STAMPING MACHINE FOR STAMPING LABELS AND COVERS

Abstract

A stamping machine for labels and covers includes a servomotor as a driving element. The servomotor can be directly or indirectly connected to a spindle which causes the stamp to move forward in a linear manner.

Claims

1. A stamping machine for stamping labels and covers for containers made from paper, cardboard, metal, or laminated materials manufactured therefrom from film supplied on a web, the stamping machine comprising: a feed unit configured to transport the film from a coil to a stamping tool; the stamping tool including a stamping punch, a die on a base plate with guides for the stamping punch during stroke movements, and a drive member for generating the stroke movement of the stamping punch; a take-off device configured to take a stamped lattice off from the stamping device and for supplying the stamped lattice to a stamped lattice holder; and the drive member is configured to generate a linear movement of the stamping punch and comprises a servomotor with a spindle, and the spindle is connected to a tool carriage which carries and guides the stamping punch.

2. The stamping machine as claimed in claim 1, wherein the spindle is connected to the servomotor by a clutch.

3. The stamping machine as claimed in claim 1, wherein the spindle is a part of the servomotor.

4. The stamping machine as claimed in claim 1, further comprising: a coil as a web store for the film to be stamped; an electrically drivable feed device configured to take the film web off from the web store and for feeding the film to a stamping device that includes the stamping tool; the feed device comprises the feed unit which includes two interacting rotatably driven rolls, the rolls have a rubber jacket arranged on a tube, the tubes are carried by bearing rings and are rotatably mounted on a shaft, magnets are fastened on the shafts, arranged parallel to axes of the shafts, and attract the rolls toward each other over an axial length thereof by mutual attractive forces.

5. The stamping machine as claimed in claim 4, wherein the magnets are fastened on the shafts spaced apart from the axis of rotation of the rolls, and the shafts are configured to be rotated and adjusted about the axes thereof in order to make a mutual spacing between the magnets on the two rolls adjustable.

6. The stamping machine as claimed in claim 5, wherein in each case a toothed wheel, which is at least partially encircled by one or two toothed belts, is fastened on one or both ends of the tubes of the two rolls, and the toothed belt is drivable by a drive motor.

7. The stamping machine as claimed in claim 6, wherein the toothed belt has teeth on both sides and partially encircles and drives the two toothed wheels at the two rolls simultaneously.

8. The stamping machine as claimed in claim 1, further comprising pairs of drivable conveyor rolls which are situated opposite each other in pairs arranged on the base plate of the die and are mounted to be floating in bearing housings arranged on the base plate.

9. The stamping machine as claimed in claim 8, wherein the bearing housings are mounted so that they can be raised and lowered perpendicularly to a surface of the base plate.

10. The stamping machine as claimed in claim 9, further comprising linear guides attached to the underside of the bearing housings and configured such that the bearing housings are displaceable vertically in bores in the base plate.

11. The stamping machine as claimed in claim 10, wherein the linear guides comprise roller cages.

12. The stamping machine as claimed in claim 11, the axes of rotation of the pairs of conveyor rolls situated opposite each other extend coaxially and horizontally.

13. The stamping machine as claimed in claim 11, the axes of rotation of the pairs of conveyor rolls situated opposite each other are arranged so that they extend at an acute angle to each other.

14. The stamping machine as claimed in claim 8, wherein there are two sets of, two pairs of the conveyor rolls, arranged in a rectangle, arranged on the base plate.

15. The stamping machine as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a stamped lattice rocker, which comprises a first deflection roller configured to deflect the incoming film as a dancer roll, inserted between a stamping device that includes the stamping tool and a pair of take-off rolls, and a second deflection roller arranged between the stamping device and the first deflection roller, and the first deflection roller is mounted to be displaceable parallel to an axis of rotation thereof.

16. The stamping machine as claimed in claim 15, wherein the ends of the first deflection roller are mounted displaceably on guide rails or are movable axially parallel at ends of pivot arms on curved sections.

