Label transfer device and method
AssigneeHewlett-Packard Company
InventorsRichard M. Wilson, Alton W. Hezeltine
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A label transfer device 10 having drive roller 26 and pinch roller 28 for advancing label tape 30, positioning a label attached to label tape 30 adjacent to stripping edge 24 of slidable stripping plate 18 and holding said label fixed in that position while stripping plate 18 is retracted from a first position to a second position so as to strip the label from label tape 30. Vacuum pick up head 38 is provided for attachment to the stationary label prior to the movement of stripping plate 18 so as to ensure positive attachment to prior to label stripping and thus eliminating label transfer skips.
Claims14
A label transfer device for transferring labels having printed information on one surface and an adhesive on the other surface, from a label tape ribbon having a having a leading end, a trailing end and, a plurality of labels adhered seriatim thereto, to a transfer device for repositioning and placement of a label on a product or package, which comprises:
- a frame;
- a stripping plate having a first surface and a longitudinal axis slidably attached to said frame and capable of being slid along said longitudinal axis from a first position to a second position, said stripping plate further having a transverse stripping edge at one end of said plate;
- means for positioning a label tape having a label attached thereto adjacent to the first surface of the stripping plate;
- means for drawing and holding the leading end of the label tape over and around the stripping edge;
- means for advancing the label tape across the first surface of the stripping plate;
- means for positioning a label attached to the label tape in a stripping position adjacent to the stripping edge of the stripping plate when the stripping plate is in the first position;
- means for holding both the leading end and the trailing end of the label tape fixed when a label attached to the label tape is positioned in the stripping position and when the stripping plate is slid from the first position to the second position;
- attachment and transfer means for selectable attachment to the label when it is held fixed in its stripping position;
- means for sliding the stripping plate from the first position to the second position so as to strip from the label tape a label held fixed in its stripping position and selectably attached to the attachment and transfer means.
In a label transfer device having a frame, a stripping plate having a first surface and a longitudinal axis slidably attached to said frame and capable of being slid along said longitudinal axis from a first position to a second position, said stripping plate further having a transverse stripping edge at one end of said plate, means for positioning a label tape having a leading end and a trailing end and a label attached thereto adjacent to the first surface of the stripping plate, means for drawing and holding the leading end of the label tape over and around the stripping edge, means for advancing the label tape across the first surface of the stripping plate, means for positioning a label attached to the label tape in a stripping position adjacent to the stripping edge of the stripping plate when the stripping plate is in the first position, means for holding both the leading and trailing ends of the label tape fixed when a label attached to the label tape is positioned in the stripping position and when the stripping plate is slid from the first position to the second position, attachement and transfer means for selectable attachment to the label when it is held fixed in its stripping position, means for sliding the stripping plate from the first position to the second position so as to strip from the label tape a label held fixed in its stripping position and selectably attached to the attachment and transfer means, a method of removing a label from a label tape which comprises:
- positioning a label tape having a label attached thereto adjacent to the first surface of a stripping plate;
- advancing the label tape across the first surface of the stripping plate;
- positioning the label attached to the label tape adjacent to the stripping edge of the stripping plate when the stripping plate is in a first position;
- holding both the leading and trailing ends of the label tape fixed with the positioned label in the stripping position;
- attaching an attachment and transfer means to said label when held fixed in the stripping position;
- and
- sliding the stripping plate from the first position to a second position so as to strip from the label tape the label held fixed in a stripping position and attached to the attachment and transfer means.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.