US2495174A - Labeling machine - Google Patents

Description

Jam 11? mm J, D, MC LATCHIE 2,495,174

LABELING MACHINE Filed May 9, 1947 4 Sheets-Sheet l 27 1 INVENTOR. Ja'myfl/Vc [km-6M5 ATTORNEY Jana W, 11959 J, MCCLATCHIE ZAQSJM Q LABELING MACHINE Filed May 9, 1347 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 gzamw-mmisiaam im W \l 6 JNVENTOR.

a/v/v Q Ma. (Zara/WE ATTO/PEV J. D. M CLATCHJE LABELING MACHINE 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed May 9, 1947 INVENTOR.

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Illllll Jan. 117, l5 J. D. M cLATcHlE 2,495,174

LABELING MACHINE Filed May 9, 1947 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 V 4777/9/VEX Patented Jan. 17, 1950 Nl'lED s'rarss QEFF'ICE LABELING MAGHINE John D. McClatchi-, Middletown, N. Y.

Application May '9, 1947, Serial No. 747,085

7 Claims. ((21. tie- 4) This invention relates to labeling machines,

Another object of the invention is to provide 1:

a labelling machine having a construction which insures a positive movement of the ,receptacleslor objects being labelled through the machine, and in which the means for advancing the receptacles or other objects through the machine acts on each object independently of the others and with the same pressure. With the improved machine the propelling force on one object is in no way lessened by the presence of other obiects ahead of it or behind it.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a machine through which the objects being moved will be advanced .so uniformly that other operations, such as the printing of a. batch mark or date, can be performed on the labels at any predeterrnired location thereon.

A further object of the invention is to provide a yielding means, in the form of an aireinfiated shoe on a propelling or feed wheel, which advances the receptacles or other objects "through the machine by frictional engagement with the surfaces of the same, such a yielding or com: pressible means compensating for any slight differences in diameter of the receptaclesor other objects, this being particularly true in the case of glass containers or jars.

Another objectof the invention-is to provide a machine of this character in which the contact pressure of the advancing means -'on the objects being labelled may be positively controlled.

More particularly, the invention contemplates the provision of a rotatable feeding wheel provided with a yieldable shoe on its periphery, said shoe being maintained in contact with the surfaces of the objects to'be labelled to thereby rotate said objects and bodilymove the samealong a support to a station where the objects receive an application of glue spots on their surfaces. Thereafter the wheel moves the objects to a label holder where each object adhesively en- 2 gages .a label, strips it from the holder and causes it :to be wrapped and ad hesively secured about the object, whereupon the applied "label is firmly press d plac These and ther objects are attained ,by the invention, a mor par c lar description of which will hereinafter appear a d be set forth in the claims appended here o.

In he a c mpany n r wi where n ustrative emb dime of h in ention is disl ed. Fi 1 is a op p an v w o a label n machine, constructed in accordance with the invennon; Fig 2 is a view showing a jar orother like receptacle to be labelled, and indicatin the man.-

' 1 in wh h he ln ceptacle engaces o e o the labels to be applied to it; Fig. 3 .is a sectional View, showing .the glue-applying means and neh c e 0 ti g and a vanc ng ans as constructed for operation upon relatively tall bottles or like cylindrical receptacles; Fig. i is a (vert cal sectional view through the machine; ,5 is side elevation of the upper portion of (the ma- ,chine Fig. 6 is a top plan view, with parts in section, the section being taken on the line of Fig. '7, looking-in theclirectionof theai" s,.of the label stack and parts adjacent to the same, including the pressing means for memento edportion of the applied labels; Fig. 8 isa sectional view of oneof the adjustable label-retaining pins and the mounting for the same; 313. 19 is a front view, with parts ,in section, of the dev ce which applies spots of glue to the surface of each receptacle; 1:0 is a vertical sectional view throngh the glue-applying means of Fig. '9; Fig. 11 a sectional view "taken on the-line ll-ll of Fig. 10, looking in the direction of the arrows; Fig.1? is a sectional view taken on the line -l2-i'2 of Fig. lO, looliin'g in the-direction of the arrows; Fig. -1:3 'is a sectional view showing-the label stack an'lthe means for applying glue to each label before-the same is taken :from the stack by a receptacle; Fig. 14 is a sectional view, taken atrig'nt-angles'to that of Fig. 13, through the glue-applying means for the labels, and Fig. 15 is a plan View of a portion of the machine, showing the application thereto of means for intermittently rotating the glue-feed for the labels.

