JPH0771967B2 - Labeling machine for bottles - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a labeling machine for a bottle or the like according to the general concept of claim 1, a method for applying a liquid to a bottle according to claim 24, and a general concept of claim 25. The present invention relates to a device for applying a liquid to a bottle.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Recycled bottles made of glass, plastic, etc., after being circulated many times, often collide strongly with each other in a filling device and during a reciprocating transfer with a consumer, and often have a markedly deteriorated appearance. Rubbing and other baldness and scratches, especially at the upper and lower edges of the cylindrical barrel of the bottle, are caused by the mutual collisions, especially in the filling device. In most filling operations, therefore, recycling bottles are coated with a thin film of liquid plastic, for example Siloxan, which completely covers the scratches and rubs to give the bottle a new appearance. Patent application No. 29 41 105
issue). It has already been proposed to wet the recycle bottle with a liquid low temperature tempering agent in a filling device each time the recycle bottle is recycled, as is applied to the bottle in glass factories. This should renew or retain the protective coating created during glass making. Finally, it is known to apply color films to bottles and to apply liquid or pasty plastic as a protective coating and for increased stability. All of these and other liquid or pasty materials suitable for application to surfaces such as bottles will hereinafter be simply referred to as "liquid".

A special machine is known, which has its own drive for applying liquid to a bottle and a carrier star wheel that moves the bottle in an arc orbit (Belgian Patent 882).
671). The bottle in the carrier star wheel is automatically rotated by a roller on a fixed friction segment and is acted upon by a roller or crimp pad made of an elastic material surrounding the carrier star wheel, which roller or crimp pad is continuously liquid by the feeder. Get wet. In principle, these known machines for handling unlabeled bottles are quite satisfactory in their application action. However,
This is unfavorable due to the need for a larger space, higher investment cost, and relatively low efficiency, and the limitation is caused by the failure of the bottle feeder installed upstream of the carrier star car. receive.

From this point of view, in a known labeling machine of this kind, in which a device for applying a liquid to a bottle or the like is attached to a turntable and the bottle is applied before entering a labeling station, these points are considered. Is further improved (German Patent Application No. 30 08 096).
Therefore, the applicator is completely integrated into the labeling device, so no additional space is required in the filling device and the additional investment cost can be kept within limits. There is also an infeed screw conveyor for the supply of bottles, and the bottles are accurately and at high speeds thanks to the transport star wheel and a rotating table with a controlled rotating dish and a vertically adjustable centering bell. Since it can be transported without damaging it, there is almost no problem in transporting bottles. However, it is not preferable because there is a risk of stains on the labeling station and a possibility of impairing the adhesiveness of the label due to the liquid applied to the bottle immediately before labeling. Furthermore, since most of the processing paths in the turntable for labeling are used for this, only a simple labeling device can be installed, or a very space-saving and correspondingly expensive labeling machine. Must be used.

[0005]

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION The present invention, in this type of labeling machine, eliminates the adverse effect of the liquid applied to the bottle on the labeling process and allows various labeling operations and liquid application at a favorable production cost. Making work possible is the basis of the task.

[0006]

This object is achieved according to the invention by the features of claims 1, 24 and 25.

Therefore, in the case of the label sticking machine according to the present invention, the entire turntable and, if necessary, even the entrance star car can be used for the label sticking step, adjusting step and the like.
From this point of view, therefore, there are never restrictions on "pure" labeling machines without applicators. Since the liquid is only applied after labeling, the labeling process is never disturbed by the liquid. Nevertheless, the bottles in the exit star car of the labeling machine are spaced apart from each other, are transported at the correct pitch and in the correct shape and are well accessible from almost all sides, so that liquid application is no problem. It is possible. Therefore, the installation of a suitable application element for the liquid is not a problem.

There are many ways to ensure a long enough processing path in the exit star car. A particularly simple method of which is described in claims 2-5.

