CA1146916A

CA1146916A - Label applicator with oscillating label receiver and method

Info

Publication number: CA1146916A
Application number: CA000366947A
Authority: CA
Inventors: Michael Crankshaw; Leo Kucheck
Original assignee: Label Aire Inc
Current assignee: Label Aire Inc
Priority date: 1980-10-29
Filing date: 1980-12-17
Publication date: 1983-05-24
Also published as: US4337108A

Abstract

LABEL APPLICATOR WITH OSCILLATING LABEL
RECEIVER AND METHOD

ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE

A label applicator comprising a supporting structure, a label receiver mounted on the supporting structure for oscillatory movement about a pivot axis between a retracted position and an extended position, and a label dispenser for supplying labels to the la-bel receiver when the label receiver is in the retract-ed position. The label receiver releasably retains the labels supplied to the label receiver in the retracted position. The label receiver is moved in one direc-tion about the pivot axis to the extended position and in that position, applies the label to an article. The label receiver is then pivoted about the pivot axis in the other direction to return it to the retracted posi-tion.

Description

. BACKC~ROUND OF THE INVENTION
3 One common fQrm of label applicator includes 4 a fixed vacuum box or label receiver which uses vacuum ~ 5 pressure to releasably retain a labe:l in posi-tion for ; 6 subsequent application to an article At the appro-. priate moment/ the label is transferxed to the article 8 by a blast of air~under pressure or by mechanical move-ment which pres.ses or tamps the label onto the article.
?O Label applicators of this type are shownr by way of ex-ample, in French et al U.S~ Patent No. ~,729,362.
or at least some labeling applications, it is~ desirable to move the label after it has been sup-~, ;.. j , .. . . . . .
14 plied to the label receiver and prior to the instant at which the transfer of the label from the label receiver 16 to the article begins. For example, it is known to usedrums rotated unidirectionally to transfer various forms 18 ~of sheet stock from one position to another, and con-g structions of this type are shown, by way of example~
in ~udszinat et al U.S. Patent No. 3,25Q,278, Paxton et 21 al U.S. Patent No. 3,910,811, Cohn UOS. Patent 4,003,780, ; :~ : , 22 McDavid et al U.S~ Patent No. 3,938j698, Helm U.S~ Patent $ 23 No. 3,957,570, Radzins U.S. Patent No. 3,772,120, , ~ 24Zimpel ~.S. Patent No. 2,~68,632 and Hottendorf U.S.
26 Patent No. 3,684,627. However, drums are not as effec-. .
26 tive as desired in breaking label strings and they are 27 somewha~ more;expensive than is desired. Drums with 28 1at: faces cannot get as close to the product to be la- ~-29 beled as desired and drums with a cylindrical contour do not hold th;e label parallel to the surface to be labeled.

., .

6~

l Our U.S. Pa-tent No. 4,210,484 discloses a label

2 applicator which utilizes multiple movable label receivers

3 for the pur~ose of spreading lahels. Finally, in a prior label applicator the label receiver is linearly recipro-cable between retracted and extended positions. The label 6 receiver receives the label when it is in the retracted 7 position and then the label receiver is moved along a 8 linear path to an extended position. This move~ent breaks 9 any label strings that atkach the label to the web or ,::
~ 10 strip from which it was peeled. In addition~ th:Ls label ; l~ movement gets the label closer to the product ~or ulti-12 mate air-blast transfer to the product and provides physical ~-~ 13 clearance from the peeler bar. When the article to be labeled arrives at the labelinq stationj the label is blown from the label receiver onto the article.
~,:: :

17 SU.~qARY OF THE I~VENTION
. .
~ 18 :
19 This invention relates to an improvement of the concept disclosed in the prior label applicator referred 21 to above. With this invention, the label receiver is 22 oscillated rather than reciprocated between the retracted .~ .
~ 23 and extended positions. This improvement provides a number ~. .
~ 24 of important advantages. For example, the oscillatory :; :
motion can be carried out much faster than with the prior 2~ label appllc~ator. Th~ls increases the speed of the label-27 ing operation and can~result in the use of less air if 28 an air-powered;actuator 29 ~

