CA1099146A - Inking device for label printing and applying machine - Google Patents

Abstract

INKING DEVICE FOR LABEL
PRINTING AND APPLYING MACHINE
Abstract of the Disclosure An inking device for a label printing and applying machine, or the like: the inking device has a multi-link mechanism which comprises yoke arms operated by the squeezing of a hand lever, a supporting member for supporting inking rollers, a plurality of links operatively connecting the yoke arms and the supporting member, and a guiding means formed in the links for guiding the inking rollers; when the hand lever is squeezed, the multi-link mechanism moves the inking rollers into the body of the label printing and applying machine and past the type faces and stores the inking rollers therein.

Description

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\ This applic~tion i.s ~ ~1ivi~i.oncl]. of ~ clian S~r. No. 276,857, Filed, April 25, 1977.
Backgroul1(1 Or tl1e_l11vclltio l icl~l o:C the 'Invcnt:ioll , 1his invelltion relates to a 1)rint l~e.1d ty~e acc inking device ~or ~1se in a label pr.in~ 1g an(1 ap1~lyil1n7 machine, or the like maclline. Tlle inking dcvice al~plies ink evenly so as to attain precise printi1lg oE labels.
I)cscri~t.ion o.E thc l'r;.or ~rt In conventional label printing an(1 ap1)lying~ mac}1i1les and tag printing and attaching machines, deviccs for a~1)lyillg ink to t]lC type accs oE thc I~r:illting hc~1s ~ISII.Illy C(lllll~l'iSC
inking rollers that are attaclled to the Eree en(ls oE sprin(-ackuated rock-lng arms. The inking rollers are ~ressed to and rolled over the type faces so as to app~ly tl~c ink.
A typical inking dcvice of tllis typc com~riscs a pair oE spring-actuatcd rocking arms attacl~cd to the rront end.portioll o the printing machine bo(1y. A su~ ort:ing frame carry:ing an inking rollcr is attachc~1 to tl)c rock:i7l~
arms thro~lg~ springs. ~hen the l1and lcvcr o:F the printing machine lS squeezed, the rocking arms are turned simultancously, and this mo~es the inking roller supporting :Fr~ e. Tl~us, thc inking roller is rolled over the -type aces o~ tllc printing head. lhis conventional inking dcvice l1as a null1ber of disadvantages:
-(a) Since thc inking roller is brought into contact with thc type -~aces by spring action, ink application is liable to deteriorate 1~hen the force of the spring becomes weakencd after long use of tl~e machlne. Tl-erc~ore, t]le printing o~ labels bccoilles indistillct~ 1~hicll is Eatal to optical character rea~1i.ng systems re~1ui.ri.ng h:lgllly prccise printing.
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9~6 (b~ l~hen the inkinçl, l ollcr spr:in~ :rorcc bccollles wcak, only thc~ itlk contai.necl :in tlle portion near thc s~lrl~acc of the ink:in~r rollcr is used, because the type aces no longer dig deeply into the inkillg rol.lcr alld thc ink t.l-,lt is impregnated in thc micldle portion o the inking roller is not pumped Ollt. T]-erc-~ore, the printing of numerous labels is impossible, ll~hich is uneconolllic~
~ c) ~hen the halld lcver oE the ~rint:illg m.lcllille is squeezed cl~lickly, the inking roller sometimes r,l.l};es slight 10 contact or no CO~ ct `lith typc -Faces dlle to thc rcbo~ cling action caused by the squeeze. Illus, rel.;.ablc prillti cannot be e~{pected.
(cl) ~trong force îs necess,lry to ol)or~ c sllcll label printing machille9 so that solne operators, likc the ~eaker ones, are ti.red by loncc terrll handling o:E a macllinc.
(c) In the conventiollal labcl printilll mae]lillc, t]le rocking alms~ sllpportin~, :CIallle ~llcl :illl;i.n~ ol:lc~r ~rc moved Forw~rdly tllrough the :Eront part o:E thc printing machine l~hen the hand lever is fully squeezcd Ull til they 20 protrude in front o-F the machille frame. l`llc prc)trllcli.llg parts obstruct the operator' s view as the just pri.ntc(l label is bein,g applied to. the surface o:E an article, nncl accur~tc appllcation o F the label becomes di Ff icul t .
Summary o f the Invention I t is one ob ject o-F the prescnt in~ention -to provide an improvecl inking dcvice Eor use in a labcl printin~
and app].ying Inaclli.ne, or the likc, in ~hicll l:hc [orcc rc~luired for squeezlng thc halld lcver ls eEEectivcly rcclucccl.
~nothcr object of thc prcscnt i.nventic)ll ;s l:o 30 prov.ide all inkinlr devi.cc for a l~be]. pr inti-lg .In.cl ~-ppl.y ing machille, in ~hicll in};inE~ roll.crs are brought illtO colltact : ~9g~L41E~

