Source: http://patents.com/us-9833963.html
Timestamp: 2018-10-21 23:40:33
Document Index: 263951065

Matched Legal Cases: ['application No. 2012', 'Application No. 10', 'application No. 2012', 'Application No. 201380008532', 'Application No. 201380008532', 'Application No. 13751622']

US Patent # 9,833,963. Sheet folding device and carton former - Patents.com
United States Patent 9,833,963
Nadachi , et al. December 5, 2017
Sheet folding device and carton former
Nadachi; Mitsuhiro (Mihara, JP), Hatano; Osamu (Mihara, JP)
Family ID: 1000002992924
14/377,256
PCT/JP2013/051315
WO2013/125285
US 20150024917 A1 Jan 22, 2015
Feb 20, 2012 [JP] 2012-034562
Current CPC Class: B31B 50/54 (20170801); B31B 50/00 (20170801); B31B 50/36 (20170801); B31B 50/042 (20170801); B31B 2120/30 (20170801); B31B 50/58 (20170801); B31B 2110/35 (20170801); B31B 2100/0022 (20170801); B31B 2100/00 (20170801)
Current International Class: B31B 50/54 (20060101)
Field of Search: ;493/51,52,53,56,64,69,71,72,73,79,80,81,162,178,179,183,340,352,356,357,358,359,395,397,398,399,405,423,436,68,70,429,441
3611884 October 1971 Hottendorf
4254692 March 1981 Sardella
4295841 October 1981 Ward, Jr.
5716314 February 1998 Lauderbaugh
5827162 October 1998 Rubin
6616585 September 2003 Okamoto
8033975 October 2011 Wiklund
101239509 Aug 2008 CN
201346885 Nov 2009 CN
101873926 Oct 2010 CN
2262593 Sep 1975 FR
50-122320 Sep 1975 JP
56-63437 May 1981 JP
6-1403 Jan 1994 JP
2011-098543 May 2011 JP
2009/050272 Apr 2009 WO
Decision to Grant a Patent dated Jun. 2, 2015, corresponding to Japanese patent application No. 2012-034562. cited by applicant .
International Search Report dated Mar. 12, 2013, in corresponding International Application No. PCT/JP2013/051315. cited by applicant .
Written opinion of the International Searching Authority dated Mar. 12, 2013, in corresponding International Application No. PCT/JP2013/051315. cited by applicant .
Notice of Allowance in KR Application No. 10-2014-7021726, dated Jun. 21, 2016. cited by applicant .
Office Action dated Feb. 3, 2015, corresponding to Japanese patent application No. 2012-034562. cited by applicant .
Notice of Allowance in CN Application No. 201380008532.3 dated Jan. 7, 2016. cited by applicant .
Office Action dated Sep. 14, 2015, corresponding to Chinese Patent Application No. 201380008532.2. cited by applicant .
Extended European Search Report dated Sep. 22, 2015, corresponding to European Patent Application No. 13751622.5. cited by applicant.
1. A sheet folding device comprising: a conveyance belt that conveys a conveyance sheet in a direction of conveyance; a forming belt that abuts against a folding surface which is formed by folding both end portions of the conveyance sheet in a width direction orthogonal to the direction of conveyance and folds both of the end portions of the conveyance sheet in the width direction; a folding bar that is disposed in the direction of conveyance, abuts against the folding surface at both of the end portions of the folded conveyance sheet in the width direction, and guides both of the end portions of the conveyance sheet in the width direction; a moving mechanism that moves the folding bar in the width direction and in a vertical direction; and a control unit that controls the moving mechanism to adjust a position of the folding bar, wherein the moving mechanism includes an upstream side support mechanism that supports an upstream side of the folding bar in the direction of conveyance, a downstream side support mechanism that supports a downstream side of the folding bar in the direction of conveyance, and a central gripping moving mechanism that grips the folding bar between the upstream side support mechanism and the downstream side support mechanism to move the folding bar in the width direction and in the vertical direction, and the central gripping moving mechanism has a plurality of pivoting mechanisms and supports a central portion of the folding bar to be pivotable by the plurality of pivoting mechanisms.
2. The sheet folding device according to claim 1, wherein the upstream side support mechanism has a plurality of pivoting mechanisms, and supports an upstream side end portion of the folding bar to be pivotable by the plurality of pivoting mechanisms.
3. The sheet folding device according to claim 2, wherein the plurality of pivoting mechanisms have a first pivoting mechanism that supports the upstream side end portion of the folding bar to be pivotable in a predetermined plane.
