottomed folding members 11 and 12 are arranged with their openings facing upward, and three rollers 1 are provided near the openings.
3, 14, 15 are arranged. Letter P is folding member 1
1 and 12 are sequentially inserted, and the rollers 13 and 14 and the rollers 13 and 15 are sequentially sandwiched to be folded in three. The letter P folded in three in this manner is sent to the contents insertion section 30 by the rollers 13 and 15.

On the other hand, an envelope H is loaded in the hopper 21 of the envelope feeding section 20 with its flap F facing upward. The envelope H placed on the envelope feeding unit 20 constitutes a front wall of the paper feed roller 22, a separation block 4 that abuts on the paper feed roller 22 and separates the envelope with a predetermined separation pressure, and a front wall of the hopper 21. The paper feed table 5 that supports the block 4 and the lock lever 6 that fixes the separation block 4 are separated into sheets one by one in the separation section, and the guide 23
Is transported along. The envelope H is guided on the guide 23 and enters the reversing unit constituted by the reversing roller 24, the reversing guide 25, and the like.

2 is a schematic side view showing the space between the envelope feeding section 20 and the reversing section, FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the vicinity of the outlet of the envelope feeding section 20, and FIG. 4 is a side view thereof. is there. A separation block 4 is provided at the exit of the envelope feeding unit 20 in alignment with the paper feeding roller 22. The separation block 4 is made of metal or a relatively hard thermoplastic resin. Further, the separating block 4 is inserted into a space surrounded by the sheet feeding table 5 and a block cover 5a made of a metal bent in a U-shape so that it can be moved in the vertical direction. There is. The lower surface of the sorting block 4 on the envelope bundle side is provided with an inclination, and a vertically long slit 4a is provided above the inclined surface. A round bar-shaped spacer and a lock pin (not shown) having a substantially semicircular cross section are fitted in the slit 4a. The lock pin extends onto the paper feed tray 5, and a lock lever 6 is screwed to the upper end of the lock pin. By rotating this lock lever 6, the separation block 4 is fixed (locked).
In this state, the separation block 4 can be released from the fixed state. The shaft 22a of the paper feed roller 22
Is rotated by the driving force transmitted from the driving device. Even if a plurality of envelopes enter between the paper feed roller 22 and the sorting block 4 due to the sorting action of the sheet feeding roller 22 and the sorting block 4, only the lowest envelope is conveyed as one sheet. It

A swing shaft 18 is provided on both sides of the block cover 5a.
The support plate 8 is swingably locked to the swing shaft 18. An elastic member 9 made of plate-shaped hard rubber or the like is fixed to the center of the support plate 8 so as to extend downward. Further, click protrusions 8b are provided on the arm portions on both sides of the support plate 8,
It is engageable with a hole 5b provided in the block cover 5a. The support plate 8 has a first position in which the projection 8b engages with the hole 5b of the block cover 5a and click-stops, and a second position in which the upper portion (stopper portion 8a) of the support plate 8 contacts the block cover 5a. It is possible to oscillate between and to position. The transport guide 23 is provided with an opening 23a aligned with the separation block 4 and the elastic member 9. At the first position, the tip of the elastic member 9 is inserted through the opening 23a, and the tip thereof is located slightly below the guide 23. In the second position, the tip of the elastic member 9 is located slightly above the guide 23. As will be described later, the elastic member 9 is arranged at either one of the first and second positions depending on the type of envelope.

The envelope H conveyed along the guide 23 is
Then enter the reversing section. At the entrance of this reversing part
6 and rollers 28 are provided. This gate member 26
The rollers 28 are rotatably supported by the pivot 27, and the rollers 28 roll on the reversing roller 24 to rotate. On the other hand, the gate member 26 has a main body formed into a substantially rectangular parallelepiped, and the flap opening plate 2 is provided on one surface side of the main body.
6a is provided. A claw member 26b is provided on the exit side of the gate member 26 at the inversion portion. The gate member 26 has a heavy weight on the side of the claw member 26b around the pivot 27, and when there is no envelope, the claw member 26b blocks the envelope conveying path between the reversing roller 24 and the reversing guide 25, and the gate member 26 reverses. In the state where the entrance of the section is widened and the conveyed envelope H is guided to the reversing section (that is,
Stationary (in open position). However, when the envelope that has passed through the inlet of the reversing portion comes into contact with the claw member 26b, the gate member 26
Rotates about the pivot 27 to narrow the inversion section inlet. In the envelope conveyed on the guide 23, the flap tip portion abuts against the one surface of the gate member 26 and slides on this surface to raise the flap, and the flap is folded back by the movement of the envelope.