t~ith the type ~aces oE tlle printillg llcad at a const~n~
pressurc so ns to ~venly al~pl~ a suitl~Lc ~mollnt o~ ink to the type fclccs, thercl)y attainin~ prccise a~ n;ft-l-m ~rin~i of labels over lon~ pcr;ods of t,ime of opelclT,iotl.
A furtller objcct o thc prese]lt invcntion is to provide such an inking device in l~hic}l the inkina, rollers caTried by a multi-link mechanism are stol~ed inside the machine body follo-~;ng the s~ueezing of the hand levcr.
Thus, therc is no obstacle to tlle operator's ~iet~ as labels are applicd to the surfaces oE articles.
Still a further objcct of the prcscllt illV~lltiOII iS
to provide such an inking device in which the ;nking devicc is simple in structure, durable in usc and produced easily at low cost.
In accordallce Wit]l thc prescnt invcntioll, there is a multi-link mec]l-anism for the inking cLevice l~llicll com~riscs yoke arms t11at are operate~l by the s(l~leezill~, O~ ancl lever, a supporting member for suppor-ting the inki]l~ rollers, and a plurality oE links operatively connecting the yokc arms and tlle supporting member. A guiding mcans Eor guiding ~' the inking roll,ers is ~ormed in the link mechclTlism. ~hen the hand lever is fully squeezed~ the link mechanism moves the inkin~ rollers to a location inside the l~ody o thc label printing an~l applying macl~ c so as to l-e s~:o~e~l therein~
The link mechanism is further provided ~ith a pair of fixcd Eulcrums a-ttached to tl~e m~clline fralncs, t-~o othcr pairs oE fixed f-llcr-lms a-ttached to thc yokc arms aTlcl a plurality o~ pairs oE movable f~llcrums, ~11 con~lecting the links. F~lrtllermorc, the l;nk mecllallism is provi(lc~ ith a pair of sprin~-act~atcd opel~ation lin~s t~hicll .II~C attilC]lC~I

9~L4~i to one pair of the fixed fulcr~s, and a pair of rocking links which are attached to the o-ther pair of fixed fulcrums on the yoke arms. The guiding means for -the inking rollers comprise supporting shaft that are secured to -the suppor-ting member of the inking rollers and slots formed in the links to guide the supporting shaf-ts.
Thus broadly, the invention contemplates a prin-t head for a label printing machine frame having a front end which comprises a platen suppor-ted by -the machine frame and a yoke movably supported by the machine frame for motion in a print direction toward the platen and in -the opposi-te direction with the yoke being pivotally supported at a first pivot on the machine frame Eor pivotal motion with respect to the maclline frame and extending from the first pivot toward the machine frame front end. The print head is suppor-ted by and movable with the yoke, and includes types opposable -to and movable to -the platen, and an inking means for inking the types which comprises an inking roller, a support for the inKing roller, and link means connecting the yoke and the inking roller support with the support holding the inking roller at one side, measured across the print direction of the print head types before the yoke moves in the print direction. The link means moves -the support to move the inking roller past the types in an inking direction which crosses the print direction as the yoke moves in the print direction, andthat inking direction is directed into the machine frame such that when the types move to -the platen the inking roller is s-towed inside the machine frame. The link means comprises a first link including guide means for the support such that the support moves along and with respect to the guide means in the inking direction, a second linkage connected with the support for moving the support in the inking direction along the guide means, and a third linkage connected with the first link for moving the first link generally in -the inking direction and into the machine frame, with the support remaining in engagemen-t with -the first link fo~ bciny ~noved :Lnto -the machine frame rearwardly Erom the m~chine f:rame fron-t encl with -the :Eirs-t link. The second.and -the third linkages are connec~-ted wi-th -the yoke for moving as described as the yoke moves in the prin-t direction whereby the ink roller and support~ as a result of the recited interconnection of the first link, the second and third linkages with the support, is given a motion in the inking direction ~aster than the motion of the first link in the inking direc-tion.

