CA1102619A - Cassette loading hot leaf imprinter - Google Patents

Abstract

ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE

A hot leaf imprinter is provided wherein the hot leaf is supported on a removably mounted cassette including a supply roll, a take-up roll and guide means therebetween defining a path for said hot leaf. The imprinter is provided with a printing and drive assembly for releasably receiving the cassette and for rotatably incrementally driving the take-up roller for the incremental advance of the hot-leaf between imprinting operations.
A further feature of the apparatus utilizable with or without the cassette is a device for detecting the quantity of hot leaf the take-up roll and adjusting the angular incremental advance of the take-up roll in response thereto to provide substantially uniform incremental advance of the hot leaf past the printing head.

Description

~`

i: ~

I; ~ BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
., .
This invention is generally directed to hot leaf imprinters having a cassette loading feature, and further having a device .
for insuring inform incremental advancing of the hot leaf to insure maxim~m utiliza~ion thereof.

~:' . ' 1 - `

In the art, hot leaf imprinters are utilized to imprint on plastic and other materials. Such hot lea-f imprinters utilize a heat-reIeased ink carried on a carrier tape. When the carrier tape is pressed against the material to be imprinted by a heated die bearing the desired impression, the ink is transferred from the carrier to the article to be imprinted.

¦ Such hot leaf imprinters are particularly usable in imprinting of packaging materials, in which case the packaging I material is generalIy provided in the form of a continuous web incrementally advanced past a printing station containing a hot ¦ leaf imprinter. During each pause in the incremental advance i; of the web, imprinting is effected by bringing together under pressure the hot leaf (the above-described ink carrier) and web ,.
between a heated die and a back-up plate.

The hot leaf material is generally provided in roll form .
and it is desirable to provide for the rapid replacement of a used roll of hot leaf so as to minimize down time on an entire packaging assembly. Further~ it is desirable to insure uniform ~, incremental advance of the hot leaf past the printing station v 20 represented by the heated die and back-up plate so as to insure ... .
maximum efficiency of usage of the hot leaf. In other words, if the hot leaf were not advanced at a substantially u~iform rate~ then the shortest incremental space would have to be at least enough to prevent overlapping of adjacent imprints~ so !

~ \`

that the longer incremental advances will produce regions of unused ink between adjacent imprints.
1,;
SUMMA~Y OF THE INVENTION

Generally speaking, in accorclance with the invention, i ` a hot leaf imprinter is provided h~ving an imprinting and drive 1' assembly and a hot leaf cassette assembly, said hot leaf cassette assembly being releasably mounted on said imprinting and drive assembly. Said hot leaf cassette assembly includes a support member carrying a supply roll, a take-up roll and~guide means ,, for guiding the hot leaf along a path for operative registration !
with the print head of the imprinting and drive assembly. The imprinting and drive assembly includes a drive member operably couplable to the take-up roll to rotatably incrementally drive I same.
i'1 A hot leaf imprinter i9 also provided having a directly driven take-up roll for hot leaf advancing, and including means ; 1l for sensing the quantity of hot leaf on said take-up roll and for adjusting the angular incremental advance of the take-up 1 roll in response thereto so as to provide substantially uniform 1 incremental advance of the hot leaf past the print headO
, i:

, 1, f , ' ~

Accordingly, it is an object of thi.s invention to provide a hot leaf imprinter wherein the supply roll and take-up roll supporting said hot leaf may be releasably removed to permit rapid replacement of exhausted hot leaf. 1, !

~ Another object of the invention is ~o provide a cassette j i hot leaf support arrangemen~ releasably mounted on a imprintinig , and drive assembly which permits rapid substitution of the hot leaf while permitting direct drive of the take-up roll.

