U.S. patent application number 10/183829 was filed with the patent office on 2002-11-14 for nonmetallic cutter, a carton having the same cutter attached thereto, a method of and an apparatus for manufacturing the same cutter and attaching the same cutter to the carton.
This patent application is currently assigned to Dai Nippon Printing Co., Ltd.. Invention is credited to Miyama, Hiroshi, Okushita, Masataka.
Application Number | 20020166636 10/183829 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 40290874 |
Filed Date | 2002-11-14 |
United States Patent
Application |
20020166636 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Okushita, Masataka ; et
al. |
November 14, 2002 |
Nonmetallic cutter, a carton having the same cutter attached
thereto, a method of and an apparatus for manufacturing the same
cutter and attaching the same cutter to the carton
Abstract
There are provided a cutter attached thereto, a method of and an
apparatus for manufacturing the same cutter and attaching the same
cutter to the carton. A nonmetallic cutter formed of a hard paper
and having saw tooth-shaped edges at one end thereof which is
formed by punching thereof. A wrap web containing carton for
containing therein a wrap web wound in a roll shape comprises a
carton body having an opening through which the wrap web is drawn
out, and a nonmetallic cutter attached to the carton body at the
position where the wrap web is cut wherein said nonmetallic cutter
is formed by punching a hard paper and wherein said nonmetallic
cutter cuts the wrap web. A method of attaching a nonmetallic
cutter to a carton comprises a steps of feeding intermittently a
nonmetallic sheet by a feeding means toward upper and lower molds,
one of which is vertically movable, punching the nonmetallic sheet
by said upper and lower molds to form a cutter, conveying and
setting cartons one by one by a conveying means, and pressing the
cutter to the carton at a given position of the carton by way of an
adhesive paste applied to the cutter while the cutter is sucked and
held by said movable upper or lower mold. An apparatus for
manufacturing a cutter and attaching the same cutter to a carton
comprises a conveying device for conveying a carton to which a
nonmetallic cutter is attached, a pasting device for applying an
adhesive paste to the carton at a given position thereof, a cutter
manufacturing and pasting device for severing a sheet continuously
fed thereto and pasting said severed sheet to a pasting portion of
the carton, a cutter roller having a cutter blade which extends
substantially axially thereof so as to protrude radially outwardly
from said cutter roller, said cutter blade having edges shape of
which is same, when viewed toward the edges, as that of edges of a
cutter to be manufactured, when viewed on the plane thereof, and a
suction roller having a flat surface for receiving said cutter
blade and suction holes for sucking and holding the severed
nonmetallic cutter, said suction roller being arranged in parallel
with and rotated synchronously with said cutter roller, and said
suction roller being positioned at the position where the
nonmetallic cutter which is sucked and held by said suction holes
is pasted to the carton which is conveyed by said conveying
device.
Inventors: |
Okushita, Masataka; (Tokyo,
JP) ; Miyama, Hiroshi; (Tokyo, JP) |
Correspondence
Address: |
Flynn, Thiel, Boutell & Tanis, P.C.
2026 Rambling Road
Kalamazoo
MI
49008-1699
US
|
Assignee: |
Dai Nippon Printing Co.,
Ltd.
|
Family ID: |
40290874 |
Appl. No.: |
10/183829 |
Filed: |
June 27, 2002 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
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10183829 |
Jun 27, 2002 |
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09461857 |
Dec 15, 1999 |
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6422283 |
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09461857 |
Dec 15, 1999 |
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09212242 |
Dec 16, 1998 |
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6024150 |
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09212242 |
Dec 16, 1998 |
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08746317 |
Nov 12, 1996 |
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5897736 |
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08746317 |
Nov 12, 1996 |
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08318530 |
Oct 5, 1994 |
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08318530 |
Oct 5, 1994 |
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08040177 |
Mar 29, 1993 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
156/521 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B29C 69/006 20130101;
Y10T 225/282 20150401; Y10T 156/1339 20150115; Y10T 156/1783
20150115; Y10T 156/1776 20150115; Y10T 83/9403 20150401; Y10T
156/178 20150115; Y10T 83/2105 20150401; Y10T 83/9312 20150401;
Y10T 156/1075 20150115; Y10T 83/0467 20150401; Y10T 83/2185
20150401; Y10T 156/107 20150115; Y10T 156/1378 20150115; B31B
50/811 20170801; Y10T 156/1778 20150115; Y10T 83/9399 20150401;
Y10T 156/1085 20150115; Y10T 156/1326 20150115; Y10T 83/793
20150401; Y10T 156/1768 20150115; Y10T 83/4838 20150401; Y10T
156/1084 20150115; Y10T 156/133 20150115 |
Class at
Publication: |
156/521 |
International
Class: |
B32B 031/00 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
May 8, 1992 |
JP |
141936/92 |
Jul 9, 1992 |
JP |
205943/92 |
Dec 4, 1992 |
JP |
350931/92 |
Dec 25, 1992 |
JP |
359039/92 |
Claims
What is claimed:
1. A nonmetallic cutter formed of a hard paper and having saw
tooth-shaped edges at one end thereof which is formed by punching
thereof.
2. A nonmetallic cutter according to claim 1, wherein said hard
paper is a vulcanized fiber.
3. A nonmetallic cutter according to claim 1, wherein said hard
paper is a parchment paper.
4. A nonmetallic cutter according to claim 1, wherein said hard
paper is a tracing paper.
5. A nonmetallic cutter according to claim 1, wherein said hard
paper is a converted paper formed by tracing papers one of which is
laid over the other.
6. A nonmetallic cutter according to claim 1, wherein said hard
paper is a converted paper formed by a tracing paper and a hard
paper which are pasted to each other.
7. A wrap web containing carton for containing therein a wrap web
wound in a roll shape comprising: a carton body having an opening
through which the wrap web is drawn out; and a nonmetallic cutter
attached to the carton body at the position where the wrap web is
cut wherein said nonmetallic cutter is formed by punching a hard
paper and wherein said nonmetallic cutter cuts the wrap web.
8. A wrap web containing carton according to claim 7, wherein said
hard paper is a vulcanized fiber.
9. A wrap web containing carton according to claim 7, wherein said
hard paper is a parchment paper.
10. A wrap web containing carton according to claim 7, wherein said
hard paper is a tracing paper.
11. A wrap web containing carton according to claim 7, wherein said
hard paper is a converted paper formed by tracing papers one of
which is laid over the other.
12. A wrap web containing carton according to claim 7, wherein said
hard paper is a converted paper formed by a tracing paper and a
hard paper which are pasted to each other.
13. A method of attaching a nonmetallic cutter to a carton
comprising a steps of: feeding intermittently a nonmetallic sheet
by a feeding means toward upper and lower molds, one of which is
vertically movable; punching the nonmetallic sheet by said upper
and lower molds to form a cutter; conveying and setting cartons one
by one by a conveying means; and pressing the cutter to the carton
at a given position of the carton by way of an adhesive paste
applied to the cutter while the cutter is sucked and held by said
movable upper or lower mold.
14. An apparatus for manufacturing a cutter and attaching the same
to a carton comprises: a vertically movable upper mold provided
with an upper blade having edges and a suction means for sucking
and holding a severed nonmetallic cutter; a fixed lower mold
provided with a lower blade having edges, said lower mold engaging
with the upper mold; a feeding means for intermittently feeding a
sheet onto said lower mold; and a conveying means for conveying and
setting sequentially the cartons one by one to the bottom dead
center of said upper mold.
15. An apparatus for manufacturing a cutter and attaching the same
to a carton comprises: a vertically movable lower mold provided
with a lower blade having edges and a suction means for sucking and
holding a severed nonmetallic cutter; a fixed upper mold provided
with an upper blade having edges, said lower mold engaging with the
upper mold; a feeding means for intermittently feeding a sheet onto
said lower mold; and a conveying means for conveying and setting
sequentially the cartons one by one to the top dead center of said
lower mold.
16. A method according to claim 14, wherein said nonmetallic sheet
has a separable peeling means pasted thereto.
17. A method according to claim 15, wherein said nonmetallic sheet
has a separable peeling means pasted thereto.
18. A method according to claim 14 further comprising a pasting
device for applying an adhesive paste to the carton at a given
position thereof.
19. A method according to claim 15 further comprising a pasting
device for applying an adhesive paste to the carton at a given
position thereof.
20. A method of manufacturing a cutter comprising the steps of:
supplying a nonmetallic sheet between a cutter roller having a
cutter blade and a receiving roller having a flat receiving surface
for receiving said cutter blade, said cutter blade protruding
radially outwardly from said cutter roller and having edges shape
of which is same, when viewed toward the edges, as that of edges of
a cutter to be manufactured, when viewed on the plan thereof;
synchronously rotating said cutter roller and said receiving roller
so that the cutter blade of said cutter roller and the receiving
surface of said receiving roller move at the same speed; and
cutting in the nonmetallic sheet which is supported by said
receiving surface to thereby sever the nonmetallic sheet in the
shape of a cutter while the nonmetallic sheet is conveyed at the
same speed of the tip end of the cutter blade.
21. An apparatus for manufacturing a cutter and attaching the same
cutter to a carton comprising; a conveying device for conveying a
carton to which a nonmetallic cutter is attached; a pasting device
for applying an adhesive paste to the carton at a given position
thereof; a cutter manufacturing and pasting device for severing a
sheet continuously fed thereto and pasting said severed sheet to a
pasting portion of the carton; a cutter roller having a cutter
blade which extends substantially axially thereof so as to protrude
radially outwardly from said cutter roller, said cutter blade
having edges shape of which is same, when viewed toward the edges,
as that of edges of a cutter to be manufactured, when viewed on the
plane thereof; and a suction roller having a flat surface for
receiving said cutter blade and suction holes for sucking and
holding the severed nonmetallic cutter, said suction roller being
arranged in parallel with and rotated synchronously with said
cutter roller, and said suction roller being positioned at the
position where the nonmetallic cutter which is sucked and held by
said suction holes if pasted to the carton which is conveyed by
said conveying device.
22. An apparatus for manufacturing a cutter comprising: a cutter
cylinder having a cutter blade provided on a peripheral surface
thereof and extending in longitudinal direction thereof; a rotary
die cutter having a receiving cylinder provided on a peripheral
surface thereof for receiving said cutter blade; and a sheet
conveying and inverting device for feeding a nonmetallic sheet
between the cutter cylinder and the receiving cylinder of said
rotary die cutter at the speed synchronous with that of said cutter
blade and pulling back the sheet after the tip portion thereof is
severed to form the cutter.
23. An apparatus for manufacturing a cutter comprising: a cutter
cylinder having a cutter blade provided on a peripheral surface
thereof and extending in longitudinal direction thereof; a rotary
die cutter having a receiving cylinder for receiving said cutter
blade; a conveying device having a pair of feeding cylinders, said
cylinders each having a cylindrical feeding surface on the outer
peripheral surface at the partial region thereof in the
circumferential direction thereof wherein the nonmetallic sheet is
fed between the cutter cylinder and the receiving cylinder of said
rotary die cutter at the speed synchronous with that of said cutter
blade; and an inverting device for pulling back the sheet after the
tip position thereof is severed to form the cutter.
