Automatic high-speed labeling machine employing various linear and rotational speeds of the container

Either filled or empty cylindrical containers enter this labeling machine upright on a conveyor which slides beneath them as they are restrained and accumulate in a straight line against a gate for individual admission to a synchronization wheel and timed release between a series of moving parallel belts and stationary pads which laterally engage the container and propel it at various linear and rotational speeds during certain stages of the labeling operation so that the container achieves its greatest linear speeds before and after labeling, its slowest linear but greatest rotational speed during labeling, and moderate linear speeds to enter and exit the machine, thereby resulting in virtual label transfer within one container revolution while maintaining a constant and continuous high speed labeling operation therein.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
1. Field of the Invention 
This invention pertains to automatic high-speed labeling machines. More 
particularly, the present invention relates to automatic high-speed 
labeling machines for labeling cylindrical containers which are linerally 
fed through the machine in a straight line, but are caused to rotate about 
their vertical axes through a point of contact with a rotating cylindrical 
label transporting drum which results in the transfer of a label to a 
container and thereby causing the container to wrap said label around 
itself. 
2. Description of the Prior Art 
The prior art is replete with descriptions of labeling machines for 
cylindrical containers which all accomplish the same purpose but by 
different means. 
For example, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,108,710 (1978), Hoffman describes a 
high-speed labeling apparatus for cans which are fed into and clamped onto 
the periphery of a rotating drum which moves individual cans past a first 
adhesive station where an adhesive is applied to each can at a 
predetermined location thereon and the cans are then moved on to a 
labeling station. Labels, previously cut from a continuous strip, are held 
by a pourous rotating vacuum disc or drum whereon the trailing edge of 
said label receives adhesive and then it is moved into position where the 
leading edge of said label engages a can at the location of adhesive on 
the can. As both can and label are moving in the same direction and at the 
same speed, the vacuum hold on the label is released thereby allowing the 
label to move away with the can to a wrapping station where the can is 
released and rolled along a track by a gripping conveyor belt thereby 
wrapping the label and its trailing edge around the can. This so-called 
"flagging" method of labeling was the state of the art for many years and 
was commonly used in the labeling of soup cans, however the flagging 
method, as described, is essentially limited to containers which can be 
gripped by the rotating drum in a manner that adhesive may be applied to 
the container while it travels through the machine for wrapping by a 
sturdy label such as paper. 
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,500,386 (1985), Hoffman discloses a "roll-on" pad 
opposite and concentric to a rotating vacuum drum between which 
cylindrical containers are fed by a rotating star wheel. As the container 
comes into tangential contact with the rotating vacuum drum, a 
glue-containing label held on the drum is transferred to the container and 
the container is rotated about its vertical axis by the drum causing the 
label to be pressed onto said container by the roll-on pad. However, the 
path of the containers while under control of the star wheel is an 
S-shaped path which requires change of direction including an inflection 
at the point of transfer at the point of transfer from the star wheel to 
the vacuum drum and roll-on pad, and these changes of direction impose 
acceleration and loads which limit the speed of labeling. 
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,714,515 (1987), Hoffman describes a "straight line" 
container labeling apparatus including oppositely moving main drive and 
porous labeling belts, and a timing star and second star wheel having 
rollers on the ends of its arms for engaging and aligning each container 
while allowing it to rotate freely between the belts. In this apparatus, 
the leading edge of a continuous strip of label stock is gripped by a 
radially retracted vacuum pad located on the periphery of a rotating 
vacuum drum and pulled until a cutting knife carried directly on the drum 
severs the trailing edge of each label. The retracted vacuum pads are 
selectively extendable for application of adhesive and then may be 
retracted to allow fingers to strip each gummed label from the drum and 
transfer it to a vacuum wheel over which is entrained a porous labeling 
belt that carries each label to a container driven by the drive belt and 
aligned by the second star. Although workable in theory, this fairly 
complex labeling apparatus obviously required critical synchronization of 
its interrelated elements to function properly. During high speed labeling 
operations (more than 125 containers per minute) several problems arose. 
For example, containers would often jam as they left the timing star and 
became wedged by an arm of the aligning star. Additionally, the 
reciprocating vacuum pads on the vacuum drum did not provide a uniform 
glue pattern on the labels which often caused glue to be deposited on the 
porous labeling belt resulting in labels stuck thereon. Moreover, part of 
the cutting means was located on the periphery of the vacuum drum which, 
of course, increased in rotational speed with the speed of the labeling 
operation, and often resulted in improperly cut labels. Thus, the labeling 
apparatus as above described was short lived in actual high speed 
production and is not known to be in use today. 