Referring to thedrawings, indicates thesu'pporting base of the anachine, which rests upon the :floor, and mounted thereon is a housing ,2

containing gearing, including a driving worm 3. Worm 3 is secured upon a shaft 4, mounted in suitable bearings, and externally of the housing 2, the shaft 4 carries a pulley 5, driven by a belt 5 from a motor 1 suitably mounted upon the base Rising from the housing 2 is a tubular post or standard 8, which contains a vertically disposed rotatable shaft 9, mounted at its lower end in the bearing l5 and carrying a gear H in mesh with and driven by the worm 3. At the upper end of the post or standard 8 is fixedly attached a circular table l2 through which the vertical shaft 9 extends, the upper portion of said shaft carrying pulleys which drive a turntable and two glueapplying devices to be later described.

Fixed on the shaft 9, as by the pin I3, is a receptacle-advancing and rotating wheel l4, herein referred to for convenience as the feed wheel, and the same consists of a relatively large-diameter spoked wheel provided with a rim IE on which is fixedly secured a compressible, yielding, air-inflated tube or shoe I5, which may be in the nature of a small-diameter pneumatic tire. This pneumatic shoe It thus provides the feed wheel with a yielding and adaptable periphery which engages the objects 25 to be labelled and rotates the same positively and at a uniform rate of speed, at the same time advancing them toward the discharge end of the machine. The shoe i6 is provided with a conventional tire valve El by means of which it may be inflated to the required extent to enable it to firmly and frictionally engage the receptacles to be labelled and rotate them, while advancing them from the entrance end of the machine to the egress end.

Secured upon the vertical shaft 9 is a pulley l8 about which extends a crossed belt l9 which passes about a pulley 25 secured upon a short shaft 2|, rotative in the bearing 2211 at the end of an arm 22 secured to the table 2 by the screws 23. Fastened to the shaft 2| is a feeding turntable 24 on which the objects to be labelled, such as receptacles 25, shown in the drawing as glass jars, are manually placed or else are fed thereto by suitable conveying means, to be transported by the turntable to a position where they are successively engaged by the feed wheel Hi and moved thereby to the first glue-applying station. Secured on the upper end of the shaft 2| is a disk 25 which serves to maintain the receptacles in a line, with the aid of the curved or arcuate guide rail 25, clearly shown in Fig. 1.

As seen in Fig. 1, the receptacles 25 are carried by the turntable 24 in the direction of the arrow appearing on the turntable, to the point indicated at 25a, where the receptacle there located is contacted by the periphery of the yielding shoe l6 and is rotated thereby in a direction opposite to that in which the feed wheel I 4 rotates to thereby shift the receptacle bodily in the direction of travel of the feed wheel. The feed wheel thus acts as a friction drive against the receptacles 25 so that the receptacles, in spaced relation, are rotated by the feed wheel and are moved forwardly in the direction of movement of the feed wheel. It will be noted that the table I2 is formed at the top with a radially extending flange 2'! constituting an annular support on which the receptacles rest upright and on their bottoms while they are being rotated by the feed wheel and are being advanced thereby toward the outlet end of the machine. Extending partly around the periphery of the feed wheel 4 and spaced therefrom, is a rail 28, supported by the brackets 29 extending from table l2. The rail 28 is interrupted at several points to permit the rotating receptacles 25 to contact with a glue-applying means shown at 30 and with labels in a stack shown at 66. The space between the yielding periphery of the feed wheel l4 and the rail 28 constitutes a channel through which the receptacles to be labelled are moved while being rotated by the feed wheel I4. Due to the fact that the feed wheel l4 rotates at a greater speed than the turntable 24, the pick-up of the receptacles by the feed wheel is such as to space the receptacles apart as they are moved by the feed wheel, substantially as shown in Fig. 1.

At 30 is generally indicated the glue-applying station where each receptacle 25 has applied to its surface, two or more dabs or spots of glue as indicated at 3| in Fig. 2, so that by means of these spots of glue, the receptacles can adhesively engage and withdraw a label from a stack and cause such label to be wrapped about the receptacle. The glue-applying station 30 includes a glue receptacle 32, containing glue 34, which is heated and kept in fluid condition by means of a heater 33 located below the receptacle 32 and electrically operated. The glue receptacle 32 is supported from angle- bars 35, 36 extending radially from the table i2, upon which the glue receptacle is adjustably secured by means of bolts 37. Said bolts 3! are adjustable in slots 38 in the angle bars 35, 36 to thereby enable the glue receptacle to be brought toward or away from the receptacles 25 moved by the feed wheel, and by adjustment of the nuts on said bolts the glue receptacle can be raised or lowered to cause the glue spots to be applied at the desired points on the surface of each of the receptacles 25.

