JP7627786B2 - Label application device, control method for label application device, and program - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a label application device, a control method for a label application device, and a program.

For example, a labeling device is known that applies a label peeled off from a sheet substrate to the outer circumferential surface of a cylindrical body such as a test tube such as a blood collection tube. One such labeling device peels off a portion of the front end of the label from the sheet substrate and peels the label off the substrate while applying the label from the front end along the outer circumferential surface of the cylindrical body.

In a label application device, when the leading end of a label is peeled off from the substrate, the leading end of the label tends to be pulled in the direction the substrate is fed, causing variation in the posture of the leading end portion of the label. This reduces the accuracy of the label's attachment position on the outer circumferential surface of the cylinder depending on the posture of the leading end portion of the label. If the leading end portion of the label is not properly peeled off from the substrate, for example, there is a risk of poor attachment, such as the leading end portion of the label colliding with the outer circumferential surface of the cylinder and the leading end portion of the label being attached to the cylinder in a folded state.

This phenomenon is particularly noticeable in low-temperature environments where the adhesive strength of the label increases, or when using labels with strong adhesive strength. In addition, when a roll sheet is used, such as roll paper, the center side of the roll sheet in the radial direction is smaller in diameter than the outer periphery, so the sheet is prone to curling, and the curling can easily make the posture of the front end of the label even more unstable.

For this reason, the label application device performs a preliminary peeling operation in which the leading end of the label is peeled off from the substrate and the sheet is fed back to return the label to the substrate, and after the preliminary operation, the leading end of the label is peeled off from the substrate. This increases the stability of the position of the leading end of the label that has been peeled off from the substrate, and also increases the reliability of the operation of attaching the label to the outer circumferential surface of the cylinder.

International Publication No. 2020/261445

However, the label application device requires time to perform the above-mentioned preliminary peeling operation, and there is a problem that performing the preliminary peeling operation on all the labels on the roll sheet reduces the efficiency of label application.

The disclosed technology has been developed in consideration of the above, and aims to provide a label application device, a control method for a label application device, and a program that enable a preliminary peeling operation to be started when poor label application is likely to occur, thereby improving the efficiency of label application.

One aspect of a label application device disclosed in the present application includes a feed mechanism having a supply roll on which a sheet having a label provided on a substrate with an adhesive interposed therebetween, and a take-up roll on which the substrate of the sheet supplied from the supply roll is taken up, a printing unit that prints on the label, a peeling member that peels the label from the substrate of the sheet fed by the feed mechanism, a sticking mechanism that attaches the label, the front end of which in the feed direction of the sheet has been peeled off from the substrate, along an outer circumferential surface of a cylinder, a detection unit that detects the outer diameter of the take-up roll on which the substrate is wound, and a control unit that controls the feed mechanism, wherein when the detection unit detects that the outer diameter of the take-up roll has become equal to or greater than a predetermined outer diameter and the tension of the substrate becomes equal to or less than a predetermined tension , the control unit starts a preliminary peeling operation to peel the front end of the label from the substrate and feed the sheet in reverse to return the label to the substrate, and controls the feed mechanism to peel the front end of the label from the substrate after the preliminary peeling operation.

According to one aspect of the label application device disclosed in the present application, it is possible to start a preliminary peeling operation when label application defects are likely to occur, thereby improving the efficiency of label application.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the appearance of a blood collection tube preparation device according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the inside of the blood collection tube preparation device of the embodiment. FIG. 3 is a vertical cross-sectional view for explaining the inside of the blood collection tube preparation device of the embodiment. FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing a main part of the label application device of the embodiment. FIG. 5 is a plan view showing a sheet used in the label application device of the embodiment. FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram for explaining a rotary encoder of the winding roll in the embodiment. FIG. 7A is a schematic diagram showing a state in which the leading end of the label has been peeled off in the label application device of the embodiment. FIG. 7B is a schematic diagram showing a state in which the leading end of the label has been peeled off in the label application device of the embodiment. FIG. 8 is a flow chart for explaining the control of the preliminary peeling operation in this embodiment. FIG. 9 is a diagram showing the change in tension of the backing paper with the change in the outer diameter of the winding roll.

Below, examples of the label pasting device, the control method for the label pasting device, and the program disclosed in the present application are described in detail with reference to the drawings. Note that the label pasting device, the control method for the label pasting device, and the program disclosed in the present application are not limited to the following examples.

