JPH0138112Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] "Purpose of the Invention" (Technical Field of the Invention) The present invention relates to an apparatus for automatically bonding a lead film to a thermal transfer film.

(Prior art and its problems) A thermal film for thermal transfer is cut into a predetermined length and wound around a bobbin. Lead films are now glued to the starting and ending ends of the heat-sensitive film in order to make it easier to wind the film around a bobbin and pull it out from the bobbin, and to use the film over its entire length without waste. ing.

The adhesion of the lead film to the heat-sensitive film has conventionally been carried out completely manually in the following manner. That is, a heat-sensitive film is pulled out from the original film wound on a roll, the starting end of the film is adhered with a lead film adhesive or adhesive tape, and the heat-sensitive film is wound onto a bobbin, and when the winding onto the bobbin reaches a predetermined length. Cut the thermal film over a predetermined length range from the terminal end, and adhere a lead film with adhesive or adhesive tape between the terminal end of the preceding thermal film and the starting end of the succeeding thermal film, and then attach the lead film. This cuts the film in the middle. In the above work, care must be taken to avoid wrinkles on the heat-sensitive film.

However, heat-sensitive film is thin, so-called stiff, and wrinkles easily, and for this reason, it is necessary to adhere the lead film to the heat-sensitive film while holding the heat-sensitive film under tension by hand to prevent wrinkles. However, the workability and efficiency were poor, and many gluing errors occurred.

In addition, in the above process, a relatively long piece of thermal film is cut between the leading and trailing pieces, but this cut piece of thermal film is too short to be used as a product and is therefore discarded.
There was a lot of loss of thermal film.

(Technical problem to be solved by the invention) The technical problem to be solved by the invention is to mechanically transport a thermal film under tension, and to transfer the lead to the leading thermal film and the following thermal film. The purpose is to automatically bond films in a continuous process.

"Structure of the invention" (Technical means for solving the technical problems) The technical means taken by the present invention to solve the above problems are as follows: a cutter for cutting the film; a suction conveyance mechanism for suctioning the terminal end of the heat-sensitive film cut by the cutter and conveying it under tension; and a direction perpendicular to the film within a plane above the heat-sensitive film in the conveyance line. extending to
and a conveyance line for conveying the lead film and an adhesive tape that is adhered to the left and right sides of the film while leaving an adhesive margin on the outside; A conveyor that transports under tension,
A cutter located in front of the conveyor for cutting the lead film and adhesive tape, and a cutter connected to the conveyor to lower the conveyor so that the lead film on the lower surface follows the rear end of the preceding thermal film by means of the adhesive tape. It is equipped with a descending cylinder that is adhered to the starting end of the heat-sensitive film.

(Operation of technical means) According to the above means, the thermal film is transported by the transport line and cut by the cutter on the way, and after cutting, the leading end of the thermal film is attracted by the suction transport mechanism and is kept under tension. While being conveyed, the lead film is attracted to the lower surface of the conveyor together with the adhesive tape attached to its left and right sides, and is conveyed under tension in a direction perpendicular to the heat-sensitive film, and is cut into a predetermined length by a cutter along the way. The conveyor is then lowered by a descending cylinder located above the thermosensitive film, and the lead film is separated by an adhesive tape from the end of the leading thermosensitive film to the beginning of the trailing thermosensitive film. They are glued to each other.

"Effects of the Invention" The configuration of the present invention as described above provides the following effects.

Since the heat-sensitive film and the lead film to which the adhesive tape is attached can be mechanically conveyed and bonded together under tension, the heat-sensitive film does not wrinkle and the work of bonding the lead film to the same film can be done in a continuous process. This can be done automatically and reliably, and work efficiency can be significantly improved compared to conventional manual work.

The thermal film is cut and the leading film and the trailing film are separated and the lead film is bonded to them, so there is no need to cut out the thermal film as in the past, and there is no loss of thermal film. There is no.

