EP2011735A1 - Device for applying objects on a web, sheet or plate - Google Patents

Abstract

The device has a hollow cylinder (6) that adjusts development and tension of a plastic film sleeve (5), where the sleeve is rolled around the cylinder and a hollow cylinder (1). A blowing box (9) has a surface perforated on a surface (9'). A row of stores (15) supplying the objects are implanted around the sleeve in rolled position around the cylinder (1). Return cylinders (11, 12) apply a sheet of material (10) that synchronously moves along with the sleeve. The objects are adhered on the material that is arranged parallel to the sleeve on a section between the cylinders (11, 12).

Description

The invention relates to a method of depositing objects on a sheet of flexible raw material or semi-rigid material in continuous movement or on sheets of flexible or semi-rigid material in discontinuous motion. The claimed process is embodied by a typical device.

An example of application is the removal and affixing of labels to a moving web or sheet of paper or cardboard. More particularly, this method applies to the removal of a tag or a component of RFID identification and information system, said RFID, on a sheet or packaging of paper, cardboard or corrugated cardboard .

This latter example will be taken as a typical lead for describing and illustrating the claimed process.

The cartonboard and corrugated packaging manufacturing industry integrates several production phases from the manufacture of the material to the delivery of the packaging items to the packager-customer who uses them.

For simplicity, we will define below three main essential phases: that of the manufacture of the raw material which is the paper, that of the manufacture of the material which is the cardboard or the corrugated cardboard, that of the manufacture of the finished product which is packaging.

The first phase is the manufacture of paper reels after elaboration of the paper pulp.

The second phase is the production of sheets or plates of material cut from one or more of these paper rolls.

The third phase is the cutting and shaping of these sheets of material into packaging.

Between each of these phases, intermediate manufacturing steps can be interposed to print or prime the raw material or material.

So we'll talk about pre-printing phase when we roll out, prints and reels a roll of paper.

We will talk about post-printing when we take from a pile, print and put back in a pile a sheet or a plate of material or that we distribute this sheet or this plate on another machine or a other machine module. To date, there is no specific removal device adapted to this activity so as to meet both the positioning constraints and rate of removal of objects.

The first difficulty that the process overcomes is that it can be applied to any of the aforementioned manufacturing phases, the entire production device can be installed indifferently on any type of production machine and intercalate if necessary between two modules or existing manufacturing stations.

In the description and the accompanying sketches, the existing machine environment will not be described, the description will begin with the introduction of the sheet in the claimed device and will end at the output of this same device.

The more the claimed device will be implanted on the production machines carrying out the initial phases of manufacture and the fewer it will be necessary to install in number, so less the cost of the investment will be high. For example, it is preferable to implant the device on a pre-printing machine that feeds several packaging production sites, then in descending order of interest, on a machine for producing corrugated board in each site of production and finally on each machine for processing these plates into packaging at each production site.

The example shown will therefore be that of the most economically favorable case where the device is implanted on a pre-printing machine and where the removal of the object is carried out on a sheet unrolled continuously from a reel.

The second difficulty to solve is that of the personalization of the removal depending on the packaging to be performed later. In the paper manufacturing phase, the raw material is not assigned to a specific packaging, so it is not it is not appropriate to apply the claimed process to this manufacturing stage until it is necessary to establish a prior link between the object to be deposited and the finished packaging, even though the process is technically applicable. . From the pre-printing or printing phases, there is a customization of the raw material or material and there is a direct link between what is printed, the dimensional format and the geometry or cutting of the future packaging. At this time, we know where the object or objects to be deposited on the sheet, the sheet or the plate of material or material.

This implantation of deposit varies according to each order of manufacture to achieve. Similarly, the size or the type of object to be deposited may vary with each production order to be made. For example, an electronic component may be different from another to respond to different activation and read-write frequencies, the antenna that will be connected to it will also be different in its shape and dimensions for the same reasons.

The claimed method solves this problem by means of support and transfer arrangements specific to each production to be performed. The materialization that will be described below will use a flexible plastic film transfer medium perforated and provided with inserts.

The third difficulty to solve is the rate of removal to be respected not to slow down other manufacturing processes used. The described method allows a continuous operation of the removal by rotation of the support, or at least comparable to continuous operation, on a material or a moving material in front of the removal station which is preferable to a discontinuous deposit using reciprocating movements. sometimes compelling the stopping of the sheet of material in front of the removal station during removal.

Other constraints and solutions will be described as follows.

The figure 1 represents a vertical section of the entire device type materializing the claimed process as well as part of the sheet of material between its input and its output device.