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,931,122 (1990), Mitchell discloses another straight 
through labeling machine with a "feed-screw" for moving cylindrical 
containers past, but in tangent to, a vacuum drum containing precut gummed 
labels. The containers travel along a guide-way to the feed screw where 
they also contact an endless belt causing the containers to spin 
counter-clockwise around their vertical axes. As the feed screw advances 
the containers linearly past, but in tangent to, the vacuum drum, a label 
is transferred to a container and is preferrably wrapped around it before 
said container exits the feed screw. Although this labeling machine 
appears to be an improvement over the cited prior art, the 
counter-clockwise rotation of the containers while being linearly advanced 
within the feed screw causes vertical drag or a retarding force acting on 
the containers due to friction which is undesirable in high speed labeling 
operations. 
3. OBJECTS OF THE PRESENT INVENTION 
Accordingly, it is the general object of the present invention to provide a 
high-speed labeling machine with a minimum of vertical drag or rotational 
friction at the point of label transfer to the container. 
It is another object of the present invention to provide a high-speed 
labeling machine wherein the linear and rotational speeds of the 
containers vary at various stages of the labeling operation to provide 
decreased linear speed but increased rotational speed of the containers at 
the point of label transfer. 
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a high-speed 
labeling machine which is capable of transferring a label to a container 
within a linear distance traveled by the container as it makes one 
revolution of the container or in a linear distance of approximately 10% 
of the label's length. 
It is yet a further object of the present invention to provide a high-speed 
labeling machine which brings about transfer of a precut label to a 
container by tangential contact between a hotmelt adhesive on the reverse 
side of a label and the side of a container. 
It is still a further object of the present invention to provide a 
high-speed labeling machine which causes a labeled container to rapidly 
exit the point of label transfer by increasing its linear speed but with 
stability. 
It is still yet a further object of the present invention to provide a 
high-speed labeling machine which includes a means for firmly pressing the 
label to a container before the container exits the machine. 
It is even a furthermore object of the present invention to provide a 
high-speed labeling machine for previously filled cylindrical plastic 
containers of carbonated beverages so that they are not excessively 
agitated during labeling. 
These objects are achieved in the present invention. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
The present invention provides an automatic high-speed labeling machine in 
which individual labels are produced from a continuous strip of paper or 
the like from a roll fed by a label drive wheel, over a brake control arm, 
and web guide rollers through a vacuum assisted rotating cutter head to a 
label transport wheel where the rear sides of individual labels receive a 
coating of hotmelt glue and are then transferred to the sides of 
cylindrical containers. 
The containers enter the machine upright on a moving infeed conveyor chain 
with their vertical axes perpendicular to said chain and in a single 
straight line until their movement is regulated by a product control gate. 
The product control gate admits an individual container to a container 
synchronization wheel which properly times and places each container 
between a moving lateral container drive belt and a lateral stationary 
infeed container drive pad which are parallel and tangentially engage the 
cylindrical sides of the container causing it to move forward at a greater 
linear speed than that of the moving infeed conveyor chain, but also 
causing the container to undergo counter-clockwise rotation around its 
vertical axis. 
The container, being laterally propelled by the container drive belt, 
leaves the stationary infeed container drive pad and then next laterally 
and oppositely engages a pair of upper and lower bottle spinning belts, 
parallel to the container drive belt, but traveling at a slower linear 
speed in a clockwise direction. The cylindrical container, now under the 
control of oppositely traveling but parallel lateral belts at different 
linear speeds, is forced to increase its counter-clockwise rotational 
speed but also decrease its linear speed for a brief point of tangential 
contact with the glue coating on the rear side of a precut label which is 
held on the periphery of the label transport wheel. It is this brief pause 
or interruption of linear speed at the point tangential to the rotating 
label transport wheel which is believed responsible for and enables the 
container to pull the label from the label transport wheel by the glue 
coating thereby causing the container to wrap the label around itself in 
essentially one revolution, and this feature of the present invention is 
believed an important improvement over the prior art because the 
application of a label in this manner virtually eliminates vertical drag 
and rotational friction at the point of label transfer. In other words, 
since the linear speed of the container is slowed but rotating at the same 
peripheral speed, but oppositely, at the point of tangential contact with 
the label transport wheel, the label is virtually transferred before the 
container leaves the wheel. 
Once the labeled container, under control of the container drive belt, 
leaves the label transport wheel, the container's linear speed increases 
while its rotational speed decreases as the container is rolled laterally 
around its vertical axis along a discharge container compression pad which 
is parallel with said drive belt to insure that the label is pressed 
firmly to the container. As the container leaves the compression pad and 
drive belt, it is once again controlled and propelled at a slower linear 
speed by the discharge conveyor chain to exit the machine. 