24. An apparatus according to claim 22, wherein said cutter
cylinder and receiving cylinder of said rotary die cutter are
arranged so as to define a microscopic clearance between the tip
end of said cutter blade and said receiving table, wherein said
receiving cylinder has a suction means for sucking and holding the
severed sheet and wherein the apparatus further comprises a stopper
provided at the passage of the sheet which is fed to said rotary
die cutter for stopping the sheet temporarily when the sheet is
severed by said rotary die cutter.
25. An apparatus according to claim 23, wherein said cutter
cylinder and receiving cylinder of said rotary die cutter are
arranged so as to define a microscopic clearance between the tip
end of said cutter blade and said receiving table, wherein said
receiving cylinder has a suction means for sucking and holding the
severed sheet and wherein the apparatus further comprises a stopper
provided at the passage of the sheet which is fed to said rotary
die cutter for stopping the sheet temporarily when the sheet is
severed by said rotary die cutter.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] 1. Field of the Invention
[0002] The present invention relates to a nonmetallic cutter
(hereinafter referred to as a cutter) for cutting a wrap web and a
carton for containing the wrap web therein (hereinafter referred to
as a carton) and having the same cutter attached thereto,
particularly to a method of and an apparatus for manufacturing the
same cutter and attaching the same cutter to the carton.
[0003] 2. Prior Art
[0004] There have been widely used a metallic cutter which is
attached to a rectangular parallelepiped carton at a given position
which contains therein a wound wrap web in a wound state such as an
aluminum foil, a resin film, etc. wherein the wrap web is drawn out
from the carton and is cut by the same cutter.
[0005] In such a conventional carton, there is an advantage that
the cutter per se has a good sharpness but there are such
disadvantages or problems that the process for crimping the cutter
to the same carton is troublesome and a finger tip, etc. are liable
to be wounded when the wrap web is drawn out and cut. Furthermore,
there is another problem that the metallic cutter remains unburnt
when the carton is incinerated, which injures an incinerator.
Accordingly, it is necessary to separate the cutter from the carton
when the latter is incinerated in the environmental point of view.
Therefore, it is desired that the conventional metallic cutter
should be changed to a flammable cutter.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0006] The present invention has been made in view of the problems
of the conventional cutter.
[0007] It is a first object of the present invention to provide a
cutter which can be easily attached to a carton and has a good
sharpness and to provide a carton having the same cutter attached
thereto through which the wrap web is drawn out and cut with safety
and which is excellent in incineration.
[0008] It is a second object of the present invention to provide a
method of and an apparatus for manufacturing a cutter and attaching
the same cutter to the carton before the latter is assembled with
high productivity.
[0009] It is a third object of the present invention to provide a
method of and an apparatus for manufacturing a cutter having sharp
edges and attaching the so manufactured cutter to a carton with
high productivity.
[0010] According to the first aspect of the present invention, the
cutter has edges which is formed by punching a hard paper at one
side thereof. The hard paper is one of a vulcanized fiber, a
parchment paper, a tracing paper, a converted paper formed by
pasting one tracing paper to another tracing paper and a converted
paper which is formed by pasting the tracing paper to the hard
paper. In the wrap web containing carton wherein the wrap web wound
in roll shape is drawn out from an opening of a carton body, and
cut, the cutter is characterized in being attached to the carton
boy at the position where the wrap web is cut.
[0011] One of methods for manufacturing and attaching the cutter
according to the second aspect of the present invention is
characterized in comprising the steps of intermittently feeding a
nonmetallic sheet (hereinafter referred to as a sheet) toward upper
and lower molds, punching the sheet in the shape of the cutter
between the upper and lower molds, pressing the cutter to the
carton which is conveyed and set one by one at a given position by
way of an adhesive surface of the sheet while the cutter is sucked
and held by the vertically movable upper or lower mold and
attaching the cutter to the carton.
[0012] There are two types of apparatus for carrying out the method
of attaching the cutter. One comprises a vertically movable upper
mold provided with an upper blade having edges and a suction means
for sucking and holding a severed cutter, a fixed lower mold
provided with a lower blade having edges, a feeding means for
intermittently feeding a sheet onto said lower mold and a conveying
means for conveying and setting sequentially the cartons one by one
to the bottom dead center of said upper mold. The other comprises a
vertically movable lower mold provided with a lower blade having
edges and a suction means for sucking and holding a severed cutter,
a fixed upper mold provided with an upper blade having edges, a
feeding means for intermittently feeding a sheet onto said lower
mold and a conveying means for conveying and setting sequentially
the cartons one by one to the top dead center of said lower mold.
In any types of the apparatus, when the sheet to which the adhesive
paste is applied, is used, a peeling means of a separate paper is
disposed. In case of using the sheet to which the adhesive paste is
not applied, there is provided a pasting device for applying the
adhesive paste to the carton at the given position thereof.
[0013] The method for manufacturing the cutter having sharp edges
(hereinafter referred to as a cutter manufacturing method)
according to the third aspect of the present invention is
characterized in comprising the steps of supplying a sheet between
a cutter roller having a cutter blade and a receiving roller having
a flat receiving surface for receiving the cutter blade in which
the cutter blade protruding radially outwardly from the cutter
roller and having edges shape of which is same, when viewed toward
the edges, as that of edges of a cutter to be manufactured, when
viewed on the plane thereof, synchronously rotating the cutter
roller and the receiving roller so that the cutter blade of said
cutter roller and the receiving surface of the receiving roller
move in the same speed and cutting in the sheet which is supported
by said receiving surface to thereby sever the sheet in the shape
of the cutter while the sheet is conveyed at the same speed of the
tip end of the cutter blade. The cutter blade of the cutter roller
may be attached to the cutter roller so as to extend in the
substantially axial direction or in the circumferential
direction.
[0014] The apparatus for manufacturing the cutter and attaching the
same to the carton (hereinafter referred to as a cutter
manufacturing and attaching apparatus) which embodies the cutter
manufacturing method according to the fourth aspect of the present
invention is characterized in comprising a conveying device for
conveying a carton to which a cutter is attached, a pasting device
for applying an adhesive paste to the carton at a given position
thereof, a cutter manufacturing and pasting device for severing a
sheet continuously fed thereto so as to form a cutter and pasting
the severed cutter to a pasting portion of the carton, a cutter
roller having a cutter blade which extends substantially axially
thereof so as to protrude radially outwardly from the cutter
roller, in which the cutter blade having edges shape of which is
same, when viewed toward the edges, as that of edges of the cutter
to be manufactured, when viewed on the plane thereof and a suction
roller having a flat surface for receiving the cutter blade and
suction holes for sucking and holding the severed cutter, wherein
the suction roller is arranged in parallel with and rotated
synchronously with said cutter roller and the suction roller is
positioned at the position where the cutter which is sucked and
held by said suction holes is pasted to the carton which is
conveyed by said conveying device.
[0015] There are following three cutter manufacturing device in the
cutter manufacturing and pasting apparatus according to the fourth
embodiment of the present invention.
[0016] The first device comprises a cutter cylinder having a cutter
blade provided on a peripheral surface thereof and extending in
longitudinal direction thereof, a rotary die cutter having a
receiving cylinder provided on a peripheral surface thereof for
receiving the cutter blade and a sheet conveying and inverting
device for feeding a sheet between the cutter cylinder and the
receiving cylinder of the rotary die cutter at the speed
synchronous with that of the cutter blade and pulling back the
sheet after the tip portion thereof is severed.
[0017] In the second device, the sheet conveying and inverting
device of the first device comprises a conveying device having a
pair of feeding cylinders, the cylinders each having a cylindrical
feeding surface on the outer peripheral surface at the partial
region thereof in the circumferential direction thereof wherein the
sheet is fed between the cutter cylinder and the receiving cylinder
of the rotary die cutter at the speed synchronous with that of the
cutter blade and an inverting device for pulling back the sheet
after the tip position thereof is severed.
[0018] The third device comprises the cutter cylinder and receiving
cylinder of the rotary die cutter are arranged so as to leave a
microscopic clearance between the tip end of the cutter blade and
the receiving table, wherein the receiving cylinder has a suction
means for sucking and holding the severed sheet and wherein the
apparatus further comprises a stopper provided at the passage of
the sheet which is fed to the rotary die cutter for stopping the
sheet temporarily when the sheet is severed by the rotary die
cutter.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0019] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a wrap web containing carton
according to a first embodiment of the present invention;
[0020] FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of a part of a cutter according
to the first embodiment of the present invention;
[0021] FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a wrap web containing carton
according to a first modified example of the first embodiment of
the present invention;
[0022] FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a wrap web containing carton
according to a second modified example of the first embodiment of
the present invention;
[0023] FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a wrap web containing carton
according to a third modified example of the first embodiment of
the present invention;
[0024] FIG. 6 is a schematic side view showing a main portion of a
cutter manufacturing and attaching apparatus according to a second
embodiment of the present invention which is viewed at the position
of a top dead center of an upper mold.
[0025] FIG. 7 is a schematic side view showing the main portion of
the apparatus of FIG. 6 which is viewed at the position of a bottom
dead center of the upper mold.
[0026] FIG. 8 is a schematic side view showing an example of a
conveying device which is employed in the cutter manufacturing and
attaching apparatus of FIG. 6;
[0027] FIG. 9 is a perspective view of a nip roller of the
conveying device which is employed in the cutter manufacturing and
attaching apparatus of FIG. 6;
[0028] FIG. 10 is a schematic side view showing a main portion of a
cutter manufacturing and attaching apparatus according to a
modified example of the second embodiment of the present invention
which is viewed at the position of a bottom dead center of a lower
mold;
[0029] FIG. 11 is a schematic side view showing the main portion of
a cutter manufacturing and attaching apparatus according to the
modified example of the second embodiment of the present invention
which is viewed at the position of a top dead center of the lower
mold;
[0030] FIG. 12 is a side view showing a main portion of a modified
lower mold according to the second embodiment of FIG. 6;
[0031] FIG. 13 is a side view showing a main portion of a modified
upper mold according to the modified example of the second
embodiment of FIG. 10;
[0032] FIG. 14 is a side view of a cutter manufacturing and
attaching apparatus provided with a cutter attaching device and a
pasting device according to another modified example of the second
embodiment;
[0033] FIG. 15 is a schematic side view showing the arrangement of
a cutter manufacturing and attaching apparatus according to a third
embodiment of the present invention;
[0034] FIG. 16 is a schematic plan view showing a part of FIG.
15;
[0035] FIG. 17 is a side view of a cutter roller and a suction
roller of the cutter manufacturing and attaching apparatus of FIG.