T3rie Description oE tl-e Dral~;ngs Tlle foregoing alld o-ther objects allcl Eeaturos oE
the present invention will become more apparent Erom the following description taken in connectioll wit}l thc accompany-ing drawings, in ~hich:
I-ig. 1 is a sicle elcvational vic~ of a labcL
printing ancl applying machine, l~hich is proviclecl with an embodiment of the inking device oE tlle presellt iJlVc,~lltiOn;
T'ig. 2 is a plan vie~ oE tlle machinc;
- Fig. 3 is a side vie~ of the machil-e, in l~hicll the maclline Erame on the viewing sidc is rcmoveci and the hand lever is in the releasecl position;
E:ig. 4 is a perspective vie~ oE tlle main portion o-f the cmbodiment o~ the inking device of the ;nvention;
I;ig. 5 is a side view of tlle inking clcvicc in a rest pOSitiOIl;
~ig. 6 is a side vic~ oE -tlle inkillg dcvicc in ~}liC}l an llprtlising portion is broug]lt ;ntO con(:;lct w;tll l]le contac-t pin oE the multi-link mcchallism;
Tig. 7 is a side viel~ of the inking devicc, sho~ing ink being applie(l to the type faces of a prilltillF, hc.lcl b~r inking rollcrs;
~ ;ig. 8 is a sicle vic~ oE the inkinF, clcvicc, sllowillg the multi-link mecllallisln ancl the inki]lg rollcrs bCi.llg l~eCeiVec witllin thc macll;lle bocly; ancl ~ 6 Fig 9 is a partially cut-away, side view of a label printing and applying machine, which is provided with an inking device that is in the conventional art.

Description of a Prior Art Embodiment A conventional inking device is described wi-th reference to ~ig. 9. The device comprises a pair of rocking arms 103 that are pivotally secured to the end portion of a machine frame 101 and that are urged to move counterclockwise by a spring 102. To the -Eree ends of the rocking arms 103 is pivotally attached a supporting frame 105, which is also urged counterclockwise by a spring 104. An inking roller 106 is rotatably fitted to the free ends of the supporting frame lOS.
IYhen a stationary hand grip 107 secured to the machine -frame and a pivotable hand lever 108 are squeezed together, yoke arms 109 attached to lever 108 are turned down or counterclockwise and the cams 113 formed on the rocking arms 103 are depressed by the projections 110 that are provided at the free ends of the yoke arms 109. Thus, the rocking arms 103 are turned clockwise, which shifts the supporting frame 105 clockwise to the le-ft. The inking roller 106 is thereby moved and rotated in contact with the type faces 112 o a printing head 111 and applies ink to the type faces.
The above described conventional inking device has several disadvantages:
(a) Since the inking roller 106 is pressed against the type faces 112 by means of the springs 102 and 104, the contact pressure of the inking roller 106 against the type faces 112 is liable to become weakened when the forces o~
the springs are weakened owing to sprlng fatigue after a . .

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long time and repeated uses. Ink application cannot be done properly in such state, and the impression printed Oll the label becomes indistinct. When a label printing machine is used for printing labels for opt;cal character readers that utilize laser beams, for example, the indistinctness of the printing is a fatal defect, since high precision printing is required for optical character readers.
~ b) When the spring force becomes weak, the printing type faces are not pressed into the inking roller, so that the ink impregnated in the inner portion of the inking roller does not ooze out and only the ink near the surface o the inking roller is used.
(c) When the hand lever 108 is quickly squeezed, the inking roller sometimes does not contact with the type faces 112 due to the reaction to such quick motion. In some cases, the inking roller 106 only makes ~ery weak contact.
(d~ Large force is necessary to squeeze the hand grip 107 and the hand lever 108 together because it is necessary to overcome the force of drive spring 114, that is stretched inside the grip 107 and that urges the hand lever 108 and yoke arms 109 always clockwise, and the forces of springs 102 and 104.
(e) Further, when the hand lever 108 is fully squeezed~ the rocking arms 103, supporting frame 105 and inXing roller 106 protrude in front of the label printing machine. Therefore, when the printed label 116 that is under the applicator 115 is to be applied to the surface of an article, it is hard to see the label 116, and it becomes difficult to apply the printed label 116 accurately.