: i! A further object of the invention is to provide a hot . i lo leaf imprinter provided with a cassette-loading ho~ leaf assembly I
wherein said hot leaf is supported on the cassette between a 3 1 supply roll, a take-up roll and guides whereby no further mani- '~

:~1 1 pulation of the hot leaf is required upon mounting of the cassette'.
i~
Still another object of the inventio~ is to provide a hot leaf imprinter having a direct-driven take-up roll for hot ¦ ~1 leaf advancing and which automatically adjusts the angular : 11 incremental displacement of the take-up roll in proportion to 1ll the amount of hot leaf thereon to provide substantially uniform ,I hot leaf advance.
~ ; ~
.~ 20 Still other objects and advantages of the invention will : in part be obvious and will in part be apparent from the specification, , l ;: `
: 4 ~ ` ` ;

1. .
The invention accordingly comprises the features of ` construction, combinations of elements, and arrangement o:f parts which will be exemplified in the constructions hereinafter set forth, and the sco~e of the invention will be indicated in the claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
, For a fuller understanding of the invention, reference is had to the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:
,, ~
o lj Fig. 1 is perspective view of a first embodiment of the hot leaf imprinter in accordance with the invention;

Fig. 2 is an exploded view of the hot leaf cassette assembly of the imprinter of Fig. l;

Fig. 3 is a front elevational view of the hot leaf imprinter of Fig. l;

Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken along lines 4-4 of Fig. 3 ;!
1l !
Fig. 5 is a rear elevational view of the hot leaf imprinter of Fig. l;

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary enlarged view of the hot leaf advance control of Fig. 5 during the web advance stroke;

:
` -5- i '' I

l I

Fig. 7 is a perspective view of a second embodiment oE
, the hot lea~ imprinter in accordance with the invention;

Fig. 8 is a rear elevational view of the hot lea~ imprinter of Fig. 7;

Fig. 9 is a sectional view taken along lines 9-9 of Fig.

, 7 and including a schematic showing of control means;

Fig. 10 is a fragmentary sectional view taken along lines ¦
i 10-10 of Fig. 7;

Il ~ig. 11 is a fragmentary sectional view taken along lines ~ 11 of Fig. 10 and showing the arrangement at different stages I of operation;

¦~ ~ I Figs. 12 and 13 are fragnentary rear elevational views of the hot leaE advance control arrangement of the împrinter of Fig. 7 with the take-up roll drive solenoid removed, and showing `; ¦ said arrangement in two operative positions;

¦I Fig. 14 is a perspective view of a third embod-iment of i' the imprinter iD accordance with the invention;

~ ~ 1 Fig. 15 is a front elevational view of the imprinter of ; ~ Fig. 14 with the take-ap and supply rolls shown in phantom;

' Fig. 16 is a rear elevational view of the imprinter of .
Fig. 14;

;;
~ ll ZSiLg ; '~

~ Fig. 17 is a partially sectional fragmentary top view of j ,~ the imprinter of Fig. 14;
'' . I
I Fig. 18 is a ~ragmentary enlarged front elevational view ! ` of the braking and hot leaf advance control arrangement of the imprinter of Fig. 14; and ' , Fig. 19 is a fragmentary perspective view of the braking ! and hot lea~ ad~ance control arrangement of the imprinter of Fig. 14.

BRIEF DESGRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EM~,ODIMENTS

1Referring, first to the embodiment of Figs. 1-6 of the imprinter in accordance w3th the invention, said imprinter, shown I
i~ generally at 10, is preferably mounted for vertical and lateral displace~ent relative to back-up plate 12 by means not shown.
Said means may include a support rail arrangement similar to support rails 14 which support back-up plate 12, said back-up ¦ liplate being provided with four leveler devices 16 at the respectiv corners thereof. Imprinter 10 is provided with a hot leaf lcassette assembly 18 releasably mounted, as ~described below, to an imprinting and drive assembly 20. Imprinting and drive , 1 ~lassembly 20 includes a frame member 22 formed with a laterally extending flange 24 which supports plate 26 secured thereto by means of bolts 28. The imprinting and drive assembly 20 is ~supported by bolt 30 secured to plate 26. Also supported on ~.

