GB2336580A

GB2336580A - Labelling articles on a conveyor

Info

Publication number: GB2336580A
Application number: GB9909272A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Keefe Mccarthy; Peter Roman; Peter John Woolls
Original assignee: SOVEREIGN LABELLING SYS Ltd
Current assignee: SOVEREIGN LABELLING SYS Ltd
Priority date: 1998-04-25
Filing date: 1999-04-23
Publication date: 1999-10-27
Anticipated expiration: 2019-04-23
Also published as: GB2336580B; GB9909272D0

Abstract

A labelling station for applying labels to articles transported on a conveyor comprises means 36 for supporting a label supply roll 34 in the same vertical plane as the conveyor 12 with its axis horizontal and transverse to the direction of movement of the conveyor 12. A transfer mechanism is provided having two members 26 that are constrained to move along an endless path and that each engage a respective one of the lateral edges of the labels 16 for transferring the labels 16, one at a time, from the label supply roll 34 to the articles 10 on the conveyor 12, each article 10 passing between the label engaging members 26 of the transfer mechanism after a label has been applied to it. The transfer mechanism may comprise pairs of rotary arms 20 or a pair of laterally-spaced endless belts (44, Figures 3-6). Suction may be used to hold the labels on pads 26 of the arms 20 or on the belts (44). The label may be applied to the leading face of the advancing article or to its trailing face, Figures 9 and 10. The label supply roll 34 may be located above or below the conveyor 12.

Description

ARTICLE LA ELLING MACHINE AND METHOD

Field of the invention

2336580 The present invention relates to the automated application of adhesive labels to articles while they are being transported on a conveyor.

Background of the invention

It is known to apply a label to an article, such as a bottle, while it is being conveyed by a conveyor by placing an adhesive label in the path of the bottle.

Hitherto, the labels have been supplied on a roll with their sides longer sides lying parallel to the side edges of the carrier web. The roll is supported to one side of the conveyor with its axis vertical. The web is passed over a dispensing blade and bent through an acute angle over a vertical edge of the blade to cause the label to separate from its web. While one end of the label is still supported on its carrier web, its other end is thrust forward into the path an article on the conveyor belt. After the label has adhered to an article, it is separated entirely from its carrier web and is wiped down onto the sides of the article, for example by means of stationary rollers or brushes.

A disadvantage of such a design is that the location of the label supply roll to one side of the conveyor is inconvenient. Furthermore because of the orientation of the labels on the supply roll, the number of labels that can be carried on a supply roll of a given diameter is reduced. A still further disadvantage is that because the labels are only held at one end while positioned in the path of an article, there is a practical limit to the length of the label can be reliably applied to an article in this way.

- 2 Summary of the invention

With a view to mitigating the foregoing disadvantages, the present invention provides a labelling station for applying labels to articles transported on a conveyor, which comprises means for supporting a label supply roll in the same vertical plane as the conveyor with it axis horizontal and transverse to the direction of movement of the conveyor and a transfer mechanism having two members that are constrained to move along an endless path and that each engage a respective one of the lateral edges of the labels for transferring the labels, one at a time, from the label supply roll to the articles on the conveyor, each article passing between the label engaging members of the transfer mechanism after a label has been applied thereto.

The transfer mechanism may place each label in the path of an article on the conveyor, so that the label is picked up by the article as it passes the transfer mechanism.

Alternatively, the transfer mechanism may transport the label to approach the articles from the rear while trav elling at higher speed than the articles, the label on the transfer mechanism being applied to the article as the transfer mechanism overtakes the article.

Conveniently, the transfer mechanism may comprise a pair of pads mounted on two arms that are rotatable about an axis located above the conveyor. The pads may be suitably connected to a suction pump so as to hold the label in place by suction.

To apply a label to the pads from the supply roll, the labelling station may further comprise a stationary platen connected to a section pump located along the circular path of the pads and means for dispensing labels from the supply roll onto the platen. If the labels are self-adhesive labels carried on a web, then they may be removed from the web by bending the web over a sharp horizontal sharp edge.

Alternatively, the transfer mechanism may comprise a pair of belts arranged one on each side of the conveyor and means for dispensing labels from the supply roll onto the belts.

