EP0241765B1 - Labelling machine for containers - Google Patents

Description

The invention relates to a labeling machine for vessels with a labeling unit which is arranged on a cross slide having a slide upper part and a slide lower part.

Modern labeling machines are suitable for processing a wide variety of tube shapes and sizes with different equipment. When changing from one vessel type to another, however, it may be necessary to replace vessel-specific machine parts. One of these can be the gripper cylinder, which is frequently exchanged when the vessel equipment is changed. For changing the gripper cylinder. and the possibly necessary readjustment of the labeling unit for other tube diameters, the labeling unit must be mounted at least transversely to the direction of travel of the tube transporter.

In the prior art, therefore, the labeling unit has hitherto been attached to a cross slide which has an upper slide part and a lower slide part. This state of the art can be found, for example, in the "Manual of Labeling Technology" by Hermann Kronseder from 1975 on page 33, Figure 29.

The upper part of the slide and the lower part of the slide can be moved against each other using a threaded rod. This is done, as the literature reference shows, with the aid of a handwheel or crank actuation, which requires relatively long changeover times due to the small thread pitch, which is necessary for reasons of self-locking. The cumbersome adjustment of the position of the labeling unit according to scale or markings also contributes to this.

The invention has for its object to simplify the conversion of a labeling unit to another vessel diameter and to shorten the changeover time for it.

This object is achieved with a labeling machine of the type mentioned at the outset in that the upper part of the slide is mounted relative to the lower part of the slide by means of parallel rods running through sliding bushings, and that a pivoting lever is provided for moving the upper part of the slide relative to the lower part of the slide, which is articulated on the one hand on the upper part of the slide and on the other hand machine-fixed is, and that the labeling unit is limited in its adjustment path by an adjustable stop.

Because the upper part of the slide is mounted relative to the lower part of the slide by means of parallel rods running through sliding bushes, a sliding bearing of the labeling unit is first created.

The labeling unit can thus simply be slid in the direction of the rods and can therefore be adjusted in this direction to suit the changed vessel diameter in its position. Because the upper part of the slide is articulated on a swivel lever, this adjustment can be carried out quickly, easily and with little effort if necessary. The fact that an adjustable stop is provided which limits the swivel path of the swivel lever only has to be swiveled so far during the adjustment until the stop comes into effect. The adjustment positions of the stop are selected so that they take into account different vessel diameters. If the stop works, i.e. thus the pivot lever can no longer be pivoted; the appropriate desired positioning of the labeling unit is automatically ensured.

The stop is designed as a quickly adjustable stop, the stop being arranged in the swivel path of the swivel lever in a first solution and consisting of a rotatable, disk-like polygon with straight contact edges, each of which has a different distance from the axis of rotation of the stop a particularly effortless and quick changeover is made possible because each container diameter can be assigned its own contact edge and the associated position of the labeling unit is automatically set when there is full contact between the contact edge and the swivel lever. In this context, it is also advantageous that in the swivel range of the swivel lever With this clamping it is possible to secure the set and desired operating position of the unit. Such a clamping device can for example look like that it has a plate overlapping the pivot lever in which a clamp EMM screw sits with a handle.

In another solution, the position of the upper carriage part is fixed in that a clamping block is attached to an end face of the lower carriage part, which is provided with a slot and a bore of an appropriate size for one of the rods, the clamping block by one with a handle and one Threaded clamping screw can be clamped together.

With this solution, the swivel lever itself is not jammed, but the rods that support the upper part of the slide.

As mentioned, in a first solution the limitation of the pivoting path of the pivoting lever is effected in that the adjustable stop is arranged directly in the pivoting path of the pivoting lever. An alternative embodiment provides that the pivoting path of the pivoting lever is not limited directly in the pivoting path of the pivoting lever, but indirectly, by the adjustable stop being arranged in the displacement path of the rods. In this solution, the displacement of the upper part of the slide with respect to the lower part of the slide is limited directly in the displacement of the two parts. This solution has the advantage of a particularly low-play positioning of the upper slide part with respect to the lower slide part and thus the labeling unit.

In this context, an advantageous development provides that the stop is designed as a rotating body which is rotatably mounted at the end of a rod and is provided with adjustable stop bodies. The adjustable stop Bodies can be screws that are fixed to the rotating body using lock nuts. The use of screws as stop bodies in connection with the rotating body have the advantage that such a rotating body can be used uniformly for all labeling units. This is because the screws can be screwed into the desired position in the rotating body and the most varied of vessel shapes can be adapted. In contrast, the use of stops in the form of the aforementioned polygon offers an adjustability limited to the number of polygon edges.

