EP0286997B1 - Hand labeller - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to a hand-held labeller (10) having a printing mechanism (16) which can be actuated by means of a moveable handle (13), in particular a band-printing mechanism which prints at least two lines, and, when the handle (13) is swivelled, is moved from a rest position into a printing position in which characters of the printing mechanism (16) strike against labels arranged above a printing plate and print said labels, having a rocker arm (19) which can be swivelled about a spindle (20) fixed to the housing and arranged in the front housing part, and an inking mechanism (17) which is so guided during the movement of the printing mechanism (16) that at least one inking roll passes tangentially along the characters before they strike the labels (93). The invention consists in that there are fixed in a front plate (22) of the labeller housing extensions (21) which project into the interior of the housing and are adjacent to the side walls of the housing, that the rocker arm (19) is swivellably mounted in the extensions (21) about a spindle (20) which is fixed to the housing and at a distance from the front plate (22), and that the printing mechanism (16) engages at least in the rest position between parts of the rocker arm (19) which are adjacent to the spindle (20) which is fixed to the labeller. <IMAGE>

Description

The invention relates to a hand-held labeling device with a printing unit which can be actuated by means of a movable handle, in particular an at least two-line tape printing unit which, when the handle is pivoted, is moved from a rest position into a printing position in which the types of the printing unit open onto labels arranged above a printing plate and print them. with a rocker which can be pivoted about a housing-fixed axis arranged in the front housing part and an inking unit arranged thereon with at least one ink roller which is guided during the movement of the printing unit in such a way that the ink rollers tangentially touch the types before they hit the labels.

In the hand-held labeling device of this type known from DE-OS 26 38 441, the inking unit having a color roller is on one Swinge attached, which is pivotally mounted on one eye of the fold-out front panel of the device. However, this construction has the disadvantage that after the inking unit has inked the types of the printing unit, part of it protrudes from the front end of the device housing directly above the pressure roller from the front end of the device, that is to say in the immediate vicinity of the object to be labeled. This is particularly troublesome when many objects are to be labeled in quick succession. In this known device, the ink roller is attached directly to the rocker arm, so that when the inking unit is changed, the user gets his hands dirty with the printing ink, which is very difficult to remove, by handling the ink roller directly. Since the swing arm is attached directly to the front front plate, hardly more than two type series can be inked with this inking unit, the kinematics of the swinging motion of the swing arm does not allow the inking roller to ink the type series provided further in the printing unit, e.g. a third or fourth type series.

From DE-OS 30 08 165 a device with a rocker is known, in which the inking unit has a inking roller and a supply roller for the color, which are mounted in a special roller holder, which is pivotally mounted about an axis at the end of the rocker . In the position in which the printing unit sits on the label, this roll holder does not protrude from the front part of the device housing, but swivels about the axis just mentioned and stands in a vertical position, necessary for inking the types which he comes to rest on the front end of the printing unit and because of this vertical position in the space between the printing unit and the front housing wall Finds space. The roll holder is interchangeable. But also in this device the rocker is arranged so that the roll holder on the lower surface of the printing unit can not reach far back, because its circular path forced by the rocker is not flat in the rest position of the parts, but with a relatively large angle to the lower surface of the Printing unit connects.

The invention has for its object to develop a hand labeling device of the type mentioned in such a way that with very bulky printing units, e.g. multi-line ribbon printing units, also the rear type series can be inked securely, but that a space-saving construction can nevertheless be selected, in which no parts are moved out of the housing of the labeling device during the working cycle.

This object is achieved in that in a front front plate of the device housing projecting into the housing interior, housing side walls adjacent extensions are attached, that in the extensions the rocker is pivotally mounted about a housing-fixed axis at a distance from the front plate, and that the printing unit at least engages adjacent parts of the rocker in the rest position between the fixed axis.

The invention has the advantage that the movement path of the inking unit running in the form of a segment of a circle around the articulation axis of the rocker extends below the axis with a horizontal tangent and further back, the handle of the device, with a tangent that is only a relatively small angle to the Has lower surface of the printing unit. The construction can can therefore be made in a simple manner so that the inking unit reaches far below the printing unit in the direction of the fixed handle of the labeling device and can ink several series of types.

