Title: Tubular label fitting apparatus for containers
Abstract: A label fitting apparatus for fitting a label on a container. The label fitting apparatus includes label fitting heads at even intervals on an outer perimeter of a main turret. Each fitting head includes a container table to support a container, a container presser bar to apply a force to a top of the container, and a label holder to hold the label. Rotation of the main turret causes the container presser bar to lower and pass through a label held by the vacuum jaws to apply a pressing force against a container supported by the container table such that the container is sandwiched between the container table and the container presser bar. The container is transferred in an axial direction relative to the label holder such that the label is fitted on the container.
Patent Number: 6,978,819 Issued on 12/27/2005 to Tanaka, et al.
| Inventors:
|
Tanaka; Toshihiko (Kanagawa, JP);
Kobayashi; Kazuo (Kanagawa, JP);
Hatano; Kanji (Kanagawa, JP)
|
| Assignee:
|
Nippon Automatic Fine Machinery Co., Ltd. (Kanagawa, JP)
|
| Appl. No.:
|
620368 |
| Filed:
|
July 17, 2003 |
Foreign Application Priority Data
| Jun 10, 2003[JP] | 2003-164868 |
| Current U.S. Class: |
156/566; 156/556; 156/567; 156/568; 53/556; 53/557 |
| Intern'l Class: |
B65C 003/06; B65C 003/14 |
| Field of Search: |
156/443-447,494,497,556,566-568
53/556,557
|
References Cited [Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
| 4104845 | Aug., 1978 | Hoffmann.
| |
| 5417794 | May., 1995 | Menayan.
| |
| 5715651 | Feb., 1998 | Thebault.
| |
| 6474390 | Nov., 2002 | Vandevoorde.
| |
| 6708470 | Mar., 2004 | Eiban et al.
| |
| 6755012 | Jun., 2004 | Frankefort.
| |
| Foreign Patent Documents |
| 2000/-264319 | Sep., 2000 | JP.
| |
| 200-289715 | Oct., 2000 | JP.
| |
| 2002-87417 | Mar., 2002 | JP.
| |
Primary Examiner: Purvis; Sue A.
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Westerman, Hattori, Daniels & Adrian, LLP
Claims
1. A tubular label fitting apparatus for containers which has a plurality sets
of label fitting heads arranged at even intervals on the outer perimeter of a main turret,
wherein each label fitting head comprises a container table, a container presser
bar means that applies a pressing force against a top of a container supported
by said container table, and a label holding means; and
wherein rotation of said main turret causes said container presser bar means
to lower and pass through a tubular label held by the label holding means, and
to apply a pressing force against a container supplied by the container table such
that the container is sandwiched between the container table and the container
presser bar means, and in this condition said container is transferred in an axial
direction relative to the label holding means such that the label is fitted on
the container.
2. The tubular label fitting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a label
held by the label holding means is fitted on the container by moving vertically
the container table and the container presser bar means in a synchronized manner
under a condition in which a bottle is sandwiched between the container table and
the container presser bar means.
3. The tubular label fitting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a label
is fitted on a container sandwiched between the container table and the container
presser bar means by moving the label holding means vertically.
4. The tubular label fitting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said container
presser bar means comprises a container presser bar body, and a label attitude
control element that is provided on a bottom portion of said container presser
bar body and has an outer diameter that is larger than the diameter of said container
presser bar body and smaller than a diameter of a fitting label.
5. The tubular label fitting apparatus according to claim 4, wherein said label
attitude control element comprises an attitude control element body that engages
with a label and a container pressing head that abuts against the top of the container,
and the container pressing head is designed to be capable of cushioning in relation
to the attitude control element body.
6. The tubular label fitting apparatus according to claim 4,
wherein said attitude control element body comprises a plurality of splined grooves
formed at a bottom portion thereof and separated in a circumferential direction, and
said container pressing head comprises on an outer perimeter thereof a plurality
of protruding splines that engage with the splined grooves of the attitude control
element body, and further comprises a container abutting section on the lower edge
thereof; and
wherein a lower portion of said container pressing head is tapered, the narrowest
end of the taper formed at the container abutting section.
