Device for accommodating a supply roll around which web strips are wound, particularly a label supply roll

Description of the invention

The subject of the invention is a device for attaching a web roll with a wound up tape and a device for printing the tape or labels adhering to the tape.

Such an attachment device is described in the unpublished pre-published German patent application No. 101 09 882.0 of the applicant.

Printers, as are usually used in commodity price markers, have, inter alia, a device for attaching a receipt roll (coil roll), which is a strip with or without sticky labels, a printing section and a paper winder, and possibly also team using thermal transfer foil. To simplify insertion of the receipt roll, the printing section is usually equipped with an opening mechanism. In the prior art, the printing section is opened by deliberately actuating an actuator to install or replace the receipt roll with or without tags. In order to insert the receipt roll, it is inserted into a suitable holder, and there, if necessary, the roll is fixed. The initial length of the web from the web roll, having a predetermined length, is guided through the printing section and, if appropriate, fastened to the winder. The winder may have a mechanism that facilitates the removal of the wound tape. Before starting printing, the printing section must be closed.

The object of the invention is to create a device of the initially defined type which allows convenient handling in connection with the mounting and positioning of the web roll.

The device according to the invention for fastening a web roll with a wound tape, in particular a roll with a label tape, having a gripping core, a retainer by means of which the web roll is detachably fastened, possibly by clamping, to the retaining core, and a unit for axially aligning the web roll, characterized by the fact that it has a drive for the retainer and the assembly for axial alignment of the coil roller, which is associated jointly with the holder and this unit for axially aligning the web roll.

Thus, the invention consists in that the web retainer and the web axial alignment device are actuated by a common drive.

By means of the device according to the invention, a strip wound around a coil can be easily and conveniently secured and positioned on the shank holding core.

Preferably, the common drive of the retainer and the unit for axially aligning the coil roll has an axially displaceable adjustable axis on which the chuck core is rotatably mounted.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, at least the gripping core is replaceable. This configuration allows for the insertion of different gripping cores with a different outer diameter, so that, depending on the core diameter of the respective web roll, a matching gripping core can be inserted.

Preferably, the retainer has at least one retaining element uniformly distributed over the circumference of the grip core, engaging loosely into its opening in the grip core and elastically biased towards the inside of the grip core.

Moreover, the at least one holding element preferably has inclined internal sides which rest on a conical bushing rotatably mounted on an adjustable axis.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the assembly for axial alignment of the coil roll has a support rotatably mounted coaxially with the chuck core on which the chuck core rests via at least one spring.

Preferably, the bracket is rotatably mounted on an adjustable axis.

Preferably, the support has a sleeve member on which an axially slidably mounted abutment element connected to the chuck core is mounted.

Moreover, preferably, the support is provided with a contact plate.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the support is rotatably mounted on a sleeve plain bearing rotatably fixed in the cutout of the plate holder.

Preferably, the swivel axle is axially slidably mounted in a plain bearing.

Preferably, the retainer and the means for aligning the web roll are automatically actuated.

The signal that causes the automatic actuation of the retainer and the assembly to align the coil roll can be produced in a variety of ways. This signal is produced by a measuring device that detects the attachment of a new coil to the shank shaft and / or the insertion of

Or threading the start of the tape onto an associated guide. Such a measuring device can be a control switch, a control button, a magnetic sensor and / or a photocell.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the signal which causes the automatic actuation of the retainer and the device for axial alignment of the coil is produced by a sensor, a control switch or a control button associated with the winder.

A device according to the invention for printing a strip or labeling adhering to a strip, wherein the strip is unwound from a web roll and fed to a printing mechanism, the web roll being held by a fastening device having a gripping core, characterized in that the fastening device is driven, which is assigned jointly to the retainer by means of which the coil roller is detachably secured / clamped on the grip core, and to an assembly for axially aligning the coil.

The preferred variants of this device have the same features as the preferred variants provided for the device for securing a web with wound tape.

The subject of the invention is illustrated in the drawings in which fig. 1 shows schematically a device for printing a tape, fig. 2 - a schematic section of a device for securing a web roll, fig. 3 - enlarged part of fig. 2, fig. 4 - shown 5 schematically shows a second embodiment of a retainer according to the invention, fig. 6 - a fourth embodiment of a retainer according to the invention is schematically shown.