Furthermore, it is preferred according to claims 6 and 7 that the bottle is rotated in the exit star wheel, which allows a particularly preferred construction of the applicator and a particularly even application of the liquid. By combining with any of the methods of claims 2 to 5 a bottle of 3 in the exit star car
Four to four automatic rotations are achieved, which is sufficient for practically all liquid application types.

There are also many methods for forming applicators. A particularly advantageous method is described in claim 42. In particular, a friction surface is formed as a coating surface according to claim 9, the coating surface being provided by at least one spray nozzle rotating with the exit star wheel according to claim 10 and the control of the spray nozzle according to claim 16. Wetting the surface provides a particularly effective application device with very low liquid consumption for all types of liquids.
The method according to claim 1, wherein the coating surface is formed only at the corresponding portion.
It is also possible to apply the liquid to the entire surface of the cylindrical body of the bottle according to No. 9 as well as to the area where the upper and lower edges of the bottle body are easily scratched. is there. By applying the liquid directly onto the outer surface of the application surface by means of a rotating nozzle, the application surface may consist of a sponge-like material having pores closed exclusively according to claim 23. This will cause the applicator element not to fully suck the liquid and the unwetted liquid will drip down.

Two embodiments according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

[0012]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT The labeling machine shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 uses a liquid plastic, for example, a liquid recycle bottle, for labeling a vertical bottle 1 and then covering a scratched portion, such as liquid plastic. It is designed to apply liquid to the upright bottle 1. The labeling machine includes a case-shaped housing 21, and the housing 21
A drive motor (not shown) is mounted therein. The turntable 2 is provided on the housing 21,
The turntable 2 is provided with an inlet star wheel 6 on its upstream side and two interlocking star wheels 7 and 10 on its downstream side, each of which has a vertical axis. It can rotate around. An inlet screw conveyor 22 rotatable around a horizontal axis is provided on the upstream side of the inlet star wheel 6, and the inlet screw conveyor is fixed to the bottle 1 conveyed to the labeling machine on the horizontal feed belt conveyor 12. Giving an interval and delivering to the entrance star car 6 at the correct pitch. In the pocket 9 of the inlet star wheel 6, the bottle 1 is held by a fixed inlet arc 23 and then runs on the turntable 2, in which case the bottle 1 is vertically movable, not shown. It is also fixed by means of a bell on a controllable swivel not shown. Then bottle 1
Is delivered from the turntable 2 to the first exit star wheel 7, and a fixed exit arc portion 24 is provided around the first exit star wheel 7. Second exit star wheel 10 is bottle 1
From the first exit star wheel 7 and transfer the bottle 1 onto a horizontal discharge belt conveyor 11 by which the bottle is carried out of the labeling machine. On the supply belt conveyor 12, on the discharge belt conveyor 11 and around the second exit star wheel 10, the bottles are guided by correspondingly fixed fixed handrails 26. In the region of the star wheels 6, 7 and 10, the bottle stands on a stationary slide plate 29. The conveyor elements 2, 6, 7, 10 and 22 and the belt conveyors 11 and 12 are driven synchronously and continuously in the direction of the arrows by the drive motors of the labeling machine so that the bottle 1 is in the correct position. In addition, it can be transported with high efficiency without being damaged.

Two more conventional labeling stations 3 and 4 are arranged on the housing 21,
The labeling stations 3 and 4 are brought into contact with the rotary orbit of the bottle 1 on the turntable 2 by their gripping cylinders 27, and driven by the drive motor of the labeling machine in synchronization with the turntable 2. The first labeling station 3 applies the torso and chest labels to the bottle 1 which are firmly applied to the bottle at the downstream brushing station 28 by a brush or sponge roller not shown. It
The second labeling station 4 applies a back label to the bottle 1, which is further crimped to the bottle at a brushing station 28 on the downstream side by a brush and a sponge roller (not shown). The completely labeled bottle 1 then enters the first exit star wheel 7.

