JPS62168825A - Tag bundling device - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] This bulletin contains application data before electronic filing, so abstract data is not recorded.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] Industrial applications The present invention relates to a technology for a tag binding device.

Prior Art Prior art includes U.S. Patent No. 3,580,786 and British Patent Application No. 626,755 (July 2, 1949
No. 1,316,916 (filed on May 1973)
16th of May), and No. 2,152,4658 of the same.

OBJECTS AND CONSTRUCTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention is an improved tag binding device that is low in cost and simple in construction.

A first object of the present invention is to transport tags one by one by a conveyor, and to stop the transported tags at a stop position by a movable stop member.
The pushing member transfers the tags and places them in a stack,
It is an object of the present invention to provide a tag binding device in which tags are detached from a stop member when transferred, and the resulting stack is bundled.

A second object of the invention is to provide an improved and simple RtR for driving the movable jaw and knife. This drive IUR includes a reversible motor that moves one jaw toward and away from the other jaw to heat seal the overlapping web portions, and a worm driven by the motor. Another feature of this drive mechanism is that the knife can be driven to partially cut the binding material between adjacent stacks to create a releasable connection between the stacks, It is also possible to separate individual stacks from the web of material.

A third object of the present invention is to provide a tag binding device having a heat sealing device comprising a printed wiring circuit member that can be rapidly heated and cooled by a printed wiring resistive heating element having a small mass.

A fourth object of the invention is to heat seal overlapping web portions of a pair of binding materials using a pair of jaws, one jaw pulling the web from one web roll while , to provide a tag tying device which is mounted so as to be movable at a relatively sharp angle towards the rear face of the stack and the other jaw.

A fifth object of the present invention is to provide a conveyor that is driven by a first motor and transports the tags one by one to a stop position, a tag transfer device that is driven by a second motor, and a binding web that is driven by a third motor. To provide a low-cost, simple structure, and highly reliable tag binding device equipped with a sealing means.

By using a separate motor, the tag strapping device can be manufactured with a relatively small number of parts.

A sixth object of the present invention is to provide a tag bundling device with a curved channel discharge chute that allows large stacks of bound tags to be deposited in a small area.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, in which an exemplary tag binding device 20 is illustrated, it can be seen that the device 20 includes a housing or frame 21 to which an ejection chute 22 is connected. The device 20 is attached to a printer 23, shown in phantom in FIG.
Connected by 4. The device 20 includes commercially available P1-
Roll R of sealable binding material web WJI'
, R' are rotatably mounted. Roll R
, R' are supported on a coplanar surface 27 of the housing 21.

Web-, W' is surface 27 with fastener 30.30'
a flexible resilient leaf spring 29, 29' fixed to and a felt pad 31, 31 on the leaf spring 29, 29';
' and a brake 28,28' consisting of a stationary back-up member 32,32'. Web Ah,
2' are each lightly sandwiched between paired felt pad and back-up members 31, 32 and 31', 32'.

The web tension, -' exits the brakes 28, 28' and passes through the respective tensioning device 33, 33'. The tensioning device 33.33' consists of leaf springs 34, 34' fixed to the surface 27 with fasteners 35.35' and pins 36, 36 attached to the leaf springs 34, 34'.
' around which the web 111, W' passes at an acute angle.

As a result, the web area on the other side of the brake 28°28'
4' is in a bad condition under tension. Leaf springs 34, 34'
Vanes 37, 37'' supported on actuate a switch 38,38' if the tension in the web WJI' is inadequate. Either vane 37,37' actuates a corresponding switch 38,38'. The device is then turned off. This lack of tension can occur, for example, if roll R or R' is used up or if the web or R' breaks.

Conveyor 39 illustrated in FIGS. 2, 3, and 4
The stop member 41 removes the tags T from the printer 23 one by one.
It is conveyed to the stop position of the notch 40.

The conveyor 39 carries a pair of spaced elastomeric round bells 1-42°4 passing around pulleys 43,44 and over grooved rollers 45-49.
2'. Belt 42°4
2, so that the stationary line portion 50 of ' carries the tag T through the horizontal portion 51, the spirally curved portion 52, and the downwardly inclined portion 53;
The rollers 45.46, 47.48 are arranged along a circular arc with a large radius of curvature. The lower running portion s4 extends upward from the pulley 44. Since the notch 40 coincides with the upper surface of the downwardly inclined portion 53 of the belt 42.42'', each tag T will surely enter and stop in the notch 40.The notch 40 has a ■-shaped I know what you're doing.