1 is a perspective view showing the appearance of the blood collection tube preparation device of the embodiment. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the inside of the blood collection tube preparation device of the embodiment. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the blood collection tube preparation device 1 has a housing having a top cover CV1, a side cover CV2, and a front cover CV3, and each part inside is configured to be openable and closable. The front cover CV3 is provided with an operation panel 5 for operating the blood collection tube supply device 2 and the label attachment device 3 described later. In FIGS. 1 and 2, the depth direction of the blood collection tube preparation device 1 is shown as the X direction, the width direction of the blood collection tube preparation device 1 is shown as the Y direction, and the height direction of the blood collection tube preparation device 1 is shown as the Z direction. In FIG. 3 and subsequent figures, the X, Y, and Z directions are shown, as in FIGS. 1 and 2.

3 is a vertical cross-sectional view for explaining the inside of the blood collection tube preparing device 1 of the embodiment. As shown in Fig. 3, the blood collection tube preparing device 1 includes a blood collection tube supplying device 2 and a labeling device 3 that applies labels to the blood collection tubes 4 supplied from the blood collection tube supplying device 2. The blood collection tube supplying device 2 includes a plurality of storage units 6A, 6B in which the blood collection tubes 4 are stored, a payout unit 7 that pays out the blood collection tubes 4 from each of the storage units 6A, 6B, and a transport unit 8 that transports the blood collection tubes 4 paid out from the payout unit 7.

The multiple storage units 6A and multiple storage units 6B are arranged side by side in the X direction. For example, blood collection tubes 4 of different sizes are stored in the storage units 6A and 6B. In each storage unit 6A, 6B, multiple blood collection tubes 4 are arranged along the Z direction with the length direction of the blood collection tube 4 oriented horizontally. The payout unit 7 is arranged at the bottom of the storage units 6A, 6B, and pays out the blood collection tubes 4 from the storage units 6A, 6B. The transport unit 8 has a transport member 9 that reciprocates along the X direction, and supplies the blood collection tubes 4 to the label attachment device 3 by transporting the blood collection tubes 4 from the payout unit 7 using the transport member 9.

(Configuration of the label attachment device)
3, the labeling device 3 includes a sheet supply mechanism 16 as a feed mechanism that feeds a sheet 10 having labels 12 attached to a mount 11 (described later) as a base material via an adhesive (adhesive layer) 13, and a printing unit 17 that prints on the labels 12. The labeling device 3 also includes a peeling member 18 that peels the labels 12 from the sheet 10 fed by the sheet supply mechanism 16, and a sticking mechanism 19 that sticks the labels 12, the front ends 12a of which in the feed direction (X direction) of the sheet 10 have been peeled off from the mount 11 by a predetermined reference peel amount, along the outer circumferential surface of the blood collection tube 4 as a cylinder.

Figure 4 is a schematic diagram showing the main parts of the label application device 3 of the embodiment. As shown in Figure 4, the label application device 3 includes a control unit 21 that controls the sheet supply mechanism 16, the printing unit 17, and the application mechanism 19. The control unit 21 has a control board (not shown) on which, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a storage device, an input/output device, a communication interface, a media interface, etc. are provided, and is electrically connected to the sheet supply mechanism 16, the printing unit 17, and the application mechanism 19. The control unit 21 in the embodiment controls the sheet supply mechanism 16, the printing unit 17, and the application mechanism 19, but a control unit that controls the sheet supply mechanism 16 and another control unit that controls the printing unit 17 and the application mechanism 19 may be provided independently.

(Control of the sheet supply mechanism by the control unit)
Then, the control unit 21 of the label application device 3 controls the sheet supply mechanism 16 to perform a preliminary peeling operation in which the front end 12a of the label 12 is peeled off in the X1 direction up to a predetermined preliminary peeling amount, and the sheet supply mechanism 16 feeds the sheet 10 in the X2 direction backward to return the entire label 12 onto the backing paper 11. The control unit 21 controls the sheet supply mechanism 16 to start the preliminary peeling operation at a predetermined timing when the tension of the backing paper 11 of the sheet 10 fed by the sheet supply mechanism 16 becomes equal to or less than a predetermined threshold value. The timing for starting the preliminary peeling operation will be described later. Furthermore, the control unit 21 controls the sheet supply mechanism 16 to peel off the front end 12a of the label 12 by a predetermined reference peeling amount after the preliminary peeling operation.

(Seat configuration)
Fig. 5 is a plan view showing a sheet 10 used in the label application device 3 of the embodiment. The sheet 10 has a mount 11 and labels 12 attached to the mount 11 via an adhesive 13. As shown in Fig. 5, a plurality of labels 12 are arranged at predetermined intervals along the longitudinal direction of the mount 11. The length L of the label 12 in the longitudinal direction of the mount 11 is, for example, about 30 mm to 35 mm. The width W of the label 12 in the lateral direction of the mount 11 is, for example, about 50 mm.

