WO2016140197A1

WO2016140197A1 - Container sealing device and container sealing method

Info

Publication number: WO2016140197A1
Application number: PCT/JP2016/056096
Authority: WO
Inventors: 志記山元; 宏一串岡; 浩子堀; 隼平加藤
Original assignee: 大日本印刷株式会社
Priority date: 2015-03-02
Filing date: 2016-02-29
Publication date: 2016-09-09
Also published as: KR20170125920A

Abstract

A container sealing device (10) is provided with a container supply section (11) for supplying a container (40); a film transfer section (12) for transferring a band-shaped film (50) in a transfer direction; a mark application section (13) for applying positioning marks M to the film (50) at predetermined intervals S: and a mark detection section (14) for detecting the positioning marks M on the film (50). A film attachment section (15) for attaching the film (50) to the container (40) supplied by the container supply section (11) is provided downstream of the mark detection section (14) in the transfer direction D. In response to the detection of a positioning mark M on the film (50) by the mark detection section (14), the transfer of the film (50) is stopped and the film (50) is attached to the container (40) by the film attachment section (15).

Description

Container sealing device and container sealing method

The present invention relates to a container sealing device and a container sealing method for sealing a film against a container.

Conventionally, a container sealing device is known in which a container such as a tray is filled with contents and the opening of the container is sealed with a film (see Patent Documents 1 and 2).

In such a container sealing device, the film is conveyed by a certain length, and then stopped at a predetermined stop position. At this time, the stop position of the film is generally controlled by detecting a registration mark (alignment mark) printed on the film with a sensor. Printing of the registration mark on the film is performed in advance by a film manufacturer. Therefore, a film on which a registration mark is printed in advance is supplied in a roll shape and set in a container sealing device. Conventionally, a technology that effectively activates the sheet surface by corona discharge treatment and improves secondary coating by improving the coating properties and adhesiveness (wetting properties) of printing inks, release agents, adhesives, etc. is known. (See, for example, Patent Document 3).

JP 59-187507 A JP 2002-264903 A JP 2001-131314 A

However, conventionally, when using a particularly easy-to-extend film, the film is stretched at the manufacturing stage in the film maker or inside the container seal device, which causes a problem that the distance between the registration marks varies. For this reason, in the container seal device, it is necessary to adjust the tension applied to the film so that the distance between the registration marks does not deviate from the target distance, or to control the conveyance speed of the film.

The present invention has been made in consideration of the above points, and a container sealing device and a container capable of preventing a problem in which the interval between alignment marks on the film varies even when the film extends. An object is to provide a sealing method.

The present invention provides a container sealing device that seals a container with a film, a container supply unit that supplies the container, a film transfer unit that transfers a strip-shaped film along a transfer direction, and the film transferred by the film transfer unit. A mark applying unit that provides alignment marks at predetermined intervals, a mark detection unit that is provided downstream of the mark applying unit in the transport direction and detects the alignment marks on the film, and the mark detection A film adhering part that adheres the film to the container supplied by the container supplying part, and the mark detecting part is positioned on the film. In response to detecting the mark, the transfer of the film is stopped, and the film is attached by the film attaching unit. A container sealing apparatus characterized by being attached to vessels.

The present invention is a container sealing device characterized in that a label sticking part for sticking a label to the film is provided between the mark detection part and the film sticking part.

The container sealing device according to the present invention is characterized in that a corona treatment unit is provided on the upstream side in the transport direction of the label sticking unit to corona-treat a portion of the film where the label is stuck in advance. It is.

In the present invention, the film sticking unit has a seal head for sticking the film to the container, and the seal head forms a lid film corresponding to each container by punching the film. A container seal device characterized by the above.

In the present invention, when the position where the alignment mark is detected by the mark detection unit is a detection position, and the position where the film is attached by the film attachment unit is the attachment position, the transfer direction of the film A distance between the detection position and the sticking position along the position is an integral multiple of the interval between the alignment marks.

The present invention relates to a container sealing method for sealing a container with a film, a container supply step for supplying a container, a film transfer step for transferring a strip-shaped film along a transfer direction, and a predetermined interval with respect to the transferred film. A mark applying step for applying an alignment mark in step, a mark detecting step for detecting the alignment mark on the film after the mark applying step, and a film for attaching the film to the supplied container A container sealing method comprising: an attaching step, wherein the transfer of the film is stopped in response to detecting the alignment mark on the film, and the film is attached to the container. is there.

The present invention is a container sealing method further comprising a label sticking step for sticking a label to the film.

The present invention is a container sealing method characterized by further comprising a corona treatment step of corona treating a portion of the film where the label is attached in advance.

The present invention is a container sealing method characterized in that, in the film sticking step, a lid film corresponding to each container is formed by punching the film.

According to the present invention, the mark applying unit applies alignment marks to the film at a predetermined interval, and the transfer of the film is stopped in response to the mark detection unit detecting the alignment mark on the film, A film is stuck to a container by a film sticking part. Thereby, even when the film is extended, it is possible to prevent a problem that the interval between the alignment marks on the film varies.

