Technical Field

The apparatus of the present invention concerns the head unit of a taping machine.

Background Art

The apparatus of the present invention concerns the head unit of a taping machine. More specifically, the head unit is installed in a taping machine to control the supply of tapes and tension, while also performing the functions of compressing and cutting. Its compact structure and its versatility helps to increase productivity in taping works, while also enabling to perform precise taping.

In general, the cases of televisions and monitors are made using the method of injection molding and are painted in certain colors. The recent trend is to emphasize the design of such products by coloring each part of those cases in different colors to increase appeal to the consumer.

The multi-coloring starts with painting the overall surfaces of the case in a single color. Parts that are not to be colored with other colors are sealed with a painting jig. In order to seal the boundaries between the parts to be painted and parts not to be painted, tapes are attached around these boundaries.

For this type of work to be carried out, a pair of workers in general puts the case on their worktable and manually attaches all the adhesive tapes on the surfaces of the case. Here, a worker has to attach the adhesive tape on the

i

case, cut it at a certain length, compress the tape onto the case surface and fix one side of the tape using a sharp-edged tool in order to distinguish the boundaries between the parts to be painted and the parts not to be painted.

Although the said taping work is a simple task, since it requires a high degree of precision, it has been one of the reasons for inconsistent productivity among the workers. Decrease in the degree of precision leads to bad painting work as well, thereby decreasing the total value of the case in the end.

Disclosure of the Invention

The apparatus of the present invention was designed in order to overcome the aforementioned problems. The head unit is installed in a taping machine to control the supply of tapes and tension, while also performing the functions of compressing and cutting. Its compact structure and its versatility helps to increase productivity in taping works, while also enabling to perform precise taping.

The said head unit installed in a taping machine has many advantageous functions, such as controlling the supply of tapes and tension, while also performing the functions of compressing and cutting. It also has the benefits of a compact structure and versatility, which helps to increase productivity in taping works, while also enabling to perform precise taping.

Brief Description of the Drawings

Figure 1 illustrates the overall shape of the head unit of the taping machine in the present invention.

Figure 2 illustrates the overall structure of the head unit. Figure 3 is a sectional view along the A-A line in Figure 2. Figure 4 is a view on the main structure of the cutter of the head unit. Figures 5 to 8 show different examples of executing the present invention.

descriptions of the Symbols for the Main Parts of the Drawings:

10: Loading Drum 10a: Stopper 12: Guide Plate 14: Disk 14a: Control Pad 16: Fixed Axis 20: Guide Wheel 20a: Control Knob I 20b: Control Knob Il 22: Interior Wheel 24: Exterior Wheel 30: Suit 32: Loading Wheel 34: Holder 40: Cutter 42: Fixed Blade 44: Flexible Blade 50: Press Wheel 50a: Anchor Axis 60: Tip 60a: Slant 52: Cylinder 64: Guide Rail 100: Plate 110: Bush 120: Spring 140: Fixed Blade 150: Flexible Blade 310: Start Block 320: Sub-roller 330: Main Roller 400: Variable Plate 410: Protractor 420: Control Screw

Best Mode for Carrying out the Invention

The taping machine head unit developed to mitigate the problems mentioned earlier controls the supply and tension of the tapes while also performing functions of pressing and cutting the tapes. The apparatus, containing the tape, is installed around the fixed axis and consists of: a loading drum whose rotary power is controlled by the disk and the control pad; the guide wheel near to the said loading drum; the loading wheel that attaches the tape supplied by the said guide wheel; the elastic spring that allows for rotation of the hinge around the axis; a suit inside which a holder is attached; a cutter nearby the loading wheel of the said suit that cuts the tape using the fixed and flexible blades linked by a cylinder; a press wheel in the back of the said cutter that presses the tape on the case (the press wheel may rotate around the anchor axis); and the tip that elevates by the activation of the cylinder near the said press wheel.

The said loading drum of the present invention consists of a stopper inside that rotates the drum around the axis; and a guide plate inserted to the drum that supports the tape contained inside with the elastic spring.

The said guide wheel of the present invention is fixed and secured by screws to adjust its width. It consists of interior and exterior wheels that are fixed to the stop bolt; and control knobs I and Il that are fixed by screws to the bushing of the supporting frame around the said interior and exterior wheels.

The said cutter of the present invention consists of a fixed blade that elevates due to activation of a cylinder; a flexible blade connected to the fixed

blade by a hinge with a protruding guide bar; and a stop bar that engages the said protruding guide bar with a block at one end of it.

The said tip of the present invention elevates along with the guide rail thanks to the cylinder mentioned above. The slant at the end of the tip helps to fix the tape more precisely.