Once the stop has been adjusted by screwing in the screws and fixing the lock nut on the unit, the changeover from one container series to another can then be achieved simply by turning the revolver drum-like rotating body.

A stop rod can be provided on the lower part of the slide as a counter-impact for each of the stop bodies of the rotating body.

Regardless of whether the stop is designed as a polygon or as a rotating body, it is in any case advantageous if the stop has locking elements for its different stop positions. This secures the stop in the possible different positions and also allows easy adjustment of the individual positions.

There are various possibilities for the articulation of the pivot lever so that the upper slide part can be slid with respect to the lower slide part. In one embodiment it is provided that the swivel lever is connected to the lower part of the slide by means of a swivel joint and slides into a bore in a swivel pin which is rotatably mounted on a free end of one of the rods. Another solution provides that the swivel lever is mounted on a swivel pin arranged on the lower part of the slide and has an elongated hole at its end directed towards the center of the upper part of the slide, into which a driving pin fastened on the upper part of the slide engages.

In order to enable a fine adjustment, which is not so common in practice, transversely to the direction of travel of the rods and the main direction of displacement of the upper part of the slide which is determined thereby, a further development of the invention provides that the upper part of the slide has an adjusting disk which has bolts, at right angles to the direction of movement of the upper part of the slide running elongated holes, a threaded spindle and a nut is connected to the upper part of the slide. With such a displacement option, corrections of the label fit can be made in a fine adjustment, for example. However, since such an adjustment is relatively seldom required, an adjustment created with these features by means of a threaded spindle is sufficient.

• Figur 1 zeigt eine teilweise Draufsicht auf eine Etikettiermaschine im Bereich des Etikettieraggregats,
• Figur 2 zeigt den Längsschnitt nach A-B der Figur 1,
• Figur 3 zeigt ein abgeändertes Ausführungsbeispiel der Schlittenkonstruktion und
• Figur 4 zeigt ein Ausführungsbeispiel einer Klemmung.

The invention is further explained and described below with reference to the drawings.

• FIG. 1 shows a partial top view of a labeling machine in the area of the labeling unit,
• FIG. 2 shows the longitudinal section according to AB of FIG. 1,
• Figure 3 shows a modified embodiment of the carriage construction and
• Figure 4 shows an embodiment of a clamp.

In the drawings only those structural details are illustrated which are necessary for an understanding of the invention including its function. In Figure 1, the contours of the gripper cylinder 2 and a circle segment of the bottle table 8 are also shown, which illustrate the spatial relationship to each other and to the slide and to the pivot lever. For these reasons in particular, all drive and power transmission elements are missing.

The labeling unit 1, which in the conventional way consists of the label container, glue roller, pallet carousel and gripper cylinder (not shown), of which only the gripper cylinder 2 and the base 3 (dash-dotted lines in FIG. 2) are indicated, is placed with the base part 4 on an adjusting disc 5 and connected to it by radial claws 6 or the like, the inward-facing end faces of which are chamfered and engage underneath the undercut edge 7 of the adjusting disc 5 and thereby center the labeling unit on the adjusting disc 5.

On the machine table designated 9, the cross slide carrying the labeling unit is placed, which is used overall for quick adjustment of the unit. It has a lower part 10 of the slide firmly connected to the machine table 9, on the basis of which vertical lugs 11, 12, 13 and 14 are formed, each with aligned holes 15, 16, 17, 18. In these bores 15 to 18, into which sliding bushes 51 are introduced, parallel rods 19, 20 slide, which are firmly connected by means of screws 22, 23 to the upper slide part 21, which in turn forms the foundation for the adjusting disc 5 and thus for the labeling unit 1 .

To actuate the upper slide part 21, which can be moved horizontally in the arrow directions 24 and 25, a pivot lever 26 with a handle 27 at the end, which can be pivoted about a bolt 28 firmly anchored in the lower slide part 10, is provided. At its other end, an elongated hole 29 is arranged longitudinally axially, which receives a driving pin 30 projecting vertically downward from the upper slide part 21 and guides it in a form-fitting manner.

The pivoting movement of the lever 26 can be limited on one side by a stop 32 which is rotatably arranged on the machine table 9 by means of a fastening screw 31. This is plate-shaped in the form of a geometric polygon, for example an octagon, whose connecting lines a, b, c, d, e, f, g, h form contact edges 33 for in each case a full contact with the straight edge part of the pivot lever corresponding to this area 26. The contact edges 33 corresponding to the connecting lines a to h have the Mit telpunkt 34 of the fastening screw 31 a different distance, for example B, C, which results in the different lengths of the contact edges 33. Each distance of the stop 32 marks in connection with the parallel fixed contact on the pivot lever 26, which can be actuated in the arrow directions 39, 40, not only its specific angular position with respect to its starting position or zero position, but the distances enable by the displacement of the upper slide part 21 quickly and automatically the desired working position of the gripper cylinder 2 with regard to the diameter and the equipment of the labeling objects 35 continuously conveyed on the bottle table 8.

