RESIN-LABEL-MOUNTING DEVICE AND RESIN-LABEL-MOUNTING METHOD

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present invention relates to a resin-label mounting device and a resin-label mounting method in accordance with the preamble of claims 1 and 2 respectively, and known from WO 2011/061091.

BACKGROUND ART

[0002] There has been known a labeler with which a belt-shaped label is wound to and mounted on an outer circumferential face of a vessel (for example, see Patent Document 1). According to a labeler disclosed in Patent Document 1, a holding portion for holding a label is formed on an outer circumferential face of a conveying drum, which is rotated by a rotating unit, hot-melt is applied from a hot-melt coating head to the label, which is rotationally conveyed as being held by the holding portion, and the label is wound around and affixed to the vessel. In the labeler disclosed in Patent Document 1, hot-melt is applied while an ejection port of the hot-melt coating head is in contact with the label, which is held by the label-holding portion. Another example can be seen in Patent document 2 disclosing a method for producing sleeve-like labels comprising: a step of unwinding a supply reel of heat-shrink film, which comprises a plurality of pre-pasted portions which are distributed discretely along the unwinding direction of the supply reel; a step of separating at least one band of heat-shrink film from the supply reel, the band of heat-shrink film comprising at least one of the pre-pasted portions; a step of feeding the band of heat-shrink film to a forming spindle; a step of wrapping the band of heat-shrink film around the forming spindle, a region of overlap being provided between a first longitudinal end of the band of heat-shrink film in contact with the forming spindle and the second longitudinal end of the band of heat-shrink film, the pre-pasted portion being arranged at least partially at a portion of the overlap region; a step of sealing a first longitudinal end to a second longitudinal end of the band of heat-shrink film e.g. by means of laser sealing in order to provide a connection portion that lies transversely with respect to the direction of longitudinal extension of the band of heat-shrink film and arranged at the overlap region; a step of transferring the sleeve-like label formed around the forming spindle from the forming spindle to a container to be labelled.

[0003] 

PATENT DOCUMENT 1: Japanese Patent Laid-Open Application No. 2009-202897

PATENT DOCUMENT 2: WO 2011/061091 A1

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED BY THE INVENTION

[0004] According to the configuration of the labeler disclosed in Patent Document 1, hot-melt can be applied thinly to a label without causing cobwebbing after the hot-melt is applied, so that appearance at completion is excellent. However, in the case that a belt-shaped label is heated and shrunk after being wound around the entire circumference of a vessel, the following problems occur with the application method disclosed in Patent Document 1. According to the application method, glue (hot-melt) is applied while the ejection port of the hot-melt coating head is in contact with the label and glue has to be scraped away after being ejected. Accordingly, when glue is to be applied even to a very end portion of a label, glue seeps out from the label to cause cobwebbing and the like. Therefore, as illustrated in FIG. 10(a), there exists an area 2aa at a terminus to which glue cannot be applied when glue is applied to a rear end portion 2a of a label 2 (in the drawing, a portion marked by P denotes a glue-applied area).

[0005] If the area 2aa to which glue is not applied exists at the terminus of the label, which is wound around the vessel, the area 2aa is in a partially detached state above a front end portion 2b of the label, as illustrated in FIG. 10(b). When heating and shrinking is performed in a shrink tunnel in the above state, there arises a problem that the appearance at completion becomes worse with the part 2aa warping (see FIG. 10(c)).

[0006] Accordingly, instead of bonding with hot-melt, it has been evaluated to weld the rear end portion to the front end portion with heating using a heater in a state that the rear end portion overlaps the front end portion of the resin-made label. According to the method with heating using a heater, the rear end portion even at its terminus can be welded to obtain an excellent appearance. However, in the case that the rear end portion and the front end portion are welded while the resin-made label is wound around a mandrel, there arises a problem that the rear end portion overlapping the front end portion on the outer side is more likely to become detached without direct suction from a suction hole in the mandrel. Attempting heating and welding in a state in which an end part is detached can be problematic because the detached end part of the rear end portion will melt and welding cannot be performed successfully. In particular, the above problem is more likely to occur in a high speed operation, so that the labeler is difficult to be designed for high speed operation.

[0007] Further, in the case that glue is applied to a terminus of a rear end portion of a label using another application device such as an applying roller, the label is either mounted on a vessel after being formed into a cylindrical shape with the rear end of the label overlapping a front end using a mandrel or it is wound directly around the vessel, and subsequently, the label is heated and shrunk. A problem or poor appearance occurs with visible print at a position to which glue is thickly applied after shrinking, which is caused by variation in thickness of applied glue in a glue-applied range. Further, a problem can also arise where the rear end of the label becomes separated from the front end, which is caused by that the portion to which glue is applied being pulled with shrinkage of the label when shrinking and the adhesive force of the glue is overcome by the pulling force.

[0008] The objective of the present invention, which was devised to solve the abovementioned problems, is to provide a resin-label mounting device and a resin-label mounting method that prevent deformation such as curling and the like at a terminus, which is an area where glue is not applied even when a rear end portion has glue applied and is bonded to a front end portion, and to provide a resin-label mounting device and a resin-label mounting method in which the rear end of the label is bonded reliably to the front end with excellent appearance after shrinking, even when variation occurs in the thickness of the applied glue. Further, an additional objective of the present invention is to provide a vessel on which the resin-made label as described above is mounted.

MEANS FOR SOLVING THE PROBLEMS

[0009] According to the present invention, there is provided a resin-label mounting device according to claim 1 and including a conveying drum which holds and conveys a resin-made label; a glue-applying unit which applies glue to a rear end portion of the resin-made label held by the conveying drum; a plurality of mandrels which are arranged on a rotating body, each mandrel winding the resin-made label upon receiving from the conveying drum, forming a cylindrical shape with a rear end portion of the resin-made label overlapping and bonded to a front end portion, and using suction to hold the resin-made label; a drive unit which causes each of the mandrels to be spun; a vessel base, which is arranged to correspond to each mandrel, and on which a supplied vessel is placed; a mounting unit which mounts the resin-made label on the vessel after removal from the mandrel; a heating and shrinking unit which heats and shrinks the resin-made label mounted on the vessel; and a heating unit which is in contact with the rear end portion of the cylinder-shaped resin-made label formed by the mandrel and which heats the contacted portion; a temperature of the heating unit being set higher than a temperature of the heating and shrinking unit, the contact occurring for a shorter period of time than a period of time that would be necessary to weld the resin-made label, so that the rear end portion of the resin-made label is heated and cured.

[0010] Further, according to a second aspect which is not part of the invention, there is provided a resin-label mounting device including a conveying drum which holds and conveys a resin-made label; a glue-applying unit which applies glue to a rear end portion of the resin-made label held by the conveying drum; a plurality of mandrels which are arranged on a rotating body, each mandrel winding the resin-made label upon receiving from the conveying drum, forming into a cylinder shape with a rear end portion of the resin-made label overlapping and bonded to a front end portion, and using suction to hold the resin-made label; a drive unit which causes each of the mandrels to be spun; a vessel base, which is arranged to correspond to each mandrel, and on which a supplied vessel is placed; a mounting unit which mounts the resin-made label on the vessel after removal from the mandrel; a heating and shrinking unit which heats and shrinks the resin-made label mounted on the vessel; and a heating unit which is in contact with the rear end portion of the cylinder-shaped resin-made label formed by the mandrel and which heats and welds the contacted portion.