The sheet 10 is a roll sheet in which the mount 11 is wound with the labels 12 on the mount 11 facing the outer periphery. The sheet 10 is not limited to a roll sheet, and a so-called fanfold sheet in which the sheet 10 is folded alternately in an accordion-like shape along the longitudinal direction may be used. In addition, the sheet 10 using RFID (Radio Frequency IDentifier) may be a sheet 10 in which an RF tag is provided on the label 12.

(Configuration of the Sheet Supply Mechanism)
As shown in Figures 3 and 4, the sheet supply mechanism 16 has a supply roll 23, which is the roll sheet described above, a plurality of guide rollers 24 and guide plates 25 that guide the sheet 10 fed from the supply roll 23, a take-up roll 26 that winds up the backing paper 11 from which the label 12 has been peeled off, and a roller drive mechanism 27 that drives the take-up roll 26.

The roller drive mechanism 27 has a drive roller 28 that rotates the winding roll 26, a motor 29 that drives and rotates the drive roller 28, and a drive belt 30 that transmits the driving force of the motor 29. The drive belt 30 is stretched across the rotation shaft 29a of the motor 29, the rotation shaft 28a of the drive roller 28, and the rotation shaft 35a of the platen roller 35 (described later) of the printing unit 17, and the drive roller 28 and the platen roller 35 are rotated via the drive belt 30. The winding roll 26 rotates together with the rotation of the drive roller 28. Therefore, the winding roll 26 rotates in synchronization with the rotation of the platen roller 35.

A torque limiter 33 is provided on the rotating shaft 26a of the winding roll 26, and when a torque of a certain level or more is applied to the rotating shaft 26a, slippage occurs in the rotation of the winding roll 26, causing it to spin freely, thereby limiting the torque applied to the rotating shaft 26a. This prevents tension above a certain level from being applied to the sheet 10 supplied from the supply roll 23 and wound onto the winding roll 26. For this reason, in the sheet supply mechanism 16, as the winding amount of the winding roll 26 increases and the outer diameter of the winding roll 26 becomes larger, the amount of slippage of the winding roll 26 relative to the amount of transport of the backing paper 11 by the platen roller 35 increases.

The peeling member 18 is disposed downstream of the printing unit 17 in the path of the sheet 10 supplied from the supply roll 23. The peeling member 18 is formed in a flat plate shape and is fixed along the feed direction of the sheet 10 (X1 direction).

The sheet supply mechanism 16 peels the label 12 having the adhesive 13 from the backing paper 11 of the sheet 10 from the front end 12a side by folding back the sheet 10 fed from the supply roll 23 at the tip of the peeling member 18. The sheet supply mechanism 16 winds up only the backing paper 11 that has passed the tip of the peeling member 18 onto the take-up roll 26.

As shown in FIG. 4, the sheet supply mechanism 16 has a front end detection sensor 31 that detects the front end 12a of the label 12 peeled off from the backing paper 11 by the peeling member 18, and a rear end detection sensor 32 that detects the rear end 12b of the label 12 on the backing paper 11 (see FIG. 7A).

The leading edge detection sensor 31 is disposed above (in the Z direction) the downstream side of the leading edge of the peeling member 18 in the feed direction (X1 direction) of the sheet 10, and is electrically connected to the control unit 21. The trailing edge detection sensor 32 is disposed at a predetermined position upstream of the printing unit 17 in the feed direction (X1 direction) of the sheet 10, and is electrically connected to the control unit 21.

Although not shown, the front end detection sensor 31 and the rear end detection sensor 32 use a transmission type optical sensor and have a light emitting unit that emits detection light and a light receiving unit that receives the detection light from the light emitting unit. The light emitting unit and the light receiving unit are arranged on either side of the path of the label 12, and detect the label 12 when the label 12 blocks the detection light.

The sheet supply mechanism 16 also includes a rotation detection unit 44 for detecting the rotation of the winding roll 26 around which the backing paper 11 of the sheet 10 is wound. The rotation detection unit 44 also serves as a detection unit for detecting the outer diameter (winding diameter) of the winding roll 26 around which the backing paper 11 is wound. The rotation detection unit 44 is electrically connected to the control unit 21, and the control unit 21 controls the sheet supply mechanism 16 based on the detection result of the rotation detection unit 44.