In addition, this position of the pivot axis of the rocker allows a simple construction that, according to one embodiment of the invention, allows the roller holder of the inking unit to be pivoted by approximately 90 ° after inking, so that the inking unit in the space between the front edge of the printing unit and the front housing wall can be accommodated without parts coming out of the housing when the printing unit attaches to the label. Therefore, in one embodiment of the invention, the roller carrier is pivotally mounted on the rocker about a further pivot axis parallel to its pivot axis which is fixed to the housing. This also has the advantage that this pivotability of the roller carrier on the rocker provides an additional degree of freedom in the kinematics of the elements of the hand-held labeling device, which also makes it possible to provide an optimal movement path for the inking unit in the area below the printing unit. This pivotable articulation of the inking unit on the rocker also allows a relatively large inking unit to be provided with several inking rollers, because the pivoting into a space-saving, for example vertical position possible by the additional pivoting axis allows the inking unit to be accommodated cheaply as soon as it has left the bottom surface of the printing unit . A large inking unit with several inking rollers in the roll holder has the further advantage that the construction can be chosen so that the type lines come into contact with several ink rollers during the inking process, so that complete inking of the type lines is guaranteed, even if the color strength a single roll should no longer be sufficient for complete inking.

The additional pivotability of the roller carrier can also be used in embodiments of the invention to provide a hole / pin connection at this point, which can be designed as a releasable latching connection, so that the roller carrier can be removed from this latching connection in a simple manner when changing the inking unit and can be used if necessary so that this change of the roller carrier is possible even by inexperienced users.

The greater the distance between the swing arm of the swing arm fixed to the housing and the front plate of the device, the further this axis is in the outline of the printing unit, the further the inking unit can reach to the rear of the printing unit and the more type lines can be colored by the inking unit. Nevertheless, a construction can be found in which the inking unit is placed vertically after leaving the underside of the printing unit and therefore rests in the front part of the housing in a space-saving manner without parts protruding from the front of the device during the working cycle. In one embodiment of the invention, the printing unit therefore not only engages between the parts of the rocker and the extensions on which the rockers are pivotally mounted between the pivot axis fixed to the housing, but the printing unit in its rest position engages so far between the parts in which the rocker is mounted is that the pivot axis fixed to the housing itself lies within the outline of the movement of the printing unit.

An arrangement is known from EP-A 165172 in which the inking unit between the printing unit and the fixed handle of the hand-held labeling device is arranged in the middle of the device, but this requires a completely different construction of the hand-held labeling device and also has the disadvantage that the inking unit, which is a wearing part of the inking unit, is not easily accessible, in particular not, as in embodiments of the invention, by simply folding out the front panel.

This measure, which is made possible by the fact that cheeks of the rocker are pivotally mounted on their outside, opens up further design options for an extremely compact movement sequence inside the hand-held labeling device, because now the various pivotable elements, viewed from the side, can run into one another without hindering each other.

In a further preferred embodiment of the invention, the pivoting means have a pin connection and a pin-link guide.

This measure has the advantage that the rocker is not only rotated about the pivot axis but is also guided during its rotation.

The two pin connections are also easy to manufacture, so that the device according to the invention can be easily assembled and, if necessary, also dismantled again for service purposes.

In a further preferred embodiment of the invention, the distance of the pivot axis from the front plate corresponds approximately to the height of the roller carrier.

This measure facilitates a construction in which the rocker with the inking unit in the printing position of the printing unit runs completely into the space between the front of the printing unit and the front plate, without any parts protruding beyond the outer contour of the housing of the hand-held labeling device. The known arrangement of the inking unit behind the front plate of the hand-held labeling device has the advantage that it is easily possible to change the inking unit at this easily accessible location.

In another embodiment of the invention, at least two ink rollers, which are provided with radial disks, are preferably mounted in the roller carrier and the disks run on a surface of the printing unit when it is moving.

This measure has the advantage that the ink rollers of the inking unit are guided in a reproducible manner, namely with relatively hard disks on counter surfaces of the printing unit. Compared to known guides, which consist in the soft ink rollers running along the type line side of the printing unit, this has the advantage that guidance with hard and abrasion-resistant elements (disks / surfaces) is achieved, and there is also a touch of the ink rollers in the case of the invention Guidance only required in contact with the type lines, without further surfaces having to be touched by the paint rollers for guidance purposes, which leads to unnecessary loss of color.

In a variant of this embodiment, the disks limit the ink rollers laterally and run on the lateral shoulders of the printing unit.

This measure has the advantage that particularly reliable running is ensured without the risk of the inking unit tilting by guiding the inking unit on both sides.