To briefly sum-up, and what is believed to be a novel improvement over the 
prior art is that a container traveling through the machine of the present 
invention undergoes several different linear and rotational speeds at 
various stages to achieve desired results. For example, it enters and 
exits the machine at medium speed; it achieves its greatest linear speed 
just before and after labeling; and it travels slowest linearly while in 
contact with the label transport wheel. Because the linear speed is 
inversely proportional to the rotational speed of the container while 
traveling through the machine, the speeds are regulated to allow the same 
number of containers to enter as exit the machine while providing a 
constant, continuous high-speed labeling operation therein.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
Turning now to the drawing, the reference numeral 10 generally refers to 
the Automatic High-Speed Labeling Machine of the present invention and, 
more particularly the FIG. 1 is an illustration of a top plan view thereof 
looking directly down on its essential elements. It should be said at the 
outset that this machine 10 is powered by electrical current, electric 
motors and other components that are all well known in the art so that no 
claim shall be herein made to any individual element but as to only their 
particular combination in this embodiment which is believed to achieve a 
unique, novel and nonobvious means of performing the task of labeling 
cylindrical containers. 
The machine 10 provides a label roll unwind support disk 11 from which a 
continuous strip of paper labels or the like is dispensed through the 
machine 10 as illustrated by the broken lines. The continuous strip of 
paper labels, preferrably provided by the unwinding of a roll on said disk 
11, is first fed between a pair of label web guide rollers 12 and a label 
unwind brake control arm 13 to provide tension in and to keep the 
continuous strip taut as it moves past a label cut position adjusting 
switch 14 and label registration cut-off sensor 15 to the label drive 
wheel 16. The label drive wheel 16 in tangential cooperation with a label 
drive tension wheel 17 not only pulls the continuous strip from the 
support disk 11 but also feeds said strip onto a vacuum assisted rotating 
cutter head 18 where the strip is cut into individual labels by a cutting 
system engagement blade 19. The individual label, now cut into its proper 
size, is then rolled onto the periphery of a label transport wheel 20 
which has a porous surface and a slight internal vacuum thereby causing 
said label to releasably adhere to the periphery of said wheel 20 as it 
turns in a clockwise direction. The precut label now rotated with its rear 
side facing outwardly to the periphery of the rotating label transport 
wheel 20 contacts a hotmelt glue applicator wheel 21 to apply glue from a 
hotmelt glue pumping system 22 and then the label is further rotated to 
contact a container. 
Cylindrical containers, filled or empty and illustrated in FIG. 1 as broken 
circles, enter the automatic high-speed labeling machine 10 from any 
number of usual means, such as by an auxiliary conveyor, where they are 
deposited in an upright position and in an essentially straight line onto 
a moving conveyor chain 23, said chain constantly moving linearly, as 
indicated by the left arrows, through the machine 10 to provide an 
accumulation of containers being releasably restrained by a product 
control gate 24. The moving conveyor chain 23 slides beneath the bottoms 
of accumulated containers causing the containers to be forced against the 
gate 24 until it momentarily opens to allow the passage of a single 
container to a container synchronization wheel 25, thereby advancing the 
line of accumulated containers. 
The container synchronization wheel 25, turning in a clockwise direction 
laterally engages the sides of a container for timing its release so that 
the container will meet the edge of a precut glued label on the label 
transport wheel 20, however the container is also caused to slowly spin 
counterclockwise around its vertical axis as it leaves said wheel 25 by 
being laterally rolled between a container drive belt 26, moving linearly 
(to the left in FIG. 1), and a stationary infeed container drive pad 27 
for the purpose of giving the container a rapid linear motion but a slower 
rotational motion, which causes the container to rapidly move away from 
the wheel 25 and allows yet another to enter through the product control 
gate 24. 
As a container approaches the label transport wheel 20, it is discharged 
from the stationary infeed container drive pad 27 and engages a pair of 
upper and lower bottle spinning belts 28 which are circumferentially 
connected around the periphery of the label transport wheel 20 but also 
are traveling linearly to the right (clockwise) at the same peripheral 
speed as the circumference of the label transport wheel 20 but parallel 
with the oppositely moving container drive belt 26. Because the container 
drive belt 26 is moving to the left slightly faster than the bottle 
spinning belts 28 are moving to the right, the container trapped between 
these said parallel belts is forced to increase its rotational speed to 
virtually equal that of the label transport wheel 20 while the container's 
linear speed is decreased. It is this brief change in linear and 
rotational container speeds at the point of tangential contact with the 
label transport wheel 20 which slows the container's linear speed 
sufficiently to allow it enough time to contact the leading edge of a 
precut glued label, smoothly lift it from the wheel 20, and allow the 
container to wrap the label around the container in essentially one 
revolution or within 10% of the label's length. This feature of variable 
container speeds through the stages of labeling is believed to be an 
advantage of the present invention over the prior art as vertical drag and 
rotational friction on the label is virtually eliminated at the point of 
label transfer since the container merely wraps the label around itself as 
it is rolled between the container drive belt 26 and the label transport 
wheel 20, thereby resulting in precise and efficient high-speed labeling. 