[0011] Further, according to a third aspect which is part of the invention, there is provided a resin-label mounting method according to claim 2 and which includes steps of applying glue to a rear end portion of a resin-made label, forming the resin-made label into a cylindrical shape in which the rear end portion of the resin-made label overlaps a front end portion as the resin-made label is wound around the outer circumference of a mandrel, heating the rear end portion of the resin-made label, mounting the cylinder-shaped resin-made label on a vessel after removal from the mandrel, and heating and shrinking the resin-made label; the heating of the rear end portion of the resin-made label being performed at a higher temperature than a temperature of the heating and shrinking of the resin-made label and for a shorter period of time than a period of time that would be necessary to weld the resin-made label, so that the rear end portion of the resin-made label is heated and cured.

[0012] Further, according to a fourth aspect which is not part of the invention, there is provided a resin-label mounting method which includes steps of applying glue to a rear end portion of a resin-made label, forming the resin-made label into a cylindrical shape in which the rear end portion of the resin-made label overlaps a front end portion as the resin-made label is wound around an outer circumference of a mandrel, heating and welding the rear end portion of the resin-made label, mounting the cylinder-shaped resin-made label on a vessel after removal from the mandrel, and heating and shrinking the resin-made label.

[0013] According to a fifth aspect which is not part of the invention, there is provided a resin-label mounting device including a conveying drum which holds and conveys a resin-made label; a glue-applying unit which applies glue to a rear end portion of the resin-made label held by the conveying drum; a vessel base on which a supplied vessel is placed; a rotating unit which rotates the vessel base; and a heating and shrinking unit which heats and shrinks the resin-made label mounted on the vessel, the resin-made label being wound around the vessel, a rear end portion of the resin-made label overlapping and being bonded to a front end portion of the resin-made label, and the resin-made label then being heated and shrunk to be mounted on the vessel; wherein a heating unit, which is in contact with the rear end portion of the resin-made label and which heats the contacted portion, is provided, a temperature of the heating unit being set higher than a temperature of the heating and shrinking unit, the contact occurring for a shorter period of time than a period of time that would be necessary to weld the resin-made label, so that the rear end portion of the resin-made label is heated and cured.

[0014] According to a sixth aspect which is not part of the invention, there is provided a resin-label mounting device including a conveying drum which holds and conveys a resin-made label; a glue-applying unit which applies glue to a rear end portion of the resin-made label held by the conveying drum; a vessel base on which a supplied vessel is placed; a rotating unit which rotates the vessel base; and a heating and shrinking unit which heats and shrinks the resin-made label mounted on the vessel, the resin-made label being wound around the vessel, a rear end portion of the resin-made label overlapping and bonded to a front end portion of the resin-made label, and the resin-made label then being heated and shrunk to be mounted on the vessel; wherein a heating unit, which is in contact with the rear end portion of the cylinder-shaped resin-made label and which heats and welds the contacted portion, is provided.

[0015] According to a seventh aspect which is not part of the invention, there is provided a resin-label mounting method which includes steps of applying glue to a rear end portion of a resin-made label, forming the resin-made label into a cylindrical shape in which the rear end portion overlaps a front end portion as the resin-made label is wound around an outer circumference of a vessel, heating the rear end portion of the resin-made label, and heating and shrinking the resin-made label; the heating of the rear end portion of the label being performed at a higher temperature than a temperature of the heating and shrinking of the label and for a shorter period of time than a period of time that would be necessary to weld the resin-made label, so that the rear end portion of the resin-made label is heated and cured.

[0016] According to an eighth aspect which is not part of the invention, there is provided a resin-label mounting method which includes steps of applying glue to a rear end portion of a resin-made label, forming the resin-made label into a cylindrical shape in which the rear end portion overlaps a front end portion as the resin-made label is wound around an outer circumference of a vessel, heating and welding the rear end portion of the resin-made label, and heating and shrinking the resin-made label.

[0017] According to a ninth aspect which is not part of the invention, there is provided a vessel on which a resin-made label is mounted, the resin-made label being formed into a cylindrical shape in which glue applied to a rear end portion of the resin-made label overlaps and is bonded to a front end portion of the resin-made label, having the rear end portion heated and cured, and subsequently being heated and shrunk at a lower temperature than the heating temperature for curing.

[0018] According to a tenth aspect which is not part of the invention, there is provided a vessel on which a resin-made label is mounted, the resin-made label being formed into a cylindrical shape in which glue applied to a rear end portion of the resin-made label overlaps and is bonded to a front end portion of the resin-made label, having the rear end portion heated and welded, and subsequently being heated and shrunk.

EFFECT OF THE INVENTION

[0019]  According to the resin-label mounting device and the resin-label mounting method of the present invention, a heating unit is in contact with a rear end portion of a resin-made label for a shorter period of time than a period of time in which the resin-made label is welded at a higher temperature than a heating temperature of a heating-welding unit, so that a terminus thereof is cured. Accordingly, there is an advantage that the terminus of the resin-made label to which glue is not applied is prevented from being deformed when the resin-made label mounted on a vessel in a post-labeling process is heated and shrunk to provide better appearance as a product. Further, there is an advantage that the rear end of the label can be bonded reliably regardless of viscosity of glue while providing excellent appearance as a product with less visible glue print even when the applied glue varies in thickness. Furthermore, there is an advantage that the appearance as a product can be improved because the vessel on which the heated and shrunk resin-made label is mounted is prevented from being deformed when the resin-made label is heated and shrunk.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0020] 

FIG. 1 is a plan view schematically illustrating the overall arrangement of a resin-label mounting device (first embodiment).

FIG. 2 is a vertical sectional view of a label conveying drum and a glue applying unit.

FIG. 3 is a horizontal sectional view illustrating enlarged main portions of the label conveying drum and the glue applying unit.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a hot-melt coating head which is arranged at the glue applying unit.

FIG. 5 is a vertical sectional view of a vessel conveying device and a heating unit.

FIG. 6 is a plan view of a picker.

FIG. 7(a) is a plan view of the heating unit and FIG. 7(b) is a vertical sectional view of the heating unit.

FIG. 8 illustrates sequential operation of the resin-label mounting device.

FIG. 9(a) is an explanatory view illustrating a state that a rear end portion of a resin-made label is heated by the heating unit and FIG. 9(b) is an explanatory view illustrating a state of the resin-made label after being heated by the heating unit.

FIG. 10(a) is a plan view illustrating a state that glue is applied to a rear end portion of a resin-made label, FIG. 10(b) is an explanatory view illustrating a state that the rear end portion is bonded to a front end portion as being overlapped thereon, and FIG. 10(c) is an explanatory view illustrating a state after a heating-shrinking process is performed.

