Method for attaching tags on articles

Abstract: Apparatus for engaging an apertured tag (2) over the neck (3c) of a bottle (3), which includes an article-carrying means (11) for carrying a said article having a head portion (3a) in a predetermined direction, a tag-carrying means (40) disposed above the article-carrying means along the direction of carriage of the article and comprising two pairs of upper and lower moving belts (53,54), said pairs of belts being disposed respectively right and left of the tag-carrying means and inclined so that each of the belts has a starting position higher than the article and an end position of approximately the same height as a shoulder of the article. The peeled tag is carried synchronously with the carriage of the article by holding its side edges between the said belts, to thereby insert the head of the article into the aperture and attach the tag to the neck portion of the article.

Description: The present invention relates to a method of automatically engaging a tag on the neck of an article, for example a tag relating to an advertising campaign. Containers such as PET bottles and bottles of other materials, or similar articles, are often displayed and sold with a tag attached to their neck. Generally known tag attaching apparatus comprises a labeler which continuously delivers a strip which has the tags mounted on the surface thereof and, for example, sharply folds back the strip during its movement, in such a manner that the surface supporting the tag is on the outside and the tag is thereby peeled away from the strip and is able to fall downwards onto a conveyor for conveying it to the article. The tag when so separated from the above labeler is caused to fall onto the neck of the article. Such an apparatus is described, for example, in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open Publication No. 3(1991)-89471. The above-mentioned tag has an aperture through which a head portion of the article may pass. The diameter of the aperture is made slightly larger than the maximum outside diameter of the head portion so that the latter may readily pass through the aperture. When the article is, for example, a PET bottle having a flanged neck portion, a technique is known in which the tag is caused to fall to rest on the flange in the manner described above, and air is then blown downwards to force the tag past the flange and onto a shoulder portion of the article. In this technique, the diameter of the aperture provided in the tag is rendered slightly smaller than the outside diameter of the flange, and the tag is provided with slits radially extending from the aperture. The diameter of the aperture is easily enlarged by virtue of the slits, so that the flange of the bottle can pass through the aperture. However, the above process has a problem in that the tag readily falls off the neck of the article due to the tag aperture having a relatively great diameter, for example if the article is turned over during transportation. Further, with respect to the above-mentioned engagement of the tag by air blowing, there is a drawback in that not only is uniform blowing of the air difficult but also during the falling of the tag the center of the aperture can become misaligned with the center of the head portion of the container, or that the tag falls at an angle, which can lead to breakage of the tag and lack of reliability. According to the present invention there is provided a method of engaging an apertured tag over a neck portion of an article, comprising: carrying a said article in a predetermined direction; and carrying a said tag in a direction having a component of movement parallel to and in the same direction as said predetermined direction by means of two pairs of moving belts which hold lateral edges of the tag between them, said belts moving synchronously with the movement of the article so as to bring the center of the tag aperture into registry with the neck portion of the article, and being inclined so that they have a starting position higher than the article and an end position of the same height as a shoulder portion of the article at the base of its neck, to thereby guide the tag from a position above the article to the said shoulder portion while inserting the neck portion of the article through the aperture in the tag. The tag supplying means may comprise: strip-supplying means for continuously supplying a strip which has a surface carrying the tags; take-up means for taking up the strip; and a peel plate disposed between the strip supplying means and the take-up means and having an edge portion arranged to fold back the strip with the support surface on the outside, to thereby cause successive tags to be peeled from the strip. The said tag-carrying means may be provided with a means for adjusting the lateral spacing between the said pairs of belts. Some embodiments of the invention will now be described by way of example and with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:- Fig. 1 is a side view of a first embodiment of apparatus for operating a method according to the invention; Fig. 2 is a plan view of a relevant part of the embodiment of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a sectional view on the line A-A of Fig. 1; Fig. 4 is a view corresponding to Fig. 3 but of another embodiment; Fig. 5 is a plan view of a modified tag; Fig. 6 is a plan view of a further embodiment of an apparatus for operating a method in accordance with the invention; and Fig. 7 is a side view on the line F-F