15;
[0036] FIG. 18 is a cross-sectional view which enlarges the main
portion of the cutter roller and the suction roller of FIG. 17;
[0037] FIG. 19 is a plan view showing edges of a cutter which is
formed by cutting a tip portion a sheet and the tip end of the
sheet;
[0038] FIG. 20 is a front view which enlarges the edges of a cutter
blade provided at a cutter roller when viewed toward the edges;
[0039] FIG. 21 is a plan view of a carton for explaining
observation regions by an inspecting device;
[0040] FIG. 22 is a plan view of an example of a carton and a
cutter;
[0041] FIG. 23 is a perspective view showing the state where the
carton is assembled;
[0042] FIG. 24 is a plan view of a modification of the cutter;
[0043] FIG. 25 is a side view of a cutter manufacturing and
attaching apparatus according to a fourth embodiment;
[0044] FIG. 26 is a plan view showing edges of a cutter which is
formed by cutting the tip portion of a sheet and the tip end of the
sheet;
[0045] FIG. 27 is an enlarged cross-sectional view showing a main
portion of a rotary die cutter of the cutter manufacturing and
attaching apparatus according to the fourth embodiment;
[0046] FIG. 28 is a front view of the rotary die cutter;
[0047] FIG. 29 is a plan view enlarging the edges of the cutter of
the rotary die cutter;
[0048] FIG. 30(a) is a cross-sectional view of the rotary die
cutter and a conveying device of FIG. 25 at the standby state where
the sheet is cut;
[0049] FIG. 30(b) is a cross-sectional view of the rotary die
cutter and the conveying device of FIG. 25 at the state before the
sheet is cut;
[0050] FIG. 31 is a timing chart showing the operation of the
components of the apparatus of FIG. 25 when the sheet is cut;
[0051] FIG. 32 is a schematic side view of a preferred pasting
device which is employed in the cutter manufacturing and attaching
apparatus of FIG. 25; and
[0052] FIG. 33 is a schematic plan view of the pasting device.
PREFERRED EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION
[0053] First Embodiment (FIGS. 1 to 5):
[0054] A first embodiment of the present invention will be
described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 5.
[0055] A carton 1 comprises a carton body 2, an opening 3 provided
at the upper portion of the body 2 through which a wrap web wound
in a roll-shape in the container 1 is drawn, a cover body 4 which
continues from the rear wall of the carton body 2 for opening and
closing the opening 3 and a cover flap 5 provided at the tip end of
the cover body 4. A cutter 7 is attached to the inner upper portion
of a front wall 6 by an adhesive or a pressure sensitive adhesive
such as a hot melt, etc.
[0056] The cutter 7 comprises a hard paper such as a vulcanized
fiber or a parchment paper which is 0.3 mm in the thickness and 90
to 120 in Rockwell hardness. The cutter 7 has edges at the upper
end thereof and is formed by punching the hard paper in the shape
as illustrated in FIG. 2 by a punching machine. The cutter 7 is
attached to the carton body 2 in the manner that the edges 7a of
the cutter 7 protrude from the substantially entire length of the
upper tip end of the front wall 6. When the hard paper is
continuously punched, the edges 7a of the cutter 7 will be formed
at the lower end of the hard paper 7.
[0057] The vulcanized fiber is formed by a known method comprising
the steps of soaking a fiber sheet formed of a wood fiber or a
cotton into a zinc chloride solution and laminating the fiber
sheet, removing the zinc chloride solution serving as the
gelatinizing agent by washing the same sufficiently drying and
squeezing the thus laminated fiber sheet. The vulcanized fiber may
be formed by coating resin such as a urethane resin onto the fiber
sheet so as to give a strength thereto. The parchment paper is
formed by a known method comprising the steps of processing the
paper made of a cotton fiber or a wood chemical pulp by a sulfuric
acid, washing the so formed paper entirely by water and thereafter
drying the same paper. These hard papers are fine in the texture
and excellent in the hardness and do not cause any problem of the
safety against a foodstuff, etc.
[0058] The cutter 7 is formed of the hard paper having a given
thickness and Rockwell hardness ranging from 90 to 120. If the
Rockwell hardness is less than 90, the paper is too soft whereas if
it is greater than 120, it causes the problem in the safety point
of view. It is preferable to use the hard paper having the Rockwell
hardness ranging from 100 to 110 for a practical use. The thickness
of the hard paper is preferable to range from 0.2 to 0.5 mm. If the
thickness is less than 0.2 mm, the strength of the cutter 7 is
insufficient while if it is greater than 0.5 mm, the sharpness of
the cutter is deteriorated. The cutter 7 is attached to the carton
1 by such means as an emulsion adhesive pasting, a pressure
sensitive adhesive pasting, a hot melt pasting, a reverse side
tacking process pasting.
[0059] A first modified example of the first embodiment will be
described with reference to FIG. 3 which is a perspective view of a
carton 11. The carton 11 has a cutter 17 which is attached to a
bottom surface 18 thereof at the side of a front wall 16 wherein
edges 17a of the cutter 17 protrude from the entire length of the
lower end of the front wall 16. The cutter 17 is formed by punching
the hard paper such as the vulcanized fiber or the parchment paper
having the thickness of 0.3 mm and the Rockwell hardness of 90 to
100 in the same way as the embodiment of FIG. 1. The wrap web can
be cut as follows. The end of the wrap web is gripped and drawn out
by one hand from an upper opening 13 of a carton body 12 while a
cover body 14 is closed by the other hand and the wrap web is held
by the other hand between the cover body 14 and a cover flap 15 and
successively the end of the wrap web is further drawn out by one
hand while the carton 11 is rotated by the other hand so that the
wrap web is cut by the edges 17a of the cutter 17.
[0060] In the carton 11 of the first modifies example of the first
embodiment, there is an advantage that a wrap film, supposing that
the wrap web is the wrap film, is prevented from unwinding into the
carton 11 when the wrap film is cut if the cutter 17 is attached to
a bottom surface 18 of the carton body 12 by a pressure sensitive
adhesive which is applied along one of the entire surfaces of the
cutter 17. More in detail, there is employed a sheet which is
formed by applying, e.g. a cross-linking modacrylic pressure
sensitive adhesive to the vulcanized fiber or parchment paper in
the thickness of 32 g/m.sup.2, pasting a separate paper on the
pressure sensitive adhesive, punching the sheet in the same shape
as illustrated in FIG. 2, separating the separate paper so as to
expose the pressure sensitive adhesive and attaching the cutter 17
on the bottom surface 18 so that the edges 17a of the cutter
protrude from the front wall 16 of the carton body 12. In such a
manner, since the pressure sensitive adhesive remains exposed on
the reverse surface of the protruded edges 17a of the cutter 17, if
the wrap film is drawn out from the upper opening 13 of the carton
body 12 and further drawn out while it is pressed by the cover flap
15 and then cut, the tip end of the remaining wrap film remains
stuck to the pressure sensitive adhesive, whereby the remaining
wrap film is prevented from unwinding into the carton body 12.
[0061] Second and third modified examples of the first embodiment
of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
4 and 5 which are perspective views of a carton 21.
[0062] The carton 21 has a cover body 24 and a cover flap 25 which
is gently inclined at the tip end thereof for forming a V-shape and
a cutter 27 which is attached to the tip end of an inner surface of
the cover flap 25. Both the cover body 24 and the cover flap 25 are
fixed to side plates 28 and can cover an upper opening 23 when the
carton 21 is not used. The cutter 27 is formed by punching the
vulcanized fiber or the parchment paper having the thickness of 0.3
mm and the Rockwell hardness of 90 to 120.
[0063] The wrap web can be cut as follows. The end of the warp web
is gripped and drawn out by one hand from the upper opening 23 of
the carton body 22 while the wrap web is held by the other hand
between the cover flap 25 and a front side wall 26, and
successively the end of the wrap web is drawn out frontward by one
hand in FIG. 4 and the wrap web is cut by the edges 27a of the
cutter 27.
[0064] The carton 21 as illustrated in FIG. 5 has the cover flap 25
which is not V-shaped but straight at the tip end thereof.
[0065] It is possible to use a tracing paper as the sheet of the
cutter. The tracing paper is preferable to be the natural tracing
paper which is formed by cutting a pulp fiber, formed of
substantially 100% of a soft wood pulp, to fine pieces or crushing
it strong. A pencil hardness of the tracing paper may be greater
than 5H, and is preferable to be 6H in view of the sharpness and
the durability of the cutter 17. The thickness of the tracing paper
is preferable to range from 200 to 500 .mu.m. That is, if the
thickness is less than 200 .mu.m, the strength of the tracing paper
is insufficient while if the thickness is greater than 500 .mu.m, a
punching process property of the punched tracing paper is
deteriorated and the cost thereof is increased. Accordingly, the
thickness of the tracing paper is preferable practically to range
from 200 to 350 .mu.m. When the cutter 17 is attached to the carton
21, the same means as employed in the first example can be
used.
[0066] When the tracing paper having the thickness of less than 200
.mu.m is employed, it is preferable to use a converted paper which
is formed by pasting one tracing paper onto another tracing paper
or a converted paper which is formed by pasting the tracing paper
onto a hard paper in order to give a sufficient strength to the
tracing paper.
[0067] In the former converted paper, there are those which are
formed by the steps of laminating and pasting two tracing papers
having the thickness respectively of 100 to 200 .mu.m by an epoxy
resin adhesive having the thickness of 20 to 100 .mu.m or formed by
the steps of performing extrusion coating of a polyethylene having
the thickness of 15 to 50 .mu.m to thereby stick two tracing papers
the one which is formed by pasting the tracing paper having the
thickness of 100 to 200 .mu.m to the resin impregnated paper by an
epoxy resin adhesive or polyethylene. A polyester impregnated paper
is preferable as a resign pregnating paper. That is, the resin
impregnated paper is formed by the steps of impregnating an
unsaturated polyester resin into an unbleached pulp and heating the
same resultant impregnated resin. Since such resin impregnated
paper is soft, such resin impregnated paper can be subjected to a
thermosetting process while it is wound. The thickness of the resin
impregnated paper is preferable to range from 150 to 300 .mu.m in
view of the punching process property after the two tracing paper
are pasted. If need be, an acrylic resin, a melanin resin,
anrylic-melanic resin compound resin can be replaced by the
polyester resin. However, the epoxy resin is preferably used when
the two tracing paper are pasted.
[0068] Furthermore, as the latter converted paper, there is the one
which is formed by pasting the tracing paper having the thickness
of 100 to 200 .mu.m onto a recycle paper by the epoxy resin or the
polyethylene. The recycle paper is preferable to have the thickness
of 100 to 300 .mu.m. Such a recycle paper is preferable in view of
the conservation of forests.
[0069] In the cutter formed by punching the latter converted paper,
since one surface thereof is formed of the tracing paper, it is
necessary to attach the cutter to the carton body at the wrap web
cutting position at the state where the cutter is brought into
contact with the wrap web at the tracing paper side.
[0070] Since the cutter of the present invention has a good
sharpness owing to the hardness of the hard paper, the cutter can
be replaced by the conventional metallic cutter. Furthermore, since
the cutter of the present invention is not so sharp compared with
the conventional cutter, there is no likelihood of injuring the
fingers, etc. when the wrap web is drawn out. Furthermore, since
the cutter can be attached to the carton by the adhesive, etc. the
cutter can be easily attached to the carton or the box containing
the pressure sensitive adhesive tape, etc. Furthermore, since the
cutter is formed of a wood fiber and easily incinerated, there is
no likelihood of causing the environmental problem even if the
cutter is wasted while it remains attached to the carton or the
box.
[0071] Since the carton according to the present invention is
provided with the cutter formed of a wood fiber, the carton can be
easily incinerated even if the cutter is not separated from the
carton. Accordingly, it is adapted for solving the environmental
problem and excellent in the incineration property.