EXPLANATION OF REFERENCES

[0021] 

2:

resin-made label

2a:

rear end portion of resin-made label

2b:

front end portion of resin-made label

10:

conveying drum

14:

glue applying unit

26:

rotating body

28:

mandrel

34:

heating-shrinking unit (shrink tunnel)

80:

vessel base

90:

driving unit (servomotor)

106:

mounting unit (picker)

146:

heating unit

EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION

[0022] A plurality of label-holding portions are arranged on an outer circumferential face of a label-conveying drum at even intervals. A resin-made label cut by a cutter to have a predetermined length is transferred to and held by each label-holding portion. Glue is applied by a glue-applying unit to a rear end portion of the resin-made label, which is held by the label-holding portion. Here, there remains an area at the terminus of the rear end portion to which glue is not applied. When the resin-made label with glue applied arrives at the vessel-conveying unit, a vessel is supplied onto a vessel base which is arranged at the lower side of a rotating body of the vessel-conveying unit, while the resin-made label is transferred to a mandrel which is arranged above the vessel. First, the front end portion is attached to and held by the mandrel, so that the resin-made label is wound around the mandrel owing to a revolution (orbit) of the conveying drum and the rotating body of the vessel-conveying unit and rotation of the mandrel. Then, in a state that the rear end portion of the resin-made label overlaps the front end portion, bonding is performed with the glue. After the resin-made label is formed into a cylindrical shape from being wound around the mandrel, rotation of the mandrel is discontinued by a rotating unit for rotating (spinning) the mandrel, so that the overlapped portion between the rear end portion and the front end portion of the resin-made label is oriented outward in the radial direction of the rotating body of the vessel-conveying unit. An area (terminus) of the rear end portion of the resin-made label to which glue is not applied is in a partially detached state without being bonded to the front end portion. A heater is arranged along a conveyance passage of the mandrel due to the rotating body so as to heat the overlapped portion of the resin-made label at a higher temperature than a temperature for heating and shrinking in a shrink process to be performed later, and for a shorter period of time than a period of time that would be necessary to weld the resin-made label. The terminus of the rear end portion of the resin-made label to which glue is not applied is cured by heating with the heater. The terminus is prevented from being curled or deformed in other ways when the vessel affixed with the cylinder-shaped label is heated and shrunk as it is introduced into a shrink tunnel in a post-labeling process. Thus, improving the appearance of a product is achieved.

First Embodiment

[0023] In the following, the present invention will be described based on embodiments illustrated in the drawings. First, an overall configuration of a resin-label mounting device will be briefly described with reference to FIG. 1. A belt-shaped label 2 having a predetermined width is wound into a roll shape and is supported by a roller stand (not illustrated). The belt-shaped label 2 is drawn from the roller stand, fed through a plurality of rollers 4 to a cutter 6 consisting of a pair of rotating members 6A, 6B and cut by the cutter 6. The resin-made label 2 cut to a predetermined length by the cutter 6 is transferred to a label-conveying drum 10 at a label-transfer position T via a transfer drum 8.

[0024] A plurality (in this embodiment, four) of label-holding portions 12 are arranged equally spaced on an outer circumferential face of the label-conveying drum 10 in the circumferential direction. Each of the label-holding portions 12 holds and rotationally conveys an individual label 2 one by one. A glue-applying unit 14 is arranged outside a label conveyance path downstream from the label transfer position T of the conveying drum 10 from the transfer drum 8. According to the glue applying unit 14, glue ejected from a later-described ejection port is applied to a predetermined segment of the label 2, which is held by the label-holding portion 12 of the conveying drum 10. The glue-applied label 2 is wound, at a label transfer position S, around an outer circumferential face of a mandrel 28 (see FIG. 1 and FIG. 5 which is described later) which is rotated by a vessel-conveying device 16, and is formed into a tubular shape with a front end portion and a rear end portion bonded thereof.

[0025] Meanwhile, a vessel 18 on which the tube-shaped resin-made label 2 is to be mounted is conveyed by a supply conveyor 20 and is transferred to a supply star wheel 24 while being separated by an infeed screw 22 at predetermined intervals. The supply star wheel 24 rotationally conveys and supplies the received vessel 18 to a rotary-type vessel-conveying device 16. At the lower side of a rotating body 26, the vessel-conveying device 16 rotationally conveys the vessel 18 supplied from the inlet star wheel 24. At the upper side of the rotating body 26, the mandrel 28 winds the resin-made label 2 received from the conveying drum 10 and forms the tube-shaped label 2. The formed tube-shaped label 2 is detached from the mandrel 28 and mounted on the vessel 18. The vessel 18 with the tube-shaped resin-made label 2 mounted is transferred to an ejection star wheel 30 after being rotationally conveyed by the vessel-conveying device 16 and ejected onto an ejection conveyor 32. The vessel 18 is conveyed into a subsequent shrink tunnel 34 by the ejection conveyor 32 and is heated for a predetermined period of time at a predetermined temperature. Owing to the heating, the tube-shaped label 2 is shrunk and affixed to an outer face of the vessel 18.

[0026] Next, a configuration of the label-conveying drum 10 will be described with reference to FIG. 2. The conveying drum 10 is rotatably positioned on a base plate 36. An upright support cylinder 38 is fixed on the base plate 36. An upright rotary shaft 44 is rotatably supported via upper and lower ball bearings 40, 42 which are held in the support cylinder 38. A cylindrical member 46 is fitted to the rotary shaft 44 on an upper outer circumferential face thereof extending upward from the support cylinder 38. The cylindrical member 46 is joined to an outer face of the rotary shaft 44 with a joint such as a key, so that its height can be adjusted with a vertical movement while being rotated integrally with the rotary shaft 44. Further, a cylinder-shaped cover 48 is fixed to an outer circumference of the cylindrical member 46. Furthermore, a cap 50 is fixed to an upper end thereof so as to be rotated integrally with the rotary shaft 44 and the cylindrical member 46.

[0027] A circular plate (hereinafter, called a fixed plate) 52 which is horizontally fixed via a supporting column (not illustrated) or the like is arranged approximately at the same height as a lower end part of the cylindrical member 46. A ball bearing 54 is arranged between an outer circumference of the lower end part of the cylindrical member 46 and an inner circumferential face of the fixed plate 52. The ball bearing 54 connects the fixed plate 52 and the cylindrical member 46, which rotates with the rotary shaft 44. A ring-shaped slide member 56 is fixed on an upper face of the outer circumferential part of the fixed plate 52. A later-described vacuum passage for the fixed side is formed at the fixed plate 52 and the ring-shaped slide member 56.

[0028] A flange 48a is formed at a lower end of the cylinder-shaped cover 48, which is fixed to an outer circumference of an upper part of the rotary shaft 44. A circular rotary plate 58 is fixed to a lower face of the flange 48a. The rotary plate 58 slides on an upper face of the ring-shaped slide member 56 when rotating. The conveying drum 10, which holds and rotatably conveys the label 2, is attached onto an outer circumferential part of the rotary plate 58. When the rotary plate 58 is rotated by rotation of the rotary shaft 44, the conveying drum 10 is rotated integrally with the rotary plate 58. The rotary shaft 44 is joined to a rotating unit (not illustrated) below the base plate 36, and is rotated.

[0029] The conveying drum 10 includes a ring-shaped bottom face 10a and a cylindrical wall face (hereinafter, called a cylindrical portion) 10b which is upright from an outer circumferential part of the bottom face 10a. The plurality of label-holding portions 12 are arranged on an outer face of the cylindrical portion 10b of the conveying drum 10. In this embodiment, four of the label holding portions 12 are arranged on the outer circumferential face of the cylindrical portion 10b at even intervals in the circumferential direction (see FIG. 1). Each of the label-holding portions 12 includes a protruded portion 12a for holding a rear end portion 2a of the label 2 (see FIGs. 3 and 10a)). When viewing the protruded portion 12a arranged at the rear side in the rotation direction of the label-holding portion 12 from the upper side, an upper face 12aa is shorter than a bottom face 12ab, a side face 12ac at the front side in the rotation direction is slanted, and a side face 12ad at the rear side is approximately linear (being linear in the radial direction). Further, the upper face 12aa is formed into an arc shape that is coaxial with an arc (matching the outer circumferential face of the conveying drum 10) of the bottom face 12ab.