As shown in FIG. 2, the first exit star wheel 7 comprises an upper star plate 7a and a lower star plate 7b. Both star-shaped plates 7a and 7b are fixed to a common hub 7c in parallel and at a distance from each other.
Upper star plate 7a and lower star plate 7a
On the underside of b there is provided a freely rotatable roller 14 with an axis running parallel to the axis of rotation of the exit star wheel 7 in the area in front of and behind each pocket 9. The roller 1
4 grips the bottle in the upper or lower region of the cylindrical body of the bottle and thus on the one hand enables correct transport of the correct pitch and on the other hand allows easy automatic rotation of the bottle 1 in the first exit star wheel 7. To

The first exit star wheel 7 is provided with a device 8 for applying liquid to a fully labeled bottle 1 which travels in an arcuate orbit in a pocket 9 in the star wheel 7. ing. This device 8 comprises a friction and application element 13 which is fixedly arranged coaxially with the exit star wheel 7 and which has an arcuate, precisely partial cylindrical, friction and application surface. The friction and application element 13 is made of foamed neoprene with closed pores, the foamed neoprene having a partially cylindrical support lamina 3
It is attached to 0. On the other hand, the support thin plate 30 is fixed to the exit arc portion 24 whose position is fixed in a vertical posture. This arrangement allows the bottle 1 in the pocket 9 of the first exit star wheel 7 to be easily crimped onto the foam neoprene of the friction and application element 13 and thereby to make frictional contact with the friction and application element 13. Is formed. As the exit star wheel 7 rotates, the bottle 1 is therefore rubbed and the application element 1
With the assistance of 3, continuous automatic rotation is performed.

In the arrangement shown in FIG. 1, the bottle 1 is moved in the first exit star wheel over an angular range of about 270 °, in which case the exit star wheel 7 has the same diameter as the inlet star wheel 6. There is. This relatively large angular range, which results in an automatic rotation of the bottle 1 of at least 4 times the diameter of a normal bottle and star wheel, is due to the opposite direction in the downstream second exit star wheel 10. This can be done by diverting into and out of the discharge belt conveyor 11 with respect to the supply belt conveyor 12.

Another method is shown in FIG. Here, the diameter of the exit star wheel 7 is larger than the diameter of the entrance star wheel 6.
There is no second exit star wheel. Instead, the discharge belt conveyor 11 has an exit star wheel 7 in its starting area.
, And therefore intersects the supply belt conveyor 12 at an acute angle. In this way, a relatively long friction and application surface is achievable, which is quite sufficient for applying ordinary liquids to bottles.

The device 8 in the first exit star wheel 7 is
In addition to the friction and application element 13, a substantial other component is provided with a conduit 15 for externally supplying and wetting the friction and application surface. The active element of the conduit is a spray nozzle 16, which is directed radially outward and in the height direction star wheel plates 7a and 7a.
It is fixed between b and circumferentially between two adjacent pockets 9 in the first exit star wheel 7. The spray nozzle 16 thus rotates with the first star wheel 7. In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a spray nozzle 16 is provided behind every other pocket 9, which is suitable for many use cases. One or more spray nozzles 16 may be provided behind each pocket 9 if the amount of liquid used is large or the coating is thick. On the other hand, if the liquid consumption is low or the layer is thin, for example every third or fourth pocket 9
The spray nozzle 16 may be provided only at the rear of the.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the slit-shaped nozzle openings of each spray nozzle 16 extend flatly to a fixed friction and application element 13 past the two bottles 1 which they adjoin. Designed to emit a jet. The jet is emitted radially outward with respect to the axis of rotation of the first exit star wheel 7 and in a vertical plane passing through the axis of rotation. Therefore, the jet flow does not reach the bottle 1 itself. On the other hand, when the first exit star wheel 7 rotates, the friction and application surfaces are sprayed by the individual spray nozzles 16 over substantially the entire height and over a substantially predetermined length, i.e. in a plane. The jet preferably terminates shortly before the upper and lower edges of the friction and application surface, which ensures that the jet does not spread beyond the friction and application element 13.