[0072] Second Embodiment (FIGS. 6 to 14):
[0073] A second embodiment of the present invention will be
described with reference to FIGS. 6 to 14 which show an example of
an apparatus for manufacturing a cutter and attaching the same to a
carton.
[0074] A sheet S is formed of plastics or a paperboard. A pressure
sensitive adhesive is applied onto a rear surface of the sheet S
and a separate paper S1 is attached to the pressure sensitive
adhesive.
[0075] A manufacturing and attaching apparatus 110 comprises a
vertically movable upper mold 120 and a fixed lower mold 130. An
upper blade 121 having saw teeth-shape edges 121a at the right end
thereof is attached to the lower portion of the upper mold 120
which a lower blade 131 having a sawtooth-shape edges 131a at the
left end thereof is attached to the upper portion of the lower mold
130. These edges 121a and 131a engage with each other so as to cut
the object in the sawtooth-shape. The upper blade 121 of the upper
mold 120 has therein a suction means 122 comprising a plurality of
vacuum holes.
[0076] When the upper mold 120 is positioned at the top dead center
as illustrated in FIG. 6, the sheet S is intermittently fed by a
feeding means, not shown, so that the sheet S protrudes from the
lower blade 131 in a given length. In this case, the separate paper
SI is peeled from the pressure sensitive adhesive through a peeling
means 140. The tip portion of the thus fed sheet S is cut by the
upper blade 121 and the lower blade 131 when the upper mold 120
lowers so that a band-shaped cutter is formed. The thus formed
cutter lowers while it is held by the suction means 122 under the
upper blade 121 and is pressed to contact the upper surface of the
carton B, which is conveyed to the portion under the bottom dead
center of the upper blade 121, by a conveying means, as described
later and illustrated in FIG. 8, at the given position thereof and
it is attached to the pressure sensitive adhesive surface thereof
as illustrated in FIG. 7. Thereafter, when the suction means 122
stops its operation and the upper mold 120 rises, the carton B
integrated with the cutter is fed by the conveying means.
Successively, the next carton B is conveyed to the same position.
When the upper mold 120 rises to the position close to the top dead
center, the sheet S is fed in a given length, and thereafter the
attachment of the cutter to the carton B is carried out
successively. A region 133 of the upper surface of the lower blade
131 is subjected to a mold release process by Teflon, i.e.
polytetrafluorethylen to prevent the pressure sensitive adhesive
from pasting to the region 133.
[0077] An example of the conveying means 150 for conveying the
carton B is illustrated in FIG. 8. The conveying means 150
comprises a feeder 151, a feeding conveyor 152, a discharge
conveyor 153 and a nip roller portion 154 which is illustrated
perspectively in FIG. 9. The nip roller portion 154 comprises upper
side nip rollers 155a to 155d and lower side nip rollers 156a to
156d which are respectively arranged coaxially in four columns and
have double investing mechanism. That is, the columns of the upper
side nip rollers 155a to 155d engage with the other columns of the
lower side nip rollers 156a to 156d. The outside two columns of nip
rollers 155a, 155d and 156a, 156d serve for feeding the sheet S
forward, i.e. toward the lower mold 130 whereas the inner two
columns of nip rollers 155b, 155c and 156b, 156c serve for feeding
the sheet S backward, i.e. toward the discharge conveyor 153. The
timing for nipping the carton B is determined by the time when any
of rubbers 157a to 157d on the upper side nip rollers 156a to 156d
nip the carton B.
[0078] The carton B which is set in the feeder 151 of the conveying
means 150 is fed one by one between the upper side nip rollers 155a
to 155d and the lower side nip roller 156a to 156d by a feeding
conveyor 152. The carton B is set in a given position of the lower
mold 130 when the upper nip rollers 155a to 155d rotate
counterclockwise while one end of the carton B is clamped by the
nip roller portion 154. When the cutter is attached to the carton B
at this given position, the carton B having the cutter thereon is
fed toward a discharge conveyor 153 by way of a receiving table 158
when the upper side nip rollers 155b and 155c rotate clockwise.
[0079] A cutter manufacturing and attaching apparatus according to
a modified example of the second embodiment will be described with
reference to FIGS. 10 to 13 wherein FIG. 10 shows the state where a
lower mold 180 of the apparatus is positioned at the bottom dead
center and FIG. 11 shows the state the lower mold 180 of the
apparatus is positioned at the top dead center.
[0080] An object of the modified example is the same as that of the
embodiment of FIG. 6, i.e. a sheet S to which a pressure sensitive
adhesive is applied and a separate paper S is pasted on the same
adhesive. A manufacturing and attaching apparatus 160 comprises a
fixed upper mold 170 and a vertically movable lower mold 180. An
upper blade 171 having sawtooth-shape edges 171a at the left end
thereof is attached to the lower portion of the upper mold 170
while a lower blade 181 having sawtooth-shape edges 181a at the
right end thereof is attached to the upper portion of the lower
mold 180. These edges 171a and 181a engage with each other so as to
cut the object in the saw-tooth shape. The lower blade 181 of the
lower mold 180 has therein a suction means 182 comprising a
plurality of vacuum holes.
[0081] When the lower mold 180 is positioned at the position
adjacent to the bottom dead center as illustrated in FIG. 10, the
sheet S is intermittently fed toward the edges 171a and 181a by a
feeding means, not shown, so as to protrude in a given length. In
this case, a separate paper S1 is also to be peeled from the
pressure sensitive adhesive through a peeling means 190. The tip
portion of the thus fed sheet S is cut by the upper blade 171 and
the lower blade 181 when the lower mold 180 rises so that a
band-shaped cutter is formed. The thus formed cutter rises while it
is held by the suction means 182 on the lower blade 181 and is
pressed toward a lower surface of the carton B, which is conveyed
from the left in the drawing to the portion over the top dead
center of the lower blade 181, by a conveying means, not shown, at
a given position thereof and is attached to the carton B by the
pressure sensitive adhesive surface as illustrated in FIG. 11. When
the lower mold 180 lowers and the stopper 172 rises after the
suction means 182 stops its operation, the carton B integrated with
the cutter is fed by the conveying means toward the right in the
drawing. Successively, the next carton B is conveyed to the same
position. When the lower mold 180 lowers to the bottom dead center,
the sheet S is fed in a given length, and thereafter attachment of
the cutter to the carton B is successively carried out. A region
173 of the lower surface of the upper blade 171 is subjected to a
mold release process by Teflon, i.e. polytetrafluorethylen to
prevent the pressure sensitive adhesive from pasting to the region
173.
[0082] According to the second embodiment, although the region 133
of the upper surface of the lower blade 131 and the region 173 of
the lower surface of the upper blade 171 are subjected to the mold
release process so that the sheet S, to which the pressure
sensitive adhesive is applied, is fed smoothly, the mold release
process can be eliminated. That is, the tip end of the edge 131a of
the lower blade 131 is inclined aslant toward the upper surface of
the lower blade 131 or the edge 171a of the upper blade 171 is
inclined aslant toward the lower surface of the upper blade 171 so
as to be respectively tapered toward the upper and lower surface of
the lower and upper blades 131 and 171 whereby the adhesive surface
of the sheet S to not contact the upper surface of the lower blade
131 or the lower surface of the upper blade 171.
[0083] Although the adhesive paste is applied to the sheet S, the
adhesive paste may be applied to the carton before it enters the
cutter manufacturing and attaching apparatus.
[0084] A cutter attaching device 160 according to another example
of the second embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.
14.
[0085] A pasting device 200 is disposed in front (at the left side
in FIG. 14) of the cutter attaching device 160. The pasting device
200 is of a gravure coater type and comprises a form cylinder 201,
an impression cylinder 202, a doctor 203 and an ink pan 204 for
containing an adhesive. A chain 210 having pins is disposed at the
front portion of the pasting device 200 for feeding the carton one
by one and a nip roller 220 is disposed at the rear portion of the
cutter attaching device 160 for clamping and taking out the carton.
The form cylinder 201 and the impression cylinder 202 of the
pasting device 200 serve as a feeding roller for feeding the carton
into the cutter attaching device 160. Accordingly, when the carton
is brought into contact with a stopper 172, the impression cylinder
202 is moved way from the form cylinder 201 and returns to the
original position when the cutter is attached to the carton and the
stopper 172 rises whereby the carton is fed toward the nip roller
220. The circumferential length of the form cylinder 201 has the
same pitch as the feeding latchet so as to be the same speed as the
chain 210.
[0086] The carton is fed into the pasting device 200 one by one by
the chain 210 and pressure sensitive adhesive is applied to the
carton at the given position thereof in the pasting device 200. The
carton is fed into the cutter attaching device 160 until it strikes
against the Stopper 172 through the gap in the upper mold 170.
Whereupon, the sheet S', which is intermittently fed toward the
cutter attaching device 160 by a feeding means, not shown, is cut
by the upper blade 171 and the lower blade 181 to form the
band-shaped cutter when the lower mold 180 rises. The cutter rises
while it is held by the suction means 182 of the lower blade 181 on
the upper portion of the lower blade 181 and is pressed against the
carton at the given position. The carton having the cutter which is
attached thereto in such a manner is conveyed toward the nip roller
220 while it is clamped between the form cylinder 201 and the
impression cylinder 202 when the stopper 172 rises and it is
discharged from the nip roller 220.
[0087] It is preferable to use an emulsion type adhesive
(modacrylic, vinyl acetate, ethylenelactic vinyl acetate or
copolymer thereof) as the adhesive. However, if the form cylinder
201 is formed of a pressure roller, a hot melt type adhesive can be
used. The printing depth of the form cylinder 201 is determined by
the necessary adhesive force. Genrally, the deeper the printing
depth (exceeding 100 m.mu.) is, the stronger the adhesive force
is.
[0088] It is not necessary to use the sheet S to which the pressure
sensitive adhesive is applied by using the pasting device 200.
Accordingly, it is not necessary to provide the feeding means 140
and 190 as employed in the second embodiment. It is possible to
obtain a sufficient adhesive force even in the low or high
temperature compared with the case where the sheet S to which the
pressure sensitive adhesive is applied. It goes without saying that
the system for applying the adhesive to the carton can be applied
to the cutter manufacturing and attaching apparatus having the
vertically movable upper mold.
[0089] There are employed various attaching systems other than
those set forth above. For example, the pressure sensitive
attaching system can be used. In this case, the pressure sensitive
adhesive is coated onto the sheet S at the entire surface or at a
given position thereof and at the same time a heating means
together with the suction means 122 or 182 are provided on the
vertically movable upper blade 121 or the lower blade 181. If this
system is employed, it is not necessary to provide the peeling
means 140 and 190 which are employed in the second embodiment.
[0090] It is possible to employ the system for attaching the cutter
to the carton by jetting the adhesive to the sheet which is on the
way of being fed or to the carton at the given position before the
cutter is attached to the carton by appropriately providing a paste
jetting mechanism.
[0091] It goes without saying that the shape of the cutter can be
arbitrarily formed depending on the shapes of the edges of the
upper and lower blades and also appropriately formed in response to
the quality of the sheet and the kind of the wrap web to be
cut.