On the rod near the said case of the present invention is a start block to which the tape is initially attached. Inside the head unit, a sub-roller and a main roller with a diameter comparably greater than that of the sub-roller are installed to apply pressure on the tape on the case of the product to be caped. The rollers may be rotated around their axes.

The said tilting means of the present invention may be rotated a bit around the axis on the transportable table. On one side of the tilting means is a variable plate with a fanwise protractor. On one side of the fanwise protractor is a stopper that penetrates the variable plate and maintains the angle between the variable plate and the transportable table.

The cutter of the present invention consists of a plate fixed to the supporting frame; a pair of bushes arranged in a row that can slide along the said plate; an elastic spring that supports the lower part of the said bushes onto which it is attached with its elasticity; a stopper installed on one side of the plate and controls the downward movement of the bushes by the elastic spring; a fixed blade on the said bushes that retains its horizontality; and a flexible blade whose rotation centers around the axis and performs the cutting function with the fixed blade.

The said flexible blade of the present invention forms a gap or an

opening with the fixed blade when the bushes that have been moved by the spring returns to its original position.

The examples of properly executing the present invention are explained and described using the drawings enclosed on the back pages.

Figure 1 illustrates the overall shape of the head unit of the taping machine in the present invention. Figure 2 illustrates the overall structure of the head unit. Figure 3 is a sectional view along the A-A line in Figure 2.

The head unit of the present invention is installed in a taping machine to perform functions of controlling the supply and tension of the tape as well as cutting and pressing.

The said head unit containing a tape consists of a loading drum (10) whose rotation is controlled by a disk (14) and a control pad (14a).

There is a load wheel (32) that attaches the tape supplied by the guide wheel (20) near the loading drum (10). There is also a suit (30) accompanied by a holder (34). Near the loading wheel (32) of the suit is a cutter (30) formed by a fixed blade (42) and a flexible blade (44) to cut the tape.

In the back of the cutter (30) is a press wheel (50) that presses the tape onto the surface of the product case to be painted. Near the press wheel is a tip (60) that elevates along with the cylinder (62).

The loading drum (10) containing the tape of the present invention is installed around the fixed axis (16) so that it can be rotated. Its rotation is controlled by a disk (14) and a control pad (14a). The disk (14) and the control pad (14a) face each other in the back of the loading drum.

The disk (14), which is a type of a circular plate, is fixed by bolts so that

it remains on the same axis as the loading drum (10). The control pad (14a) is attached around the disk using a certain pressure from the elastic plate (14a).

As the rotation of the loading drum (10) is controlled by the friction between the disk (14) and the control pad (14a), the tension of the tape supplied by the taping machine to perform the taping work on the product cases always remains at an even level.

The said loading drum (10) consists of a drum (11) that allows the stopper (10a) installed within to rotate around the hinge as an axis; an elastic spring (S1) inserted into the said drum (11); and a guide plate (12) that supports the contained tape. The guide plate (12) inserted into the cylindrical drum (11) which can rotate around the fixed axis (16) that supports the loading drum supports both ends of the tape. Inside the apparatus is a pair of stoppers (10a).

The pair of stoppers, whose ends are combined with the hinge, clamps and unclamps the guide plate (12) inserted into the drum by an elastic spring (S1).

The pair of guide plates (12) support the tape contained in the loading drum (10) from both sides. There is an elastic spring (S1) on these guide plates (12).

The elastic spring (S1) inside the loading drum (10) pushes the tape roll around the guiding plate (12) inside the drum toward the outer side so that the machine can be adapted to be used in using tapes of various widths.

The suit (30) of the present invention has a guide wheel (20) installed near the loading drum. There is the loading wheel (32) which attaches the tape supplied by the guide wheel (20) and an elastic spring (S2) inserted in it to

rotate around the hinge (30a) as an axis. Inside the suit is a holder (34).

The suit has a shape of "U" and it can rotate around the hinge (30a) on the supporting frame of the head unit. The loading wheel that can rotate in the lower part of the suit is made of a metallic substance that does not change its shape due to elasticity so that it can apply an even level of pressure when it attaches the tape on the product surface.

The tension of the suit (30) is maintained by the elastic spring (S2) installed in the upper part of the suit around the hinge (30a) and a holder installed in the lower part.

The holder (34) is installed inside the suit (30) and maintained by the elastic spring (S3) and an elastic plate (34b) with the anchor bar (34a) as an axis.

The holder (34) should be made of materials that does not stick to other surfaces, such as Teflon, and fixed to the anchor bar (34)a with the elastic plate (34b).

The anchor bar (34a) is installed on the supporting frame in a way that allows it to rotate. On one side of it is an elastic spring (S3) that applies rotary force in one direction. The rotation of the anchor bar (30a) maintains the tension inside the suit at an even level all the time to ensure perfect and untwisted attachment of the tape.