The construction of the glue receptacle and associated parts is most clearly disclosed in Figs. 9 to 12 inclusive, wherein it will be noted that the glue receptacle includes an upwardly-extending housing 40 provided with a top 4| formed with a bearing 42 in which a shaft 43 is rotated. At its upper end, the shaft 43 carries a gear 44 in mesh with a similar gear 45 secured on a shaft 46 rotative in a bearing 47 arising from the top plate 4| of the housing 46. Also secured on the shaft 46 is a pulley 47 engaged by a crossed belt 48 which extends about a pulley 49 fixed on the driven vertical shaft 9. Fastened on the shaft 46 is a pair of spaced adjustable glue-applying rollers 50, 5| which contact with the surface of each jar or receptacle 25 as the same is moved past them, to thereby apply two spots or dabs of glue to the surface of the jar or receptacle, as indicated at 3| in Fig, 2. These gluing rollers 50 and 5| receive the glue by rotative contact against a cylinder 5| secured on the shaft 43. At its lower end, the shaft 43 carries a gear 52 rotative in a gear-pump housing 53 partly submerged in the glue contents 34. Also contained in the gear pump housing 53 is another gear or idler 54 which co-operates with the driven gear 52 to constitute a gear pump to feed glue to the surface of the cylinder 5|. A feed pipe 55 (Figs. 11 and 12) leads from a point adjacent to the bottom of the glue receptacle 32 into the gear pump housing to reach the gears 52 and 54, and the glue drawn in by the gears 52 and 54 is fed upwardly through a vertical tube 56. From the upper end of the tube 56 the glue is expelled against the surface of the cylinder 5| to be transmitted therefrom to the edges of the rollers 50 and 5| to be applied therefrom to the receptacles 25. The glue-applying rollers 50 and '51 have access to surfaces of the receptacles or jars 25 through an opening or window El provided in the front wall 58 of the glue-receptacle housing 411. The glue fed to the surface of the vertically disposed cylinder 55' out of the tube 56 flows downwardly from cylinder I and is recaptured in the receptacle or tank 32 so that none is wasted or spilled about during oporation of the machine.

"Ihrough the glue-applying means above described it will be apparent that as each receptacle or jar reaches the glue-applying rollers 50 and the same will apply two spaced spots or dabs of glue 3| to each receptacle, and each receptacle bearing the glue spots, is then moved, while continuin its rotation, to the label stack, generally indicated at 6B. The label stack and associated parts are supported from the pedestal or post 8 by means of a bracket 81 (Fig. '5), provided with a "clamp 62 by means of which it is clamped to the post 8, as noted in Figs. 4 and 5. An adjustable arm 63 is fastened to the bracket 5! and said arm is formed with a vertically-extending end portion'fi l which supportsa base plate 65 of the labelsupporting means.

The stack of labels is shown at E6, and the same rests upon the base plate 65 and is urged in a direction toward the receptacles or jars 25 by means of a follower 51 operative against the rear of the label stack by means of the weight 68 dependent from a chain 69 attached to a head ill at the end of a stem "H afiixed to the follower 6?. Chain 69 is operative over a pulley I2 rotatively supported in a bracket 13 extending from the vertical arm 64. The label stack 66 is held against raising movement by means of a plate 14 having studs 75 at its opposite ends, said stud-s passing through openings in fixed end supports 16, the latter supports being mounted at the upper ends of posts ll rising from the base plate 65 of the label holder. Springs 18 surround the studs 15 and tend to hold the plate resilientl against the top of the label stack to hold the stack in proper alignment. At one end of the label stack is an aligning strip abutment 19 against which that end of the stack 66 is maintained. At the front of the label stack is provided a number of label-retaining pins $8, the details of which are shown in Fig. 8. Several of these pins are mounted in the plate M and others are mounted in the label-holder base plate 85. The pins 80 are each adjustable through a guide sleeve 8| threaded in the plate 14 or base plate 65 and each pin 80 can be set in any desired position or protrusion out of its sleeve 8! and so maintained by means of a set-screw '82. Each pin is formed with a bevelled edge 83 engaging the forward end of the label stack {$55 and thus retaining the labels in the stack and preventing the same from being urged out of the stack by the pressure of the follower 61. At one end of the label stack, or that adjacent to which the receptacles first contact the labels, is provided a pair of spring fingers III] which overlie the front label in the stack and hold this end of the label in position until it is engaged by the receptacle and stripped from the stack. This arrangement is such that while the labels are held in the stack as above explained, the labeis may be successively stripped from the stack by the contact of the glue-spotted surfaces of the rotating jars or receptacles 2'5 and caused to be wrapped around the receptacles in a manner to be presently explained.

