JPH09175095A - Automatic sealing device for envelope - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To stop an envelope at a predetermined folding position irrespective of the thickness of the envelope. SOLUTION: When the tip end of an envelope 4 is detected by a sensor in its reach to the folding position, the envelope delivery motor is stopped to suspend the envelope traveling once, and at the time when the envelope 4 is stopped beyond the control distance (b), the envelope is forwarded backward (d, e) by driving the envelope delivery motor in reverse rotation for a given period, thereby causing the envelope 4 to stop at the folding position and fold it with accuracy.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an automatic envelope sealing device for sealing an envelope using a roll adhesive tape.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a device for automatically sticking an envelope using a roll adhesive tape has been proposed because it is not only troublesome but also time-consuming for shipping if the envelope is manually sealed. For example, in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 7-025197, an envelope inserted with a flap at the head is transferred to a mounting table by a feed roller and stopped at a predetermined position, a flap of the envelope is bent and held by a bender, and then adhesive is applied. An apparatus is disclosed in which a tape is attached and sealed by a pressure roller.

[0003]

In the above-mentioned conventional apparatus, since the flap of the envelope is bent at the correct bending position, when the sensor detects the tip of the flap and stops the envelope, the envelope stops at the bending position. The position of the sensor is set so that when the tip of the flap reaches the sensor, the feed motor is stopped and the envelope is stopped.
In this case, the feed motor is stopped immediately after the tip of the envelope crosses the sensor.However, there is a distance required for braking before the envelope completely stops. Is set. Also,
Since the flap folding position and the length (distance) to the envelope tip vary depending on the envelope, the rotary volume is used as the time (braking time) from when the flap tip crosses the sensor until the envelope completely stops. I make fine adjustments when using it. However, even if the volume value is the same, the load on the feed motor varies depending on the thickness of the envelope, which causes a problem that the actual stop position deviates.

[0004]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention pays attention to the fact that the load applied to the insertion / ejection means of the envelope works in the same way during forward rotation and during reverse rotation. When the sensor detects that the opened envelope has reached the bending position, the insertion / ejection means of the envelope is temporarily stopped, and the envelope is fed backward for a predetermined time after the envelope has stopped after the braking distance. It is supposed to stop at the bending position. As a result, the feed amount in the reverse rotation corresponding to the braking distance in the normal rotation can be obtained regardless of the thickness of the envelope, so that the envelope can be accurately bent at the predetermined bending position.

[0005]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION The automatic envelope sealing apparatus of the present invention includes an insertion and ejection means for feeding and ejecting an envelope with the flap as a leading end into the apparatus and a folding means for folding the flap of the envelope at a folding position. The sticking means for sticking the adhesive tape to the flap, the sealing means for further bending the flap with the sticking tape and adhering the adhesive tape to the main body of the envelope, and detecting that the envelope has reached the bending position And a sensor for stopping the envelope by stopping the insertion / ejection means when the sensor detects that the envelope has reached the bending position.
When the envelope stops after the braking distance, the insertion / ejection means is reversely driven for a predetermined time to reversely feed the envelope.

Further, the reverse driving time for driving the inserting / discharging means in the reverse direction is set to a time which does not reach the absolute value of the steady speed of the inserting / discharging means in the normal rotation.
In the automatic envelope sealing device configured as described above, if the optimum reverse drive time is set in advance, the envelope can always be stopped at the predetermined bending position regardless of the thickness of the envelope.

[0007]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the automatic envelope sealing apparatus of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. This automatic envelope sealing device is a device that automatically seals an envelope using an adhesive tape. The structure of the automatic envelope sealing device of the present invention will be described. Referring to FIGS. 1 and 3, a side plate 1 and a side plate 2 are provided in parallel with each other in the automatic envelope sealing device at intervals so that envelopes of various sizes can be inserted. . Side plate 1 and side plate 2 are bosses 1 protruding in opposite directions.
It is connected and fixed by a and 2a. A guide plate 3 is detachably attached to an outer frame (not shown) at front end portions of the side plates 1 and 2. The guide plate 3 serves as a guide when the envelope 4 is inserted into or ejected from the automatic envelope sealing device. When the envelope 4 is inserted from the guide plate 3, the flap 4a at the front end is opened and the flap 4a is inserted at the front.