``Example'' An example of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the automatic lead film bonding apparatus of this embodiment includes a conveyance line _L1 for a heat-sensitive film _f1 , a lead film _f2 , and an adhesive tape t.
transport line L ₂ , both of these transport lines
The thermosensitive film _f1 , lead film _f2 , and adhesive tape t are conveyed under tension at L1 _{and L2 ,} and are cut and bonded together.

A conveyance line _L1 for the thermal film _f1 sequentially passes a feed-out roll 1 of the thermal film _f1 in the conveyance direction, and a thermal film f1 fed out from the feed-out roll ₁ .
a guide roll 2 that guides the thermal film f1, and a suction conveyance mechanism 3 that suctions the thermal film _f1 and conveys it under tension.
It has a structure in which two fixed guide rolls 4 and 5, a dancer roll 6 located between them, and a bobbin 7 for winding up a thermal film _f1 as a product are provided.

The feed roll 1 is rotatably supported above the frame A, and feeds out the thermal film _f1 in a downward direction.

Between the guide roll 2 and the suction conveyance mechanism 3,
A film presser foot 8 and a cutter _c1 are provided.

The film presser 8 has a length spanning the entire width of the thermal film f ₁ , and is attached to the frame A via an elevating cylinder 9 so as to be movable up and down. When the thermal film f ₁ is cut, the film presser 8 descends and comes into contact with the thermal film f _{1 .} The film _f1 is pushed down and held between it and the receiving plate 10.

The cutter c ₁ is arranged close to the front end of the receiving plate 10 in the conveying direction, and the air cylinder 11 is attached to the frame A.
It is movably supported over the entire width of the thermal film f ₁ via the cylinder 11, and cuts the thermal film f ₁ in the width direction as the cylinder 11 moves. The air cylinder 11 has a well-known structure without an operating rod, and a cutter _c1 is connected via a support member 12 to a piston 11b that slides within the cylinder 11a.

The suction conveyance mechanism 3 includes a suction body 31 disposed flush with the upper surface of the receiving plate 10, and attaches the suction body 31 to the frame A via an air cylinder 32 to attach a thermal film.
It is configured to be supported movably in the transport direction of f ₁ ,
The thermosensitive film _f1 is sucked from the bottom surface by the suction body 31 and transported horizontally. The adsorbent 31 has a hollow block body 31a having a width spanning the entire width of the heat-sensitive film _f1 , and has a large number of suction holes 31b on the upper surface thereof, and connects the block body 31a to a vacuum pump (not shown). The thermosensitive film _f1 is adsorbed onto the upper surface of the block body 31a by means of negative pressure acting within the block body 31a by a vacuum pump. The air cylinder 32 has a similar structure to the air cylinder 11 of the cutter c ₁ , and the adsorbent 31 is connected via a support member 33 to a piston 32b that slides within the cylinder 32a.

The fixed guide rolls 4 and 5 disposed at the front of the transport mechanism 3 in the transport direction include the front guide roll 5.
is arranged at a higher position than the rear guide roll 4, and the heat-sensitive film _f1 is always in contact with the front guide roll ₅ , while the heat-sensitive film f1 is in contact with the rear guide roll 4 during cutting and After that, they come into contact in the lowered position.

Dancer roll 6 between the guide rolls 4 and 5
is provided so as to be movable up and down at the same height as the front guide roll 5, and is in constant contact with the heat-sensitive film _f1 .
Further, when cutting the heat-sensitive film _f1 , it descends to push down and tension the film _f1 .

Bobbin 7 for winding thermal film _f1 is frame A.
It is rotatably supported at an upper position, and is rotated by a drive means (not shown) to wind up the heat-sensitive film _f1 for a predetermined length, and then replace it with a new one.

The conveyance line _L2 for the lead film _f2 and the adhesive tape t includes, in the conveyance direction, a feed-out roll 13 for the lead film _f2 , a feed-out roll 14 for the adhesive tape t, and a presser foot that presses down the fed-out lead film _f2 and adhesive tape t. It has a configuration including a roll 15 and a conveyor 16 that adsorbs the lead film f ₂ and the adhesive tape t and conveys them under tension,
The lead film f ₂ and the adhesive tape t are transferred to the thermal film f ₁ on the conveyance line L ₁ of the thermal film f _{1 .}
The film is sent in a direction perpendicular to the film _f1 within the upper plane.