If the labels are self-adhesive labels carried on a continuous support web, the means for dispensing the labels from the supply roll need only bend the web of the supply roll over a horizontal sharp edge.

In one embodiment of the invention, the labels are applied to the belts with the adhesive side of the labels facing the belts and the belts are made of, or coated with, a material to which the labels can only adhere weakly.

In alternative embodiment, the labels are applied to the belts with the adhesive side of the labels facing away the belts and the labels are retained on the belts my suction.

It is possible to use a labelling station of the present invention not only to apply labels to the upright surfaces of an article but also across its top surface. Thus the invention can be used, for example, to apply a label seal across the top of a container to provide a visual indication that the container has not been opened. This can be achieved if the pads are mounted on two arms that straddle the articles on the conveyor and are rotatable about a common axis that lies level with or below the tops of the articles on the conveyor. The arms can be driven in unison with one another by means of two separate belt drives that extend up to a common drive shaft lying above the tops of the articles.

4 Brief description of the drawings

The invention will now be described further, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a schematic view of a labelling station in accordance with a first embodiment of the invention, Figure 2 is a schematic perspective view of the embodiment shown in Figure 1, Figures 3 and 4 are views similar to Figures 1 and 2, respectively, of a second embodiment of the invention, Figures 5 and 6 are views similar to Figures 1 and 2, respectively, of a third embodiment of the invention, Figure 7 is a schematic perspective view of a fourth embodiment of the invention, Figure 8 is a schematic perspective view of a further embodiment of the invention designed to apply label seals across the tops of articles, Figure 9 is a perspective view of an article labelling station located above a conveyor, and Figure 10 is a schematic side elevation showing the continuous path of the label carrying suction pads and the synchronisation of the movements of the pads with the movement of the articles supported on the conveyor.

Detailed description of the preferred embodiments

Throughout the description relating to Figures 1 to 8, in order to avoid unnecessary repetition, like reference 30 numerals have been used to designate like components.

In Figures 1 and 2, articles 10 are carried on a conveyor 12 and moved in the direction of the arrow 14. The articles are plastics milk bottles that are shown in full in Figure 1 and represented only schematically in Figure 2. The articles 10 may either be placed on the conveyor 12 by means of a product pitching feed screw so that they travel along the conveyor a predetermined distance apart, or their distance apart may vary. Before reaching the labelling station shown in the drawings, the bottles will have passed through the various stations of a bottling machine including the filling station, where a measured quantity of milk is introduced into the bottles and the sealing station where lids are fitted to the bottles. Once the bottles have been labelled, they are ready to be removed from the conveyor and palletised.

In known machines, labels are supplied on a roll that is mounted to one side of the conveyor for rotation about a vertical axis. The labels are peeled from the roll, one at a time, by passing the support web over a sharp vertical edge of a dispensing blade. The label that is partly separated from its support web is thrust forward into the path of the articles 10 on the conveyor 12. When an article moves forward, it adheres to the label and it separates the label totally from its support web.

By contrast, in Figures 1 and 2, the roll 34 is supported on a bearing 36 above the conveyor, with its axis horizontal and transverse to the direction of movement of the conveyor 12. The web 30 is passed over the sharp horizontal edge of a dispensing blade 32 to separate the labels 16 from the support web. The labels are removed individually and pushed by the peeling action of the dispensing blade 32 on to a platen 28 that is connected to a suction pump.

A transfer mechanism comprises two arms 20 that are mounted on a hub 18 for rotation about a horizontal axis lying above the conveyor 12 and extending transversely thereto. The arms 20 carry at their ends two suction pads 26 that travel through a circle shown by a chain dotted line 38 in Figure 1. As they pass the platen 28, the suctions pads 26 pick up a label. In this respect, it should be noted that both ends of the label 16 extend laterally beyond the platen 28 into the path of the pads 26 and the transfer of the label from the platen 29 to the pads 26 may be assisted pneumatically or by arranging for the friction between the pads 26 and the label 16 to exceed the friction between the label 16 and the platen 28.

