GB1603581A

GB1603581A - Label applicators

Info

Publication number: GB1603581A
Application number: GB116078A
Authority: GB
Original assignee: Norprint Ltd
Current assignee: Norprint Ltd
Priority date: 1978-01-12
Filing date: 1978-01-12
Publication date: 1981-11-25

Description

(54) IMPROVEMENTS IN OR RELATING TO LABEL APPLICATORS (71) We, NORPRINT LIMITED, a British Company of Horncastle Road, Boston, Lincolnshire, do hereby declare the invention, for which we pray that a patent may be granted us, and the method by which it is to be performed, to be particularly described in and by the following statement: This invention relates to label applicators for use, for example, in applying price labels to articles sold in retail establishments.

Numerous label applicators have been proposed and are in use which are operated manually and which serve to print and dispense a label by actuation of the applicator. The labels used in such applicators have a layer of self-adhesive medium on one face and the labels are held together to form a web by a backing strip of paper treated with a release agent such as a silicone.

Many previously proposed applicators and applicators in use involve a trigger-like action in order to effect their working cycle.

While label applicators which use a trigger or similar squeeze action on an actuating member are satisfactory for many purposes, their use may involve some difficulty for the user when the articles to be labelled are contained in a box or other large container so that the edges of the box tend to interfere with the application of labels to articles which are adjacent to the walls of the box.

To overcome the difficulties, it has already been proposed to provide a label applicator which operates with a straightforward stamp impression action similar to that required for a conventional date stamp, the operation of such applicators involving movement of an actuating member by way of a plunging action to cause the necessary operating cycle of the applicator. The action involved may be likened to that of a pogo-stick but the previously proposed applicators have not found favour in use because of their complex construction and often a substantial lateral bulk prevents their use in the circumstances referred to above where obstruction hinders or prevents application of labels to an article.

According to the present invention there is provided apparatus for dispensing individual labels from a web of labels including a backing strip and a series of labels mounted on the backing strip, said apparatus comprising in succession along a web path through the apparatus, reel mounting means for carrying a reel of the said web, brake means for applying a braking force to the web, a rotary registration device, dispensing means at which individual labels can be peeled from the backing strip, a take-up reel for taking up spent backing strip, and means for synchronously actuating the registration device and the take-up reel to index the web through the apparatus and dispense a label at the dispensing means.

Further according to the present invention, there is provided apparatus for printing and dispensing labels from a label web including an adhesive-repellant backing strip and a series of rectangular, pressuresensitive adhesive coated labels on one face thereof, said apparatus comprising a frame, an elongate actuating member slidable relatively to the frame and having actuating means spaced along its length, web-carrying reel means mounted on the frame, take-up reel carrying means mounted on the frame for receiving spent backing strip, and in sequence along the web path from the web-carrying reel means to the take-up carrying reel means, a web brake, a rotary triangular prism label registration device having areas corresponding in size to that of an individual label, a printing mechanism arranged to print a label when on a printing platen which also forms a dispense edge, and means for guiding the spent backing strip to the take-up reel, said actuating member being arranged to actuate synchro nously through the actuating means thereof said registration device, the take-up reel carrying means and the printing mechanism so that operations to print and dispense a label occur in a forward stroke of the elongate actuating member and parts of the apparatus are returned to their respective rest positions during the return stroke of the apparatus.

An embodiment of a hand-held label applicator in accordance with the invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying diagrammatic drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a side elevation of the handheld label applicator in accordance with the invention in a first, rest, configuration; Figure 2 is a side elevation of the applicator similar to that of Figure 1 but showing parts of the applicator in a second configuration when printing of a label is about to occur; Figure 3 is a side elevation showing a detail of the applicator of Figure 1 and 2 with parts shown as in the configuration of Figure 1; and Figure 4 is a side elevation of the detail of Figure 3 but with the parts in a configuration when the label web is being indexed forward.

Referring now to the drawings and in particular to Figure 1, the applicator comprises a plate frame 10 which carries in a groove thereof a rectilinear, elongate, slide member 12 held on the frame for sliding motion by a bridge member 14 and carrying at its upper end a knob or handle 16. The slide member 12 carries a strip cam member 18 with a notch 19. All the working parts of the applicator are carried on one face of the frame 10. The latter can therefore serve as a part of an external casing, not otherwise shown.