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Description of a Preferred Embodiment Figs. 1-8 show a hand operated label printing and applying machine which is provided with an in~ing device A
of the present invention. I'he label printing machine is now described with reference to Figs. 1-3. An opposed pair of machine frames 44 extend rearwardly to de:Eine an integral hand grip 1. On the underside of the hand grip 1, a hand lever 2 is pivotally colmected on a shaft 3. The front side of the hand lever 2 extends into bifurcated yoke arms 40, which carry a printing head 45 having stamp belts that are arrayed side by side. On the un,derside o-f the printing head 45, types 46 on the stamp belts are arranged so as to print labels. ' A return spring 47 is stretched between a pin 48 formed on the hand grip l and a fixing hole 49 formed near the pivoted,portion of the hand lever 2. Thus, when the hand lever 2 is released, it is spring returned to its rest position.
The inking device A of the present invention comprises a multi-link mechanism having inking rollers, which apply ink to the type faces of the printing head 45 in intèrlocked movement with ~he squeezing of the hand lever 2.
As shown in Figs. 3 and 4, this multi-link mechanism comprises a first pair of fixed fulcrums 4 which are each pivotally secured to one of the pair o~ machine frames 44, and a second and a third pair of fulcrums 5 and 6, respectively, which are each pivotally secured to one of the pair of yoke arms 40.
Since the mluti-link mechanism is symmetrical at both sides of the pair of yoke arms 40, this multi-link mechanism will only be described from one side.

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An operation link 7, having an S-shape, and a connecting link 15 are pivotally connected at the second fixed fulcrum 5 on the yoke arm 40. The operakion link 7 has a contact pin 8 -formed on its outside near its middle, a stopper projection 9 also formed on its outside at its rea~
end, an engaging projection 10 formed by bending the link 7 inward and located at its front end, and a spring pin 11 formed on its inside at its rear end. The operation link 7 is urged counterclockwise (in the depressing directi~ about .
the second fulcrum 5 by a spring 12. The spring 12 is supported by a supporting pin 13 on the yoke arm 40. One end o the spring 12 is fitted to the spring pin 11 of the operation link 7 and the other end of the spring is fitted to another spring pin 14 on the yoke arm 40~ -To the third fulcrum 6 on the yoke arm 40 are pivGtally connected the leg end of an F-shaped guide link 27 and the leg of an L-shaped rocking link 21.
The guide link 27 is provided at the cross arm opposite its end with a horizontally extending ~in Fig. 4) slot 28 which guides the inking roller frame 41. There is a projection 29 at the oukside o-f the end of the central cross arm of the link 27. An I-shaped operation link 30 is pivotally attached by a movable fulcrum to projection 29. The operation link 30 is connected to the operation link 7 by a movable fulcrum 31, and the link 30 can be pivoted into engagement with the engaging projection 10 of the operation link 7~
Thus, the operation link 30 is held in the depressed position through the projection 10 by the -force exerted by the spring 12 in its rest position. In the rest pasition, the mo~able fulcrum 31 between the operation links 7 and 30, the seco~

~ulcrum 5 of the operation link 7, and the movable ~ulcrum 29 of the guide link 27 are positioned generally along a straight line.
In order to move the inking roller ~rame 41, a vertical slot 23 is formed at the lower end of the vertical leg of the rocking link 21. The outer end of the o~her leg of the rocking link 21 is provided with an upraising extension portion 22, which engages the contact pin 8 on the operation link 7. Near the upraising portion 22, the connecting link 19 for a driving link 16 is attached at a movable ulcrum