of Fig. 6. Figs. 1 to 3 illustrate an embodiment of an apparatus for operating the method of the present invention in which tags 2 held on a strip 1 at given spacings are peeled off one by one and automatically attached to a neck portion 3c of a container 3 such as a PET bottle. The tag 2 is detachably bonded to the surface 1a of the strip 1. The tag is formed with an aperture 2a and a plurality of slits extend radially from the aperture. The diameter of the aperture 2a is enlargeable by means of the slits 2b, that is by readily effected folding of regions between neighbouring slits 2b. The diameter d of the aperture 2a is made equal to or greater than the upper outside diameter of a head portion 3a of the container 3 but slightly smaller than the outside diameter D of a flange portion 3b formed at the neck portion 3c (d < D). Thus, when the diameter of the aperture 2a is enlarged to thereby allow the flange portion 3b of the container to pass therethrough, and when the aperture 2a is subsequently restored to its original state by the elasticity of the tag, the aperture 2a catches below the flange portion 3b so that ready removal of the tag is not possible. In this embodiment, the apparatus includes a labeler 10 capable of peeling the tags 2 from the strip 1 one by one and sequentially feeding the peeled tags 2 onto the containers 3, and a carrying conveyor 11 positioned below the labeler 10 and capable of continuously carrying the containers 3 in a standing up state. The labeler 10 is provided with a supply shaft 12 and a take-up shaft 13. A carrying path for the strip 1 is formed between the shaft 12 and the shaft 13. A peel plate 14 disposed in the carrying path is adapted to sharply fold back the strip 1, with the tag-supporting surface 1a on the outside, to thereby separate the tag 2 from the strip 1. Specifically, the strip 1 is guided downwardly from the shaft 12 to a slack zone 15 where the strip 1 is brought into a U-shape, then led upwards, then again led downwards to pass over the front end 14a of the peel plate 14, and thereafter carried back, opposite to the direction of movement of the containers 3, to be finally wound up on the take-up shaft 13. A strip supply roll 21 driven by a strip supply motor 20, and a pinch roll 22 adapted to hold the strip 1 between itself and the strip supply roll 21, are disposed opposite to each other between the supply shaft 12 and the slack zone 15. A slack level detecting switch 23 capable of detecting the amount of slack in the strip 1 within the slack zone 15, is disposed in the slack zone. The apparatus is so set that if the detecting switch 23 no longer detects the strip 1, the strip supply motor 20 is driven to deliver the strip 1 into the slack zone 15. The strip 1 is guided to the front end 14a of the peel plate 14 by a plurality of guide rolls 25 disposed along the strip path, and the strip is then folded back through about 180° with the supporting surface 1a on the outside. The peel plate 14 is flat, being fixed to the tip of a peel plate pedestal 16 and arranged in a slightly downward direction along the direction of movement of the containers 3, and has its front edge portion 14a formed so as to define an acute angle. Thus, the strip 1 is folded back around the peel plate 14 through about 180°, with the tag-supporting surface 1a on the outside. At this time the tag 2 continues to travel linearly along the upper surface of the peel plate 14, due to the rigidity of the tag. As a result, the tag overcomes the adhesion between it and the strip 1 and peels away from the strip. The strip 1 from which the tag 2 has been peeled is then guided between a drive roll 31 driven by a motor 30 and a pinch roll 32 disposed opposite to the drive roll 31. Finally the strip 1 is wound round the take-up roll 13 which is driven by a motor 33. The speed of the motor 30 is controlled so as to regulate the speed of the strip 1 and consequently the rate of supply of the tags 2. A tag carrying device 40 adapted to sequentially carry the tags 2, peeled off by means of the peel plate 14, to the head portions 3a of the containers 3, is disposed as a continuation from the peel plate 14. The tag carrying device 40 comprises a pair of sloping frames 41 respectively disposed on the right and left at a certain spacing, having base ends 41a fixed to the sides of the peel plate pedestal 16 and thence extending downwardly lengthwise of the peel plate pedestal, i.e. along the direction of movement of the containers 3. A horizontal frame 42 is connected to the other ends 41b of the sloping frames 41, for preventing lifting of the tags 2. For example, if the part of the neck portion 3c below the flange 3b of the container 3 is relatively long, the horizontal frame 42 may be sloped slightly downwards so as to guide the tags more deeply onto the shoulder portion 3d of the containers 3. A belt driving motor 43 is disposed above the sloping frames 41, with a driving pulley 44 fastened to its output shaft. A pair of upper and lower driving shafts 45 are arranged adjacent the front edge 14a of the peel plate 14 and are rotatably supported by the sloping frames 41. A timing belt 47 extends between a driven pulley 46 fastened to one end of the upper driving shaft 45, and the driving pulley 44. A gear 48 is fastened to the other end of the upper driving shaft 45, and meshes with a further gear 48, of the same size, fastened to the end of the lower driving shaft 45. Driving pulleys 50, four in total, positioned inside the sloping frames 41, are fastened to the