At one end of the label stack is located means for applying a line or strip of glue r adhesive each of the labels in the stack so that as each label is drawn from the stack that label will bear a line of glue or adhesive at one or its ends, as indicated-at 84 in Fig. '2. The means for applying this line of glue 84 consists of a spiral feeder 85 rotative in a vertical tube 86, said tube forming a downward extension from a glue-tank '81 in which the upper end of the spiral feeder 8 5 rotatable as seen in Fig. 14. At its upper end, the spiral feeder 35 is provided with ap'ull'ey 88 which receives a belt extending about a pulley '9'! carried on the driven vertical shaft 9. As will be noted in Fig. 13, a portion of the sleeve -86 is cut away to allow the spiral glue feeder 85 'to operate directly against the end of outermost label in the stack and thus apply the line of glue 8 3 thereto before the label is stripped from the stack.

The manner in which a label is applied to each of the jars or other receptacles 25 will be clear from Fig. 6. Attention is called to the iar or other receptacle 25 which has reached a point designated at 2512 and is being rotated as indielated by the arrow on said jar, while at the same time it is being bodily shifted or rolled the direction of the arrows appearing on the feed wheel "i l. Said jar 25?] has had its glue spots 31 brought into contact with the surface of the outermost label til in the stack and the label will thus adhere to the glue spots 3! and as the jar continues its rotation it will start to strip the label from the stack and the label will begin to roll up on the jar. As the movement continues, the label will be pull-ed or stripped clear of the stack. One of the labels at this point is indicated at 3th, and the label so removed "will have its end "portion provided with the glue strip 84. This end of the label will next be brought into overlapping relation with the 'flr's'tend of the applied label. The receptacles or jars 25, with the labels "applied to the same will next be slightly compressed between the yie'ding shoe T6 of the feed wheel and the rubber-lined wall of a part of the rail 28. The lining 95 is formed with a protrusion 96, constituting a pressing element employed to apply pressure against the overlapped end portions of the label and cause a firm adherence of these overlapped ends, thus securely affixing the label in place. After being pressed in the manner set forth, the labelled jars or receptac'les are diverted by a guide strip '98 from off the supporting flange 2L? to suitable conveying means or elsewhere as required for packing or other treatment.

From the foregoing, the operation of the improved labelling machine will be readily understood. The receptacles to be labelled are placed on the turntable 24 and are fed thereby to the feed wheel M which moves them along on the support 27 while rotating them. Each receptacle is brought into rotative contact with the glueapplying rollers 50 and 5| and it receives the two spaced spots of glue therefrom on its surface as indicated at 3! in Fig. 2. In the case of tall or lengthy receptacles, the number of rollers 50 and 5| may be increased, as indicated, forexample, by the additional roller 5H1 in Fig. 3. Also in'such a case, two or more feed wheels 14 may be used as indicated in Fig. 3,wherein an additional feed wheel is designated at Ma. The jars or receptacles '25 are moved along in uniformly spaced relationship while being rotated and as each reaches the label stack 66 it will engage a label therein adjacent to one end of the label by means of the glue spots 3| and will strip the label from the stack. As the rotation of the jar or other receptacle is continued, the label will be wrapped smoothly about the jar, and the gummed end of thelabel, to which the line of glue 84 has been applied by the spiral feeder 85, will be applied against the jar and in overlapping relation to the first-applied end of the label. If the label is one which does not completely encircle the jar, the adhesive-bearing end will be pressed directly against the face of the jar and will b caused to adhere thereto. As the jars or other receptacles to which the labels have been applied leave the label stack they are rotatively urged against the soft lining 95 of the rail 28, and against the protrusion 96, with the result that the applied labels are smoothly pressed in place befor the receptacles are shunted away from the feed wheel I4 by means of the guide strip 98.

The constant maintenance of the yielding shoe portion I6 of the feed wheel I 4 against the receptacles insures a positive movement of the receptacles through the machine, with the receptacles maintained in uniformly spaced relation, since the feed wheel acts upon each of the receptacles independently of the others.

In the embodiment of the invention as disclosed in Fig. 1, the spiral glue feeder 85 is shown as being rotated continuously by drive from the belt 89. It may be found desirable to rotate this glue feeder intermittently, and in such an instance, an intermittent drive, such as disclosed in Fig. 15 might be employed. Therein is shown a bracket I00, projecting radially from the table 1 I 2, and supporting a rotating shaft IOI on which is secured a pulley I02. Said pulley I02 drives a crossed belt I03 which extends about a pulley I04 secured on the upper end of the spiral feeder 85. Shaft I0l carries a spider I05, each arm of which carries a roller I06. This arrangement is such that each time a receptacle 25 is rotated past the spider I05, it will contact with one of the rollers thereon and move the spider for a quarter turn, which, through belt I03 will rotate the spiral feeder 85.

