JP2001047165A - Method and apparatus for aligning print design of can body - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [PROBLEMS] To perform processing (eg, embossing) of a can body in accordance with a print design previously applied to the outer surface of the can body.
It is possible to quickly and accurately align a print design before processing. SOLUTION: Before processing a can body in accordance with a print design preliminarily applied to an outer surface of the can body, for each of cans 2 that are continuously conveyed in a state where the print design is random, first, Rotate at high speed in the circumferential direction of the torso,
The rotation speed of the can is reduced to a low speed when the large mark L applied to the can body is detected by the sensor 14, and then the rotation of the can 2 is performed when the small mark S applied to the can body is detected by the sensor 14. By stopping
Try to align the print design.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method for processing (e.g., embossing) a can body in accordance with a print design previously applied to the outer surface of the can body, and an apparatus for performing the method. In particular, the present invention relates to a method for aligning a print design of a can cylinder for accurately matching a print design previously applied to the outer surface of the can cylinder with the processing of the can cylinder to be performed therewith, and an apparatus for performing the method.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In beverage cans (beverage cans) made of two-piece or three-piece cans, various designs have been used to enhance the image of the product and to emphasize the uniqueness of the product for differentiation. As an example, it has been considered not only that the outer surface of the can body be simply designed with characters or patterns by printing, but also that the embossing be further performed in accordance with the printing design of the can body. As a method for embossing in accordance with a printing design that has been previously applied to a can body, for example, a method described in JP-A-50-115163 is known. ing.

[0003] That is, the above publication discloses "a roll having an end portion having a diameter almost the same as the inner diameter of an open tubular article to be embossed and having an embossed portion having a smaller diameter than the article. A one-ended open tubular article, comprising placing the article to be embossed thereon and rotating the embossed portion, end and another other embossing roll at the same circumferential linear speed. Embossing method ".

[0004] An apparatus for carrying out such a method is also known as "having a pair of embossing rolls, one of which has a diameter in which one part of the roll is smaller than the rest, One end opening consisting of an embossed design on the small diameter part and a device for driving the small diameter part and the rest of the roll at the same circumferential linear speed For embossing tubular articles that have been embossed.

[0005]

By the way, regarding the above-mentioned method of embossing a tubular article, a description is given of "a drive shaft (of a mechanical device for embossing) is directly connected to a drive of a printing apparatus, and is driven synchronously therewith. Although it is described in the gazette that perfect matching embossing can be obtained, there is no description on the alignment of the printing design and the embossing, and the driving of the mechanical device for embossing and the driving of the printing device are simply synchronized. It is difficult to make the printed design and the emboss completely consistent with a large number of articles that are continuously processed, always in a stable state.

As a method for solving such a problem, there is known a can-manufactured can (a can-body for a two-piece can in which a can body and a bottom plate are integrally formed, a three-piece can body or a three-piece can) having a printed design applied to the outer surface of the can body. Prior to embossing according to the print design, the sensor detects the alignment mark on the can body before printing the embossing that matches the printing design. It is conceivable to align the design and the embossing mold.

However, when embossing is continuously performed on a large number of cans in an actual can manufacturing process by such a method, the positioning of the can body is performed at a high speed in order to process a large number of cans continuously and quickly. In this case, it is necessary to make the alignment mark itself larger than a certain size so that the mark can be reliably detected by the sensor even in high-speed processing. It will be low.

On the other hand, if the positioning mark is made small in order to make the positioning finer and more accurate, it becomes difficult to reliably detect the mark instantaneously with a sensor in high-speed processing. Even if the mark is detected, if the control corresponding to the mark is delayed even a little, the misalignment will occur. Therefore, it is necessary to reduce the processing speed of the alignment for each can. As a result, the overall processing speed is reduced, and the production efficiency is reduced.

An object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems. Specifically, the present invention is directed to processing (e.g., embossing) of a can body in accordance with a print design previously applied to the outer surface of the can body. It is an object of the present invention to make it possible to quickly and highly accurately align a print design prior to processing.