4. The sheet folding device according to claim 3, wherein the plurality of pivoting mechanisms have a second pivoting mechanism that supports the upstream side end portion of the folding bar to be pivotable in an orthogonal plane which is orthogonal into the predetermined plane.
5. The sheet folding device according to claim 4, wherein the upstream side support mechanism has: a gripping member that grips the upstream side end portion of the folding bar; the first pivoting mechanism that pivotably supports the gripping member; a pivot shaft where the first pivoting mechanism is disposed; the second pivoting mechanism that pivotably supports the pivot shaft; and a supporting shaft that is mounted on a device frame where the second pivoting mechanism is disposed.
6. The sheet folding device according to claim 5, wherein the first pivoting mechanism is a pair of first collars that are mounted on the pivot shaft, and wherein the gripping member is disposed between the pair of first collars, and is axially supported to be pivotable by the pivot shaft in a state where a position of the gripping member is regulated in an axial direction of the pivot shaft by the pair of first collars.
7. The sheet folding device according to claim 5, wherein the second pivoting mechanism is a pair of second collars that are mounted on the supporting shaft, and wherein the pivot shaft is disposed between the pair of second collars, and is axially supported to be pivotable by the supporting shaft in a state where a position of the pivot shaft is regulated in the axial direction of the supporting shaft by the pair of second collars.
8. The sheet folding device according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of pivoting mechanisms have a third pivoting mechanism that supports the central portion of the folding bar to be pivotable in a predetermined plane.
9. The sheet folding device according to claim 8, wherein the plurality of pivoting mechanisms have a fourth pivoting mechanism that supports the central portion of the folding bar to be pivotable in an orthogonal plane which is orthogonal into the predetermined plane.
10. The sheet folding device according to claim 9, wherein the central gripping moving mechanism has: a gripping portion that is disposed in the folding bar; a connection member that is connected to the gripping portion; a third pivoting mechanism that pivotably supports the connection member; a first pivoting member where the third pivoting mechanism is disposed; a fourth pivoting mechanism that pivotably supports the first pivoting member; a second pivoting member where the fourth pivoting mechanism is disposed; a vertical direction moving mechanism that moves the second pivoting member in the vertical direction; and a width direction moving mechanism that moves the vertical direction moving mechanism in the width direction.
11. The sheet folding device according to claim 10, wherein a plurality of the gripping portions are disposed in the axial direction of the folding bar, and wherein the connection member connects the plurality of gripping portions.
12. The sheet folding device according to claim 10, wherein the gripping portion has a pair of claw portions that pinch the folding bar from both outer sides in a radial direction, wherein one of the pair of claw portions is disposed on an inner side in the width direction and the other one of the pair of claw portions is disposed on an outer side in the width direction, and wherein a length of the one claw portion on the inner side in the width direction is shorter than a length of the other claw portion on the outer side in the width direction.
13. The sheet folding device according to claim 10, wherein the vertical direction moving mechanism has a pair of upper and lower limit switches that are disposed in the vertical direction, and wherein the control unit detects an original point of the folding bar in the vertical direction based on a detection result of each of the limit switches.
14. The sheet folding device according to claim 10, wherein the vertical direction moving mechanism further has a motor as a driving source that moves the folding bar in the vertical direction, and a rotary encoder that detects an amount of rotation of the motor; and wherein the control unit derives an amount of movement in the vertical direction from the amount of rotation that is detected by the rotary encoder, and acquires a position of the folding bar in the vertical direction.
15. The sheet folding device according to claim 10, wherein a pair of the folding bars are disposed, wherein the width direction moving mechanism has three limit switches that are disposed in the width direction, and wherein the control unit detects an original point of each of the pair of folding bars in the width direction based on a detection result of each of the limit switches.
16. The sheet folding device according to claim 15, wherein a pair of the vertical direction moving mechanisms are disposed to correspond to the pair of folding bars, wherein the central gripping moving mechanism further has a pair of connection arms that connect the pair of vertical direction moving mechanisms to the width direction moving mechanism, and wherein a pair of the three limit switches are disposed on both outer sides of the pair of connection arms in the width direction and one of the one limit switches is mounted on an inner side of one of the connection arms.
17. The sheet folding device according to claim 15, wherein the width direction moving mechanism further has a pair of motors as a driving source that move the pair of folding bars in the width direction, and a pair of rotary encoders that detect amounts of rotation of the respective motors, and wherein the control unit derives an amount of movement in the width direction from the amounts of rotation that are detected by the pair of rotary encoders, and acquires respective positions of the pair of folding bars in the width direction.