30 ~ -2-1 is u-tilized to drive the label receiver. In addition, 2 the guide rods necessary to mount the label receiver for reciprocation are eliminated. This not only elimi-

4 nates structure, but enables optimizing of the label re-ceiver as described hereinbelow.
6 Oscillating the label receiver speeds up the q. labeling operation because this enables por-tions of the - 8 moving mass to be on opposite sides of the pivot axis.
, .~
g Preferably, the pivot axis extends through the center of mass which is oscillated about the ~ivot axis~ In addi-;. ~
~ ~ 11 tion, by appropxiately using the levers provided clS a ; 12 result of mounting the label receiver ~or pivotal or os-13 cillatory movement, the effective length of the input motion can be less than the effective length of the out-~5 put motion of the label receiver. Thus, the stroke of 16 the drive member~ which may be, for example, a linear . ~
~ 17 actuator, a cam, etcO, is reduced. This also contributes q ~~ 18 to the speed of operation of the label applicator.
~;19 In a preferred construction, the label appli-t:~ .
zo cator includes a supporting structure, a pivot arm 21 mounted on the supporting structure for pivotal move-i~2 ment about a pivot axis and a label receiver carried by j23 the pivot arm. Label dispensing means is mounted on the 2g supporting structure and supplies labels to the label ~t ~25 receiver when ~he lat~er is in the retracted pOSitiOIl.
26 The label receiver includes meansl such as vacuum re-: , .
27 tention means, for releasably retaining the label. The ,. . .

:

- 1 label receiver is movable be-tween the retracted and ex-2 tended positions by a suitable drive member. Although 3 the label receiver could tamp, i.e., press the label on-to the article, preferably label transfer is accomplish-~ - ~ ed by an air blast and without using the label receiver - 6 to tamp on the label. Passage means is provided in the q~ label receiver for transmittin~ the blast of gas to the 8 label when the label receiver is in the extended position.
~ . - .
9 The label receiver has a face on which the label ' 10 is releasably held. The angular orientation of this face .~ ., , changes as the label receiver pivots about the pivot axis.

12 Preferably, the label receivex ~ace lies in a plane that 13 will result in the blast of gas forcing the label direct-14 ly toward the 'article to be labeled. For example, if the surface to be labeled is horizontal, the label receiver 16 ~ace is preferably horizontal in the extended position.

17 This means that the label receiver face will be non-18 horizontal in the retracted position.

19 ~ The invention, together with fuxther features and advantages thexeo~ may best be understood by refer-21 ence'to the'following description taken in connection 22 with the accompanying illustrative drawings. ' 2~L ' BRIEF 'DESCRIP'TION' OF' THE DR~WINGS
25 ~ ;
26 ~ FIgu 1 is a partially schematic side eleva-27 tional view of a label applicator constructed in accor-28 dance with'the 'teachings of this invention and being 29 ~utilized to apply labels to articles. In Fig~ 1, the 3Q label receiver is in the retracted position.
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, ~ -4-~6~

1 Fig. 2 is a view similar to Fig. 1 with the label receiver being in the extended position.
Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the label re-ceiver and the associated structure for mounting and pivoting the label receiver.
Fig. 4 is a plan view with parts broken awa~
~ of one form~of label receiver and pivot arm which can 8 be used with this inventlon.

~ DESCRIPTION OF TEE PREPEPRED EMBODIMENT

~; 12 Fig. 1 shows a label applicator 11 which gen-13 erally comprises a supporting structure 13, a label re--. . ~ ~ . .
14 ceiver 15,~a label dispenser 17 and a pneumatic linear 1~ actuator 19 for pivoting khe label receiver between a 1~ retracted position shown in ~ig. 1 and an extended posi-tion shown in Fi~. 2. The supporting structure 13, which 18 may be o~ essentially conventional construction, includes 19 a support plate 21 ~ Various forms of label dispensers can be util-21 ized to sequentially supply labels to the label receiver 22 15, and the dispenser 17 is merely illustrative. The 23 dispenser 17 is adapted to be used with labels 23 which 24 are releasably adhered to a web or backing strip 25 by an adhesive. The dispenser 17 includes a supply reel 27 Z6 rotatably mounted on the supporting structure 1~ and car-27 rying a row o~ the labels 23, a take-up reel 29 rotatably 28 mounted on the supporting ~tructure 13, a drive roller 31 29 or driving the web 25 from the supply reel to the take-up reel, a suitable number of idler rollers 33 and a 1 peeler bar 35 mounted on the supporting structure.