[0010]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides a method of manufacturing a printing apparatus, comprising the steps of: For each of the cans that are continuously conveyed in a random state, first rotate at high speed in the circumferential direction of the can body, and when the large mark on the can body is detected by the sensor, the rotation speed of the can , The rotation of the can is stopped when a small mark applied to the can body is detected by a sensor, and the print design is aligned. .

According to the above-described method for aligning the print design of the can body, the alignment of the print design is finally completed by detecting a small mark of the can rotating at a low speed with a sensor. Because the can is rotated at a high speed from the start of the alignment until the large mark is detected by the sensor (that is, until the small mark approaches the detection position of the sensor), Compared to the case where the can is rotated at a low speed from the beginning to detect only small marks, the time required for detecting small marks and completing the alignment can be reduced.

[0012]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of a method for aligning the print design of a can cylinder and an apparatus for carrying out the method according to the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 to FIG. 4 show an embossing apparatus for a can body, which is an embodiment of an apparatus for carrying out the printing design alignment method of the present invention, that is, a manufacturing process of a two-piece can or a three-piece can. FIG. 1 shows an apparatus for performing embossing in accordance with a print design provided on the outer surface side of a can body on the way. FIG. 1 schematically shows the entire appearance of the apparatus, and FIG. FIG. 3 shows the structure of the entire apparatus, and FIG. 4 shows a part of the apparatus (a part of one pocket of the main turret).

The can-body embossing apparatus 1 is used to process a can-manufactured can (for example, a cylindrical eyeglass can for a three-piece can) having a printed design on the outer surface of the can body via an in-feed turret 3. 2 and a plurality of (18) pockets (can storage portions) 4a provided at equal intervals along the circumferential direction on the outer edge portion of the main turret 4, and continuously fed into the main turret 4, as shown in FIG. The printing design of the randomly supplied can 2 is aligned within the alignment adjustment range while continuously transporting the rotating cans at intervals in the circumferential direction, and then disposed in proximity to the transport path. After embossing the can body of the can 2 according to the printing design in the embossed portion (outer die) 5, the discharge turret 6 continuously sends out the product to the subsequent process. .

The specific structure of such an embossing device 1 will be described. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, a main shaft is provided so as to be rotatable from a base 7 fixed to the floor surface. 8, the center of rotation of the main turret 4 is integrally mounted in the middle thereof, and the outer edge of the main turret 4 that rotates with the main shaft 8 as a rotation drive shaft is provided for each pocket 4 a, A mandrel 9 is rotatably supported on the main turret 4.

Each of the mandrels 9 rotatably supported on the outer edge of the main turret 4 has an inner die for embossing (as shown in detail in FIG. 6) protruding toward the upper surface of the main turret 4. 9a is attached integrally,
A gear portion 9b is integrally formed at a lower portion of the main turret 4 protruding from the lower surface side, and a lower gear portion 9b of each mandrel 12 corresponds to one movement trajectory of the mandrel 9 due to the rotation of the main turret 4. The inner gear 10 is meshed with the large-diameter inner gear 10.
Is fixed on the upper surface of the base 7.

An upper chuck 11 for adsorbing and holding the can is provided for each mandrel 9.
A spinning chuck 12 for rotating the can 2 is rotatably inserted below the inner mold 9a so as to surround the mandrel 9, and the spinning chuck 12 is connected via a gear. An AC servomotor 13 for rotational driving is attached to the main turret 4 inside the mandrel 9, and an LED light emitting type color mark sensor 14 for detecting a mark provided on the outer surface of the can body is provided. The mandrel 9 is disposed above the spinning chuck 12 near the lowermost end of the inner mold 9a.

The mark detecting sensor is not limited to the LED light emitting type color mark sensor. However, by adopting the LED light emitting type color mark sensor, the color component of the reflected light of the detected mark can be improved. Can be separated into red, green, and blue, and the mark can be determined from the difference in the amount of reflected light.

