Patent GB-912592-A (GB)
Title: Marking of articles
Inventor: SMITH GEOFFREY
IPC: B41K3/42
Filed: 1958-07-17
Abstract: 912,592. Labelling machines. POLYMARK Ltd. July 16, 1959 [July 17, 1958], No. 22941/58. Class 73. A machine for applying heat-sealable tabs or labels to articles positions a label 71 in contact with the article and feeds them to the sealing position by a movable support 23 which is carried by one end of a lever 26 that is subjected to a lifting force to which a member 27 at the end of the lever provides a reaction to the lift. The lift is provided by a cam 33 on a shaft 34 through a link 30 on a fixed pivot at 31. The shaft 34 is rotated once per labelling cycle by a motor 35 and carries a range of other cams which actuate the various operations of the cycle in timed succession. When the support 23 is pushed up about its pivot 25 to carry the article to a position below a heated platen 120 (Fig. 3, dotted line) a linkage 38, 41 operates a microswitch 42 to start cycle. The support 23 is retained in its upright position by a slot 39 cooperating with a fixed bolt 40 until at the end of the cycle a stud 47 on a wheel 37 on the shaft 34 operates on a nose 45 to release it. Subsequently the stud 47 also switches off the motor 35 by lifting a nose 49 on the link 41. Tape from a reel 72 is positively fed between wheels 78, over a cam-actuated cutter 94 to a member 80 on a lever. Whilst the lever is rocked to carry a severed label 71 to a gripper 55 positioned at " a " (Fig. 2) above a printing platen 101 a spring blade turns the end of the label through 80 degrees to form a tag or finger grip [see Specification 912,594]. The gripper 55 then swings from position " a " to an " intermediate " position, shown in full lines in Fig. 2. The movement of the label just described takes place during the cycle preceding that in which it is applied to the article; which cycle is started with the severed label in the intermediate position. In the label-applying cycle the gripper 55 first swings the label back to position " a " where the platen rises sharply, to cause pivot wheels in a printing head to print the label with a suitable code. It then swings to position " b " above the article on the support 24 which has already been raised upright to start the cycle. The gripper 55 is closed and opened by a cam-operated sleeve 65 (Fig. 3) on a vertical shaft 56 which is rotated through a spring linkage 57, 58, 59, 61 (Fig. 1) operated by studs 47 and 62 on the wheel 37, so as to swing the gripper from position " a " to position " b " as required. Finally the cam-lever 30 lifts the lever 26 until the label and article contact the treated platen 120, a constant pressure being provided after contact has been made by the weight of the member 27 acting through lever 26 about pivot 29 as fulcrum. The printing mechanism [see Specification 912,593, Group XVI] provides for printing the labels with a serial number corresponding to a batch of articles and a number showing the number of articles in the batch. Dials are provided for setting the required numbers. A lever 107, spring-linked to the lever 41, inhibits operation of the switch 42 by the latter when all the articles of a batch have been labelled and until a new batch number has been set on the dials.