Between the side plate 1 and the side plate 2, the side plate 1 and the side plate 2 are provided.
Guides 5 are provided on the supporting portions 2b (see FIG. 2) protruding inward of each of the above. The guide 5 is provided with a detection lever 5a for detecting the insertion of the envelope 4 so as to be vertically swingable. At the tip of the guide 5, a feed roller 6 for inserting and ejecting envelopes and a driven roller 7 pressed against the feed roller 6 are vertically opposed to each other. On the downstream side of the feed roller 6 and the driven roller 7, a bender lever 8 forming a part of a folding means for folding the flap 4a of the envelope 4 is swingably provided. The bender lever 8 is driven by a flap bending motor 9 via a train wheel (not shown).

A guide 10 is provided on the further downstream side of the bender lever 8, and a driving roller 11 and a driving roller 12 which are sealing means are provided on the downstream side so as to face each other vertically. A guide 13 is provided on the downstream side of the drive roller 11 and the drive roller 12. The guide 13 is provided with a detection lever 13a similar to the detection lever 5a of the guide 5. The feed roller 6 on the upstream side, the drive roller 11 and the drive roller 12 on the downstream side are provided with an envelope feed motor 14 via a train wheel (not shown).
It is driven by and rotates at a constant speed.

A pedestal 15 is provided above the bender lever 8. As shown in FIG. 1, the pedestal 15 is arranged between the side plate 1 and the side plate 2. A receiving surface 15a is formed on the pedestal 15 (see FIG. 2). A small protrusion is formed on the receiving surface 15a so that the adhesive surface of the adhesive tape described later can be easily peeled off. Further, an edge portion 15b for sandwiching the envelope 4 with the groove portion 8a of the bender lever 8 is formed at the lower end portion of the pedestal 15. A movable guide 16 is swingably supported on the pedestal 15 with its one end 16a as a fulcrum. The movable guide 16 has its tip end urged downward by a spring 17. The movable guide 16 is for guiding the tip of the inserted envelope 4 so as not to hit the edge 15b.

Next, a means for stopping the envelope at a predetermined bending position will be described. A sensor 18 is provided on the guide 10. The guide 10 is attached to a receiving portion 2c formed integrally with the side plate 2. The sensor 18 is a sensor that detects that the tip of the flap 4a of the inserted envelope 4 has reached, and is arranged in a recess formed in the guide 10 via the circuit board 19 as shown in FIGS. And is connected to a control circuit (not shown).

FIG. 4 shows a state in which the tip of the flap 4a reaches the sensor 18 and the bending position of the flap 4a and the sensor 1
8 shows the positional relationship. The sensor 18 is a flap 4
When the tip of a reaches the position (dotted line B in the drawing) where the tip of a overlaps with the position of the sensor 18, the bent portion 4b of the envelope 4 is moved to the position shown in FIG.
The position is set so as to come to the bending position (dotted line A in the figure) which is directly below the edge portion 15b facing the bender lever 8 shown in FIG. That is, when the bent portion 4b of the fed envelope 4 reaches the bending position, the sensor 1
8 is detected.

In this apparatus, when the sensor 18 detects that the envelope 4 has reached the folding position, the feed roller 6
The envelope feed motor 14 for driving the envelope is stopped to temporarily stop the envelope 4. When the envelope 4 is stopped after a braking distance, the envelope feed motor 14 is reversely driven for a predetermined time to reverse feed the envelope 4 and thereby 4 is stopped at the bending position. 5 (a) to 5 (e) show the process and state, and in the figure, the left column shows the case where a thin envelope is used, and the right column shows the case where a thick envelope is used.

FIG. 5A shows a state in which the tip of the envelope 4 reaches the sensor 18, as in FIG. When the envelope 18 is detected by the sensor 18, a braking pulse is sent to the envelope feed motor 14 that drives the feed roller 6 to start braking. Yes, during that time the envelope 4 is still moving and the sensor 1
Stops completely at a position beyond 8. This state is shown in FIG.
This is shown in FIG. In the figure, b and b'indicate the braking distance of the envelope 4 when the envelope feed motor 14 rotates forward. At this time, the thin envelope 4 is larger than the thick envelope 4 in the envelope feed motor 14
Load is small. Therefore, even if the brakes are similarly applied for the same braking time, the distance until the envelope 4 is stopped, that is, the braking distance is longer in the thin envelope (b> b ').