Above the main turret 4, an upper frame 15 fixedly provided from the base 7 is installed at a center portion thereof with a main shaft 8 rotatably penetrating therethrough. 15 inside the peripheral wall based on the detection result of the color mark sensor 14.
A control box 16 for controlling the rotational drive of the C servo motor 13 is integrally installed on the main shaft 8 via a vibration-proof rubber 17, and an upper end of the main shaft 8 in a central space of the control box 16. The part is provided with a slip ring 17 for connecting a control box 16 on the rotating side (main shaft 8) and a power source on the fixed side.

An upper chuck slide cam 18 is fixed to the outer surface of the peripheral wall of the upper frame 15, and each upper chuck 11 is provided for each mandrel 9.
Are the respective upper chuck slide holders 19
Each of the upper chuck slide holders 19 is vertically movably fitted to a guide rod 20 erected on the main turret 4 near the mandrel 9, and And a cam groove 18a of an upper chuck slide cam 18 fixed to the upper frame 15 via a roller 19a.

The operating state of the can body embossing apparatus 1 having the above-described structure will be described. The mandrel 9 rotatably supported by each pocket 4a of the main turret 4 has a lower gear portion 9b. By meshing with the inner gear 10 fixed on the base 7, the main turret 4 rotates in the circumferential direction synchronously with the main turret 4 while moving in the circumferential direction. Each of the continuously transported cans (manufactured cans having a print design applied to the outer surface of the can body) is passed through the infeed turret 3 while the position of the print design of the can body remains random. Then, it is fed into each pocket 4a of the rotating main turret 4.

That is, at the delivery position where the infeed turret 3 and the main turret 4 are vertically overlapped, the can 2 sucked by the upper chuck 11 from the infeed turret 3 located above moves from the state shown in FIG. When the upper chuck 11 is lowered, the upper chuck 11 is slid downward and is inserted from above into the mandrel 9 located below the upper chuck 11.

The upper chuck slide holder 19 supporting the upper chuck 11 is rotated by the rotation of the main turret 4, and the cam groove 18 of the upper chuck slide cam 18 fixed to the upper frame 15 is rotated.
a, the upper chuck 11 above the mandrel 9 is rotated by the rotation of the main turret 4 because the upper chuck 11 moves vertically along a guide rod 20 erected on the main turret 4. Is moved up and down with respect to the mandrel 9 at a predetermined position with the movement of the mandrel.

The can 2 inserted from above into the inner mold 9a of the mandrel 9 in a state where the position of the printing design is random was held between the upper chuck 11 and the spinning chuck 12 as shown in FIG. In this state, it is held so as to surround the inner mold 9a at a slight interval.
The mandrel 9 (inner die 9 a) that rotates in synchronization with the rotation of the main turret 4 by meshing with the inner gear 10 by rotating the spinning chuck 12 interlocked with the rotation of the C servo motor 13 via a gear. The spinning chuck 12 is rotated with respect to the rotation of the spinning chuck 12 regardless of the rotation.

The can 2 being rotated by the spinning chuck 12 is moved in the circumferential direction by the rotation of the main turret 4 and conveyed to the embossing portion (outer die) 5 (position adjustment range). , The positioning mark provided on the can body is
4, the rotation of the spinning chuck 12 is stopped and fixed by stopping the rotation of the AC servomotor 13 and performing the servo lock according to a command from the control box 16 based on the detection result. Is performed.

When the rotation of the spinning chuck 12 is stopped, the can 2 in which the printing design of the can body has been aligned is completed.
While being servo-locked, it is fed into the embossed portion 5, and as shown in FIG. 7, the can body of the can 2 is sandwiched between the inner die 9 a of the mandrel and the outer die 5 a of the embossed portion 5, When the can 2 rotates in accordance with the outer mold 5a of the embossed portion 5 with the rotation of the mandrel 9, the can body is embossed. Then, at the end of the embossing (at the end of the embossing range), the servo lock of the AC servomotor 13 is released, and the rotation of the spinning chuck 12 becomes free.