Figure 6 is a schematic diagram for explaining the rotary encoder of the winding roll 26 in the embodiment. As shown in Figure 6, a rotary encoder is used as the rotation detection unit 44, and has a transmission type optical sensor 44a and a slit disk 44b. Although not shown, the transmission type optical sensor 44a has a light emitting unit that emits detection light and a light receiving unit that receives the detection light emitted by the light emitting unit. The slit disk 44b is fixed to the rotating shaft 26a of the winding roll 26, and a plurality of slits 44c are formed in the circumferential direction of the outer periphery. The rotation detection unit 44 detects the rotation speed and rotation angle of the rotating shaft 26a of the winding roll 26 (the rotation speed and rotation angle of the winding roll 26) by the transmission type optical sensor 44a receiving the detection light passing through each slit 44c of the slit disk 44b.

When the sheet supply mechanism 16 starts supplying the sheet 10, the rotation detection unit 44 detects a change in the rotation speed of the rotating shaft 26a of the winding roll 26 to which the starting end of the backing paper 11 is attached. When the rotation speed of the rotating shaft 26a detected by the rotation detection unit 44 becomes equal to or greater than a predetermined speed, the control unit 21 determines that a predetermined tension is applied to the sheet 10 fed from the feed roll 23, and starts controlling the label application device 3. In other words, when the winding roll 26 starts winding the backing paper 11, the control unit 21 determines whether the tension of the backing paper 11, the starting end of which is wound around the winding roll 26, becomes equal to or greater than a predetermined tension, based on the rotation speed of the winding roll 26 detected by the rotation detection unit 44. This allows the sheet supply mechanism 16 to feed the sheet 10 in an appropriate feed state in which a predetermined tension is applied to the sheet 10.

In addition, the control unit 21 calculates the outer diameter of the winding roll 26 on which the backing paper 11 is wound, based on the rotation angle of the rotation shaft 26a of the winding roll 26 (the amount of rotation of the winding roll 26) detected by the rotation detection unit 44, for example. In this embodiment, the result of calculating the outer diameter of the winding roll 26 based on the detection result of the rotation detection unit 44 is also included in the detection result of the rotation detection unit 44. When the rotation detection unit 44 detects that the outer diameter of the winding roll 26 has become equal to or greater than a predetermined outer diameter, the control unit 21 starts a preliminary peeling operation in which the front end 12a of the label 12 is peeled off from the backing paper 11 and the sheet 10 is fed backward to return the label 12 to the backing paper 11, and after the preliminary peeling operation, the sheet supply mechanism 16 is controlled to peel off the front end 12a of the label 12 from the backing paper 11.

By performing the preliminary peeling operation in this manner, the labeling device 3 of this embodiment can properly attach the label 12 to the blood collection tube 4, thereby preventing the occurrence of defective attachment of the label 12. Details of the control of the preliminary peeling operation by the control unit 21 will be described later.

As described above, the rotation detection unit 44 detects the tension of the backing paper 11 when the backing paper 11 starts to be wound, and also detects the outer diameter of the winding roll 26. This allows the label application device 3 to avoid an increase in the number of rotation detection units for controlling the sheet supply mechanism 16, and simplifies the configuration of the sheet supply mechanism 16.

(Printing section configuration)
4, the printing unit 17 has a thermal head 34 that prints on the labels 12, a platen roller 35 that supports the sheet 10 by sandwiching it between the thermal head 34 and the platen roller 35, and a head holder member 36 that holds the thermal head 34. The printing unit 17 sandwiches the label 12 together with the backing paper 11 between the thermal head 34 and the platen roller 35, and prints on the label 12 with the thermal head 34 while feeding the sheet 10 with the platen roller 35. Note that the printing unit 17 is not limited to a configuration having a thermal head 34, and may be configured to have, for example, an inkjet head.

3, the labeling device 3 of the embodiment includes a sheet supply mechanism 37 having a manual supply roll 38 for manually attaching the labels 12 to the blood collection tubes 4, and a printing unit 39 that prints on the labels 12 supplied from the manual supply roll 38. The sheet supply mechanism 37 and the printing unit 39 are configured in the same manner as the sheet supply mechanism 16 and the printing unit 17 described above.

(Configuration of the attachment mechanism)
4, the pasting mechanism 19 has an pasting roller 41 that rotates along the outer circumferential surface of the blood collection tube 4 to paste the label 12 onto the blood collection tube 4, a guide roller 42 that rotatably supports the blood collection tube 4 to which the label 12 is pasted by the pasting roller 41, and a pressing roller 43 that presses the blood collection tube 4 against the pasting roller 41. In addition, although not shown, the pasting mechanism 19 has a support member that supports the blood collection tube 4 supplied from the blood collection tube supplying device 2 together with the pressing roller 43, a rotating mechanism that rotates the pasting roller 41, and a moving mechanism that moves the pressing roller 43.