18. The sheet folding device according to claim 1, wherein the downstream side support mechanism has a gripping claw that grips a downstream side end portion of the folding bar, and wherein the gripping claw exposes and grips an upper side of the folding bar in the vertical direction.
19. The sheet folding device according to claim 1, wherein the upstream side support mechanism and the downstream side support mechanism support the folding bar to be movable in the axial direction, and wherein the central gripping moving mechanism grips the folding bar by regulating a movement of the folding bar in the axial direction.
20. A carton former comprising: a paper feed unit that supplies a conveyance sheet; a printing unit that performs printing on the conveyance sheet; a paper discharge unit that performs ruled line processing and grooving on a front surface of the conveyance sheet; the sheet folding device according to claim 1 that forms a box by folding both of the end portions of the conveyance sheet in the width direction and bonding both of the end portions of the conveyance sheet in the width direction; and a counter ejector portion that discharges a predetermined number of the boxes after stacking the boxes while counting the boxes.
The present application is a National Phase of International Application Number PCT/JP2013/051315 filed Jan. 23, 2013, and claims priority of Japanese Application Number 2012-034562 filed Feb. 20, 2012.
According to this configuration, the sheet folding device can automatically adjust a position of a folding bar, and thus can shorten an operation time caused by a transfer sheet change, even in a case where the transfer sheets are changed in type. In this manner, a plurality of types of transfer sheets can be folded to form a plurality of types of boxes with high efficiency.
In this manner, the corrugated sheet S is configured to have a first panel S1 between the ruled line 324 and the ruled line 325 that has the margin piece 334, a second panel S2 between the ruled line 323 and the ruled line 324, a third panel. S3 between the ruled line 322 and the ruled line 323, and a fourth panel S4 between the ruled line 322 and the cutting position 321.
The pair of forming belts 84 are disposed over the direction D of transfer on an outlet side of the lower transfer belt 82 in the direction D of transfer, and are disposed to abut against folding surfaces that are formed when both of the end portions of the corrugated sheet S in the width direction are folded, that is, the first panel S1 and the fourth panel S4. As illustrated in FIG. 3, one of the pair of forming belts 84 abuts against the first panel S1 of the corrugated sheet S, and the other one of the pair of forming belts 84 abuts against the fourth panel S4 of the corrugated sheet S. The respective forming belts 84 are endless belts and are configured to be orbitable with a plurality of pulleys 95 wound therearound as is the case with the upper transfer belt 81 and the lower transfer belt 82. Herein, each of the pulleys 95 is fixed to a device frame 96a of the folder/gluer unit 61 via a support member 97 as illustrated in FIG. 3. Each of the forming belts 84 is inclined at an inclination angle to fold the first panel S1 and the fourth panel S4 of the corrugated sheet S in the direction D of transfer while the pair of forming belts 84 abut against the first panel S1 and the fourth panel S4 on both sides of the corrugated sheet S in the width direction. A device frame 96b is integrally connected to the device frame 96a, and the device frame 96b supports the ejector chambers 92 and the gauge rollers 87 described above. In addition, a device frame 96c is integrally connected to the device frame 96b, and a limit switch 191 (described later) is mounted on the device frame 96b. The device frame 96a, the device frame 96b, and the device frame 96c are configured to be movable by a moving mechanism (not illustrated) in the width direction, and are appropriately moved according to the size of the manufactured corrugated cardboard box B. In FIG. 3, the device frame 96b and the device frame 96c are illustrated in one of the device frames 96a. However, the similar device frame 96b and the device frame 96c are also disposed in the other device frame 96a.
The gripping member 121 is configured to have a through pipe 121a into which the folding bar 85 is inserted, and a base portion 121b that is disposed to protrude in a radial direction of the through pipe 121a. The folding bar 85 is inserted in the axial direction into the through pipe 121a in a movable manner. A pivot hole 121c, into which the pivot shaft 122 is inserted, is formed in a penetrating manner in the base portion 121b.
One side (right side in FIG. 5) of the pivot shaft 122 in the axial direction is inserted into the pivot hole 121c of the gripping member 121, and the other side (left side in FIG. 5) of the pivot shaft 122 in the axial direction is pivotably disposed in the supporting shaft 123. The first pivoting mechanism 124 is disposed on the one side of the pivot shaft 122 in the axial direction. The first pivoting mechanism 124 is configured to have a pair of first collars 126. The pair of first collars 126 are mounted on the pivot shaft 122 at a predetermined interval. The gripping member 121 is disposed between the pair of first collars 126. In this manner, the gripping member 121 is axially supported to be pivotable in a predetermined plane (in a vertical plane) with a movement of the pivot shaft 122 in the axial direction regulated by the pair of first collars 126. A support hole 122a, into which the supporting shaft 123 is inserted, is formed in a penetrating manner on the other side of the pivot shaft 122.