[0030] An arc-shaped groove 52a is formed at a portion of the upper face of the fixed plate 52 where the slide member 56 is fixed, so that vacuum is introduced via a pipe 60 which is connected to the lower face side. A number of vertically penetrating holes 56a are formed in the ring-shaped slide member 56, which is fixed on the fixed plate 52, covering a range of the arc-shaped groove 52a that overlaps with the arc-shaped groove 52a of the fixed plate 52. The arc-shaped groove 52a and the penetrating holes 56a are formed in a range from a slightly upstream position of the transfer position T (see FIG. 1) where the conveying drum 10 receives the label 2 from the transfer drum 8, to the transfer position S where the label 2 held by the label holding portion 12 is attached to the mandrel 28.

[0031] Meanwhile, in the upright cylindrical portion 10b of the conveying drum 10, a plurality of suction holes 10e (see FIG. 2, omitted in FIG. 3) that are open to the outer face are formed in the wall face except where the protruded portions 12a are arranged at the rear side of the label-holding portions 12. The suction holes 10e are connected to vacuum introduction holes 58b which opens to the lower face of the rotary plate 58 via a vertical passage 10c which is formed in the cylindrical portion 10b of the conveying drum 10, a radial passage 10d which is formed in the bottom portion 10a, a passage 58a which is formed in the rotary plate 58 and connected to the radial passage 10d, and the like. Here, the suction holes 10e are formed in the protruded portions 12a as well. In this embodiment, the suction holes 10e are formed so as to be open to a range other than a range where hot-melt is applied.

[0032] When the conveying drum 10 is rotated along with rotation of the rotary shaft 44, the label 2 can be attached, due to a vacuum forced in the suction hole 10e, to a section of the cylindrical portion 10b where the vacuum introduction port 58b of the rotary plate 58 communicating with each suction port 10e overlaps with the penetrating hole 56a which is formed in the slide member 56 on the fixed side. Further, when the vacuum introduction port 56b is rotated and arrives at the label transfer position S, the vacuum introduction port 56b is deviated from the penetrating hole 56a of the slide member 56 and the arc-shaped groove 52a of the fixed plate 52, and vacuum is disconnected. Then, the held label 2 is released. In this embodiment, air is blown for a short period of time from the suction hole 10e immediately after vacuum at the suction hole 10e is disconnected, so that the label 2 is reliably transferred to the mandrel 28. The rear end portion 2a of the label 2 is held by the protruded portion 12a of the label-holding portion 12, and the front side, which is the other end from the rear end portion 2a, is held directly by the outer face of the conveying drum 10.

[0033] Further, the glue-applying unit 14 is arranged at the outer side of the cylindrical portion 10b of the conveying drum 10 and oriented to face the conveying drum 10. The glue-applying unit 14 is arranged upstream the label transfer position S where a label is transferred to the mandrel 28 from the label holding portion 12 of the conveying drum 10. The glue-applying unit 14 applies glue to a set area of the rear end portion 2a of the label 2 held by the protruded portion 12a where glue is to be applied. As illustrated in FIG. 2, the glue-applying unit 14 is attached onto an attachment base 62 via an air cylinder 64 so as to be capable of being advanced and retreated in the direction of the conveying drum 10 with an action of the air cylinder 64.

[0034] The glue-applying unit 14 includes, on a side facing the conveying drum 10, a hot-melt coating head 66 in which an ejection port 66a for ejecting glue (hot-melt) is formed (see FIGs. 3 and 4). The hot-melt coating head 66 includes the vertically long ejection port 66a whose length is slightly shorter than the width of the label 2 (a vertical length when held by the label holding portion 12 of the conveying drum 10). The ejection port 66a is connected to a glue reserve 14a which is arranged in a main body of the glue-applying unit 14 via a passage 66b (see FIG. 3) in the hot-melt coating head 66. Further, the glue reserve 14a is connected to a glue-supplying unit 68 (consisting of a reserve tank and a pump (not illustrated)) which is controlled by a control unit (see FIG. 2). In this embodiment, the glue ejection port 66a is formed as a single lengthwise opening in the vertical direction. However, not limited to the above, the shape of the ejection port 66a can be appropriately selected such that a number of small openings are arranged at even intervals, or one opening is formed only at a portion where glue is required to be applied, or the like. Here, shrink-enabled glue having high viscosity is used in the present embodiment. Accordingly, even if a label is pulled during shrinking, bonding can be firmly performed without deviation.

[0035] As illustrated in FIGs. 3 and 4, in the hot-melt coating head 66, a portion thereof which is closest to the label-conveying drum 10 is formed as a narrow flat face 66c and the vertically-long ejection port 66a is formed in the top end side of the flat face 66c. One side portion 66d of the flat face 66c where the ejection port 66a is formed, more specifically the front side in the rotation direction (a side portion to which the label 2 held by the label holding portion 12 of the conveying drum 10 approaches), is formed as an arc-shaped face that curves smoothly into the flat face 66c. Further, the other side portion at the rear side in the rotation direction is formed of two slanted faces 66e, 66f that are recessed in a direction to create distance between them and the outer face of the conveying drum 10. In particular, the slanted face 66e that continues from the ejection port 66a is made to have a sharp angle to prevent glue from sticking thereto. As illustrated in FIG. 4, the arc-shaped side portion 66d of the hot-melt coating head 66 can be in contact with the label in the vicinity of a portion connected to the flat face 66c, while the side portions 66e, 66f on the opposite side are configured not to make contact with the label 2 at all.

[0036] A configuration of the vessel-conveying device 16 will be described with reference to FIGs. 1 and 5. An upright center shaft 72 is arranged on a base 70. A cylindrical member 76 (hereinafter, called a rotating cylindrical member)is rotatably supported by the outer circumference thereof via upper and lower bearings 74. A horizontal rotating disc 78 is attached to the rotating cylindrical member 76 approximately at the center in the vertical direction and is rotated integrally with the rotating cylindrical member 76. A plurality of vessel bases 80 are arranged, at even intervals in the circumferential direction, at an outer circumferential portion of the rotating disc 78 (hereinafter, called a lower rotating disc) which constitutes a lower portion of the rotating body 26. Vessels 18 fed from the inlet star wheel 24 are placed sequentially on the vessel bases 80 and rotatably conveyed by the rotation of the rotating body 26.

[0037] Two horizontal rotating discs (an upper rotating disc 84 and a middle rotating disc 86) joined together above and below each other with an upright connecting member 82 are attached to an upper end of the rotating cylindrical member 76 and are rotated integrally with the rotating cylindrical member 76 and the lower rotating disc 78. The rotating body 26 consisting of the rotating cylindrical member 76, the three rotating discs 84, 86, 78 being at the upper, middle, and lower positions, and the like is rotated while a driving force of a driving unit (not illustrated) is transmitted via a gear 88 which is fixed to the outer circumference at the lower end of the rotating cylindrical member 76. The mandrels 28 are rotatably supported, at even intervals in the circumferential direction, on a lower face side of an outer circumferential portion of the middle rotating disc 86. The positions of the mandrels 28 and the vessel bases 80 are directly above and below one another and matching when viewed vertically, and are revolved (orbited) due to rotation of the rotating body 26 so as to maintain their matching positions from the vertical point of reference. The mandrels 28 are rotated by servomotors 90 for mandrel rotation arranged on the upper face of the middle rotating disc 86. The servomotors 90 for mandrel rotation are controlled by a control unit (not illustrated) for controlling such movements as rotation (spin), positioning, and the like for the mandrels 28.