The envelope in which the advancing direction is reversed by the reversing roller 24 and the reversing guide 25 and the flaps are folded back is then supplied to the contents inserting section 30. A pair of feed rollers 31, 32 and a pair of feed rollers 33, 34 are arranged in the insertion portion 30 so as to face each other in the horizontal direction. The belt 35 is stretched between the rollers 31 and 33, and the belt 35 is rotatably driven by the rollers 31 and 32.
The movement of the envelope moves the envelope H together with the belt 35 from the roller 31 toward the roller 33. A stopper 46 and an idler 45 are arranged between the roller 31 and the roller 33.

Below the belt 35, a cam 41 which is rotationally driven by a motor 39 is arranged. This cam 4
1 and the motor 39 are coaxially connected. And
One end of the lever 43 is fixed to the rotary shaft 44, and the lever 43 can swing around the rotary shaft 44. A cam follower 42 is provided at the other end of the lever 43, and the lever 43 swings when the cam follower 42 rolls on the peripheral surface of the cam 41. A stopper support portion 47 connected to the stopper 46 is fixed to the lever 43, and an idler 45 is attached to the other end portion of the support portion 47.
The idler 45 is arranged between the outward path (upper side) and the return path (lower side) of the belt 35, and the lever 43 rotates clockwise to lift the belt 35. Conversely, when the lever 43 rotates counterclockwise, the stopper 4
6 projects above the belt 35, and stops the envelope by locking the front end of the envelope moving on the belt 35.

A cam follower 50 rolls on the cam 41, and the cam follower 50 is attached to one end of an L-shaped right-angled arm 49 rotatably fixed to a rotation shaft 51. . An arm 54 is connected to the other end of the right angle arm 49 via an engaging portion 52,
At the end of the arm 54, a claw member 53 that spreads the opening of the envelope is provided. As a result, when the cam 41 rotates, the right angle arm 49 rotates, the arm 54 moves in the horizontal direction, and the claw member 53 moves in the horizontal direction. Lever 4
3 and the end of the arm 49 between the tension spring 48
The tension spring 48 allows the
The cam followers 42, 50 are held in a state of rolling on the cam 41.

An L-shaped right-angled arm 63 is rotatably attached to a rotary shaft 62 near the rollers 33 and 34 at the outlet of the insertion portion 30. The wetting member 61 is connected to one end of the arm 63, and the drive shaft of the plunger 64 is connected to the other end of the arm 63. Then, when the plunger 64 is driven and its drive shaft retracts, the arm 6
By rotating 3 in the clockwise direction, the moistening member 61 projects upward.

On the downstream side of the moisturizing member 61, a bottomed pocket 65 is arranged with its opening facing upward, and rollers 66, 67, 68 are provided in the vicinity of this opening.
However, the rollers 68 and 67 are arranged to roll, and the rollers 66 and 67 are arranged to roll.

A stacking unit 70 for collecting the sealed envelopes H is arranged near the rollers 66 and 67.
The stacking unit 70 is mainly provided with a paper discharge table 71 that serves as a bottom.
And a guide 77 that is disposed in front of the entrance direction of the envelope H and serves as a front wall portion that locks the front end portion of the envelope H, and also the envelope H.
And a rear wall portion 75 that locks the rear end portion of the
The paper discharge tray 71 is inclined so that the rear wall portion 75 side becomes lower. Further, the gap between the lower end of the rear wall portion 75 and the rear end of the paper ejection tray 71 is an inlet 83 into which the envelope H enters.

The envelopes H are placed on a paper output table 71, and a pressing plate 72 is provided on the laminated envelopes H.
Due to its own weight, the envelopes H stacked on the paper ejection tray 71 are pressed.