In a further variant of this exemplary embodiment, the disks run essentially horizontally on the lateral shoulders of an underside of the printing unit in a first movement phase of the printing unit and essentially vertically in a second movement phase on lateral shoulders of a front side of the printing unit.

The measure has the main advantage that the printing line side of the printing unit, which almost always runs horizontally due to the relatively large radius of the circular movement path of the printing unit, can be optimally colored in the first movement phase because several ink rollers run over all printing lines, while on the other hand in the In the second movement phase, the inking unit can be swiveled upwards into the space between the printing unit and the front plate, where it can disappear under the least amount of space.

It is particularly preferred if a lower front corner of the printing unit is used during the transition from the first to the second movement phase engages in an indentation of side parts of the roller carrier.

This measure has the advantage that a targeted and defined redirection is achieved in the movement path of the inking unit.

In further exemplary embodiments of the invention, the roller carrier is mounted with lateral pins in bores in the cheeks and an inclined surface of at least one bore leads to the formation of a larger clearance between the cheeks to a boundary edge of the cheeks.

The measure has the main advantage that the roller carrier can be clipped into the rocker with one hand and can also be easily removed from it again, because only the lateral pins have to be placed on the inclined surfaces and the roller carrier has to be inserted laterally, the cheeks then becoming elastic spread and the pins can slide into the holes.

It is also particularly preferred if the roller carrier and the rocker arm are provided with stops for limiting the rotational movement of the roller carrier relative to the rocker arm.

This measure has the advantage that a defined position is guaranteed by reaching the stops in both end positions of the movement path of the inking unit.

A particularly preferred embodiment of the invention is characterized in that the roller carrier is provided with a handle and with first positive means which cooperate with second positive means of the rocker such that the roller carrier by means of the handle only in a single defined position in the rocker can be used.

The measure has the advantage that the roller carrier can be used with a handle in the swing arm and only in the correct position, so that even inexperienced users do not accidentally choose an incorrect installation position in which the inking unit, for. B. is inserted the wrong way round and so the printing unit is not functional.

In a further preferred embodiment of the invention, the rocker is pivotably mounted on a front plate which extends approximately parallel to side walls of the hand-held labeling device and is arranged on an end of the hand-held labeling device opposite the movable handle.

The measure has the advantage that a particularly easy assembly is possible by integrally forming the extensions with the front panel, because no separate means are required to produce the pivot bearing of the rocker.

It is particularly preferred if the front plate can be pivoted away from the hand-held labeling device with the rocker.

This measure has the essential advantage that the front plate together with the rocker and the inking unit can be exposed by folding out the front plate, so that removal or reinsertion of the inking unit is possible even for an inexperienced user.

In this case, it is particularly preferred if the front plate can be pivoted about an axis on the underside of the hand-held labeling device because this axis can then be used simultaneously as an axis of rotation for a pressure roller of the hand-held labeling device.

In further variants of this exemplary embodiment, the front plate is provided with a window and can be folded away from the hand-held labeling device by reaching into the window by releasing elastic locking means.

This measure has the advantage that the window is a non-protruding handle element, that the handling of the hand-held labeling device is not impaired in the rest, whereby it must be taken into account that the device is guided by the user at high speed, in particular in the case of rapid serial labeling, and therefore always the There is a risk that elements protruding from the housing are broken off or damaged in the event of an accidental impact.

In a further preferred variant of these exemplary embodiments, a spring is arranged between the front plate and the rocker, which loads the rocker in a direction away from the front plate.

This measure has the advantage that when the front plate is folded out, the rocker arm moves out automatically with the inking unit and the user is therefore able to access it particularly easily in order to replace the inking unit. On the other hand, the spring ensures the necessary contact pressure to guide the inking unit on the printing unit in the manner already described.

Finally, an embodiment of the invention is preferred in which the shape of the front plate with its inside on the one hand and the rocker and the roller carrier with its underside on the other hand are matched to one another. This measure has the advantage that in the end position of the movement path the rocker with the inking unit can optimally lay against the inside of the front plate, so that the space requirement is minimal.

Further advantages result from the description and the attached drawing.

