An Improved Labelling Machine, principally useful for Labelling Bottles.
Year: 1898

page_text: Date of Application, 6th July, 1898-Accepted, 13th Aug., 1898
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
An Improved Labelling Machine, principally useful for Labelling
Bottles.
We, SAMUEL FYFE, of No. 46, Nott Street, Port Melbourne, in the Colony of
Victoria, Plumber and Gasfitter, and WALTER CHAMBERLAIN PEACOCK, of
Equitable Buildings, Collins Street, Melbourne, in the said Colony of Victoria,
Merchant, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what manner the
same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by
the following statement:
-
This invention has been devised in order to provide a machine which will enable
bottles and other articles to be labelled more expeditiously and in a cleaner manner
than is practicable by hand.
A suitable support is provided for the bottles or other articles to be labelled and
the labels which are to be applied thereto are placed in piles upon or in any con-
venient holder or support.
The essential feature of this invention consists in the use of a plate or disk
adapted for carrying and applying the label which plate or disk is so constructed
and operated as that it will pass underneath and contact with a piece of flannel
or other absorbent material dipping into or otherwise kept moistened with water
or other suitable liquid. By this means the surface of the plate will be suffi-
ciently moistened to cause it to adhere to the uppermost of the pile of labels and
to carry said label over a roller adapted to apply a layer of adhesive material to it
after which said plate will apply the label to the surface of the bottle or other
article and subsequently contact with the water or other liquid supply and so on
throughout another operation.
Various modifications may be made in a machine of this character in order to
adapt it for labelling different articles. This is more particularly the case with
the label carrying and applying plate or disk as will be readily understood on
reference to the accompanying drawings in which,
Figure 1 represents a perspective view of a labelling machine constructed
according to this invention and showing it as adapted for applying labels to
bottles or other articles having a round surface.
Figure 2 is a plan of said machine whilst,
Figure 3 is a diagrammatic view illustrating the various steps in the operation
of the machine.
•
Figure 4 is a view illustrating the construction of a detail of said machine.
Figure 5 is a plan showing a modification of the machine.
Figure 6 is a vertical section on line 6-6 Figure 5.
Figures 7, 8 and 9 are various views illustrating the construction of the label
carrying and applying plate used in this modification of the machine.
Figures 10 and 11 are plans illustrating the operation of a modified form of
label carrying and applying plate.
Figures 12 and 13 are similar views illustrating still another modification of said
plate.

page_text: The same letters of reference indicate the same or corresponding parts through-
out the drawings.
Referring first to Figures 1 to 4 A represents the label-carrying-and-applying-
plate or disk above referred to whilst B represents a bottle or other article to
which one of the pile of labels C is to be applied, said article being placed by
hand or otherwise upon a suitable support, such for instance as the shelf b whilst
the labels Care placed in a pile at the opposite end of the machine and are re-
tained in position by means of projecting pins c¹ whose inner surfaces are barbed
downwards as shown to an exaggerated degree in Figure 4 in order to prevent
more than one label at a time being removed by the plate or disk A.
This label-carrying-and-applying-plate or disk may if preferred be faced with
rubber. It is pivotally mounted in the upper ends of a pair of arms D adapted
to be operated by a foot lever d and fitted with a spring to return them to
their normal positions. A pivot or pivots a upon which the plate or disk A is
mounted works in bearings a¹ on the upper ends of the arms D) and either or both
said pivots are provided with a projecting crank arm a² the end of which may be
fitted with an anti-friction roller a adapted to work in guides EE cut in or
secured to one of the side bars I of the frame of the machine.
These guides EE' are fitted with spring points or switches e e¹ for the purpose
hereinafter described.
G represents a receptacle containing water or other liquid and having a piece
of flannel y or other absorbent material dipping into it and hanging over the side
for the purpose of moistening the face of the plate or disk A.