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The driving link 16 is pivotally attached to the machine frame 44 at -first fixed fulcrum 4. The upper end of the vertical leg of the link 16 is connected to the connecting link 15 at a movable fulcrum 17. The opposite, lower end of the other leg of the link 16 is connected to another connecting link 19 at a movable fulcrum 18. Accoraingly, the lower end of the driving link 16 pi~ots the rocking link 21 back and forth around fulcrum 6 through the connecting link 19.
The supporting member 36 for supporting the inking roller frame 41 has an outwardly projecting supporting shaft 34 ha~ing a roller, which is slidably fitted into both the vertical slot 23 o~ the rocking link 21 and the horizontal slot 28 of the guide link 27. A spring 25 is attached around the supporting shaft 3~. To the outside of the supporting shaft 34 is ~ixed a receiving piece 32 having a stop pin 3~. The guide link 27 and the rocking link 21 are interposed between the inside surface o-f the receiving piece 32 and the outside surface of the supporting member 36.
One end of the spring 25 is fitted into the spring hole 37 ormed in the supporting member 36 and the other end of the spring 25 is pressed against the spring pin 2~ formed ... . ~ .. ...

~ ~ 9 ~ 6 on the rocking link 21, thereby urging the supporting member 36 clockwise about the supporting sha-ft 34. The receiving piece 32 is prevented from rotation since the stop pin 33 is brought into contact w;th the rocking link 21.
The supporting members 36 are attached to the front end portions of multi-link mechanisms provided symmetri-cally on both sides of the longitudinal and vertical center plane. Each of the supporting members 36 is provided on its inside with an attaching portion 38 havina front and rear engaging grooves 39. Both outer side surfaces o-f the inking roller frame 41 are provided with attaching lugs 35, by which the inking roller frame 41 is attachable to the engaging grooves 39 of the attaching portions 38. Frame 41 carries a larger and a smaller inking roller 42 and 43, respectively.
In Figs. 1-3, the rolled label strip 50 is detach-ably fitted to a supporting device 51. A tape-like label strip 52 is drawn out from the rolled label strip 50 and is fed over a feeding roller 53 and the labels are delivered to a platen 54 on which printing of each label is effected.
The operation of the inking device is now described, with particular reference to Figs. 3 and 5-8.
In Figs. 3 and 5, which show the rest position, when the hand lever 2 is slightly squeezed (at a squeezing angle of 3), the yoke arms 40 are turned counterclockwise about the pivot shaft 3 to a small extent in the depressing direction, as shown in Fig. 6.
The multi-link mechanism connected to the yoke arm 40 is operated. The second and third fulcrums 5 and 6 on the yoke arm 40 are moved down, so that the movable ~ulcrum 17 on one side of the drivin~ link 16, which link is attached to the machlne ~ame 44, is moved to the right, while the other movable fulcrum 18 Oll the other side of the link 16 is correspondingly moved almost upward. At the same tlme, the rocking link 21 is turned counterclockwise about the third fulcrum 6. The contact pin 8 of the operation link 7 is con-tacted by the upraising portion 22 of the rocking link 21.
The supporting member 36 and the supporting shaEt 34 for inking roller -frame ~1, which are pressed to the upper end o-f the vertical slot 23 by the spring 25, are guided to the right end portion of the horizontal slot 28 o-f the guide link 27 by the pivoting rocking link 21. During this motion, the first ink.ing roller ~2, under the guidance of slot 28, provides a -first inking to the type faces 46 of the printing head ~5, as shown in Fig. 6.
Simultaneously with this irst inking, since the rocking link 21 has turned counterclockwlse about the third fulcrum 6, the upraising portion 22 of the link 21 i.s pressed against the contact pin 8 of the operation link 7 which is in engagement at 31 with the other operation link 30. Thus~
