US2469030A - Paste-applying mechanism - Google Patents

Description

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WILUAM BROWN BY fu-M' /-M A .I4/.s ATToRNEYS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Jan. 5, 1945 INVENTQR m. A mYM. M BM .H M

Patented May 3, 1949 PASTE-APPLYING MECHANISM William A. Brown, Bronx, N. Y., assignor, by

mesne assignments, to Hartford-Empire Company, Hartford, Conn., a corporation of Dela- Ware Application January 5, 1945, Serial No. 571,512

Claims.

This invention relates to mechanism for applying paste or other suitable adhesive to sheets or strips or the like, such, for example, as labels, to aid in securing them to articles such as cans, bottles, and similar containers or articles.

In applying labels to such articles they are usually caused to rol1 along a trackway, either horizontal or vertical, a stack of labels being presented to the trackway from beneath it or at one side of it. The front end of the foremost label is picked up by adhesive applied to the article and as the rolling of the article continues the label is wrapped about it. In order to secure the rear or lap end of the label to the article it is necessary to apply additional adhesive to this end of the label.

The adhesive for the lap end pasting of the labels is usually applied by means of an endless belt supported on pulleys, one on either side of the trackway and so arranged as to cause one reach of the belt to sweep across the width of the foremost or uppermost label of the stack near the rear end. A iilm of adhesive is applied to the belt and deposited thereby in a narrow band extending across the label. Difllculty has heretofore been experienced in preventing a surplus of adhesive from gathering at the side of the label where the belt rst comes in cont-act with it and which tends to spread over the side of the stack and cause the labels to adhere to each other. This interferes with proper feeding of the labels one at a time from the stack and also may disiigure the labels. Furthermore, if such a collection of adhesive is permitted an unsanitary condition Will develop in the operation of the labeling machine.

The present invention aims to overcome these dilliculties and particularly to eliminate the possibility of the collection of adhesive at either side of the foremost label or of the label stack.

Another object of the invention is to provide a mechanism which will apply the paste in such a way as to avoid any tendency of the paste applying mechanism to shift the labels near the top of the stack sidewise in either direction, which movement would result in the labels being improperly applied to the articles.

The natural shape which labels of different kinds assume in a stack varies. Some labels remain flat while others bulge at the center or curl up at the edges, due to the printing or embossing, so that the paste has to be applied either to a convex or to a concave surface. Another object of the invention, therefore, is to provide mechanism which will apply paste to such labels substantially as readily as it will to flat surfaces.

A further object of the invention is to provide a paste applying mechanism which is simple in construction, easily adjusted, and which will operate with a minimum of attention.

The invention will be described in connection with a mechanism for applying labels to round articles, such as cans, but only a suil'icient portion of the label applying mechanism will be illustrated to show the general principle of its operation. It will be understood that the device of the present invention can be utilized wherever it is desired to apply a relatively narrow elongated band of adhesive across the surface of a flat, concave, or convex sheet.

The embodiment of the invention in a can labeling machine is shown in the accompanying drawings, wherein Fig. 1 is a side elevation of the paste applying mechanism with certain parts shown in section, the entire view being also a section taken transversely of the labeling machine and through a stack of labels on the broken line I-l of Fig. 2;

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the paste applying mechanism vand the rear portion of the label stack with parts broken away;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary and somewhat diagrammatic longitudinal section through a, part of the labeling machine and the stack of labels, the section being taken on line 3-3 of Fig. l;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary perspective view showing the manner of applying paste to the uppermost label; and

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary plan View showing the rear or lap end of a label with the paste applied thereto.

Referring noW to the accompanying drawings, and rst to Fig. 3, the cans, one of which is shown in two different positions indicated by numerals I and 2, advance through the labeling machine from left to right along the track sections 3 and 4 between guides 4a (Fig 1), being propelled by the rolling action of the lower reach 5 of a continuously moving belt which is held in frlctional contact with the cans by means of stationary rollers 6.

Before arriving at position l, each can is passed in contact with a plurality of rotating disks l, or other suitable gumming device. Disks 1 are mounted upon a shaft 8, rotate within a body of gum 9 and apply to the sides of the can a plurality of spots of adhesive arranged in 3 spaced relation throughout the length of the can.