A
H represents a roller arranged to rotate partially within a receptacle h contain-
ing paste or other adhesive composition and which is placed in such a position that
the plate or disc A in travelling towards the bottle or other article to be labelled
will cause the label carried by it to contact with said roller whereby a thin even
layer of the adhesive composition will be applied to the back of the label.
small wire or wires extending across the roller H serves to prevent said label
adhering thereto and is adapted to fit within a small groove h2 cut for the purpose
in the surface of said roller which latter is mounted in spring supports h³ to
allow it to give if required when the plate A is passing over it.
In cases where the article to be labelled has a flat surface the plate or disk A
can be made in one flat piece, but when bottles or other articles which are not
flat have to be labelled then the plate or disk A is made in halves and the bear-
ings a in which the pivots a of each half of said plate or disk are mounted have
to be pivotted upon the ends of the arms D, small spiral springs a being used
for the purpose of normally holding the two halves of the plate or disc A in one
plane. Projecting tongues a on each half of the plate or disk retain the halves
in one plane whilst said plate is being moved towards the article to be labelled,
whilst stops on the ends of the arms D hold the bearings a¹ and therefore the
two halves of the plate or disk A in their normal position whilst moving away
from said article.
II represent two spring guides which are arranged on either side of the
machine alongside of the article to be labelled whilst ii represent two downwardly
projecting pins on the bearings or sleeves a¹ carrying the disk or plate A. These
pins when said plate is being moved towards the article to be labelled pass on the
outside of the spring guides I but when said plate or disk has reached the end
of its stroke they engage with the inner sides of said guides and thus serve to
keep the two halves of said disk apart for a short distance as hereinafter described.
If preferred these pins ii might be mounted direct upon each half of the plate A
and be arranged to engage with springs I supported nearer the centre of said plate.
By this means a more direct and steadier action is obtained than is possible where
the effect is transmitted to the plate from the opposite side of its pivotal support.
The operation of this improved labelling machine will he understood by refer-
ence to Figure 3. In the position marked 1 in said figure the plate or disk A is
supposed to be travelling away from the article to be labelled and the crank-

page_text: arm a is passing along the lower guide E' so that the face of said plate or disk
will be uppermost and consequently will be moistened by coming in contact with
the piece of absorbent material g depending from the reservoir G. As the arms D
continue to carry the plate or disk A away from the article to be labelled said
crank-arm a² will pass the spring point or switch e which will rise to allow of
said passage but will then return to the position indicated in Figure 3. It will
be noticed that the guide E¹ gradually rises towards the pile of labels C conse-
quently the arm a² will be raised and the disk or plate A will be turned on its
pivots into its vertical position with its moistened face towards the labels. When
this moistened face is brought in contact with the uppermost label the latter will
be caused to adhere to it so that on the return movement of the plate A this label
will be removed from the rest of the pile and will be carried with it. When the
plate A has been withdrawn a sufficient distance from the pile C to allow it to be
turned over without touching them the crank-arm a² enters a recess e² at the com-
mencement of the upper guide E and is arrested sufficiently to turn the plate or
disk A over so that the face carrying the label will be downwards.
The plate or disk A will now be moved towards the position indicated by 3 the
crank-arm being switched into the guide E by the spring point e will hold
the plate face downwards until it has passed over the paste applying roller H
whereby the back of the label will be coated with adhesive material. As soon as
the plate or disk A is clear of the roller H the crank-arm will contact with a
downwardly sloping part 3 of the guide E and will be forced backwards and
downwards until the plate or disk A has been turned into its vertical position with
its face towards the article to which the label is to be applied. At about this
stage the crank-arm 2 will pass the spring switch e'. The plate or disk A is then
moved towards the bottle or other article to be labelled until the centre of it con-
tacts with the surface of said article. As the arms D continue to force the plate
or disk A against such article its two halves will be caused to open against the
resistance of the springs at the effect being that they will slide over the surface
of the label and will press it firmly and evenly on to the surface of the article
until they are quite clear of its outer edge. They will then be in the position
indicated in Figure 2 and the pins i will have passed round the ends of the
spring guides I. On the return movement of the plate or disk A away from the
bottle or other article B these pins will bear against the inner surfaces of said
spring guides and will thus hold the two halves of the plate or disk A out of
contact with the label until said plate is entirely clear of said label when they will
allow the springs to close the two halves of the plate together again when the
projecting fingers on each half will by engaging with the opposite half hold
the plate in one plane as before.