7. A label fitting apparatus for fitting a label on a container, comprising:
a main turret including a label fitting head, the label fitting head comprising,
a container table to support the container;
a container presser bar to apply a pressing force against a top of the container
supported by the container table; and
a label holder to hold the label,
wherein the main turret is operably connected to the container presser bar and
the container table such that rotation of the main turret causes the container
presser bar to lower and pass through a label held by the label holder to apply
a pressing force against a container supported by the container table, and causes
the container table and label holder to move in an axial direction relative to
each other such that the label is fitted on the container.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a tubular label fitting apparatus that automatically
fits a tubular label to a container such as a bottle.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the conventional and widely used application, a tubular label (referred to
as simply "label" hereinafter) with heat shrinking properties is fitted to a container
(referred to as simply "bottle" hereinafter) such as a synthetic resin bottle or
glass bottle, and is then shrunk in order to mount a label to the bottle. Examples
of a conventional label fitting apparatus are shown in Japanese Patent Application
Laid-open No. 2000-289715, Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2000-264319,
and Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2002-87417. The basic aspect of a
conventional label fitting apparatus is shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, and comprises
an infeed wheel
70, a main turret
71, a rotary vacuum transfer finger
72 and a discharge wheel
73, and as shown in FIG. 10 each head of
the main turret comprises a bottle holder
78 that may open and close, a
vacuum jaw
74 that holds a label by suction, a mandrel (pilot)
75
that moves vertically, and a label pusher
76 that presses a label down to
a specified position on a bottle.
In the above apparatus, a label is mounted by the process shown in FIG. 10 in
which a bottle supplied by an infeed wheel
70 is held by a bottle holder
78, and is conveyed in a circular motion along a guide mechanism
77
that is positioned on the outer fixed portion of the main turret. That is to say,
a bottle holder
78 holds a bottle
30 and the main turret
71
rotates, thus reaching the label opening end position and the mandrel
75
begins to lower (process a), such that when the mandrel tip engages with the cap
of the bottle
30 and determines the positioning, the bottle holder
74
opens. In this condition, the label pusher
76 lowers and presses down on
the label to fit the label onto the bottle (process c), and the bottle holder re-closes
when the label insertion is complete (processes d and e). When the bottle holder
has completely closed (process e), the mandrel
75 and the label pusher
76
rise and return to the home position (process f). Upon reaching the position of
the discharge wheel, the bottle holder opens and the bottle is transferred to the
pocket of the discharge start wheel, and is conveyed to a shrink apparatus by a
discharge conveyer, and the label
29 is heated so that the label
29
is shrunk and adheres to the outer face of the bottle.
As described above, the main turret in the conventional apparatus requires a
bottle
holder to grasp the bottle body and a fixed guide that is positioned on the outer
fixed portion of the bottle conveyance path, such that a line change must be performed
by changing the bottle holder and fixed guide according to the bottle size and
differences in the bottle shape such as a round cross-sectional shape or square
cross-sectional shape, which has the drawback of requiring considerable man-hours
and labor to implement line changes each time a different bottle type is used.
In addition, the conventional apparatus using the label holding means requires
a label pusher to push down on the label held by the label holding means, in order
to fit the label to the bottle in a stable manner. Furthermore, to ensure that
the label fitting apparatus mounts the label on the bottle in the correct direction
and correct position, caution is required to prevent misalignment of the label
from when the label has been fitted until the bottle reaches the shrink oven, but
the conventional apparatus has the drawback of easily resulting in misalignment
of the label, in that the bottle that is fitted with a label is grasped from above,
which causes the label to move when the bottle is grasped and when the holder opens.
On the other hand, when fitting a label
29 to a relatively small bottle
30 such as the 500 ml capacity bottle shown in FIG. 11-A, the label in most
cases covers the entire body, whereas in the case of a 1-liter or 2-liter large
capacity bottle
32 of the type shown in FIG. 11-B, the label frequently
covers only the shoulder of the bottle
33. In this case, the label
29
becomes unstable and easily tilts to the side, such that when the label is not
correctly engaged as shown in FIG. 11-C, the label is fitted while tilted to the
side, and when the label is shrunk under the same condition the label becomes wrinkled
as it shrinks, which has the drawback of resulting in a defective product, thus
pointing to the need for a more accurate apparatus for fitting a label to a bottle.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
With the foregoing in view, it is an object of the present invention to provide
a label fitting apparatus that eliminates the need for the bottle holder and fixed
guide required in the conventional apparatus, that shortens the man-hours needed
to implement line changes or enables instantaneous line changes, that simplifies
the construction of the apparatus by eliminating the need for a fitting label pusher,
and is further capable of accurately mounting a label solely to an unstable location
such as the shoulder of a bottle without causing misalignment of the label.