FIG. 1 is a schematic front view showing a container sealing device according to a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a schematic plan view showing a film for sealing a container. FIG. 3 is a schematic front view showing a label sticking apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention. 4A and 4B are schematic plan views showing a film to which a label is attached. FIG. 5 is a schematic enlarged view showing a label peeling portion of a label attaching portion. FIG. 6 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a container with a film.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Drawing is an illustration and may exaggerate a characteristic part for explanation, and may differ from an actual thing. In addition, the present invention can be implemented with appropriate modifications without departing from the technical idea. Note that, in the following drawings, the same portions are denoted by the same reference numerals, and some detailed description may be omitted.

(First embodiment)
First, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described. 1 and 2 are diagrams showing this embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 1, the outline of the container sealing device according to this embodiment will be described.

The container sealing device 10 shown in FIG. 1 is for producing a film-equipped container 60 by sealing an opening of a container 40 such as a tray with a film 50 as will be described later. Such a container sealing device 10 includes a container supply unit 11, a film transfer unit 12, a mark applying unit 13, a mark detection unit 14, and a film sticking unit 15.

Among these, the container supply part 11 has the inverter conveyor 16 located in the front | former stage, and the servomotor conveyor 17 located in a back | latter stage. In this case, the inverter conveyor 16 and the servo motor conveyor 17 constitute a grouping conveyor 20.

The inverter conveyor 16 conveys a plurality of containers 40 supplied from the previous process (not shown) at irregular intervals to the servo motor conveyor 17 side. The inverter conveyor 16 is continuously driven during a series of container sealing operations. In each container 40, contents 41 such as food are stored in advance. The container 40 is a single layer sheet such as a thermoplastic resin such as PE (polyethylene), PP (polypropylene), PET (polyethylene terephthalate), PEN (polyethylene naphthalate), or a barrier layer such as EVOH or nylon (registered trademark). It may be produced by forming a multilayer sheet containing

On the inverter conveyor 16, a first stopper 18 having a configuration that can be opened and closed from both sides of the container 40 is provided. When the first stopper 18 is closed, the plurality of containers 40 stay in a row on the upstream side (left side in FIG. 1) of the first stopper 18. On the other hand, when the first stopper 18 is opened, the container 40 passes between the first stoppers 18.

Between the inverter conveyor 16 and the servo motor conveyor 17, the 2nd stopper 19 which has the structure which can be opened and closed from the both sides of the container 40 is provided. When the second stopper 19 is closed, one container 40 stands by between the first stopper 18 and the second stopper 19. On the other hand, when the second stopper 19 is opened, the waiting container 40 passes between the second stoppers 19 and is conveyed to the servo motor conveyor 17 side.

Servo motor conveyor 17 is intermittently controlled by a servo motor (not shown). Thereby, it is possible to align a plurality (three in FIG. 1) of containers 40 on the servo motor conveyor 17 at regular intervals. A sensor 21 that detects the container 40 is disposed on the servo motor conveyor 17. Note that the number of containers 40 arranged on the servo motor conveyor 17 is not necessarily plural, and only one container 40 may be arranged at a predetermined position on the servo motor conveyor 17.

A container transfer arm (tray transfer arm) 22 is provided in the vicinity of the servo motor conveyor 17. The container transfer arm 22 collectively holds a plurality (three in FIG. 1) of containers 40 arranged at regular intervals on the servo motor conveyor 17 and maintains the distance between the containers of the film sticking unit 15. The sample is transferred onto a holding unit 29 (described later).

On the other hand, the film transfer unit 12 transfers the belt-like film 50 along the transfer direction D. The film transport unit 12 is intermittently controlled by a servo motor (not shown), and can transport the film 50 from the unwinding roll 23 toward the winding roll 24 or temporarily stop the transport of the film 50. is there. In the present specification, the transfer direction D refers to a direction in which the film 50 is conveyed while being unwound from the unwinding roll 23 and being wound by the winding roll 24.

The film transfer unit 12 includes an unwinding roll 23 for unwinding the strip-shaped film 50 and a winding roll 24 for winding the remaining film other than the portion attached to the container 40 in the strip-shaped film 50. Yes. Of these, the unwinding roll 23 is obtained by winding a belt-like film 50 into a roll shape, and the winding roll 24 is obtained by winding the remaining film into a roll shape. In this case, the film 50 is unwound from the unwinding roll 23, guided by a plurality of guide rollers 25 arranged in the middle, and a part of the film 50 is stuck to the container 40, and then becomes a remaining film and wound up. It is wound up by a roll 24.

The belt-like film 50 may be made of an unstretched film having elasticity, such as non-axially stretched polypropylene (CPP), unstretched nylon, or a laminate of nylon and polypropylene. The film 50 may be pre-printed with patterns, characters, designs, etc., or may be plain. In any case, the alignment mark (register mark) is not given to the film 50 in the state of being wound around the unwinding roll 23.

A tension controller (dancing bar) 33 for adjusting the tension of the film 50 is disposed downstream of the unwinding roll 23 in the transfer direction D. The tension controller 33 is movable in the vertical direction. By adjusting the vertical position of the tension controller 33, the tension of the film 50 is kept substantially constant.