17. The stamping machine as claimed in claim 16, wherein the first deflection roller is held axially parallel and resiliently displaceable by at least one of spring elements, spring assemblies, or pneumatic cylinders.

18. The stamping machine as claimed in claim 17, wherein a position of the first deflection roller with respect to the take-off roller is measurable and adjustable by a position sensor.

19. The stamping machine as claimed in claim 18, wherein the first deflection roller is mounted at both ends in bearing blocks, and the bearing blocks are arranged on guide profiles to be displaceable in parallel.

20. The stamping machine as claimed in claim 18, wherein the pivot arms are pivotable by spring elements, spring assemblies, or pneumatic cylinders and are adjustably positionable.

21. A method for controlling the stamping stroke in a stamping machine for stamping labels and covers from a film for containers, the method comprising: performing stroke movements with a stamping punch; in a feed stroke, the stamping punch penetrating and cutting the film, and in a return stroke retracting the stamping punch to the starting position; and modifying the stroke movements in the feed and return strokes in terms of distance and time depending on a thickness and properties of the film being processed.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0023] The invention is explained in detail below with the aid of an illustrated exemplary embodiment. In the drawings:

[0024] FIG. 1 shows a schematic side view of a stamping machine,

[0025] FIG. 2 shows a view from above of the main drive,

[0026] FIG. 3 shows a perspective view of the main drive,

[0027] FIG. 4 shows a view from above of the tool carriages for the stamping tool,

[0028] FIG. 5 shows a perspective view of a fixed shaft with magnets for the feed rolls,

[0029] FIG. 6 shows the fixed shaft with bearings rings placed over it,

[0030] FIG. 7 shows two rolls, arranged on a bearing block, with a film guided between the rolls,

[0031] FIG. 8 shows the two rolls and the bearing block, additionally equipped with two drive motors, toothed drive belts, and shaft bearings,

[0032] FIG. 9 shows a schematic side view of FIG. 7,

[0033] FIG. 10 shows a front view of FIG. 8,

[0034] FIG. 11 shows a perspective view from above of the base plate with an inserted die and a film drive arranged on the base plate,

[0035] FIG. 12 shows a vertical section with a view from above of the stamped lattice drive with the conveyor rolls,

[0036] FIG. 13 shows a view from above of the stamped lattice drive,

[0037] FIG. 14 shows a perspective view of the stamped lattice drive,

[0038] FIG. 15 shows a side view of the film drive,

[0039] FIG. 16 shows a perspective view from below of the film drive,

[0040] FIG. 17 shows a side view of the stamped lattice rocker,

[0041] FIG. 18 shows a front view of the stamped lattice rocker in FIG. 17,

[0042] FIG. 19 shows a view from above of the stamped lattice rocker,

[0043] FIG. 20 shows a perspective view of the stamped lattice rocker,

[0044] FIG. 21 shows a side view of a further stamped lattice rocker,

[0045] FIG. 22 shows a front view of the stamped lattice rocker in FIG. 21,

[0046] FIG. 23 shows a view from above of the stamped lattice rocker according to FIG. 21, and

[0047] FIG. 24 shows a perspective view of the stamped lattice rocker obliquely from above.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0048] In the schematic side view of a stamping machine 1 for stamping labels and covers for containers, such as bottles, cans, tubs, and deep-drawn trays made from plastic or aluminum, the reference number 3 designates a side plate which is part of a machine frame. The essential elements of the stamping machine 1 comprise a main drive 7 with a servomotor 9, a spindle 11, a guide element such as a tool carriage which guides the stamping punch 13 linearly in the direction of a die 57 on a base plate 15, a feed unit 17 for a film 19 as stamping material in the form of a web which can be taken off from a coil 21 which serves as a web store, a stamped lattice drive 23 which is mounted in the stamping tool, and a dancer roll element in the form of a stamped lattice rocker 25.