The label fitting apparatus of the present invention that resolves the above-mentioned
drawbacks is a tubular label fitting apparatus for containers which has a plurality
sets of label fitting heads arranged at even intervals on the outer perimeter of
a main turret, wherein each label fitting head comprises a container table, a container
presser bar means that applies a pressing force against the top of a container
supported by the container table, and a label holding means; and wherein the rotation
of the main turret causes the container presser bar means to lower and pass through
a label held by the label holding means, and to apply a pressing force against
a container supplied by the container table such that the container is sandwiched
between the container table and the container presser bar means, and in this condition
the container is transferred in an axial direction relative to the label holding
means such that the label is fitted on the container.
The relative movement in the axial direction of the container and the label holding
means may be achieved either by holding the label at a fixed position and vertically
moving the container table and the container presser bar means, or by holding the
container at a fixed height position and vertically moving the label presser bar
means, or by moving both the container and label presser bar means in an axial
direction. In addition, the above-mentioned container presser bar means is constituted
by a container presser bar body, and a label attitude control element which is
provided on the lower part of the container presser bar body and has an outer diameter
that is larger than the diameter of the container presser bar unit and smaller
than the diameter of the fitting label, such that the label may be fitted in a
stable and accurate manner even when the label is mounted to a position such as
the shoulder of a bottle. The above-mentioned label attitude control element is
comprised of an attitude control element that engages the label, and a container
pressing head that abuts against the top of a container, and it is preferable that
the container pressing head has a cushioning capability against the attitude control
element unit. Furthermore, the above-mentioned attitude control element unit comprises
at the bottom edge thereof a plurality of splined grooves divided in a circumferential
direction, whereas the above-mentioned container pressing head comprises a plurality
of ridges on the outer circumference thereof that engage with the splined grooves
of the above-mentioned attitude control element unit, and further comprises a container
abutting section on the lower edge thereof. Thus a taper is formed from the above-mentioned
protrusions to the container abutting section, enabling a label to be accurately
fitted to a container.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a plan schematic diagram of the label fitting apparatus according
to an embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing the principal part of the configuration
of the label fitting head;
FIG. 3 is a development drawing showing the fitting process for the label fitting
apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention;
FIGS. 4-A and 4-B are illustrative schematic diagrams respectively showing
the action of the vacuum jaw in the condition in which the bottle rises and is
fitted with a label which is supported and grasped by the vacuum jaw, and in the
condition in which the vacuum jaw presses the label against and causes the same
to adhere to the bottle and subsequently is released therefrom;
FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional diagram showing the principal part of the bottle
presser bar means according to another embodiment of the label fitting apparatus
that is the present invention;
FIG. 6-A to FIG. 6-D are an illustration showing the process for fitting a label
with the bottle presser bar means shown in FIG. 5;
FIGS. 7
a, 7
b and 7
c are cross-sectional
diagrams showing the principal part of the bottle presser bar means according to
a further embodiment of the label fitting apparatus that is the present invention,
FIG. 7-A showing the normal condition, FIG. 7-B the condition of the bottle applying
a pressing force against the container pressing head, and FIG. 7-C being the cross-sectional
view taken along line A—A in FIG. 7-A;
FIG. 8-A to FIG. 8-D are an illustration showing the process for fitting a label
with the bottle presser bar means shown in FIG. 7, FIG. 8-E is the cross-sectional
view taken along line B—B in FIG. 8-B;
FIG. 9 is a plan schematic diagram showing a conventional label fitting apparatus;
FIG. 10-A to FIG. 10-F are a development drawing showing the label fitting process
using a conventional label fitting apparatus;
FIGS. 11-A, 11-B and 11-C are elevation views showing the conditions
of a label fitted to a bottle.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
The following description details an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 1 shows a plan schematic diagram indicating the basic aspect of a label
fitting apparatus that is the present invention, FIG. 2 shows the basic composition
of a label fitting head thereof, and FIG. 3 is a development drawing showing the
fitting process with the label fitting apparatus. The label fitting apparatus
1
according to this embodiment is designed for fitting a label consisting of a shrinkable
synthetic resin film that comprises a label to a container such as a bottle, and
is comprised of a main turret
2, an infeed turret
3 that is placed
on the outer circumference of the main turret
2, a discharge turret
4
that transfers the bottles from the main turret
2 to a conveyer after the
bottles have been fitted with a label, and a rotary vacuum transfer finger apparatus
5 that supplies the labels. In the above-mentioned configuration, the present
invention notably differs from the conventional art in terms of the configuration
of the main turret
2, which is described in detail below.