The working position is held in the production operation by fixing the pivot lever 26. In the exemplary embodiment according to FIG. 1, the pivot lever 26 is fixed by a clamping lever 36, which receives a threaded pin 38 arranged vertically in a threaded bore of a plate 37 which overlaps the pivot lever 26 and which presses the pivot lever 26 against the machine table 9 in a durable manner. An alternative working position is indicated by a dot-dash position of the pivot lever 26 in FIG. 1.

In the event that, with a corresponding, defined operating position, the stop 32 and the swivel lever 26 make a slight correction for the exact fit, e.g. a neck label should be required, an adjusting device is provided which allows the labeling unit 1 to be adjusted via the adjusting disc 5, specifically transversely or at right angles to the adjustment directions 24, 25 of the upper slide part 21, that is to say tangentially to the bottle table 8.

As can be seen in particular in FIG. 2, the adjusting element essentially consists of a polygonal nut 41, which can optionally be actuated by means of a tool, with a horizontal threaded spindle 42 which is screwed to a vertical block 43. The block 43 is firmly connected to the adjusting disc 5 by means of a screw 44, which inevitably follows the horizontal movements of the block 43 in the arrow directions 45 caused by the threaded spindle 42 when the polygonal nut 41 is actuated. An elongated hole 46 in the upper slide part 21 not only enables the block 43 to be moved freely, axially and axially, but also its constant rotation-proof guidance along the edges 47 of the elongated hole 46.

To promote an unimpeded, tamgential displacement of the labeling unit 1 by means of the adjusting member and in particular for its final fixation for operational readiness, a further sliding and a fastening device are provided on the periphery of the adjusting disk 5 opposite the adjusting member. A bolt 48 inserted into a threaded bore on the underside of the adjusting disc 5, at the lower end of which a clamping screw 49 or a clamping lever can be provided, penetrates at this point a further elongated hole 50 in the upper part of the slide 21, which is aligned with the elongated hole 46.

Depending on the direction of rotation when the clamping screw 49 or the clamping lever is actuated, the adjusting disc 5 and the upper slide part 21 are firmly connected to one another for the labeling process or loosened accordingly for the adjustment.

The swivel lever 26 has on the side facing away from the stop 32 a free swivel area with such an angular opening that the labeling unit 1 is brought out of all engagement functions and can therefore be easily removed. The adjusting member can be provided with a fine adjustment for the purpose of a particularly exact fixing of the labeling unit 1. Regardless of the free rotation of the stop 32, with which the working position of the labeling unit 1 is fixed via the swivel lever 26, the stop 32 can also be provided with resilient or with resilient latching elements, e.g. be fixable on the machine table.

FIG. 3 shows another exemplary embodiment of part of a cross slide according to the invention. For this exemplary embodiment, the same reference numerals as in FIGS. 1 and 2 were used for matching parts. The upper part of the slide is not shown for the sake of clarity. In this embodiment, the stop no longer acts directly in the swivel path of the swivel lever 26, but rather directly on the path through which the upper part of the slide travels in relation to the lower part 10 of the slide. The stop is designed as a revolver drum-like rotating body 52 and screwed onto the free end of the rod 20 with detent positions. In this rotating body 52 there are a plurality of threaded bores for receiving hexagon screws 53, each with an associated lock nut 54. When the cross slide is assembled, these screws 53 are set to a specific position in accordance with the sample vessels provided by the customer and secured with the lock nut 54. The head of the screws 53 is brought into contact with the end of a stop rod 55.

This exemplary embodiment also shows a clamping acting radially on the rod 20, which consists of a clamping block 56 attached to the lower part 10 of the slide, with a bore for the rod 20, a slot 57 and a threaded bore 58 for the clamping screw 59. The threaded bore 58 is arranged perpendicular to the plane of the slot 57, so that the bore diameter in the clamping block 56 can be narrowed by a rotary movement of the handle 60 of the clamping screw 59.

Furthermore, another embodiment of the swivel lever linkage shown in FIG. 1 is shown here. The pivot lever 26 shown in FIG. 3 is connected at one end to the lower part 10 of the slide by a swivel joint 61. The power transmission from the swivel lever 26 to the upper slide part takes place by means of a pivot bolt 62 screwed onto the end of the rod 19 and having a bore for the swivel lever. When the pivot lever 26 is actuated via the handle 27, the pivot pin 62 can adapt to the changes in the angle of the pivot lever 26 by rotating with it.