One side (lower side in FIG. 5) of the supporting shaft 123 in the axial direction is inserted into the support hole 122a of the pivot shaft 122, and the other side (upper side in FIG. 5) of the supporting shaft 123 in the axial direction is fixed to a device frame (not illustrated). A second pivoting mechanism 125 is disposed on the one side of the supporting shaft 123 in the axial direction. The second pivoting mechanism 125 is configured to have a pair of second collars 127 as is the case with the first pivoting mechanism 124. The pair of second collars 127 are mounted on the supporting shaft 123 at a predetermined interval. The other side of the pivot shaft 122 is disposed between the pair of second collars 127. In this manner, the pivot shaft 122 is axially supported to be pivotable in a predetermined plane (in a horizontal plane) with a movement of the supporting shaft 123 in the axial direction regulated by the pair of second collars 127.
As illustrated in FIG. 6, each of the gripping claws 131 exposes and grips an upper side of the folding bar 85 in the vertical direction. In other words, an upper portion of through-hole 131b of the gripping claw 131, into which the folding bar 85 is inserted, is open, and the opening width between a pair of claw portions 131a in an upper side end portion in the vertical direction is smaller than the diameter of the folding bar 85. The through-hole 131b allows the movement of the folding bar 85 in the axial direction. Accordingly, the gripping claws 131 regulate a deviation of the folding bar 85 in the radial direction and allow the movement of the folding bar 85 in the axial direction.
The pair of gripping portions 141 are arranged at a predetermined interval in the axial direction of the folding bar 85. As illustrated in FIG. 8, each of the gripping portions 141 has a pair of claw portions 141a, and grips the folding bar 85 to regulate the movement of the folding bar 85 in the axial direction and the radiation direction by pinching the folding bar 85 with the pair of claw portions 141a. One of the pair of claw portions 141a is disposed on an inner side in the width direction, and the other one of the pair of claw portions 141a is disposed on an outer side in the width direction. In this case, a tip end portion of the claw portion 141a on the inner side in the width direction in the vertical direction is formed to be shorter than a tip end portion of the claw portion 141a on the outer side in the width direction in the vertical direction. In other words, the length of the claw portion 141a on the inner side in the width direction in the vertical direction is shorter than that of the tip end portion of the claw portion 141a on the outer side in the width direction in the vertical direction. In this manner, the pair of gripping portions 141 can suppress interference with the first panel S1 and the fourth panel S4 of the corrugated sheet S folded diagonally downward from the outer side toward the inner side in the width direction and can allow each of the folding bars 85 to abut against the first panel S1 and the fourth panel S4 of the corrugated sheet S.
As illustrated in FIG. 7, the connection bar 142 connects the pair of gripping portions 141, and is disposed in the axial direction of the folding bar 85. A protruding portion 142a, which protrudes to a lower side in the vertical direction, is disposed in the connection bar 142, and a pivot hole 142b is formed to penetrate the protruding portion 142a in the horizontal direction.
One side (upper side in FIG. 7) of the first pivoting member 143 in a longitudinal direction is pivotably connected to the pivot hole 142b of the connection bar 142, and the other side (lower side in FIG. 7) of the first pivoting member 143 in the longitudinal direction is pivotably connected to the second pivoting member 144. A pivot hole 143a is formed in a penetrating manner on the one side of the first pivoting member 143 in the longitudinal direction. A third pivoting mechanism 151 is configured by connecting the pivot hole 142b of the connection bar 142 and the pivot hole 143a of the first pivoting member 143 with each other by using a shaft portion 143b. In addition, the other end side of the first pivoting member 143 in the longitudinal direction is a pivot shaft 143c that is inserted into the second pivoting member 144.
The second pivoting member 144 is connected to the vertical direction moving mechanism 145 via a connection plate 153. An insertion hole 144a, into which the pivot shaft 143c of the first pivoting member 143 is inserted, is formed in the second pivoting member 144. A fourth pivoting mechanism 152 is configured by inserting the pivot shaft 143c of the first pivoting member 143 into the insertion hole 144a of the second pivoting member 144.
