Item applicator and method

Abstract: An item applicator machine having an item support (14) which reciprocates in reference to an applicator arm (17). The item support (14) is reciprocated within an item supply strip loop. The supply strip (13) is advanced as the item support moves under the applicator arm. The supply strip is locked as the item support moves away from the applicator arm causing an item support dispensing edge to peel an item from the supply strip. A vacuum head on the applicator arm engages the item just prior to the item support's movement away from the applicator arm and picks up the dispensed item and applies it to an object. Curved faces are provided on alternative vacuum heads which are easily interchangeable with the flat faced vacuum head.

Description: Technical Field This invention relates to item applicating machines, and more specifically to applicating machines and a method of applying labels and hangers to packages and the like. Background Hangers, labels and tags are items that are used to complete many packages and to provide product information. These items are often adhesively applied. If the items are not placed correctly, the finished appearance is not as attractive as it could be. As an example of the need to apply such items accurately, in order to encourage "impulse buying," a package must hang and look right. If adhesively applied hangers are not repetitively applied to packages with precise location, display of a set of such packages will be uneven and unattractive. With many applicator systems, the items to be applied are mounted on a flexible supply strip. These items are removed from the supply strip in order to apply them to a desired package or product. Removing and applying the items by hand is one method but is time consuming and inefficient. The prior art teaches applicating machines and methods which work in a variety of ways. One example according to the preambles of claim 1 and 13 is described in DE-A-3233546. Many prior art machines use vacuums to grasp and hold an item to be applied to a package or product. Some of these use rotary drums which have a vacuum source connected to the drum. The drum rotates to grasp an item peeled from a supply strip by moving the strip around a dispensing edge. The drum rotates further to apply the item to the package. Others have the item peeled front a supply strip by moving the strip around a dispensing edge and then grasping it by a vacuum head which then applied it to a package. Some of these machines hake the item partially floating on a flow of air prior to the vacuum head grasping the item. The applicating machines of the prior art do not place the items correctly on the packages or products as consistently as they should. With the machines wherein the item actually floats before it is grasped by the vacuum head, the vacuum had often mislocates the item and sometimes even misses the item entirely and thereby a package fails to receive an item altogether. Many of the prior machines are limited in the shape of packages or products to which they can apply items. The package's shape must be conducive to the shape of a machine's applicating face. For example, the face should preferably be concave in order to apply an item to a round object such as an apple or an orange. Yet a concave face is hardly conducive to applying an item to a flat box. It would therefore be desirable to have an applicating machine which consistently applies items to packages or products in an accurate and attractive manner and which is capable of applying items to packages or products of a variety shapes. According to the present invention, there is provided an applicator apparatus for applying items to products such as tags and labels, the items being carried by an elongate flexible supply strip, the applicator comprising: (a) an item support having a dispensing end portion; (b) a moveable vacuum head for taking an item from the strip and applying such item to a product, and drive means for relatively moving a workpiece and the head to transfer a taken item from the head to such workpiece; (c) motion producing means operatively connected to the support for reciprocally moving the support between a dispensing position in the travel path of the head and a retracted position; (d) locking means to lock the strip while the support is moving from the dispensing position to the retracted position, such locking means allowing a relative movement between the support and the strip; characterised by (e) such supply strip when in use being supported by the item support and wrapped around the two end portions of the support; (f) the head being adapted to travel a path including at least a retracted position and a pick-up position adjacent to the support in its dispensing position; (g) and means for moving the head from its retracted position to its pick-up position