Apparatus for printing and dispensing labels

In apparatus for printing and dispensing labels, at a printing station having a printing surface,

• a body,
• a print-head assembly supported within the body, having a row of operative print facets, and being operative to produce a print impression on a label during each operating cycle of the apparatus, said cycle extending in a forward direction from a rest configuration of the apparatus to a printing station configuration and return to the rest configuration,
• lever means pivotally mounting the print-head assembly in the body,
• means biasing the lever means to the rest configuration in the operating cycle,
• means pivotally mounting the print-head assembly on said lever means at a location on the lever means remote from the point of pivoting of the lever means on the body and also remote from the operative print facets,
• means for actuating the lever means to bring the print-head assembly and the operative print facets thereof to the printing station during each operating cycle, and
• cam means, including track means controlling the angular orientation of the print head assembly during part of the pivotal motion of the lever means relative to the body and of the print head assembly relative to the lever means, said track means comprising a first track portion that extends from the rest configuration of the print head assembly, and a second track portion that extends from the first track portion towards the configuration at the print station
• a follower spigot on the print-head assembly disposed at the end of the print head assembly remote from the pivot mounting thereof,
• an inking roller assembly having an inking roller,
• said inking roller being operative during the forward portion of the operating cycle to ink the operative print facets and to guide the print-head assembly along its path towards said printing station,
• the first track portion also being effective, in the absense of the inking roller, to guide the print-head assembly along a path towards the printing station,
• first said track portion and also the inking roller being ineffective to guide the print-head assembly over the corresponding return portion of the return stroke of the operating cycle under the action of the biasing means so that irrespective of the presence of the inking roller, no further inking of the operative print facets can occur,
• the second track portion being operative at said printing station in conjunction with the follower spigot positively to constrain the print-head assembly against motion in the plane of the operative print facets thereby to avoid a blurred impression and,
• the pivot point of the print-head assembly on the lever means being offset substantially from an imaginary plane passing through the operative row of print facets at the printing surface and extending normally to the plane of the row of print facets.