respective ends of the driving shafts 45. A plurality of freely rotatable pulleys 51 are arranged in two rows on the upper and lower sides of each sloping frame 41 and in one row with respect to each horizontal frame 42. The pulleys 51 are mounted on the ends of supports 52 fastened inside the frames 41,42. With respect to the frames 41,42 on each side, an upper moving belt 53 is stretched around the driving pulley 50 fastened to the upper driving shaft 45, the upper pulleys 51 inside the sloping frame 41, and the pulleys 51 inside the horizontal frame 42. Also, with respect to the frames 41 on each side, a lower moving belt 54 is stretched round the driving pulley 50 fastened to the lower driving shaft 45 and the lower pulleys 51 inside the sloping frame 41. Thus the four moving belts 53,54 synchronously travel in the same direction between the upper and lower pulleys 51. The upper belt 53 and the corresponding lower belt 54 are so set that they hold between them the lateral edges of each tag 2 peeled with the peel plate 14 and carry the tag along. The lower ends of the tag holding portions of the moving belts 53,54 are positioned in the vicinity of the shoulder portion of the containers 3 carried on the conveyor 11, i.e. below the flange 3b of the neck portion 3c of the container. A guide member 60 is fixed above the conveyor 11, to line up the containers 3. Also, a container detecting switch 61 is provided above the conveyor. The operation of the above apparatus will now be described. The tags 2 on the strip 1 are peeled off at the peel plate 14. Each peeled tag 2 is gripped at its lateral edges between the upper and lower belts 53,54. The apparatus is so set up that the tags 2 are carried by the belts 53,54 at the same speed as the containers 3 on the conveyor 11. The movement of the strip 1 is timed in accordance with the detection of containers 3 by means of the container detecting switch 61. Thus the apparatus is so adjusted that the motor 30 is driven with a given timing after the detection of the passage of a container 3, to thereby cause the center of the container to coincide with the center of a peeled tag 2. Each tag 2 is guided downwards by the belts 53,54, so that the head portion 3a of the container 3 is inserted into the aperture 2a. As the tag is guided to the vicinity of the shoulder portion 3d of the container 3, the tag is forcibly pressed past the flange 3b of the container. This operation can be easily and reliably performed because the diameter of the aperture 2a is enlarged by means of the slits 2b and because the tag 2 is tensioned by its side edges being held between the belts 53,54. The belts 53,54 are positioned outside of the path of movement of the containers 3 so that they do not obstruct the movement of the containers. The containers 3 each provided with a tag 2 are then sequentially delivered to the next station. Although the travelling belts 53,54 are moved continuously to attach the tags in the above embodiment, they may alternatively travel intermittently, in conformity with the operation of the motor 30. The purpose of providing the horizontal frame 42 with its pulleys 51 and the upper belt 53 extending therearound, is to prevent lifting of the tags 2. When this is not necessary, the horizontal frame 42 and its pulleys 51 can be omitted. Although flat belts are employed as the belts 53,54 in the above embodiment, use may alternatively be made of V or round belts. When round belts are employed, each of the upper belts 53 may be positioned inside the corresponding lower belt 54 and slightly downwards as shown in Fig. 4, to thereby enlarge the contact area between the belts and the tags 2 and thus prevent the tags from being displaced and to increase the tension applied to them. The enlargement of the diameter of the aperture 2a can be facilitated by employing a tag 2 in which notches 2c extend circumferentially at the ends of the slits 2b, as shown in Fig. 5. The present invention is naturally applicable to the use of variously shaped tags other than those shown, such as ones having a rectangular aperture whose short side has a length smaller than the diameter of the flange portion of the container, or ones having a circular aperture of a diameter greater than the diameter of the flange portion but with an inwardly projecting tongue. Another embodiment of an apparatus for operating the method the invention will now be described with reference to Figs. 6 and 7. Fig. 6 is a plan view of a tag carrying device 70, and Fig. 7 is a section on the line F-F of Fig. 6. In Figs. 6 and 7, the same parts are denoted by the same reference numerals as in Figs. 1 and 2. In this embodiment, each of a vertically spaced pair of driving shafts 45 is provided with a pair of driving pulleys 71. The paired driving shafts 45 have semicircular cross sections, and the driving pulleys 71 are freely adjustable along the axes of the driving shafts, being held in selected positions by setscrews 90. The cross section configuration of the shafts 45 may alternatively be square or of splined or channeled form. Each of the sloping frames 41 is formed with two rows of shaft holes extending horizontally therethrough, i.e. upper shaft holes 72 and lower shaft holes 73. Each of the horizontal frames 42 is formed with a row of shaft holes 74 of the same height. Each of the holes 72 and 73 is paired coaxially with the corresponding holes 72 or 73 in the other frame 41, and the holes 74 in the frames 42 are similarly paired. First side plates 75 with the same slopes as the sloping