Next, the operation of the enclosing and sealing machine configured as described above will be described. In the case of a normal envelope formed of paper having a relatively high rigidity, the support plate 8 is placed at the second position (that is, as shown in FIG. 3, the tip of the elastic member 9 is the guide 2).
It is located slightly above 3). Then, when an empty envelope H is placed on the hopper 21 and the paper feed roller 22 is rotated, the lowest envelope is sent out from the hopper 21,
The sheet is reliably separated into one sheet by the separating action of the sheet feeding roller 22 and the separating block 4 and then conveyed along the guide 23. In this case, since the flap has a relatively high rigidity, the flap tip portion of the envelope ejected from the hopper 21 is naturally separated from the envelope body, and a gap is formed between the envelope body and the flap tip portion.

On the other hand, in the case of an envelope which is made of thin paper having low rigidity and whose front end is in close contact with the envelope body, or an envelope in which the flap is curled by the glue applied to the flap, the support plate 8 is preliminarily set to the first position. (That is, the positions shown in FIGS. 2 and 4). The envelope H passes between the separating block 4 and the paper feed roller 22 with the flap side facing rearward, and the central portion of the envelope H is pressed by the elastic member 9 so that the central portion is slightly recessed and both side portions are slightly warped upward. Bend as if going up.
As a result, the flap tip that is in close contact with the envelope body is separated from the envelope body, and a gap is formed between the envelope body and the flap tip portion. Even after the envelope passes through the elastic member 9, the envelope H is in a bent state and is conveyed on the guide 23 with a gap provided between the envelope body and the flap tip.

In the reversing portion, the envelope H passes through the reversing portion while being guided by the gate member 26 at the front edge thereof and sandwiched between the reversing roller 24 and the roller 28. When the envelope H enters the reversing portion, the gate member 26 is in the open position, and the claw member 26
b interrupts the conveying path between the reversing roller 24 and the reversing guide 25, and guides the envelope to which the main body of the gate member 26 is fed to the reversing portion. The front edge of the envelope H guided by the gate member main body and entering the reversing portion has a claw member 26b.
The claw member 26b is pushed up to move forward. As a result, the gate member 26 rotates about the pivot 27 to the closed position, and the entrance of the reversing portion is narrowed. Then, as the envelope H advances, the front end of the flap F moves toward the gate member 2
It abuts against the flap opening of No. 6, and stands up by sliding on this flap opening. When the envelope H is further advanced, the flap F is completely folded back, and the envelope H passes through the reversing portion with the flap F open. When the envelope H completely passes through the inverting section,
The gate member 26 is rotated to the open position, and the claw member 2 is again rotated.
6b blocks the conveyance path between the reversing roller 24 and the reversing guide 25 and widens the reversing portion entrance.

In this way, the envelope H in which the traveling direction is reversed and the flaps F are opened is next subjected to the rollers 3 of the insertion portion 30.
It is sandwiched between 1 and 32. The envelope H is sent out onto the belt 35 by the rollers 31 and 32 with the flap F open, and moves toward the rollers 33 and 34 as the belt 35 moves. At this time, the cam 41 rotates counterclockwise and rotates to a position where the cam follower 42 rolls on the large diameter portion of the cam 41 as shown in FIG. Therefore, the cam 41 lifts the cam fore 42 and the stopper 4
6 is projected on the belt 35 moving on the outward path,
The front end of the envelope H is locked to the stopper 46 and the envelope H stops.

Next, the cam 41 further rotates, and the cam follower 50 relatively moves to the large diameter portion of the cam 41. Then, the right angle arm 49 rotates clockwise and the arm 5
4 moves forward (in the moving direction of the envelope), and the claw member 53 advances. Then, the claw member 53 enters into the opening portion where the flap F of the envelope H is opened and pushes the opening portion wide.

On the other hand, one letter P sent from the letter feeding unit 1 by the paper feed roller 3 enters the folding member 11 of the paper folding unit 10, and its front end abuts on the bottom of the folding member 11. Then, the central portion ⅓ of the letter P bends toward the rollers 13 and 14, and is sandwiched between the rollers 13 and 14 in a folded state. Next, the letter P enters the folding member 12 with the broken line at the top,
Even after the leading end of the roller 1 comes into contact with the bottom of the folding member 12, the roller 1
The letter P sent out by the rollers 3 and 14 is sandwiched between the rollers 13 and 15 at the central portion 2/3 thereof, and is folded at this portion. In this way, the letter P folded in three is stopped by the stopper 46 and enters the envelope H through the opening of the envelope H opened by the claw member 53.