[0038] The mandrels 28 are arranged at the same height as the conveying drum 10 which supplies the resin-made labels 2. The resin-made label 2 is transferred to the mandrel 28 which arrives at the position (label transfer position S) of the conveying drum 10 with rotation of the rotating body 26. An outer diameter of the mandrel 28 is slightly larger than an outer diameter of the vessel 18. A number of suction holes (not illustrated) are formed in the mandrel 28 and oriented toward the outer facing side and connected to a vacuum source (not illustrated). Owing to suctioning through the suction holes, the label 2 can be attached to and held at the outer circumferential face thereof.

[0039] A lifting-lowering shaft 94 with a top locator 92 fixed at a lower end thereof is inserted through a center portion of each mandrel 28. A joint block 96 is attached to an upper end part of the lifting-lowering shaft 94. Further, a slider 98 is fixed to the joint block 96 at an inner side in the radial direction of the rotating body 26. The slider 98 is engaged with a vertical guide rail 100, which is attached to the upper rotating disc 84, and an outer facing side of a ring-shaped plate 99 joined to a lower side of the upper rotating disc 84 via a connecting member 82, so as to guide lifting and lowering of the lifting-lowering shaft 94 and the top locator 92. Further, a cam follower 102 is attached to the joint block 96 at a face that is oriented toward the outer side of the rotating body 26 and engaged with a cam groove 104a of a ring-shaped cam 104, which is fixed to the outer side of the rotating body 26. In accordance with the shape of the cam groove 104a, the top locator 92 and the lifting-lowering shaft 94 are lifted and lowered.

[0040] There is provided a picker 106 which is capable of being lifted and lowered between the mandrel 28 on the upper side and the vessel 18 placed on the vessel base 80 on the lower side. The picker 106 is attached to an upper end of a lifting-lowering rod 108 which penetrates vertically through the lower rotating disc 78 via a horizontal attachment plate 110. A joint block 112 is fixed to a lower end of the lifting-lowering rod 108. A slider 114 is attached to an inner side of the joint block 112 in the radial direction of the rotating body 26. Further, a cam follower 116 is attached to the outer side in the radial direction thereof. The cam follower 116 is engaged with a ring-shaped plate cam 120 which is attached to a fixing base 118 at the outer side of the vessel-conveying device 16. The cam follower 116 is lifted and lowered in accordance with a shape of the plate cam 120 so as to lift and lower the picker 106 along with the lifting-lowering rod 108.

[0041] Two horizontal ring-shaped plates 124, 126 are fixed to a lower facing side of the lower rotating disc 78 via connecting members 122 formed in the vertical direction. A vertically arranged guide rail 128 is attached to outer faces of the ring-shaped plates 124, 126. The slider 114 is engaged with the guide rail 128 and guides lifting and lowering of the lifting-lowering rod 108 and the picker 106. Further, the picker 106 is configured to be capable of being opened and closed, and holds the label 2 wound around the mandrel 28 when closed. The picker 106 includes a pair of holding members 132, 132 (see FIG. 6) attached to distal ends of two arms 130, 130. Both the arms 130, 130 are attached respectively at upper ends of two rods 134, 134 which penetrate through the lower rotating discs 78. Gears 136, 136 are formed on the outer circumferences of both the rods 134, 134 and engaged with each other. When one rod 134 is rotated, the rods 134, 134 and the arms 130, 130 are rotated in directions being opposite to each other, so that the pair of holding members 132, 132 are opened and closed. A lever 138 is fixed to one rod 134. A cam follower 140 is attached to a distal end of the lever 138. A picker open-close cam 142 is arranged on a fixing base 118 located on the outside of the rotating body 26. The lever 138 is swung by the open-close cam 142, so that the rod 134 and the gear 136 are rotated and both the holding members 132, 132 of the picker 106 are opened and closed.

[0042] As illustrated in FIG. 6, the picker 106 is distanced from the outer face of the mandrel 28 (or the vessel 18) when opened. When closed, the picker 106 forms a circular shape with an inner diameter being slightly larger than an outer diameter of the mandrel 28 and the vessel 18. The center of the picker 106 in the closed state, the axis center of the mandrel 28 on the upper side, and the axis center of the vessel 18 placed on the vessel base 80 on the lower side are positioned on the same axis line. Each picker 106 is connected to a vacuum source (not illustrated) via a vacuum tube 144. An outer facing side of the cylinder-shaped resin-made label 2 wound around the mandrel 28 can be attached thereto with a suction hole 132a formed in an inner face side thereof.

[0043] A heating unit 146 is arranged downstream of the vessel-conveying device 16 from the position S where the label 2 is transferred from the conveying drum 10. The rear end portion 2a of the resin-made label 2, overlapping the front end portion 2b when it is wound to the mandrel 28, is heated by the heating unit 146, so that a terminus 2aa to which glue is not applied is cured (see FIGs. 9(a) and 9(b)). A configuration of the heating unit 146 will be described with reference to FIGs. 5, 7(a), and 7(b). A fixing base 118 is arranged outside the rotating body 26 and the heating unit 146 is arranged above the fixing base 118. A vertical center shaft 154 is rotatably supported between a lower supporting plate 150 and an upper supporting plate 152, which are horizontally supported by an upright supporting column 148 that is arranged on the fixing base 118. A servomotor 156 for driving the heating unit is attached to a lower facing side of the lower supporting plate 150. The driving force of the servomotor 156 is transmitted to a middle shaft 164 via a pulley 158, a belt 160, and a pulley 162. Further, the rotation of the servomotor 156 is transmitted to the center shaft 154 owing to engagement between a gear 166 fixed to the middle shaft 164 and a gear 168 arranged at a lower end of the center shaft 154.

[0044] Horizontal cross-shaped rotating bodies 170A, 170B are attached to the center shaft 154 at upper and lower parts thereof, and rotated integrally therewith. Leading end portions 170a of the upper and lower cross-shaped rotating bodies 170A, 170B are joined respectively with a vertical joint pin 172. One end of a vertical plate-shaped member 174 is joined to each joint pin 172 in a swingable manner. Further, a heater 176 is fixed to the other end (swinging end) of each vertical plate-shaped member 174. In the present embodiment, the heaters 176 are arranged at four locations of leading end parts 170a of the cross-shaped rotating bodies 170A, 170B. A cam follower 178 is attached to a lower end of the leading end (the end part to which the heater 176 is fixed) of the vertical plate-shaped member 174. A horizontal cam plate 180 is arranged below the cross-shaped rotating bodies 170A, 170B. A cam groove 180a is formed in an upper face of the cam plate 180. The cam follower 178 is engaged with the cam groove 180a. In accordance to the shape of the cam groove 180a, the heater 176 can move as in a predetermined range to allow for an overlapped portion between the rear end portion 2a and the front end portion 2b of the resin-made label 2 that is wound to the mandrel 28. The heater 176 of the heating unit 146 is arranged at the same height as the mandrel 28, which is arranged on the rotating body 26 and has a flat face which is in contact with the rear end portion 2a of the resin-made label 2. In the device of the present embodiment, the resin-made label 2, which is formed into a cylindrical shape by being wound around the mandrel 28 with both end portions 2a, 2b bonded, is heated as it is introduced into the shrink tunnel 34 after being mounted on the vessel 18, thereby shrinking the resin-made label 2 and affixing it to the outer face of the vessel 18. In the case that the heating temperature at the shrink tunnel 34 is 90°C, for example, the heater 176 is configured to heat at a higher temperature than the above (for example, 180°C). Further, contact between them occurs for a shorter period of time than a period of time that would be necessary to weld the resin-made label 2.

