JP2648895B2 - Thermoplastic band binding head - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an improvement of a tying head of an automatic tying machine which wraps around an article by using a thermoplastic belt, tightens it, and welds and ties a polymerization portion.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, it has been widely practiced to bind articles using a thermoplastic belt (hereinafter, mainly simply referred to as a belt) and use them as a form convenient for handling, storing and transporting the articles. Hot plate welding-type ties that can achieve band overlap welding have been applied in many cases. For example,
As can be seen in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 53-6713, Japanese Patent Publication No. 54-34394, Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 1-164106, etc., while improving each of them, some effects have been obtained. However, the band tying machine or the band welding apparatus described above has various problems in terms of hot plate insertion type or maintenance, and further, in operation control.

[0003] That is, the unification and integration of the heating plate and the tape guide in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 53-6713 can be seen to facilitate the insertion of the heating plate between the bands, but the heating plate is thicker than the band gap. However, there is a problem that the insertion is not always smooth due to the insertion of the heat plate (to improve the contact and adhesion after the insertion), and the heat capacity of the hot plate is restricted and the moving stroke is lengthened.

Further, as disclosed in JP-B-54-34394 and JP-A-1-164106 (the same applies to JP-B-53-6713), various operation timing controls including the welding operation are controlled by a cam mechanism. This requires a change in the cam shape to change the band melting time, the pressure bonding time, and the like due to fluctuations in the band thickness, the band width, and the like. Furthermore, in the maintenance of shear devices, hot plates, grip devices, and the like (these devices are relatively frequently maintained), the disassembly and assembly of the devices are complicated, and at the same time, dimensional changes due to repairs and the like are handled. Adjusting the synchronization with the cam also involved difficulties.

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In view of the above-mentioned situation, the present invention is to insert a hot plate having a necessary and sufficient amount of heat smoothly between polymerization zones and to insert a hot plate into a double-sided zone. And a hot plate welding mechanism that performs firm pressure bonding of the molten zone, and the operating schedule of the entire binding head including the zone welding can be changed and selected arbitrarily. The inventor of the present invention has earnestly achieved this by providing a binding head that enables easy and easy maintenance of a plate, a shear, a gripper, and the like.

[0006]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention has been applied by applying the following means.

That is, an air cylinder with a built-in spring, in other words, a first air chamber and a second air chamber are opened in the hot plate welding mechanism of the welding device, and a weak pressure is applied by a spring provided for energizing the piston. Then, the upper and lower hot plate contact surfaces of the polymerization zone are configured so as to be in close contact with the hot plate, and then the compressed air is passed through the first air chamber to apply strong pressure, and the strong pressurizing pressure of the melting zone is applied. A pressurized cylinder for performing the attachment is provided.

Further, with respect to the forward / backward movement of the band separation guide for smooth insertion of the hot plate between the overlapped belts, a band guide cylinder is provided which is air-operated only for forward movement and is driven (free) for backward movement. The separation guide is advanced, and the hot plate is provided with a hot plate insertion cylinder that can be moved forward and backward, and the hot plate tip and the strip separation guide tip can be brought into contact with each other,
When the hot plate is inserted between the upper and lower two bands after the belt stacking, the hot plate is advanced by the advance of the hot plate insertion cylinder, and the hot plate is brought into contact with the band separation guide to engage with the band separation guide. The hot plate itself is smoothly inserted between the upper and lower bands while the band separation guide is retracted, and the band separation guide is returned.

In addition, as a control device for controlling the operation of each device, an air cylinder is provided for each device that operates based on a sequencer and a solenoid valve, and it is extremely easy to change and select the operation timing of each device and mechanism of the binding head. It was configured so that it could be implemented.

[0010] In addition, a two-stage cylinder is provided, which has a lower surface of a fixed cutter of the shearing mechanism and an openable / closable gripper as a gripping mechanism, and operates both the gripper opening / closing and the moving cutter of the shearing mechanism in a timely manner.
As a result, the base plate and the grip mechanism are separated from each other to constitute a grip shear device, which facilitates attachment, detachment, and maintenance.

[0011]

The essential points of the operation of the binding head of the thermoplastic belt of the present invention (hereinafter simply referred to as the present binding head) will be described.

When a hot plate is inserted into a band overlapping portion separated by a band separation guide for easily inserting a hot plate, a hot plate having substantially the same thickness as the band separation guide is placed at the same position and at the same height level. The hot plate is inserted very easily because the hot plate itself enters between the overlapping zones while pressing and retreating the band separation guide. At this time, no tension is applied to the belt overlap portion (the tension of the peripheral circuit zone is maintained between the gripper and the clamp), which further facilitates the insertion of the hot plate. Therefore, the power for pulling back and returning the band separation guide is unnecessary, and the return stroke of the band guide cylinder is free and driven.