The joining roller 41 is disposed downstream of the leading end of the peeling member 18 in the feed direction (X1 direction) of the label 12. The joining roller 41 is disposed such that the lower side of the outer peripheral surface of the joining roller 41 is located above the vicinity of the leading end of the peeling member 18, and is disposed on the opposite side to the adhesive 13 side of the label 12 to be peeled off by the peeling member 18 (see FIG. 10A). Therefore, the lower side of the outer peripheral surface of the joining roller 41 is located above the vicinity of the front end 12a of the label 12 peeled off from the backing paper 11 by the leading end of the peeling member 18.

The guide roller 42 is disposed below the tip of the peeling member 18, and the outer peripheral surface of the guide roller 42 faces the outer peripheral surface of the application roller 41. In addition, a tray 47 is provided below the application mechanism 19, as shown in FIG. 3, in which blood collection tubes 4 with labels 12 attached thereto are stored.

(Preliminary peeling operation)
Hereinafter, the control of the control unit 21 to control the sheet supply mechanism 16 to start the preliminary peeling operation of the label 12 will be described.

As described above, the torque limiter 33 is provided on the rotating shaft 26a of the winding roll 26 of the sheet supply mechanism 16, so that as the winding amount of the winding roll 26 increases and the outer diameter of the winding roll 26 increases, the amount of slippage of the winding roll 26 relative to the amount of backing paper 11 transported by the platen roller 35 increases. Because the torque of the rotating shaft 26aa of the winding roll 26 is constant, the tension acting on the backing paper 11 wound by the winding roll 26 tends to gradually decrease as the outer diameter of the winding roll 26 around which the backing paper 11 is wound increases.

If the tension of the backing paper 11 falls below a predetermined threshold, when the front end 12a of the label 12 is peeled off by the peeling member 18, the posture of the front end 12a of the label 12 on the backing paper 11 changes, making it more likely that poor attachment of the label 12 affixed to the blood collection tube 4 will occur.

In the label application device 3 of the embodiment, the preliminary peeling operation is started when the tension of the backing paper 11 falls below a predetermined threshold. Here, the preliminary peeling operation refers to an operation in which the peeling member 18 peels the front end 12a of the label 12 to a preliminary peeling amount greater than the reference peeling amount as shown in FIG. 7A, and then, for example, the sheet 10 is fed backwards so as to return the entire label 12 to the backing paper 11 as shown in FIG. 7B. As an example, the reference peeling amount is about 3.5 mm, and the preliminary peeling amount is about 6.5 mm to 4.5 mm. The preliminary peeling operation may include, for example, multiple preliminary peeling operations with different preliminary peeling amounts.

After the preliminary peeling operation, the leading end 12a of the label 12 is peeled off, for example, to a standard peeling amount, thereby preventing the occurrence of defective application of the label 12. Therefore, the label application device 3 can increase the efficiency of application of the label 12 by starting the preliminary peeling operation at a predetermined timing when defective application of the label 12 is likely to occur and the preliminary peeling operation is required, without causing a decrease in the efficiency of application of the label 12, as occurs when the preliminary peeling operation is performed on all of the labels 12.

8 is a flow chart for explaining the control of the preliminary peeling operation in the embodiment. As shown in FIG. 8, the control unit 21 of the label application device 3 determines whether the tension of the backing paper 11 is equal to or greater than a predetermined tension threshold based on the rotation speed of the rotating shaft 26a of the winding roll 26 detected by the rotation detection unit 44 (step S1). In step S1, if the tension of the backing paper 11 is less than the predetermined tension threshold (NO), the control unit 21 repeats the determination of the detection result of the rotation detection unit 44. In step S1, if the tension of the backing paper 11 is equal to or greater than the predetermined tension value (YES), the control unit 21 controls the label application device 3 to start the application operation of the label 12 (step S2).

Next, the control unit 21 determines whether the outer diameter of the winding roll 26 is equal to or greater than a predetermined outer diameter threshold based on the outer diameter of the winding roll 26 detected by the rotation detection unit 44 (step S3). In step S3, if the outer diameter of the winding roll 26 is less than the predetermined outer diameter threshold (NO), the control unit 21 repeats the determination of the detection result of the rotation detection unit 44. If the outer diameter of the winding roll 26 is equal to or greater than the predetermined outer diameter threshold (YES), the control unit 21 starts a preliminary peeling operation (step S4). After starting the preliminary peeling operation, the control unit 21 continues the preliminary peeling operation for each label 12 until the attachment of all the labels 12 is completed.