The can 2 whose embossing has been performed on the can body after passing through the embossed portion 5 has an upper holding the can 2 at a delivery position where the discharge turret 6 and the main turret 4 are vertically overlapped. Chuck 1
1 is the cam groove 18 of the upper chuck slide cam 18
As a result of being lifted up by being guided by a, it is slid upward and pulled out of the mandrel 9, transferred to the discharge turret 6 and sent out to the subsequent process.

According to the can body embossing apparatus 1 of the present embodiment as described above, the AC servomotor 13 and the color mark sensor 1 installed on the main turret 4 are provided.
4, a control box 16, which is a control unit for controlling the rotation drive of the AC servomotor 13 based on the detection result of the color mark sensor 14, is integrated with the main shaft 8, which is the rotation drive shaft of the main turret 4. With such an arrangement, the slip ring 17 for connecting the fixed-side and rotary-side electrical wirings can be made compact.

That is, as shown in FIG. 9B, the control unit connected to the color mark sensor and the AC servomotor installed on the rotating side (main turret) is not on the rotating side (main shaft or main turret). If it is fixedly installed as a control panel, many wires connecting the color mark sensor or AC servomotor to the control panel at the slip ring for connecting the electrical wiring on the fixed side and the rotating side (For all of the plurality of pockets), the slip ring becomes complicated and large.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG.
If the control unit connected to the color mark sensor and AC servomotor installed on the rotating side (main turret) is installed on the rotating side (main turret rotation axis) as a control box, the slip ring part In addition, since it is only necessary to connect the wiring connecting the control box and the power supply, the slip ring can be made simple and compact.

In order to electrically connect the wiring on the rotating side and the wiring on the fixed side, methods such as 1) using wireless communication, 2) using a mercury slip ring, and 3) using a contact slip ring are considered. In addition, the method 1) does not require a slip ring, but is not suitable for transmitting and receiving a signal in units of msec, and is easily affected by noise. 2)
Since mercury is used, it generates less noise and is suitable for connecting pulse signals. In 3), since it is a contact type, noise may be generated in a signal line, which is not suitable for connection of a pulse signal.

In view of the length of each method as described above, in the can body embossing apparatus 1 of the present embodiment, when the rotating side and the fixed side are electrically connected, a mercury slip ring is employed. However, when manufacturing containers for food manufacturers (cans for cans), it is necessary to avoid the use of mercury-containing products as much as possible. For this reason, a contact type slip ring must be used.

In this case, if the number of connection points in the slip ring is increased, the outer shape of the slip ring becomes longer in the direction of the rotation axis (there is a limit to the length), and the possibility of generating noise increases. As described above, arranging the control box on the rotating side to reduce the number of connection points in the slip ring is effective from the viewpoint of making the slip ring compact and suppressing generation of noise.

Now, an embodiment of the method for aligning the print design of the can body of the present invention, which is performed using the can body embossing apparatus 1 as described above, will be described below.

The color mark sensor 14 detects the positioning mark provided on the can body of the can 2 by the embossing device 1 as described above, and controls the rotation of the AC servomotor 13 to thereby control the rotation of the spinning chuck 12. When the rotation is stopped and the printing design of the can cylinder is aligned, in the alignment method of the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. The large mark L and the small mark S are provided at appropriate intervals.

That is, specifically, as the positioning mark, the same width (length in the height direction of the can body) and the same length (2.5 mm) is provided near the lower end of the outer surface of the can body of the can 2. (Length in the circumferential direction of the can body) large and small marks L, S (L is 7
mm and S are 0.75 mm) at intervals (10.5 mm) in the circumferential direction of the can body.

First, the spinning chuck 12 is rotated at a high speed by the AC servomotor 13 to rotate the can 2 at a high speed (160 rpm) in the circumferential direction of the can body. L is detected by the color mark sensor 14, and the rotation speed of the can 2 due to the rotation of the spinning chuck 12 is controlled by reducing the rotation speed of the AC servomotor 13 in accordance with a command from the control box 16 according to the detection. The speed is low (6.4 rpm).