The figure 2 represents a partial view of the transfer medium and an insert principle adapted to the removal of a radio frequency tag and a simplified representation of this tag.

The process, and the device which materializes it, comprise the following elements represented on the figure 1 .

The first element is a hollow cylinder (1) is rotated about a drive shaft (2) connected and synchronized with the other modules of the machine in which the device is implanted. This link is not represented on the figure 1 .

A vacuum is created inside this cylinder for example by a suction system connected to its hollow shaft to allow communication with the entire interior of the hollow cylinder.

The curved surface of the cylinder (3) is perforated by multiple orifices to allow the air to be sucked around the whole circumference, circulate it inside the cylinder (4), converge towards the dug-out drive shaft ( 2) by which it will be evacuated via a connected suction pump (not shown).

As an indication and not limitation, the generator of this type of cylinder is between 700 and 3350 millimeters depending on the machines.

The distance between the holes drilled on the surface of the cylinder corresponds to the minimum pitch of removal between two of the smallest objects to be deposited. As a nonlimiting and non-restrictive information, the distance between two holes on the same generator and between two generators would currently be of the order of 20 millimeters since these are the dimensions, in the current state of the art, of a " radio frequency tag comprising a support on which is fixed an electronic component (the "electronic chip") and an antenna. This distance must be reduced to a value of the order of a millimeter if we want to deposit the electronic component (the "chip") alone.

The second transfer support member (5) is constituted by a sheet of semi-rigid plastic film, for example a polyester film 50 to 200 microns thick depending on the application. This sheet is assembled and closed on itself to form a sleeve whose development is identical to that of the product or set of products to be printed and / or cut.

Thus, at each complete turn of the film, the number of objects that it is necessary to implement at each step of progression of the material or material in the "running direction" of the machine will be deposited. In the perpendicular or "cross-direction" direction, that of its generatrices, the sleeve will cover at least the width (or width) of the material or of the transformed material, namely usually a width of between 700 and 3350 millimeters to equip the machines with more commonly used.

Each packaging reference to be manufactured has a specific removable sleeve which behaves as a tool that is installed on the other irremovable elements of the device at each setting before the manufacture or transformation of a reference packaging to manufacture.

On the one hand, this sleeve (5) partially surrounds the outside of the hollow cylinder (1) described above. By way of non-limiting example, the film sleeve may be driven by the hollow cylinder (1) by means of perforated lateral bands in the sleeve and raised pins on the corresponding lateral edges of the cylinder (1).

This film sleeve (5) is perforated only at the locations corresponding to the objects to be deposited so that the depression created inside the hollow cylinder (1) is transmitted to the objects to be transferred, through the film of the sleeve but only at the appropriate locations on which the objects to be transferred are sucked up and are placed temporarily. On the other hand, this sleeve (1) partially surrounds a third element (6) which is a tension cylinder.

This tension cylinder (6) moves along the axis (XX) which connects the axis of its rotation shaft to the axis of the rotation shaft of the preceding suction hollow cylinder (1). We can thus adapt different developed film sleeves (5) installed on the device, but also adjust the tension of the film if necessary.

The fourth element is a sizing station (7) which makes it possible to deposit glue on the free face of the object to be transferred as long as it is kept sucked by the depression of the hollow cylinder (1) through the sleeve of film (5). The sizing station (7) is represented by way of non-limiting example on the figure 1 by a fretwork neck cylinder (7 ') bubbling in a tray (7 ") partially filled with glue (8) whose thickness is calibrated by a rake (7"'). This sizing station can be advantageously replaced by a system relying on a pressure gun for example, or any other more appropriate method.

The fifth element is a blower box (9) which serves the full width (the width) of the machine and which is closed at each of its two ends. At one of its ends, it is connected to an air booster (not shown). One of the faces of this box in overpressure is flat over the entire width (the width) of the machine and perforated on the surface (9 ') in contact with the film sleeve (5) when it ceases to wind around the hollow depression cylinder and the distance necessary for the transfer of objects on the sheet (10) or on the plate which scrolls in opposite. The air is pulsed through the orifices of the box and passes through the holes of the film sleeve (5) to separate the objects of the sleeve and to press them on the scroll sheet (10) on which they must be fixed by gluing. .

Another face of the booster chamber (9 ") can be made to follow the outer wall of the vacuum cylinder (1) in order to seal the holes and thus reduce the need for suction air flow. curvilinear will not be perforated.

For the same purpose, this solid curvilinear wall can be extended by a complementary solid curvilinear structure (9 "') to complete the closing of the holes on the residual part of the vacuum cylinder not covered by the film sleeve (5). necessary, an adjustment adjustment must be provided so that the development ensured by the closed curvilinear walls of the suction box (9 ") and its complement (9 "') adjust if necessary depending on winding variations of the film sleeve (5) around the vacuum cylinder (1).