frames 41 and parallel to the latter are disposed outside of the frames 41. Horizontal second side plates 76 parallel to the horizontal frames 42 are disposed outside of the latter. Each plate 75 is fastened at one end to the adjacent second side plate 76. Cylindrical upper supports 77 and lower supports 78, protruding towards the sloping frames 41, are fastened to the first side plates 75. Cylindrical supports 79 protruding towards the horizontal frames 42 are fastened to the second side plates 76. The positions of the upper supports 77 correspond to the upper shaft holes 72, the positions of the lower supports 78 correspond to the lower shaft holes 73, and the positions of the supports 79 correspond to the shaft holes 74. The supports 77 and 78 extend freely through the holes 72 and 73 respectively, and the supports 79 similarly extend through the holes 74. An upper pulley 80 is fitted on the end of each of the upper supports 77, a lower pulley 81 is fitted on the end of each of the lower supports 78, and a pulley 82 is fitted on the end of each of the supports 79. On each side, an upper moving belt 83 is stretched round the upper driving pulley 71, upper pulleys 80 and pulleys 82, and a lower moving belt 84 is stretched round the lower driving pulley 71 and lower pulleys 81. An outside guide plate 85 is fastened by means of screws 86 to each of the sloping frames 41. Each guide plate 85 is formed with a long hole 86A parallel to the driving shaft 45. An upwardly protruding stud 87 is provided on the upper surface of the first side plate 75, extends through the long hole 86A so as to be adjustable therealong, and is fitted with a nut 88. The first side plates 75, second side plates 76, guide plates 85, studs 87 and nuts 88 constitute regulating means G. The other elements are the same as in Figs. 1 to 3. In this embodiment, the rotation of the driving shafts 45 is conveyed through the driving pulleys 71 to the upper belts 83 and lower belts 84, and the tags 2 are carried in the same manner as in the previous embodiment. Loosening of the nuts 88 enables free movement of the first side plates 75, second side plates 76, upper supports 77, lower supports 78, supports 79, upper pulleys 80, lower pulleys 81 and pulleys 82 along the longitudinal direction of the driving shafts 45, so that the lateral spacings of the upper and lower belts 83,84 can be adjusted. Thus the belts 83 and 84 may be brought closer together, for example from the full line positions to the chain line positions shown in Figs. 6 and 7, or may contrarily be spaced further apart, before being fixed by tightening the nuts 88, thereby enabling the tags 2 to be held at the most suitable positions depending on their size. Naturally, the driving pulleys 71 are moved along the driving shafts 45 in accordance with the adjustment of the lateral spacings of the belts 83 and 84, and then fixed. In this connection, graduations may be provided on the upper surfaces of the guide plates 85, to check the movement of the studs 87, so that the lateral spacings of the belts 83 and 84 can be regulated more accurately. The same effect as in this embodiment can be attained by providing the sloping frames 41 with an actuator such as a cylinder operated by oil or air pressure, or a solenoid, for adjusting the positions of the side plates 75 and 76. The above embodiments are effective in carrying a tag with its side edges held between respective pairs of upper and lower moving belts so that the tag is caused to gradually descend, this descent causing the head portion of an article to be inserted in the aperture of the tag to the extent that the tag is brought to the vicinity of the shoulder portion of the article. Even if the head portion of the article is flanged, this descent causes the aperture in the tag to enlarge by means of the slits, so that the flange passes through the aperture. Thus, the tag can automatically and securely be fitted on the neck portion of the article. Moreover, the tag carrying means may be provided with regulating means capable of regulating the lateral spacings of the paired moving belts, whereby a holding force conforming with the size of the tag can be exerted by the moving belts.

Claims: A method of engaging an apertured tag (2) over a neck portion (3c) of an article (3), comprising: carrying a said article in a predetermined direction; and carrying a said tag in a direction having a component of movement parallel to and in the same direction as said predetermined direction by means of two pairs of moving belts (53, 54) which hold lateral edges of the tag between them, said belts moving synchronously with the movement of the article so as to bring the center of the tag aperture into registry with the neck portion of the article, and being inclined so that they have a starting position higher than the article and an end position of the same height as a shoulder portion of the article at the base of its neck, to thereby guide the tag from a position above the article to the said shoulder portion while inserting the neck portion of the article through the aperture in the tag. A method as claimed in claim 1, comprising supplying said tag (2) to said pairs of moving belts (53, 54) on a supporting strip (1); and sharply folding back said strip in such a manner that the tag is peeled from the strip.

Inventors: KIMURA TETSUO, MAEZAWA HIDEYUKI, KIMURA, TETSUO, MAEZAWA, HIDEYUKI
Applicants: LINTEC CORP, LINTEC CORPORATION
Application year: 1995
Main classification: B65C7
IPC codes: B65D23, B65C9, B65C3, B65C7