when the support is at its dispensing position to engage an item carried by the strip; whereby movement of the support from its dispensing to its retracted position produces a relative movement between the support and such strip at the dispensing end portion thereby causing the items to individually peel off of such strip at the dispensing end portion and remain engaged by the vacuum head. Preferred features of the invention are set out in claims 2 to 12, to which reference should now be made. The invention also provides a method of applying items carried by supply strips such as tags or labels to products, comprising: a) moving the strip to register an item in a pick-up position, thereafter grasping the registered item with a vacuum head and subsequently applying the dispensed item to a product with the vacuum head; b) dispensing the registered item from the item supply strip while so grasped by moving an item support between two portions of the item supply strip while restraining feed of the strip from a supply, the movement causing the strip to pass around a dispensing end portion of the support thereby causing the registered item being dispensed to peel off of the supply strip at the dispensing end portion; characterised by c) prior to the dispensing step, moving the head from a retracted position to a pick-up position at which the registered item is grasped and while the registered item is still mounted on the supply strip; Preferred features of the invention are set out in claim 14, to which reference should now be made. An applicator machine made in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention applies items such as hangers, labels and tags at a labeling station to products at high production rates yet is accurate, consistent and efficient. In its preferred embodiment, the machine has an item support which reciprocates in reference to an applicator head. In this embodiment, the item support has a dispensing end portion and an opposed trailing end portion with opposed supply and exit surfaces extending from the dispensing end portion in a direction away from the labeling station. A flexible supply strip carrying items to be applied is supported by the item support and wrapped around its two end portions. A reach of the strip may extend along the support between the end portions. In the preferred embodiment, the applicator head is an articulated vacuum head and is located near the dispensing end of the item support for grasping items prior to and as they are peeled from the supply strip and then applying them to a package or product. The path of the vacuum head may define at least three positions including a retracted position, a pick-up position and an application position. The supply strip may be carried by supply and take-up devices with means for arresting movement between them. In the preferred embodiment, the supply strip is carried in coils on rotatable supply and take-up reels, which are mounted on spindles capable of locking. The strip may form a loop as it is running between the reels with the item support located within this loop. The support may be connected to an air cylinder which reciprocates it between dispensing and retracted positions thereby moving it repeatedly between two portions of the supply strip which form the loop. The reels may rotate as the item support moves from its retracted position toward the path of the vacuum head to its dispensing position; this motion advances the supply strip. The vacuum head may be moved from its retracted position to its pick-up position thereby meeting the item support and contacting an item. The vacuum head may be held momentarily in its pick-up position. The reel spindles may then be locked and the item support may move along a return path away from the path of the vacuum head to return to the retracted position. The trailing end portion may move against the supply strip causing the strip to move around the item support and peel the contacted item from the supply strip at the dispensing end portion. The dispensed item may then be applied to a package or product by the vacuum head by moving the vacuum head to its application position. The vacuum head may then be moved to its retracted position. Because the vacuum head engages the item before it is peeled from the strip, in the preferred embodiment, the item is positioned on the vacuum head as precisely as it was on the supply strip thereby helping assure proper placement of the item on the package or product. Another advantage is that an item of very light and flexible material may be used thereby helping assure that the item fits the contour of the package or product to which it is applied. Because these items many times are merely used to convey information to a consumer, these items need only be able to hold print. By using thinner, even poorer quality material for the items, cost savings