[0049] The stamping material, referred to below as film 19 for short, is supplied to the stamping machine 1 from a coil 21. The film 19 is taken off from the coil 21 by the feed unit 17 which can be mounted upstream from a dancer roll (FIGS. 5 to 10).

[0050] The feed unit 17 comprises two rolls 29, arranged on axes which extend in parallel, which preferably have a rubber coating or jacket 41 on their periphery which ensures slip-free feeding of the film 19. At least one of the two rolls 29 can be driven by a drive motor 53. The two rolls 29 are preferably driven synchronously. The two rolls 29 comprise a shaft 37 on which a plurality of magnets 33, arranged axially parallel in a row, are arranged in bores 35 extending radially with respect to the axis. The magnets 33 can also be fastened on the surface of the shaft 37. The shaft 37 can have a round or rectangular cross-section. Bearing rings 39 are arranged rotatably on the shaft 37 between the magnets 33, distributed over the axial length of the shaft 37. The inner raceway of the bearing rings 39 is connected non-rotatably to the shaft 33. The outer bearing ring 39 carries a tube 38 which forms the rubber jacket. The shaft 37 forms the core for the tube 38 with the rubber jacket 41. Toothed wheels 43 are placed at the two ends of the shaft 37, connected non-rotatably to the tube 38 at the ends of the tube 38. Two such rolls 29 designed in this manner are carried at their ends by a bearing block 45 (FIG. 10).

[0051] First shaft bearings 47, rigidly connected to the bearing blocks 45, are arranged on the end faces of the bearing blocks 45. Two displaceable second shaft bearings, fastened to guide rods 49 on the first shaft bearings 47, carry the second roll 29.

[0052] The two rolls 29 are driven in opposite directions with toothed belts 55 by one or more drive motors 53. The toothed belt or both toothed belts 55 encircle the toothed wheels 43 at the two rolls 29. The toothed wheel or both toothed wheels 47 on the other roll 29 are driven synchronously by the outer teeth of the toothed belts 55.

[0053] In other words, the two rolls 29 can be driven precisely electronically synchronously with the same circumferential speeds. The rolls 29 which are thin in comparison with their axial length are attracted to each other by the shafts 37 which are arranged in their center and do not co-rotate with them or the electromagnets or permanent magnets 33 arranged thereon. In this way, a uniform mutual contact pressure of the peripheries of the rubber jacket 41 can be achieved over the whole axial length. This uniform mutual attractive force of the rolls 29 which extends over the whole axial length is maintained irrespective of the thickness of the film 19 which is guided and conveyed between the two rolls 29. The change in the axial spacing between the two rolls 29 because of films 19 of different thickness is compensated by displacement of one of the rolls 29 on the guides 49 on which the second shaft bearing is mounted so that it is radially displaceable.

[0054] The mutual attractive force can be adjusted. For this purpose, the shafts 37 are fastened on the bearing block 45 so that they can be rotated over a specified angle of rotation such that the radial spacing of the magnets 33 on the shafts 37 can be adjusted. The attractive force is highest when the magnets 33 on the two shafts 37 are situated precisely opposite each other between the axes of rotation of the rolls 29; if they are rotated by just a few angular degrees, the mutual attractive force decreases correspondingly.

[0055] In a simpler embodiment of the shafts 37, only one of the two shafts 37 is equipped with magnets 33. The second shaft 37 which is not equipped with magnets 33 is then produced from a ferromagnetic material. The angle of rotation of the shafts 37 can be altered by taking hold of the end face of the shafts 37.