Therefore, it is necessary to return the envelope 4 to the correct bending position, but in this device, in order to reversely feed the envelope 4 as described above, the envelope feed motor 14 is reversely rotated for a predetermined time and the brake is applied again. I am trying to return it to the folded position. That is, first, as shown in FIG.
A drive pulse is sent to the envelope feed motor 14 to activate it, and the motor is reversely driven for t seconds. This reverse drive time t is the same for both thin envelopes and thick envelopes, as will be described later.

The reverse drive time t is set to a time that does not reach the absolute value of the steady speed of the envelope feed motor 14 during normal rotation. This is because, when the brake is started after the steady speed at the time of forward rotation is reached during the reverse rotation, the stop position of the envelope 4 is closer to the front (upstream side) than the correct stop position for folding shown in FIG. ). Therefore, as shown in FIG. 5D, after the elapse of t seconds, the envelope feed motor 14 is braked again. In addition,
During the reverse rotation driving time t, the influence of the load on the feed amount is large until the steady speed is reached at the initial stage of the startup of the envelope feed motor 14. Therefore, as in braking, the thinner the envelope, the greater the feed amount (movement distance) (d in the figure).
> D ').

Next, FIG. 5 (e) shows a state in which the envelope 4 is completely stopped at the folding position after the braking distance has passed since the braking was started again after the reverse rotation drive time t.
In the figure, e and e'represent the braking distance of the envelope 4 during this reverse rotation. As for this braking distance, the distance before the thin envelope stops is longer (e> e 'in the figure).

In the case of the reverse feed described above, the braking distances b and b'in the forward rotation and the driving distances d and d in the reverse rotation are expressed by the following equations.
If the reverse rotation drive time t is set so that the sum of ′ ′ and the braking distances e, e ′ is the same, the envelope 4 can be stopped at the correct folding position and folded. b- (d + e) = 0 b '-(d' + 'e) = 0 In this case, for both thin envelopes and thick envelopes,
Since the load at the time of forward rotation and the load at the time of reverse rotation work in the same way, both envelopes can be stopped at almost the same position in the same reverse drive time. It should be noted that the above-described reverse rotation drive time t may be experimentally determined to be the optimum time.

Next, a means for holding, stretching and adhering the adhesive tape will be described. In FIG. 1, a boss 20 and a boss 21 are formed on the side plate 1, and a similar boss is also formed on the side plate 2. A guide shaft 22 is fixed to the bosses 20 and 21 of the side plate 1, and a similar guide shaft 23 is fixed to the boss of the side plate 2. These two guide shafts 22, 23
A slide plate 24 is slidably supported on the. As shown in FIG. 2, a slide plate feed motor 25 is provided inside the side plate 2.
Is provided, and the rotation shaft of the slide plate feed motor 25 is connected to the slide plate 24 via a train wheel and a crank mechanism (not shown).
It is connected to. Therefore, by driving the slide plate feed motor 25, the slide plate 24 is moved to the envelope 4
It reciprocates in the feeding direction (vertical direction in FIG. 1, horizontal direction in FIG. 2).

As shown in FIG. 1, the slide plate 24 includes
A carrier 26 is provided on the slide plate 24 so as to be capable of reciprocating in a direction orthogonal to the feeding direction of the envelope 4 (left-right direction in FIG. 1). The carrier 26 constitutes means for pulling out and tensioning the tape. Explaining the drive mechanism of the carrier 26, a carrier feed motor (not shown) is provided on the back side of the slide plate 24.
7 penetrates the slide plate 24 and projects to the front side. A pinion 28 is formed on the shaft 27, and a gear 30 is rotated via a gear 29. A gear 31 is integrally formed with the gear 30. A gear 32 that interlocks with the gear 31 is provided at the center of the slide plate 24, and the timing belt 3 having a tooth profile formed on the gear 31 and the gear 32.
3 is hung around. Further, a tension lever 34 is provided which is close to the timing belt 33 and applies tension to the timing belt 33. The tension lever 34 can swing around a shaft 35 as a fulcrum, and the tension roller 3 is attached to the tip end portion thereof.
6 is rotatably supported. Tension lever 34
Is urged upward by the spring 37 in FIG.