1 shows a printer for printing labels 2 adhering to the carrier tape 1. The carrier tape 1 is unwound from the coil 3 and fed to the printing mechanism 4. The printing mechanism 4 consists of a print head 5 and a pressure roller 6. The printing head 5 presses labels with sufficient force to the pressure roller 6 and prints them, for example, by a thermal method or a thermal transfer method. Alternatively, the pinch roller 6 may be movably mounted such that it moves to and from printhead 5 and presses the labels against it in a position of alignment with printhead 5 with sufficient force. The pressure roller 6 may be driven by a stepper motor (not shown). In the running direction of the carrier tape, a sudden change of direction is provided on the trailing edge 7 downstream of the printing mechanism, on which the printed labels are detached in a known manner from the carrier tape 1 and are withdrawn through an opening in the printer housing and can then be placed on the marked or marked object. . Instead of a trailing edge 7, it is also possible to use a deflection roller with a small diameter. The carrier tape 1, after changing its direction on the trailing edge 7, is wound on a winder 9 driven by a stepper motor 8.

The printing head 5 of the printing mechanism 4 is mounted on a movably mounted plate 10, on which, on the side of the printing head 5, helical springs 11 supported on fixed supports act on the plate 10. On the other side, an eccentrically mounted circular disk 12 rotated by a stepper motor 13 is attached to the plate 10. Under the action of the springs, the print head 5, when rotating the eccentrically supported circular disc 12, extends away from the pressure roller 6, so that the print head 5 is at a sufficiently large distance from the pressure roller 6 that the carrier tape 1 with labels 2 adhering to it can pass freely through the mechanism printing 4.

The coil roll 3 is mounted on a clamping device 14, which has a shank holding core, a retainer by which the coil 3 is detachably fastened, possibly by clamping, to the clamping core, and an assembly for axial alignment of the coil roll 3. Possible design of such a clamping device is shown schematically in Fig. 2.

Coil roller 3 is shown partially schematically with an axis line. The coil roller 3 is mounted on a shank core 15, which is rotatably mounted on an axially displaceable adjustable axis 16. This axis is mounted in a sleeve plain bearing 17 rotatably fixed in a cutout of a plate holder 18. The sleeve plain bearing 17 has a section 19 of reduced diameter, on which a bracket 20 is rotatably mounted in the form of a circularly symmetrical body. The support 20 is arranged with axial play in relation to the plate holder 18 and is provided with an annular contact disc 21 which serves to guide or align the coil 3 axially.

The bracket 20 has a sleeve member 22 on which an axially displaceable stop 23 is mounted. The stop 23 is rotatably fixed on the shank 15 but is axially releasable. In the embodiment shown, this element is in the form of an annular disk and is pivotally fixed on the grip core 15, for example by a key 48. The stop element 23 and the permanently connected gripping core 15 are supported on the pivotally mounted support 20 by means of the springs 24.

PL 199 823 B1

Several apertures evenly spaced around its perimeter are formed in the grip core 15, and each of these holes is provided with at least one radially displaceable retaining element 25, which is elastically drawn into the grip core 15 by means of a spiral spring 26. The retaining elements 25 have oblique sides. internal 27, which adjoin a conical sleeve 29 rotatably mounted on the adjustable axis 16 by means of rolling bearings 28.

The gripping core 15 with the retaining members 25 embedded therein and the helical springs 26 associated therewith can be replaced with another gripping core with a smaller or larger outer diameter. In the gripping core 15 the retaining elements 25 are prevented from falling out by appropriately forming them.

Thus, the gripping core 15 together with the holding elements 25 and the springs 26 mounted therein can be pulled off the conical sleeve 29. In this case, the holding elements are pushed radially outwards against the conical sleeve 29 against the force of the spring 26.

The retaining elements 25 have root slants to facilitate reinsertion of the gripping core. When refitting it, it is only necessary to ensure that the feather key 48 of the stop element 23 snaps back into the gripping core 15.

The axially displaceable adjustable axis 16 is part of a common drive for the retainer holding the coil 3 on the retaining core 15 and the assembly for axially adjusting the coil 3 to its predetermined position. In the embodiment shown, a linear drive 30 is provided schematically for the axial displacement of the adjustable axis 16. Instead of such a linear drive, another suitable drive can also be used. For example, the swivel axle 16 may be provided with a rack segment with which an electric motor driven pinion cooperates. Alternatively, it is also possible to provide the adjusting axle 16 with a helical or worm thread which engages with a stabilized rotatably mounted gear wheel with internal and external toothing, which gear cooperates with its external toothing with an electric motor driven gear wheel. Another advantageous possibility is that at one end of the adjustable axis 16 is a spindle nut which engages with a spindle mounted directly on the motor shaft.