At least two deflection rolls (11 and 12) are required to apply more or less the sheet (10) of material or material to the film sleeve (5) during the removal of the sized object to be transferred.

When the sheet leaves the dispensing device, the object to be transferred (13) is adhered to the sheet and released from the film sleeve (5) to which attachments or inserts (14) have been attached to facilitate gripping and the transfer of objects (13).

In order to supply the device with objects to be deposited, it is possible to use several principles and materials capable of bringing the objects to be deposited opposite the orifices of the film sleeve (5) and the inserted inserts (14) on which the objects will be sucked. to their taking into account by the device.

On the figure 1 are represented four rows (15) of removable and adjustable stores stacked objects without being a principle limiting the scope of the invention. It is also possible to admit a distribution from prefabricated labels in rolls by conventional or printed label removal machines and made at the last moment by other specific machines.

The system for generating and / or providing the objects to be deposited is immaterial insofar as it is able to make the objects available in the right position and at the desired rate.

It is necessary to have multiple simultaneous feeds of objects along a same generating line of the film sleeve to cover the entire width of the machine and to have several feed lines to reduce the removal distances between the objects. on the width of the machine and allow the offset of the removal lines on the same sheet or plate of material or material on which there may be imprints (or poses) of staggered or imbricated packaging.

Likewise, the multiplication of the removal devices makes it possible to replenish the masked time during operation and preparation of subsequent production (s) whose objects to be deposited would be different.

For a better understanding and without being a unique restrictive solution of the invention, a specific form of inserts (14) is shown on the figure 2 . These inserts (14), whose central portion is recessed, are positioned around the orifices (16) arranged in the film sleeve (5) in order to suck, transfer and blow objects to be deposited as the radio frequency tags (13). represented in a simplistic way on this figure 2 . Preferably, these inserts will have a convex curvature greater in the upper part than in the lower part in the direction of rotation of the cylinder and, possibly, a convex curvature in the upper part in the direction of the generatrices of the cylinder to allow to confer to the transferred label a curved shape and prevent both excessive deposits of glue on the edges of the label and snapping in contact with the web of scrolling material.

These inserts (14) have a shape and a dimension substantially similar to that of the objects to be transferred.

These inserts may be made of the same material as the flexographic printing plates and bonded to the film sleeve (5) in the same manner as the latter.

The advantage of installing the claimed device on a printing machine is to be able to perform the removal of the electronic components alone (the chips) on a material or a material which we could print the antenna on the inside (back side). ) of the moving web or sheet (10) and optionally a suitable decoration or a bar code on the outer face (front).

Claims (2)

Device for depositing objects on a sheet of flexible raw material or semi-rigid material in continuous movement or on sheets of flexible or semi-rigid material in discontinuous motion characterized by : grasping and transferring by suction and blow-molding the objects to be deposited (13) by means of: a hollow cylinder (1) perforated over its entire curved outer surface in which an air depression is created and which rotates about an axis (2), causing its displacement a sleeve of semi-rigid plastic film (5), also perforated (16) but only according to the implantation plane of the objects (13) to be transferred, which also entails in its displacement a cylinder (6) for adjusting the development and tension of the sleeve (5) whose axis of rotation approaches or departs from that of the preceding hollow hollow cylinder (1), a partial winding of the plastic film sleeve around the two cylinders (1 and 6), that of depression and that of adjustment, this sleeve moving in front of - a blower box (9) fixed whose face in contact with the film sleeve (9 ') is perforated, a fixed arrangement of this blowing chamber (9 ") and a complement to this arrangement (9 '") in solid walls along the curve of the hollow hollow cylinder (1) for the part not covered by the film sleeve, one or more fixed complementary supply devices (15) for the objects to be deposited and implanted around the sleeve (5) in its portion wound around the hollow cylinder (1), a fixed gluing device (7) for the objects to be deposited, cylinders (11 and 12) for applying to the sleeve of the material or material (10) in synchronous movement with that of the film sleeve (5), material (10) on which the objects come to stick and, essentially, in parallel with this sleeve (5) on the section between these two cylinders (11) and (12). Device comprising a film sleeve (1) according to claim 1 characterized by the perforation of air suction ports (16) corresponding to a portion of the openings of the vacuum cylinder (1) and surrounded by inserts reported ( 14) substantially of the shape and size of the objects to be transferred, recessed in their center and whose convex curvature superior is greater than that of their base fixed on the film.

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