Banding machine having improved film registration system

A banding machine for applying labels to the tops of containers comprising

• a frame,
• a turret plate rotatably mounted on said frame,
• drive means for rotating said turret plate,
• a plurality of band holders positioned on said turret plate for a) receiving cut film sleeves having spaced indicia thereon in an unopened, flattened condition;
• b) opening the band into a circular sleeve;
• and c) holding and moving the band onto the top of a vertically oriented container advancing into a banding position,
• at least two parallel support plates fixed to said frame and extending over an upper portion of the turret plate,
• at least one feed roller positioned between and mounted to the support plates for feeding film in a path of travel between the support plates,
• a stepper motor coupled to the feed roller for driving the feed roller and advancing film a predetermined amount corresponding to the desired cut length of the band,
• a cutter for receiving and cutting film into cut lengths for delivery into said band holders,
• a support bracket adjustably mounted on at least one support plate for movement linearly in the film feed direction, registration sensing means mounted on said support bracket for sensing film indicia fed between said plates and generating a signal indicative of said sensed registration, and
• control means for receiving said registration signal and stopping film advancement upon detection of film indicia for film cutting at a predetermined film location and then initiating said motor to advance film again a predetermined amount after cutting,
• wherein said bracket is linearly positioned on said support plate at a position to sense film indicia at a point to allow film stopping and cutting at a predetermined location on the film corresponding to a desired film indicia.

A banding machine for applying labels to the tops of containers comprising

• a frame,
• a turret plate rotatably mounted on said frame,
• drive means for rotating said turret plate,
• a plurality of band holders positioned on said turret plate for a) receiving cut film sleeves having spaced indicia thereon in an unopened, flattened condition;
• b) opening the band into a circular sleeve;
• and c) holding and moving the band onto the top of a vertically oriented container advancing into a banding position,
• at least two parallel support plates fixed to said frame and extending over an upper portion of the turret plate,
• at least one feed roller positioned between and mounted to the support plates for feeding film in a path of travel between the support plates,
• a stepper motor coupled to the feed roller for driving the feed roller and advancing film a predetermined amount corresponding to the desired cut length of the band,
• a cutter operatively connected to said turret plate drive means and operating in a cutting sequence based on turret plate rotation for receiving and cutting film into cut lengths for delivery into said band holder,
• a support bracket adjustable mounted on at least one support plate for movement linearly in the film feed direction,
• registration sensing means mounted on said support bracket for sensing film indicia fed between said plates before cutting and generating a signal indicative of said sensed registration, and
• control means for receiving said registration signal and stopping film advancement upon detection of film indicia so as to initiate film cutting at a predetermined film location and initiate said stepper motor to advance film against a predetermined amount after cutting,
• wherein said bracket is linearly positioned on said support plate at a position so that any film indicia is sensed during film feed at a point to allow film stopping and cutting at a predetermined film location corresponding to a desired film indicia, and
• means for initiating stepper motor operation for feeding of film upon rotation of said turret plate and movement of a band holder into an indexed position, said stepper motor initiating means including sensor means mounted on said frame for selective movement in an arcuate arc adjacent the circular arc defined by said band holders as said turret plate rotates so that the sensed position of a band holder relative to the cutter sequence of the cutter blade can be varied to ensure film feeding during a noncutting sequence.

A banding machine for applying labels to the tops of containers comprising

• a frame,
• a substantially circular configured and vertically oriented turret plate rotatably mounted on said frame,
• drive means for rotating said turret plate,
• a plurality of band holders positioned on said turret plate for a) receiving cut film sleeves having spaced indicia thereon in an unopened, flattened condition;
• b) opening the band into a circular sleeve;
• and c) holding and moving the band onto the top of a vertically oriented container advancing into a banding position, said band holders including two opposing film gripping members for engaging a band of film material, each member including means for drawing a vacuum for retaining a band thereto,
• an article conveyor positioned adjacent said banding position for conveying articles into a position adjacent the banding position so that the bands can be inserted over the article top,
• at least two parallel support plates fixed to said frame and extending over the upper portion of the turret plate,
• at least one feed roller positioned between and mounted to the support plates for feeding film in a path of travel between the support plates,
• a stepper motor coupled to the feed roller for driving the feed roller and advancing film a predetermined amount corresponding to the desired cut length of the band,
• a cutter operatively connected to said turret plate drive means and operating in a cutting sequence based on turret plate rotation for receiving and cutting film into cut lengths for delivery into said band holder,
• a support bracket adjustably mounted on at least one support plate for movement linearly in the film feed direction, registration sensing means mounted on said support bracket for sensing film indicia fed between said plates before cutting and generating a signal indicative of said sensed registration,
• control means for receiving said registration signal and stopping film advancement upon detection of film indicia so as to initiate film cutting at a predetermined film location and initiate said stepper motor to advance film again a predetermined amount after cutting,
• wherein said bracket is linearly positioned on said support plate at a position so that only film indicia is sensed during film feed at a point to allow film stopping and cutting at a predetermined film location corresponding to a cut on a desired film indicia, and
• means for initiating stepper motor operation for feeding of film upon rotation of said turret plate and movement of a band holder into an indexed position, said stepper motor initiating means including sensor means mounted on said frame for selective movement in an arcuate arc adjacent the circular arc defined by said band holders as said turret plate rotates so that the sensed position of a band holder relative to the cutter sequence can be varied to ensure feeding of film during a noncutting sequence operation of said cutter.