When the hot plates are arranged in the belt overlapping section, the pressurizing cylinder opens the first air chamber and the second air chamber, thereby exerting the urging force of the spring and lightly pressing the piston of the cylinder. As a result, the pressurizer softly presses the polymerization zone in contact with the upper and lower surfaces of the hot plate. At this time, the band on the lower surface supports the base, so that the hot plate is mounted so as to allow a slight follow-up and run-out. When the surfaces to be welded to each other of the belt overlap portion are melted by the hot plate, the hot plate is withdrawn (due to the retraction of the hot plate insertion cylinder), and the pressurizing cylinder passes compressed air through the first air chamber. And presses the piston strongly, and the pressurizer strongly presses and welds the molten zone. As described above, the method of selectively using the spring of the pressurizing cylinder and the strong and weak pressurization by the air pressurization makes a great effect.

The entire binding head having the air cylinders individually operated based on the sequencer and the solenoid valve is a so-called individually controlled sequential operation, and the operation schedule and operation timing can be easily changed by changing the sequencer. It has become

The gripping mechanism does not provide a gripping effect in correspondence with the conventional base, but grips and grips the band tip between the lower surface of the fixed cutter of the shearing mechanism and the movable gripper independently of the base. Thing,
This means inspection and maintenance of the binding head, especially grip
This facilitates attachment and detachment of the shear device.

[0016]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows a front view of the binding head 1, FIG. 2 shows a side view thereof, FIG. 3 shows a front partial sectional view taken along the line BB of FIG. 2, and FIG. 4 shows a sectional view taken along the line AA of FIG. FIG. 5 shows a side sectional view, and FIG. 5 further shows a transverse sectional view taken along the line CC in FIG.
The welding device 10 including the feed tightening device 60 and the base mechanism 40,
A grip / shear device 50, a face gate 70, etc. are attached to the head frame 5. Further, although not shown here, a control device 80 is provided and attached to an automatic binding machine (not shown). I have.

The welding device 10 can be understood well from a front partial sectional view in FIG. 6 and a side partial sectional view in FIG. 7 shown in FIGS. 30 and a base mechanism 40.

The hot plate welding mechanism 20 includes a hot plate 21 having a nichrome wire therein, a hot plate 21 inserted between the overlapping zones, and a band separation guide 23 pressed to return and return. It has a hot plate insertion cylinder 22 for retreating and returning the rear hot plate 21 itself. FIG. 10 is a partial detailed view of the hot plate mounting portion 29. The mica plate 295 is disposed on the upper and lower surfaces of the hot plate 21 for heat insulation, and a spring 292 is fitted to press the band overlapping portion of the hot plate 21. The mounting bolt 291 is fixed so that it can be displaced at a slight mounting angle while taking into account buffering the displacement at the time.

On the other hand, a band separation guide 23 for forming a gap between the bands for inserting the hot plate 21 in the overlapping portion of the band 90 is provided, and a band guide cylinder for advancing the band separation guide 23 to align it with the band line. 24 is also provided and connected to the strip separation guide 23. The band guide cylinder 24 performs only the forward operation and the retraction and return is performed by the pressing force due to the advance of the hot plate 21 as described above, and the band separation guide 23 and the hot plate 21
At this time, the hot plate 21 is very easily inserted between the overlapping zones as if it were an integral unit, and the hot plate 21 is very easily inserted between the overlapping zones. is there. Note that the tip of the hot plate 21 and the tip of the strip separation guide 23 have shapes that facilitate contact and engagement with each other.

The pressurizing cylinder 25 is provided with a pressurizing member 26 provided at the tip end thereof via a pressurizing arm 27 for soft pressing of the overlapping zone 90 to the hot plate 21 and pressing of the molten zone after leaving the hot plate 21. The pressurized cylinder 25 is shown in FIG. 8 as a detailed cross-sectional view.
A spring 252 is fitted in the first air chamber 253 including the inner cavity of the piston 251, and the ventilation hole 255 of the first air chamber 253 and the ventilation hole 256 of the second air chamber 254 are opened. Lightly depressed to actuate the pressurizer 26 to weakly pressurize it, and to allow compressed air to flow into the first air chamber 253 from the air hole 255 while keeping the air hole 256 of the second air chamber 254 open. Thus, the piston 251 outputs a strong pressurizing force and acts on the pressurizer 26. When the piston 251 returns, the compressed air flows into the second air chamber 254 from the vent hole 256 and the first air chamber 254 is returned.
Open the ventilation hole 255 of 253 and exhaust air. The pressing arm 27 is loaded with an acrylic resin Duracon 28 therein, and serves as a support and guide for the frame 5.