can be realized. With a high volume of item usage, even a minute material cost savings per item results in a large overall cost savings by using the applicator machine embodying this invention. By engaging such a flexible item prior to peeling, in the preferred embodiment, the vacuum head supports the item as it is peeled from the strip thereby preventing the item from floating in air after peeling. This helps assure alignment of the item on the vacuum head and thereby proper placement of the item on the package or product. Additionally, an adhesive tailored to the requirements of the package or product may be used with the item. Because the vacuum head engages the item before it is peeled from the strip, in the preferred embodiment, a strong adhesive will not greatly hinder the peeling of the item from the supply strip. Thus, items can be placed on packages or products with better and stronger adhesives than can be used with prior applications, thereby helping assure that the items will remain on the packages or products. A feature of the vacuum head of the preferred embodiment is its pick-up surface. It is typically flat for applying items to flat packages and products. The vacuum head may be quickly and easily changed, however, to provide either a convexly or a concavely curved pick-up surface. Such curved pick-up surfaces may allow the vacuum head to be used to apply items to curved packages and products such as fruit and saucers. Brief Description of the Drawings Figure 1 is an elevational view of an applicator embodying the invention; Figure 2 is an enlarged fragmentary side elevational view having a part of the applicator machine broken away illustrating the item support beginning to return to its retracted position; Figure 2A is an enlarged plan view of the face of the vacuum head; Figure 3 is a fragmentary side elevational view on the scale of Figure 2 illustrating the vacuum head in its pick-up position and the item support returning to its retracted position; Figure 4 is a fragmentary side elevational view on the scale of Figure 2 illustrating the vacuum head moving to its application position and the item support returning to its retracted position; Figure 5 is an enlarged fragmentary side elevational view illustrating the vacuum head in its application position and the item support in its retracted position with a conveyor supplying products; Figure 6 is an end elevational view of the vacuum head and item support; Figure 6A is an enlarged elevational view of an alternate embodiment of the vacuum head; and, Figure 7 is an enlarged fragmentary elevational view of the dispensing edge of the item support dispensing an item from the supply strip. Description of the Preferred Embodiment Turning to the drawings, a hanger applicator machine 10 is illustrated. The machine comprises a housing and frame structure 11 having a supply reel 12 which supplies a supply strip 13 of items to be applied. The supply strip 13 is wrapped around a reciprocatable item support table 14 which is connected to the housing and frame structure 11. The supply strip 13 is connected to a take-up reel 15 which coils the supply strip after the items have been removed from the strip 13. An applicator arm 16 having a vacuum head 17 with a perforate face 18 takes items dispensed from the supply strip 13 and applies them to a package or product. The face 18 communicates with a vacuum passage 19 which is connected to a vacuum source (shown schematically). In the preferred embodiment, the item supply strip 13 containing items to be applied is engaged at one of its ends to the supply reel 13 and at another end to the take-up reel 15. The supply strip 13 can also be supplied from and taken up in boxes. The strip 13 passes through the structure 11 and is looped around the item support table 14, passing along a bottom surface of the item support table 14. The item support table 14 thereby detineates a section of a path of travel of the strip 13. A first idler 21 cooperates with a second idler 22 to properly position the strip before it reaches the item support 14. A third idler 23 properly positions the strip 13 after it has passed around the item support 14. The strip 13 passes between two pinch rollers 24, 25 prior to being taken up by the take-up reel 15. The pinch rollers 24, 25 help guide the supply strip 13 and index the items on the supply strip 13. The item support 14 has a dispensing end portion or support beak 30 and an opposed trailing end portion 31. The trailing end portion 31 has an idler 32 which helps the supply strip 13 move around the item support 14. The item support 14 has an actuator 33, preferably in the form of an air cylinder. The actuator 33 moves the item support 14 between a retracted position, as seen in Figures 1 and 5, and a dispensing position, as best seen in Figure 2. The applicator arm 16 is capable of moving among