[0045] An operation of the resin-label mounting device according to the abovementioned configuration will be described. An elongated resin-made label 2 drawn from the roller label held by a label stand (not illustrated) is fed to the cutter 6 including the pair of rotating members 6A, 6B via the plurality of rollers 4 and cut to have the predetermined length corresponding to the size of the vessel 18. The cut label 2 is transferred to a label-conveying drum 10 at the label transfer position T via the transfer drum 8. The label-holding portion 12 having the protruded portion 12a, which holds the rear end portion 2a of the resin-made label 2, is arranged on the conveying drum 10. First, the front end portion 2b of the cut resin-made label 2 is attached to the outer face of the conveying drum 10. Subsequently, after a middle portion continuing from the front end portion 2b is attached and held, the rear end portion 2a of the resin-made label 2 is placed on the protruded portion 12a and held by suction from the suction hole 10e, which are open everywhere except for a range other than a range to which hot-melt is applied.

[0046] The resin-made label 2 held by the label-holding portion 12 of the conveying drum 10 is conveyed to the next position of the glue-applying unit 14 due to rotation of the conveying drum 10. When the labeler is not operated, the glue-applying unit 14 is pulled back by the air cylinder 64 so that the ejection port 66a of the hot-melt coating head 66 is not in contact with the conveying drum 10 side. During operation, the glue-applying unit 14 is advanced toward the conveying drum 10 so that the flat face 66c of the hot-melt coating head 66 on which the ejection port 66a is formed makes contact with a portion of the resin-made label 2 which is held by the protruded portion 12a of the label holding portion 12.

[0047] Since the protruded portion 12a which holds the rear end portion 2a of the resin-made label 2 has the slanted face 12ac at the front side in the rotation direction, the resin-made label 2 on the protruded portion 12a of the rotating conveying drum 10 and the flat face 66c of the hot-melt coating head 66 smoothly comes into contact without causing any interference.

[0048] When the flat face 66c of the hot-melt coating head 66 comes into contact with the resin-made label 2, glue is supplied to the glue-applying unit 14 from the glue-supplying unit 68 in accordance with a signal of the control unit and applied to the resin-made label 2 as it is ejected from the ejection port 66a of the hot-melt coating head 66. The start timing of the glue application is determined in accordance with a position signal of the conveying drum 10 (a pulse signal of an encoder). When the arrival of the protruded portion 12a, which holds the rear end portion 2a of the resin-made label 2, is detected at a predetermined position, the ejection of glue is started. Thereafter, the ejection of glue is stopped after a predetermined period of time has elapsed as measured with a timer. In the case that a width of the resin-made label 2 is large, glue is ejected for a longer period of time corresponding thereto. In the present embodiment, the ejection of glue is not performed for a period of time required to apply glue to the total width (width in the rotation direction). The ejection is performed for a period of time slightly shorter than the above period of time and then stopped. Glue is applied to the remaining portion of the required application width so that glue remaining in the ejection port 66a is wiped away by the resin-made label 2. Thus, glue is not applied to the terminus 2aa of the rear end portion 2a of the resin-made label 2, so that a range remains that is free of glue (see FIG. 10(a)).

[0049] A process in which the resin-made label 2 held by the label-holding portion 12 of the conveying drum 10 is mounted on the vessel 18 via the mandrel 28 will be described with reference to the drawings of the above and FIG. 7.

[0050] In the rotating body 26 of the vessel-conveying device 16, the vessel bases 80 are arranged on the rotating disc 78 at the lower side at even intervals in the circumferential direction. A vessels 18 is supplied from the inlet star wheel 24 to each of the vessel bases 80. The vessels 18 are conveyed by the supply conveyor 20 and separated to form predetermined intervals by the infeed screw 22, and then, are supplied onto the vessel bases 80 of the vessel-conveying device 16 (see FIG. 8(a1)) via the inlet star wheel 24. The vessel base 80 to which the vessel 18 is supplied is rotationally conveyed with rotation of the rotating body 26. After the vessel 18 is supplied onto the vessel base 80, the lifting-lowering rod 94 and the top locator 92 are lowered by the top locator lifting-lowering cam 104, so that the vessel 18 is stably held with a head part thereof held by the top locator 92 (see FIG. 8(a2)). Subsequently, the vessel 18 placed on the vessel base 80 arrives at the transfer position S where the resin-made label 2 is transferred from the conveying drum 10 to the mandrel 28 on the upper side. A range in which vessels are supplied is denoted by range A in FIGs. 1 and 8. While the vessel 18 is being supplied onto the vessel base 80, the picker 106 is lifted and positioned around the mandrel 28. Further, the picker 106 is opened.

[0051] When the vessel base 80 with the vessel 18 supplied arrives at the position (label-transfer position S) facing the conveying drum 10 with rotation of the rotating body 26, the resin-made label 2 held by the label-holding portion 12 of the conveying drum 10 is transferred to the mandrel 28, which is positioned above the vessel 18. The vessel conveying device 16 and the conveying drum 10 are driven in a synchronized manner. When the mandrel 28 of the vessel-conveying device 16 and the label-holding portion 12 of the conveying drum 10 arrive at the label-transfer position S, the front end portion 2b of the resin-made label 2, which is held by the label-holding portion 12, makes contact with the outer face of the mandrel 28, which is revolutionarily moved (orbited) by rotation of the rotating body 26. The mandrel 28 is rotated (spun) by driving of the servomotor 90 and performs suctioning through the suction holes in the outer face. When the front end portion 2b of the resin-made label 2 is in contact with the outer face, the front end portion 2b is firstly attached thereto and the resin-made label 2 is wound around the mandrel 28 owing to rotation of the conveying drum 10 and revolution and spinning of the mandrel 28.

[0052] The resin-made label 2 with the front end portion 2b held by suction to the mandrel 28 is thereby wound and the conveying drum 10 discontinues suctioning of the label-holding portion 12. The resin-made label 2 is cut to have a length larger than the circumference of the mandrel 28. The rear end portion 2a overlaps the previously attached front end portion 2b and is bonded onto the front end portion 2b with glue applied to the rear end portion 2a of the resin-made label 2 by the glue-applying unit 14 (see FIG. 8(b)). A range for label winding is denoted by range B in FIGs. 1 and 8. As described above, since the glue applied to the rear end portion 2a of the resin-made label 2 is not applied to the terminus 2aa (see FIG. 10(a)), the terminus 2aa of the rear end portion 2a is in a partially detached without being bonded to the front end portion 2b (see FIG. 10(b)). Here, at the time when the resin-made label 2 is to be transferred from the conveying drum 10 to the mandrel 28, the picker 106 is lowered below the mandrel 28 by the cam 120 for picker lifting-lowering, as illustrated on the left side of FIG. 5 and FIG. 8(b).