The main turret
2 of this embodiment comprises a plurality of sets of
label fitting heads positioned at even intervals and each comprising a container
table
7 that supports the bottom of a bottle
30, a container presser
bar means
8 that applies a pressing force against the cap of a bottle supported
by the container table
7, and a label holding means
9 that expands
and holds the label by suction, and is designed such that when a container is supplied
by the infeed turret to the container table
7, the bottle is simultaneously
supported by sandwiching the bottle between the container table
7 and the
container presser bar means
8, and the bottle is rotated and conveyed. As
a result, the bottle may be rotated and conveyed in a stable manner without the
conventional use of a bottle holder and fixed guide, thereby eliminating the labor
involved in line changes and also simplifying the construction of the apparatus.
The container table
7 is provided at the top of a rod
11 that is
supported on the bottom turret board
10 in a vertically movable manner,
and the bottom of the rod comprises a cam follower
15 that engages with
the cam grooves
14 of a bottom fixed cylindrical cam
13 that is positioned
on the circumference of the rotational path of the turret, such that the rotation
of the turret causes the rod
11 to move vertically within a specified range
along the cam groove, as shown in the FIG. 3 development drawing. In this embodiment,
the bottle
30 is raised until the label mounting position for the bottle
reaches a label held by a label holding means, such that the bottle directly receives
the label from the label holding means. Consequently, a label may be reliably fitted
without requiring the fitting label pusher that is needed by the conventional apparatus,
such that the construction may be simplified.
The container presser bar means
8 and the above-mentioned container table
7 jointly support and sandwich the bottle. The design of the container presser
bar means
8 may be selected arbitrarily so long as the bottom surface thereof
can press the top surface of the cap mounted to a bottle, and the container presser
bar means
8 may be comprised of a pressure bar body consisting of a round
bar with a simple flat top surface. However, it is preferable to provide a tapered
face
18 on the bottom end of the presser bar body so that this tapered face
18 consistently touches the outer circumference of the top surface of the
cap and to support the cap at the center thereof as shown in FIG. 2, irrespective
of changes in the outer diameter of the cap as a result of a line change. The container
presser bar means
8 is positioned such that the container presser bar means
8 may move in a vertical direction symmetrically along the same axis as
the rod
11, and is supported such that it may move in a vertical direction
and passes through the top turret board
19, and comprises a cam follower
22 at the top of the container presser bar means
8 that engages with
the cam groove
21 of the top fixed cylindrical cam
20 which is positioned
along the rotating path of the turret, such that the rotation of the main turret
2 causes the container presser bar means
8 to move in a vertical
direction within a specified range along the cam groove
21, as shown in
the FIG. 3 development drawing. The lower end face of the container presser bar
means
8 is at a higher position than the label holding means
9 when
at the home position, and when a bottle is transferred from the infeed turret
3
to the container table
7 the container presser bar means
8 simultaneously
lowers in order to apply a pressing force against the top surface of the bottle
cap. Once the bottle is supported, the stroke of the vertical movement of the container
presser bar means
8 is controlled by the cam groove
21 so as to be
synchronized with the container table
7. Furthermore, the bottommost edge
lowering position of the container presser bar means
8 must change according
to the bottle height. In this embodiment the top fixed cylindrical cam
20
is configured such that the height position may be adjusted according to the bottle
type, and may be automatically adjusted with the single press of a button corresponding
to the bottle type used at the time of the line change.
The label holding means
9 comprises a pair of opposing vacuum jaws
23
that hold by suction both walls of a label
29 that is imparted a flattened
shape as shown in FIG. 4, and is designed so as to be capable of opening and closing
using a suitable opening and closing means not shown in the drawing. The pair of
vacuum jaws
23 hold the label
29 received from the rotary vacuum
transfer finger apparatus
5 by suction, and concurrent to the rotation of
the main turret, and the label
29 is gradually expanded along with the rotation
of the main turret, as shown in FIG. 3. Next, the container presser bar means
8
lowers and passes through the inside of the expanded label to hold and sandwich
the bottle, and in this condition the bottle rises and is thereby engaged with
the label
29.