The stack of labels I0, shown in longitudinal vertical section in Fig. 3, is placed at such distance from the gum applying disks 'I that the can will make one complete revolution in moving from the disks to the frontend of'. the label stack. Hence thespots vof adhesive on the can will pick up the front end of the uppermost label and cause it to adhere to the can. Then the can rolls up the inclined portions II of rails 4, elevating the can above the to'p'f :the 'stack of labels and separatinethe uppermost, label from the remainder of the stack'.

The labels are of such length asv1 ltb surround the can and permit the ends of the" labels to overlap each other.v w1nv yorder to secure the rear or lap end of the label in pla-ce pastels applied thereto by means of a paste belt,;and.f.a s the can continues to advance along rails 4 the right-handorrear endV o fI the label. slidesmout from beneath belt vI2 and the belt then contacts thernext label of the stack. ADuring,this mofvfel irl'ent lofuwithdraw'al thekupperwnost label, which may bev indicated by.referencev .y [lvl L 'jslifdes beneath a curlingbar I4 which "is -carried by p ivf, oted arms I E 'and arrangedlto j ress yieldingly againstwthetjop of thejstjackof laQe'ls. A A

Vlfulther rolling of the canal'ong the vrfailjsfll :'nmpllfetes thewrap'ping of the label about' 'the can and the can..thenjrolls'forjashortdistance over a ,resilient mat` gr pfady lt ar'ranged beyond the ends. f rails #.arfll by which the. Welehtblf the canra's fit rollswalofng is l* ,ausedw to; smooth out the label.. 'remoifinavifrillklsend pressg, tol.- gether the 'overlapping endsioftlie label sojas to leaveit :neatlyI ,applied to the anjw A The' paste. appli/ing. bell ",2 'is .train detalle@ .a driving pulley I1 arraigedat tlj'le lefthandvside of the apparatus as viewedin Fig. land y 'ar'c'nllnd alsmallerpulleyy Ijn the` right-hand sidevof the eeeeralus- Drvilgfpullev ll .is ffete 001.1- stantly rotating shaft "I 9k and' the "lov/ier` portion of the pulley lllpjs inl-.o body fprpjaste zll` 'liontinedin a receptacle 2 IY which flxed bymean's of bracketsk to theV frameof the labeling ina# chine. Pulley Itfan'dother 4Jparts pf the paste'a'pplying mechanism r`areSlippeifted uperi 'rigid horizontal r-od 23 whichse'cured within'aclanfpmg device '2l im the-side ef 'pa'tereceptale 2l.

`Belt I2 is p'refer'lblyn'lafde of metalwire wound into a closelybiled heliiigtl'le-intersties of which may vbe varied as to their paste holdingcapacity by stretching the bell: .to jclifrernt- `errent:s as 4set forth IL UfSdPtenl'N. 1,985,293, isvs'uedD- cember 25,1934, to W. D. Kimbail,fass'gor to the 'same V=a"s`s`igneefas thef'present application. However belt "l2-'may be composed of 'other material such as rubber, leather, etc.

An kadjustable scraping blade 25 is;mol`1nted on a support VZt'se'cured.to receptacle 2`Ifandis adjustable by means of theiknurled nuts '21 to permit .more or less paste' .to 'be carried'by the belt. Thislblade removes surplus paste which iscarriedup from y.the vbody of pasteA 2li, leaving only a narrow bead 28 j(Fi`g. v2)c.of paste 'atthe center, of the outside ofybelt I2. As...the.."belt travels from the left to .theirighttxin Fig.. 1, f.it may move into contact withen adhesive deflector. 29; which shifts this 'bead of fpaste. around to the bottonteof. the upperfportion Iza. of the belt asgit leaves-thedriving pllll'eyml'l. u l

As indicated in Fig .j1, the1 .two sides orgreaches of the belt ,l 2. @rearranged to cross @aC-h ether, thel .upper portion |221; of one reach onfthe lefthand side of the label stack becoming the lower portion IZb on the right-hand side and passing onto the lower side of pulley I8. After rounding pulley I8 it becomes the upper portion I2c of the other reach on the right-hand side of the stack and then, after crossing the label stack again, becomesthe lowerportion I2d. and passes over a guide pulley 3o, and back to driving pulley I'I.