~ _7_ 1 j ~ 26.19 frame 22 are four guide members 32 (Figs. 3 and 4) supported by bolts 34 and nuts 36. As best shown in Fig. 4, each guide .~
member 32 is formed with a guide groove 38. The four guide members are positioned in two la~erally spaced pairs, the 1l respective pairs being vertically spaced to define a vertical ,I displacement path for a print head guide plate 40 formed wit~
bevelled side edges42 for riding in guide grooves 38. Secured to the front side of print head guide plate 40 by bolts 44 and nuts 46 is a print head support bar 48 which supports a heated 1l print head 50 of conventional design adapted to heat type ar other indicia on the bottom surface 52 thereof to effect imprinting. Mounted on the rear of print head guide plate 40 is a rack member 54 provided with teeth 56 on one side thereof.
Rack member 54 is supported by a pair of bolts 58 and nuts 60~ !
and precisely positioned by means of a pair of pins 62. Frame ¦, member 22 is formed with a hub region 64 projecting from the rear side thereof, said hub region in turn being formed with an aperture 66 therethrough. A shaft 68 is journaled through opening 66 and supported in bearings 70 (Fig. 4). A gear member ~y ¦ 72 is mounted on shaft 68 by means of set screws 74~ said g~ar membex having teeth 76 along about 1/2 its surface for mating with teeth 56 of rack member 54. A block 78 (Fig. 5) is mounted on the rear end of shaft 68 on the rear side ~ frame member 22 : ~
(Fig. 5). Block member 78 is formed with a projecting finger 80 mounted on the plunger 82 of a fluid-driven piston assembly . '~.
. .~
~ ' ~11D2619 , 84, which piston assembly may be either liquid or air actuated.
The length of the stroke of plunger 82 is determined by the position of a ~hr~aded pin 86 threaded through an aperture in support member 88 secured to frame member 22, nut 90 serving as a stop to fix the position of pin 86.

; When piston assembly 84 is actuated, plunger 82 is displaced to the left as viewed in Fig. 5 to rotate shaft 68 in i the counter clockwise direction as viewed in Fig. 5 and the I clockwise direction as viewed in Fig. 3, thereby displacing ; 10 ' print head 50 downwardly to effect imprinting.
"
Hot leaf cassette assembly 18 includes a support plate 92 to which is amounted a pair of handles 94 by means of bolts 96 for the manual manipulation of said assembly. Threaded into apertures (not shown) in the bottom of plate 92 are a pair of L-shaped guide members 98, one arm of which is threaded for this ', purpose, saîd guide members being held in position by bolts 100.
The arms of guide members 98 which project toward imprinting and drive assembly 20 are positioned to guide and position th~ t hot leaf intermediate the print head 50 and back-up plate 12 when the hot leaf cassette assembly 18 is in position as shown in Fig. 1.

!

~,;
i.
.` I
.. ,. ,, ; .. ..

ilU261g Supported on one side of support plate 92 is a suppl~ ¦
roll 102 formed from a pair of disc shaped members 10~ and 106 'l mounted on a hu~ lO8, disc-shaped member 106 be;.ng releasably l~ secured by means of se~ screw lQ9 to permit mounting of a roll lil ~ hot leaf 110 thereon and also permitting adjustment ~or dierent widths of the hot leaf tape~ Hub 108 is held in . ~I position on support plate 92 by bolts 112 and nu~ 114~ Bolt - I 112 is journaled through a pair of washers 116 supporting therebetween a coil spring 118 and a bushing 120. The base lo 1I portion 122 of hub 108 engages against a friction disc 124 which serves, in cooperation with spring 118 as a brake on the rotational displacement of supply roll 102 so that said supply roll only rotates when the take-up roll is rotated, as described . ~ ¦, below. A bushing 126 is received in the aperture 128 in hub 108 to define a seak for receipt o a support bearing member 130 mounted on frame member 22 of imprinting and drive assembly 20 as more particularly shown in Fig. 4.

Mounted on the other side of support plate ~2 is take-up roll 132 which is supported on a shaft 134 having a one-way ¦1 clutch bearing L36 secured to the end thereof. Shat 13~ is ¦ secured, by means of pîn 138, to the hub of a clutch bearing 140 which is mounted on support plate 192. Clutches 136 and 140 are of o~ventional design, rlutch 136 serving as a one-way driv~
to advance take-up roll 132 in only one direction in response to .

. '''`, ' '.