A label is picked up from the plate 28 with its adhesive side up, as viewed in Figure 1, and with counter clockwise rotation of the arms 20, the label is brought into the path of the bottle 10. The label is held stationary in that position by the pads 26 which hold it at both ends, until the article 10 runs into it. At that time, the centre of the label adheres to the article 10 and its ends slide off the pads 26. The ends are wiped down on to the sides of the article in the conventional manner, using stationary rollers or brushes.

In this embodiment of the invention, the transfer mechanism comprising the hub 18, the arms 20 and the pads 26 can operate either continuously or intermittently. If the articles 10 are placed on the conveyor 12 with a regular pitch, then the arms can rotate continuously, provided that they are synchronised with the conveyor. Alternatively, the transfer mechanism may move to the position illustrated and wait there until an article picks up the label. A sensor detecting an article passing through the labelling station may then activate the transfer mechanism to position the next label in position in readiness of the next article.

Figures 1 and 2 show a transfer mechanism with only two pairs of arms, but it will of course be realised that it may have any desired number of pairs of arms, so long as they to not collide with other articles on the conveyor. The greater the number of pairs of arms, the more quickly the mechanism can be actuated to position a new label in the path of the next article on the conveyor 12.

The embodiments of invention now to be described with reference to Figures 3 to 8 avoid the need for a platen 28 by using endless belts as the transfer mechanism. The labels 16 are placed directly on the endless belts and they are transferred by the belts to a location in the path of movement of the articles 10.

In Figures 3 and 4, the supply roll is not shown but its position and orientation can be deduced from the dispensing blade 32. The supply roll is located above the conveyor 12 with its axis horizontal and at right angles to the direction of movement of the conveyor 12.

Two endless belts 44 are guided over respective rollers 40 and 42 of which at least one is motor driven. Plenum chambers 46 are placed behind the belts and have slots 52 that are aligned with holes 50 in the endless belts 44. The surfaces of the plenum chambers 46 can also be used to guide the run of the belts sliding over them to make them follow other than a straight path.

Embodiments using belts as the transfer mechanism need to operate intermittently to avoid damaging the labels as they are being applied to the article. A label 16 placed on the belts 44 directly from the supply roll is first held in a position out of the path of the articles on the conveyor 12 by suction. When it is to be applied to an article, the belts 44 are moved by a fixed increment to bring the label to the desired position in the path of the article. As previously, the label is then picked up by the article and wiped down by rollers or brushes.

It is common when applying labels to taller articles to provide a guide belt 48 disposed above the articles to steady them. Such a guide belt must terminate before the run of the belts 44 on which the labels are lowered to the level of the articles no the conveyor 12. The application - 8 of a label by placing it in the path of articles on the conveyor does apply a small torque tending to make the articles topple backwards and it is therefore desirable to bring the guide belt 48 as close as possible to the labelling station so that the articles are still steadied by the guide belt when then come into contact with the label. In this respect, it is advantageous to place the roller 42 directly below the guide belt 48 and to incline the belts 44 by shaping the plenum chambers such that the labels 16 can be completely applied to the articles 10 while they are being steadied by the guide belt 48.

The embodiment of Figures 5 and 6 is essentially the same as that of Figures 3 and 4 but the supply roll is located beneath the conveyor rather than above it. The conveyor 12 in this case has two sections 12a and 12b separated by a small gap through which the labels are arranged to pass from below the conveyor into the path of the article on the conveyor. As the guide belt in this case straddled the gap between the two sections of the conveyor, the articles are adequately supported at all times and there is no need to incline or bend the belts 44.

The embodiment of Figure 7 is also generally similar to that of Figure 4, the essential difference being that the labels are placed on the belts 44' adhesive side down rather than up. The labels therefore stick slightly to the belts 44', avoiding the need for a plenum chamber and a suction pump. Instead, the belts 441 are made of (or coated with) a silicone material to which the adhesive can only bond weakly so that they may still slide of the belts 44' when they adhere more firmly to the articles 10.