A mark applying unit 13 is provided on the downstream side in the transfer direction D of the tension controller 33. The mark applying unit 13 applies alignment marks (register marks) M at a predetermined interval S to the film 50 transferred by the film transfer unit 12. That is, the mark imparting unit 13 has a distance meter (not shown), and has a function of printing the alignment mark M at every predetermined interval S while measuring the transport distance of the film 50 by this distance meter. The mark applying unit 13 may include a printer for printing the alignment mark M, such as an ink jet printer, a thermal printer, or a laser printer. The alignment mark M may be provided on either the front or back surface of the film 50.

As shown in FIG. 2, the alignment mark M is provided at one end of the film 50 in the width direction. The alignment mark M is regularly printed at predetermined intervals S along the length direction of the film 50. The alignment mark M is provided at a location that has a certain positional relationship with the container 40. In this Embodiment, the alignment mark M is provided in the position used as the center part of the container 40 hold | maintained at the container holding part 29 (after-mentioned) of the film sticking part 15, respectively.

Referring to FIG. 1 again, a corona treatment unit 27 is provided on the downstream side in the transfer direction D of the mark applying unit 13. The corona treatment part 27 corona-treats beforehand the location where the label L (refer FIG. 2) is stuck by the label sticking part 26 mentioned later among the films 50. FIG. With this corona treatment section 27, a part of the surface of the film 50 is modified by corona discharge treatment, and the wettability of this portion is improved, thereby making it possible to easily attach the label L. The region of the film 50 that is corona-treated by the corona treatment unit 27 may extend continuously in a strip shape along the longitudinal direction of the film 50. Alternatively, a plurality of corona-treated regions may be intermittently arranged in the form of dots, for example, along the longitudinal direction of the film 50. In addition, the corona treatment part 27 should just be provided in the any position between the unwinding roll 23 and the label sticking part 26, and is not limited to the location shown in FIG.

A mark detection unit 14 is provided on the downstream side in the transfer direction D of the mark applying unit 13 and the corona processing unit 27. The mark detection unit 14 detects the alignment mark M provided on the film 50 by the mark application unit 13. The mark detection unit 14 may be any unit that can detect the presence or absence of the alignment mark M, and may be, for example, a transmissive sensor, a reflective sensor, a photoelectric tube, or the like.

In the present embodiment, the transfer of the film 50 is stopped in response to the mark detection unit 14 detecting the alignment mark M on the film 50. In this case, when the mark detection unit 14 detects the alignment mark M after the film 50 is conveyed for a specified length, the transfer of the film 50 is immediately stopped. Alternatively, the conveyance of the film 50 is immediately stopped when the mark detection unit 14 detects the alignment mark M a specified number of times. When the transfer of the film 50 is stopped, the film 50 is stuck to the container 40 by the film sticking unit 15 as described later.

The label sticking part 26 which sticks the label L to the film 50 is provided downstream of the mark detection part 14 and upstream of the film sticking part 15. In this label sticking part 26, the label L is stuck to the predetermined position on the film 50 at a fixed interval. The label L may be attached to the moving film 50, or may be attached to the film 50 that is stopped when the mark detection unit 14 detects the alignment mark M. Moreover, it is preferable to make the sticking position of the label L into the area | region where the corona treatment part 27 mentioned above performed the corona treatment. The label L is not particularly limited as long as it is attached to the surface of the film 50, such as a barcode, and exhibits a predetermined function related to the film-equipped container 60 or the contents 41.

In addition, when it is not necessary to stick the label L to the film 50, the corona treatment part 27 and the label sticking part 26 do not necessarily need to be provided.

The film sticking unit 15 is provided on the downstream side in the transfer direction D of the mark detection unit 14. The film sticking part 15 sticks the film 50 with respect to the container 40 supplied by the container supply part 11. The film sticking unit 15 includes a seal head 28 and a container holding unit 29 provided at a position facing the seal head 28 (below the seal head 28). A plurality (three in FIG. 1) of the seal head 28 and the container holding portion 29 are provided according to the number of containers 40 to be sealed at a time. The intervals between the plurality of seal heads 28 and the intervals between the plurality of container holding portions 29 are the same as the intervals S between the alignment marks M described above.

The seal head 28 attaches (thermally welds) the film 50 to the periphery of the opening of the container 40 by bringing the film 50 into contact with the container 40 and heating a part of the film 50. The plurality of seal heads 28 are held by a head driving unit 31 and can be moved up and down with respect to the container holding unit 29.

Moreover, the container holding part 29 holds the container 40 conveyed from the servo motor conveyor 17 by the container transfer arm 22, respectively. Each container holding part 29 has a frame-shaped part corresponding to the outline of the container 40, and each container 40 can be lifted while being accommodated in the frame and positioned at a predetermined position. The plurality of container holding portions 29 are held by a fixed component 32 and can be pushed up and down against the seal head 28. The container holding part 29 can be raised and lowered with respect to the fixed part 32, and lifts the container 40 by raising from the fixed part 32.