:: :
, 1: , ~ ~ ' -10- 1~
.

l i 6:~
a reciprocating drive as more particularly described bel~w, ~i while clutch 140 serving as a brake to prevent undesired ~I rotation of said take-up roll. One-way clutch ~6 receives one end of a shat 142 supported by bearings 144, which are in ' turn mounted in an aperture 146 in ,a hub region 148 of frame , member 22. As more particularly shown in Figs. 4 and 5, a take-up roll drive member 150 is mounted on the other end of shaft 142 and is formed with a projecting finger 152 which engages plunger 154 of piston assembly 1S6. Mounted on a ., I,, .
1ll projecting region 157 o frame member 22 is an adiusting bolt 158 which serves to define the rest position for plunger 15~, ¦l and therefore defines one dimension of the stroke of plunger 154. Piston assemblies 156 and 84 are shown coupled by conduits 162 and 164 for coordinate actuation in response to a control , mechanism (not shown).

Take-up drive member 150 i5 formed at its upper end, as shown in Fig. 5, with an inclined e~ge 166 defined by a for-I I wardly projecting flange 168 ~Figs. 3 and 5). A hot leaf ~ detecting bar 170 is pivotably mou~ted at one end on pin 172, I which is itself supported between U-shaped plate 180 and frame 22 by means of bolts 182. U-shaped plate 180 is moun~ed so that the short legs thereof engage frame member 22 to provide space for the pivoting of hot leaf detecting bar 70. Mounted on the opposite end of hot leaf detecting bar 70 is a pin 172 supporting ,, . I

. : .

. - , .. ~, ..... . . ..

.' a roller 174 on the rear side of ho~ leaf detecting bar 70 and projecting through a notch 176 for engagement against the hot lea , 110 on take-up roll 132. Hot leaf detecting bar 170 is biased in the clockwise direction as vlewed in Fig. 5 about the pivot defined by pin 178 by means of a sprlng 184 supported between a pin 186 mounted on said hot leaf detecting bar and a pin 188 ! mounted on frame member 22.

When a ~resh roll of hot leaf is mounted on supply roll 102 and secured to take-up roll 132, the imprinter will assume 101I the position illustrated in Fig, 5. When plunger 154 of piston assembly 156 is displaced to the left as viewed in Fig. 5, shaft 142 rotates in the clockwise direction as viewed in Fig. 5 and ilthe counter clockwise direction is viewed i.n Fig. 3. Rotation ¦l~n this direction is tra~smitted through one-way clutch 136 to ~,take-up roll 132 to cause an incremental length of hot lea to ¦ibe wound on said take-up roll. '~he length o~ h~t leaf which is advanced in response to the displacement plunger 154 is in part determined by the setting of adjusting bolt 158 which sets the starting point of the angular incremental displacement of the . take-up roll, and in part determined by the engagement of flange ~.168 o~ take-up roll drive member 150 against roller 174 of hot I leaf detecting barl70 which determines the end of the advancement :.stroke. When piston 154 returns to its original position in engagement with the end of adjusting bolt 158, such displacement '. i ~ , I
, I
Il l ~ 2- !

,. !

r ll~Z6~9 is not transm-Ltted to the take-up roll due to one-way clutch , 136. T~ take-up roll being held firmly in position by clutch ; bearing 1~0 to insure a ~aut length of hot heaf for the next 1~ imprinting.

In order to insure uniform incremental advances of the hot leaf, the quantity of hot leaf on the take-up roll is l, detected by hot leaf detecting bar 70 which is displaced in the I li counter clockwise direction about pin 178 as viewed in ~ig. 5 : 1~ by the addition of hot leaf to the take-up roll as more parti-1'l cularly shown by arrow 190 in Fig. 6. At each position of i roller 17~ during its gradual displacement in the direction of ¦ arrow 190, said roller strikes a different point on inclined flange 168 of take-up roll drive member 150, as said take-up roll drive member is displaced in the direction of arrow 192 of Fig. 6. This serves to gradually shorten the angular incre-l 1, mental displacement of take-up roll 132 in response to each dis-; 1 placement of plunger 154 in the direction of arrow 194 of ~ig. 6 I as increased quantities of hot leaf are deposited on take~up rollj ¦ 132. Since the take-up roll has an effectively larger circum-~i ference as such increased quantities are received thereon~ the incremental advance of the hot leaf is maintained su~stantially , constant.