Once the taping of the case is complete, the tape supplied from the head unit is cut by the cutter (40). However, the tape fixed inside the suit (30) by the holder (34) facilitates the subsequent taping work continuously. The supplying location depending on the width of the tape is controlled by the guide

wheel (20).

The guide wheel (20), which has an adjustable width, is fixed to the stop bolt (24a) by a screw. Near the guide wheel are interior and exterior wheels (22, 24), at whose ends are control knobs I and Il (20a, 20b) that are combined to the bushing of the supporting frame by a screw.

The interior (22) and the exterior wheels (24) of the guide wheel (20) make the width of the guide wheel adjustable. The stop bolt (24) is installed at the open side of the exterior wheel (24) serves to lock and release the tape supply location.

The width between the interior (22) and the exterior (24) wheels is adjusted to fit the width of the tape supplied via the loading drum and the tape is further fixed by the stop bolt so that it would not move from left to right while it is being supplied onto the product cases.

The guide wheel (20) formed by assembly of the interior and exterior wheels (22, 24) also has control knobs I and Il (20a, 20b) on its one side installed on the supporting frame of the head unit. Control knob I (20a) supports the rotation of the guide wheel (20), connected to the bushing of the supporting frame by a screw and fixed to its position by control knob II.

Thus, the positioning of the guide wheel (20) is made much easier by control knob I (20a) while control knob Il (20b) fixates the position of the guide wheel (20).

The cutter (40) of the present invention cuts the tape using the fixed blade (42) and the flexible blade (44) linked to each other by the motion of a cylinder (40a) located near the loading wheel (32) of the suit (30).

The cutter (40) cuts the tape using the flexible blade (44) that moves due to the motion of the cylinder (40a) after the head unit completes attaching the tape to the case surface. This operation is described in more details in later paragraphs, with references to Figure 4.

The press wheel (50) of the present invention is installed in the back of the cutter (40) with an anchor axis (50a) to enable attachment of the tape to the surface.

The press wheel (50) is made of non-adhesive materials, such as Teflon, silicon, and rubber. It is installed by the anchor axis (50a) on the supporting frame. The press wheel (50) can move around the anchor wheel (50a) and presses the tape attached to the case surface by the loading wheel (32) of the suit (30). In order to press the tape more tightly to the case surface, it is recommended that the head unit of the present invention have multiple press wheels (50).

The tip (60) of the present invention is located nearby the press wheel (50) and elevates along with the cylinder.

The tip (60), which elevates along with the guide rail (64) by the movement of the cylinder has a slant (60a) at its end to attach the tape around its edges more closely.

The tip (60), which should be made of the same material as the holder (32) such as Teflon, has a sharp-edged slant (60a) that attaches the tape around its edges more closely to the case of the products as shown in Figure 2.

Figure 4 illustrates the main structure of the cutter of the present invention.

As shown in the figure, the cutter consists of a fixed blade ($2) that elevates with the movement of the cylinder (40a); a flexible blade (44) combined to the fixed blade by a hinge (42) with a protruding bar (44a); and a stop bar (46) in engagement to the guide bar (44a) of the flexible blade (44) with a block (46b) at its end.

The flexible blade (44) is located in the space formed between the stop bar (46) and the protruding guide bar (44a), and the downward movement of the stop bar (46) is limited by the block (46b) formed at its end.

Thus, the fixed blade (42) that moves downward along the guide rail (42b) due to the movements of the cylinder (40a) takes the flexible blade (44) and the stop bar (46) with it simultaneously. However, once the stop bar (46) reaches a certain point (for instance, the point where the fixed blade (42) is near the upper surface of the tape), its block (46b) limits such movement as it is stuck on the supporting frame, whereas the guide bar (44a) near the stop bar moves the flexible blade (44) around the hinge (42a) as an axis to cut the tape in cooperation with the fixed blade (42).

As discussed so far, because the flexible blade (44) of the cutter (40) that moves around the hinge is contained inside the head unit, while the fixed blade is elevated along the guide rail (42b) at the same time, the tape is cut without the interference of the cutter even if the head unit is moved in very close proximity to the case.

Although Figures 1 to 4 illustrate application of the head unit in linear movements, the idea of the head unit of the present invention may be applied to developing a taping machine for circular product cases to which the taping

machine attaches the tape around the case by fixing the head unit at one point on the case and rotating the case instead.

The modes of using the taping machine with the head unit of the present invention are described in the following paragraphs, with references to Figures 1 to 4.