The clamp mechanism 30 comprises a clamp 31 and a clamp cylinder 35 for operating the clamp 31 so as to be able to move up and down. The clamp mechanism 30 is in contact with the hot plate welding mechanism 20 and is mounted on the opposite side of the grip shear device 50. . The tip of the clamp 31 engages with the clamp concave portion 42 provided on the upper side of the base 41 of the base mechanism 40 to clamp the band 90. This clamping operation tightens the band 90 around the article to apply tension. When
This is performed at the necessary and maximum possible position of the circumferential tightening band 90, and is intended to ensure reliable melting and subsequent welding by using the overlapping portion as no tension with respect to the melting of the overlapping portion. FIG. 9 illustrates a state in which the band 31 is clamped by the clamp 31 in cooperation with the base 41.

The base mechanism 40 has a base 41 having a clamp recess 42 as best seen in FIGS.
And a band guide cylinder 24 attached thereto and a band separation guide advanced by the band guide cylinder 24
Along with 23, it comprises a base cylinder 45 as a power for aligning and leaving the band line.

The details of the grip shear device 50 are shown in FIG.
The front sectional view is shown in FIG. 11, and the side sectional view is shown in FIG. 12. The grip shear cylinder 55 (see FIG. 2) having a two-stage operation structure allows the grip mechanism to be operated in the first stage through a link 58. Pull up the gripper 51 and fix the cutter
The tip of the band 90 is configured to be gripped between the lower surface of the belt 56 and the movable cutter 57 is depressed in the second operation to cooperate with the fixed cutter 56 so as to cut off the excess band. I have. The grip and shear device 50 includes a gripper 51 in the form of a jaw surrounded by side plates 53 and 53 via an arm 59 and a link 58, and a movable cutter 57 and a fixed cutter 56 are additionally provided. Then, it is connected to the grip / shear cylinder 55 by the pin 52, and the link 58 enables the operation in the direction displaced from 90 to 90.
By pulling out the pin 52, the grip shear device 50 can be easily removed from the bottom surface as an integrated block. (See Fig. 12)

The feeding and tightening device 60 is of substantially the same type as that applied to a steel band bundling head which is already widely known, and may be known to the extent that the output is slightly reduced.
Although the motor 68 as the power source is electrically driven in the embodiment, an air motor can be applied. The transmission 65 controls the speed and the rotation output. The feed tightening mechanism 59 includes a reduction gear, a drive roll, and the like.

The face gate 70 is substantially the same as that applied to a known binding head using a steel strip. Although not described in detail, the face gate 70 is closed when the belt 90 is fed by the high rotor 75, and when the belt 90 is tightened. Open.

The control device 80 is basically different from the conventional cam control, and as shown in FIG. 13, a solenoid valve 85 for each device mechanism combined with a sequencer (not shown).
A pressure reducing valve 86 provided as needed is connected to each air cylinder, the high rotor 75, and the transmission 65 to form an air circuit and control each device mechanism. As a result, the operation schedule of each device can be easily changed, and the control operation can be ensured. This control device is also applicable to a friction welding type binding head.

The operation of the binding head will be described. First, an automatic binding machine (not shown) on which the binding head 1 is mounted.
The band 90 sent out from the feeding and tightening device 60 of the bundling head 1 forms an annular shape around the object to be tied placed through the band guide frame of the bundling machine. By the reverse rotation and retraction operation of the feeding and tightening device 60, the band 90 is removed from the band guide frame, and the article is brought into a circumferentially close contact state. Prior to the feeding back of the band 90, the base 41 is aligned with the band line by the base cylinder 45, and the band separation guide 23 is aligned with the band line by the band guide cylinder 24. Accordingly, the band 90 advances along the band guide frame through the band separation guide 23 to form an annular shape, and the leading end of the band 90 advances to the band separation guide 23 to form a superimposed portion, and the band front end portion (slightly behind the band superimposed portion). When the gripper is gripped between the gripper 51 of the grip shear device 50 and the fixed cutter 56 by the first-stage operation of the grip shear cylinder 55, the hot plate 21 to be inserted in the band overlap portion is to be inserted. Is formed and secured. Thus, the band 90 is strongly tightened by the feeding and tightening device 60, the clamp 31 is pushed down by the operation of the clamp cylinder 35, and cooperates with the clamp recess 42 of the base 41 to form the band 90.
Here, the second stage operation of the grip shear cylinder 55 pushes down the movable cutter 57 and cooperates with the fixed cutter 56 to cut off the excess band, and thus the tightening force of the circumferential tightening band 90. Is supported by the gripper 51 and the clamp 31, and the belt overlap portion is in a no tension state.