the mechanism mo~es into the state shown in ~ig. 7 When the force exerted by the upraising link portion 22 against the contact pin 8 o~ercomes the force o-f spring 12, the operation link 7 is turned further clockwise.
As a result, the engagement between the operation link 30 and the engaging p~ojection 10 of the operation link 7 ~see Fig. 5~ is released. Thereafter, both operation links 7 and 30 become released. In other words, one operation link 7 is turned clockwise about the second fulcrum 5, while the other operation link 30 is turned counterclockwise about the movable fulcru~ 29 and they move together around fulcrum 31.
. This further lifts the portion ~2 of link 21 and the link 21 4~i moves further counterclockwise~ whereby the second inking roller 43 is moved to gi~e a second ink application to the type aces 46.
Following the second ink application, the supporting shaft 34 of the inking rollers is at the right end o~ the horizbntal slot 28 o-E the guide link 27.
When the hand lever 2 is further squeezed, as shown in Fig. 8, both the guide link 27 and the rocking link 21 are tuTned counterclockwise with the simultaneous movement of each movable fulcrum. The inking rollers are pivoted into the middle area between the machine frames 44. More particularly, the inking roller frame 41, carrying two inking rollers assumes a ~ertical orientation, and the end portion (at the side of the supporting shaft) of the support-ing member 36 holding the frame 41 is received within the stowing recesses 55 (see Figs. 4 and 5, especially) that are formed in the undersides of the yoke arms 40. The first inking roller 42 is now held between the yoke arms 4~ and the second inking roller 43 is held below the first inklng roller 42 and at the rear side of the printing head 45. The inking rollers are stowed to ~ill otherwise useless space, and the whole body of the label printing machine is made compact.
In Pig. 8, the stopper projection 9 o the operation link 7 comes into contact with the connecting link 15 which stops further clockwise turning of the link 7. At this stage, the type faces 46 oE the printing head 45 are contact-ing the surface of a label on the platen 54, thereby accom-plishing label printing.
When the hand lever 2 is released~ the multi-link mechanism returns to the rçst position shown in Fig. 5. At ~ 6 the same time, the printed label unit 56 is passed under the applicator 57 to be applied to the surface of an article.
In operation of the inking roller 42 and 43, the first inking roller 42 is rolled over the faces of the types 46 with a predetermined pressure by the guiding means because the supporting shaft 34 at the end portion oE the supporting member 36 is guided by and slid through the horizontal slot 28 of the guide link 27. Accordingly, when the inking roller 42 is rolled o~er the type faces 46, the outer surface of the roller 42 is depressed such that, when the depressed portion of the inking roller 42 recovers its original shape, the ink stored at the center of the inking roller 42 is pumped to the outer sur-face of the inking roller. Therefore, the application oE ink to the type faces 46 can always be uniform and sufficient.
After the inking by the first inking roller 42, the second inking roller 43 is brought into contact with the type faces 46 under the urging oE the spring 25. However, the bearing plates 58 on both sides of roller 43 are rolled on the undersurface of the printing head 45. There-Eore, the second inking roller 43 can be rolled on the type faces 46 without being unnecessarily depressed so as to neatly finish off the inking. Accordingly, evenly distributed ink applica-tion can be easily attained.
The inking device of the invention has the follow-ing ad~antages:
~ a) The ink-impregnated inking rollers are brought into contact with the t~pe faces under certain pressures by means of a movable guiding mechanism. Therefore, the quantity of ink that is applied to the type $ace is always constant, and precise PTintin~ o-f labels can be attained~