[0092] As mentioned above in detail, according to the cutter
manufacturing and attaching apparatus according to the second
embodiment, the sheet is successively fed between the upper and
lower molds and cut thereby and the cutter thus formed is sucked
and held by the vertically movable upper or lower mold and
thereafter the cutter is pressed toward the carton at the adhesive
surface thereof at the given position so that the attachment of the
cutter can be automatically made without resorting to man power.
Accordingly, it is possible to enhance the efficiency of the
manufacturing process of the carton.
[0093] Third Embodiment (FIGS. 15 to 24):
[0094] A cutter manufacturing and attaching apparatus according to
a seventh embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 15
to 24 wherein FIG. 15 is a schematic side view and FIG. 16 is a
schematic plan view of a part of FIG. 15.
[0095] A carton feeder 301 feeds a flat-shaped carton 302 to a
conveying device 310, described later, before the latter is
assembled and comprises a conveyor 303 for placing thereon a
plurality of cartons 302 as they remain stand vertically, a stopper
304 for restricting the forward movement of the carton 302 and a
feeder suction device 305 for sucking and drawing out the cartons
302 one by one. The shape of the carton 302 is not limited to
specific one but is exemplified as the one as illustrated in FIG.
22. The carton 302 as illustrated in FIG. 22 is formed by applying
the adhesive paste to a pasting portion 306 as illustrated by
hatching in FIG. 22, pasting a cutter 307 on the pasting portion
306, and assembling the carton in a box shape whereby the
box-shaped carton 308 can contain therein an aluminum foil or a
resin film as illustrated in FIG. 23. The aluminum foil or the
resin film contained in the carton can be drawn out and cut by the
cutter 307.
[0096] The conveying device 310 conveys the carton 302, which is
supplied from the carton feeder 301, successively in a horizontal
direction. The conveying device 310 comprises pulleys 311 and 312
disposed at both ends thereof, a pair of belts 313 having pins
thereon and entrained around the pulleys 311 and 312, a vacuum
suction belt 314 which is disposed in the pair of belts 313 and a
vacuum chamber, not shown, for applying negative pressure to a
horizontal traveling portion of the vacuum suction belt 314. A
plurality to small holes are defined on the vacuum suction belt 314
for sucking the carton 302 under vacuum condition. The vacuum
suction belt 314 is entrained around a pulley which is coaxially
disposed with the pulley 311, on which the belt 313 is entrained,
and a supporting roller 315 which is disposed under a cutter
manufacturing and pasting device 333, described later. Pins 313a
are attached to the belt 313 at a given pitch for pushing the rear
end of the carton 302 which is placed on the belt 313. The belt 313
and the vacuum suction belt 314 are forcibly driven by driving the
pulley 311 or 312 and the supporting roller 315 wherein the
traveling speed of the vacuum suction belt 314 is set to be slower
than that of the belt 313. Accordingly, as the carton, which is
supplied from the carton feeder 301 to the belt 313 and the vacuum
suction belt 314, is conveyed while it is sucked and held by the
vacuum suction belt 314, the pin 313a of the belt 313 catch up with
the rear end of the carton and thereafter it pushes the rear end of
the carton to thereby convey the carton. Accordingly, the carton is
always conveyed by the pin 313a of the belt 313 while it is
positioned by the pin 313a.
[0097] A pasting device 320 is disposed over the traveling position
of the carton 302 for applying the adhesive paste to the carton at
the given position thereof which is conveyed by the conveying
device 310. The pasting device 320 comprises an emulsion pasting
device 321 and a hot melt pasting device 322 which can be properly
used depending on the quality of the cutter or the carton to be
used. As the case may be, either the emulsion pasting device 321 or
the hot melt pasting device 322 can be omitted. The emulsion
pasting device 321 comprises a paste 323, a supply roller 324, a
doctor 325 and a relief form cylinder 326 wherein the emulsion
paste which is stuck to a convex portion of the form cylinder 326
is applied to the carton which passes thereunder. A supporting
roller 327 is disposed at a fixed position under the form cylinder
326 for supporting the belts 313 and 314 and the carton which
passes thereover. Since the portion of the form cylinder 326 except
the convex portion thereof is spaced approximately away from and
over the belt 313, there is no obstacle for the pin 313a to pass
under the form cylinder 326. The hot melt pasting device 322
comprises a gravure form cylinder 328 and a nozzle 329 supplying a
hot melt paste to the form cylinder 328 wherein the hot melt past
stored in the concave portion of the form cylinder 328 is applied
to the carton 302 which passes thereunder. A supporting roller 330
is disposed under the hot melt pasting device 322 and is held by a
lifting mechanism for lowering it so as to form a gap between
itself and the form cylinder 328 through which the pin 313a can
pass without any obstacle.
[0098] The cutter manufacturing and pasting device 333 is provided
over the traveling position of the carton 302 which is conveyed by
the conveying device 310 and downstream the pasting device 320. The
cutter manufacturing and pasting device 333 severs the tip portion
of a nonmetallic sheet 335 (refer to FIG. 19) such as a paper
sheet, etc. to thereby form a cutter 307 and attaches the cutter
307 to the carton 302. The cutter manufacturing and pasting device
333 is of a rotary cutter type comprising a cutter roller 337
having a cutter blade 336 and a receiving roller 340 which is
disposed in parallel with the cutter roller 337 and rotates in
synchronism with the cutter roller 337.
[0099] As illustrated in FIGS. 17 and 18, the cutter blade 336 of
the cutter roller 337 is provided so as to protrude radially
outwardly the cutter roller 337 and extend in the axial direction
of the cutter roller 337 wherein the cutter blade 336 of the cutter
roller 337 is formed in zigzag so that the shape of the edges of
the cutter blade 336, when viewed toward the edges, is equal to the
shape of the edges of the cutter to be manufactured, when viewed on
the plane thereof. FIG. 20 is a view enlarging the shape of the
edges of the cutter wherein the bent portions 336b and 336c of the
edge 336a are not rounded but pointed. The cutter 307 (refer to
FIG. 19) manufactured by the cutter blade 336 can have the edges
307a and 307b which are not rounded but pointed.
[0100] In FIGS. 17 and 18, the receiving roller 340 has a receiving
member 338 provided with a flat receiving surface 338a for
receiving the cutter blade 336 and a plurality of suction holes 339
for sucking and holding the cutter 307 which is to be severed by
the cutter blade 336. "The receiving surface 338a of the receiving
roller 340 is flat" means that the receiving surface 338a has no
grooves through which the cutter blade 336 is inserted.
Accordingly, the receiving surface 338a is not flat in a strict
sense but may be cylindrical surface. The cutter roller 337 and the
receiving roller 340 are synchronously rotated in the manner that
the tip end of the cutter blade 336 and the receiving surface 338a
move at the same speed. The cutter roller 337 and the receiving
roller 340 feed the sheet 335 at the same speed as that of the tip
end of the cutter blade 336 and the cutter blade 336 cuts in the
sheet 335 which is supported by the receiving surface 338a whereby
the sheet 335 can be severed in the shape of the edges of the
cutter, i.e. the shape of sawtooth to thereby form the cutter 307.
The receiving roller 340 functions to suck and hold the cutter 307,
which is severed from the sheet 335, by the suction holes 339. The
receiving roller 340 is hereinafter referred to as a suction
roller. It is preferable to provide an elastic member 341 such as a
sponge, if need be, downstream the cutter blade 336 of the cutter
roller 337. The elastic member 341 prevents the portion of the
sheet 335 to be severed by the cutter blade 336 from pasting to the
cutter roller 337.
[0101] In FIG. 18, the distance between the center of the cutter
roller 337 and that of the suction roller 340 may be determined in
the manner that the edges strikes surely against the receiving
surface 338a to thereby sever the sheet 335 with assurance when the
cutter blade 336 faces perpendicular to the receiving surface 338a
(at the time of severing the sheet). However, according to the
third embodiment, this distance is determined in the manner that a
microscopic clearance d is left between the edges of the cutter
blade 336 and the receiving surface 338a. The clearance d is
preferable to range from 0.005 mm to 0.03 mm, particularly
preferable to be 0.01 mm. Since the edges of the cutter blade 336
do not contact the receiving 338a as set forth above, even if the
cutter blade 338a strikes against the receiving surface 338a which
is normally formed of a hard metal, there is no likelihood that the
cutter blade 336 is damaged or worn whereby the life of the cutter
blade 336 can be lengthened. Provision of such a microscopic
clearance d between the cutter blade 336 and the receiving surface
338a does not assure that the cutter blade 336 severs the sheet 335
completely when the former cuts in the latter, which results in
that the tip portion of the sheet which was cut in remains
connected to the sheet 335 within a hairbreadth as a thin skin.
However, if the tip portion of the sheet 335 which was cut in, i.e.
the tip portion of the sheet to form the cutter 307 is sucked and
held by the suction roller 340 and at the same time if a sheet
feeding device 343, described later, breaks the sheet 335 tensile
strength is generated between the sheet 335 and the cutter 307. The
thus generated tensile strength tears off the thin skin which
remains between the cutter blade 336 and the sheet 335 so that the
cutter 307 can be severed from the sheet 335 without any obstacle.
The suction roller 340 is disposed at the position where the cutter
307, which is sucked and held by the suction roller 307, is pasted
to the carton which is conveyed by the conveyed device 310 as
illustrated in FIGS. 15 and 16.
[0102] The cutter manufacturing and pasting device 333 further
includes a winder 342 for feeding the sheet 335 and a sheet feeding
device 343 for feeding the sheet 335 in a given pitch to thereby
supply the sheet 335 between the cutter roller 337 and the suction
roller 340. The sheet feeding device 343 feeds the sheet at the
speed synchronous with the speed of the rotation of the edges of
the cutter blade 336 so that the sheet can be severed by the cutter
blade 336 at a given position remote from the tip end of the sheet.
After the sheet 335 is severed by the cutter blade 336, the sheet
feeding device 343 has such a function that it brakes the sheet to
stop its movement and thereafter pulls back the sheet 335 so that
the tip end of the sheet 335 is returned to its given position.
With such an arrangement, it is possible to feed the sheet 335
every given pitch and sever the sheet 335 at the given pitch from
the tip portion of the sheet 335 by the cutter roller 337 and the
suction roller 340.
[0103] An inspecting device 345 is provided downstream the cutter
manufacturing and pasting device 333. The inspecting device 345 has
three cameras for observing a given position of the upper surface
of the carton 302. There are three observation positions, i.e.,
first to three observation regions 346 to 348. The first
observation region 346 is observed by the first camera having a
detecting line where the arrival of the tip end of the carton 302,
which is fed in the direction of the arrow, is detected. The second
observation region 347 is observed by the second camera having
detecting lines 347a and 347b where the surface of the carton 302
ahead the cutter 307 is detected. The third observation region 348
is observed by the third camera having detecting lines 348a and
348b where the surface of the cutter 307 is detected. That is, the
second and third observation regions 347 and 348 are arranged on
the surface of the carton 302 so as to observe the two points which
are spaced in the width direction of the carton 302. The positions
of and intervals between the forward detecting lines 347a, 348a and
the backward detecting lines 347b and 348b are determined in the
manner that the carton surface is detected by the forward detecting
lines 347a and 348a and the surface of the cutter 307 is detected
by the rearward detecting lines 347b and 348b at the timing when
the cutter 307, which is attached to the carton within the
tolerable attaching accuracy, arrives the given position. One or
both of the surfaces of the carton 302, which is positioned close
to the position when the cutter is attached to the carton, and the
surface of the cutter 307 are appropriately put into print so that
they have different reflectance in order to identify the surface of
the carton 302 and the surface of the cutter 307.
