US 4,566,933 AGranted

Label applicator for multiple panel wrapping

AssigneeLabel-Aire Inc.

InventorsMichael Crankshaw, George A. Allen

Life of this patent

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Abstract

A label applicator for labeling articles moving along a path which includes a label retaining device for retaining labels at a label retaining station, a label dispenser for dispensing labels onto the label retaining device, a rotatable wheel for use in orienting articles at the label retaining station, a label transfer device for blowing a leading portion of the label on the label retaining means onto an article at the label retaining station while allowing a trailing portion of the label to remain on the label retaining device so that movement of the article past the label retaining station pulls the trailing portion of the label from the label retaining device, and a label wrap device downstream of the label retaining station for applying the trailing portion of the label to the article.

Claims14

Dependent claims

A label applicator for labeling articles moving along a path, said label applicator comprising:

means for releasably retaining a label at a label retaining station with the label being pullable along the retaining means;
label dispensing means for dispensing labels onto the label retaining means;
a wheel having a peripheral surface, at least a portion of said peripheral surface being resiliently deformable;
means for mounting said wheel for rotation with said wheel lying at least partially in the path of the articles at the label retaining station;
guide means adjacent said peripheral surface of said wheel for urging an article against the peripheral surface to resiliently deform the peripheral surface sufficiently to hold the article in a desired orientation at the label retaining station;
means for blowing a leading portion of the label on the label retaining means onto the article held in said orientation at the label retaining station while allowing the label retaining means to retain a trailing portion of the label whereby movement of the article past the label retaining station pulls the trailing portion of the label from the label retaining means;
and
means downstream of said label retaining station for applying the trailing portion of the label to the article.

5 more elements

A label applicator for labeling articles moved along a path past a label retaining station, said label applicator comprising:

a supporting structure;
means on the supporting structure for releasably retaining a label at the label retaining station;
said releasable retaining means including leading and trailing enclosures having leading and trailing perforate face sections, respectively, and means for placing said leading and trailing face sections at a pressure less than atmospheric;
label dispensing means for dispensing a label onto said leading and trailing face sections whereby the label can be releasably held against the leading and trailing face sections by differential fluid pressure with a leading portion of the label being on the leading face section and a trailing portion of the label being on the trailing face section;
means for supplying a gas at greater than atmospheric pressure through said leading face section to transfer the leading portion of the label from the leading face section to an article at the label retaining station while allowing the trailing portion of the label to remain releasably retained on the trailing face section whereby movement of the article past the label retaining station pulls the trailing portion of the label from the trailing face section;
and
means downstream of said label retaining station for applying the trailing portion of the label to the article.

4 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 06/613,865Filed 23 May 1984
Granted: 28 Jan 1986
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification8 codes

B67C 3/34
Filling of barrels or casks: devices for engaging filling-heads with filling-apertures
B65C 1/047
Affixing labels, e.g. wrap-around labels, to two or more flat surfaces of a polyhedral article: by rotating the article about one of its axes
B65C 9/1869
The labels adhering on a backing strip: and being transferred directly from the backing strip onto the article
Y10T 156/1702
Surface bonding means and/or assemblymeans with work feeding or handling means: for plural parts or plural areas of single part