' -13-Z~:~9 ~ As more particularly shown in Fig. 1, the pistons and I' hot leaf advance adjustment mechanisms may be protected by a removably mou~ted cover 196, iE desired. Hot leaf cassette ` assembly 18 is releasably retained in position aga-inst imprinting il and drive assembly 20 by means of a push button~ cam-type lock l~ arrangement 198 which consists of a cc~m assembly 200 mounted I
in a projecting portion 202 ~ormed in frame member 22 (Fig. 4 and a spring-loaded push button assembly 204 mounted on support plate 92. The push button is journaled through a mounting ll member 206 held in place by a lock washer 208, said push button being biased in an outwardly direction by means oE a spring 210.
¦I Push button 204 is mounted on the end of a shaEt 212, the other end oE which bears a cross-bar 214 which rides in a suitable camming groove in camming assembly 200 so that when the push ,I button is initially pushed, the cross-bar 214 locks in position to hold the hot leaE cassette assembly in position. When the ~i push button is pushed again, the cross-bar 214 is released, ¦ permitting withdrawal o-E the hot lea cas~sette assembly 18, as desired.

, ~ ~ , : ~
. , . I
~' ~, lll Re~erring now to Figs. 7-13~ a second embod-iment o t~e ; ,, hot le~f imprinter shown generally at 220 is depicted, like reference numerals being assigned to like elements. Hot Leaf cassette assembly 18 of imprinter 220 is essentially identical to that of imprinter lO, as is the back-up arrangement and the l~ arrangement for supporting, guiding and displacing print head 'I 50 (with the exception of the driv:ing arrangement on the rear I side o~ ~rame member 22'). Referring specificalLy to said drive I
¦l arrangement, in place of the fluid operated piston assembLies~ ¦
lo 1~ shaft 68 is driven by a solenoid 222 (Figs. 8 and 9), the ii plunger 224 of solenoid 222 being pivotably coupled by pin 226 to one end of block member 228. Said block member is mounted in a central region on shaft 68 and is normally biased in the ~ ¦ I clockwise direction as viewed in Fig. 8 by spring 230 which ! ~: : I extends between a support 232 mounted on frame member 22l and a i ~ I pin 234 mounted on the other end of block member 228. If desired a suitable stop arrangement similar to threaded pin 86 may be provided to control of plunger 224.

In a similar manner~ piston assembly 254 ~or dri~ing 20 I take-up roll 232 is replaced by a rotary driving solenoid 236 mounted by means of bolts 238 on projecting seats formed in frame member 22'. Solenoid 236 is formed with arcuate slots 242 therethrough to permit the selective angular orientation of solenoid 236. Solenoid ~36 is also provided with a coil ~: : l !
! I i .
' .

11~26~9 spring 24~ which serves to return the solenoid to its original position upon release of the energizing power. As.more parti- ¦
cularly shown schematically in Fig. 9, solenoids 222 and 236 are coordinately actuated by a control means 246. Referring more particularly to Fi~s. 9 and 12, the rotary output of solenoi~
236 is at shaft 2~8. Shaft 248 is coupled by pin 250 to a shaft .
member 252 which is received in one-way clutch 136, as in the embodiment of Fig. 7. A take-up roll drive member 254 is mounted by pin 256 and set screw 258. Take-up roll drive member 254 is provided with an inclined edge 256 which cooperates with a roller 258 mounted on rod 260 which is supported on one end of hot leaf detecting bar 262, rod 260 extending across and resting on the periphery of the hot leaf on take-up roll 132. Hot leaf detecting bar 262 is pivotably mounted on a pin 264 supported between~a U-shaped support 266 and frame member 22', said U-shaped support being mounted on said frame member by means of bolts 268. ~ot leaf detecting bar 262 is biased in the clockwise¦
direction as viewed in Fig. 12 by a spring 270 supported between pin 272 mounted on frame member 22' and pin 274 mounted on the other end of hot leaf detecting bar 262. As more particularly illustrated in Figs. 10, 11, 12 and 13, take-up roll drlve member 254 and hot leaf detecting bar 262 cooperate in the same manner as like elements in the embodiment of Fig. 1 to automatic-ally adjust the rotational stroke of the solenoid as hot leaf is wound on the take-up roll 232.

i 1 ~ i .