[0104] When the carton having the cutter 307 pasted thereon is fed
in the direction of the arrow, the inspecting device 345 firstly
detects the arrival of the carton 302 based on the output of the
first camera at the first line 346a and secondly measures the
timing when the cutter 307 arrives the second and third observation
regions based on the detected arrival of the carton 302 and thirdly
compares the output of the second camera at the detecting lines
347a and,347b with the output of the third camera at the detecting
lines 348a and 348b, whereby the inspecting device 345 can detect
as to whether the cutter 307 is attached to the carton 302 within
the tolerable attaching accuracy.
[0105] In FIG. 15, there are provided a stacker 350 for stacking
therein the carton 302 which is discharged from the belt with pins
313, a shutter 351 for temporarily receiving the carton 302 which
is discharged from the belt with pins 313, an inferior good
receiver and a shutter 353 for directing the inferior goods to the
inferior good receiver 352.
[0106] The feeder suction device 305 of the carton feeder 301, the
form cylinders 326 and 328 of the pasting device 320, the cutter
roller 337 of the cutter manufacturing and pasting device 333 and
the driving mechanism of the suction roller 340 are respectively
structured to be synchronous with the driving mechanism of the belt
313. With such a synchronous mechanism, the feeder suction 305 can
supply the carton 302 to the belt 313 at the given position
relative to the pin 313a of the belt 313 and the pasting device 320
and the cutter manufacturing and pasting device 333 can apply the
adhesive paste to the carton 302 which is conveyed while it
contacts the pin 313a of the belt 313 at the rear end thereof and
can supply the cutter 307. The adhesive paste supply roller 324 of
the emulsion pasting device 321 is connected to an exclusive motor
which can rotate the past supply roller 324 even if the cutter
manufacturing and attaching apparatus is stopped.
[0107] An operation of the cutter manufacturing and attaching
apparatus will be described hereinafter.
[0108] The belt 313 and the vacuum suction belt 314 of the
conveying device 310 are continuously traveling in the direction of
the arrow A. The feeder suction 305 of the carton feeder 301 feeds
the cartons 302 one by one at the constant timing onto the belts
313 and 314 at the position slightly before the pins 313a. The
carton 302 is sucked and held by the vacuum suction belt 314 and
conveyed forward to the pasting device 320. The pin 313a of the
belt 313, which travels faster than the vacuum suction belt 314,
catches up with the rear end of the carton 302 before the carton
302 reaches the pasting device 320, whereby the carton 302 travels
on the belt 313 while it is pushed by the pin 313a. Accordingly,
the carton 302 is fed toward the pasting device 320 and passes
thereunder at the state where it is positioned at the given
position relative to the belt 313.
[0109] The adhesive paste is applied to the carton 302 from one of
the emulsion pasting device 321 and the hot melt pasting device 322
which constitute the pasting device 320. At this time, since the
form cylinders 326 and 328 are rotated in synchronism with the belt
313, they can apply the adhesive paste to the carton 302, which is
conveyed by the belt 313 at the given position of the carton 302.
Accordingly, the adhesive paste can be applied to the pasting
position 306 of the carton 302 as illustrated in FIG. 22.
[0110] The carton 302 to which the adhesive paste is applied passes
under the cutter manufacturing and pasting device 333. At this
time, since the cutter roller 337 and the suction roller 340 are
synchronously rotated in the direction of the arrow, the tip end of
the sheet 335 which is inserted therebetween, is sucked and held by
the suction hole 339 of the suction roller 340 and the portion
behind the tip end of the sheet 335 is clamped by the cutter blade
336 and the receiving member 338 and is severed by the cutter blade
336, whereby the cutter 307 having sharp edges can be formed (refer
to FIG. 18). Thereafter, the severed cutter 307 is conveyed by the
rotation of the suction roller 340 while it is held by the suction
roller 340 and is successively-supplied to the pasting portion of
the carton which passes under the severed cutter 307 and is pasted
on the pasting portion. Since the suction roller 340 is also
rotated in synchronism with the belt 313, the severed cutter 307
can be supplied to the carton 302 at the given position thereof
whereby the severed cutter 307 can be pasted to the carton at the
accurate position thereof.
[0111] Thereafter, the carton to which the cutter 307 is pasted is
conveyed downstream by the belt 313 toward the inspecting device
345 where the pasting position of the cutter 307 is inspected. The
good cutter 307 is accumulated in the stacker 350. If there is any
anomaly, i.e., defect in the carton 302, the shutter 353 moves
upward to thereby discharge the inferior carton 302 to the inferior
receiver 352.
[0112] As the operations set forth above continue, the cutter 307
which is formed by cutting the sheet is successively pasted to the
successively conveyed carton 302 is successively conveyed.
[0113] In the third embodiment, the straight cutter 307 is pasted
to the outer surface side of the carton, at the state where the
carton is assembled in the box-shape. However, the cutter
manufacturing and attaching apparatus is not limited to the third
embodiment but it can be used for manufacturing and attaching the
cutter 307A having a slightly bent in L-shape, as illustrated in
FIG. 24, to the carton. In this case, the shape of the cutter blade
336 of the cutter roller 337 may be changed. It is also possible to
attach the cutter to the inner surface of the carton. In this case,
the carton may be supplied to the conveying device 310 in the
manner that the carton is turned the inner surface out.
[0114] Furthermore, in the third embodiment, the sheet is cut in
the width direction from the tip end thereof to thereby form the
cutter. However, the method of manufacturing the cutter according
to the present invention is not limited to this but it is applied
to such a case that the sheet is severed in the longitudinal
direction thereof in a given width to thereby form the cutter. In
this case, a plurality of cutter blades may be provided radially on
the cutter roller and dispposed axially in a given interval and a
plurality of receiving surfaces may be provided on the receiving
roller at the positions corresponding to the cutter blades of the
cutter roller.
[0115] According to the method of manufacturing the cutter, since
the cutter blade of the cutter roller having edges which are equal
to those of the cutter to be manufactured cuts in the sheet and
severs the sheet which is travelled and supported by the receiving
surface of the receiving roller, the sheet can be severed
accurately in conformity with the edges of the cutter blade. If the
edges of the cutter blade are pointed, it is possible to
manufacture the cutter having no rounded portion at the edges
thereof. It is also possible to manufacture the sharp cutter from
the sheet. Still furthermore, since the sheet is severed by the
roller so as to form the cutter when the latter is rotated, a
production speed can be increased to thereby increase the
productivity.
[0116] According to the cutter manufacturing and attaching
apparatus, there are following advantages. The adhesive paste can
be applied to the carton at the given position thereof while the
latter is continuously fed by the conveying device, and the cutter
is severed from the sheet and the severed cutter can be pasted onto
the pasted position of the carton, whereby the carton having the
cutter attached thereto can be effectively manufactured.
Furthermore, since the cutter is processed by the rotary cutter
system, the edges of the cutter are pointed to thereby realize a
sharpness.
[0117] Fourth Embodiment (FIGS. 25 to 33):
[0118] An apparatus for manufacturing a cutter manufacturing and
attaching apparatus will be described with reference to FIGS. 25 to
31.
[0119] In FIG. 25, a sheet 401 for forming a cutter is drawn out
from a winder, not shown. A rotary die cutter 402 manufactures the
cutter 403 having edges at both ends thereof, as illustrated in
FIG. 26, by severing the tip portion of the sheet 401 zigzag. The
width of the cutter 403, i.e., the interval between each of the
edges 403a, 403a of the cutter 403 to be manufactured in the fourth
embodiment is very small, namely, it ranges from 5 to 10 mm.
[0120] The rotary die cutter 402 comprises a cutter cylinder 405
and a receiving cylinder 406 which are disposed in parallel with
each other and a driving device, not shown, for synchronously
rotating these cylinders in opposite directions. The cutter
cylinder 405 has a cutter blade 407 which is disposed on the outer
peripheral surface thereof at the position spaced at an angular
interval of 180.degree. and is extended in the axial direction
thereof. Likewise, the receiving cylinder 406 has a receiving table
408 which is disposed on the outer peripheral surface thereof at
the position spaced at an angular interval of 180.degree. and is
extended in the axial direction thereof The tip end of the cutter
blade 407 and the outer peripheral surface of the receiving table
408 are positioned on the circumferences of the cylinders having
the same diameters. Accordingly, when the cylinders 405 and 406 are
synchronously rotated, the tip end of the cutter blade 407 and the
outer peripheral surface of the receiving table 408 move at the
same speed whereby the sheet 401 can be severed well by the cutter
407 and the corresponding receiving table 408.
[0121] The distance between the center of the cutter cylinder 405
and that of the receiving table 406 is determined so as to leave a
microscopic clearance therebetween when the cutter blade 408 faces
perpendicular to the receiving table 408, i.e., at the time of
severing the sheet as enlarged in FIG. 27. Supporting the length of
the clearance is d, it is preferable to range from 0.005 mm to 0.03
mm, particularly preferable to be 0.01 mm. Since the clearance d is
left between the cutter blade 407 and the receiving table 408, the
edges of the cutter blade 407 is prevented from striking against
the hard receiving table 408 and from being damaged or worn whereby
the life of the cutter blade 407 is lengthened.
[0122] The shapes of the edges of the cutter blade 407 are zigzag
as illustrated in FIGS. 28 and 29 so as to give the cutter of the
severed sheet zigzag edges, as illustrated in FIG. 26. The bent
portion of the edges 407a and 407b are not rounded but pointed.
With such an arrangement of the cutter blade 407, the edges 403a of
the cutter 403 are not rounded but pointed.
[0123] The cutter blade 407 extends in the longitudinal direction
of the cutter cylinder 405, wherein "extends in the longitudinal
direction of the cutter cylinder" include "extends aslant relative
to the axial direction of the cutter cylinder 405" in addition to
"extends in parallel with the axial direction of the cutter
cylinder 405". Accordingly, the cutter blade 407 is not always
provided in parallel with the axial direction of the cutter
cylinder 405 but may be inclined relative to the axial direction of
the cutter cylinder 405 or may be bent like a V-shape. It is
preferable to provide an elastic member 410 downstream the cutter
blade 407, if need be. The elastic member 410 prevents the cutter
which is severed from the cutter blade 407 from pasting to the
cutter cylinder 405.