As the plate or disk A is moved away from the bottle or other article B the
crank-arma will enter a recess et at the commencement of the lower guide E¹
and will thus turn the plate A. over into its horizontal position with its face upper-
most. The switch will then guide said crank arm into the lower guide E
whereby the plate will be held in that position until it has again passed under the
absorbent material and thus commences a fresh operation.
The machine above described is adapted for applying one label at a time to a
bottle or other article. By duplicating the parts it can be used for placing a
label on opposite sides of an article as will be readily understood on reference to
Figures 5 and 6. These views show substantially an identical machine to that
illustrated in Figures 1 and 2 but adapted for placing a label on the two ends of
a jain tin for instance.
It will be noticed that in this arrangement two plates AA are shown each
carried by pivotted arms I) connected to a treadle d whereby said arms may be
simultaneously moved towards the article to be labelled, springs d' being used as
before for moving said arms and therefore the plates A back towards the piles of
labels C.
In cases where the surface to be labelled is flat, as for instance the ends of a

page_text: jam tin, the label-carrying-and-applying-plates-or disks A need not be made in
halves as illustrated in Figures 1 and 2 but provision is preferably made for assist-
ing the withdrawal of the labels from said plates especially in cases where there
are inequalities in the surface to which the label is to be applied. This may be
accomplished by using small spring plungers a projecting through openings in
the plates and carried by levers a projecting at the ends opposite said plungers
beyond the plates A. Small spiral springs a are arranged around the pin or
spindles al upon which said plunger levers are fulcrummed and tend to draw
back said plungers into the body of the plate A at the same time moving the outer
end of the levers as into a position slightly in advance of said plates.
A thin spring shield J is supported upon the frame of the machine adjacent to
the part of the article to be labelled and is cut away in the centre as illustrated
at in Figure 7 to allow the passage of the label-carrying and applying plate-or-
disk A through it.
The operation of moistening the surface of the plate or disc A picking up a
label and passing it over the surface of the paste applying rollers H is identically
the same as above described with reference to Figures 1 to 3. The only differ-
ence in the operation of this modification of the invention is when the plates A
are brought into contact with the article to be labelled. The effect of this is that
the spring shields J are bent or forced slightly inwards owing to the plungers a
coming in contact with the surface of the article. As the plate A is withdrawn
the shield J forces back the ends of the levers as thus projecting the plungers a
and thereby pushing the label away from said plate and holding it temporarily
against the tin or other article until the plate is drawn out of contact therewith.
These plungers need not be employed where the adhesion between the labels and
the surfaces to which they are to be applied is sufficient to withstand the pull
on the label when the plate is being withdrawn.
In cases where it is required to apply labels to the ends of an article so that
they extend across the face or end thereof and partly down the sides it is neces-
sary to use a plate constructed as illustrated in Figures 10 and 11. In this modi-
fication the central part A of the plate is cut out to correspond with the shape of
the lid or other article over which the label is to be applied. This central part A
is mounted so that it can be slid back against the resistance of a spring or
springs a so that when the plate A A carrying a label is brought in contact with
the article to which such label is to be supplied the central part A will come in
contact therewith and will hold the major portion of the label in position whilst
the continued movement of the other part or parts A¹ of the plate will bend the
rest of the label over the edge of the article and will cause it to adhere to the sides.
It is necessary that the parts A' of the label shall be moved back out of contact
with the label on the return stroke. For this purpose they are pivotted as indi-
cated at a to the cranked spindle a used for supporting and operating the
plate A A¹ and their outer ends are fitted with pins adapted to engage with springs
such as I arranged and operating substantially as above described by reference to
Figures 1 to 3.