[0056] The film 19 which is taken off from the coil 21 by the feed unit 17 then passes into the stamping device 5, i.e. between the stamping punch 13 and the base plate 15 with a die 57 (FIG. 11). Stamped lattice drives 59 between the stamping punch 13 and the die 57 for guiding the film 19 in the stamping device 5 comprise, outside the stamping device, in each case a bearing housing 61 inside which is a gearbox which has conveyor rolls 63 having parallel axes of rotation which project from the end faces of the housing 61 (FIGS. 12 to 15). It can furthermore be seen in FIG. 16 that the housing 61 is mounted so that it can be displaced vertically with the conveyor rolls 63 in a guide bore which is formed so that it is perpendicular in the base plate 15. The low-friction displaceability of the housing 61 and hence the film drive 59 is ensured by means of ball cages 64. One drive motor 65 is furthermore arranged in each case on the bearing housing 61.

[0057] As can also be seen in FIG. 11, the film drives 59 are arranged in pairs outside the periphery of the die 57, and to be precise in such a way that the conveyor rolls 63 can hold and then transport the web of film 19, clamped and tensioned, in the longitudinal edge region of the latter on the input side and output side during the stamping procedure in the base plate 15. The film 19 is consequently held by four pairs of conveyor rolls 63 during the stamping procedure, on the one hand, when the film 19 is stationary and, on the other hand, when it is being transported. It can consequently contract neither longitudinally nor transversely nor diagonally. The stamped lattice which results after the stamping is therefore also held, tensioned at all times, when the film 19 exits the stamping region. Even when the majority of the surface of the web of film 19 has been stamped out and only narrow strips remain which are no longer joined together in a stable fashion, the stamped lattice can be extracted from the stamping region without it being possible for the side edges of the former unstamped film 19 to contract and the strips which remain within the stamped lattice to remain stuck in the stamping device 5. The film drive 59 necessarily has a highly miniaturized design because it is situated between the base plate 15 with the die 57 and the stamping punch 13. The film drive 59 with its conveyor rolls 63 transports the film 19 between these elements in a stepwise fashion. In order to be able to maintain the tension at the edges of the film 19, in particular in the case of films 19 made from relatively elastic material, the axes of the conveyor rolls 63 can be adjusted slightly obliquely such that they can pull the film 19 constantly outward and hence hold the film 19 tensioned between the conveyor rolls 63 and appreciably minimize the formation of wrinkles or creases in the material. Interruptions in production can be largely prevented as a result.

[0058] By virtue of the vertically displaceable mounting and guidance of the film drives 59, enabled by the linear guides 81 which lead out from under the bearing housing 61 and are mounted so that they can be displaced axially in the base plate 15, the film drives 59 can be lifted off from the die 57 during the feeding of the film 19 in a vertical direction and, when the stamping device 5 closes, be returned toward the die 17 and brought into contact with it. This clearance of the film 19 during the feeding, between the underside of the film 19 and the surface of the die 57, further favors low-friction transporting of the film 19 when it is introduced into the stamping device 5 and, on the other hand, secure transporting of the stamped lattice away from the stamping device 5 during the feeding of the film 19.

[0059] The stamped lattice that is extracted from the stamping device 5 then passes over a second deflection roller 73 into the region of a stamped lattice rocker 25, generally also referred to as a dancer roll or dancer roll device (FIGS. 17 to 20). The stamped lattice rocker 25 of the first embodiment (FIGS. 17-20) comprises a first deflection roller 71 which can be displaced axially parallel by a pneumatic cylinder 69 or a spring element and is parallel to the second deflection roller 73. The ends of the first deflection roller 71 are mounted so that they can be displaced in parallel in bearing blocks 75 on horizontally arranged guide profiles 77. Arranged below the first deflection roller 71 is a pair of take-off rolls 79 with two interacting take-off rolls 80 with axes of rotation which extend parallel to the axes of rotation of the first 71 and second deflection roller 73. The rolls 80 of the pair of take-off rolls 79 can be driven by a drive which has not been illustrated. The structure of the pair of take-off rolls 79 can correspond to that of the feed unit 17 for taking the film 19 off from the coil 21.