The infeed turret
3, discharge turret
4 and rotary vacuum transfer
finger apparatus
5 may employ a publicly known means, but in this invention
the container presser bar means lowers at the same time that a bottle is received
from the infeed turret
3. Therefore, the label holding means must have held
the label by this time, and thus the rotary vacuum transfer finger apparatus
5
is placed upstream from the infeed turret. The discharge turret may employee a
star wheel similarly to a publicly known art, but in this embodiment, it is avoided
to grasp the label when receiving a bottle, so as to prevent misalignment of the
label fitted on the bottle, and the discharge turret is provided with evenly spaced
neck holders
25 that grasp the neck
31 of a bottle
30.
The following description details the operation of the label fitting apparatus
of the present embodiment, based on the FIG. 3 development drawing.
In the FIG. 3 development drawing, the curve a represents the stroke curve of
the container presser bar means, and the curve b represents the stroke curve of
the container table.
A web-shaped label
28 is supplied in a continuous web shape and cut by
the
rotary vacuum transfer finger apparatus
5 into an label
29 having
a predetermined dimension, and is supplied to the label holding means
9
of the main turret
2 at the label supply position P
1. As the main
turret rotates, the label
30 is gradually expanded by a suitable cam mechanism
or the like, and when the label
30 has almost completely expanded at position
P
2, the container presser bar means
8 begins to lower and continues
to lower and pass through the inside of the expanded label, until the bottle feed
position P
3 is reached. On the other hand, the infeed turret
3 supplies
the bottle
30, which has previously been filled with the container contents
and sealed, to the container table
7 of the main turret, at the bottle feed
position P
3. At that point, the container presser bar means
8 lowers
and applies a pressing force against the bottle cap and supports the bottle by
sandwiching the bottle between the container presser bar means
8 and the
container table
7. Consequently, the bottle is fixed in place and rotates
in unison with the main turret without requiring a bottle holder to hold the bottle
body or a guide, and does not cause misalignment of the label.
Under the condition in which the bottle
30 is sandwiched between the
container table and the container presser bar means, the cam action that accompanies
the rotation of the main turret raises the bottle, as shown in FIG. 3, and when
the bottle reaches the bottle label mounting position P
4, the bottle is
kept stationary for only a specified time as shown in FIG. 3, during which time
the vacuum jaws
23 of the label holding means
4 as shown in FIG.
4
b momentarily close slightly such that the label
29 held by the
vacuum jaws
23 is lightly pressed against the bottle
30 at the mounting
position, and at the same time the vacuum suction is released to enable the label
29 to stick to the bottle body. The label fitting position of the bottle
body has been sprayed with tap water or a cleaning solution using a spray nozzle
not shown in the drawings just prior to supplying the bottle to the main turret,
such that the label fitting position is in a wet condition, and the label that
is formed by a shrinkable film sticks to the bottle by just slightly pressing the
label against the bottle. Subsequently, the bottle having the label stuck at the
specified position is lowered under the condition in which the bottle is sandwiched
between the container table and container presser bar means, until the bottle reaches
the receiving position P
5 where the bottle is transferred to the discharge
turret
4. During this time, it is preferable that the vacuum jaws are maintained
in a further widened condition so as not to obstruct the tube fitted on the bottle
as it passes through the vacuum jaws. On the other hand, the container presser
bar means
8 begins to rise and returns to the home position at position
P
6. Note that, in the above-mentioned embodiment, the vacuum suction is
released at the same time that the vacuum jaws
23 momentarily close slightly
in order to slightly press the label
29 against the mounting position of
the bottle
30, however, it is not necessary for the vacuum jaws to momentarily
close, since simply releasing the vacuum suction allows the expanded label to return
to its original flattened condition due to the elasticity of the label, thus enabling
the label to adhere to the bottle.
When the discharge turret
4 receives a bottle from the main turret
2,
the neck holder
25 holds the neck of the bottle and the discharge turret
4 transfers the bottle to the conveyor leading to the next process, which
is the shrinking process. Consequently, the bottle may be transferred without directly
touching the label, and the label is not touched by a holder or the like while
the bottle is conveyed after being fitted with the label, such that misalignment
of the label is not caused and the bottle is transferred to the shrinking process
in this condition, where the label is heated and adheres to the specified position
of the bottle by heat contraction. Therefore, the label fitting apparatus of this
embodiment enables the letters and patterns on the label to be accurately mounted
to the specified position of a bottle, and enables the obtainment of a high quality product.