[0053] The mandrel 28, which holds the rear end portion 2a of the resin-made label 2 as it overlaps the front end portion 2b, discontinues rotation (spin) when transfer of the resin-made label 2 is completed. At that time, the rotation is stopped in a state that the overlapped portion of the resin-made label 2 is oriented approximately outside in the radial direction of the rotating body 26. When the mandrel 28, which holds the resin-made label 2 in the above state, approaches the position of the heating unit 146, the heater 176 momentarily comes into contact, as illustrated in FIG. 9(a), with the entire rear end portion 2a (a portion which is bonded to the front end portion 2b with glue while the partially detached terminus 2aa is not bonded because glue is not applied) (see FIG. 8(c)) in accordance with the shape of the cam groove 180a which is illustrated in FIG. 7(a). The heater 176 momentarily makes contact only for a period of time (for example, 0.1 second) in which both end portions of the resin-made label 2 are not welded by, a higher temperature than the heating temperature in the shrink tunnel 34 in a post-labeling process (for example, the heating temperature with the heater 176 is 180°C when the heating temperature at the shrink tunnel 34 is 90°C). Consequently, the entire rear end portion 2a of the resin-made label 2, including the terminus 2aa to which glue is not applied, is cured. A range for heating with the heater 176 is denoted by range C in FIGs. 1 and 8. FIG. 9(b) illustrates a state after the terminus 2aa is cured.

[0054] The cylinder-shaped label 2 is formed by bonding the rear end portion 2a and the front end portion 2b of the resin-made label 2, which is wound around the mandrel 28 in a state that the rear end portion 2a overlaps the front end portion 2b. Further, after the unbonded terminus 2aa of the rear end portion 2a is cured, the picker 106 is lifted to the height of the mandrel 28 while being kept in an opened state. Next, the picker 106, which is lifted to the lower outer circumference of the mandrel 28, makes contact with the outer face of the cylinder-shaped resin-made label 2, which is wound around the mandrel 28, by closing both holding members 132, 132 (see FIG. 8(d)) by the action of the picker open-close cam 142. Vacuum is applied to the suction hole 132a at the inner face of the picker 106 in the above state and vacuum at the mandrel 28 is released, so that the resin-made label 2 is affixed to and held by the picker 106. A range for affixing and holding the resin-made label 2 by the picker 106 is denoted by range D in FIGs. 1 and 8.

[0055] Subsequently, the picker 106, which holds the resin-made label 2, is lowered to the position of the vessel 18 at the lower side by the picker lifting-lowering cam 120. When the picker 106 is lowered, the cylinder-shaped resin-made label 2 fitted around the mandrel 28 is slipped from the mandrel 28 and mounted to the circumference of the vessel 18 on the lower side while being kept in a cylindrical shape (see FIG. 8(e)). A range for mounting the resin-made label 2 on the vessel 18 is denoted by range E in FIGs. 1 and 8.

[0056] After the cylinder-shaped resin-made label 2, which is wound around the mandrel 28, is removed and mounted on the outer circumferential face of the vessel 18, which is positioned at the lower side, by the picker 106, vacuum at the picker 106 is released, both the holding portions 132 are opened by the picker open-close cam 142, and the picker 106 is lifted to a height where interference with the vessel 18 is prevented (see FIG. 8(f)). A range for opening and lifting of the picker 106 is denoted by range F in FIGs. 1 and 8.

[0057] After the picker 106 is opened and lifted to the circumference of the mandrel 28, the top locator 92 is lifted (see FIG. 8(g1)). Then, the vessel 18 on which the resin-made label 2 is mounted is discharged onto the ejection conveyor 32 via the outlet star wheel 30 (see FIG. 8(g2)). A range for lifting the top locator 92 and ejecting the vessel is denoted by range G in FIGs. 1 and 8.

[0058] The vessel 18 conveyed by the ejection conveyor 32 is introduced into the shrink tunnel 34, which is arranged on the conveyor 32. In the shrink tunnel 34, heating is performed for a predetermined period of time (for example, 3 seconds) at a temperature (for example, 90°C) below the temperature setting of the heater 176, so that the resin-made label 2 mounted on the vessel 18 is shrunk.

[0059] Here, in the present embodiment, the heater 176 is in contact for an extremely short period of time with the rear end portion 2a of the resin-made label 2 including the terminus 2aa, which is an area to which glue is not applied, so that the rear end portion 2a is cured. The unit to apply glue is not limited to the hot-melt coating head. It is also possible to apply glue even to the terminus of the rear end portion 2a of the resin-made label 2 using another applying unit such as an applying roller having a roller with glue adhered to the entire circumference in contact with the resin-made label 2 and to heat and cure the area to which glue is applied.

[0060] Further, in the present embodiment, curing is performed by heating the rear end portion 2a of the resin-made label 2 wound around each mandrel 28 with the heating unit 146 arranged at one position along a movement passage of the mandrel 28. However, when a heater is arranged corresponding to each mandrel, it is possible to perform a high speed operation. Furthermore, in the present embodiment, the mandrel 28 is arranged above the vessel base 80. However, it is not limited to arrangement above the vessel base 80; it is also possible to be arranged below the vessel base 80.

Claims

1. A resin-label mounting device, comprising:

a conveying drum (10) which holds and conveys a resin-made label (2);

a glue-applying unit (14) which applies glue to a rear end portion (2a) of the resin-made label (2) held by the conveying drum (10);

a plurality of mandrels (28) which are arranged on a rotating body (26), each mandrel (28) winding the resin-made label (2) upon receiving from the conveying drum (10), forming a cylindrical shape with a rear end portion (2a) of the resin-made label (2) overlapping and bonded to a front end portion (2b), and using suction to hold the resin-made label (2);

a drive unit (90) which causes each of the mandrels (28) to be spun;

a vessel base (80), which is arranged to correspond to each mandrel (28), and on which a supplied vessel is placed;

a mounting unit (106) which mounts the resin-made label (2) on the vessel after removal from the mandrel (26) ;

a heating and shrinking unit (34) which heats and shrinks the resin-made label (2) mounted on the vessel; and a heating unit (146), characterized in that the heating unit (146) which is in contact with the rear end portion (2a) of the cylinder-shaped resin-made label (2) formed by the mandrel (26) and which heats the contacted portion before the resin-made label mounted on the vessel is shrunk by the heating and shrinking unit (34), is set at a temperature higher than a temperature of the heating and shrinking unit (34), and the contact occurs for a shorter period of time than a period of time that would be necessary to weld the resin-made label (2), so that the rear end portion (2a) of the resin-made label (2) is heated and cured.

2. A resin-label mounting method, comprising steps of:

applying glue to a rear end portion (2a) of a resin-made label (2);

forming the resin-made label (2) into a cylindrical shape in which the rear end portion (2a) of the resin-made label (2) overlaps a front end portion as the resin-made label (2) is wound around the outer circumference of a mandrel (26);

heating the rear end portion (2a) of the resin-made label (2) by means of a heating unit (146); mounting the cylinder-shaped resin-made label (2) on a vessel after removal from the mandrel (26); and

heating and shrinking the resin-made label (2); characterized by the heating of the rear end portion (2a) of the resin-made label (2) being performed by contacting the rear end portion (2a) of the resin-made label (2) with the heating unit (146) at a higher temperature than a temperature of the heating and shrinking of the resin-made label and for a shorter period of time than a period of time that would be necessary to weld, so that the rear end portion of the resin-made label is heated and cured.