[0060] The elements of the stamped lattice rocker 25 are arranged on a common modular rocker frame. The stamped lattice rocker 25 also comprises a position sensor 67 by means of which the position of the first deflection roller 71 is measured. The first deflection roller 71 and the second deflection roller 73, and the rollers 80 of the pair of take-off rolls 79, and the guide profiles 77 and the position sensor 67, are mounted on a frame which has not been illustrated and can be connected to the side plate 3 and/or the machine plinth which has not been illustrated.

[0061] A further particularly advantageous embodiment of the stamped lattice rocker 25 is illustrated in FIGS. 21-24. Two pivot arms 99 are articulated on one of two rocker side plates 97 which are arranged spaced apart from each other in parallel. The pivot arms 99 are pivotably fastened at one end to the side plates 97 of the rocker frame and can be adjusted in each case relative to the side plates 99 of the rocker side plates 97 by a spring element, for example a pneumatic cylinder, such that the angle between the side plates 97 can be adjusted with respect to a fastening plate of the rocker frame. Inserted between the ends of the pivot arms 99 which are situated opposite the pivot axis A is the first deflection roller 71 which guides the stamped lattice from the stamping device, following the second deflection roller 73, over the first deflection roller 71 and from there to the pair of take-off rolls 79. As in the first exemplary embodiment, the film 19 is consequently deflected between the pair of take-off rolls 99 and the second deflection roll 73 arranged above the latter such that faults caused by non-uniform tension in the film web in the supplying and taking-off of the film can be compensated by pivoting of the pivot arms 99 with the first deflection roller 71 fastened thereon.

[0062] The purpose of the stamped lattice rocker 25 is consequently that the stamped lattice is transported through the stamping device 5 in a stepwise fashion or continuously as parallel as possible to the pair of take-off rolls 79 which forms a second feed unit. The integrated positional monitoring by the position sensor 67 of the movable first deflection roller 71 serves to regulate the speed of the pair of take-off rolls 79. The regulation of the take-off speed ensures that, despite the distortion of the stamped lattice, either positively or negatively, the slippage in the feed units, position sensors of the feed units, or different roll diameters at the feed units (wear of the rubber) can be compensated and the film 19 or the stamped lattice is consequently guided, at all times tensioned and crease-free, at all times between the first feed unit 17 and the pair of take-off rolls 79.

[0063] The stamped lattice can be sucked away downstream from the pair of take-off rolls 79 but it can also be wound onto a sleeve for transporting away and disposal.

[0064] The main drive 7 illustrated in FIGS. 2 to 4 serves to stamp the film 19 in the stamping device 5, i.e. between the stamping punch 13 and the die on the base plate 15. The driven shaft 85 of the servomotor 9 can be connected to a spindle 11 (spindle only partially visible in FIG. 2) by means of a clutch 87 or directly. The spindle 11 is rotatably mounted in a spindle housing 91 and drives a fastening plate 93 for the stamping punch 13. The fastening plate 93 is guided in a tool carriage 95 in an axial direction with respect to the spindle 11. The force acting on the spindle 11 during the stamping stroke is transmitted from the spindle housing 91 to the side plate 3.

[0065] The servomotor 9 is connected to the machine control system (control system not illustrated). The stamping stroke parameters, namely the penetration depth, i.e. the maximum stroke of the punch and the minimum stroke of the punch and the acceleration or deceleration during the stamping stroke, and, if desired, reversing or stopping points situated between the end points of the stamping punch are generated by means of the control system. These options for varying the curve executed by the stamping punch 13 during the stamping stroke can be generated electronically and additionally adjusted and/or modified at any moment. It is consequently possible, without mechanical intervention in the machine when changing the thickness of the processed film 19, to make adaptations, on the one hand, to the materials from which the film 19 is made but also to its mechanical properties such as hardness or elasticity and to its respective thickness. For example, a relatively soft film 19 can first be compressed slightly and only then is the stamping procedure performed. Furthermore, the return stroke, i.e. the retraction of the punch 13, can also take place with a suitable variable speed and/or variable retraction curve.