Pulley 44 is continuously driven by motor 55 while printer 23 is in use. pulley 44
A pulley 56 is fixed to. motor shaft 57
A pulley 58 is fixed to. Bell) 42.4
2' is continuously driven in the direction of the arrow by a pulley belt 59 which is passed around pulleys 56 and 58.

The tag T sent to the position shown in FIG. 7 is transferred to the position shown in FIG. 8 by the transfer device, that is, the pushing device 60. It can be seen that the pusher device 60 includes spaced apart members 61 mounted for integral pivoting about a pin 62. The pin 62 passes through a hole 63 in the member 61 and a hole 64 in the bracket 65. Bracket 65 and member 61 pivot together around pin 62. One member 61 is fixed to the bracket 65 with a fastener 66. shaft 68 of motor 67
A crank 69 is fixed to. One end of a connecting rod 71 is rotatably connected to a pin 70 of the crank 69. The other end of the connecting rod 71 is rotatably connected to a pin 72 inserted through the holes 73 of the brackets 1 to 65 and the hole 74 of the member 61. The body plate 75, which actuates the switch 76, is adjustably attached to the crank 69 by screws 69'.

Tag T moving along stationary line section 50 of conveyor 39
is sensed by optical sensor 77.

After a sufficient time delay to allow the leading edge of the tag T to enter the notch 40, the motor 67 is activated and the shaft 6
8 rotates once. Clockwise rotation of shaft 68 (FIG. 7) causes pusher device 60 to pivot counterclockwise from the FIG. 7 position to the FIG. 8 position. The stop member 41 is arranged between the pushing members 61.

A pin 78 installed between the members 61 is connected to the stop member 4
It can be seen that they are arranged at intervals from 1.

When the pushing device 60 pivots counterclockwise, the pin 78
hits the stop member 41. When the pushing device 60 further continues to rotate, the pin 78 moves the stop member 41 to the pivot 7.
9 in a counterclockwise direction from the position shown in FIG. 7 to the position shown in FIG. The stop member 41 is usually the bracket 6
5 and a tension spring 80 connected to the stop member 41 in the clockwise direction. The stop member 41 pivots and passes through a slot 81 in a shelf 82 which acts as a remover. When the stop member 41 reaches the position shown in FIG.
is removed from the cutout 40 by the shelf 82. Until this time, the push device 60 pushes the tag T into an upright or vertical position. Since the stop member 41 supports the tag T while the pushing device 60 pushes the tag T into a vertical position, the movement of the tag T is completely regulated. When the motor shaft 68 continues to rotate further and the pushing device 60 and the stop member 41 are returned to their original positions, the switch 76 is actuated by the body plate 75 and the motor 67 is stopped.

When the tags T sent out from the printer 23 pass over the conveyor 39 one by one, the sensor 77 senses each successive tag T, and after a short time delay, the motor shaft 6
Rotate 8 once. The tags T are transferred one by one by the pushing device 60, and the resulting stack S grows until it reaches a predetermined number of tags.

Each time the pushing device 60 operates, the transferred tag T causes the spring fingers 83 to bend outward.

The spring finger 83 has a cam surface 84 terminating in a hook 85.
is provided. Each tag T hits the cam surface 84,
Push spring fingers 83 outward.

When each tag T passes the finger 83, the spring finger 83 returns to its original position, and the hook 85 prevents the rearmost tag T from moving backward. Spring finger 83
are fixed to brackets 1 to 86 attached to the frame.

FIG. 3 shows webs W, W, as indicated by reference numeral 87.
' The free ends are shown overlapped and sealed. As the tags T are stacked on the shelf 82, the webs llI, 111' are stacked on the respective rolls R, R.
' is drawn from. The oil surface FF of the stack S faces the web space. The web circle extends along one side of the stack S, and the web-' extends along the other side of the stack S.

A pair of jaws 88 and 89 are arranged which can heat seal the overlapping portions ow and leaf' of the respective webs W and W'. FIG. 5 shows a series of bound stacks.

Referring to FIG. 3, it can be seen that a motor 90 mounted on a U-shaped bracket 91 drives a pulley 92. Belt 9 driven by pulley 92
3 drives a pulley 94, which in turn drives a worm 95. An end portion 96 of the worm 95 is supported by a bearing in a hole 97 of the bracket 91. Worm 95 is threaded through threaded bore 98 in block 99. This block 99 allows jaw 89 and knife 1 to
00 is driven.