First, the loading drum (10) and the guide plate (12) are separated to contain the tape roll. The guide plate (12) is assembled again. The exterior wheel (24) of the guide wheel (20) is adjusted in its width to fit the width of the tape. Control knobs I and Il (20a, 20b) are used to adjust and fix the positioning of the guide wheel.

Next, the case to be taped is loaded on the taping machine. By pressing the start switch (omitted from the drawings), the loading wheel (32) of the head unit attaches to the surface of the case to move the head unit forward.

The tape contained in the loading drum is moved to the loading wheel (32) via the guide wheel (20) in the suit, and the loading wheel (32) attaches the tape to the case surface. The press wheel (50) in the back of the loading wheel (32) presses and secures the tape attachment on the case surface further. The tip (60) comes down by the movements of the cylinder (62) to attach the tape to the surface even more closely and precisely around the edges of the tape.

Next, when tape attachment process is complete as the head unit goes out of the passageway of the case, the cylinder (40a) moves to simultaneously activate the fixed and flexible blades (42, 44) of the cutter (44) to cut the tape. The head unit comes back to its original position to carry out the process on the next case in line.

The cylinders (40a, 62) and the sensors of each part (omitted from the drawings) that are in charge of activating the main parts of the head unit, such as the cutter (40) and the tip, (60) are connected to one another by means of the circuits and limit the operative movements in the given sequences.

Figures 5 to 8 show other examples of appropriate execution of the present invention. The contents and general structures in those drawings are the same as the ones described so far, and the following paragraphs explain only the main parts of those examples with references to the figures.

As shown in Figures 5 and 6, on the rod near the case is a start block (310) to which the tape is initially attached. On the head unit is a sub roller (320) with a small diameter and a main roller (330) with a diameter greater than that of the sub roller to press the tape onto the surface of the case.

When the slant angle of the surface of the case to be taped is too big, the existing type of the rollers does not carry out the taping work process that easily.

If the tape is initially attached to the start block (310) installed near the case facilitates taping the case surface using the rollers even if its slant angle may be big.

The difference between the main roller (330) and the sub roller (320) in their diameters was made in order to ensure the even and perfect attachment of the tape to the case surfaces by attaching it first with a sub roller (320) and again with a greater main roller (330).

The parts described in Figures 5 and 6 are prepared for tilting of the head unit around the transportable table (40), i.e. to move the head unit in a

certain angle.

The reason this tilting is necessary is to better attach the tape to the case with a surface that is not evenly flat.

For taping such surfaces, a variable plate (400) with a fanwise protractor (410) that can be supported by the axis on one side of the transportable table (40) is given. In addition, there is a control screw (420) that adjusts even the small degrees of angle between the variable plate and the transportable table, penetrating the variable plate (400).

Thus, the variable plate (400) is installed on the transportable table (40) with its angle specifically adjusted by the screw (420) and the protractor (410). This ensures more precision in tilting the head unit, which ensures better taping around the corners of the case surfaces.

Figures 7 and 8 exhibit other examples of using the cutter.

These figures show a plate (100) that is fixed to one side of the frame. A pair of bushes (110) on this plate (100) enables the slide shaft to move up and down.

On one side of the slide shaft that can be moved by the bush (110) is an elastic spring (120) that supports its lower part.

There is also a fixed blade (140) and a flexible blade (150) that can be moved up and down in combination to each other by a hinge.

Here, when the cylinder (40a) pushes the slide shaft downward a bit, the slide shaft moves more quickly due to the elasticity of the spring (120 rather than the force exerted by the cylinder, while the flexible blade (150) combined to the fixed blade (!40) cannot be moved by a hinge.

When the slide shaft has moved completely downward, its part that remains with the spring (120) serves as a stopper, stopping the shaft movement. Activation of the cylinder (40a) rotates the flexible blade (150) above, allowing it to cut the tape with the fixed blade (140).

On the other hand, when the shaft slides back upward, it is again supported by the elasticity of the spring (120), making the flexible blade (150) cover and its hinge elevate along with it again.

In other words, the fixed blade (140) maintains the horizontal state, whereas the flexible blade (150) remains vertical.

The doubly distributed slide shaft inside the bush (110) reduces the interference in the cutter, making tape cutting easier.

When the slide shaft inside the bush (110) comes down to cut the tape, it does so by the elasticity of the spring (!2O), not the cylinder. Because the flexible blade (150) moves due to the movements of the cylinder (40a) when the bush is stopped by the stopper (130), this method insures more stable cutting of the tape.

After the tape has been cut, the fixed (140) and the flexible (150) separate from each other to elevate to perform the cutting process again.

The present invention can be adjusted and modified into various applications as long as those applications do not hurt the principal idea and scope of this invention. Thus, such possible modifications and applications of this apparatus should fall under the scope of this patent application.