~ b) For pressing the inking rollcrs against the type faces at constant pressures, a particular link mechanism is employed. This mechanism differs from conventional devices that use spring action. Therefore, the force required to manually squeeze the hand lever can be minimized, and operator fatigue can be reduced.
(c) The inking rollers and their operating links do not protrude in front of the machine body when the hand lever is squeezed, and they can be stowed with;n the machine body because of the link mechanism. Therefore, they do not obstruct the view in front of the label printing machine and accurate applying o-f labels to the surfaces of artlcles can be easily acco~plished.
In view of the above, the inking device o-f the present invention is quite suitable Eor label printing machines to print optical character reader readable characters and bar codes on labels, or the like, where highly precise printing is required.
Although the present invention has been described in connection with a preferred embodiment thereof, many variations and modifications will now become apparent to those skilled in the art It is preferred, kherefore~ thak the present invention be limited not by the specific disclosure herein, but only by the appended claims.

Claims (13)

What is claimed is:

1. In a label printing machine,comprising a machine frame; said machine frame having a front end;
a platen supported by said machine frame; a yoke movably supported by said machine frame for motion in print direction toward said platen and in the opposite direction; said yoke being pivotally supported at a first pivot on said machine frame for pivotal motion with respect to said machine frame and extending from said first pivot toward said machine frame front end;
a print head supported by and movable with said yoke, and including types opposable to and movable to said platen;
inking means for inking said types comprising:
an inking roller; a support for said inking roller, link means connecting said yoke and said inking roller support; said support holding said inking roller at one side, measured across said print direction, of said print head types before said yoke moves in said print direction;
said link means moving said support to move said inking roller past said types in an inking direction, that crosses said print direction,as said yoke moves in said print direction, and said inking direction being directed into said machine frame such that when said types move to said platen, said inking roller is stowed inside said machine frame;
said link means comprises:
a first link including guide means for said support such that said support moves along and with respect to said guide means in said inking direction;
a second linkage connected with said support for moving said support in said inking direction along said guide means;
1. Claim 1 continued -a third linkage connected with said first link for moving said first link generally in said inking direction and into said machine frame; said support remaining in engagement with said first link for being moved into said machine frame rear-wardly from said machine frame front end with said first link;
   said second and said third linkages being connected with said yoke for moving as described as said yoke moves in said print direction whereby the ink roller and support, as a result of the recited inter-connection of the first link, the second and third linkages with the support, is given a motion in said inking direction faster than the motion of said first link in said inking direction.
2. 2. The label printing machine of claim 1, wherein said third linkage comprises a fourth link pivotally attached to said first link; said third linkage connection to said yoke being a pivotable connection; a fifth linkage pivotally connected to said frame at a first frame pivot, pivotally connected to said yoke at a first yoke pivot and pivotally connected to said fourth link, such that movement of said yoke to said platen pivots said fourth link which, in turn, moves said first link into said machine frame and away from said machine frame front end.
3. 3. The label printing machine of claim 1, wherein said second linkage comprises a fourth link pivotally attached to said yoke at a first yoke pivot which serves as the said connection of said second linkage to said yoke; said fourth link being connected to said inking roller support at a location remote from said first yoke pivot; a fifth linkage pivotally connected to said frame at a first frame pivot, pivotally connected to said yoke at a second yoke pivot and pivotally connected to said fourth link, such that movement of said yoke to said platen pivots said fifth linkage which, in turn, pivots said fourth link to move said support in said inking direction.
4. 4. The label printing machine of claim 3, wherein said third linkage comprises a sixth link pivotally attached to said first link; said third linkage connection to said yoke being a pivotable connection; said fifth linkage being pivotally attached to said sixth link, such that movement of said yoke to said platen pivots said sixth link, which, in turn, moves said first link into said machine frame and away from its said front end.
5. 5. The label printing machine of claim 4, wherein in the space between said first and second yoke pivots, said fifth linkage further comprises a spring-actuated operation link which is attached to said second yoke pivot and also comprises a contact pin; said fourth link supports said inking roller support; said fourth link being attached to the said first yoke pivot and being provided with an upraising portion to be brought into contact with said contact pin for raising said contact pin as said yoke pivots in said print direction, thereby pivoting said sixth link and moving said first link also in said inking direction.
6. 6. The label printing machine of claim 1, wherein said guide means for said inking roller support comprise a supporting shaft attached to said inking roller support and slots formed in said link means to guide said supporting shaft in a sliding manner.
7. 7. The label printing machine of claim 1, wherein when said support and said inking roller are at said one side of said print head types, said support is at an orientation that is generally across the orientation of said types then opposable to said platen;
   said link means being adapted to pivot said support with respect to said first link to an orientation generally paralleling the orientation of said types then opposable to said platen while said inking roller moves in said inking direction past said types; said link means being thereafter adapted to pivot said support with respect to said first link to an orientation that is again generally across the orientation of said types then opposable to said platen, when said support is moved in said inking direction past said types by said link means; said link means causing said support to pivot in only one direction with respect to said first link as said support moves in said inking direction, and said support pivoting in the same general pivot direction as said first link, but said link means causing said support to pivot through a greater pivot arc with respect to said first link than said first link pivots through as said support moves in said inking direction.
8. 8. The label printing machine of claim 7, further comprising a second said inking roller supported on said support, and the said orientation of said support being defined by the plane joining the axes of the two said inking rollers.
9. 9. The label printing machine of claim 4, wherein when said support and said inking roller are at said one side of said print head types, said support is at an orientation that is generally across the orientation of said types then opposable to said platen, said link means being adapted to pivot said support with respect to said first link to an orientation generally parallel the orientation of said types then opposable to said platen while said inking roller moves in said inking direction past said types;
   said link means being thereafter adapted to pivot said support with respect to said first link to an orientation that is again generally across the orientation of said types then opposable to said platen, when said support is moved in said inking direction past said types by said link means; said link means causing said support to pivot in only one direction with respect to said first link as said support moves in said inking direction, and said support pivoting in the same general pivot direction as said first link, but said link means causing said support to pivot through a greater pivot arc with respect to said first link than said first link pivots through as said support moves in said inking direction.
10. 10. The label printing machine of claim 4, wherein said guide means for said inking roller support comprise a supporting shaft attached to said inking roller support and slots formed in said link means to guide said supporting shaft in a sliding manner.
    