.. , ~ .. , ~- . .~, . . . .

6 ~ 9 ~ ~ Referring now to Figs. 14~19, a third embodiment of the I !
I ; hot leaf imprinter designated generally by 280 is depicted, like reference numberals being utilized for like elements as described above. Imprinter 280 differs in several material respects from ` the arrangements of the previous embodiments. First, while the ¦ previous embodiments were pro~ided with fixed back-up plates, back-up plate 12 of imprinter 280 is supported on the plunger 282 of a solenoid 284 for upward displacement a~ainst a fixedly Il mounted heated print head 50~. Back-up plate 12 and solenoid 1'l 284 are mounted on rails 14 by means of plates 286 and 288, il leveler bolts 290 being threaded through plate 286 for engagement ¦1 against raiLs L4 -Eor the purpose of leveling the back-up plate ! arrangement. Heated print head 50' is supported by posts 292 on plates 294 and 296 which are in turn supported on frame member j 298. Frame member 298 and the parts carried thereby are supporte ~ rails 300 by means of a top plate 302 which is position~d relative to plate 29~ by means of a threaded shat 304 operated by handle 306.

In the embodiment o imprinter 280, a full, ~nitary hot leaf cassette assembly is not provided. Rather, separate, releasably mounted supply roll 308 and take-up roll 310 are provided. Specifically, as more particularly shown in Figs. 14 ~; and 17, supply roll 308 is mounted on a shaft 309 journaled :; I' ,,,~ ., .',~ 1, ~ 1, through and rotatably supported on frame member 298. A cam assembly (not shown) similar to cam assembly 200 of ~ig. 4 is mounted in the end of shaft 309 for cooperation with a push butto~
assembly 312 similar to push button assembly 198 illustrated in Figs, 2 and 4. Supply roll 308 may be released and removed from j shaft 309 by pushing push button 314 which corresponds to push button 204 o Figs. 2 and 4. However, when mounted as shown in Fig. 17, shaft 309 and supply roll 308 rota~e as a unit.

', .
, Also unted on shaft 309 for rotation therewith is a loj puLl~y 316. Pulley 316 is provided for cooperation with a braking mechanism defined by a bar 318 pivotably mounted on frame member .~ I
298 by pin 320, said bar supporting the endsof a length of cord 322 which extends about pulley 316. As more particularly shown ,~ in Fig. 15, the ends 324 of cord 322 are secured on opposed sides I

of pin 320. A spring 326 mounted between pLn 328 on the top 5 . . ' surface of rame member 298 and a pin 33Q mounted at the upper end of bar 318, serves to bias bar 318 in the counter clockwise direction about pin 320 as viewed in Fig. 15. ~t rest, as shown in solid lines in Fig. 15, cord 322 is biased taut by spring 326 and serves as a bra~e to stop the rotation of supply roll 308.
!
A rod 332 projects forwardly ~rom bar 318 and is positioned so ~ that the path of hot leaf 110 as it extends from supply roll 308 - ~; passes about rod 332 before engaging guide members 334. When take-up roll 310 is driven as more particularly described below, the tension on hot leaf 110 serves to pivotably displace bar 318 :,; ' '~ I

`; -18-~,~ , .
. , .:

6~9 1, in ~he clockwise direction about pin 320 as viewed in Fig. 15 ; ,l against the bias of spring 326, which pivo~ing releases the tension on cord 322 to diminish the braking action thereof and thereby permitting the :Eree ro-tation of the supply roll 308.