9 is a diagram showing the change in tension of the backing paper 11 with the change in the outer diameter of the winding roll 26. In this example, one roll sheet has 900 labels 12, and the pasting operation is terminated when 900 labels 12 have been pasted.

9, the sheet supply mechanism 16 has a constant transport amount of 30 mm when printing one label 12 from the start to the end of the label 12 pasting operation. In the sheet supply mechanism 16, as the amount of backing paper 11 wound around the take-up roll 26 increases, the outer diameter of the take-up roll 26 gradually increases, the rotation angle [deg] of the rotating shaft 26a when printing one label 12 gradually decreases, and the tension of the backing paper 11 gradually decreases. In the embodiment, for example, when the outer diameter of the take-up roll 26 becomes equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold value and the 600th label 12 is pasted, the preliminary peeling operation is started. In other words, in the embodiment, as an example, the preliminary peeling operation is set to start when the tension of the backing paper 11 becomes equal to or less than about 5.4 N.

In this way, in this embodiment, the preliminary peeling operation is started at the timing when the tension of the backing 11 falls below a predetermined threshold as the outer diameter of the winding roll 26 increases (the amount of backing 11 taken up increases). Therefore, the timing at which the tension of the backing 11 falls below a predetermined threshold and the preliminary peeling operation is started varies depending on the dimensions (thickness) and materials of the backing 11, label 12, and adhesive 13 contained in the sheet 10 used. According to this embodiment, the control unit 21 controls the sheet supply mechanism 16 based on the detection result of the rotation detection unit 44, so that the control can be set to start the preliminary peeling operation at any timing according to multiple types of sheets 10, making it easy to handle cases where multiple types of sheets 10 are used.

In other words, for example, when the preliminary peeling operation is started based on the number of labels 12 attached, the timing at which the preliminary peeling operation is started varies due to differences in the dimensions of the labels 12 of the sheet 10 used, the thickness of the backing 11, etc., and the preliminary peeling operation cannot be started accurately at the timing when the tension of the backing 11 becomes equal to or lower than a predetermined threshold. For this reason, if it is attempted to start the preliminary peeling operation at a predetermined timing, a large number of thresholds must be prepared according to the dimensions of the backing 11 and labels 12 of the sheet 10 used, and a large number of thresholds must be switched, making the setting work complicated. In contrast, in this embodiment, the preliminary peeling operation can be started accurately at a predetermined timing by starting the preliminary peeling operation based on the outer diameter of the winding roll 26 regardless of the thickness of the backing 11 of the sheet 10 used.

Note that the control of the control unit 21 in the embodiment is not limited to the control of starting the preliminary peeling operation based on the outer diameter of the winding roll 26. The control unit 21 may control the sheet supply mechanism 16 to change the speed at which the sheet 10 is fed when the outer diameter of the winding roll 26 detected by the rotation detection unit 44 becomes equal to or greater than a predetermined outer diameter threshold. With this control, for example, by reducing the speed at which the sheet 10 is fed, it becomes possible to correct the operation of the peeling member 18 peeling the front end 12a of the label 12 by a reference peel amount in accordance with the tension of the backing paper 11, thereby further suppressing the occurrence of poor attachment of the label 12.

In addition, as the tension of the backing paper 11 decreases, the posture of the front end 12a of the label 12 peeled off from the backing paper 11 changes. Therefore, the control unit 21 may control the attachment mechanism 19 to correct the position of the blood collection tube 4 relative to the front end 12a of the label 12 when the outer diameter of the winding roll 26 detected by the rotation detection unit 44 becomes equal to or greater than a predetermined outer diameter threshold. With this control, for example, when attaching a new label 12 so as to overlap the label 12 of a blood collection tube 4 to which a label 12 is already attached, the posture of the front end 12a of the new label 12 relative to the blood collection tube 4 is adjusted, and the attachment position of the new label 12 relative to the label 12 attached to the blood collection tube 4 is corrected, so that the new label 12 can be attached appropriately.