Fig. 1a

Eine Seitenansicht eines erfindungsgemäßen Handetikettiergeräts, teilweise aufgebrochen;

Fig. 1b

eine Seitenansicht ähnlich Fig. 1a, jedoch von der gegenüberliegenden Seite gesehen;

Fig 2

eine Seitenansicht, geschnitten und zwar entlang der Achse II-II von Fig. 3 durch eine Frontplatte eines erfindungsgemäßen Handetikettiergeräts;

Fig. 3

eine Vorderansicht der Frontplatte der Fig. 2, teilweise aufgebrochen und geschnitten und zwar in zwei Schnittebenen entlang der Achsen IIIa-IIIa (linke Hälfte) und IIIb-IIIb (rechte Hälfte) von Fig. 7;

Fig. 4

eine perspektivische Ansicht, in vergrößertem Maßstab, eines Farbwerks eines erfindungsgemäßen Handetikettiergeräts;

Fig. 5

eine Schnittdarstellung des Farbwerks der Fig. 4 in der Achse V-V von Fig. 4;

Fig. 6

eine perspektivische Ansicht, in vergrößertem Maßstab, einer Schwinge eines erfindungsgemäßen Handetikettiergeräts, mit abgebrochen dargestelltem, eingesetztem Farbwerk;

Fig. 7

eine ausschnittsweise Schnittdarstellung in der Achse VII-VII von Fig. 1 durch das vorderteil eines erfindungsgemäßen Handetikettiergeräts zur Veranschaulichung einer ersten Bewegungsphase, nämlich einer Ausgangsstellung eines Bewegungszyklus;

Fig. 8 -10

drei weitere, noch weiter schematisierte Darstellungen von Bewegungsphasen des Handetikettiergeräts.

Embodiments of the invention are shown in the drawing and are explained in more detail in the following description. Show it:

Fig. 1a

A side view of a hand labeling device according to the invention, partially broken away;

Fig. 1b

a side view similar to Figure 1a, but seen from the opposite side.

Fig. 2

a side view, sectioned and that along the axis II-II of Figure 3 by a front panel of a hand labeling device according to the invention.

Fig. 3

a front view of the front panel of Figure 2, partially broken and cut, in two sectional planes along the axes IIIa-IIIa (left half) and IIIb-IIIb (right half) of Fig. 7.

Fig. 4

a perspective view, on an enlarged scale, an inking unit of a hand-held labeling device according to the invention;

Fig. 5

a sectional view of the inking unit of Figure 4 in the axis VV of Fig. 4.

Fig. 6

a perspective view, on an enlarged scale, of a rocker arm of a hand-held labeling device according to the invention, with the inking unit shown broken off;

Fig. 7

a partial sectional view in the axis VII-VII of Figure 1 by the front part of a hand labeling device according to the invention to illustrate a first movement phase, namely a starting position of a movement cycle.

Fig. 8 -10

three further, still more schematic representations of movement phases of the hand labeling device.

The following description refers to all figures and the same elements are provided with the same reference numbers.

1a and 1b, a hand-held labeling device 10 can be seen in its entirety. The hand-held labeling device 10 has a housing 11, usually a plastic housing, which is attached to the Back ends in a handle 12 fixed to the housing. On the back of the housing 11, a movable handle 13 protrudes from the bottom thereof, which is pivotable about a first axis 14. Inside the housing 11, the movable handle 13 continues beyond the first axis 14 into two lateral flat arms 15 which serve to actuate a printing unit 16 in the front region of the housing 11. In the rest position of the hand-held labeling device 10 shown in FIG. 1 a when the movable handle 13 is fully extended, the printing unit 16 is in an upper end position at a stop (not shown).

Below the printing unit 16, an inking unit 17 can be seen, which is pivotably mounted in a rocker 19 about a second horizontal axis 18. The rocker 19 is in turn pivotable about a third horizontal axis 20 which extends through plate-like extensions 21 arranged at right angles to a front plate 22. The extensions 21 also have a link 23 in which a first pin 24 of the rocker 19 runs. The extensions 21 run essentially parallel to the side walls 25 of the housing 11.

1b shows that the exemplary embodiment shown is a hand-held labeling device 10 with a printing unit 16, which is designed as a two-line tape printing unit. For this purpose, in the vicinity of the top of the hand-held labeling device 10 there are two setting wheels 26, 26a arranged one behind the other provided, which are located below the windows 27, 27a provided on the upper side.