Referring to FIG. 9, a jaw 89 is slidably attached to a pair of guide rods 101, 102.

The guide rods 101 and 102 pass through respective bores 103 and 104 in the jaws 89. Block 99 is recessed in recess 105 of jaw 89 and rests between E-ring 106 and shoulder 107' of shaft 107. The axis 1
A compression spring 108 surrounds 07. The shaft 107 is
It passes through bore 109 of jaw 89. A pin 109' threaded through the shaft 107 serves to maintain the spring 108 in a lightly preloaded state. When the motor 90 operates,
The worm 95 rotates and moves the block 99 forward.

As block 99 advances, spring 108 is pushed to move jaw 89 to the right to the solid line position shown in FIG. Knife 100 has a replaceable blade 110 with an inclined surface 111. The knife blade 110 cuts the overlapping portion 0 of the webs W, W' in the position shown in FIG.
A cut or partial cut 112 as shown in FIG. 5 is made at 0Δ'. If it is desired to completely cut the overlapping web portion 0JOW', motor 90 continues to drive worm 95 to further compress spring 108 and knife 100 is shown in imaginary iPL in FIG. Move to position.

When the jaw 89 reaches the position shown in FIG.
-88 cooperate with jaws 89 to heat seal the overlapping web portions OW, OW'. Joe 88 is
It is fixed to a bracket 113 attached to the frame. Fixed to the front surface of the jaw 88 is a circuit member 114 having a resistive heating element or heater 114' printed on a non-conductive substrate 114''. A slot 115 is provided in alignment with the recess 116 of the jaw 88 to allow for the heating and cooling of the resistive heating element 114' to be rapid since the resistance heating element 114' has a very low mass. For illustrative purposes, the heating element 114' is approximately 0.00" thick printed on a 0.002" substrate 114".
Made of 05 inch nickel-iron alloy. When the overlapping web portions OW and fE' are heat-sealed and partially or completely cut, the motor 90 rotates in the opposite direction to rotate the worm 95 in the opposite direction, and the jaw 89
and return the knife 100 to the position shown in FIG. Once the jaws 89 have returned to the position of FIG. 9, the apparatus 20 is ready to begin the process of loading another stack S of tags T.

The block 99 is provided with a body plate 99' for actuating switches 99S1 and 99S2.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 6, the jaw 89 is inclined at a sharp angle with respect to the rear surface RF of the stack S. Therefore, the web W' can be easily pulled out from the roll R'. Furthermore, the jaw 89 is prevented from coming into contact with the edge of the tag T that becomes the rear surface RF of the stack.

As shown, jaws 89 are similarly angled so that jaws 88 and 89 face each other and cooperate.

As shown in FIG. 1, the discharge chute 22 is provided with a chute 117 into which a stack S of bound tags T is pushed by a pushing device 60. The shoe 22 is curved so as to provide a long passage for receiving the stack S without the need for a large platform. Shoot 22 is
Preferably, it is curved by 180° or more and up to 270°. Floors 118 of shoes 1-22 are coplanar with floor 119. An opening 120 is provided in the floor 119 adjacent to the open ends 121 of the shoes I-22. A series of stacks S fall through the opening 120 and are placed on a support platform (not shown).
or in a suitable container.

Next, FIG. 14 will be explained. The microprocessor 200 that controls the series of operations of the binding device according to the invention may be any suitable microprocessor available on the market, such as the Motorola MC6805 or any other suitable microprocessor.

The microprocessor-200 may include all of the necessary random access memory (RAM) and read-only memory (110M) therein, as shown in FIG. 14, or as illustrated in FIG. RAM and RO
External memory may be used instead of or in addition to M.

The number of tags T in each stack S and the -number of stacks S to be made before the band of the stack is completely cut is controlled by a control device equipped with an interface or keyboard for communicating with a remotely located computer or terminal device. It is input by the terminal device 202.

When using a keyboard, the operator manually enters the desired number of tags T in each stack S, e.g. 10 for the first stack S, 10 for the second stack S.
Enter 0, etc. The number of stacks S can be counted to define the input to determine the number of stacks S to be bundled before completely cutting the band of tags T, or the number of stacks S can be entered manually by the operator. You can also do it.