Next, the smaller mark S applied to the can body of the can 2 rotating at a low speed (6.4 rpm) is detected by the color mark sensor 14, and the AC signal is issued by a command from the control box 16 in accordance with the detection. By controlling the rotation of the servo motor 13 to stop the servo lock, the rotation of the spinning chuck 12 is stopped and fixed, and the alignment of the print design of the can 2 is completed.

According to the printing design alignment method of the can cylinder of the present embodiment as described above, the small mark S of the can 2 rotating at a low speed is finally detected by the color mark sensor 14 so that the printing design can be adjusted. In order to complete the alignment, the alignment can be performed in a fine and highly accurate state, and from the start of the alignment until the large mark L is detected by the color mark sensor 14 (that is, the small mark S is detected by the color mark sensor 14). Since the can 2 is rotated at a high speed until the detection position is approached, the can 2 is rotated at a low speed from the beginning and the small mark S is detected to perform the alignment as compared with the case where only the small mark S is detected. The time required for completion can be reduced.

In the above positioning method,
Due to insufficient sensitivity adjustment of the color mark sensor 14, insufficient rotation speed adjustment of the can 2 (if it is too fast), or poor printing of the positioning marks (L, S), etc. If the alignment is not completed in the above case, there is a possibility that the print design and the embossing position do not match, resulting in a defective can.

Therefore, in this embodiment, each pocket 4a
Each time, it is detected whether or not the rotation of the can 2 is completely stopped immediately before the embossing process (whether or not the alignment is completed), and for the pocket can whose rotation has not been stopped, the discharge turret 6 is used. We reject (eliminate) the can as a misaligned product where it comes out, thereby ensuring that the misaligned print design and embossing do not mix into subsequent manufacturing processes. can do.

Further, in the embossing apparatus 1 already described, the control box 16 attached to the rotating body (main shaft 8) is made more compact because the control box 16 is installed integrally with the main shaft 8. In this embodiment, in the above-described alignment method, control in the control box 16 is such that a control circuit housed in the control box 16 can be simplified as much as possible.

That is, with respect to the control by the control box 16 for print design positioning, while using the AC servomotors 13 of the respective pockets in the positioning mode, as shown in FIG. Instead of performing positioning control such as providing a positioning unit for each driver and controlling the pulse amount in each,
As shown in FIG. 10A, two types of command pulse signals (high-speed pulse
Positioning is performed by speed control that switches between high speed and low speed by giving a low speed pulse.

As a result, although the positioning accuracy is slightly inferior to that shown in FIG.
Since there is no need to provide a positioning unit for each driver of the C servo motor, the control box 1
6 can be simplified and the control box 16 itself can be made compact, whereby the whole device can be made compact and the rotating body (main shaft 8) of the device can be driven. The burden on the user can be reduced.

As described above, one embodiment of the method and apparatus for aligning the print design of the can body has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment.
Regarding the alignment method of the present invention, for example, as a positioning mark applied to the can body, not a mark dedicated to positioning as shown in the above embodiment, but a design of characters and patterns applied to the can body It is also possible to implement by using a part of as a mark for positioning,
Further, the present invention is not limited to the case of embossing as shown in the above-described embodiment, and can be appropriately changed, for example, the present invention can be applied to other cases of processing performed in accordance with the printing design of the can body. .

Further, the apparatus for carrying out the positioning method of the present invention is not limited to the embossing apparatus as shown in the above embodiment, but may be used for processing in accordance with the printing design of the can body. It is also applicable to other devices, and the sensors and servomotors used are not limited to color mark sensors and AC servomotors, but can be implemented by using other sensors and servomotors. Needless to say, the design of the specific structure can be changed as appropriate.