Instead of the radially acting clamp, a clamp variant as shown in FIG. 4 can be used as well.

In this embodiment, a plate 63, equipped with a hole corresponding to the diameter of the rod 19, is connected to the end face of the lower slide part 10 by a screw 64 and an underlying spring washer. On the side of the plate 63 opposite the screw connection there is a threaded hole into which the clamping screw 65 engages. At the end of the rod 19, a guide plate 66 is screwed on by means of a screw 67. It guides the clamping screw 65 through a through hole. If the clamping screw 66 is tightened, its end meets the end face of the lower part of the slide, so that the plate 63 is lifted on one side, with the result that the rod 19 is clamped by tilting.

In all of the variants shown and explained, the vessel changeover is carried out in the simplest way. The process of changing the vessels takes place with these new aggregate adjustments as follows. First, the clamping is released by operating a handle (36 in Figure 1, 60 in Figure 3 and 65 in Figure 4). The labeling unit can then be slid back. Then the gripper cylinders are replaced. A new stop position is then set by adjusting the stops 32 or 52. The labeling unit can then retract as far as it will go, then the clamp is tightened again.

From the above explanation it follows that the invention enables an extremely simple and quick vessel changeover.

Claims (13)

1. Labelling machine for containers, copmrising a labelling unit (1) which is arranged on a cross slide having an upper part (21) and a lower part (10), characterized in that the upper part (21) of the slide is mounted relative to the lower part (10) of the slide by means of parallel rods running through sliding bushes (51), in that, to displace the upper part (21) of the slide relative to the lower part (10) of the slide, a pivoted lever (26) is provided which on the one side is coupled to the upper part (21) of the slide and on the other side is coupled so as to be fixed to the machine, and in that the labelling unit is limited in its displacement path by an adjustable stop (32, 52).

2. Labelling machine according to Claim 1, characterized in that the upper part (21) of the slide is fixed on two parallel rods (19, 20) which are each guided in two sliding bushes (51) in the lower part (10) of the slide.

3. Labelling machine according to Claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the stop (32) is arranged in the pivoting path of the pivoted lever (26) and consists of a disclike polygon rotatable about an axis and having straight bearing edges (33) which are each at a different distance from the rotational axis (31, 34) of the stop (32).

4. Labelling machine according to any of Claims 1 to 3, characterized in that a clamping device (36 to 38) is arranged for the pivoted lever (26) in the pivoting area of the latter.

5. Labelling machine according to Claim 4, characterized in that the clamping device has a plate (37) which overlaps the pivoted lever (26) and in which a clamping screw (38) having a handle (36) sits.

6. Labelling machine according to any of Claims 1 to 3, characterized in that fixed to one front end of the lower part (10) of the slide is a clamping block (56) which is provided with a slot (57) and a bore of appropriate size for one of the rods (19,20) and is also provided with a tapped hole (58) into which a tightening screw (59) provided with a handle (60) engages.

7. Labelling machine according to any of Claims 1 to 3, characterized in that a plate (63) having a bore corresponding to the diameter of the rods (19, 20) is screwed to the front end of the lower part (10) of the slide with a screw (64) and a spring washer place underneath, and in that, opposite the screwed connection, a tightening screw (65) engages into the plate (63), which tightening screw (65) is guided in a guide plate (66) distanced from the plate (63).

8. Labelling machine according to Claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the adjustable stop (52) is arranged in the displacement path of the rods (19, 20).

9. Labelling machine according to Claim 8, characterized in that the stop is designed as a rotary body (52) which is rotatably mounted on the free end of a rod (20) and is provided with adjustable stop bodies (53,54).

10. Labelling machine according to Claim 9, characterized in that a stop rod (55) is attached to the lower part (10) of the slide for the stop body (53, 54) located in its effective position.

11. Labelling machine according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the pivoted lever (26) is connected to the lower part (10) of the slide by a swivel joint (61) and slides in a bore in a fulcrum pin (62) which is rotatably mounted on a free end of one of the rods (19).

12. Labelling machine according to any of Claims 1 to 10, characterized in that the pivoted lever (26) is mounted on a pivot pin (28) arranged on the lower part of the slide and, at its end directed towards the centre of the upper part (21) of the slide, has an elongated hole (29) into which a driving pin (30) fixed to the upper part (21) of the slide engages.

13. Labelling machine according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the upper part (21) of the slide has an adjusting disc (5) which is connected to the upper part of the slide via bolts (43) [sic], elongated holes extending at right angles to the direction of movement (24, 25) of the upper part (21) of the slide, and also by means of a threaded spindle (42) and a nut (43) [sic].

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