In the modification of the label-carrying-and-applying-plate A illustrated in
Figures 12 and 13 it is shown as made of a piece of flexible spring plate adapted
to be folded around the bottle or other article on coming in contact therewith the
spring a being used if found necessary to assist in straightening the spring plate
after each operation.
It will be readily understood that the contrivances above described may be used
for applying almost any desired shape of label to almost any desired size or form
of receptacle or package, the size and shape of the label-carrying-and-applying-
plate A being made to correspond with the size and shape of the labels.
If preferred instead of mounting the label-carrying-and-applying-plates A on
the ends of pivotted arms or levers such as D they may be mounted upon recipro-
cating carriers adapted to be moved to and fro either by a treadle or by hand or
they may be driven by any suitable mechanism from any convenient source of

page_text: power. It will also be obvious that they might be worked in direct connection
with a bottling machine.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what
we claim is:—
1. The herein described labelling machine consisting of the various parts con-
structed, arranged and operating substantially as and for the purposes herein
described and explained and as illustrated by reference to either Figures 1 and 2
or 5 and 6 of the accompanying drawings.
2. In a labelling machine a label-carrying-and-applying-plate or disk (as A) con-
structed and arranged substantially as and for the purposes herein described and
explained and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
3. In a labelling machine a label carrying and applying plate (A) pivotally
mounted upon a support (such for instance as arms D) and having a crank arm
(such as a projecting from its pivot or one of its pivots in combination with
guides (such as EE) whereby said plate is turned bodily over on its forward and
backward travel substantially as and for the purposes herein described and ex-
plained and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
4. In a labelling machine a label-carrying-and-applying-plate A made in two
halves which are normally held in one plane by springs or otherwise but which
are free to open or move apart on coming in contact with the bottle or other
article-having a convex face-to be labelled substantially as and for the purposes
herein described and explained and as illustrated in Figures 1 to 4 of the accom-
panying drawings.
5. In a
labelling machine a label-carrying-and-applying-plate made in halves
and fitted with projecting tongues (as a) to hold said halves in one plane whilst
the plate is travelling in one direction, together with stops (such as a) to effect
the same purpose when said plate is travelling in the opposite direction substan-
tially as and for the purposes herein described and explained and as illustrated in
the accompanying drawings.
6. In a labelling machine a label-carrying-and-applying plate (such as A) a
liquid receptacle (such as G) with a depending piece of flannel or other absorbent
material and a roller (such as H) supplied with paste or other adhesive com-
position all combined and arranged substantially as and for the purposes herein
described and explained and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
7. In a labelling machine plungers (such as a) adapted to be projected from the
face of a label-carrying-and-applying-plate on its withdrawal from the article to
be labelled, substantially as and for the purposes herein described and explained
and as illustrated in Figures 5 to 9.
8. In a labelling machine the combination with a roller (such as H) for applying
adhesive composition to a label, of a wire (such as h¹) projecting across and fitting
into a groove in said roller substantially as and for the purposes herein described
and explained and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
9. In a labelling machine a label-carrying-and-applying-plate made in two or
more parts in combination with springs (such as I) engaging pins (such as i) or
other projections on said plate substantially as and for the purposes herein
described and explained and as illustrated in Figures 1, 2, 10 and .11 of the accom-
panying drawings.
10. In a labelling machine pins (such as c¹) having their inner surfaces barbed
downwards substantially as and for the purposes herein described and explained
and as illustrated in Figure 4* of the accompanying drawings.
11. In a labelling machine a-label-carrying-and-applying-plate having its central
portion (such as A) arranged so that it can slide back against the resistance of a
spiral or other spring whilst the rest of the plate folds down the outer parts of
the label over the edge of the tin or other receptacle substantially as and for the

page_text: purposes herein described and explained and as illustrated in Figures 10 and 11
of the accompanying drawings.
12. In a labelling machine a label-carrying-and-applying-plate made of flexible
material so that it can fold around the article to be labelled and afterwards spring
back to its flat condition substantially as and for the purposes herein described
and explained and as illustrated in Figures 12 and 13 of the accompanying draw-
ings.
Datod this 21at do
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