When the setting wheels 26, 26a are turned, type belts 28, 28a are moved, which on the one hand run around wheels which are arranged coaxially with the setting wheels 26, 26a and are not shown in FIG. 1b and on the other hand run around wheels 29, 29a on the underside of the printing unit 16. By turning the setting wheels 26, 26a, a defined type of printing can be brought to the underside of the printing unit 16 and the associated symbol is displayed in the windows 27, 27a.

The setting wheels 26, 26a can be moved axially perpendicular to the plane of the drawing in FIG. 1b in order to actuate type bands arranged one behind the other in the illustration in FIG. 1b. In a typical embodiment, e.g. ten such type bands 28, 28a are arranged one behind the other, each type band e.g. carries twenty-eight different types. The printing unit 16 can thus have two, three or more ten-digit type lines on its underside.

2 and 3 that the front plate 22 can be pivoted away from the housing 11 about a fourth horizontal axis 30. The front panel 22 has on its upper side a window 31 which is dimensioned such that a user reaches into this window with a finger and the front panel 22 around the fourth axis 30 can pivot. To securely hold the front plate 22 in the housing 11, a guide bar 32 above the upper edge of the window 31 and two lateral latching lugs 33 are located, which are located next to the window 31 on the edges of the front plate 22 and in the pivoted-in state of the front plate 22 behind associated form-fitting Grip means of the housing 11. The elasticity of these locking lugs 33 is dimensioned such that the front plate 22 can be folded out by reaching into the window 31 while overcoming a slight mechanical resistance.

A horizontally extending rod 32 is arranged below the window 31, around which a leg spring 35 is wound. A first end 36 of the leg spring 35 bears against an inner side 37 of the front plate 22, while a second end 38 engages in a groove 39 of the rocker arm 19 indicated by dashed lines in FIG. 2. The groove 39 can also be seen in FIG. 6 with further details. When the front plate 33 is pivoted out, the leg spring 35 causes the rocker 19 to move automatically into the position shown in FIG. 2.

In Fig. 3 it can be seen that the inking unit 17 is provided with at least one typically two ink rollers 45, which are laterally delimited by radial disks 46. The radial disks 46 have a larger diameter than the ink roller 45. The printing unit 16 is provided with shoulders 47a, 47b on its lower and on its front edge, which should also be clearly seen in FIG 1b can be seen. These shoulders 47a, 47b are dimensioned and the arrangement of the inking unit 17 to the printing unit 16 is, as will be explained in more detail below, selected so that the radial disks 46 run along the shoulders 47a, 47b.

3 also clearly shows that the pivotable mounting of the rocker 19 in the extensions 21 on the one hand and the pivotable position of the inking unit 17 in the rocker 19 on the other hand is each made by pin / hole connections, as will be explained.

The inking unit 17 can be seen in further details in FIGS. 4 and 5. A substantially U-shaped roller carrier 50 in side view is provided with side parts 51. In each of the side parts 51 there are two bores 52 spaced apart from one another, into which second pins 53 of the radial disks 46 engage. Between the second pins 53 there is a third pin 54 on each side part 51, which pin serves to insert the roller carrier 50 into the rocker 19.

In the right half of the side parts 51 in FIG. 4, namely on the outside thereof, there is a horizontally extending strip at the bottom as the lower stop 55 and as the side stop 56, the lower stop 55 merges into a grip piece 58 provided with gripping grooves 57, which by a front thickening of the side parts 51 is formed.

The side parts 51 are provided on their inside above the bores 52 with first inclined surfaces 59. The inclined surfaces 59 give a slightly larger clearance at the upper edge of the side parts 51, so that paint rollers 45 with radial disks 46 and second pins 53 attached to them can be inserted between the side parts 51 from above without mechanical resistance. If you now press the paint rollers 45 down into the roller carrier 50, the side parts 51 expand slightly elastically outwards until the second pins 53 slide into the bores 52, so that the paint rollers 45 are now fixed and rotatably mounted.

A bottom 60 with sections curved on both sides to the central axis runs upwards between the paint rollers 45 into a pointed edge 61. The space between the arched areas of the base 60, apart from a longitudinal rib 62 and a plurality of spaced-apart transverse ribs 63, is free of internals. Finally, it can be clearly seen from FIGS. 4 and 5 that the upper edges of the side parts 51 are provided with an arcuate indentation 64, the meaning of which is explained in detail further below in FIG. 9.

