Device for cutting contoured labels

Apparatus for use in proximity with a labeling machine for producing individual labels applicable to containers, the labels being printed in uniform periodicity on a ribbon and having opposite edges which are non-linear in the longitudinal direction of the ribbon and which edges are spaced apart in a direction transverse to the length of the ribbon and are bounded by waste strips of ribbon comprising:

• means for continuously moving said ribbon in a longitudinal direction in one plane,
• two carriage means and elongated guide members on which said carriage means are movable together transversely to the direction in which said ribbon is moving,
• cutting mans mounted to each of said carriage means, each cutting means comprising rotatably driven disks having sharp edges and including rotatably driven counter knife disks, said disks cooperating with each other to effect cutting said ribbon along the non-linear edges of the labels, said carriage means and hence the respective cutting means thereon being spaced apart from each other on said carriage means transversely of said longitudinal direction in which the ribbon is moving,
• means for moving the carriage means in opposite directions transversely to the movement direction of said ribbon on said guide means in correlation with the speed of the ribbon for said two cutting means to cut the ribbon along said non-linear edges of the labels concurrently and produce waste strips of ribbon which formerly bounded the edges of the labels,
• first cam means having a pair of cam surfaces corresponding to the respective non-linear edges of the labels and cam follower means respectively engaged with said surfaces of said first cam means and with said carriages for moving said carriage means and the cutting means thereon transversely to the movement direction of said ribbon for following the non-linear edges of the labels,
• means supporting said cutting means on said guide members and said carriage means for swiveling about axes which are perpendicular to said one plane of the ribbon,
• second cam means having cam surfaces and cam follower means respectively engaged with a said surface of the second cam means and engaged with said carriage means, respectively, for swiveling the carriage means to maintain said cutting means tangential to the non-linear edges of the labels while said cutting means are moving transversely to the movement direction of the ribbon, and
• additional cutting means to which the resulting ribbon of connected labels is directed after said edges are cut, said additional cutting means operating to cut said ribbon of labels into individual labels.