[0047]

According to the method for aligning the printing design of a can body of the present invention as described above, for each of the two-piece cans and three-piece cans manufactured continuously, the can body can be formed during the manufacturing process. When the can body is processed (e.g., embossed) in accordance with a print design preliminarily applied to the outer surface of the printer, positioning of the print design prior to the processing can be performed quickly and with high accuracy. Also, for the apparatus of the present invention for performing such a method, the control box for controlling the alignment is rotated integrally with the rotation of the main turret where the sensors and the servomotor are installed. By installing, the number of connection points in the slip ring that connects the electrical wiring on the rotating side and the fixed side of the device can be reduced, and as a result,
The slip ring can be made compact,
Further, generation of noise in the slip ring can be suppressed.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective explanatory view schematically showing an entire appearance of an embossing device for a can body, which is an embodiment of an apparatus for carrying out the method for aligning the print design of a can body according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory top view showing a conveying path of a can in the embossing device shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an explanatory sectional view showing the entire structure of the embossing device shown in FIG. 1;

4 is a part of the structure of the embossing device shown in FIG. 3 (a part of one pocket of a main turret).
FIG.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing a state before the can is sucked by the upper chuck and inserted into the mandrel from above in the embossing apparatus shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which the can is inserted into a mandrel and clamped by an upper chuck and a spinning chuck in the embossing device shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 7 is a top view showing a state in which the inner cylinder of the mandrel and the outer die of the embossed portion perform embossing on the can body in the embossing device shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 8 is a side view showing a state in which a positioning mark is detected by a sensor while rotating a can by a spinning chuck in order to carry out the printing design alignment method of the present invention in the embossing apparatus shown in FIG. 1; FIG.

FIG. 9 shows an embossing apparatus as shown in FIG.
FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing connection states of wirings in each of (A) a case where a control unit is installed as a control box on a rotating side and (B) a case where a control unit is installed on a fixed side as a control panel.

FIG. 10A is a speed control in which the control in the control box shown in FIG. 9A is switched between high speed and low speed by giving two types of common command pulse signals to the driver of each AC servo motor. FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating a case and (B) a positioning unit provided for each driver of each AC servomotor to perform a positioning control in which a pulse amount is controlled by each;

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 1 embossing device for can body 2 can 4 main turret 4a (main turret) pocket 12 spinning chuck 14 color mark sensor (sensor) 13 servo motor 16 control box L large mark (for positioning) small S (for positioning) mark

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. Prior to processing a can body in accordance with a print design pre-applied to the outer surface of the can body, for each of the cans that are continuously conveyed in a random position in the print design, Rotate the can at high speed in the circumferential direction of the barrel, reduce the rotation speed of the can to a low speed when the large mark on the can is detected by the sensor, and then use the sensor to remove the small mark on the can. A print design alignment method for a can body, wherein the print design is aligned by stopping rotation of the can at the time of detection. 2. The processing of the can body according to the printing design,
2. The method according to claim 1, wherein embossing is performed to provide the can body with irregularities in accordance with the print design. 3. The rotation of the can is detected immediately before the processing of the can body according to the print design is started, and the can that is still rotating at that time is excluded as a misaligned product after embossing. 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein:
Or the printing design alignment method of the can body according to 2. 4. A main turret for continuously transporting cans at circumferentially spaced intervals by a plurality of pockets, and an apparatus for processing a can body is provided in the middle of the transport path. A servo motor for rotating the can in the circumferential direction of the can body and a sensor for detecting a mark provided on the can body, are provided for each pocket of the main turret. 3. An apparatus for performing the method according to any one of 3 to 3, wherein a control box for controlling the rotational drive of the servo motor based on the detection result of the sensor is installed so as to rotate integrally with the rotation of the main turret. A printing design alignment device for a can body. 5. The control in the control box, wherein two types of command pulse signals common to drivers of the respective servo motors are given to perform positioning by speed control for switching between high speed and low speed. 5. The apparatus for aligning the print design of a can body according to 4.