5_ : . :

9~l6 1 The peeler bar 35 has a peeler bar face 37 and 2 a peeling edge 39, and the we~ 25 is pulled in sequence 3 across the face 37 and the peeling edge 39 so as to re-~ move the labels 23 from the web 25 in a well-known ; ~ manner. Although the label applicator 11 could be ar-ranged in various different orientations, in the embodi-^ ment illustrated, the peeler bar face 37 is inclined with .
~ 8 respect to the horizon-tal, such as at a 22 1/2 degree . .:
9 -angle.~ ~

10~ Although the label receiver l5 can be of vari-11 ous different constructions, in the embodiment il].ustrat- - ~-12 ed,~ it includes a bod~ section 41 (Figs~ 1 and 4) having 13 a recess therein and a cover plate 43 suitably attached 14 to the body section as by screws 44 and defining there-with a cavity 45. The cover plate 43 includes pas.sage .16 means in the Form o~ a plurality of openlngs or passages 17 47 (Fig. 4) which extend completely through the cover :: ! ' .. 18 plate and open at a label receiver face 4~. The body 19 section 41 has a central opening 49 of larger diameter ~ 1 than the passages 47 which also leads to -the cavity.45.

. ~ ~ 21 The opening 49 is coupled by means of a conduit 51 ~Fig.
:: .
22 3~ to sourcAs of fIuid under preSAUre 53 and a source of 23 vacuum 55 through a selector 57. The selector 57 alter-: /, , .
. 24 nately couples the opening 49 to the sources 53 and 55 in a well~known manner so that the cavity 45 and hence .: , ~ 26 the passages ~7 can seIectively provide vacuum pressure .
27 to retain one of.the labels 23 on the cover plate 43 or :~ 28 fluid under pressure to trans~er the label from the cov-2~ er plate. Alternatively, the cavity 45 can be sub~ected to pressure and vacuum conditions through separate ;: 31 connections to the label receiver 15 or in the manner 32 : disclosed in Reich U.S. Patent No. 3,093,528.
. ~ ~. ,.
: 6 1 The label receiver lS is mounted on the support 2 plate 21 for pivotal movement by a pivot arm. Although 3 the pivot arm 59 can be of different constructions~ in 4 the ambodiment illustrated, it includes a yoke 60 and -the body section 41 which have a pair of legs 62 and 64, re-6 spectively, which are joined by one o:r more screws 61.
The pi~ot arm 59 is pivotally mounted on a channel 63 ~ 8 which is suitably mounted on the support plate 21 by a 9 bracket 65. As shown in FigO lo a shaft 66 mounts the ' '~ ! . '' .. :. ' . ; . ' ' - , ;' 10 pivot arm 59 at the yoke 60 for pivotal movement about a ' 11 pivot axis 67, and.porti~ns of the pivot arm 59 lie on op-..12 posite sides. of the pivot axis 67 to define lever arms 69 i~.; 13 and 71, respectively.
., .
14 ~ The .actuator 19 includes a rod 73 tFlgs. 1 and 3) which is pivotally attached to the lever arm 71 by a pin 16 .75. The actuator.l9 also includes a housing 77 which is 17 pivotally mounted by a sha.~t 79 to a pair of bracke-ts 81 18 which are in turn ri~idIy attached to the bracket 65 by 19 screws 82. This enables the actuator 19 to extend to thereby retract the label receiver 15 to the position of 21 Fig. 1 and to retract to move the label receiver to the 22 extended position of Fig. 2.