three positions-a retracted position (shown in Figures 1 and 6), a pick-up position (shown in Figures 2, 3 and 7) and an application position (shown in Figure 5). The applicator arm 16 is reciprocated along its path preferably by an air cylinder 34. The arm 16 is moved to its retracted position as shown in Figure 1 when the cylinder is powered up. The arm 16 is stopped in this position by resilient, spring type devices, preferably in the form of hydraulic shock absorbers 35 (shown as springs). In the test unit which has been constructed, the hydraulic shock absorbers are Enidine Pro-15 hydraulic shock absorbers which can be purchased from Enidine, Inc., 7 Centre Dr., Orchard Park, NY 14127. The arm 16 is biased towards its pick-up position by the shock absorbers 35. The arm 16 is therefore moved to its pick-up position as shown in Figures 2 and 3 by resilient action of the shock absorbers 35 when the cylinder 34 is powered off. The arm 16 is then moved to its application position as shown in Figures 4 and 5 by the cylinder 34 when the cylinder 34 is powered down. Guide 36 is reciprocatably journaled in a support 37 and guides the applicator arm 16 along its path ensuring its accurate movement. Turning to Figures 2-5, the operation of the machine 10 will be explained. A stepper motor (shown schematically in Figure 1) rotates the supply and take-up reels 12 and 15 as well as the pinch rollers 24, 25 as the actuator 33 moves the item support 14 to its dispensing position under the vacuum head 17. This activity advances the supply strip 13. As the item support 14 moves toward its dispensing position, the applicator arm 16 moves to its pick-up position. As is typical in the industry, an item detector 39, generally a micro-switch, detects when an item to be applied is in proper position and advancement of the supply strip should be stopped by detecting an edge of the item. When an item is detected as being in proper position, the stepper motor stops advancing the reels 12, 15. This coordinates advancement of the item support 14 with supplying of the supply strip 13 as well as retraction of the support 14 with take-up of the strip 13. A signal from a machine control (not shown) signals the stepper motor to advance the reel 12, 15 when appropriate. Once the item support 14 reaches its dispensing position, spindles 40 and 41 which carry the reels 12 and 15 are locked by brakes 42 and 43, respectively. The item support 14 then moves back to its retracted position. As the item support 14 moves to its retracted position, the supply strip 13 moves around the dispensing end portion 30 and the trailing end portion 31. This movement of the supply strip 13 causes an item 44 to be dispensed at the dispensing end portion 30 as best seen in Figures 3 and 7. A vacuum control (shown schematically in Figure 2) turns the vacuum source (also schematically in Figure 2) on when the vacuum head 17 is to engage an item. The vacuum source of the test unit is a Piab Venturi Vacuum Generator which can be purchased from Piab Vacuum Products, 65 Sharp St., Hingham, MA 02043. The vacuum source communicates with the vacuum head via vacuum line 46. The dispensed item 44 is engaged by the vacuum head 17 prior to the item support 14 beginning to return to its retracted position. This engagement occurs when the applicator arm 16 and the item support 14 meet in their pick-up position and dispensing position respectively. This allows the vacuum head to support the item the entire time it is being dispensed right up to being placed on an object 45 and allows the item 44 to be applied to the object 45 as precisely as it was applied to the supply strip 13. Once the item support 14 reaches its retracted position and the item 44 is completely dispensed from the strip 13, the applicator arm 16 is moved to its application position and applies the item 44 to the object 45 as shown in Figures 4 and 5. The vacuum control turns off the vacuum source so that the item 44 may be applied to the object 45. An alternative embodiment is illustrated in Figure 6A wherein the face 18 of the vacuum head 17 is curved. This allows the machine 10 to apply items to objects having curved surfaces. The face 18 illustrated in Figure 6A is concave to apply items to round products having convex surfaces such as balls and fruit. The face 18 could also be convex (as shown in phantom) in order to apply items to concave objects such as saucers and ashtrays. While the preferred embodiments of the invention have been illustrated and described in detail, the present invention is not to be considered limited to the precise construction disclosed. Various adaptations, modifications and uses of the invention may occur to those skilled in the art to which the invention relates and the intention is to cover hereby all such adaptations, modifications and uses which fall within the appended claims.