Each jet nozzle 16 is connected via a short pipe section or hose section to its own switching valve 19, which is so designed that its spring-loaded switching pin projects upwards. It is fixed to the star plate 7a.
Each switching valve 19 is connected by another short pipe section or hose section to a common rotary distributor 17 provided coaxially with the first outlet star wheel 7. The rotatable part of the rotary distributor 17 is fixed to the upper star plate 7a. The fixed portion of the rotary distributor 17 is reliably prevented from rotating by a horizontal arm 25 whose free end is supported by the vertical stand post 5. A long tube or hose portion of the rotary distributor 17 runs on this arm 25 to a closed liquid storage container 18. By introducing compressed air with a settable pressure, the liquid is expelled from the liquid storage container 18 into the spray nozzle 16 at high pressure and through the spray nozzle.

A position-fixed control cam 20 for the switching valve 19 is further fixed to the arm 25. The control cam 20 is formed as an arc-shaped lift cam, and the control cam 20
Are projecting into the rotational trajectory of the switching pin so that the switching pin is pressed downwards in the area of the control cam 20 and thereby releases the liquid supply to the spray nozzle 16. As shown in FIG. 1, the control cam 20 begins shortly after the start of the friction and application element 13 and ends shortly after about two-thirds the length of the friction and application element 13. Outside the control cam 20, the switching valve 19 is automatically influenced by the spring element of the switching valve 19; the liquid supply to the spray nozzle 16 is interrupted.

As FIG. 2 shows, the friction over which the liquid is sprayed over substantially its entire height and the effective friction and application surface of the application element 13 acts on the entire cylindrical area of the bottle body, including the labeling area. Obviously, it is also possible to act only on certain subregions of the bottle body, as shown in FIG. In this case, the friction and application element 13 is divided into two parts and acts only on the upper and lower edge areas of the cylindrical body of the bottle. In this case friction and application element 1
Liquid is supplied to each part of 3 from a spray nozzle 16 unique to each part.

When accepting the product from the above-mentioned labeling machine, the supply of the liquid to the spray nozzle 16 is started by manually or automatically opening and closing the control valve 31 which controls the supply of the compressed air to the storage container 18. To be done. As a result, pressurized liquid is supplied to the spray nozzles 16 present in the area of the control cam 20, and the spray nozzles 16 start the friction and the spraying of the liquid onto the corresponding areas of the application element 13.
If the labeling machine is already stopped at this point, only friction and a partial area of the application surface will be affected. Since the friction and application element 13 has the shape of a closed pore and therefore does not store liquid, it slops down into a trough provided along the entire lower edge of the friction and application element 13. To be collected. When the labeling machine is already spinning,
The first two thirds of the friction and application element 13 are totally wetted by the spray nozzle 16 which is always open in this area. Even in this case, if the bottle 1 does not exist, the surplus liquid is dripped downward. Therefore, the control valve 31
Is preferably opened only shortly before the first labeled bottle reaches the exit star wheel 7. By nature, each conventional labeling machine is equipped with at least one bottle sensor with which the labeling is controlled, so that the automation of this process is very simple. In this case, the gutter 32 may not be provided.

The labeled bottle 1 entering the first exit star wheel 7 is rotatably received in the pocket 9 of the exit star wheel 7 by rollers 14 and has a fixed friction and application element. Rolling on 13 continuously and automatically rotates. At the same time, the bottles 1 receive, from the friction and application surfaces, the liquid applied beforehand by the atomizing nozzles 16 which rotate together between the bottles 1 evenly distributed around. In the friction and end areas of the application element 13 where the spray nozzle 16 is already closed, another strong rolling and possibly stripping of excess liquid takes place.
In this way a layer thickness of a few microns or a few mg of liquid can be obtained without problems. The operating conditions can be easily adapted by appropriate selection of the pressure in the storage container 18 and the number and shape of the spray nozzles 16, as well as the shape and material of the friction and application elements 13.

The friction and applicator elements 13 shown in FIG. 2 further provide strong rollers for the body and back labels, which are wetted with liquid plastic or the like. This gives a very pleasing appearance of the fully processed bottle 1.

[Brief description of drawings]

1 is a plan view of a labeling machine having two exit star wheels. FIG.