6 shows the rocker 19 in a perspective view. It can be seen that the rocker 19 has two lateral cheeks 70, which on their left-hand edge in FIG. 6 have an upper fourth pin 71 and a lower pin, namely the first pin 24 are provided, which protrude from the cheeks 70 to the outside. The pins 27, 71 can also be seen in FIGS. 2 and 3 on the left half and it can be seen that the pin 71 lies in the third axis 20 and is arranged there in a corresponding bore in the extensions 21.

The cheeks 70 are connected to one another via an arc-shaped connection on their left underside in FIG. 6, and the connection 73 ends in a raised web 74 to the right at the front. As will be shown further below, this connection of the cheeks 70 only makes sense in the lower left area that the connecting elements 73 and 74 lie outside the movement path of the printing unit when it is moving during operation.

In the illustration in FIG. 6, the cheeks 70 run out to the right into cantilever arms 75 which are provided with bores 76. The third pins 54 of the roller carrier 50 in the second axis 18 engage in the bores 76.

On the top of the cantilever arms 75 there are square-shaped stops 77, which come into contact with the side stops 56 of the side parts 51 when the roller carrier 50 is pivoted about the second axis 18 in the counterclockwise direction. Correspondingly, in the rest position shown in FIG. 6, the lower stop 55 bears against a lower edge 80 of the cantilever arms 75, so that overall the rotary movement of the roller carrier 50 about the second axis 18 is limited to this pivoting range of, for example, 45 °.

Horizontal second inclined surfaces 79 lead from the front edges 78 of the cantilever arms 75 to the bores 76. By gripping the roller carrier 50 laterally on the handle 58, an inking unit 17 can now be inserted from the right in FIG. 6 between the cantilever arms 75 of the rocker 19. Due to the greater clearance that is formed by second inclined surfaces 79 in the area of the front edges 78, the third pins 54 of the roller carriers 50 run in between the second inclined surfaces 79 without mechanical resistance. The cantilever arms 75 now spread outward elastically until the third pins 54 engage in the bores 76.

During this insertion movement of the inking unit 17 into the rocker 19, the lower stop 55 with the lower edge 80 serves simultaneously as a guide, so that the third pins 54 reach the area of the bores 76 at the correct height.

In order to further promote a safe insertion, the second inclined surface 79 does not run over the entire height of the front edge 78, rather a lower end 81 of the cantilever arms 75 remains in full width, so that a small front end surface 82 at the lower ends of the Front edges 78 remain, on the lower edge of which a front end 83 is the lower Stop 55 serving bar of the side part 51 of the roller carrier 50 can enter.

7 to 10 movement phases of printing unit 16 and inking unit 17 are shown in the hand-held labeling device 10 according to the invention.

Fig. 7 shows the starting position, in which the movable handle 13 is fully pivoted and bears under the force of a spring, not shown, against a stop, also not shown. The printing unit 16 is in the upper end position, in which its front edge 85 runs almost vertically. A lower front corner 86 forms the transition to a lower edge 87 of the printing unit 16. In this starting position, the third axis 20 is approximately in alignment with the front edge 85 and the lower edge 87 is located slightly above the first pin 24 in its lower end position on the edge the quarter-circular backdrop 23.

The inking unit 17 is provided with two ink rollers 45, 45ʹ arranged next to one another, of which the right ink rollers 45ʹ are located outside the four lines of print types 48 shown as an example, while the left ink roller 45 may be located in the area of the second print line.

7 also shows further details of the hand-held labeling device 10, namely a pointed deflection edge 90 below of the elements described above. A carrier belt 91 is guided around the deflection edge 90 and is guided in a schematically indicated direction 92 to a conveyor device (not shown), for example a conveyor roller. There are labels 93, 93 befinden on the carrier tape 91, the latter label 93ʹ having already largely been detached from the carrier tape 91 and can be pressed onto an object (not shown) by means of a pressure roller 94.

In front of the deflection edge 91, seen in the conveying direction of the carrier tape 91, there is a slightly rising pressure plate 95 which is inclined so that its extension preferably leads through the first axis 14, even if the extension of the lower edge 97 of the printing unit 16 through this first axis 14 is running.

If the movable handle 13 is now retracted to such an extent that the first pin 24 passes through about half the path of the link 23 (FIG. 8), the printing unit 16 moves around the first axis 14 in the direction of an arrow 100 downward. Because of this rotary movement, the rocker 19 is pivoted in the direction of an arrow 101 about the third axis 20. The inking unit 17 runs almost linearly in the direction of an arrow 102 to the left, but in this case carries out a slight rotary movement about the second axis 18 in the direction of an arrow 103 in the clockwise direction. The inking unit 17 is guided in this movement phase in that the radial disks 46 run on the shoulder 47b of the lower edge 87 of the printing unit 16.