The number of cards per stack may be the same or different for each stack.

Data defining the number of stacks and the number of tags T per stack is stored in the memory of microprocessor-200.

As input to the microprocessor-200,
There are switches 38 and 38' that detect the tension of the webs W and In' and stop the operation of the tag binding device 20 when the tape breaks or the tension is low.

Other inputs to the microprocessor 200 include a switch 7 for detecting the presence or absence of tags in the conveyor 39;
7. Switch 99S for detecting the home position of jaw 89
1, and a switch 99S2 for detecting the cut position of the jaw 89. These switches detect the position of the tag T and the position of the jaws, and the microprocessor-20
0 in conjunction with heater driver 204 and motor drivers 206, 208, 210 to control the operation of the corresponding heater 114', conveyor motor 55, pusher motor 67, and jaw drive motor 90. Each driver runs on a microprocessor-20
It responds to the signal sent from 0 and works to drive the heater or motor according to the command. Conveyor motor 55 is continuously driven by motor driver 206 during operation of the strapping device. For this,
Jaw heater 114' and pusher motor 67
The jaw motor 90 is then driven intermittently during operation of the strapping device, as discussed with respect to FIG.

Next, referring to item 1511, all circuits are set to an initial state, and a counter is set to O during power-up initialization, which occurs when power is first applied to the binding device. Once the initial power-up settings have been completed, the binding device 20 is ready to receive data defining the number of tags T per stack and the number of stacks S between cuts. This data can be entered by keyboard or other methods, as previously discussed. After inputting data defining the number of tags T per stack and the number of stacks per band, a start command starts the sequential binding operation. The start command may be entered manually via a keyboard or may be a command issued from a remote terminal.

After the start command is input, switch 77 is monitored to see if tag T is present. While tag T is not detected, t remains unchanged.

When a tag T is detected, the tag counter is incremented and the push device 60 operates for one complete cycle.
As mentioned before, press tag T to stack. The tag counter is then read to see if the last tag detected is the last tag on the stack. This can be done in a variety of ways, for example, by setting a counter to the desired number of tags in the stack S, decrementing the counter each time a tag is detected, and decrementing the counter to O. Alternatively, you could set a counter to 0 and increment the counter each time a tag is detected.
The desired number of tags may be compared with the count on a counter, and the final tag state may be indicated when the count on the counter becomes equal to the desired number of tags.

As long as the last tag detected is not the last tag in the stack, switch 7 determines whether there are any tags on the conveyor.
7 will be monitored. Then, each time a new tag is detected, the incrementing of the counter and operation of the pusher motor are repeated until the last tag is detected. After the last tag is detected, the jaw motor 90 is activated and continues to operate until the score or partial cut position is detected. Score position is detected by monitoring score position switch 99S2 until the presence of tone plate 99' is sensed. As soon as switch 99S2 senses touch plate 99', heater 114' is opened for a predetermined period of time to seal web portions OW, OW' to heater 1.

At the same time, the stack counter is incremented. This stack counter and its operation is similar to the tag counter and its operation discussed previously.

After the stack counter is incremented, a determination is made whether the current stack is the last stack to be made before the binding web is completely cut. If the current stack is not the last stack, the direction of axis rotation of motor 90 is reversed to retract jaw 89 and retrieve knife 100 from the web.

Home position switch 99S1 is monitored and motor 90 continues to operate in the reverse direction while jaw 89 is not in the home position. When jaw 89 reaches the home position, motor 90 is stopped by an output from switch 99S1. The device is then in a state of monitoring switch 77 which detects the next tag. After the next tag, ie the first tag of the next stack, is detected, the process described above is repeated until the last stack is completed.

If the current stack is the last stack to be bundled before cutting the web, the motor 90 is rotated further and the knife 100 pierces the web and the web is completely cut. To perform the cutting action, motor 90 may simply be driven for a predetermined period of time during which knife 100 completely penetrates the web, or a cutting position sensor (not shown) may be used to drive knife 100 or It may also be detected that the adjusting plate 99' has reached the cutting position.

After jaw 89 and knife 100 have been advanced to the cutting position, motor 90 is reversed and home position switch 99S1 is again monitored. While jaw 89 is not in the home position, motor 90 continues to rotate in the opposite direction until jaw 89 reaches the home position.