The embodiment of Figure 8 is generally similar to that of Figure 2 but is designed to apply labels 16 across the tops of the articles rather than to their vertical sides. This embodiment of the invention differs from that of 1 i - 9 Figure 2 in that the arms 20 are rotatable about an axis 64 that is level with or lower than that tops of the articles and apply the label 16 to the article 10 when they are horizontal rather than vertical. of course, if the arms 20 were directly mounted on a hub or a drive shaft in this position, the drive shaft would collide with the articles 10 on the conveyor 12. The problem is avoided however by using two-separate drive belts 60 to connect the arms 20 to a shaft 62 that lies out of the way of the articles on the conveyor 12. Of course, the distance between the axis of rotation of the arms 20 and the shaft 62 must also be sufficiently long to avoid the arms 20 and the suction pads 26 from colliding with the shaft 62.

The embodiment of Figures 9 and 10 differs from the preceding embodiments in that the labels are applied to the read facing side of the articles 110 on the conveyor 112.

This is advantageous in the case of milk bottles having an integral handle as the labels need to face same side as the handle so that they can be ready when the bottles are placed on a shelf.

In Figures 9 and 10, the articles 110 are carried on a conveyor 112 and moved in the direction of the arrow 114.

Though the articles are shown for simplicity as being symmetrical this embodiment is particularly intended for non-symmetrical articles where the label needs to be applied to a particular side of the article. Typical examples of such articles are bottles, such as milk bottles, having a built-in carrying handles, where it is desired to apply the labels beneath the carrying handles.

In the embodiments of Figures 1 to 8, labels are applied to the leading face of the articles as they are transported through the labelling station with the result that after leaving the labelling station the bottles are facing the wrong direction for palletising. To overcome this - problem, in the labelling station shown in Figure 9, the labels 116 are applied to the trailing face of the articles. The advantage of placing the bottles on the conveyor with the handles facing backwards is that after they have been labelled the bottles are facing in the more convenient direction for palletising.

In order to apply the labels to the trailing face of the articles on the conveyor, the labelling station comprises a driven hub 118 driven by a motor or a transmission train in synchronism with the movement of the conveyor. Within the hub 118, there are slidably mounted two arms 120 that rotate with the hub 118. Each arm 120 carries a cam follower that engages in a respective one of two cam tracks 122 formed in two plates 124 that are positioned one on each side of the conveyor 112. The effect of the cam tracks 122 is to cause the arms 120 to reciprocate within the hub 118 in synchronism with their rotation such that label transporting pads 126 mounted on 20 their ends follow the non-circular closed path shown schematically in Figure 10.

During the course of their movement along the path shown in Figure 10, the label transporting pads 126 first pass a label collection platen 128 onto which labels are dispensed individually. The labels are self-adhesive labels carried on a continuous web 130. When the web 130 is bent around a sharp edge defined by a dispensing blade 132, the labels separate from the web and are held temporarily by suction on the collection platen 128 with their adhesive side facing upwards as viewed. The platen 128 has a polished metal surface that allows the labels to slide along it. It is preferred that the surface should be cylindrical to increase the stiffness of the labels while they are supported on the platen 128. The platen 128 is not as wide as the labels 116 so that each label projects laterally from the platen 128 into the path of the pads 126 which pass one 11 - to each side of the collection platen 128 as the arms 120 rotate.

The pads 126 have a rubberised surface and are also connected to a suction pump. As they pass the collection platen 128, the pads 126 grip the label 116 held on the platen 128 and pick it up off the platen 128. While one may be able to rely on the different frictional properties of the pads 126 and the platen 128 to ensure an efficient transfer, the transfer can be assisted pneumatically for example by having higher suction in the pads 126 than in the platen 128 or by temporarily reversing the pressure in the collection platen 128 as the pads 126 pass by.

The tangential speed of movement of the pads along the closed path is greater than the speed of movement of the conveyor 112. This is illustrated clearly in Figure 10 which shows the positions of the pads 126 and the article at five consecutive instants designated A to E. The figure also shows that because of the shape of the closed path followed by the pads, they descend rapidly behind the bottle towards the conveyor 112 and can reach down below the carrying handles without colliding with the following bottle even when the bottles are relatively close together, having regard to their height. It will be clear that if the bottles are further spaced apart along the conveyor, it may suffice for the pads simply to move in a circle of constant diameter on a pair of arms rotating about a fixed axis.