When the seal head 28 is lowered by the head driving unit 31, the container holding unit 29 is raised. At this time, the film 50 is pressed downward, and the film 50 contacts the container 40 on the container holding part 29. At this time, the film 50 is thermally welded to the periphery of the opening of the container 40 by heat from the seal head 28. Further, the seal head 28 has a punched portion such as a cutter. As the seal head 28 is lowered, the film 50 is punched to form a lid film 51 corresponding to each container 40. .

Incidentally, in FIG. 1, a position where the alignment mark M is detected by the mark detecting unit 14 and the detection position P _1, the position where the film 50 is bonded by a film adhesive portion 15 and the attaching position P _2. In this case, the distance A between the detection position P ₁ and the sticking position P ₂ along the transfer direction D of the film 50 is an integral multiple of the interval S between the alignment marks M. Specifically, in FIG. 1, the distance A between the detection position P ₁ and the sticking position (sticking position of the container 40 located on the most upstream side) P ₂ is 5 of the interval S of the alignment mark M. Doubled (A = 5S). Thus, when the mark detection unit 14 detects the alignment mark M and immediately stops the transfer of the film 50, the other alignment mark M is correctly positioned at the center of the container 40 on the container holding unit 29. It is like that. As a result, the positional relationship between the container 40 and the label L does not shift.

In addition, the grouping conveyor 20 mentioned above, the 1st stopper 18, the 2nd stopper 19, the container transfer arm 22, the unwinding roll 23, the winding roll 24, the tension controller 33, the mark provision part 13, the corona treatment part 27, The mark detection unit 14, the label sticking unit 26, and the film sticking unit 15 are each connected to the control unit 30. Operations of these elements are controlled by the control unit 30. The control unit 30 is a computer, for example, and has a storage unit (not shown). The storage unit stores a program for controlling various operations executed in the container sealing device 10. The operation of each element described above is not limited to one control unit 30 and may be controlled by a plurality of control units.

Next, the operation (container sealing method) of the present embodiment having such a configuration will be described with reference to FIG. In addition, each following process is performed when the control part 30 controls each element which comprises the container sealing apparatus 10. FIG.

First, a plurality of containers 40 each storing contents 41 such as food are supplied to the inverter conveyor 16 of the container supply unit 11 from a previous process (not shown). The plurality of containers 40 are conveyed at indefinite intervals on the inverter conveyor 16. The plurality of containers 40 conveyed on the inverter conveyor 16 come into contact with the first stopper 18 and stop in a line. During this time, the inverter conveyor 16 is continuously driven.

Subsequently, the first stopper 18 is opened, and the first container 40 passes between the first stoppers 18. At this time, the second stopper 19 is closed, and the first container 40 comes into contact with the second stopper 19 and stops. Thereafter, the first stopper 18 is closed.

Next, the second stopper 19 is opened, and the servo motor conveyor 17 that has been stopped starts to drive. As a result, the first container 40 is sent from the inverter conveyor 16 to the servo motor conveyor 17. The first container 40 is conveyed toward the downstream side (right side in FIG. 1) on the servo motor conveyor 17. Thereafter, the sensor 21 detects the first container 40 and the servo motor conveyor 17 stops.

The second stopper 19 is closed after the first container 40 has passed. Thereafter, in the same manner as described above, the second container 40 stands by in a state where it is in contact with the second stopper 19 on the inverter conveyor 16.

Next, the second stopper 19 is opened again, and the servo motor conveyor 17 that has been stopped starts to drive. As a result, the second container 40 is sent from the inverter conveyor 16 to the servo motor conveyor 17. The second container 40 is conveyed toward the downstream side (the right side in FIG. 1) on the servo motor conveyor 17, and when the sensor 21 detects the second container 40, the servo motor conveyor 17 stops. At this time, the first container 40 moves toward the downstream side (right side in FIG. 1) by a predetermined distance on the servo motor conveyor 17. The second stopper 19 is closed after the second container has passed. In this way, a predetermined number (three in FIG. 1) of containers 40 are supplied from the inverter conveyor 16 to the servo motor conveyor 17, and these containers 40 are aligned at equal intervals (interval S) on the servo motor conveyor 17. (Container supply process).

Subsequently, the plurality of containers 40 arranged at equal intervals on the servo motor conveyor 17 are transported by the container transfer arm 22 and supplied to the container holding section 29 of the film sticking section 15. At this time, the spacing S between the containers 40 is maintained.

On the other hand, the belt-like film 50 is unwound from the unwinding roll 23 of the film transfer unit 12, and this film 50 is transferred intermittently along the transfer direction D (film transfer step). The tension of the film 50 thus transferred is adjusted to be substantially constant by the tension controller 33.

The film 50 from the unwinding roll 23 is sent to the mark applying unit 13. In this mark provision part 13, the alignment mark M is provided for every predetermined space | interval S with respect to the transferred film 50 (mark provision process). In this case, the mark applying unit 13 continuously measures the transport distance of the film 50 and prints the alignment mark M at every predetermined interval S.