Then, when the cam 41 further rotates, the cam follower 42 relatively moves to the small diameter portion of the cam 41, the lever 43 rotates clockwise, and the stopper 46 retracts downward. This causes the envelope H to move forward again with the letter F inserted therein and the flap F open. In this case, the idler 45 is raised by the rotation of the lever 43 and lifts the belt 35. As a result, the belt 35
The intermediate portion of the bulge bulges upward to come into contact with the envelope to increase the conveying force thereof, and the envelope is surely conveyed toward the rollers 33 and 34.

After that, the envelope H is sent out from the insertion portion 30 to the sealing portion 60 by the rollers 33 and 34. Adhesive is applied in advance to the lower surface of the flap F of the envelope H, and when the adhesive portion of the flap F passes through the moisturizing member 61, the plunger 64 is driven so that the drive shaft of the flap 64 retreats and the right angle. The arm 63 rotates clockwise and the moisturizing member 61 rises slightly,
Moisture is applied to the glue portion of the flap F of the envelope H. On the other hand, the front end of the envelope H enters the pocket 65, and the pocket 6
Abut on the bottom of 5. Therefore, the flap F, which is the rear portion on the belt 35, is sandwiched between the rollers 67 and 68 and closed, and the opening portion of the envelope H is sealed. The envelope H in which the contents are sealed in this way is then fed to the roller 6
It is sandwiched between 7 and 68, then sandwiched between rollers 66 and 67, and enters the stacking unit 70 from the flap F side.

A pressing plate 72 is placed on the paper discharging unit 71 at the bottom of the stacking unit 70, and the envelope H after sealing is placed between the paper discharging base 71 and the pressing plate 72 via the inlet 83. And is placed on the paper output table 71. Then, the envelope H after being sealed in this way is
By the feeding force of 67, the sheets are fed between the lowermost one of the envelopes H already stacked in the stacking unit 70 and the sheet discharge tray 71. As a result, the envelope H fed by the rollers 66 and 67 is lifted against the gravity of the pressing plate 72 and the envelopes already loaded, and is inserted into the lowermost layer. The pressing plate 72 rises as the stacking height of the envelopes H increases. After the flap F, which has been moistened by the moisturizing member 61, is superposed on the envelope, the rollers 67, 6
By being sandwiched between 8 and between the rollers 66 and 67, the adhesive action is promoted, and the flap F is further pressed by the stacking unit 70 by the weight of the pressing plate 72 to press the envelope, and the stacking is performed. The action is accelerated.

In the present embodiment, when an envelope in which the flap is difficult to open is conveyed, since the elastic member presses the central portion of the envelope to separate the tip of the flap from the envelope body, a thin envelope or an envelope in which the flap is curled. As described above, even in the case of an envelope in which it is difficult to reliably open the flap with the conventional device, the flap can be reliably opened.

[0035]

As described above, according to the present invention, since the elastic member capable of pressing the central portion in the width direction of the envelope conveyed by the conveying means is provided, the envelope body is bent to bend the envelope. A gap can be formed between the flap and the tip of the flap, and even if it is difficult to open the flap with a conventional device, such as an envelope formed of thin paper or an envelope in which the flap is curled, The flap can be opened reliably.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic view showing an enclosing and sealing machine according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic side view showing a space between an envelope feeding unit and a reversing unit.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the vicinity of the outlet of the envelope feeding unit.

FIG. 4 is a side view of the same.

FIG. 5 is a schematic view showing a flap opening portion of a conventional enclosing and sealing machine.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1; Letter feeding unit 3, 22; Paper feeding roller 4; Separation block 5; Paper feeding stand 5a; Block cover 8; Support plate 9; Elastic member 10; Paper folding unit 11, 12; Folding member 20; Envelope feeding Part 21; Hopper 23; Reversing Guide 24; Reversing Roller 30; Content Inserting Part 60; Sealing Part 70; Stacking Part F; Flap H; Envelope P; Letter

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. An encapsulating seal, comprising: a conveying means for conveying an envelope with a flap on the rear side; and an elastic member capable of pressing a central portion in the width direction of the envelope conveyed by the conveying means. Machine. 2. The elastic member is arranged at either one of a first position for pressing the envelope and a second position separated from the envelope depending on the type of the envelope. The enclosing and sealing machine according to claim 1. 3. The enclosing and sealing machine according to claim 1, wherein the pressing member is made of a rubber formed into a plate shape.