The holder, by means of which the coil 3 is detachably fixed on the gripping core 15, and the device for axially aligning the coil 3 in its predetermined position, are automatically actuated by an appropriate signal. The signal for the automatic actuation of the retainer and the device for axial alignment of the web 3 is generated in the embodiment shown by the measurement and control system 31 (see Fig. 1) recognizing the beginning of the carrier tape 1. For this purpose, the circuit comprises a photocell with a light emitting diode 32 and an associated receiver diode 33. When the beginning of the carrier strip 1 passes through the photocell zone, the receiving diode 33 no longer detects the light emitted from the transmitting diode 32, after which the measurement and control system 31 generates a control signal, which is fed through signal lines 34, 35 to the stepper motor 13 with its associated with an eccentrically mounted circular disk 12 and for the joint drive of the retainer and the unit for axial alignment of the coil roller 3.

This control signal activates a drive that axially displaces the adjusting axle 16, so that the conical bushing 29 rotatably supported thereon is moved towards the stationary plate holder 18 by a small pitch of a few millimeters. In this case, the retaining elements 25 adjacent to the conical sleeve 29 are first radially displaced outwards, so that the coil roller 3 is clamped onto the shank 15. When the coil roller 3 resists the radial displacement of the holding elements 25, then during a further axial displacement of the adjustable axis 16 towards the plate holder 18, the coil roller 3 is pulled into a predetermined position and its axial alignment. Then, the movement of the adjustable axis 16 is stopped. This can be done by means of a contact disk 21 and / or a chopper resistor 23 assigned to it (not shown), which causes the current to be switched off. Alternatively, it is also possible to advantageously stop the travel of the adjustable axis 16 by means of the timer module.

Furthermore, the end of the support tape 1 wound on the coil 3 can also be detected by means of the measuring and control system 31. When the end of the carrier strip 1 passes through the photocell zone, the receiving diode 33 detects the light beam emitted by the transmitting diode 32, after which a control signal is generated in the measurement and control system 31, which is transmitted via signal lines 34, 35 to the stepper motor 13 and to the drive assigned to the holder and assembly for axial alignment of the coil 3. This control signal causes the printing head 5 to open and to move the adjusting axis 16 with a conical sleeve 29 away from the plate holder 18 by a predetermined pitch.

The contact disc 21 and the retaining elements 25 arranged in this gripping core 15 move radially inward so that the released core 36 of the coil 3 is no longer clamped on the gripping core 15 and can be easily pulled off the gripping core 15.

Alternatively, the retainer and the assembly for aligning the web roll 3 can also be actuated automatically. After the complete web 3 (receipt roll) has been placed on the retainer core 15, the carrier tape 1 is guided through the open printing mechanism 4 and then fed into the winder 9. Then, the mechanism (not shown in the drawing) must be returned to the starting position, which facilitates the removal of the later wound carrier tape 1, whereby in the end position the sensor assigned to the winder 9 is activated. The signal of this sensor causes that that the complete coil 3 is automatically clamped and axially positioned on the shank core 15. Then the printing mechanism 4 is also automatically closed and finally the carrier 1 ribbon is moved forward so that the first label 2 is in the printing position. It is recommended to remove the labels from the carrier tape 1 in advance, from the print head 5 to the rewinder 9, so that during this movement there is no premature separation of the labels 2. The operator is reminded of this by the marking on the printing mechanism 4 or the printer housing .

The invention is not limited to the embodiments described above. Still other variants are conceivable and fall within the scope of the idea of ​​the invention as set forth in the claims. Thus, for example, the retaining elements 25 could be made differently and could be moved radially outwards by other means than the tapered sleeve. In fig. 4 an embodiment is shown in which each of the plurality of retaining elements 25 is provided with a pin 49 or pin, the pins 49 or pins engaging in arcuate-shaped grooves 50 or holes that are substantially uniformly spaced and spiral-shaped in a rotatably mounted circular disc 51 Each of the retaining members 25 is associated with a radial guide (not shown). By turning the wheel 51, the retainers 25 can be moved radially outward and, in the reverse direction of rotation, radially inward.

An alternative possibility consists in designing the holding elements 25 in the form of an angle lever 52 (cf. Fig. 5) or fastening them to two diametrically opposite joints of the articulation joint 53 (cf. Fig. 6) in order to clamp them with a receipt roller attached to the gripping core.

All the features mentioned in the description and in the claims, including those arising from the drawing itself, are regarded separately and in various connection with each other as essential for the realization of the invention.