Furthermore, the control unit 21 may control the number of preliminary peeling operations for one label 12 to be increased based on the outer diameter of the winding roll 26 after starting the preliminary peeling operation. That is, the control unit 21 may control the number of preliminary peeling operations to be increased based on the outer diameter of the winding roll 26 after starting the preliminary peeling operation when the outer diameter of the winding roll 26 becomes equal to or greater than a first threshold value, and then control the number of preliminary peeling operations to be increased when the outer diameter of the winding roll 26 becomes equal to or greater than a second threshold value. This further suppresses the occurrence of poor attachment of the label 12 due to a decrease in the tension of the backing paper 11. The control unit 21 may also control the amount of preliminary peeling during the preliminary peeling operation and the reference amount of peeling when attaching the label 12 to the blood collection tube 4 based on the outer diameter of the winding roll 26. This control makes it possible to perform appropriate preliminary peeling operations and attachment operations in accordance with the decrease in the tension of the backing paper 11 due to the change in the outer diameter of the winding roll 26. The control unit 21 may also perform a combination of the above-mentioned multiple types of control, which effectively suppresses the occurrence of poor attachment of the label 12.

(Method of controlling a label application device)
The control method of the label application device 3 in the embodiment is such that, when the rotation detection unit 44 detects that the outer diameter of the winding roll 26 on which the backing paper 11 is wound has reached a predetermined outer diameter threshold or greater, a preliminary peeling operation is initiated in which the front end 12a of the label 12 is peeled off from the backing paper 11 and the sheet 10 is fed back to return the label 12 to the backing paper 11, and after the preliminary peeling operation, the control unit 21 controls the sheet supply mechanism 16 to peel the front end 12a of the label 12 off from the backing paper 11.

(Program for controlling a label application device)
The program for controlling the label application device 3 of the embodiment starts a preliminary peeling operation, when the rotation detection unit 44 detects that the outer diameter of the winding roll 26 on which the backing paper 11 is wound has reached a predetermined outer diameter threshold value, to peel the leading end 12a of the label 12 from the backing paper 11 and reverse the sheet 10 to return the label 12 to the backing paper 11, and causes the control unit 21 to control the sheet supply mechanism 16 so as to peel the leading end 12a of the label 12 from the backing paper 11 after the preliminary peeling operation.

(Effects of the embodiment)
The label application device 3 of the embodiment includes a sheet supply mechanism 16 having a winding roll 26, a rotation detection unit 44 for detecting the outer diameter of the winding roll 26, and a control unit 21 for controlling the sheet supply mechanism 16. When the rotation detection unit 44 detects that the outer diameter of the winding roll 46 has reached a predetermined outer diameter threshold or more, the control unit 21 starts a preliminary peeling operation in which the front end 12a of the label 12 is peeled off from the backing paper 11 and the sheet 10 is fed backward to return the label 12 onto the backing paper 11, and controls the sheet supply mechanism 16 to peel off the front end 12a of the label 12 from the backing paper 11 after the preliminary peeling operation. This enables the label application device 3 to start the preliminary peeling operation at a timing when the tension of the backing paper 11 decreases with an increase in the outer diameter of the winding roll 26, making it easier for poor application of the label 12 to occur, and thus makes it possible to prevent poor application of the label 12 from occurring. In addition, the label application device 3 can increase the efficiency of applying the labels 12 by avoiding performing the preliminary peeling operation on all of the labels 12 on the roll sheet.

In addition, the control unit 21 of the label application device 3 of the embodiment determines whether the tension of the backing paper 11, the starting end of which is wound around the winding roll 26, has reached a predetermined tension or more based on the rotation speed of the winding roll 26 detected by the rotation detection unit 44 when the winding roll 26 starts winding the backing paper 11. As a result, the rotation detection unit 44 detects both the outer diameter of the winding roll 26 and the tension of the backing paper 11 when winding begins, which prevents an increase in the number of rotation detection units for controlling the sheet supply mechanism 16 and simplifies the configuration of the sheet supply mechanism 16.

In addition, the control unit 21 of the label application device 3 of the embodiment controls the sheet supply mechanism 16 to change the speed at which the sheet 10 is fed when the outer diameter of the winding roll 26 detected by the rotation detection unit 44 becomes equal to or greater than a predetermined outer diameter threshold. This makes it possible to correct the operation of the peeling member 18 to peel the leading end 12a of the label 12 by a reference peel amount in accordance with the tension of the backing paper 11, thereby further reducing the occurrence of poor application of the label 12.