The generally elongate frame 10 carries near its upper end (as shown) web-carrying reel means in the form of a reel mounting 20 on which a reel of label web 21 is mounted and also carries on the opposite side of the frame 10 take-up reel carrying means in the form of a take-up reel mounting 22 incorporating two one-way clutches. The mounting 22 serves to carry the spent backing strip of the label web reel 21 and even when carrying its full length of backing strip has a maximum diameter substantially less than the full diameter of the fresh web reel.

For convenience other parts of the applicator will now be described as they are encountered along the label web path.

Starting from the full, web, reel 21, the label web 24 passes around brake means in the form of a part-circular leaf spring 25 supported on a member 26 screwed to the frame. One end portion of the leaf spring 25 abuts a rotary registration device in the form of a prismatic capstan 28 and the other end portion of the leaf spring serves to prevent snatch from the label web reel 21 when the applicator is actuated. The curvature of the leaf spring is selected to avoid any risk that labels will become detached from the backing strip as the web moves along the surface of the spring.

The label web is made up of a longitudinal series of rectangular labels (or labels of parallelogram shape) separated from one another by a groove which does not, however, extend right through the thickness of the paper. The lengths of sides of the capstan 28 are precisely matched to the distances between the grooves of the label web. A conventional backing strip of siliconetreated paper is employed.

After leaving the capstan 28, the label web 24 passes round a roller 30 adjacent the bottom end of the frame 10 and the roller is freely mounted for rotation thereon. Thereafter, the web passes over and around dispensing means in the form of a dispense edge member (of conventional form) 32 which also serves as a printing platen and the spent backing strip 31 after peeling and detachment of the labels then passes around a further roller 34 freely rotatably mounted at the lower end of the frame adjacent the roller 30, around a freely-rotatable roller 36 mounted just below the re-wind reel mounting 22 and finally is taken up on the re-wind reel adjacent the upper end of the frame.

The capstan 28 is illustrated as having three sides, but other numbers of sides can be used in which case it may be necessary to change the angles of the grooves in the labels. Instead of a capstan as illustrated other rotary members can be used, provided they define sides corresponding to one label pitch.

The web is driven by actuation of the handle 16 in a downwards direction through a Torrington one-way clutch within the reel mounting 22 (not shown) and through the intermediary of a quadrant 38 acting on the re-wind reel spindle. The quadrant 38 is subject to the action of a tension spring 37 (Figures 3 and 4) extending between a post 39 on the quadrant and a post 35 on the strip cam member 18. The return stroke of the quadrant 38 cannot drive the Torrington one-way clutch because of the incorporation of a second Torrington one-way clutch (not shown) acting upon the spindle (not shown) of the take-up reel 22.

The applicator incorporates a print head 40 which comprises a frame 42 carrying a plurality of bands 44 with print facets and also positive, read-out, facets and is mounted on the frame 10 by means of two pillars 41,43 which are so disposed that the print head 40 as a whole is inclined at an angle to the length of the slide member 12.

The frame of the print head carries a pivotal latch 45 and the print head 40 is subjected to the biasing action of a tension spring (not shown) connected between a pin on the frame and the latch 45. The print head 40 is driven by the slide member 12 through a pin 47 and the latch 45. Because of-the diverging angle between the slide member 12 and the print head 40, the pin 47 disengages the latch 45 immediately a label has been printed. On the return stroke of the slide member the latch 45 pivots to avoid the pin 47 but the latch is returned to its position, as shown, by its biasing spring (not shown).

The inking of the operative facets of the print head 40 under any given adjustment is effected by an ink roller 48 mounted on an arm 50 pivoted to the frame 10. The arm, and hence the roller, are connected by a spring (not shown) to the pillar 43 which also serves to mount the lower end of the print head frame 42. The roller 48 is so disposed under the action of the biasing spring and a stop (not shown) that the operative facets of the print head act to displace the inking roller as the head moves downwardly and in so doing provides a layer of ink on those facets.

The applicator includes an applying pad 54 of soft rubber or plastics attached to the slide member 12 by a bracket (not shown) spanning the print head 40 and the slide member 12 and the pad is hollow so that when used to apply a label to an article the printed characters will not be smeared or smudged. The soft rubber of the pad 54 enables it to conform to the local contour of an article being labelled. The frame 10 also carries a foot 56 which defines a sufficient area to ensure that the applicator will be steady when resting on the surface about to receive a label. The foot 56 is provided with an aperture (not shown) through which the label just printed can be applied to the article and the aperture of the foot thus provides a sight-frame so that the precise location and orientation of a label can be predicted before a label is actually, applied.