At the position E when the rear face of the bottle lies directly below the axis of rotation of the arms 120, the label carried by the pads 126 is applied to the bottle 110 and adheres to it along its central section. With further movement, the laterally projecting ends of the label still held by the suction pads 126 slide inwards off the pads and are wiped around the sides of the bottle. This wiping action can be assisted by a roller, a flexible blade or a 12 - brush mounted on the arms 120 near the pads 126. The arms 120 then continue their rotation to repeat the cycle by picking up from the platen 128 a label for a following bottle.

It is an advantage of all the embodiments of the invention that the labels are arranged on their supply roll widthways rather than lengthways. A supply roll of give diameter can therefore carry more labels. To avoid conveyor down time while changing label supply rolls, it is possible to provide two supply rolls feeding labels onto the same platen 128 and to switch between the rolls automatically when the end of one reached.

- 13

Claims

1. A labelling station for applying labels to articles transported on a conveyor, which comprises means for supporting a label supply roll in the same vertical plane as the conveyor with it axis horizontal and transverse to the direction of movement of the conveyor and a transfer mechanism having two members that are constrained to move along an endless path and that each engage a respective one of the lateral edges of the labels for transferring the labels, one at a time, from the label supply roll to the articles on the conveyor, each article passing between the label engaging members of the transfer mechanism after a label has been applied thereto.

2. A labelling station as claimed in claim 1, wherein the transfer mechanism serves to place each label in the path of an article on the conveyor, so that the label is picked up by the article as it passes the transfer mechanism.

3. A labelling station as claimed in claim 1, wherein the transfer mechanism transports each label to approach an article on the conveyor from the rear with the label trav elling at a higher speed than the article, the label carried by the transfer mechanism being applied to the article as the transfer mechanism overtakes the article.

4. A labelling station as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the transfer mechanism comprises a pair of pads mounted on two arms that are rotatable about an axis located above the conveyor.

5. A labelling station as claimed in claim 4, wherein the pads are connected to a suction pump so as to hold the label in place by suction.

- 14

6. A labelling station as claimed in claim 4 or 5, further comprising a stationary platen connected to a suction pump located along the circular path of the pads to transfer a label onto the pads, and means for dispensing labels from the supply roll onto the platen.

7. A labelling station as claimed in claim 1 or 2, wherein the transfer mechanism comprises a pair of belts arranged one on each side of the conveyor and means for dispensing labels from the supply roll onto the belts.

8. A labelling station as claimed in claim 6 or 7, wherein the labels are self-adhesive labels carried on a continuous support web and the means for dispensing the labels from the supply roll are operative to bend the web of the supply roll over a sharp horizontal sharp edge.

9. A labelling station as claimed in claim 8, wherein the labels are applied to the belts with the adhesive side of the labels facing the belts, the belts being made of or coated with a material to which the labels can only adhere weakly.

i

10. A labelling station as claimed in claims 7 or 8, n which the labels are applied to the belts with the adhesive side of the labels facing away the belts and wherein the labels are retained on the belts my suction.

11. A labelling station as claimed in claim 10, wherein the belts are guided over the surfaces of plenum chambers connected to a suction pump, the belts having holes or perforations that communicate with the interior of the plenum chambers.

12. A labelling station as claimed in claim 11, wherein the plenum chamber are inclined or shaped such that the locations at which labels are applied to the belts and - 15 at which labels are transferred from the belts to the articles on the conveyor are spaced from one another in the direction of movement of the conveyor.

13. A labelling station as claimed in any one of claims 7 to 12, in which the supply roll is located above the conveyor.

14. A labelling station as claimed in any one of claims 7 to 12, in which the supply roll is located below the conveyor, the labels being arranged to pass through a gap between adjacent separate runs of the conveyor.

15. A labelling station as claimed in any of claims 1 to 13, having two supply rolls and means for switching automatically between the supply rolls such that each roll comes on line automatically as the other reaches the end of its life.

16. A labelling station as claimed in claim 1, wherein the pads are mounted on two arms that straddle the articles on the conveyor and are rotatable about a common axis that lies level with or below the tops of the articles on the conveyor, the arms being driven by means of two separate belt drives that extend up to a common drive shaft lying above the tops of the articles.

17. A labelling station constructed, arranged and adapted to operate substantially as herein described with reference to any one of the embodiments illustrated in the accompanying drawings.