Ansprüche

1. Anbringungsvorrichtung für Harzetikette, umfassend:

eine Fördertrommel (10), die ein aus Harz hergestelltes Etikett (2) hält und fördert;

eine Klebstoffauftragungseinheit (14), welche Klebstoff auf einen hinteren Endabschnitt (2a) des aus Harz hergestellten Etiketts (2), das von der Fördertrommel (10) gehalten wird, aufträgt;

eine Vielzahl von Dornen (28), welche auf einem drehenden Körper (26) angeordnet sind, wobei jeder Dorn (28) das aus Harz hergestellte Etikett (2) nach dem Empfang von der Fördertrommel (10) wickelt, was eine zylindrische Gestalt mit einem hinteren Endabschnitt (2a) des aus Harz hergestellten Etiketts (2) ausbildet, die einen vorderen Endabschnitt (2b) überlappt und daran gebunden ist und Benutzung einer Ansaugung, um das aus Harz hergestellte Etikett (2) zu halten;

eine Antriebseinheit (90), welche bewirkt, dass jeder der Dornen (28) gedreht wird;

eine Gefäßbasis (80), welche angeordnet ist, um jedem Dorn (28) zu entsprechen, und auf die ein geliefertes Gefäß platziert wird;

eine Anbringungseinheit (106), welche das aus Harz hergestellte Etikett (2) auf dem Gefäß nach der Entfernung von dem Dorn (26) anbringt;

eine Erwärmungs- und Schrumpfeinheit (34), welche das auf dem Gefäß angebrachte aus Harz hergestellte Etikett (2) erwärmt und schrumpft;

und eine Erwärmungseinheit (146);

dadurch gekennzeichnet, dass die Erwärmungseinheit (146), welche mit dem hinteren Endabschnitt (2a) des zylinderförmigen aus Harz hergestellten Etiketts (2), welches von dem Dorn (26) gebildet wird, in Kontakt steht und welche den kontaktierten Abschnitt erwärmt, bevor das auf dem Gefäß angebrachte aus Harz hergestellte Etikett von der Erwärmungs- und Schrumpfeinheit (34) geschrumpft wird, auf eine Temperatur eingestellt ist, die höher als eine Temperatur der Erwärmungs- und Schrumpfeinheit (34) ist, und dass der Kontakt für eine kürzere Zeitdauer als eine Zeitdauer stattfindet, die notwendig wäre, um das aus Harz hergestellte Etikett (2) zu schweißen, so dass der hintere Endabschnitt (2a) des aus Harz hergestellten Etiketts (2) erwärmt und gehärtet wird.

2. Anbringungsverfahren für Harzetikette, umfassend die folgenden Schritte:

Auftragen von Klebstoff auf einen hinteren Endabschnitt (2a) eines aus Harz hergestellten Etiketts (2);

Ausformen des aus Harz hergestellten Etiketts (2) in eine zylindrische Gestalt, in welcher der hintere Endabschnitt (2a) des aus Harz hergestellten Etiketts (2) einen vorderen Endabschnitt überlappt, während das aus Harz hergestellte Etikett (2) um den äußeren Umfang eines Dorns (26) gewickelt wird;

Erwärmen des hinteren Endabschnitts (2a) des aus Harz hergestellten Etiketts (2) mittels einer Erwärmungseinheit (146);

Anbringen des zylinderförmigen aus Harz hergestellten Etiketts (2) an einem Gefäß nach Entfernung von dem Dorn (26); und

Erwärmen und Schrumpfen des aus Harz hergestellten Etiketts (2);

gekennzeichnet dadurch, dass

das Erwärmen des hinteren Endabschnitts (2a) des aus Harz hergestellten Etiketts (2) durch Kontaktieren des hinteren Endabschnitts (2a) des aus Harz hergestellten Etiketts (2) mit der Erwärmungseinheit (146) auf einer höheren Temperatur als eine Temperatur des Erwärmens und Schrumpfens des aus Harz hergestellten Etiketts und für eine kürzere Zeitdauer als die Zeitdauer, die zum Schweißen notwendig sein würde, durchgeführt wird, so dass der hintere Endabschnitt des aus Harz hergestellten Etiketts erwärmt und gehärtet wird.

Revendications

1. Dispositif de fixation d'étiquette en résine, comprenant :

un tambour de transfert (10) qui maintient et transfère une étiquette en résine (2) ;

une unité d'application de colle (14) qui applique de la colle à une partie d'extrémité arrière (2a) de l'étiquette en résine (2) maintenue par le tambour de transfert (10) ;

une pluralité de mandrins (28) qui sont agencés sur un corps rotatif (26), chaque mandrin (28) enroulant l'étiquette en résine (2) lorsqu'il la reçoit du tambour de transfert (10), formant une forme cylindrique avec une partie d'extrémité arrière (2a) de l'étiquette en résine (2) superposée et collée à une partie d'extrémité avant (2b), et utilisant une aspiration pour maintenir l'étiquette en résine (2) ;

une unité d'entraînement (90) qui amène chacun des mandrins (28) à tourner ;

une base de récipient (80), qui est agencée pour correspondre à chaque mandrin (28), et sur laquelle est placé un récipient alimenté ;

une unité de fixation (106) qui fixe l'étiquette en résine (2) sur le récipient une fois retirée du mandrin (26) ;

une unité de chauffage et de rétrécissement (34) qui chauffe et rétrécit l'étiquette en résine (2) fixée sur le récipient ; et

une unité de chauffage (146), caractérisé en ce que l'unité de chauffage (146) qui est en contact avec la partie d'extrémité arrière (2a) de l'étiquette en résine en forme de cylindre (2) formée par le mandrin (26) et qui chauffe la partie en contact avant que l'étiquette en résine fixée sur le récipient soit rétrécie par l'unité de chauffage et de rétrécissement (34), est réglée à une température plus élevée qu'une température de l'unité de chauffage et de rétrécissement (34), et le contact se produit pendant une période de temps plus courte qu'une période de temps qui serait nécessaire pour souder l'étiquette en résine (2), de sorte que la partie d'extrémité arrière (2a) de l'étiquette en résine (2) est chauffée et durcie.

2. Procédé de fixation d'étiquette en résine, comprenant les étapes suivantes :

l'application de colle à une partie d'extrémité arrière (2a) d'une étiquette en résine (2) ;

la formation de l'étiquette en résine (2) en une forme cylindrique dans laquelle la partie d'extrémité arrière (2a) de l'étiquette en résine (2) chevauche une partie d'extrémité avant lorsque l'étiquette en résine (2) est enroulée autour de la circonférence externe d'un mandrin (26) ;

le chauffage de la partie d'extrémité arrière (2a) de l'étiquette en résine (2) au moyen d'une unité de chauffage (146) ;

la fixation de l'étiquette en résine en forme de cylindre (2) sur un récipient une fois retirée du mandrin (26) ; et

le chauffage et le rétrécissement de l'étiquette en résine (2) ; caractérisé en ce que

le chauffage de la partie d'extrémité arrière (2a) de l'étiquette en résine (2) est effectué par mise en contact de la partie d'extrémité arrière (2a) de l'étiquette en résine (2) avec l'unité de chauffage (146) à une température plus élevée qu'une température du chauffage et rétrécissement de l'étiquette en résine et pendant une période de temps plus courte qu'une période de temps qui serait nécessaire pour souder, de sorte que la partie d'extrémité arrière de l'étiquette en résine est chauffée et durcie.

Drawing