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US 11,027,873 B2Granted
Stamp application
AssigneeAltria Client Services LLC
InventorPatrick McElhinney
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A method and apparatus for applying stamps to a group of packages wherein the stamps are arranged in a predetermined pattern and the packages in the group are arranged in a different pattern, using an apparatus having one or more carriages moveable in the x- and/or y-directions.
Claims35
An apparatus for affixing stamps unwound from a roll of stamps to a grouping of product packages, comprising:
- a first carriage with a pair of rollers for holding said roll of stamps;
- a second carriage below said first carriage for holding said grouping of product packages;
- and
- a stamp applicator located above a portion of said unwound stamps;
- wherein said first carriage, said second carriage and said stamp applicator, alone or in combination, are configured to enable alignment of at least one stamp of the unwound portion of the roll of stamps in both x- and y-directions above and relative to at least one product package of said grouping of product packages, additional alignments occurring multiple times per grouping, and
- wherein the stamp applicator is provided on a third carriage which is moveable in the x-direction and/or y-direction.
3 more elements
An apparatus for affixing stamps to a first grouping of product packages, comprising:
- a first carriage having first and second rollers to accommodate a roll of stamps, said roll of stamps comprising a two-dimensional array of stamps on a rolled flexible substrate in a first predetermined pattern, said first carriage moveable in an x-direction and/or y-direction;
- a second carriage below the first carriage, structured and arranged to move said first grouping of product packages in the x-direction and/or y-direction, and wherein the grouping of packages are arranged in a second pattern different than the first predetermined pattern of said stamps;
- a third carriage, located above the first carriage and having at least one stamp applicator affixed thereto, said third carriage moveable in the x-direction, y-direction and/or z-direction;
- and
- a controller programmed to control the position of at least one of said carriages in the x-direction and/or y-direction, such that the at least one stamp applicator is aligned above a stamp on an unwound portion of the roll of stamps and said stamp is aligned above at least one package of said grouping of product packages.
2 more elements
A method of applying stamps to a grouping of product packages, comprising:
- i) placing a roll of stamps on a lower surface of a flexible substrate in a first predetermined pattern between rollers on a first carriage that is structured and arranged for movement in the x-direction and/or y-direction;
- ii) placing a grouping of product packages arranged in a second pattern different than said predetermined pattern of said stamps beneath an unwound portion of said roll of stamps;
- iii) aligning at least one of said stamps on said unrolled portion above a top surface of at least one product package of said grouping of product packages;
- iv) aligning at least one stamp applicator above said at least one stamp;
- v) contacting an upper surface of said flexible substrate above said at least one stamp with said at least one stamp applicator to press the at least one stamp into contact with the top surface of said at least one product package to apply the stamp to the top surface of the product package;
- and
- vi) repeating steps iii) to v) for additional stamps and additional product packages of said grouping of product packages,
- wherein said stamp applicator is affixed to a second carriage and the stamp applicator or the second carriage is structured and arranged for movement in at least the x-direction, independently of said first carriage.
5 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.