The feed roll 13 for the lead film f ₂ is rotatably supported above the frame A, and feeds out the lead film f ₂ upward.
The lead film f ₂ fed out from this feeding roll 13 is guided to a conveyor 16 via a fixed guide roll 17 and a feed roll 18.

A pair of rolls 14 for feeding out the adhesive tape t are provided above the roll 13 for feeding out the lead film _f2 , on the left and right sides of the roll 13, and are rotatably supported by the frame A. Two adhesive tapes t fed out from this feeding roll 14
is guided to the conveyor 16 by a fixed guide roll 19 and a feed roll 20 with the glue side facing down.

The feed roll 20 is positioned close to and directly above the feed roll 18 for the lead film f ₂ , and by passing the lead film f ₂ and the adhesive tape t between these two feed rolls 18 and 20, the adhesive tape t is This is to adhere to the left and right sides of the lead film _f2 with an adhesive margin left on the outside.

A cutter _c2 for cutting the lead film _f2 and the adhesive tape t is provided between the feed rolls 18, 20 and the conveyor 16.

The cutter c ₂ is the cutter c ₁ of the thermal film f ₁ .
Similarly, the lead film f ₂ to which the adhesive tape t is attached is movably supported by the frame A via an air cylinder 21 over the entire width thereof, and as the cylinder 21 moves, the lead film f ₂ and the adhesive tape t are moved in width. It cuts in the direction.

Presser roll 1 placed in front of conveyor 16
5 is swingably supported by the frame A, and presses the lead film f ₂ and the adhesive tape t against the conveyor 16 to prevent wrinkles from appearing on both f ₂ and t.

The conveyor 16 is disposed perpendicularly above the horizontal conveyance section of the heat-sensitive film _f1 by the suction conveyance mechanism 3 in the conveyance line _L1 for the heat-sensitive film _f1 , and the lead film f ₂ and the adhesive tape t and convey it, and at the same time descends to the upper surface of the thermosensitive film f ₁ via the descending cylinder 22.

The endless belt 16b has a hollow box-shaped frame 1.
Driving drum 16c and driven drum 1 supported by 6a
6d, and a large number of suction holes _16b1 are provided on the entire surface. Endless belt 16b
The circumferential speed of is set slightly higher than that of the feed rolls 18 and 20, and the lead film f ₂ and adhesive tape t are tensioned so that wrinkles appear on both f ₂ and t.

The box-shaped frame 16a is connected to a vacuum pump (not shown) so that negative pressure is applied to the inside thereof, and the negative pressure is applied through a number of through holes 16 provided in the peripheral wall.
It acts on the suction hole 16b1 of the endless belt 16b via _a1 and a cavity _16e formed between the circumferential wall and the endless belt 16b.

The driven drum 16d has a box-shaped frame 16a inside.
A through hole _16d1 is provided on the circumferential surface of the drum 16d, and the negative pressure acting inside the drum 16d passes through the through hole 16d1 to the suction hole ₁ of the endless belt 16b.
Lead film immediately after being cut by acting on 6b ₁
f ₂ and the adhesive tape t are reliably adsorbed onto the endless belt 16b without peeling off.

The descending cylinder 22 is fixed to the upper surface of the frame A, and its operating rod 22a is connected to the box-shaped frame 16a of the conveyor 16 via a support frame 23.

In the lead film automatic bonding apparatus of this embodiment as described above, the thermal film _f1 is conveyed by the conveyance line _L1 , and when the winding length of the thermal film _f1 onto the bobbin 7 reaches a predetermined length, the thermal film f1 is transferred to the bobbin 7. stops rotating, and the film presser 8 is lowered to lower the thermal film f ₁ onto the receiving plate 10. With the thermal film f ₁ being held between the film presser 8 and the receiving plate 10, the cutter c ₁ is activated, and the thermal film _f1 is cut. The terminal end of the thermal film f ₁ cut in advance is adsorbed onto the upper surface of the adsorbent body 31 of the adsorption conveyance mechanism 3 . Then, the adsorbent 31 is a heat-sensitive film f ₁
The thermosensitive film f1 is moved horizontally while being adsorbed, and the dancer roll 6 is lowered, so that the thermosensitive film _f1 is conveyed while maintaining a tensioned state to the stop position of the adsorbent 31, and is stopped at the said position to wait.