In herein referring to the articles to which the labels are applied, as receptacles, jars, and the like, I do not wish to be understood as limiting the machine to the labelling of such specific articles since it is clear that it can be used for the application of labels to many cylindrical objects. Hence, the terms receptacles and jars will be understood to be merely illustrative and it is intended to comprehend by these terms any articles which can be satisfactorily labelled by the machine and method herein described and claimed.

What I claim is:

1. In a labeling machine, a rotating wheel, an

arcuate guide wall spaced from the wheel, a gluing station to which objects to be labelled are retatively moved by the wheel, a label holder to which glue-spotted objects are rotatively moved by the wheel and caused to contact labels and strip them from the holder and become wrapped around the objects, intermittently rotating means for applying glue to the labels in the holder, a rotating drive for the label-gluing means including a spider carrying arms located between the rotating objects to cause the spider to be moved rotatively.

2. In a labelling machine, a rotating wheel having a flexible tire mounted around its rim, guides spaced equidistant from the periphery of said wheel and forming a channel between them and said wheel, said channel extending partly around the wheel, a rotating disk for feeding containers to said channel where the same are engaged by the wheel and caused to roll along the guides and within the channel, means for applying a label pick-up adhesive to the containers, said means including a rotating cylinder over which a film of adhesive is caused to flow and including a rotating shaft having disks contacting with the cylinder to receive adhesive therefrom and transferring said adhesive to the containers as the same are rotated past said rollers, a label magazine for holding a stack of labels and presenting one end portion of each label to a container as each container passes through the machine, a paste-applying means for the labels including a paste container having a tube extending from it, said tube having an aperture in one of its walls, a helical rotating member in said tube and extending into the paste container for the purpose of feeding paste from the paste container to the opening into the tube and against labels successively disposed thereover.

3. In a labeling machine, means for rotating containers and moving the same along a support, means for applying spaced spots of an adhesive on the containers as they are rotatively moved past said adhesive-applying means, the adhesiveapplying means including a glue receptacle, a vertically-disposed cylinder rotatively mounted above the glue receptacle, a pump operative in the glue in the receptacle for conveying glue to and distributing said glue over the surface of the cylinder, and a shaft carrying rollers in contact with the periphery of the cylinder to thereby receive glue therefrom and transferring the same to the surfaces of the containers as the containers are rotatively moved past and brought into contact with said rollers.

41. In a labeling machine, means for rotating containers and moving the same along a support, means for applying glue spots to the containers as they are rotatively moved past said adhesiveapplying means, the adhesive-applying means including a glue receptacle, a gear pump contained in the glue within the receptacle, a shaft arising from said pump and rotatively driven thereby, said shaft carrying a cylinder, the gear pump being provided with an outlet which directs glue to the surface of the cylinder, a rotating shaft carrying rollers maintained in contact with the surface of the cylinder to receive glue therefrom, said rollers being located in a position to contact with the surfaces of receptacles and apply glue thereto as the receptacles are rotatively moved past the rollers.

5. In a labeling machine, a rotating wheel,

I gluing means to which the objects to be labeled are rotatively moved by the wheel, a label holder to which glue-spotted objects are rotatively moved by the wheel and caused to contact labels and strip them from the holder and become Wrapped around the objects, intermittently-rotating means for applying glue to the labels in the holder, means for intermittently rotating said label-gluing means, said rotating means including elements projecting in the path of movement of the objects and moved by the passage of said objects.

6. In a labeling machine as provided for in claim 5 wherein the elements in the path of movement of the objects are radial arms on a rotative shaft, and a driving coupling between said shaft and the intermittently-rotating gluing means.

'7. In a labeling machine, means for rotating containers and moving the same along a support, means for applying adhesive on part of the surface of the containers as they are moved past said adhesive-applying means, the adhesiveappiying means comprising a glue receptacle, a rotating cylinder mounted above the glue receptacle, a pump operative in the receptacle to convey glue to and distribute the glue over the surface of the cylinder and permit surplus glue to drain off the cylinder back into the glue receptacle, and at least one rotative roller in contact with the periphery of the cylinder to receive glue 15 2,039,325

10 therefrom and transfer the same to the surfaces of the containers as the containers are rotatively moved. past and brought into contact with said roller.

JOHN D. MCCLATCHIE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 787,744 Fisher et a1 Apr. 18, 1905 1,812,007 Krone June 30, 1931 Morral May 5, 1936

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