The two guide members 334 are each mounted on a U~shaped bracket 336 and secured in place by bolts 338, respectively, each¦
recei~ed within a slot 340 defined hy the arms of said U-shaped ~; I bracket. Also received in said slot is a guide pin 342 mounted on frame member 298.

i lo 1 Take-up roll 310 is likewise releasably mounted by means ' o a push button assembly 344 and a cam assembly (not shown) ¦ o the type described above, said push button assembly being ~ I mounted on the central hub 346 of take-up roll 310, said cam ~, I l~ assembly (not sho~n) being mounted in the end of a shat 348 to thus releasably couple shaft 348 and take-up roll 310 for common rotation. Shaft 348 is supported in a bearing 350 ¦ (Fig. 17) which is mounted in a sleeve 352, which sleeve i5 t~
mounted on rame member 298 so that shaft 348 is journaled li through said frame member. Positioned intermediate sleeve 352 I and shaft 350 is a braking clutch bearing 354 to aid in the avoidance of unwanted motion of take-up roll 310. Also mounted on shaft 348, at the rear end thereof, is a one-way clutch bearing 356 cooperating with a spur gear 358 mounted thereon and retained in position by an end cap 359 ~see Figs. 15 and 16). Spur gear ," ~ I
,i ~ , i.

:- :.
`.' . -19 '~ ~ '.

, . , -- . . i . . .. . , . -.. , . ; ;

358 is rotatably driven by a gear 360 mounted on brake shaft 362 by means of pin 364 (Fig. 17). Gear 360 is ~onmed with a hub portion 366 which supports a projecting finger 368 which is engaged with the plunger 370 of a solenoid 372. ~s more parti-cularly shown in Fig. 16, plunger 370 is normally biased in its rest position by a spring 374 mounted between a pin 376 on frame member 298 and a pin 378 mounted on said plunger. Brake shaft 362 is supported by bearings 374 in sleeve 376, which I sleeve is mounted in frame member 298 so that brake sha~t 362 1 is journaled therethrough.

As more particularly shown in Fig. 17, the end of shaft 362 is formed with a circumferential groove 363 ~or engagement in a slot 380 ~Flgs. 15 and 18) in a brake support bar 378. The end of slot380 is bridged by a bolt 382 which serves to lock brake support bar 378 on to sha~t 362. Brake support bar 378 is formed with a forwardly projecting portion 384 which supports 1`

j l .
¦ a brake member 386 positioned for engagement against the inner I surface 388 of the peripheral wall of take-up roll 310. Referring ' ¦, to Fig. 19, it is seen that as solenoid plunger 370 is returned ¦ 20 to its rest position by the action of spring 374 in the direction of arrow 38~, gear 360 and brake shaft 362 are rotated in the counter clockwise direction as viewed in Fig. 19 to displace brake member 386 in the direction of arrow 390 to a position at which said brake member engages wall 388 of take-up roll 310 to ,, . :, -20- , ,` ` '.

- 1~ J
i~
6~ 1 stop further displacement of said take-up roll and to hold said take-up roll in position be~ween advances of the hot lea llO.

Imprinter 280 is also provided with a device for detecting' the quantity of hot leaf 110 ~n take-up roll 308. Specifically, hot leaf detecting rod 392 is provided with a first portion 393 having a bearing 394 mounted thereon for rotation therewith, said~
Il bearing be journaled through frame member 298. Bearing 394 is il formed with a circ~unferential rib 395 (Fig. 17) for positioning l¦ the assembled hot leaf detecting rod and bearing. A pin 396 ,l is mounted on bearing 394 and engaged by a spring 398, the other end of which engages a pin 400 mounted on frame me~ber 298.
Mounted on the rearward end of bearing 394 is a positioning member 402 which, at an initial rest position, engages against . I a pin 404 projecting rearwardly from frame member 298~ Hot leaf i detecting rod 392 also includes an arcuate connecting portion 406 and a hot leaf engaging portion 408 which engages the hot leaf on take-up roll 308. In order to place a limit on the ¦ angular displacement o take-up roll 310, a threaded rod 410 is mounted in a threaded opening in projecting member 412 mounted I on the ace of gear 360 and positioned so that one end of threaded - ~ rod 410 engages member 402 to define the starting point for the ' driving stroke o plunger 370. In other words, as additional ~ 1. quantities of hot leaf are collected on take-up roll 310, the ,', rest position of hot leaf detecting rod392 is shited in the ' clockwise direction about th~ axis defined by portion 393 of ~, : ,Y' ' !

said hot leaf detecting rod, as view~d in Fi~. 19. Spring 398 ; serves to bias the hot leaf detecting rod 392 in the counter clockwise direction as viewed in Fig. 19 about said axis. Thus, ¦
the as additional hot Ieaf acc~nulates on the take-up roll,/effective .
dr;~ing stroke of plunger 370 is shortened since the starting point of gear 360 is displaced in the counter clockwise direction about the axis of brake shaft 362 through the ~nteraction of threaded rod 410 and member 402.