Subsequently, the film 50 is sent to the corona treatment unit 27. In this corona treatment unit 27, a portion of the transferred film 50 where the label L is stuck is pre-corona treated (corona treatment step). In the corona treatment unit 27, the surface of the film 50 is partially subjected to corona discharge treatment, and the wettability of this part is improved.

Next, the film 50 is sent to the mark detection unit 14 (detection position P ₁ ). The mark detection unit 14 detects the alignment mark M on the transferred film 50 (mark detection step). Thus, when the alignment mark M on the film 50 is detected, the transfer of the film 50 is temporarily stopped. The film 50 may be stopped each time the alignment mark M is detected, or may be stopped every predetermined number of times of detection. In the example of FIG. 1, it stops every three detections. As described above, the distance A between the detection position P ₁ and the sticking position P ₂ is an integral multiple of the spacing S of the alignment mark M. For this reason, the alignment mark M at the sticking position P ₂ of the film sticking part 15 is correctly positioned at the center of the container 40 on the container holding part 29, and the film 50 is stuck to the container 40.

Thereafter, the transfer of the film 50 is resumed, and the film 50 is sent to the label attaching unit 26. In this label sticking part 26, the label L is stuck to the predetermined position of the transferred film 50 (label sticking process). Note that the label L may be attached to the moving film 50, or may be attached to the film 50 that is stopped when the mark detection unit 14 detects the alignment mark M. good.

Next, the film 50 is sent to the film sticking unit 15. Subsequently, in the upstream mark detection unit 14 (detection position P ₁ ), another alignment mark M is detected, and accordingly, the transfer of the film 50 is temporarily stopped. In the present embodiment, the transfer of the film 50 stops each time the mark detection unit 14 detects a plurality (three in FIG. 1) of alignment marks M. And in the film sticking part 15, the film 50 is stuck with respect to the container 40 supplied from the container supply part 11 (film sticking process). At this time, the plurality of seal heads 28 are lowered by the head driving unit 31, the container holding unit 29 is raised from the fixed component 32, and the container 40 is raised. As a result, the film 50 is in close contact with the container 40, and the film 50 is thermally welded to the container 40 by the heat from the seal head 28. At the same time, the film 50 is punched out by the punching portion of the seal head 28, and the lid film 51 is formed for each container 40. In the film 50, the remaining film other than the portion attached to the container 40 (the lid film 51) is wound and collected by the winding roll 24.

In this way, the container 60 with a film is produced by the container 40 in which the contents 41 are stored and the lid film 51 that seals the container 40. A plurality of containers 60 with film (for example, three in FIG. 1) are collectively conveyed to the outside by the container transfer arm 22, for example. In this way, the film 50 is intermittently adhered to the container 40 while the film 50 is intermittently transferred along the transfer direction D, and a large number of film-equipped containers 60 are produced.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the mark imparting unit 13 imparts the alignment mark M to the film 50 at the predetermined interval S, and the mark detection unit 14 detects the alignment mark M on the film 50. Accordingly, the transfer of the film 50 is stopped, and the film 50 is stuck to the container 40 by the film sticking unit 15.

As described above, since the alignment mark M is provided immediately before the film 50 is attached to the container 40, even if the film 50 extends due to the production stage of the film 50 or the influence of the tension controller 33, the film There is no possibility that the interval S between the alignment marks M on 50 is shifted or varied. Thereby, the malfunction which the positional relationship of the container 40 and the label L etc. shifts | deviates can be prevented, and the dispersion | variation in the quality of the container 60 with a film can be reduced.

In addition, even when the film 50 is extended due to the weight of the tension controller 33, the interval S between the alignment marks M does not shift or vary. For this reason, it is not necessary to adjust the distance S between the alignment marks M in consideration of the extension of the film 50, adjust the weight of the tension controller 33, or adjust the conveyance speed of the film 50.

(Second Embodiment)
Next, a second embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 to 6 are diagrams showing this embodiment.

First, the outline of the label sticking apparatus according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

The label sticking apparatus 110 shown in FIG. 3 sticks the label L to the film 150 as will be described later. Such a label sticking apparatus 110 includes a housing 134, a film transfer part 112, a corona treatment part 127, and a label sticking part 126. In the present embodiment, at least corona treatment unit 127 and label sticking unit 126 are provided in one device (label sticking device 110).

The film transport unit 112 transports the belt-shaped film 150 along the transport direction D. The film transfer unit 112 includes an unwinding roll 123 that unwinds the belt-shaped film 150 and a winding roll 124 that winds up the film 150 to which the label L is attached. Of these, the unwinding roll 123 is obtained by winding the strip-shaped film 150 before the label L is pasted into a roll shape, and the winding roll 124 is the roll of the film 150 having the label L pasted thereon. It is rolled up. In this case, the film 150 is unwound from the unwinding roll 123 and is sequentially guided by a plurality of guide rollers 125 arranged in the middle, and a corona treatment is performed on a part of the film 150 by the corona treatment unit 127, and the label sticking unit. After the label L is pasted by 126, it is wound by the winding roll 124.