On the other hand, a guide shaft 38 is provided on the slide plate 24, and both ends of the guide shaft 38 are provided on the support portion 24 of the slide plate 24.
It is supported by a and 24b. The carrier 26 is slidably supported by a guide shaft 38. In FIG.
The carrier 26 is formed with an engaging portion 26a that engages with the tooth profile of the timing belt 33.
Is linked to the movement of the timing belt 33. Further, the carrier 26 is formed with an engaging portion 26b that engages with a part of the slide plate 24.
It is configured to move in parallel by b and the guide shaft 38.

A solenoid 39 is provided on the carrier 26. A connecting portion 41 is swingably connected to the solenoid shaft 40 via a shaft 42. A clamper 43 is connected to the connecting portion 41 and is swingably supported by a shaft 44. Further, the clamper 43 is biased by a spring 45 in the opening direction. A clamp claw 46 is formed on the clamper 43. The carrier 26 has a claw 46.
A clamp claw receiver 26c is provided opposite to.

Next, the means for holding the tape will be explained. The tape cassette 47 is attached to the slide plate 24 by the locking claws 4.
It is detachably attached by 7a. Tape cassette 47
A central shaft 47b is integrally provided on the tape holder 4
8 is rotatably provided. The tape holder 48 is removable from the central shaft 47b. A commercially available tape roll 49 is attached to the tape holder 48, and the rib 48a of the tape holder 48 is press-fitted into the roll core 50 at the time of attachment. The pull-out end of the tape T is provided with a pair of guide plates 52, 53 via the guide pin 51.
Is pinched by The guide plate 52 is biased counterclockwise by a spring (not shown), and the guide plate 53 is biased clockwise by a spring (not shown). The tip of the tape T projects a predetermined length toward the clamper 43 side of the guide plates 52 and 53.

Next, the means for cutting the tape will be explained. The cutter motor 54 is provided on the slide plate 24, and the worm 55 is fixed to the motor shaft. The rotation of the worm 55 is transmitted to the gears 56 and 57.
An eccentric pin 57a is formed on the gear 57 and is fitted to the U-shaped arm 58a of the cutter holder 58. When the eccentric pin 57a rotates, the cutter holder 58 moves forward and backward in a direction orthogonal to the protruding end of the tape T. A cutter 59 is attached to the cutter holder 58. Further, as shown in FIG. 2, the slide plate 24 is provided with a pressing plate 60 for pressing and adhering the tape T to the flap 4 a of the envelope 4 at a position facing the pedestal 15. The pressing plate 60 is made of rubber and is attached to a pressing plate holder 61 fixed to the back surface side of the slide plate 24.

Next, a series of operations of this automatic envelope sealing device will be described. The envelope 4 is inserted from the guide plate 3,
The tip of the flap 4a of the envelope 4 is the detection lever 5 of the guide 5.
When it is detected that the temperature reaches a, the envelope feed motor 14 is driven, which causes the feed roller 6 to rotate clockwise,
In conjunction with this, the driven roller 7 rotates counterclockwise, so that the envelope 4 is sent to the downstream side. When the tip of the envelope 4 reaches the position of the sensor 18 of the guide 10, the sensor 18
The envelope feed motor 14 is stopped in response to the signal from, and thus the envelope 4 also stops moving. Then, as described above, the envelope 4 is reversely fed and stopped so that the bent portion of the flap 4a coincides with the bent position of the pedestal 15 directly below the edge portion 15a.

Next, when the flap bending motor 9 is driven, the tip of the bender lever 8 swings upward, and the fold line of the envelope 4 is sandwiched between the groove 8a and the edge 15b of the bender lever 8. Then, the flap 4a is the pedestal 15
It is bent about 90 degrees to a position where it comes into contact with the receiving surface 15a. In this state, the envelope 4 is held. Next, in the tape tensioning means, the solenoid 39 is driven, whereby the clamper 43 swings to clamp the protruding end of the tape T protruding from the guide plates 52 and 53 between the claw 46 and the clamp claw receiver 26c. To do. Then, the carrier feed motor is activated to move the carrier 26 to the right as shown in FIG. As a result, the tape T is pulled out into the air between the pedestal 15 and the pressing plate 60. At that position, the lower half of the pulled-out tape T faces the upper end of the flap 4a of the envelope 4 bent by the bender lever 8. When the tape T is pulled out to a certain length, the carrier feed motor stops and the tape is stretched. At this time, the tape T is in a position where the upper half portion thereof projects further upward from the upper end portion of the flap 4a of the envelope 4.