FIG. 9 shows a further movement phase in which the printing unit 16 has lowered a little further in the direction of the arrow 100. While the position of the rocker 19 has only changed somewhat in that it has rotated in the direction of arrow 101 about the third axis 20, so that the first pin 24 has now covered about two thirds of its way in the link 23, has the inking unit 17 is pivoted considerably by a rotation of almost 45 ° about the second axis 18 in the direction of arrow 103. This is due to the fact that the printing unit 16, in the area of its lower front corner 86 in the transition from the lower shoulder 47b to the front shoulder 47a, fits into the recess 64 of the side part 51 of the roller carrier 50, as a result of which the previously by two contact points on the radial disks 46 with the lower shoulder 47b formed guide was canceled. As a result, the inking unit 17 at the lower front corner 46 around this corner can change from an almost horizontal movement path (see arrow 102 in FIG. 8) to an almost vertical movement path (see arrow 104 in FIG. 10).

10 shows the final state in which the printing unit 16 with the printing types 48 or the type lines hits the label 93 above the printing plate 95. The inking unit 17 is in a substantially vertical position, in which the radial disks 46 are still a little in the direction of the arrow 104 by contact with the front shoulder 47a of the printing unit 16 have moved upward, releasing the path for the printing unit 16 into its lower end position. The rocker 19 has also reached its end position, as can be seen from the first pin 24 located at the upper end of the link 23. The underside of the printing unit 17 and the rocker 19 are designed such that they optimally adapt to the contour of the inside 37 of the front plate 22. This enables the inking unit 17 with all the elements required for its movement to have space in the space between the front edge of the printing unit 16 and the front plate 22 and that no components protrude from the housing of the hand-held labeling device 10.

Since the rocker 19 is designed as a U-shaped part and the axis 20 is formed only by axle bolts 71 engaging in bores, the front part of the printing unit 16 can already enter between the cheeks 70 of the rocker 19 in the rest position (FIG. 7) and thus the roller carrier 50 protrude far to the right in FIG. 7 and reach under four or more print lines for inking. In the printing position (FIG. 10), the front part of the printing unit engages much further between the cheeks 70 of the rocker 10. By spreading the cheeks 70 in the area of the bores 76, the bolts 54 can be disengaged and the inking unit 17 can be removed with the inking rollers 45 and replaced, for example when the printing ink is exhausted. The plate-like extensions 21 protruding from the front plate 22 approximately at right angles to the inside are so elastic that they can be resiliently bent open at their inner edge in the region of the axis 20, so that the bolt 24 is released from the link 23 and the axis bolt 71 from the bore of the axis 20 and the rocker 19 can be removed from the extensions 21. This is supported by the elasticity of the cheeks 70. This means that assembly during manufacture and repair is very easy and can also be carried out outside a workshop without tools.

Claims (22)