2 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AB in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a partial plan view of a labeling machine having one exit star wheel.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along the line CD of FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 bottle 2 turntable 3, 4 labeling station 6 entrance star car 7 first exit star car 7a7b exit star car plate 8 liquid applicator 9 pocket 10 second exit star car 11 discharge belt conveyor 12 Supply Belt Conveyor 13 Coating Element 14 Roller 15 Supply Conduit 16 Spray Nozzle 17 Rotary Distributor 18 Liquid Storage Container 19 Switching Valve 20 Control Cam

Claims (15)

[Claims] 1. A turntable by which a bottle is introduced into at least one labeling station, an entrance star wheel provided upstream of the turntable and an exit star provided downstream of the turntable. In a labeling machine, such as a bottle, equipped with a model wheel and a device for applying liquid to the bottle: the device (8) is attached to the exit star wheel (7) and the pocket of the exit star wheel (7) (9) A label sticking machine for bottles and the like, characterized in that it works with a certain bottle in (9). 2. A liquid applicator (8) is an applicator element (13) having an arcuate applicator surface fixedly arranged around the exit star wheel (7), on which the applicator surface exits. A conduit (1) for wetting the applicator element (13), as well as the applicator element (13) or its application surface, on which the bottle rotatably held in the pocket (9) of the star wheel (7) rolls.
5) The label sticking machine according to claim 1, further comprising: 3. The application element (13) is simultaneously formed as a friction element and the application surface as a friction surface, these elements and surfaces being rotatably retained in the pocket (9) of the exit star wheel (7). The label sticking machine according to claim 2, wherein the bottle is automatically rotated when the bottle is rotated. 4. At least one spray nozzle for pressurized feed liquid (16), in which the feed conduit (15) rotates with the exit star wheel (7) and is directed towards the application surface of the application element (13).
The labeling machine according to claim 2 or 3, further comprising: 5. A star wheel (7) with a spray nozzle (16) at the exit.
Labeling machine according to claim 4, characterized in that it is fixed between the two pockets (9) and oriented substantially radially outward. 6. Labeling machine according to claim 4 or 5, characterized in that a plurality of spray nozzles (16) are arranged at equal intervals around the star wheel (7). 7. The supply conduit (15) is a control device (19, 2).
0) and the control device (19, 20) supplies liquid to the spray nozzle (16) only when passing through the application element (13). Machine. 8. A characteristic switching valve (19) is provided on the upstream side of each spray nozzle (16), and the switching valve (19) is opened and closed by a control cam (20) whose position is fixed. The label sticking machine according to claim 7. 9. A bottle to which the bottles are fed with a pitch spacing to at least one application element over a part of the conveying process of the installation and in which case at least a portion of the outer surface of the bottle receives liquid during rotation. In the method for applying a liquid according to: a bottle, characterized in that the liquid is applied to the application element (13) by at least one spray nozzle (16) which moves with a certain distance to the application element (13). Liquid application method. 10. A transport device (7) for a bottle; at least one applicator element (13) through which the bottle is transported while rotating in a facility; and the liquid. Supply conduits (15) for supplying the elements
In a device for applying a liquid to a bottle comprising: and said conduit (15) having at least one spray nozzle (16)
A bottle characterized in that the spray nozzle (16) is movable relative to the application element (13) at a distance and is arranged towards the application element (13). Device for applying liquid to. 11. A transport device (7) comprising a spray nozzle (16).
11. The device of claim 10, wherein the device is located at. 12. The device according to claim 10, wherein the transport device is embodied as a star conveyor (7) with pockets (9). 13. Device according to claim 12, characterized in that the application element (13) is provided with a fixedly arcuate application surface around the star conveyor (7). 14. Device according to claim 10, characterized in that the spray nozzle (16) is fixed between the two pockets (9) of the star conveyor (7) and is directed substantially radially outward. 15. Device according to claim 11 or 14, characterized in that a plurality of spray nozzles (16) are arranged at equal intervals around the star conveyor (7).