Then, the slide plate feed motor 25 is driven, and the slide plate 24 is advanced to the upstream side in the envelope insertion direction as shown in FIG. Therefore, the upper end of the tape T is pressed against the receiving surface 15a of the pedestal 15 by the pressing plate 60, and at the same time, the lower half of the tape T is attached to the upper end of the folded flap 4a. At this time, the cutter motor 54 operates to advance the cutter 59 to the tape cutting position to cut the tape, and at the same time, the clamping of the tip portion of the tape T by the solenoid 39 is released.

Next, the slide plate feed motor 25 is driven to rotate in the reverse direction, the slide plate 24 retreats, the holding plate 60 separates from the tape T, and returns to FIG. The bender lever 8 swings downward and separates from the envelope 4. Next, the carrier feed motor is rotated in the reverse direction to return the carrier 26 to the original position in FIG. 1, and at the same time, the envelope feed motor 14 is re-driven to rotate the feed roller 6 and the driven roller 7 to move the envelope 4 further upstream. Move to. When the folds of the envelope 4 reach the drive rollers 11 and 12 and pass between the drive rollers 11 and 12, the flap 4a of the envelope 4 is closed and the upper half of the tape T is stuck and sealed to the envelope 4.
The passage of the envelope 4 is detected by the detection lever 13a of the guide 13.
Is detected, the envelope feed motor 14 is driven to rotate in the reverse direction to feed the envelope 4 in the reverse direction. As a result, the flap 4a again passes between the drive rollers 11 and 12. Therefore, the tape T can be reliably attached. Further, the envelope 4 is fed back to the upstream side, discharged to the guide plate 3, and the apparatus stops.

[0029]

As described above, in the automatic envelope sealing apparatus of the present invention, when the sensor detects that the fed envelope has reached the folding position, the insertion / ejection means of the envelope is temporarily stopped. Since the envelope is reversely fed for a predetermined time after the envelope has stopped after passing the braking distance, the envelope can be accurately bent at a predetermined bending position regardless of the thickness of the envelope.

Further, since the reverse rotation driving time for driving the insertion / ejection means in the reverse direction is set to a time which does not reach the absolute value of the steady speed of the insertion / ejection means in the normal rotation, the envelope is accurately placed at the bending position. It can be stopped.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view of an automatic envelope sealing device.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the same.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of FIG. 1 with an adhesive tape attached.

FIG. 4 is a plan view schematically showing a state in which the envelope has reached a bending position.

5A and 5B are explanatory diagrams schematically showing a process and a state of finely adjusting the stop position of the envelope. FIG. 5A shows a state in which the sensor detects the envelope, and FIG. 5B shows the state in which the envelope stops after a braking distance. (C) shows the reverse feed start state of the envelope,
(D) shows a braking start state at the time of reverse feeding, and (e) shows a state where the envelope is stopped at the folding position.

[Explanation of symbols]

 T Adhesive tape 4 Envelope 4a Envelope flap 4b Bending position 6 Feed roller 14 Envelope feed motor 18 Sensor

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. An insertion and ejection means for feeding and ejecting an envelope into the apparatus with the flap as a leading end, a folding means for folding the flap of the envelope at a folding position, and an adhesive tape attached to the folded flap. A sticking means, a sealing means for further bending the flap to which the adhesive tape is stuck and adhering the adhesive tape to the main body side of the envelope, and a sensor for detecting that the envelope has reached the folding position. When the sensor detects that the envelope has reached the bending position, the insertion / ejection means is stopped to stop the envelope, and the insertion / ejection is stopped when the envelope stops after a braking distance. An automatic envelope sealing device, characterized in that the means is reversely driven for a predetermined time to reversely feed the envelope. 2. The reverse drive time for driving the insertion / ejection means in reverse rotation is set to a time that does not reach an absolute value of a steady speed of the insertion / ejection means in forward rotation. Envelope automatic sealing device.