In addition, the film transport unit 112 is intermittently controlled by a servo motor (not shown), and can transport the film 150 from the unwinding roll 123 toward the winding roll 124 or temporarily stop the transport of the film 150. It is. In the present specification, the transfer direction D means a direction in which the film 150 is conveyed while being unwound from the unwinding roll 123 and being wound by the winding roll 124.

The belt-like film 150 is made of a single layer sheet such as PE (polyethylene), PP (polypropylene), PET (polyethylene terephthalate), PEN (polyethylene naphthalate), or a film such as EVOH or nylon (registered trademark). The film 150 may be a stretched film or an unstretched film. The film 150 may be pre-printed with patterns, characters, designs, etc., or may be plain.

A tension controller (dancing bar) 133 for adjusting the tension of the film 150 is disposed on the downstream side in the transfer direction D of the unwinding roll 123. The tension controller 133 can move in the vertical direction, and the tension of the film 150 is kept substantially constant by adjusting the vertical position of the tension controller 133.

A mark applying unit 113 is provided on the downstream side in the transfer direction D of the tension controller 133. The mark applying unit 113 applies alignment marks (register marks) M (see FIG. 4) to the film 150 transferred by the film transfer unit 112 at predetermined intervals. That is, the mark imparting unit 113 has a distance meter (not shown), and has a function of printing the alignment mark M at predetermined intervals while measuring the transport distance of the film 150 with this distance meter. Note that the mark applying unit 113 may include a printer for printing the alignment mark M, such as an ink jet printer, a thermal printer, or a laser printer. The alignment mark M may be provided on either the front or back surface of the film 150. Further, when it is not necessary to apply the alignment mark M to the film 150, the mark applying unit 113 is not necessarily provided.

As shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B, the alignment mark M is provided at one end of the film 150 in the width direction. The alignment mark M is regularly printed at predetermined intervals along the length direction of the film 150. As will be described later, the alignment mark M is used as a mark when the film 150 taken up by the take-up roll 124 is separately attached to a container 140 (described later). On the other hand, it is provided in a place having a certain positional relationship. As will be described later, the alignment mark M may be used to identify a location on the film 150 where the corona treatment is performed on the corona treatment unit 127, or a label on the film 150 at the label attaching unit 126. You may use in order to identify the location which sticks L.

Referring to FIG. 3 again, a corona treatment unit 127 is provided on the downstream side in the transfer direction D of the mark applying unit 113. The corona treatment part 127 performs a corona treatment (easy adhesion treatment) in advance on a portion of the film 150 where a label L (see FIG. 4) is stuck by a label sticking part 126 described later. That is, the corona treatment unit 127 includes a discharge electrode 135 and a counter electrode roll 136 installed at a position facing the discharge electrode 135 with respect to the film 150. Then, by applying a high frequency voltage between the discharge electrode 135 and the counter electrode roll 136, corona discharge is generated between the discharge electrode 135 and the counter electrode roll 136. In the corona treatment unit 127, the film 150 is moved along the surface of the counter electrode roll 136 to pass through the corona discharge, thereby performing the surface treatment.

By this corona treatment part 127, a part of the surface of the film 150 is modified by corona discharge treatment to improve the wettability of this part, thereby making it easy to attach the label L. The region of the film 150 that is corona-treated by the corona treatment unit 127 may continuously extend in a strip shape along the longitudinal direction (transfer direction D) of the film 150 (see FIG. 4A). Alternatively, a plurality of corona-treated regions may be intermittently arranged in the form of dots, for example, along the longitudinal direction (transfer direction D) of the film 150 (see FIG. 4B). In FIGS. 4 (a) and 4 (b), the corona-treated region is indicated by hatching for convenience. The corona treatment unit 127 may be provided at any position between the unwinding roll 123 and the label sticking unit 126, and is not limited to the location shown in FIG. For example, the corona treatment unit 127 may be provided on the upstream side in the transfer direction D from the mark applying unit 113.

The label sticking part 126 which sticks the label L to the film 150 is provided on the downstream side in the transfer direction D of the corona treatment part 127. In this label sticking portion 126, labels L are stuck at predetermined intervals on predetermined positions on the film 150. The label L may be affixed to the moving film 150, or may be affixed to the stopped film 150 by intermittently stopping the film 150. The label L is attached to a part of the area subjected to corona treatment by the corona treatment unit 127 described above. As the label L, for example, a barcode, an IC tag or the like, which is attached to the surface of the film 150 and exhibits a predetermined function related to the container 160 with film or the contents 141 (see FIG. 6). If it is, it will not be specifically limited.

Next, with reference to FIG. 3 and FIG. 5, the structure of the label sticking part 126 is further demonstrated.