During the cutting of the heat-sensitive film _f1 and the subsequent conveyance operation, the lead film _f2 and the adhesive tape t are conveyed and cut in synchronization with the same operation. That is, as the feed rolls 18 and 20 are driven and the conveyor 16 is driven, the lead film f ₂ and the adhesive tape t are paid out from the respective feed rolls 13 and 14 and are bonded in the middle, and are attracted by the conveyor 16 and are in a tense state. It is transported while maintaining the When the amount of feed of the lead film f ₂ and the adhesive tape t reaches a predetermined length, that is, the length covering the entire width of the heat-sensitive film f ₁ , the feed rolls 18 and 20 and the conveyor 16 are stopped, and the cutter c ₂ is operated to remove the lead film. Cut f ₂ and adhesive tape t. The cut lead film f ₂ and the adhesive tape t are conveyed again by driving the conveyor 16 for a predetermined time after the stop, and the glue margin of the adhesive tape t separates the leading end of the thermal film f ₁ and the trailing thermal film.
It is located directly above the starting end of _f1 .

When the conveyance, cutting, and positioning of the thermal film f ₁ , lead film f ₂ , and adhesive tape t are completed in this way, the conveyor 16 is moved by the descending cylinder 22 .
is lowered, and the adhesive tapes t on both sides of the lead film f ₂ adsorbed to the lower surface of the conveyor 16 are adhered to the end of the leading thermal film f ₁ and the starting end of the trailing thermal film f 1 , and the adhesive tapes t are bonded to the end of the leading thermal film f ₁ and the starting edge of the trailing thermal film f ₁ . A lead film f ₂ is glued over the area. When the adhesive tape t is bonded, the terminal end and starting end of the heat-sensitive film _f1 are supported by the upper surface of the adsorbent 31 and the upper surface of the receiving plate 10, respectively.

After the adhesion of the lead film f ₂ to the thermal film f ₁ is completed, the bobbin 7 of the conveyance line L ₁ is driven again to convey the leading thermal film f ₁ and the trailing thermal film f ₁ together. . As this conveyance progresses, when the end of the leading thermal film f ₁ reaches near the bobbin 7, the lead film f ₂ is manually cut by the cutter c ₃ , and the leading film f ₁ is wound onto the bobbin 7. 7 is removed and replaced with a new bobbin, and winding of the thermal film _f1 following the bobbin is started via the lead film _f2 .

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a partially cutaway front view showing an embodiment of the device of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a partially cutaway side view of the same. In the figure, L ₁ ...Thermal film conveyance line, c ₁
...Thermal film cutter, 3...Adsorption conveyance mechanism, _L2 ...Lead film and adhesive tape conveyance line, 16...Conveyor, c ₂ ...Lead film and adhesive tape cutter, 22...Descent of conveyor Cylinder for f ₁ ...thermal film, f ₂ ...
...Lead film, t...adhesive tape.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] A conveyance line for a thermal film, a cutter located in the middle of the conveyance line for cutting the thermal film, and an adsorption conveyance mechanism for suctioning the end portion of the thermal film cut by the cutter and conveying it under tension; Extending in a plane above the thermosensitive film in the conveyance line in a direction perpendicular to the film,
and a conveyance line for conveying the lead film and an adhesive tape that is adhered to the left and right sides of the film while leaving an adhesive margin on the outside; A conveyor that transports under tension,
A cutter located in front of the conveyor for cutting the lead film and adhesive tape, and a cutter connected to the conveyor to lower the conveyor so that the lead film on the lower surface follows the rear end of the preceding thermal film by means of the adhesive tape. An automatic lead film bonding device for a heat-sensitive film, comprising a starting end of a heat-sensitive film and a descending cylinder for bonding to the starting end of a heat-sensitive film.