As a labeled container leaves the label transport wheel 20, it is rolled 
around its vertical axis counter-clockwise along a stationary discharge 
container compression pad 29 by the parallel container drive belt 26 
moving linearly to the left thereby causing the container's linear speed 
to increase while decreasing its rotational speed but also insuring that 
the label is pressed firmly to the container. 
When the labeled container leaves said compression pad 29, it is positioned 
on a moving discharge conveyor chain 30 to exit the machine 10. 
The relationship between linear and rotational machine and container speeds 
as utilized in the present invention is well known in mathematics where 
the average linear speed (v) of an object which travels a linear distance 
(s) in time (t) is defined by 
EQU s=vt 
and the rotational speed (w) of an object is known as its time rate of 
angular displacement (.phi.) about an axis in radians. Since a radian is 
defined as the length of arc divided by the length of radius, the 
relationship of rotational speed to angular displacement is often 
expressed by 
EQU .phi.=wt 
and therefore the correlation between linear and rotational speeds of a 
cylindrical container moving through the labeling machine 10 may be given 
by 
EQU v=wr 
where (r) is the radius of the container. Stated another way, linear speed 
is inversely proportional to the container's rotational speed but it is 
also dependent upon its radius. 
It is obvious from the above mathematical relationships that not all 
cylindrical containers will travel through the machine 10 at the same 
linear and rotational speeds unless they have the same diameter. Thus, the 
machine 10 must be adjusted to accomodate a particular series of 
containers of the same diameter to ensure that, firstly, the parallel 
distances between the pads, wheels and belts (reference numerals 25 
through 29) are all sufficient to securely engage and propel the 
container, and, secondly, that the wheels (20 and 25) rotate in proper 
relationship to the speeds of the belts (26 and 28). 
The first parallel adjustment adjustments are easily made by mechanically 
moving the infeed container drive pad 27 and the discharge container 
compression pad 29 either inwardly or outwardly of the parallel container 
drive belt 26. This adjustment establishes the proper distance of the 
container diameter between the container synchronization wheel 25 and the 
infeed container drive pad 27. For containers with very large or small 
diameters, it is also possible to mechanically move the container 
synchronization wheel 25 with its container drive belt wheel 31 inwardly 
or outwardly of said pads (27 and 29) but this is not usually necessary 
since the belts 26 and 28 are flexible enough to accomodate slight 
variences in diameter and this feature is felt to be yet another advantage 
over the prior art because the belts also absorb vibration of the moving 
containers which is very important for containers such as plastic bottles 
previously filled with carbonated beverages that expand during labeling 
due to vibration. 
Machine 10 speeds are basically controlled by a swivelling operator control 
panel 32 which essentially controls all functions of the machine 10 
produced by a motor and central drive shaft which are located beneath the 
workpiece illustrated in FIG. 1, but are not illustrated since they are 
common components of labeling machines known in the prior art. The central 
drive shaft in turn regulates all linear and rotational functions of the 
machine 10 by a series of gears and chains which in turn drive the belts 
and wheels. To enable anyone skilled in the art to make and operate the 
machine 10, as required for full disclosure, a specific example is given. 
For example, if container with known diameter (d) need be labeled, it is 
important to adjust the speed of the container drive belt 26 so that it 
travels slightly faster to the left than the bottle spinning belts 28 
traveling to the right, so that the containers will continue to travel to 
the left, but yet not so fast at the point of label transfer. Since all 
linear and rotational functions emerge from gears and chains originating 
from a central vertical drive shaft, one skilled in the art need only know 
the rotational speed (w-1) of the label transport wheel 25 and the length 
of label to calculate the linear speed (v-2) needed for the container 
drive belt 26 to sufficiently slow the container and allow it to complete 
nearly one revolution or length of arc equal to the label length 
(whichever is less) while in tangent to the label transport wheel 25. 
If the diameter of the container is 3" and a label is to be completely 
wrapped around it making the label length or length of arc (3".times.3.14) 
or about 91/2", the angular displacement of the container while tangent to 
the wheel 25 will require a certain amount of time (t) which is calculated 
from (w-1) using the second equation. Once the time is known, the minimum 
linear speed (v-2) of the belt 26 traveling to the left which is necessary 
to accomplish labeling while continuing to move the container to the left 
is determined by the first equation and once this speed is known, the size 
(radius) of the container drive belt wheel 31 needed for the proper belt 
26 speed may be also calculated from the second equation. 
The increased efficiency of high-speed labeling produced by this machine 10 
is primarily due to the containers being quickly moved into and away from 
the labeling wheel 25 at high linear speed, but are momentarily slowed 
just enough while tangent to the wheel 25 to remove the label. By 
increasing the container's rotation while it is tangent to the wheel 25, 
its time there is minimal, thereby providing a constant, continuous and 
automatic high-speed labeling operation thereby.