23 In the retracted position of Fig~ 1, an extension 2~ of one of the legs 62 o~ the yoke 60 engages a resilient stop in the form of a resi~ient pad 83 which is adjustably 26 coupled to a ~ixed arm 85 carried by the bracket 65, by an 27 adjusting screw 87 and dowels 89. This provides some ad-28 justment in the location of the label recelver 15 in the 29 retracted position. In the orientation illustrated, in the~retracted position, the label receiver face 48 is in-31 clined from the horizontal at about 7 1/2 degrees and in 32 the extended position, the face 48 ls horizontal.

~ The label applicator 11 is adapted to rapidly 2 apply labels to the upper surfaces of articles 91 convey-3 ed through a labeling station immediately beneath the la-4 bel receiver 15 by a conveyor 93. I:n use, the actuator 6 19 normall~ holds the label receiver 15 in the extended : 6 position shown in Fig. 2. A previously dispensed label ~ 23 is held on the cover plate 43 by vacuum pressure pro-8 vided to the passages 47 via the cavity 45, the central ~ 9 opening 49, the conduit 51 and the vacuum source 55. In : ~ lQ the extended position, the label receiver face 48 is hori~
: 11 zontal and parallel to the upper surface of the axticle .
~ .~ 12 ~91 on which the label is to be app~ied.
.. ~, . .
; . .: 13 As one o~ the articles 91 approaches the label-14 ing station, its pxesence is sensed in a conventional .~. 15 manner by a sensor 95 whereupon the selector 57 provides 16 communicatlon between the source of pressure 53 and the 17 . cavity 45 of the label receiver to consequently blow the 18 label 23 from the label receiver face 48 onto the upper : ' ' 19 surface of the article 91 at the labeling station. The 20. label recei~ver does not mechanically press the label 23 21. against the article 91. The transfer of the label 23 to 22 the article is accomplished entirely by the blast of air.
23 A~ter a predetermined time period, the actuator 19 is 24 automatically energized to pivot the label receiver lS
in the opposite direction about the pivot axis 67 to re-26 turn the label receiver to the retracted position. As 27 soon as the retracted position lS reached, the label 28 dispenser 17 automatically dispenses a new label 23 on-29 to the label receiver 15, and the a~tuator 19 again pi-vots the labe$ receiver to the extended.position of Fig.
. -. 32 ..

: ~ -8-9~6 1 2 to await the arrival of another article 91 at the la-2 beling stati.on. The label applicator of this invention 3 can label randomly spaced articles, and accordingly, the 4 period of dwell of the label receiver 15 in the extended position is a function of the spacing between articles ~ 91. Thus~ the rate of oscillation of the label receiver 7 is a function of article spacing and speed. The length 8 of movement of the label receiver 15 in moving to.the ex-9 tended position is sufficient to break any label strings, .~ 10 .to provide physical clearance ~rom the peeler bar 35, and . .
o move the label receivar face ~8 quite close to the up-lZ per surface of the article to be labeled at the labeling 13 station.
14 Although the upper surace of the articles 91 is recessed in the form shown in Figs. 1 and 2, this is 16 purely illustrative as the surface to be labeled need 17 not ~e racessed. The controls for sequencing the move-18 ments of the label applicator 11 are conventional, and 19 the seguence of operation may be varied by those having ordinary skill in the label applicator art.
21 Although an exemplary embodiment of the inven-22 tion has been shown and described, many changes, modifi-23 cations and substitutions may be made by one having or-24 dinary skill in the art without necessarily departing from the spirit and scope of this invention.

1 ~ ~
~ 28 ,: 29 , .: , , :
j ~; 31 ~ 32 _ g _

Claims

THE EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION IN WHICH AN EXCLUSIVE
PROPERTY OR PRIVILEGE IS CLAIMED ARE DEFINED AS FOLLOWS:

1. A label applicator comprising:
a supporting structure;
a label receiver;
means for mounting said label receiver on the supporting structure for movement in both directions about a pivot axis between a retracted position and an extended position;
label dispensing means for supplying at least one label to the label receiver when the label receiver is in said retracted position;
said label receiver including means for releas-ably retaining the label supplied to the label receiver by the label dispensing means;
means for moving said label receiver in both directions about said pivot axis between said retracted position and said extended position; and passage means in said label receiver for trans-mitting a blast of gas to the label on the label receiver at least when the label receiver is in the extended posi-tion to transfer the label on the label receiver to an article.