FIG. 5 shows another embodiment of the label fitting apparatus that is the present
invention, and in this embodiment the label may be fitted to a container with greater
perpendicularity, and the label may be accurately mounted to a container without
being tilted to one side, even when the label is mounted solely to the sloped shoulder
of a bottle.
This label fitting apparatus is different from the above-mentioned embodiment
particularly in terms of the configuration of the container presser bar means.
In this embodiment, the container presser bar means
40 comprises a presser
bar body
41, and a label attitude control element
42 that is removably
provided at the bottom of the presser bar body. The label attitude control element
42 comprises an attitude control element body
43 that engages with
the label held by the vacuum jaws to maintain the attitude of the tube, and a container
pressing head
44 which is held at the center of the bottom edge of the attitude
control element body
43 such that the container pressing head
44
has a cushioning capability in the axial direction. The attitude control element
body
43 comprises a middle cylinder portion
45 having an outer diameter
that is larger than the diameter of the presser bar body
41 and slightly
smaller than the diameter of the fitting tube, and further comprises an upper tapered
surface
46 and a lower tapered surface
47 on the top and bottom edges
respectively. By possessing this type of lower tapered surface
47, engagement
of the attitude control element unit
43 is more easily accomplished when
the attitude control element unit
43 lowers from a position above the label
which is held by the vacuum jaws, and by possessing the upper tapered surface
46,
engagement of the attitude control element body
43 is more easily accomplished
when the attitude control element body
43 rises from a position below the
label under the condition in which the attitude control element body
43
holds a bottle by sandwiching the same between the attitude control element body
43 and the container table
7. By further comprising a middle cylinder
portion
45, the label may be engaged with the bottle while maintaining the
perpendicularity of the label. Consequently, it is preferable that the length of
the middle cylinder portion
45 should be equal to or greater than the height
of the label. Further, if the attitude control element unit
43 is formed
long enough such that the top edge of the attitude control element body
43
does not protrude from the label at its lowermost position, the attitude control
element unit is not necessarily formed with an upper tapered surface.
As shown in FIG. 5 in an enlarged scale, the container pressing head
44
is slidably fitted in the slide hole
49 formed in the axial center of the
attitude control element unit
43, and the bottom edge of the container pressing
head
44 comprises a hole
51 that further comprises a conical surface
50 that serves as a container abutting section abutting against the outer
perimeter edge at the top of the cap, and at the top of this hole is formed a guide
rod fitting hole
52 in which the guide rod
53 is fitted. The head
54 of the guide rod
53 engages with the bottom edge outer perimeter
surface of the hole
52, thus limiting the lowering of the container pressing
head
44. The upper part of the guide rod fitting hole
52 is fixed
to the attitude control element body, and a spring
55 is provided between
the attitude control element body
43 and the container pressing head
44
to constantly urge the container pressing head
44 downwards.
The following description is based on the process chart shown in FIG. 6, and
describes the fitting operation of the label pusher to the bottle in this embodiment,
which comprises the presser bar means configured as described above.
As in the above-mentioned embodiment, the container presser bar means
40
lowers from the state in which the vacuum jaws
23 hold the label open by
means of suction as shown in FIG. 6-A, until the label attitude control element
42 passes through the label and the bottom surface of the container pressing
head
44 engages with the cap
33 of the bottle
32, to support
the bottle
32 by sandwiching the same between the container table
7
and the container pressing head
44, as shown in FIG. 6-B. At that point,
the lower tapered surface
47 formed on the label attitude control element
42 enables the label attitude control element
42 to smoothly engage
with the label, even when the outer diameter of the middle cylinder portion
45
is close to the inner diameter of the label
29, thus avoiding any tilting
of or damage to the label.