[0124] The receiving table 408 of the receiving cylinder 406
supports the sheet to be severed by the cutter blade 407 and is
normally formed of a hard metal. Since the cutter blade is provided
not to directly contact the receiving table 408, there is no
likelihood that the tip end of the cutter blade 407 strikes against
the receiving table 408 to thereby be damaged or worn even if the
receiving table 408 is formed of the hard metal. The receiving
table 408 has a plurality of suction holes 412 at the position
downstream (right side in FIG. 27) the position confronted with the
cutter blade 407 and a vacuum supply source, not shown, is
connected to the suction holes 412 by way of a valve. The valve is
structured to apply negative pressure to the suction holes 412
until the suction holes which are directed upward where they
contact the sheet are turned 180.degree. so as to be directed
downward, whereby the suction holes 412 suck and hold the sheet
which is severed by the cutter blade 407 and can carry the sheet
downward. Accordingly, the mechanism to apply negative pressure to
the suction holes 412 so that the latter operates under the vacuum
condition constitutes a suction means for sucking and holding the
severed sheet.
[0125] According to the fourth embodiment, the cutter cylinder 405
has two cutter blades 407 and the receiving cylinder 406 has two
receiving tables 408 as illustrated in FIG. 25 whereby the sheet is
severed two times by the cutter blade 407 when the cutter cylinder
407 and the receiving table 408 make one rotation. However, the
number of the cutter blade 407 and the receiving table 408 can be
appropriately increased or decreased, for example, the cutter blade
407 and the receiving table 408 may sever the sheet one time or
more than three times when the cylinders 405 and 406 make one
rotation.
[0126] A conveying device 415 as illustrated in FIG. 25 feeds the
sheet 401 to the rotary die cutter 402. The conveying device 415
comprises a pair of feeding cylinders 416 and 416 which are
synchronously driven to rotate in the opposite directions. The
feeding cylinders 416 and 416 have respectively cylindrical feeding
surfaces 417 and 417 on the outer peripheral surfaces thereof at
the part of the circumferential region of the outer peripheral
surface thereof wherein the cylindrical feeding surfaces 417 and
417 nip and convey the sheet. The diameter of the cylindrical
feeding surface 417 is half of that of the circle which is drawn by
the tip end of the cutter blade 407 of the cutter cylinder. The
feeding cylinder 416 is structured to be driven to rotate in
synchronism with the cutter cylinder 405 so that the former is made
one rotation while the latter is made half rotation. Accordingly,
the feeding surfaces 417 and 417 of the pair of the feeding
cylinders 416 and 416 can feed the sheet 401 between the cutter
cylinder 405 and the receiving cylinder 406 of the rotary die
cutter 402 at the speed synchronous with the speed of the cutter
blade 407. The diameter of the feeding surface 417 of the feeding
cylinder 416 is not limited to half of that of the circle which is
drawn by the cutter blade 407 of the cutter cylinder 405 but may be
equal to that, that multiplied by an integer, or that divided by an
integer.
[0127] The phase of the feeding cylinder 416 (corresponding to the
position of the feeding surface 417) is positioned where the cutter
blade 407 of the rotary die cutter 402 crosses perpendicular to the
receiving table 408 immediately after the completion of nipping of
the sheet 401 by the feeding surfaces 417 and 417 and it is
determined so as to cut in deep the sheet 401 as illustrated in
FIG. 30(a).
[0128] A stopper 420 temporarily stops the sheet 401 and comprises
a fixed table 421 and a movable table 422 which are disposed to
intervene the sheet 401 therebetween and a driving device 423 for
moving the movable table 422 as illustrated in FIG. 25. The stopper
420 is controlled to operate and stop the movement of the sheet 401
temporarily immediately after the rotary die cutter 402 severs the
sheet 401.
[0129] An inverting device 425 is disposed upstream the stopper
420. The inverting device 425 comprises a driving roller 426 and a
pinch roller 427. The driving roller 426 is connected to a
servomotor 428 by way of a clutch, not shown. The clutch and the
servomotor 428 start to operate to drive the driving roller 426 in
the direction to pull the sheet backward immediately after the
rotary die cutter 402 severs the sheet 401 for pulling the tip
portion of the sheet 401 back to the given position. The driving
roller 426 is connected to a measuring means, not shown, which
measures the number of rotation of the driving roller 426 to
thereby measure the feeding amount and the amount of pulling back
the sheet 401. A signal issued by the measuring means is used for
controlling the servomotor 428. The inverting device 425 and the
conveying device 415 constitute a sheet conveying and inverting
device for feeding the sheet 401 between the cutter cylinder 405
and the receiving cylinder 406 of the rotary die cutter at the
speed synchronous with that of the cutter blade 407 and pulling
back the sheet after the sheet 401 is severed.
[0130] An application device 432 is provided under the receiving
cylinder 406 for attaching the cutter 403 which is sucked and held
by the receiving cylinder 406 to the carton 430 which is fed in
synchronism with the rotation of the receiving cylinder 406. The
application device 432 comprises a supporting table 433 for
supporting the lower surface of the carton 430 to be fed, a rail
434 for horizontally and slidably holding the supporting table 433,
an air cylinder 485 for raising and lowering the rail 434 and an
air cylinder 436 having a spring which is connected to the
supporting table 433. The air cylinder 436 serves as an shock
absorber of the supporting table 433 at the time of movement of the
supporting table 433 as the receiving cylinder rotates when the
supporting table 433 is pressed toward the receiving cylinder 406
and also serves to restore the supporting table 433 to the original
position when the supporting table 433 is moved away from the
receiving cylinder 406.
[0131] An operation of the fourth embodiment will be described
hereinafter.
[0132] The cylinders 405 and 406 of the rotary die cutter 402 and
the feeding cylinders 416 and 416 of the conveying device 415 are
always synchronous with each other to rotate in the direction of
the arrow. Suppose that the tip portion of the sheet 401 is stopped
at a given starting point A as illustrated in FIG. 30(b). If the
feeding surfaces 417 and 417 are moved to the position to nip the
sheet 401 when the feeding cylinders 416 and 416 are rotated, the
feeding surfaces 417 and 417 nip the sheet 401 and start to convey
the sheet 401 and thereafter insert the tip portion of the sheet
401 between the cutter cylinder 405 and the receiving cylinder 406.
At the time when the tip portion of the sheet 401 is fed by the
feeding cylinders 416 and 416 and the feeding surfaces 417 and 417
release the nipping of the sheet 401 as illustrated in FIG. 30(a),
the cutter blade 407 of the rotary die cutter 402 cuts in the sheet
401 at the position remote from the tip end thereof by the given
length L. At this time, since the sheet 401 is conveyed by the
feeding cylinders 416 and 416 at the same speed as the cutter blade
407, the cutter blade 407 cuts in the tip portion of the sheet 401
accurately to thereby cut the sheet 401 in the same shape as the
cutter blade 407. However, the tip portion of the sheet 401 is not
completely severed by the tip end thereof but it remains connected
to the sheet 401 as a thin skin.
[0133] At the time when the cutter blade 407 cuts in the sheet 401,
negative pressure is applied to the suction holes 412 of the
receiving tables 408 so that the vacuum holes suck and hold the
sheet 401 positioned thereover (the portion to be formed as the
cutter 403). Successively, the stopper 402 operates to thereby grip
the sheet 401 and stops the sheet 401. Meanwhile, since the
receiving cylinder 406 which sucks and holds the tip portion of the
sheet 401 keeps to rotate, tensile strength is generated between
the cutter 403 and the stopped sheet 401 so that the thin skin
remained connected between the cutter 403 and the stopped sheet 401
is torn off. As a result, the cutter 403 is severed from the tip
portion of the sheet 401. The stopper 420 serves to sever the
cutter 403 from the tip portion of the sheet 401 and also serves to
reduce the amount of feeding of the sheet 401 owing to the
inertia.
[0134] Thereafter, the gripping of the sheet 401 by the stopper 420
is released and the inverting device 425 operates to thereby pull
back the sheet 401 and position of the tip portion of the sheet 401
at the original position A as illustrated in FIG. 30(b).
Accordingly, the apparatus is ready for the next operation.
[0135] FIG. 31 is a timing chart showing the operations set forth
above.
[0136] Meanwhile, the receiving cylinder 406 which sucks and holds
the cutter 403 keeps to rotate and conveys the cutter held thereby
to the lower direction. The carton 430 is conveyed toward the
receiving cylinder 406 by a conveying device, not shown. The
adhesive paste is applied to the sheet 401 at the portion to be
pasted on the way toward the receiving cylinder 406 and is then fed
onto the supporting table 433 in a given timing. At this time, the
supporting table 433 is stand by at the lowered position. At the
time when the carton 430 is fed onto the supporting table 433 and
the cutter 403, which is held by the receiving cylinder 406, is fed
onto the carton 430, the air cylinder 435 pushes up the rail 434
and raises the supporting table 433. As a result, the carton 430
held by the supporting table 433 is pressed against the cutter 403
so that the cutter 403 is pasted to the carton 430. At this time,
since the supporting table 433 moves in the same direction of the
carton 430 as the carton 430 and the receiving cylinder 406 move,
pressure application between the cutter 403 and the carton 430 is
balanced, which entails the improvement of the pasting accuracy.
After the completion of the attachment of the cutter 403 to the
carton 430, the rail 434 is lowered to thereby move the supporting
table 433 away from the receiving cylinder 406 and the air cylinder
436 restores the supporting table 433 to the original position.
Accordingly, the apparatus is ready for the next operation.
[0137] With the repetition of the operations as set forth above,
the tip portion of the sheet 401 is severed every given length L to
thereby form the cutter. The cutter is then pasted to the carton
430. In order to change the severing length L, the stop position
(the original position A as illustrated in FIG. 30(b)) of the tip
portion of the sheet 401 when it is pulled back by the inverting
device 425 may be changed.
[0138] In the fourth embodiment, the cutter 401 does not contact
with the receiving table 408 and the sheet 401 is cut at the top
portion thereof while the top portion remains connected to the
sheet as the thin skin. However, the sheet 401 may be completely
severed by the cutter blade 407. In this case, the stopper 420 may
be omitted. If the stopper 420 remains provided, there is an
advantage that the stopper 420 can stop the advancement of the
sheet 401 so that the amount of pulling back the sheet 401 by the
inverting device 425 is reduced.
[0139] Furthermore, according to the fourth embodiment, the sheet
conveying inverting device comprises the conveying device 415 for
feeding the sheet 401 between the cutter cylinder and the receiving
cylinder of the rotary die cutter at the speed synchronous with
that of the cutter blade and the inverting device 425 which is
provided separately from the conveying device 415. However, the
present invention is not limited to this arrangement and may adopt
the device which functions as the conveying device for feeding the
sheet and also as the inverting device for pulling back the sheet.
For example, the inverting device 425 serves as the conveying
device 415 in the manner that the driving roller 426 is driven in
both the normal and reverse directions as the driving speed is
controllable. In this case, the feeding, stopping and reversing
functions may be controlled electrically by the servomotor, etc. or
mechanically by the clutch, brake, etc.
[0140] Although the tip portion of the sheet is severed zigzag for
forming the cutter, it may be severed for forming the member for
other purposes. The rotary die cutter 402 may have the blade for
punching the sheet, or the blade for cutting in the sheet as well
as the blade for severing the sheet as set forth above.