As shown in FIG. 3, the label attaching unit 126 includes a label supply roller (label supply unit) 142, a label peeling unit 143, and a label collection roller (label collection unit) 144. Among these, the label supply roller 142 supplies the belt-like label 145 toward the label peeling portion 143, and includes a roller around which the belt-like label 145 is wound. A guide roller 146 is provided between the label supply roller 142 and the label peeling unit 143 for guiding the strip-shaped label 145 sent from the label supply roller 142. The label peeling unit 143 separates the label L from the belt-like label 145 sent from the label supply roller 142 and sticks it to the film 150. Here, the strip-shaped label 145 includes, for example, a release sheet 147 made of release paper and a plurality of labels L provided on the release sheet 147.

As shown in FIG. 5, the label sticking portion 126 has a peeling member 148 for peeling the label L from the belt-like label 145. The peeling member 148 has a substantially triangular cross section, and the conveying direction of the belt-like label 145 is largely changed to the label collecting roller 144 side at an acute angle portion at the tip. At this time, the release sheet 147 is changed in the conveyance direction toward the label collecting roller 144 side, but the label L advances while maintaining the direction without changing the direction. As a result, the label L is peeled off from the strip-shaped label 145 and separated and attached to the film 150. In addition, a guide roller 149 is provided in front of the peeling member 148 for guiding and sticking the label L thus peeled to the film 150 side.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 3, the label collection roller 144 collects the (remaining) release sheet 147 separated from the label L in the strip-shaped label 145. A motor 152 is connected to the label collection roller 144. When the motor 152 is driven, the belt-like label 145 from the label supply roller 142 is wound around the label collection roller 144. Note that the label collecting roller 144 starts driving when it receives a roller driving signal from the control unit 130 described later, and stops driving when it receives a roller stop signal from the control unit 130. As described above, the strip-shaped label 145 is intermittently fed within the label sticking portion 126 while being repeatedly advanced and stopped.

The label supply roller 142 is provided with a mechanism 153 that gives resistance to the rotation of the shaft, thereby controlling the tension of the belt-like label 145.

In addition, the unwinding roll 123, the winding roll 124, the tension controller 133, the mark applying unit 113, the corona processing unit 127, and the label attaching unit 126 described above are connected to the control unit 130, respectively. Operations of these elements are controlled by the control unit 130. The control unit 130 is a computer, for example, and has a storage unit (not shown). The storage unit stores a program for controlling various operations executed in the label sticking apparatus 110. The operation of each element described above is not limited to one control unit 130, and may be controlled by a plurality of control units.

FIG. 6 shows a container 160 with a film manufactured using the film 150 with the label L attached in this manner. The film-equipped container 160 has a container 140 such as a tray in which contents 141 such as food are stored, and a lid film 151 that seals the container 140. Among these, the label L is stuck at a predetermined position of the lid film 151. The lid film 151 is produced by punching the film 150 into a predetermined shape in a container sealing device (not shown). In the present embodiment, the film 150 is used, for example, when sealing the opening of the container 140 filled with contents such as food, but is not limited thereto, and is used for various purposes. It may be a film.

Next, the action (label sticking method) of the present embodiment having such a configuration will be described with reference to FIG. In addition, each following process is performed when the control part 130 controls each element which comprises the label sticking apparatus 110. FIG.

First, the belt-like film 150 is unwound from the unwinding roll 123 of the film transfer unit 112. The film 150 is transferred along the transfer direction D (film transfer process). The tension of the film 150 thus transferred is adjusted to be substantially constant by the tension controller 133.

The film 150 from the unwinding roll 123 is transferred along the transfer direction D and sent to the mark applying unit 113. In the mark applying unit 113, alignment marks M are applied to the transferred film 150 at predetermined intervals (mark applying step). In this case, the mark providing unit 113 continuously measures the transport distance of the film 150 and prints the alignment mark M at predetermined intervals.

Subsequently, the film 150 is transferred along the transfer direction D and sent to the corona treatment unit 127. In this corona treatment unit 127, a portion of the transferred film 150 where the label L is stuck by the label sticking unit 126 is pre-corona treated (corona treatment step). In the corona treatment unit 127, the surface of the film 150 is partially subjected to corona discharge treatment, and the wettability of this portion is improved. At this time, a corona discharge is generated between the discharge electrode 135 and the counter electrode roll 136 by applying a high frequency voltage between the discharge electrode 135 and the counter electrode roll 136 of the corona treatment unit 127. The film 150 moves through the corona discharge by moving between the discharge electrode 135 and the counter electrode roll 136, and the surface of the film 150 is subjected to corona treatment.

Next, the film 150 is sent to the label attaching unit 126. In this label sticking part 126, the label L is stuck to the predetermined | prescribed area | region where the corona process of the transferred film 150 was carried out (label sticking process). In this case, since the surface of the film 150 is corona-treated, the label L can be firmly attached to the film 150. The label L may be attached to the moving film 150 or may be attached to the stopped film 150 by intermittently stopping the film 150.

During this time, the label collecting roller 144 is driven in the label attaching unit 126, whereby the belt-like label 145 is guided by each guide roller 146, and proceeds from the label supply roller 142 side to the label collecting roller 144 side. At this time, the label L is separated from the belt-like label 145 and attached to the film 150 by changing the transport direction of the belt-like label 145 by the peeling member 148 in the label peeling portion 143 (see FIG. 5). The release sheet 147 after the label L is peeled is collected by the label collection roller 144.