Furthermore, the control unit 21 of the label application device 3 of the embodiment controls the sheet supply mechanism 16 to correct the position of the blood collection tube 4 relative to the front end 12a of the label 12 when the outer diameter of the take-up roll 26 detected by the rotation detection unit 44 becomes equal to or greater than a predetermined outer diameter threshold. As a result, for example, when a new label 12 is applied to a blood collection tube 4 so as to overlap a label 12 of the blood collection tube 4 to which a label 12 is already applied, the attitude of the front end 12a of the new label 12 relative to the blood collection tube 4 is adjusted, and the application position of the new label 12 is corrected relative to the label 12 applied to the blood collection tube 4, so that the new label 12 can be properly applied.

1 Blood collection tube preparation device 3 Label attachment device 4 Blood collection tube (cylinder)
10 Sheet 11 Mount (base material)
12 label 12a front end 12b rear end 13 adhesive material 16 sheet supply mechanism (feed mechanism)
17 Printing unit 18 Peeling member 19 Bonding mechanism 21 Control unit 23 Supply roll 26 Winding roll 44 Rotation detection unit (detection unit)

Claims (7)

a feed mechanism including a supply roll on which a sheet having a substrate and a label provided thereon via an adhesive is wound, and a take-up roll on which the substrate of the sheet fed from the supply roll is taken up;
A printing unit that prints on the label;
a peeling member that peels the label from the base material of the sheet fed by the feed mechanism;
a bonding mechanism that bonds the label, the leading end of which in the sheet feed direction is peeled off from the base material, along an outer circumferential surface of a cylindrical body;
a detection unit for detecting an outer diameter of the winding roll on which the base material is wound;
A control unit that controls the feed mechanism,
When the detection unit detects that the outer diameter of the winding roll has become equal to or greater than a predetermined outer diameter and the tension of the substrate becomes equal to or less than a predetermined tension , the control unit initiates a preliminary peeling operation to peel the leading end of the label from the substrate and reverse the sheet to return the label to the substrate, and controls the feed mechanism to peel the leading end of the label from the substrate after the preliminary peeling operation. The control unit determines whether or not a tension of the substrate, the starting end of which is wound around the take-up roll, has reached a predetermined tension or more, based on a rotation speed of the take-up roll detected by the detection unit, when the take-up roll starts to take up the substrate.
2. The labeling apparatus of claim 1. the control unit controls the feeding mechanism to change a speed at which the sheet is fed, based on the tension of the base material when the outer diameter of the winding roll detected by the detection unit becomes equal to or larger than a predetermined outer diameter.
2. The labeling apparatus of claim 1. the control unit controls the joining mechanism to correct a position of the cylindrical body with respect to a front end of the label when the outer diameter of the winding roll detected by the detection unit becomes equal to or larger than the predetermined outer diameter.
2. The labeling apparatus of claim 1. The cylindrical body is a blood collection tube.
2. The labeling apparatus of claim 1. A control method for a label application device comprising: a feed mechanism having a supply roll on which a sheet is wound, the sheet having a substrate on which a label is provided via an adhesive, and a take-up roll on which the substrate of the sheet fed from the supply roll is taken up; a printing unit that prints on the label; a peeling member that peels the label from the substrate of the sheet fed by the feed mechanism; an application mechanism that attaches the label, the front end of which in a feed direction of the sheet is peeled off from the substrate, along an outer circumferential surface of a cylinder; and a control unit that controls the feed mechanism,
a control method for a label application device, comprising: when a detection unit detects that the outer diameter of the winding roll around which the substrate is wound has become equal to or greater than a predetermined outer diameter and the tension of the substrate becomes equal to or less than a predetermined tension, a preliminary peeling operation is initiated in which a leading end of the label is peeled from the substrate and the sheet is fed in reverse to return the label to the substrate; and, after the preliminary peeling operation, the control unit controls the feed mechanism so that the leading end of the label is peeled from the substrate. A program for controlling a label application device comprising: a feed mechanism having a supply roll wound with a sheet having a substrate on which a label is provided via an adhesive; and a take-up roll on which the substrate of the sheet fed from the supply roll is taken up; a printing unit that prints on the label; a peeling member that peels the label from the substrate of the sheet fed by the feed mechanism; an application mechanism that attaches the label, the front end of which in the feed direction of the sheet is peeled off from the substrate, along an outer circumferential surface of a cylinder; and a control unit that controls the feed mechanism,
when a detection unit detects that the outer diameter of the winding roll around which the substrate is wound has become equal to or greater than a predetermined outer diameter and the tension of the substrate becomes equal to or less than a predetermined tension , a preliminary peeling operation is initiated to peel the leading end of the label from the substrate and reverse the sheet to return the label to the substrate, and after the preliminary peeling operation, the program causes the control unit to control the feed mechanism so as to peel the leading end of the label from the substrate.

Images