When the Baum position is reached, various counters are reset,
Then, the operator shuffles the tied stack S.
The movement of the binding device (
t is stopped. Here, the binding device is connected to another star 1~
Whenever I receive orders, I am ready to create another set of tags. If desired, a start command can be issued automatically each time the bow position of jaw 89 is detected after the last stack has been made to cause the strapping device to operate continuously. Additionally, if desired, new data defining the number of tags per stack and the number of stacks per band can be entered before issuing the Star1~ command.

Other embodiments and modifications of the invention will occur to those skilled in the art, all of which fall within the spirit of the invention and are within the scope of the claimed invention. considered to be included.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a tag binding device according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a plan view of a portion of the tag binding device connected to a printer, and FIG. FIG. 4 is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken along line 4--4 of FIG. 2; FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a series of connected tag stacks; FIG. FIG. 7 is a schematic partial view showing how the pair of jaws heat-seal the overlapping web portion; FIG. 7 is a front view showing how the leading edge of the tag is placed in the notch in the stop; FIG. 8 is a front view similar to FIG. 7 showing the stop member and push device with the tag moved from the inclined position to the upright position; FIG. 9 is an enlarged section of the jaw and knife in the initial position; A cross-sectional view, FIG. 10, taken along line 10--10 of FIG.
12 is a cross-sectional view similar to FIG. 9 showing a pair of cooperating jaws and the knife in the solid and phantom positions. , FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 13-13 of FIG.
FIG. 14 is a block diagram of the control device of the tag binding device, and FIG. 15 is a functional logic diagram showing the operation of the control logic circuit of the tag binding device. Explanation of symbols 20...Tag binding device, 21...Housing,
22...Discharge chute, 23...Printer, 2
4...Zipper, 25.26...Shaft, 27
...Housing surface, 28.28'... Brake, 29.29'... Leaf spring, 30.30'...
・Zipper, 31.31”...Felt pad,
32.32'... Backup member, 33.33'.
...Tensioning device, 34.34'...Temporary spring, 35.
35'...Zipper, 36.36'...Pin,
37.37'...feather, 38.38'...
Switch, 39... Conveyor, 40... Notch, 41... Stop member, 42.42'...
・Round belt, 43.44...Pulley, 45,46,
47, 48. 49... Roller, 50... Fixed striking part, 51... Horizontal part, S2... Curved part, 53... Downward slope part, 54... Downward running part,
55...Motor, 56...Pulley,
57...Motor shaft, 58...Pulley,
59... Pulley belt, 60... Pushing device, 61... Pair of members, 62... Pin,
63...hole, 64...hole,
65... Blague? -166...Zipper,
67...Motor, 68...Axis,
69...crank, 69'...screw,
70... Pin, 71... Connecting rod, 72
...Pin, 73.74...Hole, 75.
...Blade, 76...Switch, 77...Optical sensor, 78...Pin, 79.
...Pivot, 80...Tension spring, 81...
・Srowa I~, 82...Fence, 83...
・Spring finger, 84...cam surface, 8
5...Hook, 86...Bracket, 87.
...free end of the web, 88.89...jaw,
90...Motor, 91...Bracket,
92...pulley, 93...belt,
94...pulley, 95...worm, 9
6... ohm end, 97... hole,
98...Threaded bore, 99...Block,
99'...feather, 100...knife,
101, 102...Guide rod, 103, 104...
Bore, 105... recess, 106... E-ring, 107... shaft, 107'... shoulder,
108... Compression spring, 109... Bore,
110... Replaceable blade, 111... Inclined surface, 112... Cut, 113... Bracket, 114... Print 1-circuit member, 1
14'...Heater, 114''...Non-conductive substrate, 115...Thrower l-1116...Recessed part,
117... Groove, 118, 119... Floor, 120... Opening, 121... Discharge end, 200... Microprocessor-1 202... Control terminal device, 204... Heater driver, 206.208,210...Motor driver, R
, R'...roll, S...stack, T...
...Tag, Δ, 11! '···web,
OW, OW'...overlapping web parts.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] An apparatus for bundling a plurality of tags into separate stacks, comprising: a conveying means for conveying the tags one by one along a passage; a means for stopping the tags carried by the conveying means; and each tag. means capable of contacting the tags and forcing each tag into a stacking position so as to bring each tag into facing and contacting an adjacent tag; means for moving said stop means to an inoperative position; A device characterized by comprising: a means for binding.