Thereafter, the film 150 on which the label L is adhered at a predetermined interval is taken up by the take-up roll 124.

The film 150 taken up by the take-up roll 124 is conveyed to a container sealing device (not shown). In this container sealing device, the film 150 is punched into a predetermined shape, and a lid film 151 is formed for each container 140. The lid film 151 is sealed to the opening of the container 140 by, for example, heat sealing, thereby producing a film-equipped container 160 (see FIG. 6).

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the corona treatment unit 127 pre-corona-treats the portion of the film 150 where the label L is attached, and then the label attachment unit 126 applies the label L to the film 150. Adhere. In this case, the corona treatment by the corona treatment unit 127 and the sticking of the label L by the label sticking unit 126 are performed in one label sticking device 110. Thereby, after corona-treating the film 150, the label L can be adhered immediately. For this reason, after corona treatment, when the film 150 is transported or stored, foreign matter such as dust may adhere to the corona-treated portion, or the effect of the corona treatment may decrease with time. The label L can be attached to the film 150 with high adhesive strength.

In addition, in the above, although the case where the label sticking apparatus 110 which sticks the label L to the film 150 was comprised separately from the container sealing apparatus was demonstrated as an example, it is not restricted to this, label sticking The dressing device 110 may be integrated with the container seal device. In this case, the operation of attaching the label L to the film 150 and the operation of sealing the lid film 151 to the opening of the container 140 can be performed at one time by one apparatus.

Preferred aspects of this embodiment include the following.
[1] In a label adhering apparatus for adhering a label to a film, among the film transport unit that transports a strip-shaped film along the transport direction and the film transported by the film transport unit, the label is A corona treatment part that pre-corona-treats a place to be stuck, and a label sticking that is provided on the downstream side of the corona treatment part in the transfer direction and sticks a label to the film transferred by the film transfer part. A label sticking apparatus, wherein the corona treatment part and the label sticking part are provided in one device.
[2] The label sticking apparatus according to [1], wherein the corona treatment unit performs corona treatment on the film continuously or intermittently.
[3] The label sticking apparatus according to [1], further comprising a mark applying unit that applies alignment marks to the film transferred by the film transfer unit at predetermined intervals.
[4] The label attaching part is separated from the label among a label supply part that supplies a belt-like label, a label peeling part that separates the label from the belt-like label and sticks it to the film, and the belt-like label. The label sticking apparatus according to [1], further comprising a label collection unit that collects the peeled release sheet.
[5] In a label attaching method for attaching a label to a film, a film transfer step of transferring a strip-shaped film along the transfer direction, and a location where the label is attached among the transferred films A corona treatment step for pre-corona treatment, and a label sticking step for sticking a label to the transferred film after the corona treatment step, the corona treatment step and the label sticking step. A label attaching method, which is performed in one apparatus.

Claims

In a container sealing device for sealing a container with a film,
A container supply unit for supplying the container;
A film transfer section for transferring a belt-shaped film along the transfer direction;
A mark applying unit for applying alignment marks at predetermined intervals to the film transferred by the film transfer unit;
A mark detection unit that is provided on the downstream side in the transfer direction of the mark applying unit and detects the alignment mark on the film;
A film adhering unit that is provided on the downstream side in the transfer direction of the mark detection unit, and that adheres the film to the container supplied by the container supply unit;
The transfer of the film is stopped in response to the mark detecting unit detecting the alignment mark on the film, and the film is attached to the container by the film attaching unit. Container seal device.
2. A container sealing device according to claim 1, wherein a label sticking part for sticking a label to the film is provided between the mark detection part and the film sticking part.
The container seal according to claim 2, wherein a corona treatment unit that pre-corona-treats a portion of the film where the label is stuck is provided upstream of the label sticking portion in the transfer direction. apparatus.
The film sticking unit has a seal head for sticking the film to the container, and the seal head forms a lid film corresponding to each container by punching the film. The container sealing device according to claim 1.
When the position where the alignment mark is detected by the mark detection unit is a detection position, and the position where the film is attached by the film attachment unit is an attachment position,
The container sealing device according to claim 1, wherein a distance between the detection position and the sticking position along the film transfer direction is an integral multiple of the interval between the alignment marks.
In a container sealing method for sealing a container with a film,
A container supply process for supplying the container;
A film transfer step of transferring the belt-shaped film along the transfer direction;
A mark applying step for applying alignment marks at a predetermined interval to the transferred film;
After the mark application step, a mark detection step for detecting the alignment mark on the film;
A film adhering step of adhering the film to the supplied container,
The container sealing method, wherein the transfer of the film is stopped and the film is stuck to the container in response to detecting the alignment mark on the film.
The container sealing method according to claim 6, further comprising a label sticking step for sticking a label to the film.
The container sealing method according to claim 7, further comprising a corona treatment step in which a portion of the film to which the label is attached is corona treated in advance.
The container sealing method according to claim 6, wherein a lid film corresponding to each container is formed by punching the film in the film sticking step.