u The two reaches of the belt are arranged to ycross each other and simultaneously to approach l*the label 'stack Ill from above and to make conv In order to obtain the full advantage of the invention the two reaches-of the belt should engage or make contact "with each amer at the crossing point ne andthis crossing point should be at the center of the label, that is, midway between its side edges. The beadvof Ipaste carried ,forward `by vthe belt after leaving scraper blade 2,5' and shifted around to the Abottom Vof 'the leftfhanld upperwportion I Zafof the belt by deflector Zabecomes distributed over thelowerllalf of. the beltby the ltime it reaches the crossingpoint 12e. Infact, when a helical wirebeltis employed "tllejdeflector ,29 'can be omitted, becausefthenatural vibration of the spllg belt caused by the fridtional 'engagement of. the .two reaches ofthe Ibelt 'atktlfle cr`ossing point 12e produces 'a kslli'ftiljlg of .thebead of paste from'the outer orupperhside of the', belt tothe ,lower .side and la. atterling out of this bead f paste intoathinand more uniform film.I Ajs the belt 'marnueses .travel towards the right from the c'ro'ssir'g point 12e across the upper surface of the. right-hand 4half' of the ytippelifrl`l`o`s`t label., tfapplies. to; the label .1a. narrow Vstrip df paste, indicated., approki'mately r.by 'r`1`ul1f1eral-- 3,'I in Fig- .5.. Similarly the 'portion 12d `s:'v've`.ep"sl across uiele'fti-nad half of ,the uppermost label and applies thl'eretl')I a second na'rrow strip of paste which is indicated Y approiinliately lby llfuriieral 325m Fig.` 5. A'sgtlie .porti-in12dA o'filthe paste belt engages -portion I 2c, `th at is, .the other reach of Ythe belt, atftlfle .crossing poignty'lzaa partgof the pastefcar'riedfby. portion `i201, is transferred tothe other reach and carried Lto the. left bythe lower left-handportio-n IZd. 'I hat is to say, a Vpart @themas ,whaha applied .e 'the .arabi ae portion-` |261 ofthe beltis received rdirectly from theportion I2a..at the crossing ppint l2e` Even it. -because fot-meladlustment 0f the scraping blade2i or Otherwise llllnls er balls i- Paste are..ca1rie,d;.a1one the. pertien im.. such. surplus paste is immediately transferred atgthe crossing point l2 e to the lportion I- Zdand returned to the paste receptaclefwithout collecting uponor damaging any label. l -'From the above it will-be understood that lone reachor sidev'of belt I2v applies -thegpaste tothe right-hand portion ofthe label as viewedin Fig. l, 4while the other reach or side of the belt applies the paste to the .left-handfside of the label.V The paste-is thus applied to the'label .simultaneously by twowiping actionsin `opposite directions from the center of the label to itsxside- .edges. The resultgs thatthere isnoltendency lf-oLthe label to shift `sidewisein-neither.. direction. The upper Dart QfI label. Stack-.f Il! V#mail "extend without ASill@ support for one-,half inch or more above the tops 0f the. Stacky guides SMS shown. in 'Fie- .1.

Asthe labelisdrawn from beneath the .paste belt. the paste .slspread ever the Surface. O f .the

label by .the wiping actionof the belt from .the

paste strips 3| and 32 to the rear e'nd of the label asindicated in Fig. 5.

'I'he reach of the belt which applies the paste to the right-hand portion of the label approaches the label from above and passes over the lefthand edge of the stack lll at a substantial distance above it. Similarly, the reach which applies the paste to the left-hand portion of the label also approaches from above the stack and crosses the right-hand edge of the top label well above it. Hence there is no opportunity for paste to be scraped oi the belt at either side edge of the label stack rand run down over its sides. Even labels whose edges are considerably curled by embossing or otherwise will not touch the api,

proaching sides of the paste belt.`

The adjustment of the paste belt with respect to the label stack is controlled principally by the adjustment of pulley I8. It may also be controlled by adjusting guide pulley 3i! vertically and this pulley may be mounted on a vertically adjustable bracket (not shown). For the purpose of adjusting pulley I 8 it is mounted on a supporting bracket 33 which has an adjustable clamp 3s by which it is positioned on supporting rod 23. By means of this support pulley I8 may be tilted in such a way as to cause the two sides of belt I2 to cross at about the center of the label stack; also, the belt may be stretched to a greater or less extent to vary the amount of adhesive carried by it (when a helical spring belt is used).