1. Hand-held labeling device (10) comprising a printing mechanism (16), in particular an at least two-line tape-printing mechanism, which can be actuated by means of a movable handle (13) and which can be transferred by a pivoting movement of the handle (13) from a rest position to a printing position where characters (48) of the printing mechanism (16) hit against labels (93) arranged above a printing plate (95) so as to print such characters on the labels, and comprising further a rocking lever (19) fixed to the housing, pivoting about an axis (20) arranged in the front portion of the housing and an inking arrangement (17) which during the printing mechanism (16) moves is guided to ensure that at least one ink roller (45) slides tangentially across the characters (48) before the latter hit upon the labels (93), characterized in that extensions (21) adjoining side walls (25) of the housing and projecting into the interior of the housing are fixed in a front plate (22) of the housing of the device, that the said rocking lever (19) is seated in the said extensions (21) at a distance from the front plate, for pivotal movement about an axis (20) fixed to the housing, and that the said printing mechanism (16) comes in contact, at least in the rest position, between parts of the said rocking lever (19) arranged adjacent the said fixed axis (20).
2. Hand-held labeling device according to claim 1, characterized in that a roller carrier (17) is seated on the said rocking lever (19) to pivot about another swivelling axis (18) extending in parallel to the said swivelling axis (20) of the rocking lever which is fixed to the housing.
3. Hand-held labeling device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the said swivelling axis (20) in the path of movement of the said printing mechanism (16) is located inside the latter's periphery.
4. Hand-held labeling device according to one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that for bearing said rocking lever (19) pivoting means include a pivot joint (20, 71) and a pivot-and-slot guide (23, 24).
5. Hand-held labeling device according one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the spacing between the said swivelling axis (20) and the said front plate (22) is substantially corresponding to the height of the said rocking lever (19) in the rest position (fig. 7).
6. Hand-held labeling device according to one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that at least one ink roller is provided with radial wheels (46), and the said wheels (46) run along a surface of the said printing mechanism (16) during movement thereof.
7. Hand-held labeling device according to claim 6, characterized in that the said wheels (46) define the lateral ends of the said ink rollers (45) and run on lateral shoulders (47a, 47b) of the said printing mechanism (16).
8. Hand-held labeling device according to claim 7, characterized in that the said wheels (46) run substantially in horizontal direction on lateral shoulders (47b) of a bottom face of the said printing mechanism (16) in a first motion phase of the printing mechanism (16), and substantially vertically on lateral shoulders (47a) of a front face of the said printing mechanism (16) in a second motion phase.
9. Hand-held labeling device according to claim 8, characterized in that a lower front corner (86) of the said printing mechanism (16) engages an indentation (64) provided in side walls (51) of the said roller carrier (50) at the point of transition from the first to the second motion phases.
10. Hand-held labeling device according to one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that a roller carrier (50) in its swivelling axis (18) is seated by means of lateral pivots (54) engaged in bores (76) in the said cheeks (70), and in order to provide greater play between the said cheeks (70) an inclined surface (79) leads from at least one bore (76) to one limiting edge (78) of the said cheeks (70).
11. Hand-held labeling device according to one of claims 1 to 10, characterized in that a roller carrier (50) and the said rocking lever (19) are provided with stops (55, 56, 77) for limiting the pivotal movement of the said roller carrier (50) relative to the said rocking lever (19).
12. Hand-held labeling device according to one of claims 1 to 11, characterized in that a roller carrier (50) is provided with a handle portion (58) and with a first form-locking means (55, 56) co-acting with second form-locking means (78, 80) of the said rocking lever (19) in such a way that the said roller carrier (50) can be inserted into the said rocking lever (19) by means of the said handle portion (58) only in a single defined position.
13. Hand-held labeling device according to one of claims 1 to 12, characterized in that the said front plate (22) can be pivoted to the front and in a direction away from the said hand-held labeling device (10) by means of the said rocking lever (19).
14. Hand-held labeling device according to claim 13, characterized in that the said front plate (22) can be pivoted about an axis (30) at the underside of the said hand-held labeling device (10).
15. Hand-held labeling device according to one of claims 1 or 14, characterized in that the said front plate (22) is provided with a window (31) and can be folded away from the said hand-held labeling device (10) by disengaging elastic snap-in means (33) through the said window (31).
16. Hand-held labeling device according to one of claims 1 to 15, characterized in that a spring (35) is provided between the said front plate (22) and the said rocking lever (19) for loading the said rocking lever (19) in a direction away from the said front plate (22).
17. Hand-held labeling device according to one of claims 1 to 16, characterized in that the inner face (37) of the said front plate (22) on the one hand and the bottom faces of the said rocking lever (19) and the said roller carrier (50) on the other hand have shapes adapted to one another.
18. Hand-held labeling device according to one of claims 2 to 17, characterized in that the parts of the said rocking lever (19) adjacent the said other swivelling axis (18) can be spread apart resiliently in the axial direction.
19. Hand-held labeling device according to one of claims 1 to 18, characterized in that the parts of the said rocking lever (19) and/or of the said extensions (21) adjacent the said fixed swivelling axis (20) are resilient in the axial direction.
20. Hand-held labeling device according to one of claims 4 to 19, characterized in that the parts of the said extensions (21) and/or of the said rocking lever (19) adjacent the said slot (23) are resilient in the direction of the said fixed swivelling axis (20).
21. Hand-held labeling device according to one of claims 1 to 20, characterized in that at least two ink rollers (45) which apply ink to the printing characters are provided in the said roller carrier (50).
22. Hand-held labeling device according to one of claims 2 to 21, characterized in that the said other swivelling axis (18) extends at a distance in parallel to the axis of the ink rollers.

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