Thus, the hot plate 21 advances by the operation of the hot plate insertion cylinder 22, comes into contact with the band separation guide 23, and the hot plate 21 itself overlaps while pressing the band separation guide 23 as if they were integrated. It enters and is inserted between belts 90.
Thus, the first air chamber 253 of the pressurizing cylinder 25 is
The air holes 255 and 256 are opened in both the second air chamber 254 and the overlap zone 90 is lightly press-bonded through the hot plate 21 with the pressurizer 26 supporting the base 41 by the urging force of the spring 252. The preheated hot plate 21 melts the contact surfaces of the upper and lower belts that have come into contact with each other and adhered appropriately. After proper contact with hot plate 21,
The hot plate 21 is withdrawn from the molten polymerization zone and returned by the operation of the hot plate insertion cylinder 22. Here, the above-mentioned state of no tension in the superposed portion brings about a very favorable posture for melting and pressure bonding of the superposed zone. This is because it is a technical mode based on appropriate considerations that does not cause extension deformation of the fusion zone of the band. Thus, the pressurized cylinder 25 receives the compressed air from the vent hole 255 into the first air chamber 253 and presses down the piston 251 strongly, and the polymerized zone melted by the pressurizer 26 is strongly pressurized and welded. Thereafter, the pressurizing cylinder 25 is operated to raise and return the pressurizing element 26, the clamp cylinder 35 raises and returns the clamp 31, and the base cylinder 45 retreats the base mechanism 40, thereby completing one cycle of the band-overlap portion welding and binding. . In this way,
The binding head 1 separates from the binding object, the binding object becomes free, and is sent to the next step as a firm binding body.

The operation of each device and mechanism of the binding head 1 described above is controlled by a control device 80 including a sequencer which is the root of the control and each air cylinder which is operated based on a solenoid valve 85 connected thereto. It is done.

[0030]

According to the present invention, the following effects are achieved, and greatly contribute to the development of an automatic binding machine using a thermoplastic belt. (1) Depending on the function of the cylinder, the welding of the overlapping portion of the band is uniformly and reliably achieved by the function of the cylinder, and the quality assurance of the band binding is enhanced. (2) A hot plate having a sufficient heat capacity is inserted very smoothly, quickly and reliably into the overlapping portion of the belt, so that welding which does not cause operational trouble is achieved. (3) The operation order and operation timing of the binding head are
Since it is very easy to change or select, it is possible to quickly respond to all welding conditions, and the range of use of the automatic tying machine using a band is increased. (4) The inspection and maintenance of the binding head can be performed extremely easily, and the accuracy of the automatic binding machine can be maintained and improved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

[Summary] The drawings all show embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 1 is a front view of the present binding head.

FIG. 2 is a side view of the present binding head.

FIG. 3 is a front partial cross-sectional view of the binding head taken along line BB of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a partial side sectional view of the binding head taken along line AA of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the binding head taken along line CC of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a partial front sectional view of the welding device.

FIG. 7 is a partial side sectional view of the welding device.

FIG. 8 is a front sectional view of a pressure cylinder.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram of a band clamp state of the clamp mechanism.

FIG. 10 is a partial detailed view of a hot plate attaching portion.

FIG. 11 is a front sectional view of the grip shear device.

FIG. 12 is a side sectional view of the grip shear device.

FIG. 13 is a partial circuit diagram of the control device.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 unity head 5 frame 10
Welding device 20 Hot plate welding mechanism 21 Hot plate 22
Hot plate insertion cylinder 23 Band separation guide 24 Band guide cylinder 25
Pressing cylinder 26 Pressing element 27 Pressing arm 28
Duracon 29 Hot plate mounting part 30 Clamp mechanism 31
Clamp 35 Clamp cylinder 40 Base mechanism 41
Base 42 Clamp recess 45 Base cylinder 50
Clear shear device 51 Gripper 52 Pin 53
Side plate 54 Sliding body 55 Crisp chassis linter 56
Fixed cutter 57 Moving cutter 58 Link 59
Arm 60 Feed tightening device 65 Transmission 68
Motor 69 Feed tightening mechanism 70 Face gate 75
High rotor 80 Control device 85 Solenoid valve 86
Pressure reducing valve 90 zones 251 Piston 25
2 Spring 253 First air chamber 254 Second air chamber 25
5 Vent hole 256 Vent hole 291 Mounting bolt 29
2 Spring 295 mica board.

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. A feeding and tightening device for feeding, pulling back and tightening a thermoplastic belt, a grip device for gripping a front end portion of a belt, a welding device for welding a belt overlap portion, and a shear device for cutting an excess band. And a control unit for controlling the operation of each of these devices. In the binding head of the thermoplastic belt, the first air chamber and the second air chamber of the air cylinder having the spring, that is, the cylinder are mounted on the hot plate welding mechanism of the welding device. Open, apply weak pressure by a spring provided for piston energization, and then perform strong heating by passing compressed air into the first air chamber.
A pressurized cylinder that can be used according to strength or weakness is attached, and the thermoplastic belt in contact with the upper and lower surfaces of the hot plate is appropriately adhered to the hot plate by weak heating and melted. A binding head for a thermoplastic belt, wherein the binding head is configured to be welded.