Claims: An applicator apparatus (10) for applying items (44) to products such as tags and labels, the items being carried by an elongate flexible supply strip (13), the applicator comprising: (a) an item support (14) having a dispensing end portion (30); (b) a moveable vacuum head (17) for taking an item from the strip and applying such item to a product (45), and drive means (34) for relatively moving a workpiece and the head to transfer a taken item from the head to such workpiece; (c) motion producing means (33) operatively connected to the support for reciprocally moving the support between a dispensing position in the travel path of the head and a retracted position; (d) locking means to lock the strip while the support is moving from the dispensing position to the retracted position, such locking means allowing a relative movement between the support and the strip; characterised by (e) such supply strip when in use being supported by the item support and wrapped around the two end portions of the support; (f) the head being adapted to travel a path including at least a retracted position and a pick-up position adjacent to the support in its dispensing position; (g) and means for moving the head from its retracted position to its pick-up position when the support is at its dispensing position to engage an item carried by the strip; whereby movement of the support from its dispensing to its retracted position produces a relative movement between the support and such strip at the dispensing end portion thereby causing the items to individually peel off of such strip at the dispensing end portion and remain engaged by the vacuum head. Apparatus according to Claim 1, characterised in that such strip (13) is fed from a supply station (12) to a collection station (15) for winding and collecting such strip after it has dispensed an item and wherein the motion producing means causes support retraction during a portion of an apparatus cycle. Apparatus according to Claim 1 or 2, characterised in that such supply strip (13) is carried on a first rotatable reel (12) and is attached to a second rotatable reel (15) for winding such strip after it has dispensed an item and the apparatus further comprises a locking means (42,43) to lock the reels during retraction of the support away from the path of the head. Apparatus according to any preceding claim, characterised in that the drive means (34) moves the head (17) from the pick-up position to an application position for transfer of an item (44) to such workpiece. Apparatus according to any preceding claim, characterised in that said vacuum head (17) has a curved pick-up surface (18) thereby allowing it to apply items to curved workpieces. Apparatus according to Claim 5, characterised in that the pick-up surface (18) is curved in cross-section to a configuration approximating the configuration of a curved surface to which an item (44) is to be applied. Apparatus according to any preceding claim, characterised in that said motion producing means (33) is an air cylinder. Apparatus according to any preceding claim, characterised in that the vacuum head (17) has retracted, label pickup and label applying positions. Apparatus according to any preceding claim, characterised in that the strip (13) is fed along a portion of the top surface over a support beak (30), along the bottom surface, around an end portion of the support (14) remote from the dispensing end portion and thence along another portion of the top surface. Apparatus according to any of Claims 3 to 9, characterised in that a rotation means (M) is operably connected to the reels (12,15) for supplying and taking up strip (13) in coordination with advancement of the support (14) and for retarding strip supply and take-up as the support is retracted. Apparatus according to Claim 9 or 10, characterised in that the head (17) is connected to a vacuum source (VAC) which is operated when the head engages an item (44) and as the head moves from its pick-up position to an applying position. Apparatus according to any of Claims 8 to 11, characterised in that a biasing means (35) is operably connected to the head for shifting the head from its retracted to its pick-up position. A method of applying items (44) carried by supply strips (13) such as tags or labels to products, comprising: a) moving the strip to register an item in a pick-up position, thereafter grasping the registered item with a vacuum head (17); b) dispensing the registered item from the item supply strip while so grasped by moving an item support (14) between two portions of the item supply strip while restraining feed of the strip from a supply (12), the movement causing the strip to pass around a dispensing end portion (30) of the support thereby causing the registered item being dispensed to peel off of the supply strip at the dispensing end portion (30); c) subsequently applying the dispensed item to a product (45) with the vacuum head; characterised by d) prior to the dispensing step, moving the head from a retracted position to a pick-up position at which the registered item is grasped and while the registered item is still mounted on the supply strip; A method according to Claim 13, further characterised in that while the feed is so restrained and the positioned item (44) is grasped, the support (14) is moved out of a head path of travel to cause the strip (13) to feed from the dispensing end, thence along a support surface and around another end thereby stripping the positioned and engaged item from the web.

Inventors: WEHRMANN RICK S, WEHRMANN, RICK S.
Applicants: AUTOMATED PACKAGING SYST INC, AUTOMATED PACKAGING SYSTEMS, INC.
Application year: 1992
Main classification: B65C9
IPC codes: B65C9