2. A label applicator as defined in claim 1 wherein said moving means moves a shorter distance than the central region of the label receiver when the label receiver travels between said positions thereof.

3. A label applicator as defined in claim 1 wherein the mounting means includes a pivot arm mounted on the supporting structure for pivotal movement about said pivot axis, said label receiver being carried by the pivot arm.

4. A label applicator as defined in claim 3 wherein the moving means includes a drive member driving-ly coupled to the pivot arm at a location spaced from the pivot axis such that said location moves a shorter dis-tance than the central region of the label receiver when the label receiver travels between said positions thereof.

5. A label applicator as defined in claims 1 or 4 wherein a mass is pivoted as the label receiver is pivoted between said positions thereof with portions of said mass lying on opposite sides of said pivot axis whereby the inertia of said mass is less than if the mass were entirely on one side of the pivot axis.

6. A label applicator as defined in claim 4 wherein a mass is pivoted as the label receiver is pivoted between said positions thereof with portions of said mass lying on opposite sides of said pivot axis whereby the inertia of said mass is less than if the mass were entirely on one side of the pivot axis and the pivot axis extends generally through the center of said mass.

7. A label applicator as defined in claim 1 wherein the label applicator is adapted to apply labels supplied on a strip, said label dispensing means includes a peeler bar mounted on the supporting structure and hav-ing a peeler bar face and a peeling edge, said label dis-pensing means including means for moving the strip across the peeler bar face and then over the peeling edge to re-move labels from the strip, said peeler bar face being inclined with respect to the horizontal, said label re-ceiver having a face with said passage means terminating in said face, said label receiver face being generally horizontal in the extended position.

8. A label applicator as defined in claim 1 or 4 wherein the label receiver has a face with said passage means terminating in said face, said face being generally horizontal in the extended position and non-horizontal in the retracted position.

9. A label applicator as defined in claim 1 wherein said label receiver includes an enclosure having first and second generally opposite wall portions, said passage means includes a plurality of openings in said first wall portion, said second wall portion having a central aperture therein communicating with said openings through said enclosure, said aperture being adapted to be coupled to a source of gas under pressure and a vacuum source whereby the labels can be selectively releasably retained on the label receiver and transferred from the label receiver.

10. A label applicator as defined in claim 1 including resilient stop means for at least assisting in defining the retracted position of the label receiver.

11. A label applicator as defined in claim 3 wherein the moving means includes a linear actuator driv-ingly coupled to the supporting structure and to the pi-vot arm at a location spaced from the pivot axis.

12. A method for supplying a label to a sur-face of an article comprising:
moving the article to be labeled through a la-bel applying station;
providing a label receiver having a label re-ceiving face and passage means opening at said face;
supplying a label to a label receiving face of the label receiver when the label receiver is in a first position;
applying reduced pressure to the passage means of the label receiver which is sufficient to releasably retain the label on the label receiving face of the la-bel receiver;
pivoting the label receiver in one direction about a pivot axis from the first position toward the la-bel applying station to a label applying position in which the label receiving face of the label receiver is spaced from the article as the article is moved through the la-bel applying station, the label receiving face of the label receiver being substantially closer to the article in the label applying position than in the first position when the article is moved through the label applying station;
applying a blast of gas through the passage means of the label receiver and against the label on the label receiving face of the label receiver to remove the label from the label receiving face when the label re-ceiver is in the extended position and to transfer the label to the surface of the article at the labeling sta-tion without pressing the label against the article with the label receiver; and pivoting the label receiver in a second direc-tion about said pivot axis to the first position, said second direction being opposite to the first direction whereby the label receiver moves in both directions about said pivot axis.