It will thus be seen that the objects set forth above, and~
~j ~
. those made apparent from the preceding description, are ef~icient] .y Il attained and, since certain changes may be made in the above l~ constructions without departing from the spirit and scope of the ¦~ invention, it is intended that all ma~ter contained in the above . I description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be inter-preted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense .

It is also to be understood that the following claims are intended to cover all of the generic and specific features of the invention herein described, and all statements of the ~: scope of the invention which, as a matter of language, might

2~ be said to falL therebetween.

~`
,' . i '~: ,~

!
, . , . I

Claims (12)

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property or privilege is claimed are defined as follows:

1. A hot leaf imprinter comprising a frame; a supply roll rotatably mounted on said frame; a take-up roll rotatably mounted on said frame in spaced relation with said supply roll for the feed of hot leaf therebetween for effecting imprinting; drive means for rotatably incrementally driving said take-up roll to effect incremental advance of said hot leaf; and means for sensing the quantity of hot leaf on said take-up roll and for adjusting the angular incremental advance of the take-up roll in response thereto so as to provide substantially uniform incremental advance of the hot leaf.

2. A hot leaf imprinter as recited in claim 1, including an imprinting and drive assembly means, a hot leaf cassette assembly means, means releasably mounting said hot leaf cassette assembly means on said imprinting and drive assembly means, said hot leaf cassette assembly including said frame rotatably supporting said supply roll and take-up roll, and guide means for guiding the hot leaf along a path for operative registration with said imprinting and drive assembly means when assembled, said imprinting and drive assembly means including a drive member operably coupled to said take-up roll to rotatably incrementally drive same to incrementally advance the hot leaf.

3. A hot leaf imprinter as recited in claim 1, wherein said take-up roll and supply roll are releasably mounted on said frame.

4. A hot leaf imprinter as recited in claim 1, including one-way clutch means mounted on said frame intermediate said take-up roll and said drive means, said drive means being reciprocally displaced, whereby said take-up roll is displaced in only one direction.

5. A hot leaf imprinter as recited in any one of claims 1, 2 or 3, including brake means carried on said frame for cooperation with said take-up roll and supply roll for preventing rotation thereof except when said take-up roll is affirmatively driven by said drive means in the desired direction.

6. The hot leaf imprinter as recited in claim 2, including handle means mounted on said frame for the manual manipulation of said hot leaf cassette assembly.

7. A hot leaf imprinter as recited in claim 2, including releasable lock means mounted on said frame and said imprinting and drive assembly means for the releasable coupling of said hot leaf cassette assembly means on said imprinting and drive assembly means.

8. The hot leaf imprinter as recited in claim 1, wherein said means for sensing the quantity of hot leaf on the take-up roll includes a pivotably mounted sensing member formed with a finger engaging the periphery of the hot leaf on said take-up roll, means biasing said sensing member finger against the hot leaf on said take-up roll and means for adjusting the incremental rotational advance of the take-up roll in response to the pivotable position of said sensing member.

9. The hot leaf imprinter as recited in claim 2, wherein said means for sensing the quantity of hot leaf on the take-up roll includes a pivotably mounted sensing member formed with a finger engaging the periphery of the hot leaf on said take-up roll, means biasing said sensing member finger against the hot leaf on said take-up roll and means for adjusting the incremental rotational advance of the take-up roll in response to the pivotable position of said sensing member.

10. The hot leaf imprinter as recited in any one of claims 8 or 9, wherein the pivotable position of said sensing member determines the starting point for the angular displacement of the take-up roll.

11. The imprinter as recited in any one of claims 1, 2 or 4, wherein said drive means includes a fluid-actuated piston means.

12. The imprinter as recited in any one of claims 1, 2 or 4, wherein said drive means includes a solenoid means.