    11. In a label printing machine, comprising;
    a machine frame; a platen supported by said machine frame;
    a yoke movable supported by said machine frame for motion in a print direction toward said platen and in the opposite direction; a print head supported by and movable with said yoke, and including types opposable to and movable to said platen;
    inking means for inking said types, comprising:
    an inking roller; a support for said inking roller; link means comprising said yoke and said inking roller support; said support holding said inking roller at one side, measured across said print direction, of said print head types before said yoke moves in said print direction; said link means moving said support to move said inking roller past said types in an inking direction, that crosses said print direction, as said yoke moves in said print direction, and said inking direction being directed into said machine frame such that when said types move to said platen, said inking roller is stowed inside said machine frame;
    said link means comprises:
    a first link including guide means for said support, such that said support moves along said guide means in said inking direction;
    a second linkage connected with said support for moving said support in said inking direction along and with respect to said guide means;
    a third linkage connected with said first link for moving said first link generally in said inking direction into said machine frame; said support remaining in engagement with said first link for being moved into said machine frame with said first link;
11. Claim 11 continued -said second and said third linkages being connected with said yoke for moving as described as said yoke moves in said print direction whereby the ink roller and support, as a result of the recited interconnection of the first link, the second and third linkages with the support, is given a motion in said inking direction faster than the motion of said first link in said inking direction.
12. 12. The label printing machine of claim 11, wherein when said support and said inking roller are at said one side of said print head types, said support is at an orientation that is generally across the orientation of said types then opposable to said platen; said link means being adapted to pivot said support with respect to said link means to an orientation generally paralleling the orientation of said types then opposable to said platen while said inking roller moves in said inking direction past said types; said link means being thereafter adapted to pivot said support with respect to said link means to an orientation that is again generally across the orentation of said types then opposable to said platen, when said support is moved in said inking direction past said types by said link means, said link means causing said support to pivot in only one direction with respect to said link means as said support moves in said inking direction.
    
    13. In a label printing machine, comprising;
    a machine frame; a platen supported by said machine frame; a yoke movably supported by said machine frame for motion in a print direction toward said platen and in the opposite direction; a print head supported by and movable with said yoke, and including types opposable to and movable to said platen;
    inking means for inking said types, comprising;
    an inking roller; a support for said inking roller; link means connecting said yokes and said inking roller support; said support holding said inking roller at one side, measured across said print direction, of said print head types before said yoke moves in said print direction; said link means moving said support to move said inking roller past said types in an inking direction, that crosses said print direction, as said yoke moves in said print direction, and said inking direction being directed into said machine frame such that when said types move to said platen, said inking roller is stowed inside said machine frame;
    said link means comprises:
    a first link including guide means for said support such that said support moves along said guide means in said inking direction;
    second means for moving said support along and with respect to said guide means in said inking direction;
    third means for moving said first link, with said support still in engagement therewith and movable therewith, generally in said inking direction and into said machine frame;
13. Claim 13 continued -said second and said third means being connected with said yoke for moving as described as said yoke moves in said print direction whereby the ink roller and support, as a result of the recited interconnection of the first link, the second and third linkages with the support, is given a motion in said inking direction faster than the motion of said first link in said inking direction.