[0141] As mentioned above, since the sheet is fed between the
cutter blade of the cutter cylinder and the receiving table of the
receiving cylinder at the speed synchronous with the moving speed
of the cutter blade and the cutter blade cuts in the sheet which is
supported by the receiving table and severs sheet, the productivity
is improved and the sheet can be severed accurately in the shape of
the cutter blade. For example, if the edges of the cutter blade is
zigzag so as to form the cutter zigzag, so that the edges having no
rounded portion can be formed. Furthermore, since the tip portion
of the sheet is pulled back by the sheet conveying inverting device
after the sheet is severed, it is possible to sever the sheet at
the portion remote arbitrarily from the tip end thereof, whereby
the cutter having the narrow width can be formed.
[0142] Still furthermore, since the conveying device comprises a
pair of feeding cylinders each having a cylindrical feeding surface
on the part of the region of the circumferential direction of the
outer peripheral surface thereof, the feeding cylinder of the
conveying device is allowed to rotate in synchronism with each
cylinder of the rotary die cutter and the tip end of the sheet is
positioned at the given position whereby the sheet can be nipped
and conveyed by the feeding surfaces of the pair of feeding
cylinders and is fed so as to contact the cutter blade at the given
position from the tip end thereof at the speed synchronous with the
cutter blade. Consequently, the sheet can be fed into the rotary
die cutter by the simple structured controller.
[0143] Still furthermore, since the microscopic clearance is left
between the tip end of the cutter blade and the receiving table at
the time of severing the sheet, there is no likelihood that the
edges of the cutter blade strikes against the receiving table to
thereby be worn whereby the life of the cutter blade is lengthened.
At this time, even if the cutter blade cuts in deep the cutter
blade, the sheet is not completely severed and the cut sheet
remains connected to the sheet as the thin skin. However, since the
apparatus is structured that the tip portion of the sheet to be
severed is sucked and held by the receiving cylinder and the sheet
opposite to the tip portion may be stopped by the stopper device,
the portion remains uncut by the cutter blade is torn off and
severed with assurance, which does not cause any obstacle.
[0144] The pasting device for use in the cutter manufacturing and
attaching apparatus will be described with reference to FIGS. 32
and 33.
[0145] An object 501 to be pasted is travels in the direction of
the arrow A by a conveying device, not shown. A form plate roller
502 applies an adhesive paste to the object 501 at the given
position thereof and has a convex portion 502a for pasting the
adhesive paste to the object 501. The form roller 502 is rotated in
synchronism with the travelling of the object 501. A material for
the form plate 502 is preferable to be subjected to tough ram
process or an aluminum letterpress, etc. As the material of the
form plate material, metal having less affinity for the adhesive
paste such as a chrome-plated iron member or a resin such as a
tetrafluoroetylene may be used.
[0146] A paste supply roller 503 supplies the adhesive paste to the
form plate roller 502. The diameter of the paste supply roller 503
is less than that of the form plate roller 502. The adhesive paste
stuck to the peripheral surface of the paste supply roller 503 is
prevented from drying. The ratio of the diameter of the paste
supply roller 503 relative to the form plate roller 502 is
expressed as the ratios of whole numbers whereby the contact
position of the paste supply roller relative to the convex portion
502a of the form plate roller 502 is changed, the quality of the
adhesive paste to be applied to the convex portion 502a is
stabilized and the surface of the paste supply roller 503 is
prevented from wearing locally. Furthermore, the paste supply
roller 503 is disposed at the front of the form plate roller 502.
With such an arrangement, the adhesive paste is scattered when the
paste supply roller 503 is moved away from the convex portion 502a
of the form plate roller 502 in the direction opposite to the
object 501 and the coneying device of the object 501 as shown in
the arrows b, so that these elements are not contaminaated. A paste
receiver 510 may be provided over the form plate roller 502 for
receiving the adhesive paste scattered upward the form plate roller
502. A vacuum device, etc. may be provided instead of the paste
receivier 510 for sucking the scattering paste.
[0147] A paste tray 511 supplies the adhesive paste to the paste
supply roller 503 and comprises a doctor 512 which is pressed
toward the paste supply roller 503, side blocks 513, etc. The paste
is stored between the doctor 512 and the paste supply roller 503.
The doctor 512 is pressed toward the paste supply roller 503 by an
adjusting screw 515. The amount of the adhesive paste to be stuck
to the circumference of the paste supply roller 503 can be finely
adjusted by adjusting the adjusting screw. The paste tank may
comprise more than two rollers.
[0148] A paste supply nozzle 517 supplies the adhesive paste to the
paste tray 511. The paste supply nozzle 517 is provided so that it
is soaked into the adhesive paste which is stored in the paste tray
511 at the tip end thereof. Accordingly, even if the flow of the
adhesive paste in the paste supply nozzle 517 is soaked, there is
no likelihood that the adhesive paste in the paste supply nozzle
517 contacts air to thereby be dried, which does not make the paste
supply nozzle clog. The paste supply nozzle 517 is connected to a
past supply means 519 for supplying the adhesive paste thereto. The
paste supply means 519 comprises an airtightly structured paste
tank 520, a pipe 521 for introducing the adhesive paste in the
paste tank 520 to the paste supply nozzle 517, a flow regulator 522
provided midway of the pipe 521, an air under pressure pipe 523 for
supplying air under pressure to the paste tank 520 and a selector
valve 524 having two ports for supplying the air under pressure to
the paste tank 520 through one port or releasing the air under
pressure in the paste tank 520 through the other port. When the air
under pressure is supplied to the paste tank 520 by way of the
selector valve 524, the adhesive paste in the paste tank 520 is
supplied to the paste supply nozzle 517 owing to the air under
pressure while the adhesive paste is prevented from supplying to
the paste supply nozzle 517 when the air under pressure is released
from the paste tank 520. The selector valve 524 is an automatic
operating valve of an electromagnetic type or a pneumatic type and
it is controlled by a controller 525 when it is open or closed. The
flow regulator 522 is of a manual operating type.
[0149] There is a level detecting means 526 which is disposed over
the adhesive paste 514 stored in the adhesive tray 511 for
detecting the level of the adhesive paste in the paste tray 511. It
is possible to selectively use known sensors such as an optical
sensor, a supersonic wave sensor, an electrostatic sensor, etc. as
the level detecting means 526. The signal issued by the level
detecting means 526 is supplied to the controller 525 which uses
the same signal for controlling the selector valve 524. The
controller 525 is structured to perform the ON-OFF control action
in the manner that the selector valve 524 is open for supplying the
air under pressure to the paste tank 520 when the level of the
adhesive paste in the paste tray 511 is lower than a given low
level while the selector valve 524 is closed for releasing the air
under pressure in the paste tank 520 when the level of the adhesive
paste 514 in the paste tray 511 is higher than a given high
level.
[0150] An operation of the pasting device having the arrangement
set forth above will be described hereinafter. The adhesive paste
514 is always stored in the paste tray 511. At this state, the
paste supply roller 503 is rotated in the direction of the arrow C
whereby the adhesive paste having a given thickness restricted by
the doctor 512 is stuck to a peripheral surface of the paste supply
roller 503 and drawn out, the so drawn out adhesive paste is
supplied to the convex portion 502a of the cylinder roller 502
which is rotated in the direction of the arrow B and the convex
portion 502a applies the adhesive paste having the given thickness
to the object 501 to be pasted which passes under the cylinder
roller 502 in the direction of the arrow A. As a result, the
adhesive paste having the given thickness is applied to the object
501 to be pasted.
[0151] When the adhesive paste is applied to the object 501, the
adhesive paste in the paste tray 511 is lowered as it is consumed.
When the level is lower than the given low level, it is detected by
the level detecting means 526 which issues a signal based on which
the controller 525 closes the selector valve 524 to thereby release
the air under pressure in the paste tank 520. As a result, the
supply of the paste is stopped. In such a manner, the supply of the
adhesive paste from the paste tank 520 to the paste tray 511 is
under the ON-OFF control action whereby the amount of the adhesive
paste in the paste tray 511 is always kept constant. As a result,
the troublesome monitoring operation by an operator is omitted.
Although the flow of the adhesive paste from the paste supply
nozzle 517 continues or stops during the control operation by the
controller, the paste supply nozzle 517 is not likely clogged owing
to the dryness of the adhesive paste since the tip end of the paste
supply nozzle 517 is soaked into the adhesive paste 514 and does
not contact air. The flow regulator 522 may be regulated so as to
be adapted for supplying the adhesive paste by performing the
ON-OFF control action. The flow regulator 522 is not necessary to
be reregulated even if the property of the adhesive paste is
changed as the time lapses. That is, even if the property of the
adhesive paste is changed and the flow of the adhesive paste is
varied to some extent, merely the ON-time and the OFF-time are
varied during the performance of the ON-OFF control action so that
the level of the adhesive paste in the paste tray 511 can be
controlled without any obstacle.
[0152] According to this embodiment, air under pressure is used as
the paste supply means and the supply of the air under pressure to
be supplied to the paste tank is controlled. However, the present
invention is not limited to this arrangement but can be variously
changed. For example, the air under pressure is always supplied to
the paste tank and the passage from the paste tank to the paste
supply nozzle may be intermittently controlled. The air under
pressure may be replaced by another fluid under pressure.
Furthermore, a pump is used instead of the air under pressure for
supplying the adhesive paste and the operation of the pump is under
the ON-OFF control action or the passage from the pump to the paste
supply nozzle may be intermittently controlled. The control of the
supply of the adhesive paste to the paste supply nozzle is not
always under the ON-OFF control action in a strict sense wherein
the amount of the flow of the adhesive paste becomes zero under the
OFF control action but it may be replaced by the switching system
to selectively switch to the large amount of the flow or small
amount of the flow. Still furthermore, a system may be adopted for
continuously controlling the amount of the adhesive paste in
response to the speed of machine instead of ON-OFF control action
for supplying the adhesive paste to the paste supply nozzle, that
is, the control system for varying the amount of supply of the
adhesive paste in response to the speed of machine, e.g., the
amount of supply of the adhesive paste is varied in response to the
speed of the machine by varying the air under pressure to be
supplied to the paste tank in response to the speed of the machine.
In the latter case, the signal issued by the level detecting means
may be used as a control signal for use an emergency stop or the
emergency supply of the adhesive paste when the level of the
adhesive paste in the paste tray rises or lowers anomalously.
[0153] As mentioned above in detail, according to the pasting
device of this ninth embodiment, the level of the adhesive paste in
the paste tray is detected by the level detecting means and the
amount of the adhesive paste to be supplied to the paste supply
nozzle is controlled based on the signal issued by the level
detecting means whereby the amount of the adhesive paste in the
paste tray may be kept within a given value. As a result, a
troublesome monitoring operation or the regulating operation by the
operator may be omitted. Furthermore, since the tip end of the
paste supply nozzle is soaked into the paste tray, the amount of
flow in the paste supply nozzle is increased or decreased, the
paste supply nozzle is not clogged by the adhesive paste whereby
the ON-OFF control action can be performed and an automation can be
easily made by such an simple ON-OFF control mechanism.
[0154] When the paste supply roller is disposed in front of the
cylinder roller, the ahesive paste which is scattered when the
paste supply roller is moved away from the convex portion of the
cylinder roller is scattered in the direction opposite to the
object to be pasted or the conveying means whereby the object to be
pasted or the conveying means are not contaminated.
* * * * *