The return stroke of the slide member is energized by a spring (not shown) acting between the post 35 and the post 51 on the bridge member 14.

The operation of the applicator will now be described. Essentially, the operation takes place in the manner of a simple impression stamp, such as a date stamp, the only additional action being the pressure required to displace the slide member 12 longitudinally with respect to the frame 10.

Before the handle is depressed, the foot 56 at the lower end of the frame is placed in a desired location on an article if the precise location is critical and again, if desired, the precise orientation of the label when applied can be predetermined. It is not, however, essential to make use of the sighting properties of the foot if high speed of operation is essential. In the latter event the foot 56 merely serves to steady the applicator. One particular advantage of the applicator in accordance with the invention is that a label is fed forward from the reel, printed, dispensed and positively applied to an article during one half of the stroke of the applicator only, the second half of the stroke merely serving to return the various operative parts to the rest configuration (Figure 1) preparatory to the feeding, printing and application of the next label.

During the first part of the stroke, the print head 40 is operated by engagement of the pin 47 carried by the slide member 12 on the latch 45 of the print head 40 and the stroke of the print head ceases when the operative print facets contact a label on the platen 32 about to be dispensed but still adhered to the backing strip. The return stroke of the print head is effected by the tension spring acting between the posts 41 and the pivot of the latch 45. The inking roller 48 in the rest configuration lies in the path of the operative print facets and is pushed out of the way and at the same time inks these facets just before the printing action occurs. The facets are re-inked as the print head carries out its return stroke since the ink-roller is spring biased to the position shown in Figure 1.

Again, during the first part of the stroke of the slide member 12, the quadrant 38 acting on the re-wind reel mounting is energized by the tension spring acting between the posts 35 and 35 to turn and is restrained only by the web which is engaged by the capstan 28 and as the slide member 12 continues to move downwards the capstan which is initially prevented from turning by the strip cam member 18 is finally released to rotate through one third of a turn as it engages in the notch 19 in one side of the strip cam member 19. The capstan thereby causes the web 24 to move forward through the pitch of one label and under the action of the quadrant spring the re-wind reel is turned sufficiently to take up the slack in the backing strip 31 corresponding to the label pitch.

In other words, the means (slide member 12) for actuating the registration device and the take-up reel serves to apply a tension to the spent web (backing strip 31) on the take up reel sufficient to advance the web through the apparatus in co-operation with the forces applied to the web by the registration device itself.

At this part of the stroke the label is projecting partially from the dispense edge and platen member 32 and the remainder of the forward stroke is taken up by applying the pressure pad 54 which moves with the main slide and this presses the label firmly on the article at the end of the stroke of the slide member 12.

Immediately pressure on the handle is released it moves upwardly under the action of the return spring assisted by the tension spring acting on the quadrant. During this return stroke the latch 45 of the print head is pushed aside by the pin 47 at the lower end of the slide member 12 and is thus reset for the next operation. The upper edge of the strip cam member 18 returned the quadrant 38 to the position shown in Figure 1 where the upper edge of the quadrant abuts the bridge member 14.

Under these conditions the quadrant member 38 is in a neutral position and does not act to move the backing strip 31 on the re-wind reel. As the re-wind reel increases.

in diameter, it follows that each label pitch represents a lesser arcuate movement so that the spring 37 is extended further and gives the required increased tension for an appropriate increase in diameter of the re-wind reel.

In the applicator hereinbefore described the fresh label web reel and the take-up reel are mounted for rotation on parallel axes.

By providing a label web with labels of rhomboidal or parallelogram shape it becomes possible to mount the reels side-byside on the same or substantially the same axis. This will enable the cross-section of the applicator to be more compact and thus give even easier access to articles lying close to obstructions. In such a modification the dispense edge member must be appropriately angled.

WHAT WE CLAIM IS: 1. Apparatus for dispensing individual labels from a web of labels including a backing strip and a series of labels mounted on the backing strip, said apparatus comprising in succession along a web path through the apparatus, reel mounting means for carrying a reel of the said web, brake means for applying a braking force to the web, a rotary registration device, dispensing means at which individual labels can be peeled from the backing strip, a take-up reel for taking up spent backing strip, and means for synchronously actuating the registration device and the take-up reel to index the web through the apparatus and dispense a label at the dispensing means.

2. Apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the registration device comprises a member rotatable in steps by the actuating means and defining a plurality of areas corresponding to the number of steps for one complete revolution, the dimension of each area corresponding to the length direction of the web being equal to the length dimension of each said label.

3. Apparatus according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the brake means cooperates with the registration device to apply the web to the registration device.

4. Apparatus according to claim 1, claim 2 or claim 3, wherein the means for actuating the registration device and the take-up reel comprises a member which serves to apply a tension to the spent web on the take-up reel sufficient to advance the web through the apparatus in co-operation with the forces applied to the web by the registration device itself.

5. Apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the brake means comprises a resilient member of arcuate form.

6. Apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the means for actuating the registration device and the take-up reel comprises a one-way clutch associated with the take-up reel.

7. Apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the actuating means comprises an elongate rectilinear member carrying means which serve during a forward stroke of the actuating means to effect indexing and dispensing of a label, the return stroke serving only to re-position the operative parts ready for the next operating cycle.

8. Apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims comprising printing means actuable by the said actuating means and disposed to print a label on a printing platen disposed immediately adjacent the dispensing means.

9. Apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims comprising pad means for applying pressure to a dispensed label immediately after dispensing and actuable by the said actuating means.

10. Apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the mounting means of the web reel and mounting means of the take-up reel have respective axes substantially in line with one another.

11. Apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims comprising sighting means whereby a dispensed label can be applied to a predetermined location.

12. Apparatus for printing and dispensing labels from a label web including an adhesive-repellant backing strip and a series of rectangular, pressure-sensitive adhesive coated labels on one face thereof, said apparatus comprising a frame, an elongate actuating member slidable relatively to the frame and having actuating means spaced along its length, web-carrying reel means mounted on the frame, take-up reel carrying means mounted on the frame for receiving spent backing strip, and in sequence along the web path from the web-carrying reel means to the take-up carrying reel means, a web brake, a rotary triangular prism label

**WARNING** end of DESC field may overlap start of CLMS **.

Claims

**WARNING** start of CLMS field may overlap end of DESC **. main slide and this presses the label firmly on the article at the end of the stroke of the slide member 12. Immediately pressure on the handle is released it moves upwardly under the action of the return spring assisted by the tension spring acting on the quadrant. During this return stroke the latch 45 of the print head is pushed aside by the pin 47 at the lower end of the slide member 12 and is thus reset for the next operation. The upper edge of the strip cam member 18 returned the quadrant 38 to the position shown in Figure 1 where the upper edge of the quadrant abuts the bridge member 14. Under these conditions the quadrant member 38 is in a neutral position and does not act to move the backing strip 31 on the re-wind reel. As the re-wind reel increases. in diameter, it follows that each label pitch represents a lesser arcuate movement so that the spring 37 is extended further and gives the required increased tension for an appropriate increase in diameter of the re-wind reel. In the applicator hereinbefore described the fresh label web reel and the take-up reel are mounted for rotation on parallel axes. By providing a label web with labels of rhomboidal or parallelogram shape it becomes possible to mount the reels side-byside on the same or substantially the same axis. This will enable the cross-section of the applicator to be more compact and thus give even easier access to articles lying close to obstructions. In such a modification the dispense edge member must be appropriately angled. WHAT WE CLAIM IS:

1. Apparatus for dispensing individual labels from a web of labels including a backing strip and a series of labels mounted on the backing strip, said apparatus comprising in succession along a web path through the apparatus, reel mounting means for carrying a reel of the said web, brake means for applying a braking force to the web, a rotary registration device, dispensing means at which individual labels can be peeled from the backing strip, a take-up reel for taking up spent backing strip, and means for synchronously actuating the registration device and the take-up reel to index the web through the apparatus and dispense a label at the dispensing means.

registration device having areas corresponding in size to that of an individual label, a printing mechanism arranged to print a label when on a printing platen which also forms a dispense edge and means for guiding the spent backing strip to the take-up reel, said actuating member being arranged to actuate synchronously through the actuating means thereof said registration device, the take-up reel carrying means and the printing mechanism so that operations to print and dispense a label occur in a forward stroke of the elongate actuating member and parts of the apparatus are returned to their respective rest positions during the return stroke of the apparatus.

13. Apparatus for dispensing labels substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.