The paste applying mechanism of the present invention applies the paste to labels of different characteristics without the use of a center finger and without danger of smearing the paste on either edge of the label stack. It eliminates the need for shoes and other devices to prevent such smearing heretofore employed where the paste was applied to the label by one side or reach only of the belt, and does away with the annoyance accompanying the adjustment of such devices. 'I'he present paste applying mechanism is simple to adjust and requires little service attention.

It will be understood that the embodiment of the invention illustrated and described above exemplifies the nature of the invention but does not limit it, and that changes may be made without exceeding the scope of the invention which extends to such constructions as are included within the terms of the appended claims.

I claim:

l. In a lap end pasting mechanism for labeling machines, means for supporting a stack of labels, an endless belt adapted to carry adhesive and arranged to travel crosswise of said stack, means for driving said belt, means for supplying adhesive thereto, and guides for directing oppositely moving portions of said belt into contact with each other and with the foremost label of the stack intermediate its edges and causing the contact of each of said belt portions with the label to continue to the opposite edges of the label.

2. In a lap end pasting mechanism for labeling machines, means for supporting a stack of labels, an endless belt adapted to carry adhesive and arranged tc travel crosswise of said stack, means for driving said belt, means for supplying adhesive thereto, and guides for directing oppositely moving portions of said belt into contact with each other and with the foremost label of the stack substantially midway between its side edges and causing the contact lil 6 of each of said belt portions with the label to continue to the opposite edges of the label.

3. In a lap end pasting mechanism for labeling machines, means for supporting a stack of labels, an endless belt adapted to carry adhesive andarrangedto travel crosswise of said stack, means for driving said belt, means for supplying adhesive thereto, and a guide for directing one reach of said belt into contact with the foremost label of the stack intermediate the edges thereof and causing it to sweep along the label surface to one of its edges, and a second guide for directing the other reach of said belt into contact with said first mentionedreach and into contact with the label at a point contiguous to that at which the dirst reach contacts the label and causing it to sweep along the label surface to the opposite edge thereof.

4. In a lap end pasting mechanism for labeling machines, means for supporting a stack of labels, an endless belt adapted to carry adhesive and arranged to travel crosswise of said stack,

means for driving said belt, means for supplying adhesive thereto, and a guide for directing one reach of said belt into contact with the foremost label of the stack at a point midway between the edges thereof and causing it to sweep along the label surface to one of its edges, and a second guide for directing the other reach of said belt into con-tact with the label midway between its edges and causing it to sweep along the label surface.

5. In a lap end pasting mechanism for labeling machines, means for supporting a stack of labels, an endless belt adapted to carry adhesive and arranged to travel crosswise of said stack, means for driving said belt, means for supplying adhesive thereto, and means for directing oppositely moving portions of said belt into contact with the lforemost label of the stack intermediate its edges comprising, guide means for the respective reaches of said belt disposed at one side of the label stack, one outwardly and one inwardly of the outermost label, a pulley disposed on the opposite side of said stack at about the level of said label, and means for adjustably supporting the same with its axis tilted with respect to said label surface, the reaches of the belt extending over said guide means and around said pulley and crossing each other.

6. In a machine for applying adhesive to the surface of a sheet, means for supporting the sheet, an endless belt adapted to carry adhesive, means for driving the same, means for applying adhesive thereto, and guides for directing the two reaches of said belt into contact with each other and with said sheet intermediate the edges thereof to apply adhesive thereto simultaneously.

7. In a lap end pasting mechanism for labeling machines, means for supporting a stack of labels, an endless belt adapted to carry adhesive, means for driving the same, means for supplying adhesive thereto, and means for supporting said belt to travel crosswise of said stack with the two reaches of said belt crossing each other intermediate the side edges of the foremost label and contacting the same to apply adhesive thereto simultaneously.

8. In a lap end pasting mechanism for labeling machines, means for supporting a stack of labels, an endless belt adapted to carry adhesive, means for driving the same, means for supplying adhesive thereto, and supports for said belt directing it to travel crosswise of said stack with the two

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