The container table and the container presser bar means rise in synchronization
under this condition, whereby the label attitude control element
42 re-engages
with the label from the bottom side, and the label is thereby shaped in the condition
shown in FIG. 6-C in which the label is expanded correctly to the container cross-sectional
shape. At that point, the upper tapered surface
46 formed on the label attitude
control element
42 enables the label attitude control element
42
to smoothly engage with the label
29. The container table
7 and the
container presser bar means
40 further rise in synchronization from this
condition, until the shoulder of the bottle which represents the position to which
the label is stuck reaches the position of the label as shown in FIG. 6-D, under
which condition the vacuum jaws release the suction. As a result, the label which
has been held by the vacuum jaws shrinks due to the elasticity and is attached
to the shoulder of the bottle by the moisture adhering to the shoulder of the bottle,
The label is thus fitted to the specified position of the bottle. Subsequently,
the same shrinking method used in the above-mentioned embodiment causes the label
to be fitted to the bottle. In this way, the container presser bar means
40
in this embodiment comprises a label attitude control element
42 that enables
the label to be maintained at the correct attitude until just prior to fitting
the label to the bottle, such that the label may be accurately fitted without tilting,
even when the label is mounted solely to the shoulder of a container. Furthermore,
when mounting labels to a different size of container, the label attitude control
element may simply be changed to an appropriately sized label attitude control
element in order to easily accomplish a line change.
FIG. 7 shows a further embodiment of the label fitting apparatus that is the
present invention, and in this embodiment the container presser bar means and particularly
the label attitude control element are further modified. The elements in FIG. 7
that are the same as the embodiment shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 are assigned the same
numbers, and the following description details only the different points from the
embodiment shown in FIGS. 5 and 6.
In a container presser bar means
60 of this embodiment, the attitude control
element unit
62 of a label attitude control element
61 is formed
in a hollow cylinder shape, and on the outer perimeter surface of the attitude
control element unit
62 are formed splined grooves
63 that engage
with the protruding splines
67 of the container pressing head
64.
As a result, the outer perimeter surface of the label attitude control element
61 and the outer perimeter surface of the protruding splines
67 of
the container pressing head
64 are positioned at the circumference surface
with the same diameter, and engage with the label with a slight gap. The container
pressing head
64 comprises a lower tapered surface
65 that functions
as a guide surface so that the label attitude control element
61 engages
with the label, and on the lower edge surface of the container pressing head
64
is formed a container abutting section
66 which engages with the cap of
a bottle. When a pressing force is applied by a bottle, the spring
55 provides
a means of cushioning, and the container pressing head
64 recedes inside
the attitude control element unit
62 as shown in FIGS. 7-B and
8-C,
but the bottom edge of the outer perimeter surface of the attitude control element
unit
62 continues to be positioned near the bottle shoulder, under which
condition the bottom edge of the label may accurately engage while maintaining
a round shape. In other words, in this embodiment a tapered surface is formed on
the container pressing head to function as a guide for engaging the label, and
the attitude control element unit is formed with only the cylindrical surface required
to maintain label in the cylindrical condition, and the tapered surface and the
attitude control element body are separately formed to enable independent movement
of the tapered surface in relation to the attitude control element body. Therefore,
only the container pressing head
64 can be cushioned while the bottom edge
of the attitude control element unit
62 is maintained at a position near
the bottle shoulder, as shown in FIG. 7-B. Note that, in this embodiment, the application
to a bottle with a cylindrical cross-sectional shape is described, but the present
invention may also be applied to a bottle with a square cross-sectional shape.
The above description of the embodiment of the present invention is not limited
to the above-mentioned embodiments, and various design changes are possible within
a range of technical ideas. For example, it is also possible to configure the apparatus
in the reverse manner of the above-mentioned embodiment, such that a container
is maintained at a specified height, and the label holding means is lowered to
enable the label to fit on the container. Furthermore, the supply and ejection
of containers to and from the main turret is not limited to an infeed turret and
discharge turret, and is capable of employing another transfer means.
As described above, the present invention eliminates the need for the bottle
holder
and the fixed guide required by the conventional apparatus, and further eliminates
the labor required to change the bottle holder and fixed guide to implement line
changes, and dramatically reduces the number of man-hours required to implement
line changes when compared with the conventional apparatus, and enables improved
production efficiency. Furthermore, the present invention is capable of fitting
a label from vacuum jaws to a container without using a fitting label pusher as
is conventionally required, and simplifies the construction as well as reduces
the number of elements touching the label, thus enabling less frequent misalignment
of the label. Furthermore, according to the configuration in claim
4, since
the label is not directly supported and grasped while being conveyed by the discharge
turret, the label can be transferred from the main turret to the discharge turret
without causing misalignment, and can be accurately mounted to the container, and
therefore the label mounting quality can be improved.
*