A longitudinal direction of the rack member 161 is the vertical direction. The second pivoting member 144 is connected to an upper side of the rack member 161 in the vertical direction via the connection plate 153. In addition, a gear surface 161a that is engaged with the pinion gear 162 is formed on one side (right side in FIG. 7) surface of the rack member 161. A rail 165 of the linear guide 163 is disposed on the other side (left side in FIG. 7) surface of the rack member 161
In addition, a pair of upper and lower limit switches 171 are disposed in the connection arm 147, and a pair of upper and lower strikers 172 are disposed in the rack member 161. The limit switch 171 has a switch end 171a that protrudes toward the rack member 161. The upper side striker 172 that is in contact with the switch end 171a of the upper side limit switch 171 is disposed in an upper end portion of the rack member 161, and the lower side striker 172 that is in contact with the switch end 171a of the lower side limit switch 171 is disposed in a lower end portion of the rack member 161. The pair of upper and lower limit switches 171 are connected to the control device 100. The control device 100 detects an original point of the folding bar 85, which is connected to the rack member 161, in the vertical direction based on the detection of the pair of limit switches 171.
In addition, the two limit switches 191 that are arranged side by side in the width direction are disposed in the device frame 96c described above, and strikers 192 are disposed in the respective connection arms 147. The two limit switches 191 are disposed on both outer sides of the pair of connection arms 147. In addition, a striker 193 is disposed on an inner side of the one connection arm 147 in the width direction, and a limit switch 194 is disposed on an inner side of the other connection arm 147 in the width direction.
Each of the limit switches 191 has a switch end 191a that protrudes toward the connection arm 147 side. The striker 192 that is in contact with the switch end 191a of the upper side limit switch 191 is disposed on an upper side of the connection arm 147. In addition, the limit switch 194 has a switch end 194a that protrudes to an upper side in the vertical direction. The striker 193 that is in contact with the switch end 194a of the limit switch 194 on the inner side of the other connection arm 147 is disposed on the inner side of the one connection arm 147.
Accordingly, in the width direction moving mechanism 146, the control device 100 detects the original point of the pair of folding bars 85 in the width direction by using the pair of limit switches 191 and the limit switch 194 and derives the amount of movement of the respective folding bars 85 in the width direction from the amount of rotation of the respective rotary encoders 185, and thus can acquire the position of the pair of folding bars 85 in the width direction. The pair of limit switches 191 described above are respectively mounted on the device frame 96c. The pair of limit switches 191 are moved in response to a movement of the device frame 96c in the width direction.
In addition, according to the configuration of this embodiment, the inner side of the folding bar 85 in the width direction, which is likely to be interfered with by the corrugated sheet S, can be exposed in the gripping portions 141 of the central gripping moving mechanism 113 by shortening the one claw portion 141a on the inner side in the width direction. Accordingly, the corrugated sheet S is unlikely to interfere with the folding bar 85, and the gripping portion 141 can allow the corrugated sheet S to appropriately abut against the folding bar 85.
1 Carton former 11 Paper feed unit 21 Printing unit 31 Paper discharge unit 41 Die cut unit 51 Defective product removing unit 61 Folder/gluer unit 71 Counter ejector portion 81 Upper transfer belt 82 Lower transfer belt 83 Folding claw 84 Forming belt 85 Folding bar 86 Moving mechanism 87 Gauge roller 91 Adsorption belt 92 Ejector chamber 96a Device frame 100 Control device 111 Inlet side support mechanism 112 Outlet side support mechanism 113 Central gripping moving mechanism 121 Gripping member 122 Pivot shaft 123 Supporting shaft 124 First pivoting mechanism 125 Second pivoting mechanism 126 First collar 127 Second collar 131 Gripping claw 141 Gripping portion 142 Connection bar 143 First pivoting member 144 Second pivoting member 145 Vertical direction moving mechanism 146 Width direction moving mechanism 147 Connection arm 149 Device frame 151 Third pivoting mechanism 152 Fourth pivoting mechanism 153 Connection plate 161 Rack member 162 Pinion gear 163 Linear guide 165 Rail 167 Motor 168 Rotary encoder 171 Limit switch 172 Striker 181 Screw shaft 182 First connection gear 183 Second connection gear 184 Motor 185 Rotary encoder 186 Stopper 187 Linear guide 188 Rail 191 Limit switch 192 Striker 193 Striker 194 Limit switch 301 Front liner 302 Back liner 303 Corrugating medium 334 Margin piece S Corrugated sheet
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